The Wrong Guys IC II

[Jallorn]

Antal pulls himself to his full height... his full three feet three inches, in response to Llaar's aggression. If you're angry at someone, be angry at me. Paral was a helpless captive this whole time. Why don't we toss you in the same position and see if you remember everything in detail. After a few moments of glaring, Antal's eyes widen with realization, Paladin, Paral knows more about magic than anyone I know, maybe he could help that bard girl.

[Savannah]

"I'm not sure it's so much a question of being able to remember the events, as being strong enough to face them and describe them to the people trying to help."

[Ajadea]

"I don't even know who you are!" Paral exclaims at Llaars. "And I don't know what you think I should be telling you! I don't know who that witch was, or why she took such a special interest in me. I don't know where that incorporeal bastard came from or why he possessed me. I want to forget the last three days. Maybe I'm not strong enough for your tastes. But I'm who I am, and that's not changing."

It seems to take a while for Antal's comment about a bard to be processed. "A bard? I've never met one, but I know a bit about it. I can tell you about that."

[Strawberries]

Audric sighs, sitting down at the foot of the bed. “That will probably be useful, but let’s focus on one thing at a time” he says, then motions to each of them in turn “My name is Audric, and they are Llaars, Rana…and Shadow. If you really don’t know why that witch wanted to kidnap you, I can tell you. You are a sorcerer, and her power is not her own: we think she steals it from other arcanists.”.

He is silent for a moment, looking Paral in the eye to gauge the effect of his words, then continues “Paral, she is a danger to everyone. I know you probably just want to rest now, and the last thing you want to do is share information with me, but we do need your help if we want a chance to stop her. I need to know what happened, from the beginning, and everything you think may be useful. When we found you, under the sewers, you tried to warn me, tell me something. Do you remember anything about that?”

((Sense motive - (1d20+9)[20]))

[Ajadea]

Paral blanches. "How the hell does she do that?" he asks. He pauses a moment, then grimaces. "Don't answer that. I don't think I want to know. I'll-I'll tell you. Don't kill me for it." The last two sentences seem almost forced out. He closes his eyes. When he speaks, his voice is different. Not echoing, not drastically changed, but all the same, different. His tone is almost like he is reading from a book.

"Iil'ssaran was a name chosen to spread fear. She was born by another name, southeast of here. Iil'ssaran is a spirit, bound and waiting, released at long last by a foolish adventurer. I think it's that idiot's form she wears now. There were seven of those sorcerers, that began the end of Kallean. All refused to die. Lacking anyone with the ability to do more than inconvenience the ghosts of the sorcerers, the adepts and paladins bound them to the location of their deaths."

Paral opens his eyes and rolls them. "Not that those adepts did all that well, considering that we've ran into two of them. Iil'ssaran is one. That bastard who possesed me is the second-I think Iil'ssaran picked him up on the way here. And I think she knows the location of a third one of those spirits. She had a sack with her that wouldn't stop wriggling-maybe another sorcerer. Something humanoid leapt out of the sack when I broke free of the charm, but I couldn't see more than that."

[Savannah]

Rana shivers at the explanation, "Is the spirit truly dead? If it's that old, was forcing it out enough?" she murmurs, almost to herself. Then she frowns and looks up at Paral suddenly, as if realizing something, "That humanoid thing from the sack, how big was it?"

[Ajadea]

"Taller than you, good deal shorter than me. Couldn't get a better look than that, it moved fast. As for the spirit you tossed out of me, I think it's pretty dead. I'm guessing there's a pretty big difference between a really angry freshly-dead spirit and a four-hundred-something year old spirit that can't even remember his friend's names."

[Savannah]

"So too big to be the wearer of that other boot...unless it had tiny feet."

[Strawberries]

Audric doesn't reply immediatly, except for shaking his head when Paral mentions killing, dismissing even the mere possibility - he is staring into the void, trying to put at least some of the pieces togheter "Five hundred years, almost, he said" he mutters to himself. "He...may not have remembered his friends' names, but he had some awareness of what he was, where he was and how much time had passed. But he was so much weaker than Iil'ssaran... I think - maybe the magic she steals isn't only a mean to gain magical power, but also a... a sustenance? By Aldaran" he whispers, suddenly aware of how horrifying is what he said. She needs to be stopped, quickly.

He draws a breath "There is another thing you might be able to help us with" Several, actually, but one thing at a time "We keep running into jars filled with weird tadpole-like things. We learned that she..." he hesitates, not wanting to upset Paral further, but then keeps speaking "probably extracts them from the brain of the spellcasters she captures and kills. I won't even try to describe what their aura feels like, but they are choked to the brim with magic. Do you have any idea of what she may be collecting them for?"

[Ajadea]

Paral grimaces. "I dunno. She had a few jars of those things with her though. Does that mean that the thing that possessed me was eating my magic? They can't be that different from each other." He looks down at the sheets. "I was gonna ask for some toast, but I don't think I'm that hungry any more."

[Strawberries]

"Look at me, and stand still a moment."

Ajadea

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Detect magic, again. And if it helps, he'll take all the time that he needs, comparing the results with his previous scans of Paral's aura: from what he can guess, does the damage in Paral's aura seems like something that is going to slowing mend itself, or something irreparable?

[Ajadea]

Paral flinches, but slowly raises his eyes to meet Audric's.

Audric

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Paral's aura, upon closer examination, is not only burnt, but tinted, ever so slightly, with faint red streaks on the rippling orange, the smell of rose petals interweaving with the burnt flesh stench of his wounded aura, and the touch of fine-crushed broken glass embedded in the silk. None of it looks like it's going to move.

[Strawberries]

"Paral, as long as you harm noone, you have nothing to fear from me" Audric says calmly when he sees the sorcerer wince. He focuses on the details of Paral's aura for a couple of minutes, grimacing slightly at what he sees. "Roses and shards and red" he mutters, then he realizes he probably isn't making any sense to anyone but himself.

"There is some damage to your aura, and part of it is also probably my fault." he states, plainly. "But what worries me... some leftover part of the spirit's magic is still interwined with yours, and it's not likely to go away. I...I don't know what it means, or how it could affect you or your magic. Does it feel any different?" He conndcts this piece of knowledge with the strange tone the boy has used before, and he looks at Paral in realization "Is this how you knew about Iil'ssaran and Kallean? You can access it somehow?" His voice and manners are far from accusing or reproaching. If anything, he seems sad.

[Ajadea]

Paral shrugs awkwardly. "I think what it is, is that I remember that thing remembering what it was, if that makes any sense. It was trying to remember what it was, but it couldn't keep me from remembering with it, if that's the right way to put it."

[Strawberries]

Audric smiles "It makes at least some kind of sense, which, considering everything else that's been going on, is saying a lot, believe me" he answers. He looks intently at Paral for a moment, as if sizing him up, before speaking again "You should probably eat something, even if you aren’t hungry. And then, you need to decide what you are going to do next. I suppose you will want to go back into hiding" Not that he can blame the boy. "As for us, we need to find Iil’ssaran and stop her, and in that, we may use every little piece of information that comes to your mind. But as Antal said before, there is also a…pending matter with a bard girl you may be able to help us with. "

[Jallorn]

We... could use your help. Or, perhaps... we should talk later. Antal's last comment is preceded by an odd glance at his allies, lingering longest on the paladin.

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Yes, Antal is considering running. No, he won't. Yes, I have a good reason not to.

[Ajadea]

"You'll have to find that witch on your own. I think I know where she's going but I'm not too keen on getting possessed or eaten. Information's easier. I've got about twenty years of semi-coherent memories that aren't mine, for a start. And I can probably help with the bard lady. No offense, but she'll probably take better to me than she would to you," Paral says, gesturing vaguely at Audric's holy symbol. He shifts his gaze to Antal. "Later sounds good."

[Strawberries]

"The witch's destination...that would be priceless. Thank you." Audric doesn't consider himself a very subtle person, but he can get blatant hints like Antal and Paral wanting to discuss things in private, or at least away from him. "I need to eat too, and it won't do for you to keel over as soon as you get our of that bed. I'll bring you something back, and then we can discuss the rest" Ten more minutes are unlikely to make such a big difference. "Llaars, can I just go down and order? I should pay you for food and lodgings, you know." he adds, only half joking.

He throws a glance at Rana and Llaars, unsure if they want to follow him, and he exits the room directed to the main part of the tavern. As he walks, he puts an hand in his pockets, and his fingers brush against the pouch he took away from Paral. He hesitates, but then keeps walking. He is aware he is stripping Paral of one of his few means of defence, but he doesn't feel ready to hand back a sorcerer an easy access to his magic. Expecially when that magic has been tampered with.

[Savannah]

Rana casually leans against the doorframe -- she's clearly not leaving without being asked.

[Ajadea]

Not Audric

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Paral seems to relax slightly when Audric leaves the room, though he is clearly more than a little tense. His eyes dart to Shadow for a moment, and then to the door. "Seems to be later than it was. What did you want to talk about?" he asks Antal.

[Jallorn]

I think... Antal clearly wasn't expecting Audric's response, and his glances at the remaining two make it clear he's still not totally comfortable. Under that, however, there seems to be an internal struggle between Antal's better half, and his more pragmatic half. A decision of sorts seems to be reached however as he says, After we sort out a few things, I want you to get my sister... and the rest of my family, and get them out of town. There's some serious stuff going down, and I don't want anyone I care about anywhere near here when it blows.

[Ajadea]

Everyone except Audric

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Paral frowns. "Iil'ssaran's gone, I'm sure of it. Don't tell me there's more chaos and crap like this about to happen in here? Two homicidal dead sorcerers aren't enough turmoil for the rest of the century?"

[Savannah]

Not Audric

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Rana suddenly looks up from where she'd been scratching Shadow's ears. "She's gone? How can you be sure?"

[Ajadea]

Not Audric

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"I mean out of this city. She's heading eastish-southish of here," he says, pointing a finger in that extremely vague direction. "Up on some mountain or other. Big old plateau, covered with about a million wards. Take her a couple weeks to get there at least. She's better at killing things in inventive ways and raising their corpses than cross-country teleportation. Anyways, point is, she's ditched this city, and she's probably not going to come back for a while. I don't think she knows all the locations of those dead insane people, and she probably wants her pals back before she lays waste to the continent."

[Jallorn]

Not Audric

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We should tell that to the Paladin... maybe an army of those bastards will be able to catch that witch.

[Ajadea]

Not Audric

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"Get the paladins out of the city for a bit, get that witch's head on a spike. Sounds like fun. I can't remember the last time I felt like walking on the main road wasn't crazy and possibly life-threatening." Paral's lopsided grin looks completely fake.

[Strawberries]

Audric gives the others approximately ten minutes - the time for him to eat a bit of meat and some mashed potatoes - then orders some toast and ham for Paral and gets back to the room where the sorcerer is, taking care to make noise when he is outside the door so he doesn't startle anyone. "You mentioned toast, I think" he says, handing Paral the plate. He quickly assesses Paral and the others' expressions, trying to figure what went down.

[Savannah]

When Audric gets back, Rana is frowning and seems to be considering something. She gives Audric a speculative look, starts to open her mouth to say something, then shuts it and looks back at Paral questioningly.

[Ajadea]

Paral accepts the plate looking for all the world like he expects it to explode in his face. When it does not, in fact, explode, he sets it down on his lap and nibbles at the toast half-heartedly. "Thanks," he says after a moment. "So, the witch is heading sort of south and sort of east. Towards the mountains. Couldn't tell you which one, they all pretty much look alike. There's a big plateau, covered in about a million wards. There's a sneaky little cave behind it, and one of their friends died there. A real paranoid sort. Death probably hasn't improved him."

[Strawberries]

Audric looks from Rana to Paral, then nods. "Considering the traps we found in Iil'ssaran's house, no, I doubt it has."

He pauses for a moment before speaking again "You do not know his name, I think you said. Do you know something more specific on him? How did he die, perhaps? I guess one option would be to see if there is mention of him in some of the old records." That is going to take time, though. "But that means she will have even more advantage on us. Damn it." He adds, quietly, his frustration showing quite clearly in the way he shuts his eyes and rubs the bridge of his nose.