The Eye of Anubis: Book Three

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Looking over at Lia, Charles says, "Let's leave the goods for now, M'selle. All of this passes into the hands of Master Nizam by law, and it would be exceedingly awkward to appear in the character of murderers and despoilers of the late Master Tarik. In fact, I think the facts surrounding his demise ought not to be mentioned at all."

"That seems a little shortsighted, Charles," Lia replies, though her tone of voice is not angry or insulting. "Basler already knows we were coming to see Tarik, and soon enough people will realize that he is very much out of the picture. If the master of the Nisranci estate is to take on a sudden apprentice, a krenshar ... 'pet' and provide a cover story to prevent us from being hounded by the civil authorities every time we return to Hazlan, we should at least have a full conversation with him. But perhaps we could talk about this on the way outside ...?"

For just a moment, Lia walks over to Tarik's corpse ... and arranges it into a slightly more dignified position, even pulling down the cowl to cover the wound that turned out to be the fatal one.
'Fly beyond the mortal coil
which you defiled, which you did soil,'
Lia intones over the corpse,
'fly far away, beyond that Sea
of illusion, delusion, which was home to thee.
May greater mercy meet you on distant shore,
than you granted any other heretofore.'

"Rest in peace if you will, Cevdet Tarik," she says as a final salute. "I do not like you, but I salute you as a powerful opponent. Fare thee well -- as well as may be, all things considered."

Turning back to the others, Lia claps her hands together once. "I repeat: let us get these children out of here and back under the living sky. Who agrees?"

[steveflam]

Ulsaon exits the lab with a book in her hands and what looked like a rod tucked under her arm. "Hey , look at what I found in the lab!" she says as she holds out the book in one hand and holds the rod in another to everyone.

[Kaitou Kage]

Kuzan rolled his eyes. Leave it to Lia to argue with everyone and then act like she's in charge. One of these days, someone'll slap her silly, right across her pompous, masked face.

Ah well. It can't be helped. And, scorch marks and lacerations aside, Kuzan felt too good to be annoyed for more than five seconds.

He uttered the familiar prayer and waded through the children to get to Tomas. "Here," he said, "You look a mess." And with that, he placed his hand on Tomas's shoulder.

Then something clicked in his mind. He turned to Nizam, a hopeful, but worried look in his eyes.

"The gift he gave me," Kuzan said quietly, "It was just what it appears to be, right? There're no spells on it that will do anything to me? It's just a neat little picture of a ship?"

Cure serious wounds on Tomas -- I'm all out of middling heals D: -- 14 (dice) + 8 (caster level) + 6 (augment) = 28 damage healed. Enjoy!

[Nathan of the FoS]

"Oh, obviously his disappearance must be explained," Charles says to Lia. Inwardly he rolls his eyes at the "short-sighted" comment; the young lady's habit of underestimating the intelligence of those around her is sometimes a little hard to take. But then, he hasn't explained the whole plan...a great deal relies on Basler...but he shouldn't be hard to square. Basler stands to gain more than anyone, really...

"But the circumstances of his disappearance should not be. A mysterious disappearance while investigating the properties of the Ethereal Plane...all too common...apprentice distraught, of course, but these studies are hazardous and accidents happen. Basler opens and closes the investigation, and all is well.

"Our own presence ought not to be mentioned at all, I think; that will introduce any number of complications which will tend to bring the situation to the attention of those whose interests are largely incalculable and certainly unlikely to be friendly to us. Basler must be informed of the circumstances, of course, since reporting the incident to the legal authorities will fall to him. But the true story should not go any farther. Lead us out, Master Nizam."

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"I see," Lia says, nodding her agreement to Charles. "I defer to your expertise in this area, then. My apologies for not understanding your intent sooner." She starts to turn away -- then looks quizzically at Nizam. "There is something I've been wondering about," she says to the apprentice. "Tarik's best interests lay in keeping quiet and low profile. Why would he suddenly expose himself by attacking Lily D'Envers?"

[Nathan of the FoS]

"Oh," Charles says, waving one hand self-deprecatingly. "There's a lot left to be settled, certainly. But this is a circumstance where I can help. Was it really your master who attacked M'selle D'Envers, Nizam? As M'selle Mourneswaith says, it does seem rather unlike him--from the little I know of him, anyway."

Charles falls silent, then gestures to the whole cavern. "What was...all of this...intended to accomplish, anyway?"

At this point his eye falls on Ulsaon, and a hastily concealed expression of alarm crosses his face. "Er...let's leave everything where it is for the time being," he says. "There will be time enough to examine it later, I'm sure. I think the first order of business is getting these children home, then telling Rishad Nisanci what has happened."

[steveflam]

Ulsaon ponders Charles question. "It was probably a madman's idea of a hideout. Who knows what his motivations were, he was after all a madman as I previously stated. Um I don't want to become a burden but we are a team, and as such, I personally don't like any bickering. I am also sure the rest of you don't either. If we have any peeves with each other, might we air them in private instead of here in front of the children?"

[The Whistler]

Amidst the general to-do, Otto had flown down and alighted beside the body--simply looking, head bowed.

So that's him.

His lips were moving slightly, and if you listened very closely, and knew Lamordian:

[Lamordian]"You were dishonorable, you were a hypocrite, you had no respect for any life but your own. You were a horrible, horrible person. But I'm not happy because I killed you. Knowing me, shock's going to kick in a day or two from now and I'm going to have nightmares about tonight for the rest of my life. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't fun, and it would have been morally borderline even under the best circumstances. I'm sorry I had to do it.

"I am happy because I have my life back, now. That's all--but it's a pretty big thing.

"Goodbye, Cevdet Tarik."

He straightened. "Let us go from this place, yes? I imagine that we have a lot of which to settle with our host."

[NeoTiamat]

Cevdet Tarik's Sanctum, Western Elazig District, Hazlan
May 14th, 761, 11:25 PM; Day 58 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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"Nizam? Nizam! Where is the passage you used to get in here? I doubt any of us wishes to go back the way we came in by."

The apprentice offered a small smile to Lia, and gestured to the tunnel from which you had come. "That way. The other end of the tunnel leads to the manor's basement.

His plans coalescing rapidly, Charles goes back to where Nizam stands. "I think," he says, "you need a new master, and a better man. All of this is yours by law, is that not correct? But you'll need a legal guardian until you come of age, as well as a master. Would you be amenable to having Rishad Nisanci take the role?"

"But the circumstances of his disappearance should not be. A mysterious disappearance while investigating the properties of the Ethereal Plane...all too common...apprentice distraught, of course, but these studies are hazardous and accidents happen. Basler opens and closes the investigation, and all is well."

The apprentice's eyes go wide with wonder as he listened to these plans for his future. You felt a stirring of pity for the young man, whose life had been irrevocably altered in barely one evening. From apprentice to murderer to vagabond to landowner in less than a few hours.

"Sir... that would be wonderful, wonderful beyond belief." Nizam apparently grasped the implications of Charles's scheme faster than anyone. "I'd.... have a place.... a future. Thank you, please, let it work."

"What was he trying to do? What was so important here that he was willing to do...this?"

Nizam sighed, and the shadow of old fear and sorrow mixed with something else, for a moment. Grief? The apprentice took a deep breath, brushing off his black robes as he sought to find an answer to the question. "It's.... complicated. I'll tell you on the way out."

Calling to the others he shouts "The Krenshar breathes! Nizam, can you control this creature shoudl it be brough back to health?"

The shout from the floor of the cavern turned young Mulani's attention. He frowned momentarily, then nodded. "I... think so.... Masal is as used to me as she is to anyone, I'll take care of her."

For the first time, Nizam smiled bitterly. "Not as though we've anyone else in the world."

"The gift he gave me," Kuzan said quietly, "It was just what it appears to be, right? There're no spells on it that will do anything to me? It's just a neat little picture of a ship?"

"I'd think so..." Nizam answered, and there was a kind of melancholy pride in the young man's voice. "Master Cevdet made many illusions of art, but he needed to link them to something tangible for them to work. So he made little bits of wood and placed them in the floorboards or kept them in drawers. We've hundreds back in the manor."

Ulsaon exits the lab with a book in her hands and what looked like a rod tucked under her arm. "Hey , look at what I found in the lab!" she says as she holds out the book in one hand and holds the rod in another to everyone.

"Oh... those..." Nizam nodded absently, not paying much attention. "Keep them if you want.... that's Master Cevdet's spare spellbook and casting rod. I... don't want them, and I doubt anyone will ever come down here."

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A short while later, as Kuzan leaned down to place his hand on the barely living krenshar, Nizam kneeled before the great beast's head. Slowly, as the life-giving energy entered Masal's body, her breathing grew stronger, steadier.... and eyelid fluttered, and the immense feline lifted her head, looking at Nizam with strangely dull eyes. You held your breath, not particularly keen on being part of the situation if Masal decided to try and bite someone's face off.

"It's me.... Masal..." Nizam crooned to the beast, resting a hand on the huge, flat forehead. "It's just us now... Master is gone."

The krenshar looked at the apprentice with dawning comprehension, and then just slumped foreward, an expression of utter defeat and loss writ large on her features. Nizam mumbled some soothing words, then stood, leaving the familiar to her own, personal grief.

"She'll.... be fine, in time." Nizam offered, turning to the others. "She'll cause no harm, I hope."

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And then the apprentice turned to go up the ramp to the plateau, where Lia had laid out his master's body in a dignified pose. "Thank you...."

For long minutes, Nizam just stood there, stone still, and what thoughts passed through his mind you couldn't even begin to guess, though you didn't doubt they were conflicted in the extreme. And the conjuror made a quick, silent gesture with his hand, and the corpse began to burn, a purifying fire, perhaps one that cleansed away whatever sins Cevdet Tarik may have committed in life. Masal raised herself creakily and rose onto the plateau, taking up a place beside Nizam.

"Goodbye."

And with that one word, Nizam left his master's pyre, and the rest of you, explorers, children, and krenshar alike, followed him.

Cinnabar Tunnels, Western Elazig District, Hazlan
May 15th, 761, 12:04 AM; Day 59 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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"I suppose it began when Master Cevdet first bought this estate, a decade ago. It had a number of mines on it, but they were abandoned for one reason or another. So Master Cevdet began to explore them, and expand them."

Nizam spoke softly as he lead the way through the tunnels beneath the Elazig district. There were miles of them, a maze of tunnels that lead everywhere. You didn't think you'd ever find your way out, but Nizam stepped quickly and assuredly, Masal dogging his heels.

"Not long later, he found that chamber beneath Ghostdeath Knoll. I'm not sure what the crystal is, but Master Cevdet thought it was a Vossath Nor collection device, something that harvested the ghostly emotion of the Ethereal Plane and transformed it into a kind of harmless energy. That's what that mist and those faces are... undigested ghosts."

"And somehow....he got the idea that that energy could be used to give someone magical power. Master Cevdet was an illusionist of high skill, but he wanted to advance farther yet, and as a commoner-born, he couldn't."

"But first, he needed to test the idea. He decided that a child would be more 'flexible', is what Master Cevdet said, more capable of channeling the energy. He found a.... Mulani child.... and ten years ago tried the first of four experiments." Something fathomless flashed in Nizam's eyes. "He tried to use ghosts' energy, and it sort of worked, but the child was driven mad for a time, and ever after saw spirits as they were, not that many spirits walked there."

"The second experiment, seven years ago, involved Master Cevdet deciding that since ghostly energy was unusable, he'd use living children, to create a sympathetic relationship between subject and victim. He'd kidnap them while acting under an illusion spell, with a bit of enchantment to convince them to follow."

"Again he used the Mulani child, but the experiment was mostly a failure. Or at least, not nearly the success Master Cevdet thought it would be. A bit of magical power was granted, but he couldn't apply the ritual to himself, not yet."

Nizam stared ahead as he spoke, the apprentice's voice emotionless and dry as he recited the litany of acts. You wondered where Nizam was during all this.

"The children were.... a bit damaged, in their minds, and they'd seen too much, so Master Cevdet shipped them off to an orphanage in Kantora."

"The third time was four and a half years ago, and Master Cevdet decided to change the formula by seeking a Vistani child. And this time it worked beyond belief. The child, Kemal, I think, became a powerful, powerful sorcerer. More powerful then Master Cevdet imagined."

"Kemal broke out the day after the experiment, and Master Cevdet spent almost a year tracking him down to some village in Lamordia." Nizam glanced at Otto, but remained silent. "The three of us... Master Cevdet, myself, and Masal glamoured to look like a human, went to retrieve him. But.... something went wrong..."

"We didn't mean to kill him." Nizam's eyes begged to be believed. "But... in the heat of battle.... things happened. Master Cevdet was a month recovering from the burns, and I still have a patch of dead skin on my arm."

Nizam sighed. "And that's what brought us here today. A fourth attempt, only this time Master Cevdet would be prepared. And at the height of the ceremony, he'd transfer the energy the Vistana child held into himself."

At this point, Nizam looked up curiously at Lia and Charles. "Only... I don't think Master Cevdet's been out of the labratory for at least three days except to go to the manor. So who's this Miss D'Envers of yours?"

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"Were you that Mulani child, Nizam?" Lia asks quietly. "And ... does that crystal actually contain ghosts? Sentient spirits of the restless dead?"
In response to his final question, she briefly describes Lily's physical appearance. "Has no such woman perhaps, been by the manor?" she asks. "Did Tarik mention no such woman?"

[The Whistler]

"We didn't mean to kill him." Nizam's eyes begged to be believed. "But... in the heat of battle.... things happened. Master Cevdet was a month recovering from the burns, and I still have a patch of dead skin on my arm."

Otto gave the apprentice a look that fell somewhere between appraising and wary, then faced front again with a quick sigh.

Give it a few years, and there's a good chance you'll be able to forgive the kid, depending on how he turns out.

...Doesn't mean you have to *talk* to him, though.

[steveflam]

Ulsaon looks from Nizam to the items to Nizam to the items.......... she didn't know what to say. Licking her lips nervously, she held the items in disbelief. A look of awe came over her face, like she'd never seen such items before. She feared she was dreaming. Taking a deep breath she focused. Give them to him!........ NO!!!!!!!!!...... Yes!!!!!!!!!!!.... C,mon give them to him, otherwise you'll want to keep them for yourself! NO!! Er maybe...... I don't want to get into any more trouble as it is.........

Ulsaon moves towards Charles. Stop that! GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGGAGG!!!!!!!!!!!! Ulsaon clutches the items close to her body. Come on already!.......... *Sniff* *Sob* Oh All right allready!

Standing before Charles, Ulsaon seems to struggle with herself. Without further ado she hands the rod and book over to him. Having held her breath during her struggle, she exhales rather loudly and blushing, moves off keeping her eyes to the ground.

[Nathan of the FoS]

Charles is about to ask Nizam a question when Ulsaon appears out of nowhere and wordlessly hands him the spellbook and rod.

"Ah..." he says, giving her a quizzical look. "Thank you? I suppose that, as we are all the recipients of these very valuable gifts" (here Charles manages to give the impression of bowing to Nizam without even slowing down) "it remains to be decided only how to put them to best use. The purpose of the spellbook is clear enough, I suppose, and M'selles Mourneswaith and Lowbane and I will put it to good use. How is the rod to be used, Master Nizam?"

[NeoTiamat]

Cinnabar Tunnels, Western Elazig District, Hazlan
May 15th, 761, 12:29 AM; Day 59 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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"Were you that Mulani child, Nizam?" Lia asks quietly.

"I was..." Nizam sighed, and fell silent for a while, just walking through the vast tunnels. You waited for him to add something, but the apprentice just walked silently.

"And ... does that crystal actually contain ghosts? Sentient spirits of the restless dead?"

"Emotional energy, really, not actual ghosts." NIzam paused for a moment, thinking how to explain this in layman's terms. "When someone dies, there's a lot of emotions, right? And in the ethereal, emotions that are strong enough leave lasting effects. A ghost is kind of a crystalized emotion. The crystal leeches that emotional energy off from the surrounding area, so that instead of getting ghosts and emotional resonance, its all captured in the crystal."

Nizam scratched his head. "Master Cevdet thought that because the ethereal boundary is too thin in the area, the Vossath Nor set it up to keep from being swamped in ghosts."

"Does that make any sense?"

In response to his final question, she briefly describes Lily's physical appearance. "Has no such woman perhaps, been by the manor?" she asks. "Did Tarik mention no such woman?"

"Never saw her, and Master Cevdet didn't say anything." Nizam shrugged.

Tarik Estate, Western Elazig District, Hazlan
May 15th, 761, 12:52 AM; Day 59 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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You finally came up to the surface after passing through several layers of false illusionary walls, twice covering secret doors of some sort, or trapdoors or the like. The first you heard as you entered the basement of the Tarik Estate, however, was voices. Nizam froze, and beside him, Masal began to growl somewhere deep in the back of her throat, a sound that moved to the very core of your being.

"....Well, look again, for Legion's sake!" Samael's voice was loud, clear, and annoyed. "And is Jervis back from the mine already...?"

At this point, the Borcan's tirade was interrupted when the lot of you came up from the basement. It occurred to you that you must've looked horrible. Soaking wet, there was blood on your clothing, and to a one you were tired and miserable. Lia looked like she was probably going to come down with pneumonia soon.

Add to this was the fact that a black-robed young Mulani was in front of you, there was a huge krenshar by your side, and a small gaggle of ragged, hopeful looking children behind you.

Samael looked a little nonplussed, while Michel beside him seemed amused. The Borcan holstered his pistol inside his jacket and bowed politely to Nizam, then looked at the rest of you.

"I think I need to put you guys on a leash or something." Samael muttered. "Come on, it's nearly one in the morning, the others were getting seriously worried."

Glancing at the children behind you, Samael added. "And then you can tell us what happened...."

Nisanci Estate, Western Elazig District, Hazlan
May 15th, 761, 1:44 AM; Day 59 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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When you arrived at the estate, you found that Basler and much of the estate was still up, even as the search parties were returning. In short order, you figured out the situation. Apparently, after you hadn't returned by eleven in the evening, the rest of the Expedition got a bit antsy, particularly Dieter and Carter, and Samael, Michel, Guy, and Jervis were dispatched to find out just what was going on, the first two going to the Estate, the other two, along with Loup, going to the mine.

Basler, when he saw the crowd of children, was almost as flummoxed as Samael had been, but Lady Nisanci soon arrived to put things in order. She seemed the normal, self-effacing Mulani wife, but she did send Basler firmly towards the dining room with order to feed and clothe the returning Expedition members, while the children were bathed, fed, and put to bed. Servants with messages were dispatched on horses to Siruc and the Vistani camp.

Not too long after you arrived, and after you had cleaned up just a bit, you found yourself in the dining room as Rashemi servants passed around cold cuts and pieces of bread. You were all tired as horses after your day, but no one felt quite sleepy yet, the adrenaline having not quite worn off.

Basler kicked off the conversation with a single quiet sentence. "So what happened?"

[Rock of the Fraternity]

A hot bath and a change of clothing do wonders for Lia's general demeanor, but she remains mostly silent during dinner -- until Basler asks the logical question.
"I think it best if Charles explains that bit," Lia sighs. "I, for one, would only get everyone's back up if I try to speak for all of us."
Once other people start talking, Lia quietly approaches Otto and whispers to him: "Tomorrow, I should like to take Dani home to his family. I think it would be good if you came along. ... You might like to talk to madame Florinca about ... Kemal."
After taking her leave of Otto, Lia actually seeks out Lily D'Envers, if she is in the room. If not, she quietly excuses herself from the rest of the Expedition and seeks her out.