The Black Shingle Fiasco

[Bartmanhomer]

"If I may add here. We're terribly sorry about the misunderstanding of this situation Parker."

[YossarianLives]

The Captain scans your group, scowling. He downs the remaining brandy. "A demon in disguise... Bloody hell. Care to tell me who these "important people" are?" He shakes his head despairingly. "I should be thanking you all. It's good to know I can trust your team to keep a cool head, and not rush off to commit murder at the drop of a hat.
You did the right thing. Do I look like a demon to you? A cultist?" Parker chuckles dryly, tucking the empty shot glass into a drawer of his desk. "Maybe they confused me for someone else."

[Bartmanhomer]

The Captain scans your group, scowling. He downs the remaining brandy. "A demon in disguise... Bloody hell. Care to tell me who these "important people" are?" He shakes his head despairingly. "I should be thanking you all. It's good to know I can trust your team to keep a cool head, and not rush off to commit murder at the drop of a hat.
You did the right thing. Do I look like a demon to you? A cultist?" Parker chuckles dryly, tucking the empty shot glass into a drawer of his desk. "Maybe they confused me for someone else."

[COLOR]"I'm glad that you're not upset with us Parker. and of course you don't look like a cultist."[/COLOR]

[Marlowe]

Cottonbud seems to still be unclear what the story is. Like life's a Choose Your Own Adventure. Lucky for some. But what Avita says is. "As you've probably already guessed from Thaddeus's letter, it's the temple of Pelor. And I don't think THEY believe the Demon story either. They just want you dead for some reason."

"Now, Good Captain, there's other allegations that you're conspiring with, or giving aid to the Demons in the city. Those are going to be a lot harder to disprove insofar as it's hard to find evidence of treasons not being committed, but a lot of these stories hinge around a dinner party that took place at your residence two weeks ago. Learned Thaddeus was in attendance. Your manservant Pratchett seems to have abruptly left your service on that night or about the same time. Can you tell us anything about that night?"

[YossarianLives]

"Well, it's good to know someone is on my side, elf." Parker grumbles something incomprehensible. "I suppose names were too much to ask." He leans back, stroking his stubble. "I remember the evening you speak of; the dinner itself was unremarkable - it was purely social, me and Thaddeus have both been unavailable and we wanted to catch up - but afterwards Pratchett had some sort of breakdown. He became convinced me and Thaddeus were colluding with the demons, or something to that affect. Started shouting. He resigned the next morning. I promise you, there is no truth to what he says. I do hope he has recovered."

[Marlowe]

Avita keeps watching Parker intently. "Pratchett is holding to a story of shouting, injuries, a language unknown, and a strange, slender, golden-eyed creature that he judges to be Demonic. A story sadly lacking in closure. What interests me is that his story doesn't back up the precise interpretation his...hosts have placed upon it. Which indicates to me that he believes it. And that his hosts are not terribly interested in the facts of the case. Most irritating"

She narrows her eyes a little. "In fact, Captain Parker, I'm still yet to rule out that this whole business isn't some elaborate prank. Or test of character. Cooked up by yourself and the Temple. With the intent of testing our...gullibility? Utility? Stupidity? If that IS the case I'd appreciate you coming clean...but we're not that lucky? Are we?"

She clasps her hands in front of her. Her skin looks very white these days. It's annoying her. She takes a single step forward. "Again, Good Captain. Can you think of a reason why the Temple of Pelor might want you dead?"

[YossarianLives]

Captain Parker shakes his head dismissively. "It's all nonsense, as I said. And it certainly isn't a prank. I suspect it's a plot by the Temple to seize power of the military. If those bastards had their way, they'd be dictators of the whole bloody world. They'll do anything to force their beliefs down our throats. And if they save the city from a traitorous officer, they will have the perfect excuse to demand more influence."

[Marlowe]

Avita presses her hands together, grimacing. "Plausible...and disturbing. Captain Parker, I'll note that the only "reward" they promised us for murdering you is the vague promise that they'd try to see we weren't executed for it." She flashes a brief smile.

"I believe if we'd gone through with it, they'd have denounced us as deluded cultists, lamented your end as that of a fallen hero of the city, and smiled as we were led to the gallows while sagely preaching on how this could have been avoided if only they, the blessed temple of the sun, were allowed more power and influence over city affairs. Much simpler. They wouldn't have to prove a thing against you. Our crime would be self-evident, our hysterical story that they'd asked us to do it dismissed as obvious ravings, and the major witness against you, already in their custody, would just...disappear. That's how I'd manage this business. In short, there might NOT be any thread we can find to untangle this knot, because it's all nicely sewn up and tucked in from the start, and we're ALL marked for death."

She stops, and makes a quick bow. "Captain Parker, if I might be so bold, you might like to appoint some trusted people to keep watch on Learned Thaddeus. We've spoken to him. He's implicated now. If all is how I'm imagining it, the Temple will need him silenced. And also, with your permission, I'd like to report all this to my OWN temple. I'm suffered to walk the earth under the understanding that I serve the Stern Lady. I think her temple would appreciate a heads-up that another might be planning a coup, and I find I'm enough of a Jesadian to not appreciate being played by some Pelorite tippler."

[YossarianLives]

Captain Parker frowns, but nods at Avita's words. "You seem to have thought it out, Miss Santiago. Good. As for the threats to our lives, and that of Lord Thaddeus..." His face goes hard, expressionless. "I will make sure precautions are taken. I am very grateful you brought this to my attention. You have my permission to seek aid from the Jesadians, though I suspect you'd have done so regardless."

Parker leans forward in his chair, back hunched, fingers steepled. "But we have other business to discuss. As you may have guessed, the Senrish Guard is planning something big. The demons seem to have no limit to their numbers, but we are suffering badly from attrition. Another few months, and we won't have enough soldiers to man the walls. We need to take decisive action, and soon. At dawn of the day after tomorrow, we launch an all-out assault on Black Shingle. A lance driven straight into the heart of the enemy territory. If all goes well, we'll be able to establish a foothold, fortify, and go about stemming the flow of fiends."

"We will need the assistance of every woman and man skilled in combat. That includes your party, of course. However, since you lack the... discipline to join the rank and file, we'll be deploying you to battlefronts requiring more specialized talents. You even have a choice: a solitary reconnaissance mission, ahead of the army, or you can join forces with one of our elite squadrons to gain control of a certain watchtower. You may remember it?"

[wkwkwkwk1]

"The watchtower sounds delightful. Straight-up combat, less chances of ambush, less unpredictability... all-around better."

[Marlowe]

"Ha. Action." Avita flicks a hair out of place. "I've been wanting another look at that watchtower. Seems good to me."

[Kushina43]

Sarim grins and cracks his knuckles. "Finally, people're talkin' my language here. Tower's my vote."

[YossarianLives]

"Excellent, the tower it is." Parker pulls out a slip of paper from his desk, scribbles a short message on it, then looks up. "You are dismissed. Report back to the Apple Bush tomorrow evening for your assignment." He waves his hand in dismissal, then returns to his writing.

[Marlowe]

Once hopefully out of earshot of everyone, Avita talks quickly and quietly. "The Captain is correct. I would have brought all this to the attention of my temple and goddess anyway. I just wanted to see his reaction to the idea of Jesadians getting involved. We're the Magic, Death and LAW people, after all."

She turns to Sarim and Andras. "We all need to be very careful. If we're right about the situation, then the Sunny-Boys could be out to silence us. If we're wrong; then literally anyone could be trying to set us up the same. I'll be going straight to my temple and telling them everything, and that includes the business in the library a few days ago.

"You ladies and gentlemen, track down Olidar and find out what in the hells he knows and what he's thinking. I'm still confused about that crack he made about "not being sure we'd turn up". People are obviously saying things about us and I have no idea what."

She looks around, prepared to head off. "Is that all hunky-dory?"

[Kushina43]

"Just peachy, Miss Avita. We'll speak wit' Olidar 'n' see what he's got ta say. Comin' with, Spade? Andras?"

[Bartmanhomer]

"Sure. But I'm going to remain quiet. It seems like I always get into a lot of trouble socializing."

[YossarianLives]

Your party splits up; Avita heading to the local temple of Wee Jas, while the others look for Olidar in the barracks.

They soon find him, sitting on a bench behind the Apple Bush, observing two soldiers sparring with wooden swords. The street seems to have been blockaded with wagons to form a makeshift training ground. A small crowd has gathered to watch and participate in the training, but Olidar sits removed from them, uniform crisp and complete. He is pointed toward the fight but deep in thought, his eyes glazed, unseeing. The racket caused by the duel conceals the sound of your approach, and Olidar does not notice you.

[Bartmanhomer]

"How can we get Olidar attention? Sarim, Andras any ideas?"

[Kushina43]

Sarim just approaches Olidar without hesitation, walking next to him before addressing him. "Oi, Corp'ral Olidar, it's us. When ya got th' time, we'd like ta speak with ya a little."

[YossarianLives]

Olidar looks up, startled, a blush creeping its way onto his face. "Oh, hello! Sorry, I...
Well... It's good to see you, Sarim. Eric, Andras." He stops for a moment, as if noting the absence of Avita. "This is as good a time to talk as any. How was your meeting with the High Priest?"

[Bartmanhomer]

Olidar looks up, startled, a blush creeping its way onto his face. "Oh, hello! Sorry, I...
Well... It's good to see you, Sarim. Eric, Andras." He stops for a moment, as if noting the absence of Avita. "This is as good a time to talk as any. How was your meeting with the High Priest?"

"It's was good. The priest was very friendly. "

[YossarianLives]

Olidar nods. "Yes, of course. But..." His voice drops to a whisper. "Were you able to come to an agreement. Will you do"it""

[Kushina43]

Olidar nods. "Yes, of course. But..." His voice drops to a whisper. "Were you able to come to an agreement. Will you do"it""

"We actually wanted to know somethin' about that..." Sarim crosses his arms as he speaks, only barely keeping his voice low. "You sound like ya know what th' meeting with th' priest was for. Well, do ya?"

[YossarianLives]

Visibly disquieted, Olidar starts to say something, then stops. After a moment, he composes himself and manages to form a sentence. "Yes, I did. Back when the... accusation was first brought forward, I did some snooping for the High Priest. I didn't want to betray Parker, or the Guard, but it seems I did the right thing."

[Bartmanhomer]

Visibly disquieted, Olidar starts to say something, then stops. After a moment, he composes himself and manages to form a sentence. "Yes, I did. Back when the... accusation was first brought forward, I did some snooping for the High Priest. I didn't want to betray Parker, or the Guard, but it seems I did the right thing."

"What accusation are you talking about?"

[YossarianLives]

Olidar's voice sinks even lower, and you struggle to hear him over the nearby duel. "The accusation of Parker's betrayal... or perhaps abduction is more appropriate. That creature is not the man I trained under."

[Bartmanhomer]

Olidar's voice sinks even lower, and you struggle to hear him over the nearby duel. "The accusation of Parker's betrayal... or perhaps abduction is more appropriate. That creature is not the man I trained under."

Eric whisper. "Tell us both of Parker betrayal and the abduction."

[YossarianLives]

Olidar leans forward, visibly anxious. "You must have seen the evidence. Captain Parker has been murdered, replaced with a demonic doppelganger - a succubus - who is plotting to destroy this city and everyone in it! It must be killed, before any further damage can be done. You will do so, right?"

[Kushina43]

Sarim contemplates his words for a little while, something he doesn't do often, before telling Olidar "Yeah, sure, we c'n do it."

Spoiler: OOC

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In case it requires a Bluff check: (1d20)[20]

[Bartmanhomer]

"Sure, we kill this imposter. "

Bluff: (1d20)[2]