Realms of Dread [IC] Chapter Three

[ewancummins]

Ino

''We know you were investigating beheadings in the city. Rumors travel faster than official news. The last couple of days, the flies are buzzing all about how these 'big heroes' caught the man responsible for the murder of some people who were fished out of the canals a couple weeks ago. Yesterday, some fancy officer of the Watch, mudside, made an announcement that the beheadings case was closed, and the perpetrator, a local drunk, had fallen to his death- an accident. Very convenient way to quiet the growing rumors of a 'mad headsman' who stalks Marsember at night, preying on the citizens. ''

[kintire]

"If I had 'taken the Star' I'd be in the service of a nation that supports defiling the bodies and souls of the dead. I will NOT do that Jamethon: I will not assist Necromancers, I will not serve Necromancers, and I will not assist or serve anyone who allies with them. The Cormyrean authorities are the problem here, not the solution!"

Shana yawns and lies back in the bed

"Still, I appreciate the soup..."

[ewancummins]

Shana-



Jamethon says, before leaving Shana-

''Oh, I agree! It's terrible. This city stinks of corruption and filthiness, from the bottoms of the canals to the tops of the highest towers of the Citadel. We'll just have to hope Rask is the one honest man in a pack of rogues. If not...Well, enjoy your soup, Shana. I'll be back as soon as I'm done with the Watch-Captain.''

Then, Jamethon is gone.
Widow Callum's girl brings some leek soup up, about ten minutes later, along with a pitcher of lukewarm lemon water. It's pretty good soup.

[VAN]

"I know that a madman was captured and blamed for the murders but I'm not sure if was the one who committed the crimes. I have never met him. He was in jail. How he died?"

[ewancummins]

Ino-




''You know damn well how he died! He was pushed off a flight of stairs and broke his neck. You did him, too, didn't you? Or was his death the dwarf's idea, just like with Delthrin? ''

[kintire]

Eat soup... sleep. Probably in that order...

[Ken of Ghastria]

OOC: Geez, you folks post a lot in the wee hours (U.S. East Coast time, that is)!

IC:

The still-gagged Blaise nods in acknowledgement of the guard's question.

[ewancummins]

Blaise-


The guard cuts Blaise free and removes the gag.

''Bring it in.''

The guards give Blaise a flagon of ale and a plate of fried fish and potatoes. A healer is brought in and Blaise's wound is cleaned and bandaged. The man who'd removed Blaise's gag and cut free his hands now leaves.

The bailiff appears in the doorway, flanked by two Cormyrean soldiers [those two men look at Blaise with blank expressions, and keep their hands on the hilts of their swords].

The bailiff enters Blaise's room and takes a seat on the only other chair.

''Blaise Redman. ''
It's a statement, not a question.

''You seem to be the smartest out of all this gang. I'm not going to mislead you: someone has to pay for what happened last night and this morning. Two men are dead, and others have been harmed. Poor Arnulf is only alive because Master Threan put himself in jeopardy to save the boy, healing him before they died- which he surely would have done. That big brute in your party is nothing but a rabid dog- he ought to be put down.

It's the dwarf who wanted Delthrin dead so badly. Well, she got him- and got your friend Archedius killed to boot. That monster she freed ate Archedius' brains and made off with Delthrin's head.

The others told us about how your team was investigating the recent spate of beheadings. They told me that your Watch Captain ordered you to drop that case prematurely. We now know that it was almost certainly an innocent man who so conveniently fell to his death after 'confessing.' You surely must realize how incredibly guilty you all look, now?

Delthrin didn't commit any crimes you can prove- not a single one. He's dead because the dwarf browbeat her companions into leaving him to die in the hands of that brain eating fiend. She tries to claim ignorance as an excuse but her malice and hatred are plain to see. We have witness statements from members of your party that indicate that she passionately hated Delthrin, wanted him dead, and even beat him when he was completely at her mercy.

I know you aren't going to lie to me. The lives of one or more of your friends may well depend on the next words you speak being the unvarnished truth. You can still save most of them from what's coming. So, take a deep breath and tell me what happened, to the best of your knowledge. ''

[VAN]

Inovidil looks at the guard really surprised.

"He fell from the stairs? He was in jail! How could I get in there and push him? Anyway, can I see Caprain Rask and a cleric? Things will be much easier that way. The clerics have powerful spells that can detect lies so you will all know that I'm telling the truth.""

[ewancummins]

Inovidil


''We'll have a cleric here, very soon. Then we'll see. You'd better hope you haven't been lying. Calishite slave, remember?''

Garlic-breath slams his right hand into the arm of Ino's chair.

''Oh, and just so you don't get cold in this room...''

He rips a wad of pages from Ino's book and tosses a half-dozen incantantions onto the flaming brazier.

Chuckly evilly, Garlic-breath now takes his leave. Two very unfriendly looking men with bared swords move to stand just behind Ino's chair.

One crouches and whispers into her ear-

''Thinking of trying something? Don't make us hurt you, lady.''

He lays his naked sword on the nape of Ino's neck- the steel is so cold that it sends involuntary shivers up and down her spine.

[VAN]

Inovidil grins and shuts her eyes to not look the pages go burning. She doesn't even bother to respond to the other guards she doesn't plan to escape anyway. So she just sit there hoping a cleric would have come soon.

[Ken of Ghastria]

''You seem to be the smartest out of all this gang."

Blaise purses his chapped lips, as though considering this, then he nods his head a few times.

He listens to everything that the man has to say, opening his mouth to speak once or twice, but he decides to eat his meal instead. When the baliff has finished, he says, "I'll deal with the easiest part of this first. Frankly, I don't care what happens to Ironheart. I didn't meet him until yesterday and I don't condone his actions." He drinks a few gulps from the flagon.

"As for the rest, well, Rardi I've known only a short time, but she has impressed me as one of the wisest, most devout people I've ever met. I used to be the religious type -- not anymore -- but seeing Rardi at work reminds me of why I pursued that path years ago. Now, did I see what happened with this ... 'brain-eating fiend,' you say? Um, no, I was busy being eaten by ghouls at the time. Yet do I have any doubt that Rardi followed a course of action that was best for everyone in this town? None. By the way, this fish is quite good!

"Oh, a second 'by the way,' if you don't mind: You seem to suggest that one of us ... what's the term, planted evidence pointing to the 'innocent man' you describe. Yes? Well, if that's so, and we wanted the beheading case to be closed, why would any of us continue looking for the beheader? I mean, I like conundrums as much as the next fellow, but really, that doesn't make a lot of sense ... and I suspect you know that.

"Anyway, here's my recital of last night's events from my perspective. I pursued the smuggling case that Watch Captain Rask had described. I found a group of men surreptiously delivering boxes to a warehouse, with help from zombies ... yes, zombies, not drunken wharf rats. I know the difference." Blaise then gives the baliff the precise location of the warehouse. "That Threan character snuck into the warehouse after I left, and he saw Delthrin inside the office. Fascinating to see the 'hero' of town as the apparent mastermind of a smuggling ring. You'd think necromancy would keep him busy enough! Anyway, Threan said that Delthrin sensed intruders in his home. Considering that Delthrin was already seemingly implicated in one crime, and that I suspected some of my friends rightfully harbored suspicions of Delthrin's involvement in the beheadings, I assumed that my companions were 'the intruders' and that Delthrin would try to silence anyone who uncovered evidence of his crimes. He'd probably animate them as footstools afterward. He has a morbid sense of decor.

"Several of us, including Threan, got on a boat to the island. We were soon attacked by ghouls, and I nearly died. Have you ever had the muscles of your arm stripped off the bone by teeth, sir? Thank the gods for clerical healing.

"By the time we rejoined Inovidil and Rardi, this business with Archedius and the brain-sucking criminal of yours was over." He pauses. "Wait, you say Delthrin's head was missing? Ohhhh, that's very clever."

[ewancummins]

Shana-


Shana drifts off to sleep, laying in Jamethon's bed at the Old Shell.


A soft , shuffling noise wakes her. She opens her eyes and sees a somberly dressed man standing at the end of the bed. For a second, she might think that he's Jamethon, come back early. Then she recognizes the man: Delthrin the Deadmaster.

'Hello, Shana. Do you mind if I lie down next to you? I'm very tired. Dying is a wearisome business. Of course, for someone like me, death is only an inconvenience. ''

Delthrin crawls into bed with Shana. He gently caressess her cheek. His fingers are cold as ice.

He whispers in her ear-

''I'm going to kill you and all your friends, and then I will force your souls to re-enter your corpses. You will all be my slaves...forever. ''

[ewancummins]

Blaise-

''Think whatever you like, Mister Redman. I'm done with you for now, There's someone here to see you...''

The bailiff stands up and walks out of the room.

A moment later, Watch-Captain Rask enters the cell.

''Helm's eyes, Redman! Jamethon told me that you'd all been captured on some cockeyed off-the-books job. Are you well? ''

[ewancummins]

Ino-



The bailiff enters the interrogation room where Inovidil is being held.

''Take that sword off her neck, man!''

The soldier sheathes his blade and steps back, further behind Ino and out of her sight entirely.

The bailiff sits on the stool that Garlic-Breath had lately used.

''Inovidil, I have had a clerk prepare a short summary of your statement. Sign it and I will arrange for a cleric to attend to your injuries and to verify that you are telling the truth about not having killed Delthrin.''

He shows Ino a document. He holds it close to her face so that she may read it herself:


On the night of the 20th, I, Inovidil, broke into Blackpillars in the company of two of my teammates, Rardi Silverhelm and Archedius Targaris. We encountered Delthrin and subdued him after freeing a monster that he had kept imprisoned in his laboratory. After Delthrin had been stripped by us, and was bound and gagged securely, I witnessed Sergeant Silverhelm beat the prisoner. It was then decided by our group, at Rardi’s vehement insistence, that we should deliver Delthrin up to the creature we had freed from restraint. We did so, and the monster took both Delthrin and my leader, Archedius, from my sight.

I have heard Rardi Silverhelm exclaim on multiple occasions that Magus Delthrin was an evil man, who deserved a bad fate, even death. She made it well known to me that she believed him to be responsible for terrible crimes, to whit: murder and kidnapping. She also made it clear by word and deed that she despised him because of his profession of necromancy. I agreed that Delthrin was a suspicious person, and this motivated me to take part in the activities of the night of the 20th. We had no concrete evidence of any wrongdoing on his part, but were moving on suspicions we had about Delthrin and his activities. Our actions were undertaken without official sanction. No one ordered us to go to Blackpillars or to attack Delthrin.