Madness, Blood and Thunder in Ravens Bluff IC

[TheFallenOne]

The Halls of Mystery

Dark thunderclouds hang over the city when Aya and Mirielle approach the temple of Mystra an hour after sundown; it will likely rain tonight. They are directed to the library as meetingplace, a large cellar with row upon row of darkwood bookshelves on soft carpet floor and illuminated by magical light with an orange touch. The smell of the place, naturally, is very familiar to Mirielle.
The highpriestess awaits them, along with three others, all of them carrying insignia familiar to Aya. "Glad to see you Aya, and your friend Miss Greyhome. Wylam here I already mentioned." The darkhaired human is perhaps in his late thirties and something about him just screams librarian, be it the glasses, measured expression or just the way he fits into the library so naturally he might be a piece of its furniture. The short stubble seems more the result of neglect than conscious decision, but it fits rather well with his looks. "Landar, a paladin of the Mystic Fire." Something about the man just screams 'knight', even without armor. From his posture, it is a decent guess he's of noble heritage. "And finally Rikrik, another member of your order." She points at easily the most unusual member of the group, given it is a small lizardfolk, the scales of a yellowish green.
Wylam slightly adjusts his glasses and steps forward. "Your alarming findings have been relayed to me, but so far on short notice I haven't been able to make much of it. I'm sure I encountered a description of the form before, but the place eludes me. A kind of dark ritual was mentioned, perhaps you can elaborate on that or anything else that might be helpful. Speculate, if you want. Sometimes it leads to a dead end, sometimes to the truth."

[Jeff the Green]

"Very well," Mirielle says, mirroring Wylam's gesture. "The ritual is designed to give a humanoid form to something of a different shape or without any form, though from what I understand it's possible to use the resulting construct as an exoskeleton regardless of species.

"It's also patently evil. The ritual requires some number of human sacrifices—that's the phrase I remembered, though I'm not sure if it has to be human or if elves or dwarves would work, or even any sentient being. The manner of sacrifice isn't strictly prescribed, but depends on the god involved.

"Now, that's all more or less fact rather than supposition. I suspect, but don't have much evidence, that this has been seen in the Dragonreach before. At some point an entire Vastari fleet was destroyed on their way to Cormanthyr by something called a 'Demon Storm.' I don't remember, and haven't learned, any information about how this storm manifested, or whether it had humanoid form, but the name is evocative. The storm we sailed through certainly felt strong enough to sink a fleet.

"I can continue speculating, but I'm afraid it's mostly uneducated on my part." Mirielle waits a moment for assent before continuing. "Perhaps the elves of Cormanthyr turned to one of the less benevolent gods for protection from the Vastari orcs, and the instructions have been rediscovered. If that is the case, it might be wise to investigate the Dalelands. Some long-lived or undead creature might have learned of the ritual when it was originally performed and decided it was in their best interest to use it now. Alternatively, some deity might have taken a more direct hand than merely acceding to a faithful's request. May the gods have mercy on us if so."

[Sallera]

The Halls of Mystery

Nodding to the other Shooting Stars, and rather more deeply to the Lady of Mystery, Aya stands aside and lets Mirielle finish her explanations. "Along with what you've already heard about its form, that more or less covers what I know. One of the most important unknowns is whom the force was aimed at. I doubt it was us; there was nothing special about the ship we were on, as far as we could tell, and we were just far enough ahead of the main body to ride it out without capsizing. But we've heard nothing of it since, and Mirielle's research indicated that the ritual's results were permanent. I'm guessing there's some further limitation on its power, either a source of energy or a set of conditions required to raise the storm, which would imply that its primary target - whatever it was - was out on the Reach that day."

[TheFallenOne]

The Halls of Mystery

"If that is so we are looking for something old, ancient, and enhanced with the vilest of magics. That may be the best place to start looking." He opens a bag and speaks "Daranax' Compendium of the Dark Arts, original Draconic", whereupon a threefingered metal hand reaches through the opening to deliver a book between obsidian stone covers with an aura so vile the mere presence of it makes the skin crawl. "There. It roughly translates as the Forging of the Stolen Soul, a ritual lost thousands of years ago. Living sacrifices, surrendered by their next of kin, have the essence of their souls stolen and corrupted, turned into the shape of a protective skeleton. Known users..."
Even with concerted efforts it takes well over an hour to scour through books on ancient history until finally Mirielle finds the proper reference.
"Amazairyl the Seventh Betrayer. Active during the mythical Crown Wars. Revelled in bringing death and destruction to everyone around her and turned herself into a being of pure fire. Gifted by Kozah with a shell of black bone. Destroyed during the Stone and Claw Campaigns by three Elven brothers. Rumored to have risen to a powerful demon after her death with the power to create devastating storms, mixing wind, lightning and fire..."
He closed the book again with a sigh. "And it doesn't add up. The description fits, but she wouldn't have retained her form after becoming a demon. Some piece of information is in error."

[rypt]

Silverscales

Idly flipping one of the marked coins between his fingers, Cael approaches the man with the unfocused eyes. "Evening, friend. Enjoying this fine night, are we?" His tone is a jovial one, and he draws out the word "enjoying" in overtly suggestive manner.

[TheFallenOne]

Silverscales

Best as Cael can tell, the man stares at something behind his left shoulder instead of directly looking at him. "Joy? No joy. Bad night. Bad clouds. Bad people too, you one of them?" His left leg shuffles iddly over the ground.

[Sallera]

The Halls of Mystery

"Hmm. Simplest question first, then: how sure are we that she was actually destroyed?" After a moment, Aya shakes her head, rising from where she'd been sitting cross-legged with a heavy tome perched on her lap. "I guess she'd not likely have stopped otherwise. But it's possible she was bound rather than destroyed, and the information kept hidden so no one read about it and went looking."

[Jeff the Green]

Mirielle takes her glasses off and rubs her temples. "Even if she is now a demon," she says, "that doesn't necessarily mean she isn't involved. It's really more of a devil thing to do, but it's possible she's manipulated a mortal to finish whatever it is she started."

[TheFallenOne]

The Halls of Mystery

"Hmm. Simplest question first, then: how sure are we that she was actually destroyed?" After a moment, Aya shakes her head, rising from where she'd been sitting cross-legged with a heavy tome perched on her lap. "I guess she'd not likely have stopped otherwise. But it's possible she was bound rather than destroyed, and the information kept hidden so no one read about it and went looking."

The Halls of Mystery

"That does sound like the easiest explanation", Wylam confirms absent-mindedly. "It would mean those rumors are in error, and sadly this history gives no indication to the supposed evidence." Jarling's History of the World in eight volumes covers markedly less years with each book; the last one barely twenty, whereas the Crown Wars end halfway through the first. "We know preciously little about the Crown Wars, and excuse me for saying so, your people are rather seldom forthcoming with their more comprehensive knowledge on it. It is possible she was bound and now broke free millenia later."
"That would likely mean though that several other storms of a similar nature in the Dragon Reach are unlikely to be her doing", the priestess interjected. "Excluding the Demon Storm, they started about threehundred years ago, and while the intervals are irregular, they seem to be getting shorter."

Mirielle takes her glasses off and rubs her temples. "Even if she is now a demon," she says, "that doesn't necessarily mean she isn't involved. It's really more of a devil thing to do, but it's possible she's manipulated a mortal to finish whatever it is she started."

"And the form? The description fits, except the cloak of flowing mud. She may have passed on the secrets of her transformation and the ritual to another, but in that case we have to consider an independent person imitating her for one reason or another."

[rypt]

Silverscales

Cael follows the stranger's gaze, searching for something or someone that might have drawn his attention. "No. No I am not," he answers, turning back. His eyes are softer now, his voice too. "In fact, I have a lived a man's life once and a half again, and I have spent almost all of those years fighting bad people. I have fought them all over of the world, but not here. Not yet." He glances briefly once more over his shoulder. "Will you tell me of the bad people of Raven's Bluff?"

[Sallera]

The Halls of Mystery

"I guess it's a bit of a stretch, but I'd been thinking that perhaps the binding wasn't broken completely. If there were some necessary fuel to engender a temporary release..." Not for the first time, Aya wished she had an easy method of communicating with Vachalan. She knew well why he hadn't set one up, but even if he didn't have any information on this situation, it would probably still be something he'd want to know about.

"Or perhaps she was dead, and is being temporarily called back as a spirit? Necromancy often gives a measure of control, but to use it on something this powerful... well, that also seems unlikely."

[TheFallenOne]

Silverscales

Nothing is behind him, but every time Cael turns around the man seems to get more nervous. "Oh, they are bad, really bad. Not the merchants and lords, most aren't even men anymore, just empty husks, puppets." He looks left and right, then leans closer to whisper, his spittle wetting Cael's ear. "It's the brainsuckers. I always knew they're here, and now others saw them too. In Market, dining in a restaurant behind closed doors on fresh brains with their tentacles! I don't know who to trust anymore, but you smell of the sea, you're new. Can't be one of them. I think they fear the water, so I always stay close. It's the only safe place."

The Halls Of Mystery

"A damaged binding circle, allowing temporary release... Very good." Wylam nods, thinking it over for some moments. "If the appearances are getting more common the binding is likely still weakening... And if the entity was only seen in the Dragon Reach the place of binding must be reasonably close. Good thinking. If we find the place while it can't escape we may avoid the brunt of its power."

[rypt]

Cael recoils from the spittle, but allows the man to speak his peace. "Mind flayers in Market. Right," he sighs when the man has finished. "Well, as much as I value your counsel, friend," his gaze begins to wander down the street, "I really should be going." He moves to pat the man reassuringly on the shoulder, but thinks better of it. "The water," he repeats, nodding his understanding. "I will heed your warning." He steps away then, and waits until he is out of sight to roll his eyes.

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The twitching man -- is there some place within 60 feet of him where Cael would be able to see him without being completely exposed to everyone passing by? Maybe an alley on the other side of the street or something of the sort? Looking for someplace where he could cast detect thoughts without drawing too much attention to himself.

[Sallera]

The Halls of Mystery

Aya nods in satisfaction as Wylam finds an acceptable theory. If the Sage thought it was plausible, at least they had a starting point. "Alright. If that's something to look into, where then to start? Do you think it likely that the direction the storm took would lead away from our target, or would they be unrelated?"

[TheFallenOne]

rypt

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You can. The man is of average intelligence, and from his thoughts quite obviously paranoid. Very short attention span, jumps to another thought in a matter of moments. Should I flee, no they'd know I saw through them, Is that guy one of them he looks at me funny, gotta hit Skullv's getting hungry.

The Halls of Mystery

"Perhaps, if physical distance delays the time for the binding to reestablish. If not, then our friend has learned by now she can't outrun it, so she has no reason to flee the place. Only thing for sure is the location must the reasonably close to the northern Dragon Reach where she appears.
You have uncovered something of great importance to our order. My group will stay here, and I try to find more about Amazairyl's reported demise to test the validity of our theory. Any assistance in the matter is welcome. Adela, would you mind giving Miss Greyhome access to your library? She has proven most competent in her research so far." The priestess seems to lose a bit of her usual composure when adressed by her first name, but nods her consent.

[Jeff the Green]

"I would be happy to study in your library, and relay to you whatever I find. I will also send word to my church and, if you do not object, to a few scholars around the Sea of Fallen Stars who might know more about Amazairyl and the Forging of the Stolen Soul," Mirielle says. "I wrote to them the first time Aya told me about her remembrance, but having a name might jog a few memories

"If I may be so bold as to ask, might I set up a copying spell if I find something interesting but incidental to our purpose so I could peruse it at my leisure? I miss living surrounded by books and have been trying to expand my personal collection since I arrived in the city."

[TheFallenOne]

The Halls of Mystery

"This ritual belongs to the darkest of magics, I wouldn't so much as spoken the name if the methods of it weren't reported to be lost. Do not spread this name lightly, and even then only in private, secure conversation", Wylam answers with severity.
"As for copying, it depends on the book. Some things we can allow to spread in good conscience, others not."

[Sallera]

The Halls of Mystery -> Mirielle's Apartment

"Understood. The research itself may not be something I can help much with, but if you need me for anything else, I'll be here. And of course, I will pass on anything I do happen to uncover." Bowing to the assembled group, Aya withdraws, quite content to be out of focus for the moment. She waits outside the temple for Mirielle to catch up, before accompanying her to her apartment.

"The closer you look at these things, the worse they get. Always seems to turn out that way."

[candycorn]

Mirielle's Apartment

After determining that there didn't seem to be anyone skulking about, Alaister heads to the door and knocks. When the door is opened, he hands Mirielle's note over, and waits for a moment before walking in.

"You've uncovered something useful about Jorran's mystery encounter a couple weeks ago, I take it?"

[Frog Dragon]

Mirielle's Apartment

Come night, Jorran goes to Mirielle's apartment, slightly after Alaister. He nods to Alaister as he sees him knocking on the door, walking in after him.

"You had better luck than I did then." He says "What have you found?"

[candycorn]

Mirielle's Apartment

Alaister replies, "I did a bit of investigating myself, and dug up quite a bit, actually. For one, Black Sorrow is Netherese, and a follower of Loviatar. He claims membership with the Disciples of the White Rod. Also, while he would be classified as an assassin, he is generally used for information gathering. That seems to fit with his methods used with you.

Oh, and one other little gem I found. I spoke to a fellow who knows a fellow, and it seems that Black Sorrow isn't quite as stealthy as he'd like to believe. He's been seen meeting a Thayan Wizard in a magically shielded room. I'm still trying to track down more information on who saw him, so that I can get the meeting location; I'm sure it will just be a matter of time."

Alaister has more than a small grin as he speaks, seemingly quite proud of himself.

OOC:

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Knowledge (Whichever Applicable): Disciples of the White Rod (1d20+12)[31]
Knowledge (Local): The Netherese (1d20+17)[26] (Inspiration Used)
Knowledge (Religion): Loviatar (1d20+12)[16]
Knowledge (Local): Thay (1d20+12)[23]
Knowledge (Arcana): Red Wizards (1d20+17)[18] (Inspiration Used)

[Jeff the Green]

The Halls of Mystery
Mirielle purses her lips. "This may put me in a difficult position," she says. "One does not keep secrets from one's church. That said, I will elide the subject so long as it continues to fall outside Kelemvor's domain and so long as I am not asked about it.

"And of course I will ask before copying any of your books."

Mirielle's Apartment
"I found much the same information last week as Alaister," Mirielle says as she pours wine for her fellows and herself. "I didn't hear about the Red Wizard, but that doesn't surprise me much.

"Today, though, I found a bit more. He's staying in a cellar at the end of Reverand Road that's owned by a fellow flagellant." She spits the last two words with evident disgust. "There are a few more bits I found as well. The captain of those two prison ships, Lasher and The Golden Ball, has been seen with him. I really can't imagine what the mad monk would want from a glorified guard, but I don't suppose the captain is all that savory of a character.

"Black Sorrow has also received messages via the Raven Express, and leaves the city to the north every twelve days. It's a rather odd interval."

Mirielle looks about the room, almost apologetically. "I was hoping to get a bit more about where he goes when he leaves the city, or what he's doing for the Thayans, but that's about it. I suppose now we decide whether to act on what we know or to build on it."

[Sallera]

Mirielle's Apartment

"Well, that depends on what you want out of him. Know where you're going before you plan the journey." Swirling the wine in the glass, Aya considers the ruby liquid. "If it's just a matter of seeing if we can still get our pay back, then wait for him to leave town, tell the watch you've found the thief's dwelling, and see what pops out to hit them in the face when they go inside."

"If you want to confront him directly, on the other hand..." Aya shrugs and takes a mouthful of wine. "You'll probably want to find out where he goes. Pinning down someone who can teleport and turn invisible is a losing proposition in a city. It's like hunting a mage - either you take them down in one shot, or you make sure to get them in a nice open plain with a good vantage point."

[candycorn]

"There are a few options for dealing with it, in close quarters... But I agree, it's better to catch him out in the open. That said, I don't think a direct confrontation will do more than allow us to search his corpse. If he's smart, he'll not carry the bulk of his wealth on his person, and sensitive information will be committed to memory, or hidden. We may be able to get a little information out of him, but I think that the best bet would be to search his residence while he's gone. That will give us the best chance of finding information, and a short window of time to use it while he's gone.

Alaister pauses for a moment, shrugs, and continues. "I don't think we're under a huge rush, though. If Black Sorrow wanted to get rid of the goods he took from Jorran quickly, he's had ample time to do so. If not, then sprinting off with half the facts won't really get us anywhere. We still have leads to track down, and I'd prefer to know a little more before going in. When we do go in, though, I want to keep an eye out for the jobs he's assigned. Learning Thay's intentions in the area is... a very useful thing to know."

[candycorn]

After but a moment's hesitation, Alaister continues, as if he'd just thought of something. "I don't know terribly much about the Disciples of the White Rod, save that they're a monastic order, devoted to Loviatar, and the training process is quite lengthy, and has a focus on enduring physical torture. I don't think that threats of injury will be an effective way to coerce him; if we can't figure a way to get your goods back, I'd prefer to turn his allies against him. If we can get information that he's been hired to get, it wouldn't be terribly difficult to make it seem as if Black Sorrow leaked the information to us, for a rather large payment - the contents of the pouch he took - knowing we would use it to protect the target. Let that slip to the right ears, and I'm sure it would make its way back to the Thayans. Any sort of magical divination would reveal that the pouch went from the possession of the greycloaks, to the possession of Jorran, and then to the possession of Black Sorrow. At the very least, he would have quite a bit of explaining to do... Though based on Thay's reputation, they're not much for offering the opportunity for explanations. It's a thought, at least."

[rypt]

Silverscales

Cael raises a curious eyebrow initially, but then groans at the man's obvious paranoia. I guess this one didn't stay close enough to the water... Not that he had particularly high expectations in searching amongst the district's poor, but these two had still managed to disappoint. With a resigned sigh, he pockets the marked coin and steps back out into the street.

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Cael will continue down the street and stop into the shadiest inn or tavern he can find. You mentioned the inebriated earlier. If they are all generally walking in one direction, he will start by heading the opposite way, looking for where ever it is they all came from.

[Jeff the Green]

Mirielle nods. "I am neither skilled at nor inclined to deviousness, but I agree that something like your plan is the best, Alaister. However, I think that it should mostly be Jorran's decision. After all, Aya and I lost only a few thousand coin we didn't even know we had, while Jorran lost most of his equipment and nearly his life."

[candycorn]

Mirielle's Apartment

Alaister nods, considering Mirielle's words... "In that case, I have another thought. We could pass information on this encounter to whoever speaks for the greycloaks. We let them know that an agent of the Thayans has been trying to ferret out information on them, and that, despite the risk to Jorran's life, he didn't tell them anything. We then propose that they provide us with some information that is true, but not critically important to their plans. The next time Black Sorrow comes to one of us, we pass him the information, after a bit of reluctance. Black Sorrow gets information that will stand up to scrying, and, when Thay acts on it, the greycloaks will be ready and waiting for them. Hell," Alaister says with a smirk, "there's a decent chance we could even get Black Sorrow to hand the goods he took over personally. And such a spectacular failure would also have its consequences within Thay. In fact, we might even be able to let it slip, after the foiled plot, that Black Sorrow was the one that tipped them off, through carelessness. It's even higher profile than the other, and has the advantage that Black Sorrow will personally pass on the information that results in Thay's setback. Plus, it could get Jorran some positive reputation within the greycloak circle, possibly recover his gear, and perhaps even that pouch."

[candycorn]

Mirielle's Apartment

Alaister nods, considering Mirielle's words... "In that case, I have another thought. We could pass information on this encounter to whoever speaks for the greycloaks. We let them know that an agent of the Thayans has been trying to ferret out information on them, and that, despite the risk to Jorran's life, he didn't tell them anything. We then propose that they provide us with some information that is true, but not critically important to their plans. The next time Black Sorrow comes to one of us, we pass him the information, after a bit of reluctance. Black Sorrow gets information that will stand up to scrying, and, when Thay acts on it, the greycloaks will be ready and waiting for them. Hell," Alaister says with a smirk, "there's a decent chance we could even get Black Sorrow to hand the goods he took over personally. And such a spectacular failure would also have its consequences within Thay. In fact, we might even be able to let it slip, after the foiled plot, that Black Sorrow was the one that tipped them off, through carelessness. It's even higher profile than the other, and has the advantage that Black Sorrow will personally pass on the information that results in Thay's setback. Plus, it could get Jorran some positive reputation within the greycloak circle, possibly recover his gear, and perhaps even that pouch."

[Frog Dragon]

Mirielle's Apartment

Jorran smiles at the idea. "Sounds perfect." He says. "I would've just killed him, but to ruin his reputation and hinder his employers. Much more gainful." He takes a more thoughtful expression. "But... if it starts to go bad... I'd rather have him dead. And even if we get it right, will we be done, or will he be a loose end? He could bear a grudge. I approve, but carefully."