Eberron -- Buried Secrets IC

[appending_doom]

The few people on this part of the street scatter when Darrshan draws a weapon; the men keep approaching, and it's now clear their destination is the halfling and catfolk.

"Hey, hey, calm down, kittie," one of the men intones, raising his hands defensively. "You're quick with a spear, ain't ya? Issat what Orey was looking for?"

The other snickers until his companion elbows him in the ribs. "Look, put that away, unless you're really planning to attack a couple of unarmed guys. We just wanna talk."

Behind Darrshan, the halfling (Orey?) sighs. "I sure as hell can't outrun these thugs, kid, and in any case, if there's a fight, you're better off with me near you than not."

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Thugs (1d20)[2]
Orey (1d20-1)[3]

[The_Snark]

Saera nods again, and as Bertrand gets up and makes his way out of the library, turns her mind to the question of why magic has eluded Russo. Wizardry is something of a mystery to her—who knows where it comes from? If she does not know that, how could she know who could withhold it?—but at least one part of the puzzle is clear.

"Aureon," she says delicately, "is a stern father. Like yours. He does not give his favor simply because they are desired he grants it to those he feels are worthy, and only those." She studies his face, looking for understanding.

[kemmotar]

Lorsk nodded to Saera and left the library heading out to find what she could about flamewind.

gather info about flamewind, those who work around her, where she is set up etc:
(1d20+7)[26]
time: (1d4)[4]x10 minutes

[Scow2]

"[If you truly just want to talk, just stay out of the reach of my spear. Otherwise, go away," Darrshan growled back at them, keeping his spear readied to prove his point.

[kemmotar]

Lorsk now moved with purpose she was one step closer but now she had an idea. She went around the university and the administrative building to find out who worked around flamewind, particularly who worked today and if anyone had not come in today.

Gather info:(1d20+7)[20] time: (1d4+1)[3]x10 minutes

[appending_doom]

Russo's eyes narrow at Saera's comment. "You have no reason to comment on my father, and less to suggest it is my failing that Aureon has denied me even the simplest magic. My grandfather--" He snaps his mouth shut and abruptly rises.

"I have to go," he mutters. "I certainly don't need to hear you tell me what my uncle has told me a thousand times before. 'Some men do not have the temperament for wizardry, and must temper their frustration to serve the house in the smallest ways.' WELL I WON'T!"

He storms away from the table, moments ahead of the dwarf manning the main desk, who presumably is asking him to leave for his outburst.

It is clear that his frustration clouds his understanding, that his anger is making it difficult for him to think clearly. What will happen if he finds Flamewind, only for her to deny his request for aid?

[appending_doom]

"We're not the ones threatening other citizens," the first man drawls. "If we were to bring this situation to the watch, or if an enterprising civilian reports this little stand-off, you're the one who's going to be in the wrong."

His hands are still spread, empty, as are those of his companion. They are still about 30 feet away, apparently at ease.

"If this turns into a fight, you want me with you," the halfling mutters. He's no longer leaning heavily on his staff, although it's still supporting his upright position.

[Scow2]

"I'm a bit twitchy. Stay back and we don't have a problem," Darrshan replied, lowering his spear. However he kept it gripped tightly, and would be able to raise it if they came within range.

[appending_doom]

"They're not going to hurt me -- not permanently, anyway," the halfling retorts. "I'm a doctor," he adds after a moment's pause. His voice is still low, and most likely inaudible to the two men.

"Look, kittie, we all know from experience that it's impossible to have a civil conversation when half of the parties are armed. You going to put that away?" The spokesman for the two...well-spoken thugs rolls his eyes as he takes a careful step forward.

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Listen/Spot again.

[kemmotar]

Addressing the secretary, he takes on a caring expression and with mild annoyance says:

Pff slouchers...if they can't handle responsibility they shouldn't take it on in the first place...If you haven't taken care of it I can take her her lunch or if something needs to be done. It's on my way anyway so it's not too much of a bother.

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bluff check if required: (1d20+10)[24]
diplomacy if required: (1d20+7)[17]

[The_Snark]

Saera rises quickly, hurrying after Russo as he storms off. Perhaps it's best that they carry out this part of the conversation elsewhere, she tells herself.

"I didn't say that was my judgment," she says as she catches up. She walks alongside him for a few seconds, wondering if he will simply storm away from her again. It's hard to tell. "His approval isn't everything, you know. There are others."

[Scow2]

"I'm not interested in civil conversation," Darrshan snarls, keeping his spear relaxed yet not putting it away. "And I can see that you have hidden your own weapons, rather than leave them visible, as polite folk do," he adds.

[appending_doom]

"Seriously? I can't even get people to do their jobs around here," the secretary mutters. "I already brought her lunch, but I think..." He digs through the papers on his desk before producing a heavy parchment envelope. "I thought there was something in here I was supposed to bring up." He taps the envelope's label -- Flamekeep -- meaningfully. "Don't lose it and don't read it. Flamewind's been pestering the upper echelons of Thrane for months, now. And let me know if you need a favor down the line, all right?"

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away

"It was on your advice I stopped pursuing other temples," Russo growls. "And I think...it's clear that no god will have me. And it's far more clear that Aureon has turned his back on me entirely. I can learn spells, Saera, but nothing I do enables me to cast them."

Meanwhile, in the thick of battle
It is only after he speaks that Darrshsan hears movement behind him; he can only helplessly stab around his charge as a lithe human woman in leather armor charges the halfling with a sap.

She catches him with a good blow to the head, sending the halfling reeling.

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(1d20+3)[21]
(2d6+1)[10]

Modifiers
Charging -2 AC
Soft Cover +4 AC
Net +2 AC

Map

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Also please note the map is...messy. If you have questions about a detail, ask.

Black spots with letters are creatures. Green letters are allies. Red letters are enemies. PCs will be marked with gold squares.

[kemmotar]

Bertrand smiles, don't worry about it. Glad to help.

She takes the envelope in her hands and places it into a pocket as she heads off towards the general direction of flamewind. As soon as out of sight she veers towards the library hoping to find Russo.

[Scow2]

As soon as Darrshan heard the sound behind him, he instinctively whipped around with his spear locked in place over the halfling's head, directly into the path of the charging rogue as he unleashed his savage combat abilities.

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Swift:Initiates Whirling Frenzy

Partial: Attack w/ Spear
Roll: (1d20+6)[17]
Damage: (1d8+7)[11]+(1d8+7)[9] (set)

Fortunately, the hapless charger really did intend Darrshan or his charge harm.

[appending_doom]

Darrshan's strike expertly dodges around the halfling, gutting the woman in a single strike.

The halfling makes a startled noise, and stares at the clearly-dead woman. He looks to Darrshan and sighs before rubbing his palms together briskly for a moment, and then places both hands on the woman's still chest.

There is a flare of heat and the woman gasps once and jerks upward before falling back to the street level, her chest moving unevenly, but moving.

The man who has been speaking didn't move when Darrshan killed the woman, but at the sight of the halfling's reaction, he stares openly. "You've got all kinds of tricks, don't you, Orey?" he asks. "Mr. Blademind is going to be delighted to hear what sorts of services you can offer him. We'll be in touch."

The man behind him takes a step back, but neither has moved significantly.

[Scow2]

After withdrawing the spear from the woman, Darrshan glared around, his stance lower and more feral with the primal energy coursing through him. "I believe we're done here," he seethed, struggling to express himself in common. "Now, go away unless you want to end up like her. Even if the watch sides with you, you'll still be dead!" he added, the whirling frenzy and battlelust clouding his mind, encouraging him to become more easily provoked.

To the halfling he snarled, "Can I please kill these bastards?" Any excuse would do...

[The_Snark]

Saera has no reply to that; her head is spinning. Her own words come back to bite her—because she had said that, hadn't he? And now he threw them back in her face robbed of their meaning, because she felt sure that wasn't what she had meant. But she could no longer tell what she had wanted to say with those words, and so didn't know what to say now. Should she implore Russo to give up? Or tell him to fan the acrid flames inside, use them and hope he got what he wanted before they burned him up?

The problem was that she actually liked Russo. She didn't want to see him change like that.

"There are worse places to be than in Aureon's shadow," she says after a minute or two of walking. The elf steals a glance upward at the taller human, but only one. She doesn't really know what she wants to see, so she will wait to find out.

After that, she is no longer following Russo, but walking some aimless course of her own, which merely happens to coincide with his at its beginning. A few seconds pass, and she is drifting away, making her way towards one of the windowed chambers of upper Morgrave...

[appending_doom]

"I think you'll have a better chance getting away from these two clowns if you walk away from their fallen comrade," the halfling mutters. "And while I don't doubt you might be able to kill them, killing people who haven't done anything to you isn't wise, especially when their employers are dangerous criminals."

"I think you've demonstrated we're going to need a different plan to persuade you to work with us," the talkative thug says to the halfling. "So if you'd let us take our friend and go?"

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away

Russo stops at Saera's words and stares at her, blankly. Finally, he dips his head, and says, "Maybe for a Phiarlan; the shadows are your place. A Cannith without Aureon's blessing is barely worth his name. Good day, Saera, and good luck."

[Scow2]

Darrshan shook his head in a quiver as he struggled between maintaining his fury and letting it subside. Even if Orey was more keen for flight, Darrshan was still in the throes of his bloodlust. "He's with me, and will remain so. So you can just *mrowl* off now." Darrshan snarled, making it clear that the two thugs needed to go away. "Lets get going. If those clowns try to follow, they're dead," he said to the halfling, loud enough for the thugs to hear the threat clearly. as he turned to leave, while still expecting treachery.

[appending_doom]

"Oh, don't imagine we'll forget that," the thug says at Darrshan's retreating back.

"Come on, kid," the doctor mutters. "Home, I think."

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away

Some hours pass, Russo absent from both his apartment and the library. It is mid-afternoon before he reappears in the library, bearing a small, tattered black book, to which he begins to add others, browsing the stacks almost at random.

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Russo hasn't been in any of his usual haunts; his disappearance has ensured that he's not back on anyone's radar until mid-afternoon, meaning any of the people with designs on him can approach without fear of messing up the timeline.

I presume this mostly affects Relian and the changelings, but everyone ought to know that time at Morgrave has merged back into a single event stream.

[Wiz]

Dax has been looking through the library for Russo, and has had little luck - but since she didn't have his address (she left before he gave it out) she has nowhere else to look. She finally runs into him in the stacks. "There you are! You're a hard man to track down!" She smiles, "So, I have some good news for you... you're going to be doing a favor for Nelia Ressi. You're going to take over her duties for a month so she can work on her professorship... and in return, she's going to let you take over her duties for a month. Including of course, running errands for Flamewind every Mol!"

[kemmotar]

Lorsk had been looking for Russo in the library and his house, when she finally located him she approached just as Dax "accosted him" at the entrance. She waited while Dax was told him of her plan. Once she's finished and both are focused on her, with a smug smile she digs into the Bertrand's robes and presents an envelope.

Here's your way in Russo. Flamewind has been expecting this letter for some time and she'll be very happy to see it. I'll accompany you to make sure you do get in.

On second note she adds with a mischievous grin:

No peeking at the envelope.

OOC: note that she only presents the envelope at this stage but does not give it to him.

[appending_doom]

"And what's the cost of your assistance?" Russo asks Bertrand. "I don't imagine you've gotten me an audience that requires nothing in return."

[Wiz]

Dax looks concerned, "You took Flamewind's mail?" She blinks, and shrugs, "Oh well... if that works, I guess that my efforts were unnecessary. I'll wait here in case you need my plan as a backup." She smiles.

[Scow2]

As Darrshan resumed escorting Dr. Orey home, he let his frenzy fade away, leaving him physically drained. "Hopefully that's the end of that," Darrshan sighed to the halfling, continuing to walk down the street, his spear again slung over his shoulder almost perpedicular to the shield. He tried to mask the symptoms of his fatigue as his efforts to assist Orey, to hide his vulnerability from the two thugs.

[kemmotar]

Turning first to Dax she says playfully

Those are baseless accusations...besides, funnily enough it was all fair and above board...No stealing done.

She beamed at Russo

Well, no more than you offered in the beginning, the 3 letters of Marquee you showed me earlier. Without the names of the recipient written in of course, if you would be so king.

[appending_doom]

"The end?" the halfling (Doctor Orey?) asks breathlessly. He laughs bitterly. "What do you think was going on here, that nearly killing a two-copper thug would put an end to it?"

[Scow2]

Darrshan just shook his head, too tired to bother explaining his meaning as he led the halfling 'home'. Either the thugs would immediately take further action against them or not, either way would prove his point.

[appending_doom]

The two approach a large townhouse set back from its neighbors; like many of the houses in the neighborhood, it has an abandoned feel, although it is in moderately good repair.

Orey stops Darrshan from approaching by raising a warning hand before awkwardly climbing the few stairs to the entrance to the small terrace between the road and the house proper. He presses a small silver box to the right side of the gate, and there is an audible 'click'.

"In fact, that stunt you pulled probably made things worse -- not a great deal worse, but my relying on near-lethal force isn't going to make my life easier." He swings open the gate and looks back at Darrshan. "I think you should come inside for a minute. At least to see I'll be relatively safe for the moment. But stay here for a moment."

In the twenty seconds it takes Orey to make his way from the gate to the door of his house, Darrshan has plenty of time to examine the facade, and perhaps gain a hint of the defenses the doctor has placed around himself.