Treachery, lies and secrets

[alhoon]

"Not the sharpest man I 've met" Ixevim said after the soldier left.
"What do you need to talk about Artemis?" Ixevim sent him "I'll pick it from your mind directly, so that we won't be overheard if it is important"

[Coan]

Artemis holds his thoughts for a moment such that Ixevim may read them.

You handled yourself well in the battle yesterday. But what you saw seems to affected you quite deeply. I'd like to know what you saw exactly. What has disturbed you so much? You mentioned something about the illithids but... Also what is this machine? Who do we have to contact?

At this time Souske has managed to lead Kimuriel to where Heinrich is. However instead of the battle ready man he expects he finds him crying in huddle against the wall of an empty corridor.

[VAN]

Kimuriel looks Heinrich without believing in his eyes. It's hardly to believe that a veteran fighter can react like that. The detective already knew Heinrich's feelings for Nostalia, actually it was not such difficult to understand when a man really cares for a woman. For the fighter's reaction, Kimuriel understands that Nostalia's condition seems to be very bad. So he steps closer and putting his hand to Heinrich's shoulder says:

"I'm sure that she will be all right soon. There are plenty of clerics in the Manor and I'm sure that Lady Ivana will not leave one of her closest friends without the best treatment. Don't worry my friend, everything will be fine."

[alhoon]

Ixevim hesitates for a moment.

"OK, I'll show you. Have a sit and brace your mind. I'll move slowly as you have to get my feelings at the time and you are not a skilled psion. I warn you however; My feelings are not human-like. Imprinting to you emotions you cannot feel and comprehend may do temporal damage to your sanity."

Artemis looks at the mind flayer perplexed and takes a sit quietly. Ixevim continues. "Let me check your mind. open yourself to me. I neet to probe deeper, so since you are shielded you have to raise your barriers and let me in. This mind scan will take only a moment. I promise you I'll not reach for information in your mind, I'll just check you so that I may proceed with the least danger to yourself."
Ixevim sends his trained and specialized mind to probe through Artemis neural functions. He checks several things that had to check for what seemed an eternity now. At least he remembers enough of his training as a Creator to perform the check.

"Nope. It will not do. Your mind and sanity have been tired and I would say have been attacked by the recent events, the fear, the sorrow and the multiple shocks of these days. I'll not send you any emotions, I'll just send you the images I saw. Brace yourself."
A moment later Ixevim started imprinting in Artemis' mind the horrific images of his destroyed homeland. The process took a full minute as Ixevim went on slowly.
"You have recently faced a similar experience when you saw what your homeland has become. However I'm born with an inherent loyalty to my land and kin that a human cannot feel. I'm nothing without my homeland. It is dangerous to send you the emptiness and the sorrow that I would feel in such a situation. The closest thing I could give as an example is the feelings you would feel if you faced a danger that would wipe away your personality, your hopes and also destroy your progeny.
You are a wizard, think that you would become a personality-devoid construct without any hope and remembering the freedom and individuality you once had.
Exile is the most severe penalty against a mind flayer Artemis. The equivalent of the Death Penalty for humans. But an exile knows that he still has his kin and land! He is not a member of the society, he is not accepted at all, but there are others. I don't believe we should be the rulers of the world Artemis but to be erased altogether is something I cannot let happen.
I would commit suicide right now, but that would take another one of my kin out; myself."

OOC: by "destroy your progeny" Ixevim means "kill your children" in a mind flayer way of speaking! Mind flayers don't have children as you know.

[Coan]

Heinrich looked up at Kimuriel and his gaze seemed strange somehow -different and not filled with the usual determination it typically had.

"Yes... yes I am sure you are right. They have doctors here... but clerics... the clergy was disbanded, have you not heard?"

**********

Artemis nodded.

This is a grave matter. But do not think your loyalty exceeds my own Ixevim. You know very little about me and what I have done to keep the Alliance alive. Now let us leave this for later disection. I do not know what this vision meant or if it is even remotely true. However I still wish to know about this machine you talk of. What is it capable of? How do you know of it?

[VAN]

Kimuriel makes a grimace.

“I have forgotten this very important detail. However, now with Lady Borca back in power maybe the Church will want to help the land regain its lost glory. As about Lady Romaine, I’m sure that the best doctors of Levkarest will be by her side at this moment.”

[Coan]

"Yes... I am sure you are right." Heinrich replied absently his mind obviously focussed on what was occuring behind the nearby doors which Kimuriel correctly guessed was where Nostalia was being kept.

At this point Souske politely coughs.
"Mr Kimuriel, perhaps we should leave Mr Heinrich for the moment. He seems to need some solitude."

[VAN]

“Yes, I agree with you.”

Turning again to the bodyguard, Kimuriel says:

“Everything will be ok very soon, Heinrich, you will see. If you want to meet us, we will be at the theatre, where we have seen Lady Ivana for the first time. If you don’t find us there, ask a servant or a soldier, I don’t think that we pass unobserved. Lets go back to the others Souske.”

[Coan]

Souske nods and leads Kimuriel back to where Ixevim and Artemis are still talking. Nodding back to him Artemis turns.

"Well I think we should prepare to leave... Hazlan is it? Tomorrow morning? I'll have some maids prepare some travelling packs but how shall we choose to travel? It isn't the closest of locations" he looked over to Ixevim "Can you get us there?"

[alhoon]

********** A bit earlier *****************

"This machine is how I think I'll get us back from here to our own time. It has no real meaning for me, but you can save your Homeland. Perhaps Cole, Desilda, RT and Rook have finished what they were doing and this timeframe has been weakened enough for me to find a way to breach time and get us back.
Do you remember the Great Upheaval? There are lesser, temporal Conjuctions occuring from time to time as like when outlanders come to our world. As the Vistana told us, our actions here may weaken the planar fabric enough so that I could make use of or even be able to create a conjuction in time itself, not space."

*********** When Kim comes **************
"Yes, I think so but we will have to get away from Borca or at least this palace. I cannot hasten our trip from this place as you have witnessed earlier."

[Coan]

"Very well. It is settled, tonight shall be our last night here. I shall come get you just before first light." Artemis bows and soon a soldier is appointed for Ixevim and Kimuriel each. They are instructed to help them pack what they may need and escort them back to their rooms or indeed any place inside Misecordia they may wish to visit.

[VAN]

"I'll go to my room to meditate a bit, I haven't gotten back all my mind power yet and I want to to be ready for the our journey. I'll see you later."

Kimuriel follows the soldier back to his room.

[alhoon]

Ixevim turned to Artemis "Do you know where I can find a laboratory? I want to . . . practice my chemistry skills a bit. Since Borca uses gunpowder, I believe it will be easy to find the right chemical reagents to create Cracking Gel, just in case. "
Artemis pointed Ixevim to the right persons and using his influence and a pit psionic manipulation Ixevim was soon alone in a chemistry lab creating Cracking Gel.

[Wiccy of the Fraternity]

Heinrich sat slumped against the wall of the corridor opposite the room where Nostalia battled for her life. How had it come to this? She had been seriously injured, but life threatening? He doubted this, his injuries must have been nearly as bad as hers. He had given her the potion Artemis had handed over, his had effected, if not saved his own life while that givenn to Nostalia had done nothing. His burning anger found new fuel as he made a decision. Artemis was to blame, he had planned it all and even now he planned to bring failure to all his companions. How long had the spy been working against them? Had he even worked for their benefit?

His hands tightened about the cane as he imagined them strangling the life from the spy, a smile creeping across his lips as he wished it were so.

More hushed voices from within the room brought him back from the brink of madness. Now was not the time, Nostalia must live, nothing else mattered at this moment. Later, yes later he would have his revenge on the spy. He would do it secretly, as he had done many times before, old habits die hard, he wondered if the spy knew what danger he was now in from someone with many more years experience. First though, if Nostalia died - hating the thought as it formed in his head - Lady Borca will know of his actions, the cold-blooded murder he had darried out would be proof to Heinrich's argument. Without the protection of Lady Borca, Artemis would be nothing and his to take at any moment of his choosing.

[alhoon]

In the afternoon, Ixevim used his new-found influence in the palace, a bit of mind-reading and psionic suggestions to aquire the required magic ink and components to create some scrolls, just in case.

About three hours later, he had a few new scrolls to use. Content for the time he went to his room, studied and thought about magic for an hour or so and he went to sleep. His sleep was troubled for the fear he has tasted and the many questions left unanswered.

OOC> Ixevim made the following scrolls: mage armor, magic weapon x2, Protection from arrows and bear's endurance. The scrolls costed Ixevim 15 XP. Not too much to mention I know, but just to be on the safe side.