Start of #Sharn buffer: Wed Apr 02 20:32:30 2008 [17:32:41] [Following the crash of the Sky's Edge Bar and Grill into the Upper Central district of Highest Towers, a vanguard of Goldwings and an entire batallion of Sharn Watchmen lead as many participants and witnesses to Daggerwatch Garrison, including the party.] [17:34:39] [Lead into the Daggerwatch garrison, Aurora, Mari, and Phanos are immediately struck with the awfully familair sound of ravers, still locked up after the Great Raver Riot of 998 YK.] [17:35:55] [The party is lead into an interrogation/interview room and the door is shut, barely muffling the mad frothing screams of ravers.] [17:35:58] [Session Start] [17:36:34] "I dont know why dey keep dem alive. Not like dey can turn dem into people again." [17:36:56] They may find a way someday... [17:37:28] * Loharath nods. "Not being able to do something isn't a reason not to do it." [17:39:16] [In a little while, the door opens. A cloaked figure enters, hood drawn over his head to hide his face in shadow.] [17:39:43] "An if dey get out befoah?" [17:40:44] [He walks to the table the party was seated at and sits at it's head. He move a hand into the folds of his cloak and procures an emblem from in, placing it down on the table so everyone can see. It's the shield of the Dark Lanterns, the King's intelligence agency.] [17:41:34] "Greetings. Some of you may remember me. I'm not at liberty to give you my name, but you may call me Agent K." [17:44:32] * Marianysa blinks. "Agent...huh." [17:44:50] Why not? [17:45:14] "That is not your concern." [17:45:42] * Aurora frowns. [17:45:49] "First... let me congradulate you. Because of your efforts, we were able to save many of the people involved in the incident." [17:46:18] "Witnesses report seeing unconcious people flung from the fallen structure already Feather Falled." [17:46:47] * Loharath nods once, arms crossed as he leans back in his chair, smiling slightly. "Mari pretty much saved the day." [17:46:49] That was Mari's doing. [17:47:40] [He reaches into his cloak again, this time with his right hand... elliciting a few clockwork ticks and whirrs as he moves it. He places a House Kundarak Letter of Credit on the table and slides it over. It's for 400 gp made out to coin.] [17:48:16] * Marianysa looks at it and blinks. [17:48:27] "This is the standard reward set by the Lord Mayor of Sharn for saving falling citizens." [17:49:23] "Sixteen survivors, 25 gp each. It was too chaotic to count how many were actually feather falled, but we rounded up." [17:49:59] Was...how many dead? [17:51:17] "Eight." [17:51:31] * Marianysa looks down. "Shit." [17:52:04] "Two were found in the rubble of what was a private dining room and the kitchen, respectively. They were unfortunate enough not to be thrown free. More windows in the common dining room." [17:52:40] "This... unfortunately leads me into my next topic of discussion." [17:52:41] * Aurora sighs. "We... we did what we could. We got more than half of them. We can be glad for that, at least." [17:52:52] "You are all partly to blame for this incident." [17:53:04] * Loharath nods. "You did good, Ma- What the flame?!" [17:53:05] "Eh? I wadn' even inside, mon." [17:53:18] ... what? [17:53:20] How? [17:53:31] It's because they were after us. [17:53:54] "Indeed. Obviously we can't press charges. You didn't commit any crimes." [17:54:22] "But we would like to give you the opportunity to make it up to the Crown." [17:54:50] [He leans back in his chair, crossing his arms, one wizzing quietly.] [17:55:49] What do you mean? [17:55:51] How's that? [17:56:10] "Dey want us work fo dem fo free." [17:56:19] What do you want us to do? [17:56:53] "Before I can tell you that, you have to agree that anything said in this room does not leave it." [17:57:29] [Agent K looks to Mari, Aurora, and Phanos.] "I can trust you with the Crown's secrets, at least so far." [17:58:01] [He turns to look at Mauz and Loharath.] "But you two did not take part in the Great Raver Riot." [17:58:06] "Sho." [17:58:53] * Loharath nods. [18:00:12] "Do not give your word lightly. If we find out you did not keep it, you will be charged with treason." [18:00:57] I wasn't giving my word, I was just saying that wasn't around for the raver riots. [18:01:23] "Have you made your decision then?" [18:02:04] I answer to a higher authority than the king, K. I'll help if it helps the people. Otherwise, I'll get back to my duties. [18:03:14] "Such as harrassing the king's citizens?" [18:03:26] * Marianysa winces. [18:04:26] * Loharath grins. "Only the ones who need it, K. Want to charge me for it?" [18:04:37] "Maybe." [18:05:01] * Aurora frowns [18:05:30] [He leans forward in his seat.] "Or maybe I just think your sense of duty is selfish. It got eight people killed today." [18:05:54] "You decide to stir up a hornets nest without thinking of the consequences." [18:06:00] Hornet's nest? [18:06:34] [Agent K goes silent.] [18:06:51] And if we didn't carry out our duty after that, how many more would have died, K? What kind of man lets the consequences get in the way of his heart? [18:06:54] Hey, what the hell? We were trying to find a friend! Yeah, those people died because we were there, but you're blamin him for... [18:08:03] The only ones who can be held accountable are the ones who wrecked the place in the first place, and we're going to find them, get answers, and see to it that justice is done. [18:08:30] "Who's justice?" [18:09:39] The Flame's. It's the only justice that matters in the end. [18:09:40] "Never forget that each of you with the exception of him-"[He nods toward Phanos]"Is a citizen of Breland." [18:09:42] The city's, the Flame's, the victims, everyone's. [18:10:30] If at all possible, they'll be turned over to the city alive, of course, but this isn't only the city's concern. [18:10:34] "Ya gonna deport me fo sittin' on a bench an' savin a gnome?" [18:10:38] "And I beg to differ. The Flame doesn't care if it's followers kill each other in war, now does it? What makes the Flame any more infalliable than the Crown's justice?" [18:11:25] "Your residency is not in jeapordy, sir." [18:11:38] The Crown doesn't keep infernal legions from tearing this world in half, K. But I'll admit, I didn't pay much attention to my history tutor. [18:11:41] [Agent K leans back again, his shoulders sagging.] [18:12:00] Of course it cares. It's the corrupt inside the church that don't.... but we're getting off topic. [18:12:12] "This is going nowhere. I had thought you ran with more trustworthy people." [18:12:16] "Rioght. You wan' us track dem down, make dem pay." [18:12:21] * Darkheart is now known as Mauz [18:12:24] "I'm witcha." [18:12:34] You want us to do something, and you want it kept confidential. [18:12:56] Is that right? [18:12:57] "Anyone not willing to vow secrecy on punishment of treason, leave now. You have no more business in Daggerwatch Garrison." [18:14:05] * Loharath pushes his chair back. "Have a good day, ladies and gents." He gets up and heads out the door. [18:14:05] ... you know, this could be fun. [18:14:44] Unless you have a good reason that we should join in, I don't see much reason to stick around. Your primary motivator is that we're partially responsible for this, and we don't believe that to be the case. [18:14:46] "Anyone else?" [18:14:49] * Mauz mutters something slick under his breath. Something about 'staying away from the folks longer'. [18:15:21] "If you refuse to accept responsibility for your actions and their consequences, then we really don't have any further business." [18:15:21] The only thing we see being offered to us is a risk of being executed for treason. [18:16:22] * Mauz hrms. "True, the treason part's a bit worrisome. I mean, really, hard to make a square decision with the sword over your head, held back by a frayed string." [18:16:36] ... not that I'm the treasonous sort. Far from it. [18:16:56] "If you consider your own trustworthiness the frayed string, then you are more honest about yourself than you may realize." [18:17:03] Look. I want to help. But if talking to Loharath about is going to be treason... [18:17:29] * NovaSeaker he stands up. [18:17:57] * Mauz grins at K. "I walk the line. What can I say?" [18:18:26] "What we got to lose? Ain't we gon look into it anyway? May as well 'ave city protection and infomation to start wif/" [18:19:50] [From the head of the table he leans over.] "Anyone not going to take the oath, I hereby order you to leave this room by the authority invested in me by King Boranel. Leave now." [18:20:10] Can I ask one more question? [18:20:15] Very well. I hope our next encounter, if there is one, will be a more pleasant one. [18:20:20] * Aurora gets up and leaves. [18:20:30] You're just doing your job. Nothing personal. [18:22:13] "If I were just doing my job, I would have ordered you on this mission under punishment of treason." [18:22:35] ... mm. [18:22:42] "I had more respect for you than that." [18:22:51] * Aurora pauses. [18:22:54] "Leave." [18:22:59] Fine. [18:23:02] * Aurora goes. [18:23:03] * Mauz wiggles his eyebrows. "Suppose whoever goes along goes along. If something ugly -- and I mean really ugly -- comes out of this, are we going to be thrown under the carriage wheels to save the Crown's good name?" [18:23:19] This is outside of the treason bit. [18:23:36] "I don't quite understand the question." [18:24:25] Connections run deep. People that should not be a part of things end up being a part. Hands that seem clean... dirty. Smiling faces, poisoned daggers. I've been around too long to think that anyone's a saint. [18:25:08] * Mauz leans back. "Basically, if anything of this somehow comes back to your own, what would you do with us and our findings?" [18:26:12] * Marianysa stays quiet, waiting for Mauz to finish. [18:29:09] "We have a way with making sure damage is contained, with the least possible damage to our citizens... when possible. I can't guarantee the saftey of three people, but I can assure you that agreeing to work for the Crown is a far different matter than getting in bed with organized crime. We take care of our own." [18:29:56] * Mauz rubs his chin, then looks back at the others. "... conflicted." [18:30:16] Damn I hate decisions like this. I owe those crazies my life. [18:31:55] Look. I want to help. But...we're all a team. You're asking me to take on a mission that I can't tell Aurora and Loharath about. [18:32:05] "We can eidah foller some leads or we can take de straight path. I'm good.:" [18:33:12] "They can accompany you. You just can't tell them the specifics." [18:33:14] ... I can keep my mouth shut, but I still have a debt to repay. [18:34:03] Besides, it's another excuse to keep the family at bay. [18:34:51] * Mauz pauses. "... that rhymed." [18:35:01] Damn, I'm amazing. [18:36:22] "Alright. You two are in. Ms. Leyonard?" [18:36:47] * Marianysa looks down for a moment, then looks at K. "Fine. I'm in." [18:39:18] "So we are in agreement then." [18:39:23] [He sits back down.] [18:40:13] "Ms. Leyonard. One of the eyewitnesses recalled something particular about your battle with the ogre-blood." [18:42:20] "During the fight, he ... shot his tounge at you?" [18:43:35] Yeah. It was pretty messed up. [18:44:27] "The Citadel has some mission reports on record that match this sort of behavior..." [18:45:58] Really, now. I wanna hear this. [18:46:03] "Several khyber cults, dissassociated with each other but spread throughout the nation, and presumably all of Khorvaire, deal in monstrous symbionts." [18:46:05] * Marianysa leans forward. [18:46:17] "symbionts?" [18:46:55] "Symbionts are like living equipment. They're abominations of flesh and tissue with minds of their own, created specifically to augment a person's abilities." [18:47:18] "Dat's kinda gross" [18:47:25] * Mauz makes a face. "Ngh. Sounds nasty." [18:47:35] "We... know that a... prominent... khyber cult exists in Sharn." [18:47:55] "Your run in with a 'tongueworm' is not the first evidence of it." [18:49:39] "We had attempted to infliltrate it's ranks." [18:50:38] "Our agent lost contact with us six months ago. His last telepathic message was cut short. He said 'Host. I'm full of stars.' and then we never heard from him again." [18:50:50] [Pause] [18:56:14] [Unpause] [18:58:45] Full of stars... [18:59:18] [Agent K pauses in his briefing upon hearing the tone of recognition in Mari's voice.] "Does that mean anything to you?" [18:59:22] "Dint we keel some man with a stah chest face?" [18:59:37] I think we saw your agent. In the ruins. He...killed one of our friends. [19:00:15] "Oh, yah, he still around." [19:00:50] "He did..." [It sounds more like a dismayed statement then a question.] [19:01:05] Meh. [19:01:13] * Marianysa looks down. [19:01:14] * Mauz frowns. "I'd rather not think about that place again." [19:01:17] "Then this actually makes things easier." [19:02:39] "This particular khyber cult has been relatively quite, which worked for our benefit. You see... with the state of the Five Nations such as it is, we can't devote as much manpower to internal affairs as we'd like.] [19:02:40] " [19:03:26] "The lost of Agent Clairsdale caused the mission to be considered a failure and he was classified as missing in action." [19:03:26] Now I gotta ask something more. [19:03:49] [Agent K extends his left hand in a gesture for Mauz to ask away.] [19:04:55] * Mauz looks like he just swallowed half a gallon of bile. "My crew here found me basically gutted alive in that place. One thing that's been bothering me about that... well, aside from the fact that I was pinned down like some butterfly..." [19:05:21] Was 'why'? I mean, mebbe it's just the road I walk. I'm not *that* important, though. [19:06:08] "You were... held captive?" [19:06:34] "How long ago were you taken?" [19:08:56] * Mauz grunts. "Too long. Handful of months." [19:10:05] "I'll have to check and see if we had any unsolved kidnapping cases dating from a few months ago. If the cult started kidnapping then, it would have been after we stopped surveilance...." [19:10:23] [He shakes his head, shadows of his hood still masking his face.] [19:13:11] Aurelis...shit. [19:13:40] "So, you wan us to investigate. Weah at?" [19:15:28] "We know the cave in sealed off the Citadel of the Closed Circle's fortress in the Cogs. Collapsed the top levels of it." [19:15:58] "We does too. We was deah." [19:16:28] "Basically, what I'm asking you to do, is disrupt the workings of this cult." [19:16:37] "Ow?" [19:16:39] "Like I said, I wish we had the manpower to spare, but we don't." [19:17:19] The idea of sweet revenge is promising. Tell me more. [19:17:36] "There must be another entrance to the Citadel. This Gortoog, his records have him as a mercenary living in Callestan. No prior connection to the khyber cult." [19:18:31] "This means the cult made contact with him sometime within the last week and 'gifted' him with a tongueworm." [19:20:22] "After the cave-in." [19:21:59] "You know wheah dat entrance is?" [19:22:28] "No." [19:23:05] "How WE gon find it den?" [19:23:13] "But we are willing to supply you with some arcane supplies to help get past some obstacles." [19:23:25] Fair enough. [19:23:31] "Ask questions?" [19:23:52] "Investigate? Like I said, we would but we're stretched thin across Khorvaire." [19:25:07] "Well, fine, whatcha got?" [19:27:58] "That depends on what you need. Go ahead and do some reconissance first." [19:28:43] Mn. One more thing. We getting a stipend? [19:30:03] "You're getting equipment for the job." [19:30:27] "And the peace of mind that when you're done, you won't have to worry about crazed cultists destroying your favorite bar." [19:31:09] ... fair enough [19:33:58] "Dis man done kilt one of us. You wan us to do dis, ya mon, but you wan us die too? Do you see me trowin' round a firey sword? We need sometin in advance, mon." [19:36:27] [Agent K taps the tabletop with his right index finger, the sound flawlessly regular, like clockwork. This gones on for a few moments as he seems to consider this.] "My appologies. I sometimes forget that agents are equipped with above-par weapons and gear. We certainly want you succeed." [19:36:58] "If you supply me with a list, I'll see what I can do, within reason." [19:37:10] Now we're talking. I'll letcha know. [19:38:51] [Agent K stands and nods to the three of you.] "You can contact me at the city archive. Leave a message for "Sarah"." [19:39:05] "Oh.. one more thing..." [19:39:15] * Mauz raises his eyebrows. "Hm?" [19:39:45] "While you are disrupting the cult... make sure we can give Agent Clairsdale's family the peace of mind of officially declaring him killed in action." [19:40:12] "Sho." [19:40:33] As you like it. [19:40:59] [He nods once more, then leaves the room.] [19:41:48] ... I need a drink. [19:42:01] Well, at least it's what we were planning to do anyway. [19:42:25] "Ya mon, dats what I say, may as well get out as much info-mashion as we can instead o [19:42:31] toutin off attim" [19:45:53] [Mari, Mauz, and Phanos are left alone in the room for the time being...] [19:46:24] "Welp, we gon' tell Ari and Lo, eh?" [19:48:10] Might as well. Can't blame the Flames. They got a calling. [19:49:30] * Marianysa nods slowly, looking uncomfortable. [19:53:24] * Mauz finally gets up and walks on out, whistling loudly and quite offkey. [19:54:34] * Marianysa follows Mauz out. [19:54:50] [Mauz's whistling is drowned out in the hallways as howls and raging screams echo around them.] [19:55:11] Oh, come the fuck *on*! [19:55:17] "Nice place." he follows. [19:55:21] [They aren't asked many questions, as many people are filtering out of the garrison after being brought in for questioning.] [19:56:48] * Phanos looks for the gnome. [19:57:57] (?) [19:58:18] ((the one he saved)) [19:59:51] (Ah. You don't see him. Just get outside and talk to Auroroa already) [20:00:04] * Phanos shrugs, and heads out. [20:01:02] * Mauz sighs, and keeps on whistling. [20:01:21] * Phanos is glad his dogs can't hear the wailing. [20:04:19] [They exit the garrison. Aurora is waiting nearby.] [20:05:15] "Les go get me dogs." [20:09:23] ... hoi! Aurora! Feel like an ale and some piping-hot potato wedges? [20:09:48] ... hm/ [20:10:04] Oh. I don't know. [20:11:00] I'm just thinking things over. [20:12:04] * Aurora sighs. "This is a mess." [20:12:20] * Marianysa looks around. "Where'd Loharath go?" [20:12:21] No kidding. But it's *interesting*. [20:12:26] We're not much closer to finding Aun. [20:12:30] * Mauz raises a finger. "And that's the fun part." [20:12:48] Oh. He was getting a drink. [20:14:37] I don't know how I'm going to break the news to Lei and Faela... [20:16:55] * Marianysa (a@wnpgmb0805w-ad05-97-2.dynamic.mts.net) Quit (Ping timeout: 180 seconds) [20:17:42] Aside from gently? [20:19:36] Yes. He's been with us since the beginning... when we were trying to deal with the Daask. [20:20:16] Then the Ravers happened, then the Rakshasa, then ... lots of things. Felt like it was really long ago. [20:23:25] * Marianysa (a@wnpgmb0805w-ad05-97-2.dynamic.mts.net) has joined #Sharn [20:23:56] "It do." [20:27:07] [At a lost for words, the party walks away from Daggerwatch Garrison.] [20:27:11] [Session End.] End of #Sharn buffer Wed Apr 02 20:32:30 2008