Chapter 5: Blood and Fire

[Ken]

"We four," Belarin says, indicating himself, Kal, Grafth, and Streko, "did indeed have the honor of an audience with the Emissary. Another of our company who was present there is not with us at the moment.

"And no, esteemed lady, we are not mercenaries -- merely former strangers who are now allies and friends, united by capricious fate and the acts of Malov. I'll be sure to thank him for his part in introducing us ... right before I kill him, of course." He pauses for a moment. "May I ask why you enquire?"

[Darren]

Kal chuckles and mutters to himself, "I should speak with Lady Korvine about getting them positions in the Blademarks Guild."

[Jeff's backup]

Condign continues to walk the plaza, keeping a wary eye on the orc maintaining the grounds.

A few paces later, he sees a most unusual sight: a human male with long dark hair, intense eyes, and garbed in black. He sits on a bench away from all the others, and he is surrounded by books. What makes this unusual is that one book, larger than the others, looks to be made of some type of metal! It sits on his lap, open, but sideways! The man is pushing on the lower part of the book, moving his hands around constantly. An odd tick-click sound can be heard.

Condign looks closer. He sees no weapons on the man, but there are several dice laying on the bench next to him. The man is a gambler, the tiefling assumes. There is strange printing on the man's shirt, symbols that the tiefling can not read, but they look like this:

RUSH

Condign hears the man mutter something, which sounds like, "Got to get this moving again."

Suddenly the man looks up and sees Condign. His eyes open wide with alarm and he quickly hits a spot on the funny metal book. To Condign's astonishment, the man--with his books and dice--disappears! It must have been a magic book?

He continues walking the plaza. This world is full of strange creatures, he thinks.

[Jeff]

Despite Belarin's words, the eladrin awaits Streko's and Grafth's own response to her questions.

____________________________

Well, that was an unexpected and unusual post, Brian.

[Joe]

Streko yawns suddenly, as if the fatigue of the past weeks is finally catching up to him. He shakes his head as if to clear whatever cobwens might be loitering there.

"I was there and spoke with the Emissary. Certainly this is something you should already be aware of, is it not? Please, tell us the message you were given by the Emissary, my lady. We are in a great hurry, you see."

[Josh]

"I am no mercenary, and was in the presence of the Emissary as well. I can assure you that if we have brought another person here, they are as crucial to the cause of stopping Malov as the rest of us." the shifter says matter-of-factly.

[Jeff]

"Very well," the eladrin says, holding Streko's and Grafth's gazes for a short while. She glances back at Lamara, who continues to eye the crowd, with one ear half-turned your way.

"Then as to the other slice of information extracted from Alvek: The Emissary knew you were concerned about another act of aggression, another...attack? One enacted against Fairhaven?"

She pauses, but seeing confirmation in your faces, she continues. "Alvek did not know precisely where Malov would strike, but he seemed to know something of the conditions of such a place. It couldn't be simply anywhere of his uncle's choosing. It no mere explosion or spell of death he wishes to enact.

"It is a rift that Malov wishes to open to the realm of Shavarath, the Battleground...this you know, perhaps?" The eladrin shrugs, but there is for the first time a sliver of real concern in her eyes. "Not a true portal between planes, allowing free passage between them, but a tear significant enough to allow the properites of one to spill into the other. Malov's new allies, these devils you have crossed blades with in one form or another...they have chosen a place in this city, capitalizing on its history. Alvek said it would be...

"A place where reason has turned to madness
Fire into spirits
And faith into murder"

The eladrin smiles, but it's a helpless sort of smile. It fades and she shakes her head. "It is up to you to find such a place in this city."

[Darren]

"More riddles," Kal says as he shakes his head. "Why can we never get a straight answer out of the bad guys?" Kal leans forward and places his arms around his knees as he thinks out loud. "Okay, at least now we know Fairhaven is the target and that we are in the right place. And it is possible that the spell is already underway, given the recent increase in violence and the acts of arson in the city. Lamara," he says, looking up at the half-elf, "if we were to study where the arsons have occurred, is there any discernible pattern? Any nexus that is central to the crimes?"

[Josh]

"A possible center point, or nexus as you say, might be worth looking into. It strikes me as something that will take quite a bit of research, though... I doubt every incidence of violence has made headlines."

The shifter seems uneasy as he continues, "I'm certainly no expert at riddles—my preference for straightforwardness should be obvious by now—but could this be referring to the Church of the Silver Flame? The faith is notorious for its violence against lycanthropes and general animosity toward my kind. And their belief in an eternal Flame comprised of a multitude of spirits might be attributed to the second line of the riddle..."

[Jeff]

"...but could this be referring to the Church of the Silver Flame? The faith is notorious for its violence against lycanthropes and general animosity toward my kind. And their belief in an eternal Flame comprised of a multitude of spirits might be attributed to the second line of the riddle..."

Lamara cocks her head. "Not likely. For one, there are few followers of the Silver Flame in this city anymore. They've been driven back to Thrane. So there's certainly no murder going on. I don't know about spirits, either. Many ways to interpret that."

The eladrin looks to Kal. "The 'riddle' is not ours. It comes directly from Alvek, who in turn heard it from some acquaintance of Malov's. It seems a strange thing, does it not, that one of his own ally's would speak in riddles?"

[Darren]

Kal's head swivels to the eladrin, seemingly remembering that she is there. He shakes his head slightly and chuckles very softly. "My apologies, dear lady," he says with a smile. "I did not mean to imply that the riddles came from you. And I agree that it is strange that they speak to each other in riddles. It fits with how we found Alvek in the first place, though, through a riddle on a scrap of paper attached to a crude map. Perhaps that is just the way amongst those from Shavarrath? War and poetry? I have often heard they go well together, though it is rare to hear anyone in the Blademark's Guild reciting sonnets." He smiles again.

"Well, I thought you might have been on to something, shifter," he says with a nod at Grafth. "Lamara, since you seem to be the expert on Fairhaven, what do you think this riddle refers to?"

[Ken]

"Well, I do profess to be an expert at riddles," says Belarin, with a jaunty salute to Grafth, "and this one intrigues me. While it's true that worshippers of the Silver Flame have been largely forced out of Aundair, that development did not happen without some violence, if I remember my history correctly. And there was a Cathedral of the Silver Flame in Fairhaven decades ago, yes?" He looks at Lamara as he finishes. "And while the word 'spirits' has many meanings, 'murder' does not ... unless we're talking about a convocation of crows. Hmmm, is there a religion that worships crows...?"

Then he turns to the eladrin and says, "Thank you, gracious lady. You've given us the focus we needed, provided we can decipher this riddle's meaning. I agree that it IS strange that Malov would speak in puzzles to his own allies. As Kalarian said, though, it's not the first time we've encountered that. We're fairly sure that Malov despised Alvek -- blood relation or not -- so this riddle could have been a test of sorts for Alvek." He smiles warmly. "In any event, I'm grateful. Hopefully, I'll have the opportunity to properly display that gratitude at another time."

[Jeff]

Condign

The orc eventually loses interest in Condign, returning to its work.

However, after the tiefling has walked for a while, drawing plenty more stares, someone else catches his attention. A half-orc, armored in thick leather, one meaty fist hanging off the grip of a heavy mace which swings from his hip. His frame and musculature is equal to Condign's own. They're almost exactly the same height. Only the tiefling's horns make him seem taller.

Given the half-orc's ragged look, Condign takes him to be a mercenary, perhaps one out of work. He displays no badges or symbols of any guild, such as House Deneith's (where many half-orcs have found employment).

The half-orc approaches him, and the look in his eyes tells Condign he intends to address him.

The Rest

The eladrin nods her head at Belarin's words, folds her hands in her lap, and listens with interest to the conversation.

"And there was a Cathedral of the Silver Flame in Fairhaven decades ago, yes?"

"There still is, technically," Lamara replies. "But you'd probably have more trouble with the law—rings or no rings—if you go sniffing around there."

Kal:

"...And it is possible that the spell is already underway, given the recent increase in violence and the acts of arson in the city....if we were to study where the arsons have occurred, is there any discernible pattern? Any nexus that is central to the crimes?"

Lamara unrolls a copy of the Sharn Inquisitive, the one with the 'Fairhaven Plagued by Serial Arsonist' article. She scans it again then stares at the grass, appearing to cross reference the information with a mental map of the city.

"The tannery, a residence, a Sovereign Host hospice in the Sovereign Ward, and a tavern. Very different parts of the city, quite spread out. The center would only likely be Fairhold itself. I don't see a pattern yet. But...we could visit one of these places."

"Lamara, since you seem to be the expert on Fairhaven, what do you think this riddle refers to?"

"I'm new to the riddles you say you've experience before, but I do know a thing or two about Malov. His reasoning would go one of two ways: he either intends maximum damage—and would therefore choose a populated place for his attack—or a symbolic one. I think we can agree that he can't touch Fairhold itself, which would be his preferred prize, but he could go after one of the dragonmarked houses. We already know there's a grudge there, especially against Deneith and Jorasco, no?"

She turns and looks at Streko. "'Faith into murder.' Fairhavians give their faith to the Sovereign Host. There are many individual temples still active, as well as temples to the entire Host. Perhaps something is rotting in one of these? Perhaps the cleric among us can make something out of this riddle?"

[Joe]

"A place where reason has turned to madness
Fire into spirits
And faith into murder"

"The best way of understanding riddles is to break them down into thier individual componants and then place them into context. Or so I believe. Granted, I am not very good at riddles. However, we have a list of locations: a tannery, a residence, a Sovereign Host hospice and a tavern.

"A place where reason has turned to madness...

"What are such places of reason? The local constabulary, perhaps? Does your article say whose residence went up in flames?"

"Fire into spirits...

"Perhaps this relates to a place where deaths have occurred due to fire?

"...and faith into murder.

"This could very well indiciate the Sovereign Host hospice. It is, in fact, the only location that makes any sense in context with the entire riddle, unless it is also a place where people perished in the blaze. Also, while there are no members of the Sovereign Host who specialize in reason, per se, it is safe to assume that Onatar and Aureon, one the god of the Forge and, to some, of fire and the other of law and knowledge, suggesting at least some reason, might be at least a good place to start.

"What say you, Belarin, you of the crafty words and clever phrases? Does this sound....reasonable....to you?"

[Ken]

Belarin smiles and says, "It does nearly fit, doesn't it? It's a scene of one of the fires, although the 'faith into murder' is especially troubling in that context, as it suggests that a true believer - one who has faith - may have betrayed the hospice. And if people were treated for affliction of the mind there as well - 'reason to madness' - all the better. I like it. Well, let me amend that... I don't like it at all, but I do like the answer. Well reasoned, Good Streko!

[Jeff's backup]

The half-orc approaches him, and the look in his eyes tells Condign he intends to address him.

Condign realizes he can not avoid interacting with the half-orc mercenary, as he had with the orc grounds-keeper. While he senses no overt hostility from the approaching creature, an attack may still happen. A conflict, and the ensuing disruption in the plaza, could interfere with the meeting, hopefully well under way by now. He dares not look around to see if his colleagues are approaching, their meeting abandoned or concluded; the half-orc may see that as a sign of weakness.

Condign angles himself slightly toward the half-orc, his right foot sliding around and behind him to a position of support. His cloak is already clear of the scabbard from his little display to the gnome moments ago. Then, with a slight nod, he acknowledges the half-orc.

[Darren]

"It seems as reasonable a place to start as any we currently have," Kal says, his eye on Streko. "Let us attend to our other business, and then we will begin our investigation at the hospice in the morning."

[Jeff]

Condign

The half-orc stops several paces in front of Condign. He scans among the people on both sides of the walkway, as if wary of onlookers. Then he turns back to Condign.

"You one of them thieflings?" he says with a slight accent, but his Orcish brogue is definitely from a region Condign's unfamiliar with...certainly it's not Fah'lrrg, or even Eldeen. The half-orc's brows come together, and he tries again. "Teev...lings."


The Others

"It's an excellent place to start, Streko," Lamara says with a smile. "Perhaps more will fall into place as we go. I know the one the article's referring to. It's under construction; I don't know if it was even being used yet. None were hurt at the site, but the fire spread to some buildings nearby. Four were killed, and a few more were burned but survived."

Kal:

"It seems as reasonable a place to start as any we currently have," Kal says, his eye on Streko. "Let us attend to our other business, and then we will begin our investigation at the hospice in the morning."

Lamara raises her eyebrows. "In the morning? Your business requires more than twelve hours?" She shrugs. "I will go alone to the hospice, then. Let's not lose too much time. If it's a dead end, I'll try the other sites."

[Jeff's backup]

"Tiefling, my friend," says Condign. While comfortable with orcs and half-orcs from his time spent with the Ghaash'Kala, Condign is still wary of the strange half-orc with the odd dialect. "Did you need something?"

[Darren]

Kal raises his eyebrows mockingly in return. "My dear lady Inquisitive," he says, "we have been through much in the last week. We need supplies, and Streko and I have need to visit our respective Houses. I would prefer not to have to skulk around the site of an arson in the dark. If we have time after we attend to what we need to, we will investigate the site today. It is just as likely that we will need to head directly to the scene of a new arson tonight..."

[Jeff]

Condign

"You a soldier?" the half-orc asks.


The Others

"In the dark, Lord Kalarian?" Lamara says, shaking her head. "I daren't presume how long your house will require your attention, but since the people around us are still enjoying their lunch hour, I imagine there'd be no need for...skulking. Do as you will."

The eladrin looks back and forth between Kal and Lamara, then looks at Belarin quizzically. "I am new here," she says with an amused smile, "But I've found more entertainment in a single day in this city than weeks in my homeland."

[Jeff's backup]

"Yes, in a way." Condign considers the half-orc's ragged appearance. "Can I get a fellow soldier some food?"

[Joe]

Streko bows to Kal. "Where to first, my friend? I shall follow your lead."

"In the dark, Lord Kalarian?" Lamara says, shaking her head. "I daren't presume how long your house will require your attention, but since the people around us are still enjoying their lunch hour, I imagine there'd be no need for...skulking. Do as you will."

"Lady Lamara," Streko says with a warm smile, "House politics are never short or pleasant experiences unless one enjoys the treacherous eddies of politics and socialization. As both House Deneith and Jorasco have been targted by Malov, and perhaps even your own noble House as well, we should endeavor to make certain that no stone is left unturned in our investigation. As my friend Kalarian pointed out, we shall by all means follow through on our dear Eladrin's message with utmost haste, but as I am sure you are quite aware, to do so without pursuing our due diligence would be dangerous at best, fatal at worst. Come with us and I suspect you will learn far more than you can by yourself. Further, if you are endangered during your investigation, then any knowledge you will have gained will be lost to us and to Aundair itself. Besides, fair lady, your insights into what we encounter at the Houses might prove both entertaining AND enlightening to the investigation."

[Ken]

Dec 1, 2009 11:38:16 GMT -4 Jeff said:

The eladrin looks back and forth between Kal and Lamara, then looks at Belarin quizzically. "I am new here," she says with an amused smile, "But I've found more entertainment in a single day in this city than weeks in my homeland."

"Marvelous, isn't it?" says Belarin conspiratorially. "Much of the credit must go to Kalarian there. By words alone, he can ignite sparks on a mound of wet leaves. In a swamp. It's a talent, truly.

"As for what Lady Lamara says... well, surely we can begin investigating the sites today, yes?" He looks to Kalarian. "Strike while the embers are warm, so the saying goes. A silly saying, granted, but the meaning is appropriate."

[Jeff]

Condign

"Can I get a fellow soldier some food?"

At this, the half-orc's eyes widen. He is clearly taken off guard by the offer. He stutters for a moment, then his eyes narrow, as if wondering what trick the tiefling's playing on him.

"What're you after?" the half-orc says at last. "Don't need...don't need no food."

The Others

Lamara pats Streko on the shoulder and smiles. "There is no need, Lord Streko, to call me 'fair lady.' In fact, it doesn't suit my line of work. Yes, I'd like to get going..." She glances with vague distaste at the eladrin. "Wherever that is. Although your friend, Charis, was expecting to meet in front of the Deneith enclave in under two bells."

She looks to Grafth. "Where would you like to go?"

[Jeff's backup]

"Very well," the tiefling says. "Is there something you wanted?"

[Jeff]

Condign

The half-orc shrugs. "I need work," he grunts. "You look like...someone who might have some." His eyes drift to the sword and shield that the tiefling carries.

Condign can't quite get a measure of this half-orc's tone, or the truth in his small eyes, but he suspects there's more on his mind than he's letting on.

[Jeff's backup]

Condign casually scans the plaza behind the half-orc, not liking the feeling he is getting and looking for anything else out of the ordinary. At the same time, he says: "Yes, my friend, I understand. However, I am not part of a regular company, and I am not a commanding officer. In fact, at the moment, I am simply enjoying the sights of this fine city." As Condign gestures expansively with his left hand, hoping to draw the half-orc's attention away from his weapons, his right hand drops casually to the hilt of his longsword. Looking back at the half-orc, he says: "I am afraid I can not help you."

[Jeff]

Just then, a commotion draws your attention...

....a man's shout of pain, followed by a few frightful shrieks from women.

Condign hears this from somewhere behind the half-orc in front of him, who turns his head suddenly, startled as well. Belarin, Kal, Streko, and Grafth hear this in the general direction of the nearest University building, to your right, in whose shadow much of this plaza lies.

Whatever's going on, it's happening among the crowd of students.

[Jeff's backup]

Startled out of his wariness regarding the half-orc, Condign says to the creature: "If you will excuse me, I have to leave now." Without a second glance at the half-orc, Condign starts running toward the university building from which the scream arose. He quickly glances in the direction Kalarian took, hoping to catch sight of his friends and hoping they are well.