[sblock=Grun] Sense motive 16+3=19 – The seneschal seems honest. He doesn’t have the mannerism of someone trying to hide anything. You do think you have a good idea of the man’s appearance, good enough to distinguish him from the other humans.
You doesn’t see any obvious holy symbols on anyone; you try to spot any that may be hidden (such as under someone’s shirt), but still don’t note any. (Spot 5+3=8). Knowledge Religion 17-1=16 – you don’t recall seeing even many Temples out and about in town, either, but you do recall one to Pelor. You don’t believe that this city is terribly religious. [/sblock]
The seneschal looks at Grun, with a somewhat disgusted look on his face, which he quickly smoothes away with the ease of long practice. He shuts the door behind Ekoss and moves to the head of the table that takes up most of the free space in the room, and seats himself. “Please make yourself comfortable.” He gestures at the chairs surrounding the table and pauses a brief moment; he consults a paper off the stack in front of him, scanning it and flicking glances at each of you as you arrange yourselves.
He replaces the paper – face down – on the stack and meets each of your eyes in turn. “I will be blunt, as we have little time. You are all no doubt wondering why you were chosen over the rest. Suffice it to say that there are reasons – some of you have been recommended,” he locks gazes with Bregan momentarily, “and others have distinguished themselves, or have simply been one of the few of needed talents that volunteered.” His eyes cut to the cleric momentarily. “The why is unimportant at this time; I would prefer to focus on what needs to be done.”
“As you may have overheard, the Shadowmaster army is only a short time away from marching on the city. There is little we can do to stop them. Our best guess is that they will reach the city in a month, worst-case scenario. As such, we will begin the process of moving civilians out of the city soon – but that is not what you will be concerned with.”
He looks at the two half-orcs. “Earlier, you asked about the White Rose. That is, indeed, what you – all of you – will be seeking.” He pulls another piece of paper from the stack in front of him and frowns at it. “We have some information on it. It is little enough, and mostly rumors and legends, or passing mention in our oldest texts – but we have hopes that it may exist.”
“It is an artifact that was used in the first war against the Shadowmasters, but it is supposedly much older than that. From the existing texts, the White Rose’s use in the first war was very confidential - there are hints that it could be turned against us if the Shadowmasters gained control of it. Many of the existing tomes chronicling that time have either been edited to eradicate mentioned of the artifact, whether at the time of being written or after the fact, and many more tomes have been lost in the years since.”
Coel sighs and lays down the parchment. “The White Rose was supposed to affect magic – under the direction of the wielder. Supposedly, it could warp the magic into doing whatever the wielder wanted to any magic in the vicinity. With it, we could negate the Shadowmasters’ advantage, as they rely heavily upon magical might to support their armies and wage war. If we could turn their magic back on them…” He trails off. “Surely you understand the significance of such an item.”
The seneschal rises and walks to a tall cabinet that sits on the wall opposite the door you entered by, and behind his chair. Opening the doors reveals a modest selection of beverages, from water to wine to stronger spirits. Coel pours himself a glass of a dark amber liquid and turns back to the group. “May I get you anything?”
