Eyes of the Lich Queen IC

[Sallera]

Daiya/Xaxhan:

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"Your priest taught you well indeed," he muses. "I have hunted men, jungle predators, and the spawn of Xoriat, without being noticed by a one. In truth, I had almost begun to think it too easy. Would it be too forward of me to ask what gave me away?" He takes some time to savour the cake before continuing.

"Knighthood, hm? Honour, glory, and a blade raised in challenge. A difficult path to walk, I think, although not impossible with enough determination. To have learned what you did, I think you must possess it. I suspect you would be much nicer to have around than some of these glorified minions who call themselves knights."

The man lets out a small sigh. "But I suppose that matter will have to wait until a better day. Jheamast. I had not heard a word of him until this business, but it seems he is about to become very important. I suppose you dug up an old legend somewhere?" His tone appears genuinely enquiring. "It is not given to me to know what you will find there, but it seems to be worth a great deal of effort."

[MoleMage]

Daiya/Xaxhan

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Daiya fills the pause with her answer to the man's first question.
"What gave you away? Well, I'm afraid I can't give you a satisfactory answer on that one. I simply noticed you, much as I notice others. Though now that you mention it, there is a certain...lack of impact as you move about the world. Almost as a voice without a source, or a shadow without a body. The evidence points towards something being there, but no person is."
As he talks of knights, she swells somewhat with pride for her father's profession, and makes gestures of acquiescence about the man's opinion of those spoiling the title.
When he inquires as to how she heard of Jheamast, she responds truthfully, though keeps names and specifics out of it as much as possible.
"You could say that. As I said, I'm trying to make a name for myself. Word is that this Jheamast had some pretty impressive items that never turned up again. I figure if I manage to find his collection, or even just one or two of his items, I'll earn a little fame from it, maybe some coin."

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Post has been edited. Not regarding my conversation, but regarding how direct I was.

[TheFallenOne]

Grimmgang/Shard

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How the hell does something made from living crystal even MANAGE to grimace? Grimmgang wondered, twitching once or twice under Shard's stare. But if the previous conversations here taught him anything it was that silence was vastly preferable, so he just focused on his cold one and hoped that Xaxhan and Daiya got their part done rather sooner than later.

[Sallera]

Daiya/Xaxhan:

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The man laughs lightly, brushing crumbs over the edge. "So I revealed myself by hiding too well? Ah, I fear you damn me with faint praise; I seem to have forgotten the first lesson of my craft. But still, thank you; it is good to know how those without sight perceive me."

"Fame you may well gain as this matter draws toward its conclusion; coin, of course, is the second great certainty of life, although one we don't speak of much. The elders think it too crass to mention, I suspect. But fame, yes, fame is simple. Making a name for yourself is just a matter of ensuring the right people learn it."

A slight smile enters his voice. "Incidentally, you may call me Matthias, should we meet again - and I do hope we will."

[MoleMage]

Daiya/Xaxhan

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"And you may call me Daiya, Matthias. It has been a pleasure meeting you. Good fortune." Daiya finishes her cake as she waits for the man to leave, then goes back down the stairs to find Xaxhan and compare notes.

[Postmodernist]

Xaxhan stops perusing a stall containing books in a language he cannot read as Daiya rejoins him. "Good to see you again. What, if I may ask, was that all about?" He nods upward, toward the rail she had just been conversing near. "Find anything of value? We could head over to The Wanderlust, a public house I used to frequent, to possibly rustle up some more information, but I think we've already got a good lead with this Vorgaard chap. Then again, I'm always interested in seeing what else we can stir up. D'you think Grimmgang and Shard miss us already?" He smiles broadly at the blindfolded knight errant, wondering whether or not she can see his expression.

[MoleMage]

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"I suppose that man's talents rendered him undetectable to you until I was talking to him up there?" Daiya doesn't seem accusing; after all she had barely felt the man herself and could smell like a hound and felt the flow of magic besides. She kept her voice as low as possible for the next part "What just happened is that I learned something. I'm reasonably certain that man has some green talons in his past somewhere, and he is the one who I heard casting a spell and mentioning Vorgaard earlier. Since he wasn't following the trail right now, and spells to track tend to fade fairly quickly owing to the amount of energy that must be put into them, I suspect he was sending a message."

She pauses to take a breath.

"Which means we should expect Claw within hours. Days if we're exceptionally lucky, but I'd not hold out for it. Do you have any contacts that could keep a quiet eye out for them? If we have even ten minutes warning, that's at least them not catching us with our boots off."

[Postmodernist]

Daiya/Xaxhan

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Xaxhan swallows hard. "That does not provide us with a great deal of time. I had hoped that our little evening excursion in Adderport might have bought us a few days. At least we know to expect trouble from The Claw, though perhaps that should be a regular assumption from now on. We should get back to Shard and Grimmgang immediately. Do you think we have time for me to try and hunt down a few contacts? Another quick visit to Iriel might help; I'm not sure she can keep a constant eye out for us, but she could easily contact us with a Sending spell. She might even know someone with House Sivis- those gnomes are always thick as thieves with one another. Either way, let's get a move on."

[MoleMage]

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"Can Iriel message with Sending if we give her one for Shard and Grimmgang? Simple fact is, we still need all the information about Jheamast that we can get; the Claw being here makes it more urgent, not less important. You've got the most contacts in the area, so we should take advantage of that while we can." Daiya talks while they move, trying not to lose any time.

[Sallera]

Reaching the Ghallanda house is not overly difficult, moving down the Exchange being a fair bit quicker than up at this time of day, and no further obstructions manifest along the way. The massive common room is full of round tables, and an entire wall is lined by a long bar, along which Shard and thereby Grimmgang are easily found; it is perhaps an hour after your arrival in port, or a little more.

[TekHed]

As it watched Grimmgang quaff his fourth ale in under an hour, Shard broke it's bemused silence to query the dwarf.

"Are you feeling inebriated yet? It is one of the many curiosities of your organic constitutions that I shall never know. As I understand it, harmonious vocalizations are often a side effect of such states. Do you, Grimmgang, feel a song coming on?"

[TheFallenOne]

"<Chip, chip, chip the Shard
Gently piece by piece.
Merrily merrily merrily
I will live in peace.>"
Grimmgang grinned mischievously while humming the modified dwarven miners' song, and he was visibly relieved when their companions entered the common room. He stood up, and by way of greeting he grabbed Daiya by the collar and pulled downward so he could whisper in her ear, though the whisper came out a bit too strong. "Never. Again." He let go and glanced back at the crystal warrior to illustrate his meaning.

[MoleMage]

Daiya laughs as Grimmgang makes his point. "Oh, come now. He may not be as much fun without the drinking, but he's not all bad. I guess it's a good thing we got here before you started breaking up the inn's tables in frustration. Or Shard. Innkeeper! Get me a wine, please! Chilled, if you have any." Daiya tosses a coin to the innkeeper worth twice the value of the wine as she continues talking. "Wouldn't do to be hurting innocent civilians. Anyhow, we have news. A new name, and some old friends." When the innkeeper brings her wine, Daiya draws him aside. "My friends and I need to discuss some purchases we'd like to make, and we don't want to talk money in front of everyone. Is there any place private we can discuss this at?"

[Sallera]

"Certainly," the man replies as he sets down the glass, his expression not shifting from its unruffled solemnity. "Private salons are available for an additional ten gold; magical privacy is also available for fifty gold an hour."

[TekHed]

"I am unsure of whether using homonyms in your rhyming scheme will have the desired effect but it was a good effort. Slightly repetitive, like a dwarf mining." Shard replied.

"Ah, Daiya! You've returned!"

Shard embraced its knightly friend in a jagged embrace. Then swiftly it pulled Xaxhan to the side conspiratorily. In a low voice it manged to whisper,

"I wanted to reach out before things got out of hand, seeing as we have all been hired to do a job together. I understand you have certain urges to mate with Grimmgang, but I do not believe he feels the same way in return. Better that you should know now lest your feelings fester unrequited. Will you be able to manage? If dwarves are your mates of choice however, there was a rather dandy one who approached us earlier. Perhaps he will be more interested in your overtures. Oh...also, Grimmgang here was just attempting a song in my honor...however it would seem he is in need of your expert bardic tutoring. Simple schemes aside he could really use some assistance with staying in a single key. Would you be willing? It might smooth things over between you two..."

[TheFallenOne]

"I have no idea how you kept your sanity this long", Grimmgang answered Daiya, sounding utterly defeated. He left the choice of privacy to her and Xaxhan as the information they collected should allow them to better judge what was necessary. He reserved his questions until they were alone. "Friends? Just of you or of us? We don't have many shared acquaintances, and I doubt there are any scalies from the jungle here."

[MoleMage]

Pointedly ignoring Shard's conversation and making a mental note to explain some of the finer points of talking about such personal things...well...personally when she got the chance, Daiya passes the innkeeper the requested ten gold.
"The wards will be unnecessary, our purchases are not so sensitive or extravagant that I think anyone will be trying to cheat us with magic."

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Do I need to be making bluff checks, or does he just plain not care what the real reason is?

[Sallera]

The bartender nods, taking the coin, and taps the bar with his knuckles almost silently. A halfling in a waiter's uniform appears to nearly materialize out of the air on the other side of you, and apparently catches some sort of unspoken sign from the bartender, as he nods, then bows in your general direction. "Your room is ready for you; please follow me." He leads you to a series of thick doors at the back of the establishment, one of which he opens to reveal a small room set around a single round table. Thick red carpet covers the floor, and nearly every inch of wall is covered by hanging rugs, with the rest holding soft lanterns and a single hanging cord. A long padded couch curves around the table, taking up the remaining floor space.

"Please enjoy your evening. If you have any food or drink orders, I'll take them before I go; otherwise, just ring the bell if you need anything."

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You're welcome to roll your Bluff checks openly, but I just roll them myself if they're needed otherwise, so no worries. As you've probably noticed, though, they take their job pretty seriously here.

[MoleMage]

Once safely inside the private room, Daiya adjusts her blindfold to shut out any signs of light, and starts feeling for the magic in the room.

"I'll wave a hand if I sense anyone trying to spy on us, to let you know to start talking about something more...mundane. Say we're trying to track down a rare sculpture. Don't stop talking that will only tip them off."

She leans against the wall by the doorframe while her allies get comfortable.

"Alright, so I'll give you the most important details first. We have a lead on tracking down Jheamast's tomb, but we have reason to believe the Emerald Claw does too. We hope to get word from some of Xaxhan's friends if the Claw starts looking for us, but I'd estimate that with a city this size they probably have enough people nearby to bring a force to bear in a matter of days if not hours. So be on your toes now more than ever."

She pauses.

"The good news is they don't seem to know about us being here. I had a conversation with one of them and he never identified me, even with my unique skills in discussion."

[TheFallenOne]

If he didn't have a throbbing headache already Grimmgang probably would have scolded Daiya for chancing to reveal herself to the enemy like that, but as it was he skipped over it. "So we have no headstart at all?" he said, rubbing his temples with a grimace. "Seems they had two independent groups on the task, one after the Eye, one watching us. At least the Claw has most of their people on a need to know basis, so it makes sense Daiya wasn't identified.
How'd you find them anyway? They have few official friends and we're far from their base of power, so I doubt they operate openly. Might revealing their presence to the right people throw a wrench in their operations here perhaps?"

[Postmodernist]

Xaxhan goggles momentarily at Shard as the crystalline creature whispers with a conspiratorial air, but he quickly regains his composure and a sly smile form across his face. "Ah, Shard! I am ever so grateful that you've brought this to my attention, he whispers to the Shard, and arm slipping around the contours of the creature's jagged shoulders "You have surely met dwarves before, no? They often hide their true intentions behind gruff demeanours. Do you remember that before we left Grimmgang complimented me? He was expressing interest, but he also fears rejection. Thus, he has chosen to mask his intentions by seeming more curt with us. You saw him grab Daiya just now, didn't you? He's covering for his true motives. Meanwhile, he's sung terribly in order to convince you to ask me for musical training, thereby granting him an opportunity to spend time with me alone. I suppose it's all very confusing to you. The mating rituals of warm-blooded creatures are all very complex. You should break the news to him carefully, as I wouldn't want a confrontation to break out and affect our work."

With that, Xaxhan breaks away from his companion, grabs an ale from the barkeep, and asks where the nearest House Sivis messenger station is. Once inside the private room, he concurs with Daiya. "Here are the summary details: My contact here claims that some time ago an adventurer went looking for Jheamast's Tomb, and left a journal. That journal fell into the hands of a wizard who has a home on a nearby coast. It was around the discovery of this information that Daiya discovered our spy. Presumably, we still have some head start on the Claw, and can find the journal's owner before they do. Persuading him to part with it might be another problem altogether." The bard pauses to take a swig of his ale before wiping the foam from his lips and listening to his companions' comments.

"I say we make haste, and I can hopefully convince a contact to send us a message either through House Sivis or directly with a spell. I don't know whether or not the Claw has any enemies we can set on them in the Principalities, and more importantly we don't know where the Claw is to direct any antagonists their way. I'm prepared to ship out as soon as possible, if the rest of you think it prudent."

[TekHed]

Shard nodded solemnly at Xaxhan.

Once they had arrived in their private chamber, it listened intently at all the others had to say, all the while keeping a wary glance between the dwaf and the Seren, attempting to understand the subtext.

Once the others had relayed their intelligence, it looked even more concerned.

"It sounds like this spy who had been following you alerted them to our aim immediately. They may already have a head start...we should have left hours ago."

[TheFallenOne]

"Even if we have a headstart, it's too slim." Grimmgang paused for a moment, twisting his mouth left and right in a rather unappealing way. "Think of it like this - we arrive first wherever the Eye is, have to face whatever dangers protect it, and by the time we're finished the Claw has caught up with us, and we have to contend with a rested and prepared enemy. Doesn't sound that good to me." He leaned back on his chair, arms folded while he tapped the leg of the table with his foot. "The journal is their lead as well; you good at forging script and the like? Could you maybe leave a false lead in the journal if we get our hands on it first?"

[TekHed]

"Unless...we were to ambush them after they cleared the defenses for us." Shard mused. "Although with their predilection for teleportation they will likely just flee the moment they acquire what they need."

[TheFallenOne]

"Exactly. We can't take that risk, if they have teleportation ability again we've lost the moment their leader gets his hands on the Eye. Those guys think nothing of leaving their underlings behind to die."

[MoleMage]

"Grimmgang's idea has some merit. If we can redirect the Claw it could be weeks before they realize. I have no hand at forging...I can't even read. Maybe I should learn how to read. Xaxhan?"

[Postmodernist]

Xaxhan's brow splits with furrows as contemplates the possibility. "I could try my hand at it, and Regalport has a thousand forgers who would be eager to attempt the task, but to conjure up a plausible and complete journal in a few hours would be impossible. Even an authentic-seeming false lead might not be sufficient. Besides, I'm not sure where we'd begin. Do we even know what this thing looks like or what it contains? Perhaps a Claw underling might not be able to tell the difference, but any scholar who looked at it would realize I hadn't the slightest clue what I was talking about." The Seren strokes his chin, disappointed he cannot be of greater help to their cause.

"As much as it pains me, I agree with Grimmgang. We can't risk the Claw getting their hands on the journal first. While they're likely to negotiate with the wizard in their customarily violent fashion, I understand that this particular spellcaster is Karnaathi, and he might simply hand it over to them if he sympathizes with the Claw's aims. We need to get in and acquire the journal before they do, it's as simple as that." Suddenly, Xaxhan's silvery eyebrows shoot upward, a small epiphany coming to him. "Iriel! She said she tried to purchase the journal at auction. She might not know what it contains, but she might have seen it. If we get a description, we might be able to convince an illusionist to give us a fake. I could try to forge what I could inside a blank book, and we could insert lots of arbitrary maps and notes that could send the Claw on a wild goose chase, assuming it falls into their hands. That's the best I can suggest, and even that would require illusion magic that exceeds my own abilities. I'm open to other suggestions, but I think Shard is right: we should have left hours ago."

[TheFallenOne]

Grimmgang squints at Daiya in puzzlement. How come you never learned how to.. Oh, right. Nevermind then."

He listened to Xaxhan's explanations, and as the Seren kept speaking he became visibly impatient. "Why try to make it as complicated as possible? We don't need a complete false book, once we have the journal in our hands we make some little alterations. Rip out a page and put in a forged one with false leads, repairing the edges with magic if you can. If not, ink should be removable with one or the other mundane method, and a couple strategically chosen exchanged words will do wonders. Blazes of hell, even failing that it's easy to make a 4 out of a 1 or 8 of a 3, and I bet there'll be some distances in miles or what have you describing the location."

[Postmodernist]

"Fair enough. I'm amenable to whatever method we prefer. My only concern is the Claw's tenacity. Even if we throw them off the trail, they'll recover as quickly as they did last time. All they need to do is scry on someone as distinctive as Shard and they've found us again. Hell, we might end up leading them straight to Jheamast's Tomb. That said, this plan is better than nothing, and the more resources they expend following us, the better."

[TekHed]

Shard seemed distraught at Xaxhan's proclamation.

"I am endangering the mission..."