The Eye of Anubis: Book Eight

[yalenusveler]

"Someone who's good at following tracks..or something..help me look for signs of a limping away wounded." Andre said, looking in the area of the bloody mess, and starting deeper into it, while hoping desperately to avoid upsetting any ACTUAL tracks.

[The Whistler]

Motive, motive, motive, dammit, we need a motive get the cotton balls out of your head and think this through, okay, so if this were some sort of entirely voluntary "everyone let's get up and leave" sort of thing, it would have to have had had an extremely short planning time (why is that large angry man yelling at us, it's very distracting), because with ten or so of us left behind it's certain that one of us would have noticed, if not you then somebody else (I mean you're not trapped in your own head all the time, let's be honest), so our operating hypothesis here is either some sort of false pretense (as in an "I've just found out that those ten people are all wolves disguised as men [okay, that is probably a bad example], so let's drug their dinners and scarper while nobody's looking" sort of thing) or a straight-out mental domination affair, which would certainly explain Khalil's dodgy behavior, at least if we can take the word of that large angry man who's yelling us as bond, and let's be honest, we can't necessarily do that, since he has apparently just barged into our company right off the bat with nary a how-do-you-do, and oh.

...

So that's what's been happening for the last fifteen minutes.

Hm.

We are royally hosed.

"If I might do..." Otto pipes up uncertainly from the back of the crowd. "I *may* be able to keep track of where such people have gone, through a...er...slightly differing method. Only..."

The gunsmith pauses, looking rather anxious, and makes what he hopes is the universal "I can track by scent after I transform, but I don't want to give the new guy any more reason to freak out" gesture from behind Sascha's back.

[NeoTiamat]

Courtyard, The Monastery of Stilled Nightmares, Sebua
July 20th, 761, 11:32 AM; Day 125 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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"Let's speak to that monk. We will not be learning anything new here. Once we have a rational hold on what we know happened, speculation can become fruitful."

By the time Tomas arrived in the courtyard, the Monastery had woken up sufficiently for the courtyard to actually become quite crowded. Or as crowded as it ever was. There were three monks in various parts of the courtyard meditating on the tiled floor, while a fourth monk swept excess sand away.

When Tomas arrived, the sweeper-monk looked up to greet him. He was a tall, broad-shouldered young man with a Vechorite epsilon emblazoned upon his brow.

"Good morning." The Vechorite anchorite said with a broad smile creasing his bronzed face. "I am Angelos. I spoke with friends of yours...."

"Is all well? You do not look happy."

Main Guest Rooms, The Monastery of Stilled Nightmares, Sebua
July 20th, 761, 11:32 AM; Day 125 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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"Dieter," he said softly finally, "Will you come with me? Let's check Edmund's things and see if everything he needs is there. Maybe...maybe he didn't betray us, too."

When Dieter and Kuzan reached the guest rooms, the rest of the (rather diminished) Expedition had woken up. Professor Marchand-Renier was pacing across the room like a black secretary bird, with Remy sitting on a bed nearby and staring at the floor. Sebastian was talking to himself and staring at the ceiling, considering, planning, pondering.

Meanwhile, Professor Carter was taking stock of the gear remaining, while Sarari stood by a door, watching everyone with large, careful eyes.

"Kuzan, Dieter." Carter asked. "What's going on?"

"Long story, Prof." Dieter said, opening Edmund's pack and looking through it. "Shaving stuff... ammunition..."

Something made Dieter pause and raise his head to meet Kuzan's gaze. "Captain Harris's sketching stuff is here. I don't think he'd leave without it."

"What. Is. Happening?" Sarari asked in a low hiss.

Stables, The Monastery of Stilled Nightmares, Sebua
July 20th, 761, 11:32 AM; Day 125 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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"If I might do..." Otto pipes up uncertainly from the back of the crowd. "I *may* be able to keep track of where such people have gone, through a...er...slightly differing method. Only..."

It would probably be possible to track the bloodstains. Judging by the blood loss, the person was either dead, or fast getting there. Certainly there were enough of them to be noticeable even to the untrained eye, and to someone with Otto's... unusual talents, it would be even easier.

There were advantages to being bound to a Faerie wolf-lord through a spike pounded through your heart.



[Survival Check!]

[Kaitou Kage]

"Gods," Kuzan had to sit down on the bed for a moment. He rubbed his forehead and shook his head slowly.

"No," he said finally, "No, he wouldn't. What did they do to him, then?" The priest shivered. "Gods, I hope he's okay. When I get my hands on Sam..."

He cut himself off and turned to Carter.

"What do we have left?"

[lostboy]

Sascha stares at the blood for a moment ignoring the looks the others give him. He cares little for what these people think, trust is indeed earned it would seem, but in Saschas philosphopy trust is gained through deeds not words.

Stepping forward he thuds a mialed fist against his chest. "I am duty bound to protect the weak and the fallen, and this much blood is a poor omen, we need to find the wounded man as swiftly as possible. Use whatever skills you possess, but quickly, I will do everything within my power to assist you."

[OOC: got a 20 on survival for aid another so +2 on otto's attempt]

[The Whistler]

"I am duty bound to protect the weak and the fallen, and this much blood is a poor omen, we need to find the wounded man as swiftly as possible. Use whatever skills you possess, but quickly, I will do everything within my power to assist you."

Otto rolls his eyes in a "lets hope this doesn't get me killed, too" sort of way, then steps forward. Clears his throat. Looks sidewise at Sascha.

"...It is an arcane capability, yes?"

And says the command word.

OOC: Aspect of the Wolf time! And an extremely disappointing 5 on my Survival roll, for a total of 20. Thanks for the boost, Lostboy!

[NeoTiamat]

Main Guest Rooms, The Monastery of Stilled Nightmares, Sebua
July 20th, 761, 11:43 AM; Day 125 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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"What do we have left?"

"Our packs..." Carter frowned. "Kuzan... where are the others?"

"Come." Sarari said suddenly. "We search."

With those words, the elf left the room. If you desired, you could follow, but at the moment, Sarari was having plans of her own.

Stables, The Monastery of Stilled Nightmares, Sebua
July 20th, 761, 11:43 AM; Day 125 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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Tracking the splatters of blood was not difficult. Which was in and of itself a bit of an unfortunate testimony to just how much there was. With Otto's augmented nose, you wormed your way through the Monastery at a quick pace. Somewhere around here was the source...

Courtyard, The Monastery of Stilled Nightmares, Sebua
July 20th, 761, 11:51 AM; Day 125 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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The trail eventually led you to the Courtyard of the Monastery, where there was already quite a collection of monks gathering around Tomas. The blood was almost gone, but Otto could still sense it. The rich, coppery scent hanging in the air like curtains of fire, leading him to the source.

Sarari entered the Courtyard not too long after, trailed by a few confused-looking humans. The elf spotted you promptly, though there was something tense about Sarari. A spring coiled to the breaking point. "What is happening?"

It was then that Otto found the end of the trail, a small closet in the wall of the courtyard, one little used in this cavernous Monastery. The door was stuck, but a few sharp pulls opened it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Slumped inside the closet, a bit battered and bloody, was Captain Edmund Harris. He had been through a nasty brawl, that was much apparent, though not nearly nasty enough to justify the amount of blood. Moreover, he was sleeping, or perhaps unconscious, so still that for a brief moment of panic you wondered if it was Edmund's corpse you had found.

Most curious, however, was the piece of paper placed in the front shirt pocket of the drugged guard captain. Carefully folded, and with the distinctive signature of a certain Borcan on the outside, with the words To those who Remain written with a flourish.

[Kaitou Kage]

Kuzan stood up and walked after Sarari. He remained quiet, lost in his own stormy thoughts while he followed the elf through the monastery.

The short time later, they found Captain Harris.

"Varuna!" Kuzan broke rank and rushed to the Mordentishman's side, scrambling in an unsteady dash to see if the former guard captain was still alive and...as well as could be expected in this state.

"Lord Vishnu, preserver, keeper of life, cast your blessings on this man."

Kuzan's hands glowed soft white as he placed them on Edmund. The priest held his breath for a moment, then let it out as the magic took effect.

"Edmund?" he called gently, "Edmund, it's Kuzan. Can you hear me? You're safe now."

Cure critical wounds

[yalenusveler]

Panic wrote itself large across Andre's face for a moment's span, but he then quickly calmed out of it. A gesture, his hands thrust forward as again, the air seemed to nigh on throb with vitality, hairs standing on end and all that, before Andre let out another prayer, resting a hand on the battered guard captain's shoulder, vitality rushing into him.

"Beaten and Drugged..nothing this and some tea won't fix" Andre said with a weak smile. "Of course, even THIS doesn't amount for how much blood there was. Either they healed him..or one of theirs is seriously wounded."

And with that, Andre took up the "letter" and began to read

OOC:Sacred Boost=Maximized Cure Moderate

[NeoTiamat]

Courtyard, The Monastery of Stilled Nightmares, Sebua
July 20th, 761, 11:51 AM; Day 125 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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• Hello Everyone,

The letter read.

• I'm going to guess that by now you've found out that I've slipped a little something into the food last night, and that the gear and camels are gone. You'll probably be cursing my name from the monastery till the University, but I figure I owe all of you an explanation. We've been together long enough that you deserve that much.
  
  This Expedition hasn't been what any of us have been expecting. We were hoping for a quiet jaunt through a desert, followed by a few months of digging up old ruins, and then another quiet trip back to Dementlieu. Hasn't really worked out that way, has it? Our opening night got interrupted by the Anubite throwing a corpse through a window, and it's only gotten worse. Allikhain was murdered in Barovia, then Ulsaon in Phiraz, and now Professor Pelletier's been killed. And that's not even counting how many close-calls... Khalil... Lia... Guy... myself... This isn't that big an expedition, but we've been losing people constantly, and we're not even at the Tomb yet. There have been so many deaths...
  
  I don't want that on my conscience. Pelletier's death leaves me in command of the Expedition, and so I'm going to do something I doubt he would have considered, which is to try and save lives. Simply put, it's getting too dangerous, what with Cavendish, and the Anubite, and the fact that this entire desert has proven far more lethal than anyone could have imagined. So I'm taking the members of the Expedition most capable of protecting themselves, the guides to lead the way, and Lily because we need someone to watch over this and make sure it's all above-board. The rest of you need to stay behind for our own safety.
  
  Which is the second part of it, really. Some of you are dangerous now. To the point of being liabilities for this entire Expedition. Lia has gotten us all involved in a Faerie Pact. Kuzan has something living in his head. Otto is an Mist-blessed werewolf. And Andre... I'm not even sure what my old friend is these days. I can't be responsible for what happens to you, and I don't think I can be responsible for what you might do.
  
  So I'm leaving you here. Now that Lia's 'taint' is gone, the Monastery is the safest place in the Amber Wastes for you, and hopefully Cavendish and the rest won't have any reason to go after you if we're going ahead. So stay here and stay safe. Fassahd tells me that caravans stop by from time to time, even Vistani, so you can pick up a caravan home in few weeks or months, a little dusty but not the worse for wear. Myself and the others will press on to the Tomb, where we'll collect everything, make rubbings of everything, and bring it all back to the University for examination. Not perfect from a scholarly perspective, but I'm not going to let Dame Academia cost us lives.
  
  Obviously, I don't expect you to agree with me, and I can't be accepting everyone on the grounds that "this is an exception, you need me!" So Michel and myself slipped enough sopoforic into your food last night to stun a small army. I'm also taking all the provision boxes and the animals so you don't follow us. Maybe this will keep you out of trouble.
  
  Stay safe, and see you all in Port-a-Lucine.
  • • • • • • • • • -Samael Aurelius Maleagant