Visions of Shadows (WoT Solo IC)

[al'Lan Mandrag]

It is late autumn, and trees all over Arad Doman are shedding their leaves, replacing the verdant country air with a golden warmth.
From your place within the Solemn Spire you have an excellent vantage of both the rolling hills and forests, and the sprawling mass of Bandar Eban, within which your father's home resides. It is a large mansion-estate, large even to the scale of the palace. The difference however is that is possess only one slender spire, where the Palace possesses many.

Your father has told you that finally you must be gone. He has arranged a group of household soldiery to escort you to Cairhien, as he did your siblings. He seemed loath to do so, but in the end, with this spate of kidnappings, he has surrendered and done so. You are meant to leave that afternoon, and servants are busy gathering your belongings.

[Jrb1992]

Will I ever see this again? Oriar wonders solemnly, gazing across the beautiful Domani lands. Suddenly he berates himself for being so pessimistic and stands up. Of course he would come back. He would return with enough help to save Bandar Eban, and all of Arad Doman itself. Save it from what, he didn't know, but he would save it.

He paces up and down, barely even noticing the guards who were looking after him. It used to be that you could walk alone through the city and still feel safe, but not now. He realises that he has become used to the guards by now.

He pauses. Perhaps I could go to Father again, maybe he's changed his mind already! Before he even finishes the thought he knows it's a bad idea. It was not only out of stubborn determination that his father had decided to send him away, but fear. That was the most disturbing; Ramsid Almadar never showed fear, yet he looked at the darkness of the night as though it were going to come alive and attack him at any moment. Oriar understood, of course - he saw it too.

Oriar sighs and sits down again, this time taking out the paper and ink that he had brought with him. He begins to write:

Aludin and Jeil,

My father has finally told me to leave Bandar Eban. He is sending me to Cairhien as he did with my brother and sister. When you read this, I will already have left, and I'm very sorry that I can't see you before I leave. I'm worried that if I go to you and explain everything in person, you'll try to come with me and I won't be able to stop you. I would not want you to leave your home and your families just to provide me with some company!

No, it's much better if you both stay here, in Bandar Eban, but please be careful. I realise that telling you, Aludin, to be careful is like telling a stone to fly, but please try! Jeil, I'm trusting you to look after her. You both know the Viewings that I've seen, so you know the danger Bandar Eban is going to be in. I have no idea what kind of danger this is, but it's nothing the two of you can't handle!

I'm going to return. Hopefully it will be soon, but it will happen. When I do, I will come back with help, more help than you could imagine, and whatever is threatening Arad Doman will realise its mistake.

Until we meet again,
Oriar

Oriar folds the letter and seals it. Standing, he hands it to one of the guards. "Could you make sure that this reaches Aludin and Jeil after we have left?"

Once again he looks out across Arad Doman. He has now said his goodbyes to everyone, and only wishes to leave quickly. As much as he loves Bandar Eban, it still disturbs him sometimes. Aludin and Jeil, his two closest friends, would be fine without him. He wished that they could come with him, but it would be too much to ask of them. I can't do that to them. Who knows how long it'll be before I can see Bandar Eban again?

Turning to the others, he asks: "How much more time do we have? We won't have to travel during the night, will we?" He shivers, remembering the foreboding aura that emanates from the city once the sun has fallen.

[al'Lan Mandrag]

One of the guards nods at your first instruction, and taking the letter exits the tower, leaving just three others. The rest of the twenty-strong bodyguard remains downstairs.

The captain of the guards, a veteran of the various wars between Arad Doman and Tarabon, named Tarral Sarih answers your question: "A few hours at most. The guard is assembled and we will leave at the latest two hours after midday. Hopefully we can make enough distance from the city that we can rest in a village, we have sent riders ahead to arrange rooms and horses along our route." His tone indicates that these rushed preparations are not to his liking, but he is too professional to voice criticism.
You see a familiar pattern dancing around Tarral's head as he speaks, one you've seen all his life, of two thick pieces of rope intertwined.

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It is about 10am, so that gives Oriar 4 hours at most.

If you want I'll just keep popping in random viewings unless you want to look for them. Some will be important, others not, just to keep up the theme.If your head hurts from too many I'll stop (I understand trying to work out constant riddles and symbolism could be annoying...)

[Jrb1992]

Oriar pauses for a moment at the rope around Tarral's head - it had always puzzled him, but with a start he returns his attention to what lay around him.

"Thank you," Oriar says, "I understand that there's a lot to organise for this journey. Well, we have a fair bit of time left, then."

Thinking about what would be best to do at this point, Oriar brightens at a sudden idea. The Terhana Library! If I'm I going to find out what's happening in the city, I may as well start now. I only have a few hours, so I need to find out as much as I can. He had never really been interested in studying, but the scholars at the library were sure to know something about the recent events. He decides that he'll go there first of all, and then, if time allowed, he would ask around other areas of the city. Someone has to know something, he thought.

He pauses. Is this really a good idea? Father forbade me from talking about this to anyone. But he decides to go ahead anyway. He had already told Aludin and Jeil everything, and his father hadn't seemed to be worried about that. Besides, Oriar always understood the art of diplomacy and being tactful and discrete, even if he did have a bit of a temper at times. Out of his siblings, he had been the one who everyone thought was destined to be a diplomat. His sister was the scholar, and his brother showed a considerable talent for warfare rather than politics. And anyway, he would have left Bandar Eban before his father or anyone else discovered he had been asking around. But still, it would be safer not to let the guards know the real reasons behind the visit.

"Before we go, I'd like to visit the library. I've just realised how little I know of Cairhien, so it would probably be a good idea to ask about it there. I'd really rather not, it all sounds very tiresome, but I can't just turn up at another nation without knowing anything first!" He sighed in mock resignation. "Besides, the greatest library in the west deserves one last visit. Who knows when I'll be able to come back? It's always been a very peaceful place, it'll be good to get away from the stress of preparing for the journey, at least."

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Bluff: [roll]1d20+9[/roll] (I've put this roll in the OOC thread because it seems to work there. Maybe it's because I added the dice roll in an edit?)

OOC: Yeah I think the viewings are a really good idea, I like it! :)

[al'Lan Mandrag]

Tarral raises his eyebrow in mock judgement, not being a regular attendee of the library himself, or interested in books to any extent at all.
He lets you go all the same, flanked by himself and three others, though it is only a short walk to the library.

The approach is as usual breath taking, but you have seen this great library a number of times before. The head librarian there, Domnick Sharif, an aged fellow warmly greets you having met you a number of times before, and kindly enquires as to your purpose. The symbols that dance around this man's head were always reducing in number. From as early as you recall they were thinning, and a part of you instinctively knows they were his lifes possibilities, blinking out of existence: he'd dedicated his life to the library and never had he veered off that path.

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This didn't show up as a new message on my subscribed threads. Sorry for the delay.

[Jrb1992]

As they approach the head librarian Oriar looks around him at the splendour of the library itself. Even though he had little interest in studying, the building itself never ceased to amaze him. It made him proud to be Domani.

He smiles at Domnick Sharif warmly. "Mr Sharif! I feel as though I haven't seen you for such a long time! How have you been?" Looking at the dancing symbols around his head Oriar feels a small pang of sadness at the possibilities this man had no more access to. I suppose we all have to make life-changing decisions at some point. Going to Cairhien will probably be one of mine, he mused.

To the guards, he says quietly: I'm really sorry, but would you mind leaving us alone for a moment? None of this is going to be particularly interesting and I wouldn't want to force it upon anyone else as well! He turns back to Domnick. "Would it be okay if we went somewhere a little more private to talk?"

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OOC: No problem about the delay, I've been having problems with this thread too! I was going to send you a PM to warn you that it hadn't been registering my post, but it's all fine now I think :)

Diplomacy roll to persuade Domnick to help him:
(1d20+9)[14]

[al'Lan Mandrag]

The guards nod, comfortable to leave you with Domnick, and they stand on guard at the entrance, certain that no one could have premeditated your arrival at the library.
Domnick, looks wryly at you but nods and leads you to a room to one side which bears the placard: Head Librarian, and leaves you in no doubt as to it's purpose.

"So what is it you'd like to talk about privately, that not even your guards can hear?" He asks, a small amount of amusement evident on his face, but you can tell that he is quietly serious behind all that.

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Yep, I think it's fine now: my second post didn't register so i double posted and deleted the first one which often works. Anyway, I won't be able to post now till Monday (visiting family without internet...) Apologies obviously.

[Jrb1992]

Oriar takes a deep breath. I might as well just come out with it all, he thinks. I'll be gone soon anyway.

He walks over to Domnick. "I wanted to talk to you about the state this city is in, or will be in," he begins. He looks out of the window to the street outside. Bandar Eban is getting more dangerous by the day, and I'm sure that you've noticed. Everyone is beginning to get scared to go outside at night, and people are going missing! Strange noises, stranges shapes... the Guards don't seem to know anything about it, and I just know that there's something wrong - really wrong - with Bandar Eban. It just doesn't feel right anymore. It's almost as if I could see the shadows growing around the city."

He turns back to Domnick. "What I want to know, is whether anything like this has happened before. Or perhaps whether you know of anything that could be causing it, or even better, do you know what it is that's troubling the city? I have to go soon, to Cairhien, but I can't leave having done nothing. Can you help me at all?" He pauses. "I don't have the slightest idea where to look first."

[al'Lan Mandrag]

Domnick is briefly surprised by your candour but quickly gets over that and pays close attention.

"I don't dispute that something has changed here, everyone can tell that something has changed. I will tell you in confidence that Captain Allar confided in me that he has been having great pressure put on him by members of the Houses and the Council of Merchants even. They want this group found, whoever they are."

"Too many of the targets have been high class,

he added, "and they are not used to being stroke so close to home."

"I'm not sure if I can help you. Certainly there have been killings and disappearances before, but these are too numerous to have been the work of one, or even 10 people. Nor would records tell you much I'm afraid. I don't know what this is, but I can tell you that Bandar Eban has never seen so many deaths or suspected deaths during peace time. Not in all it's history."

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Thanks for messaging me, but no need to apologise, we all have things to do in real life.