[3.5] Celestial Spheres: Tales of Kadur IC II

[Piggy Knowles]

Together you travel down the long hall, downstairs, through the library, and down the strange underground corridors until you reach your barracks. Cory is still unconscious, and Lord Mathers runs over to him, frowning at the bruises purpling his face. "Cory? By the Dreamers, is he alright?" He shakes Cory's shoulder, and the large man stirs slightly but does not wake. "What happened here? What did you do to him?"

He stands up and looks around, aghast. "Tell me what's going on, this instant."

[Venger]

Rest assured, he's merely stunned. We stayed our hands against him, as he did for us.

He came upon us and said he was to remove the memory of the prophecy from us before we could discuss it with you in more detail.

He said he meant to do us no harm, and I have no reason to doubt him on that front. Whatever his goals, I don't believe he means you harm. Now that you know of his actions, he may be willing to help us figure out what's going on.

[Amidus Drexel]

Siegfried holds up Cory's wand. "This wand of Cory's allows its wielder to alter the memories of those it is cast upon. There are only a handful of charges left, though; either it was crafted partially charged, or it has seen some significant use."

"As to our brief spat, I believe Desmond took the brunt of Cory's strikes. He fights well, although six against one is hardly a fair judge of his skills. Cory mentioned something about your learning of the prophecy to be something that 'should not have happened'. We failed to acquire an explanation from him, however."

[OMG PONIES]

"Remember how your memories were altered, Sam? I hate to tell you, but..." Desmond trails off, instead nodding toward the wand. He knew that hearing Mathers' trusted valet had twisted his mind with magic was going to be a tough pill to swallow, and Dez had never been much good at helping the medicine go down.

[Piggy Knowles]

Lord Mathers stares with mouth agape, then shakes his head. "No, there must be some misunderstanding," he says. "Cory has been my most trusted - my friend - for years. He served my house when my mother was still managing the estate. There has been a mistake."

He steps over the large man, looking down at him. "Wake him up," he says, voice growing firm. "I would hear this from him directly."

[The Viscount]

No man is incorruptible, Lord Mathers. Even the most noble of paladins have fallen. Ask Andras.

Having said this she leans toward Cory, uncorking a vial of acid and wafting some of the acrid fumes in his direction.

[Morcleon]

Natsu shrugs, giving Mathers a slightly sympathetic look. "...and I hate to say this, but maybe Cory had been a plant from day one. But we should definitely hear what he has to say first."

She still stays a bit further away from him than most of the others though.

[Piggy Knowles]

Cory groans again at the smell, and his eyelids flutter, showing hints of white, but he does not wake.

[Kymme]

Sasha furrows her eyebrows and crouches beside Cory. She places two fingers on the leftmost gem on her belt. Then, as the glow begins to spread up her hand she reaches over and touches Cory's chest.

That ought to do it.

Spoiler: OOC

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Using 1 charge from the Healing Belt to heal him 15. Readying an action to kick him if he attempts to attack anyone.

[Piggy Knowles]

The bruises on Cory's face fade, and his eyes snap open. He looks around with terror, eyes darting from one side of the room to the other. He cringes when he sees Sasha standing over him, foot cocked back for a kick.

Turning back to Lord Mathers, Cory seems to visibly shake. "My... my lord," he whispers. "I tried to... stop them. I heard them... talking. They had that wand... from Bill, my lord. He offered them pardon if they used it on you..." He cringes again, as though expecting a silencing kick to come from Sasha. "I tried to fight them... oh, my lord, I am sorry... I failed to defend you." Tears fill Cory's eyes as he drops his head in shame.

Lord Mathers looks around, confused. "What - what is this?" he asks. He takes a step back, putting some distance between himself and the party.

[Venger]

Cory, don't you remember what's just transpired?

[The Viscount]

He's trying to confuse you with lies. Think. If he was stopping our action, he wouldn't do it in our room in the middle of night. We were the ones who alerted you to the missing patch in your memory.

[Kymme]

Sasha's jaw drops. He's lying to Mathers. His employer - no - his friend! Lying about us to weasel his way out of this betrayal. What a godsdamned... cowardly... little...

LIAR! Sasha's shout reverberates through the close confines of the chamber. Her arms and legs burst into flame and she stomps her foot down a hairsbreadth from Cory's face.

How dare you accuse us! You came in here, invisibly, to wipe our memories. Then, when we found you, you sliced the crap out of Desmond - She points a flaming finger at her still-bruised companion - before finally going down. And now you're trying to suck up to Mathers? Put the words of people he barely knows against someone who's been pretending to be his faithful servant for years? I've met cheaters with twice your honor!

Spoiler: OOC

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Sense motive: 16, to see if Cory legitimately thinks what he's saying is true, or if he's just lying to save his skin.

[OMG PONIES]

"Nah, I'm fine," Desmond lies before spitting a spot of blood into his handkerchief. There was usually only one solution to these kinds of scenarios; he fires up a cigar and takes a puff. Instantly, he begins to feel a bit better as his lungs fill with the healing, acrid aroma of burning tobacco. "No games, Sam," Desmond says to Lord Mathers as casually as if they were sipping brandy in the study. " That Bill fellow asked us to spy on you--an offer we flat declined. But he extended no pardon. That Bill fella has it out for you. Vindictive bastard, that one. Pains me to say, but Cory's lying."

[Amidus Drexel]

Siegfried gives Cory a skeptical look. "Your story makes little sense. Had we knocked you unconscious with the intent to wipe Mathers' memory, why would we have left yours intact, then brought him here to attend to you? If our intent was malicious, we would have altered your memory to align your story with ours - something that we clearly have not done." He crosses his arms and glares at Cory sternly. "I would, however, like to hear your explanation as to why you wanted to alter our minds, and perhaps also why you tampered with your lord's."

[Piggy Knowles]

Cory looks around, confusion growing across his face. "But... but I heard you," he says. "I heard you talking. I came to clean up, as I always do, and heard you talking about..."

He shakes his head, looking dazed. "I don't understand, my lord," he says to Lord Mathers. "I heard them talking... about Commander Tocorra. About what he asked them to do. And they had that thing. They had it, my lord. I remember it quite clearly. I heard them talking, and they had that wand. So I... I am sorry, my lord, but I took it when they were not looking, and came back when they were asleep to search their rooms for more communications from the Commander."

Lord Mathers frowns. "You didn't tell me immediately?" he asks. "Cory, that is not like you."

"I am sorry, my lord," he says. "I wanted to know more before I came to you. I thought that, if I could find something from the Commander, something in writing before they were tipped off enough to hide it..."

Spoiler: Sasha

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As far as you can tell, Cory seems utterly sincere.

Spoiler: Desmond

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You feel a strange hostile force, possibly magical in nature, pass over you, but you seem to shake it off.

[The Viscount]

This is fast becoming a game of he said/they said. Lord Mathers, do you have an interrogation room where lies are apparent or impossible? It seems the fastest way to get to the bottom of this is to go all go there and ask all the questions until we get answers.

[Piggy Knowles]

Lord Mathers shakes his head. "No, no, I have nothing like that here," he says. "I have at times used some of these back rooms down here as temporary interrogation rooms, but... well, I'm an old fashioned man, and typically when I interrogate people, I do it in the old-fashioned way." His eyes widen. "Surely you are not suggesting we do such a thing to Cory?"

[Venger]

The last thing we would suggest is hurting a close friend of yours, Lord Mathers.

Aleister rests a hand on his shoulder.

That said, your adversaries have deep pockets. If Cory is telling the truth, that doesn't mean he isn't trying to cloud your mind. If you've had your memories altered, there's no reason he wouldn't have as well. What better way to avoid suspicion than to act through a pawn who has had his mind bent? Ultimately, the decision is up to you, of course, but if both of us have your ear, it seems as though we are at an impasse.

[Morcleon]

"...what about Josephine?" Natsu murmurs, then glances over to Lord Mathers with a curious look. "How certain are you of Josephine's loyalties?"

"We could ask her to mind probe both Cory and one of us, and tell you which of us is speaking the truth."

[Piggy Knowles]

"...what about Josephine?" Natsu murmurs, then glances over to Lord Mathers with a curious look. "How certain are you of Josephine's loyalties?"

"We could ask her to mind probe both Cory and one of us, and tell you which of us is speaking the truth."

"Josephine?" He thinks for a moment. "I've known her for almost as long as I have known Cory, for whatever that is worth. But did she not say yesterday that she was unable to probe minds? Perhaps if Cory's mind is being tampered with as mine was, she could dispel it."

[Venger]

Shall we ask her?

[Amidus Drexel]

"I saw no aura of enchantment on Cory earlier, though it will hurt little to make doubly sure now."

"That said, no one has had a chance to enchant him unless they did it very silently and very quickly. We have spent this time watching him and his equipment. If there is no enchantment and his words are truthful, then the only other possibility I can think of for this scenario is an extremely powerful illusion - and one that I did not detect - meant to trick both us and Cory - which would mean that we are both beyond severely outclassed and in serious trouble if this hypothetical illusionist or enchanter means us ill."

Siegfried gives Cory an intense stare, focusing on his detect magic sense, then scans the room for any other auras.

[Piggy Knowles]

Spoiler: Siegfried and Desmond

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Make a Will save, please.

[Piggy Knowles]

Shall we ask her?

Lord Mathers shakes his head. "I'm not sure you have noticed, but it is the middle of the night," he says, holding up his silk dressing gown as if in proof. "If Josephine can aid us in unraveling this affair, she certainly could not do it until at least tomorrow. And I for one am hesitant to allow you all to remain free until then. Either Cory is telling the truth and you lot have been compromised by Commander Tocorra, or you are telling the truth and one of my closest advisors - closest friends - has been lying to me and tampering with my mind, or some third party is playing all of us like a fiddle, manipulating our very thoughts in the process. None of these are particularly comforting thoughts, I must confess."

Spoiler: Siegfried

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You detect no magical auras on Cory now that his items have been removed.

[The Viscount]

[color="dark orchid"]I fully understand your concerns, Lord Mathers. I only ask that you confine Cory as well until this matter is sorted.[/color]

[Piggy Knowles]

Cory nods as well. "I will gladly wait under confinement you deem necessary while you straighten matters out, my lord," he says, a note of shame in his voice. "I am sorry to have disturbed you this night - and sorry I did not simply go to you immediately."

[Kymme]

The flames on Sasha's limbs die away and she steps back from Cory. Deal.

Turning to Mathers, the boxer pulls her bedsheet gown tighter around herself. Assari's - no, Shass' words echo through her mind. They are the hand, and we are the glove. She nods silently and goes back to her bed, sitting down.

[OMG PONIES]

Desmond scoffs as the others offer up themselves to be held prisoner. "Him first," he says to Lord Mathers with a gruff nod toward Cory. "Hells if I let us get locked up so he can wipe this whole thing from your memory. Not again." With that, Desmond crosses his arms defiantly and fixes his glare on Cory. He doesn't move, he doesn't speak, and he doesn't blink. Instead, he scans the butler for any signs of fresh magic. The man had already used some bardic magic, so a casting of glibness or similar enchantment wouldn't be entirely outside of his wheelhouse.

[Piggy Knowles]

Cory bows his head. "I will go where you direct me, my lord," he says. "Do you wish me to remain here, or return to the residence?"

Lord Mathers looks at Cory with tired eyes. "Oh, by the Nine Hells," he says. "Desmond is right, Cory. Even if this is all some big misunderstanding, I can't just let you go free until we get things straightened out." He folds his arms across his chest, the large sleeves of his dressing gown drooping. "Can I trust you all to look after each other? I can lock the barracks themselves down if I have to, seal them off until the morning, when hopefully we can make some sense of this mess. That will be more pleasant than a cell, I should think. Will you all behave for the night, or will you spend the night trying to kill each other?"

Spoiler: Desmond

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It's odd - at first scan, it appears that there is no magic radiating from Cory now that his items are removed. And yet, as you concentrate, something seems to shimmer, and all of a sudden you see two distinct auras: a faint illusion aura and a faint transmutation aura, both centered on Cory. You do not recognize either spell.