The Eye of Anubis: Book Six

[Kaitou Kage]

"I noticed that the priest seemed very tired," Kuzan stated, "Just talking to me winded him. When I asked him about it, he said he was fine, but he was decidedly not fine. He seemed convinced that he was fine. Could just be that he's old, though."

He shot Lia a curious look. "Why the wizard?"

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"Because we're weird people," Lia replies, indicating herself. "As a rule, we tend to look out for strange occurrences and local legends, on the off chance that there's a bit of power or useful knowledge in it for us. Also, if we settle someplace, we tend to set up wards. The tailor woman also seemed a bit tired, and her little boy's responses were ... odd. And yet master Stahlreim seemed hearty enough. I haven't spoken to anyone else yet. But I think the local wizard might have kept himself safe, and even if he did not, he is a merchant. He may have maps to sell which indicate places connected to Birth and Death, as mentioned in this latest poem. And he may know who this 'Lady Grey' is, who was mentioned to me in a verse you have not spoken of.

And the winds would cry,
And many men would die
And all the waves would bow down to the Lady Grey."

[yalenusveler]

Andre had began to pace, and it was almost as if he had decide to wear a groove into the ground. "Hm..possibility of a being that feeds off of the emotional vitality of humans? It's a stretch, but possible. Those two bird masked women ?"

Apparently Andre had decided to veer off into supposition and theory best left to the hour after which one had consumed too much Absinthe, leading to far too little sense.

[The Whistler]

"Hm..possibility of a being that feeds off of the emotional vitality of humans? It's a stretch, but possible.

"Why here, then? I suppose it is the only settlement of size in this area, but such a being would find little to sustain itself in a tiny traveler's camp...unless it is maintaining its "feedings" at a sustainably low rate, it could have been here very long."

Otto's pacing-lines ran parallel to Andre's, unconsciously mirroring the professor's--until the gunsmith stopped, suddenly.

"Ach--assumptions. While I know that our group is attracting the supernatural phenomena as if it is our job, is it possible that they are listless because they are *isolated in the middle of the desert?* Mundane explanations are *sometimes* the correct ones, at least I would like to hope so..."

[NeoTiamat]

Bahadur's Yurt, Kermanshah, The Kermanevar, Sebua
June 23rd, 761, 11:16 AM; Day 98 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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The wizard of Kermanshah was a man who went by the nomad name of Bahadur, and his home looked it. His tent was a large, circular construction of hide and scavenged bits of bone and wood. It had a permanent look to it, and was probably fairly warm, useful for the frigid desert nights.

Bahadur himself.... was not the ideal of the nomad. To begin with, he was short. Samael's height actually. He was also probably the first truly fat person you've met since entering the Amber Wastes. He wasn't morbidly obese, not at all, but he certainly had the general size and shape of a good barrel.

He also took the wizardly part of his business very seriously. He wore a cap that was dyed in just about every color found in nature, and some that weren't. Bright bits of glass acted as buttons on his tunic, and a somewhat ominous pattern of bones and lightning bolts were embroidered in golden (or golden-looking) thread. He had slightly pink cheeks even under his sun-darkened skin, and very intelligent, piercing eyes that made his mildly buffoonish appearance a lie.

Except that now, they just seemed tired as he watched you enter the tent, not saying hello or even nodding a welcome.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"Good day to you," Lia says, carefully suppressing a wince as she looks Bahadur up and down. "We hear that you are the mage of this community, as well as a merchant. I would like to buy an annotated map of this region, with notes to any 'unusual' locations that you know of."

[lostboy]

Khalil shivers slightly in the cool interior of the tent, the strange wind had unnerved the desert guide far more than he wished to admit. Still it was only voices, no actual dead people without faces.... He shivers agin at that thought then pushes it away firmly, scrutinising the man and his tent to occupy his mind.

[OOC: Spot 15 on the off chance there s anythign unusual]

Except that now, they just seemed tired as he watched you enter the tent, not saying hello or even nodding a welcome.

The man's inaction to their arrival starts to alarm Khalil a little and he squats next to him. [Akiri] "Are you well Affendi?"

[Kaitou Kage]

Just like the priest, Kuzan thought to himself, The same exhaustion. He'll say he's fine, he'll think he's fine, but he's obviously not fine. The priest shook his head. As a medic and healer, he wanted to help these folks out but it was hard to help patients that didn't think they were ill. He idly wondered which was worse: Those that thought themselves sick and weren't, or those that were sick and didn't think so. He decided both were equally bad in their own ways.

He considered interjecting into Khalil's question, but decided against it. Instead, he retreated more into the group.

"It's just like the priest," he said quietly, "Very, very tired. I might go see the dwarf in a moment."

Heal 35 to look him over and possibly identify a cause.

Knowledge (Religion) 33 to identify some sort of creature or phenomenon that could cause both men to become as tired as they are.

[NeoTiamat]

Bahadur's Yurt, Kermanshah, The Kermanevar, Sebua
June 23rd, 761, 11:24 AM; Day 98 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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"I am the mage of Kermanshah, that is correct." Bahadur nodded mildly, his vari-colored cap shifting in the light. It had tassels on the back, you noticed. "I have some if you are interested in them. Small maps of papyrus for five silvers, or a larger map of parchment and color, crafted by magery."

The barrel-shaped wizard seemed to consider Khalil's question for a moment, then nodded. "I am well."

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"I am looking for a very good map," Lia says as she moves closer to Bahadur. Her eyes glint momentarily behind her veil as she raises herself to her full height. "A fully annotated map, which shows all of the special places, which may be of interest for whatever reason. The kind of map that a mage might consider useful, when touring a completely new region, in fact."

[DocBeard]

"Is that a technical term?" Tomas does his best 'dumb tourist', chomping on an apple and chewing like a horse for a few seconds, standing beside Lia like an obnoxious brother or interesting husband, depending on how good he is at using his tongue. "Magery, I mean. Because it sounds like one of those...those...what are those again, hrm?" Tomas looks at Lia, frowning. "... terms, that's it, terms you use when you don't know the proper name for something."

"I'm a writer, you see." Tomas grins, picking a piece of apple skin from his teeth, "So we know all about that sort of thing. You could say its our stock in trade, ah-hah hah!" Tomas lets out a chuckle that turns into a booming laugh, slapping his knee and everything.

"'Stock in trade'..." Tomas pauses, "Well, I suppose it's a bit of an industry joke, ja?"

(OOC: Tomas is pouring on the anti-charm so as to try and see if the man reacts to anything any other way than exhausted apathy. Should I roll something for that, or just go with it?)

[Kaitou Kage]

Kuzan watched the wizard quietly after his little whispered revelation. Lia talked to the man, the man responded. The effort of talking, of doing anything was virtually identical to the priest's reaction to his own questions. Something wormed its way around in the back of his mind, something that hadn't quite clearly settled in his thoughts when he spoke with the priest. Something he'd heard of, even read of in some religious texts. The cleric shivered visibly and backed up. Even in the tent's dim lighting, the others could see the priest's skin pale beneath his skin.

"I...I need to step outside," he said quietly, "Please excuse me." And with that, the priest hurriedly exited the tent.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Lia watches Kuzan duck out with narrowed eyes. She quickly turns to Charles: "Well, cousin. I've said what kind of map I need, I'm sure you're the best man to bargain for it. Get it for me, pretty please?" Lia actually moves closer to Charles and fiddles a bit with his collar, as if straightening it. "The air is just a bit close in here, to me. I trust you won't begrudge me for stepping outside, sir wizard? Come along, husband ..."

This last, ominous word is directed at Tomas, to whom Lia directs a basilisk glare. "You should support me; the day is growing hot for me." That being said, Lia fairly drags Tomas outside, if he'll let her, and goes after Kuzan.

"What is it?" she asks the priest in muted tones. "I thought you were ready to faint in there. What is going on?"

[Kaitou Kage]

Lia, Tomas, and anyone else that exited the tent found Kuzan pacing back and forth some distance from the tents. He seemed preoccupied, as if analyzing something in his head. He watched the ground as he walked, hands clasped behind his back, his steps swift and measured. When his companions approached, he glanced up, nodded, and continued pacing.

"I know what's wrong with them," the priest said hurriedly, "I've never seen it before, only heard about it. Back home, this was supposedly something only the vilest of naga and demons were capable of." He began gesturing idly as he talked, resembling a professor teaching a class.

"The easiest way to explain it is their souls have been removed," he explained, "But that's not quite right. It's more like their motivation and creativity has been completely removed. Their minds and bodies still function normally -- as normally as possible without emotions or a driving force. They still have all their knowledge and everything, so they can do normal business. The priest was the same way."

He paused and looked up at the others. "Basically, they're not doing things because of any driving reason. They do it because somehow, they remember it's what they're supposed to do. They've lost their survival instinct, their...spark that makes them more than an automaton. So in essence, they can't take joy in anything or feel sadness in anything. They have no curiosity in our arrival because they can't feel curious. They've lost that capability. We could probably rob these people of everything they own right in front of their faces and they wouldn't lift much more than a finger. They're just doing things because they know it's what they're supposed to do."

The priest paused once more, paling again. "It also makes them dangerous," he said, his voice going quieter, "If one of them decides suddenly that he is supposed to attack us, he will. There won't be any way to reason with him. Their morals and their survival instincts are gone. They'll attack us and keep attacking no matter what we say or do until one or the other is incapacitated, and they'll attack without regard for personal safety. They're essentially amoral, unfeeling machines now. They do things now without considering any consequences of what they do."

He stopped pacing finally and looked up again. "It's possible this could be reversed and undone. They're not dead, they're very much still alive. They'll live until old age or something else kills them. More likely they'll die of an accident. But it's only a possibility. I don't know for sure that this can be fixed. It all depends on if their...their emotions are still out there somewhere."

Kuzan shook his head and started pacing agitatedly once more.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"You make them sound like zombies with heartbeats," Lia says quietly, her tone appalled. "Hell's Bells."

Lia turns to look at the tent where the others are still engaged in trading and shakes her head. "Hell's Bells!" she swears again, shaking her head. "Even the little boy might ... But then where do those rhymes come from? The songs you have all heard and the ones Tomas and I heard? Two voices, women's voices ..."

Lia pauses for a while. When she speaks again, her voice is low, unhappy: "I could cast Detect Magic and see whether there is a trace of any magic still active upon this place, but ... I worry. If there is a trail to lead us to whatever or whoever has caused this horror, they may well be terribly powerful. If there is no trail, however, it might indicate that these people are ... lost. Not a conclusion I wish to draw."

Lia looks Kuzan in the eye. "Dammit. That Anubite ... She may be trying to use us again, to deal with an affront to the estates of life and death, just as she did in Hazlan. Do you not think so? Because this ... this is an affront as well as an assault to the very soul."

Abruptly, Lia twitches. "We can not camp here," she says in a low, urgent tone of voice. "We can't! Whatever did this to the people might be able to control them somehow, or attack us. And ... I recommend against eating or drinking anything from this town until we find some way to counter this mess. Who knows how this horror was committed? Magical poisons in the water, perhaps ... No. No, we need to retreat a distance from the oasis. I have spells that can give us true privacy to talk and plan. We need to get out of here, quickly!"