The Eye of Anubis: Book Ten

[NeoTiamat]

Town Square, Muhar, Har'Akir
August 27th, 761, 1:08 PM; Day 163 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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"Goodmen of Muhar! We rejoice to see you gathered here and marvel with you at this strange and awful sight! Know that this day we have been preserved by the hand of Osiris himself, who delivered us in deadly battle against the minions of Set, who had by evil wiles undermined the very foundations of this great temple. Seeing that it had become foul and corrupt in his sight, Osiris has thrown it down, and by its fall he has crushed the Red God, his foul temple, and his servants, and delivered us alive to tell you of the mighty work which he did here. Is there any here who loves Osiris? Let him stand forward! As a token of my gratitude to the god, I offer these armbands, cunningly wrought in iron and gold and enchanted with great magicks powerful against the servants of Set, to the rebuilding of a new temple to Osiris!"

There was a murmurring in the crowd, and a few of the men started to reach for money-pouches and wallets. There was certainly something inspired about Charles's oratory, something that turned even an angry, vicious crowd into sheepishly looking for donations. It was a gift, and nothing else.

"All praise Lord Osiris!" A middle-aged woman shouted, stepping forward towards the front of the crowd. She was a dumpy, short woman, a tradesman's wife. She clutched a moneypouch in her hands and threw it to the steps, where it landed beside Charles's bracers. "All curse red-headed Set! Set the Deciever!"

"Osiris has freed us from Set. It is Set's corruption that let us fall to the foreign fiends, Set's lies that bound us and shackled us!" The woman had a rich, mellow voice, a persuasive tenor. "Now Osiris has freed us from Set, but we must still free ourselves from the foreigners! Death to the Hawk-men!"

An ugly whispering filtered through the incipient mob, as men and women cast dark looks at Luther and Niklas... and by extension at Tomas, Dieter and Otto. One of the people at the front, a boy of maybe fourteen years of age, picked up one of the fallen pieces of rubble and began to look speculatively at Tomas.

[DocBeard]

Oh, good, the one person agreeing with us is...

"Arrgh." Tomas stumbles back, as if the boy had already struck him. He thought he was OVER this, but here he is again, letting the invisible world rip at his body and mind. He's not bleeding, this time, but he looks pale, suddenly weak, while at the same time, the warrior's eyes flash with such a primal fury that, if the boy is looking at the wrong time, he might see the side of Tomas normally reserved for the most elemental of evils.

When he is restored to himself, Tomas pulls on Lia's sleeve. "The woman." He murmurs, loud enough for those close by to hear him but as disguised otherwise as he can. "She is...wrong. The world around her...shivers and sickens, like flesh exposed to a parasite."

[yalenusveler]

"I beg you all please, some restraint." Andre said, his voice rising despite the rather unpleasant situation he had just been in. "Though wrongs have been done, they have been done to all parties here, even those who bear the brand of the hawk. Though tempers are flaring hot, discussion can rule the day, and no one's passage into Aaru need be jeopardized."

Andre paused for a moment's breath, then continued. "For in the Negative Confession all must give, does it not say that one must not cause pain, or suffering? Or worse yet, kill? Through the will of Osiris, a great wickedness has been undone today, so let us not have our inability to see with the eyes of Ma'at cause yet another to occur."

OOC:36 on Knowledge religion, 30 on a diplomacy. Also, Calm emotions into the crowd, trying to get as many people as possible.

[Nathan of the FoS]

"These Osiris has judged already, goodwife," Charles says loudly, "and has found worthy to live, or they would surely have been smitten by the god's hand. What is your name, goodwife, who are so zealous for Osiris?"

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Lia's eyes fasten on the woman, and behind the mask, she smiles without mirth. Disquietingly, she sings a little verse:

Draconic: "I'm John Cavendish, and I'm Lord of the Dance!
Watch me play with dead dollies, while I giggle and prance.
See me fight without puppets? Oh no, not a chance!
I'll say 'Exit John left', while I pee in my pants."

'A fireball would cause too much collateral damage,' she thinks while she eyes the woman up and down in much the same way a fox might eye a plump rabbit. 'Too many people all around. Scorching Rays ... My last Magic Missile ... Perhaps my Orbs of Force. Yes, those should work nicely if push comes to shove.'

Behind the mask, Lia's mirthless grin widens into a silent, sharp-toothed snarl.

[Kaitou Kage]

"I hear hoofbeats," Kuzan whispered so that only those nearby could hear, "Still far away, but getting closer."

[NeoTiamat]

Town Square, Muhar, Har'Akir
August 27th, 761, 1:10 PM; Day 163 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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"I beg you all please, some restraint." Andre said, his voice rising despite the rather unpleasant situation he had just been in. "Though wrongs have been done, they have been done to all parties here, even those who bear the brand of the hawk. Though tempers are flaring hot, discussion can rule the day, and no one's passage into Aaru need be jeopardized."

Andre paused for a moment's breath, then continued. "For in the Negative Confession all must give, does it not say that one must not cause pain, or suffering? Or worse yet, kill? Through the will of Osiris, a great wickedness has been undone today, so let us not have our inability to see with the eyes of Ma'at cause yet another to occur."

"These Osiris has judged already, goodwife," Charles says loudly, "and has found worthy to live, or they would surely have been smitten by the god's hand. What is your name, goodwife, who are so zealous for Osiris?"

"I am Banafrit, and does not the Lord Osiris also say that we should seek justice?" The dumpy women said with a haughty tone. "They have come to this land where they are unwelcome, have killed Lady Snefru, have killed others! They have raped and looted our village, have murdered and slaughtered all who stood in their way!"

She turned to gesture at the stakes in the middle of the courtyard. They stood there, now without the darkened corpses that were present before. It was still a damning indictment. Sharp, splintered lengths of wood, on which the limp corpses of the men of Muhar had been placed by Drakov's soldiers.

"Osiris spared these men out of mercy for us, not for the foreigners! The Lord of the Dead gives us the chance to redeem ourselves, to cast out the hawk-men!" The woman, 'Banafrit', said sharply. "Ma'at demands that we take back our honor, and put these murderers and thugs to death!"

Tomas thought he was OVER this, but here he is again, letting the invisible world rip at his body and mind. He's not bleeding, this time, but he looks pale, suddenly weak, while at the same time, the warrior's eyes flash with such a primal fury that, if the boy is looking at the wrong time, he might see the side of Tomas normally reserved for the most elemental of evils.

The youth took a single look at Tomas, and then dropped the stone so that it clattered loudly to the ground. He scampered off into the crowd. Most of them, as it were, didn't seem hostile. Lulled by Andre's spell and confused by Charles's immediate actions in praise of Osiris, the mob merely stood back and watched the duel of oratory between 'Banafrit' and Charles and Andre.

In a way, they'd gone from being a bloodthirsty crowd to a mass of people watching some particularly enthralling bit of street theater. Just with the possibility of a messy stoning of someone at the end.

[yalenusveler]

Andre fell back a step, looking for Charles to continue the debate while he determined something. Because after all, when a woman kills herself in front of you, one tends to remember her face. And either a suicidal individual gave a false name, or there was far worse devilry at work. Thus, with a moment's work, Andre aligned his perceptions with the mystical, and observed their accuser.

And rather did NOT like what he saw.

"It's all protections..abjuration and conjuration..no Illusions though." He murmured to Lia, worry creasing his face. "So..not likely Cavendish."

OOC:Detect magic

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"Since when is Ma'at as bloodthirsty as Menhit?" Lia asks of the crowd. "Since when is Ma'at as drunk as Sekhmet? Go home. Those who seek violence will find it. Those who embrace violence in passion are devoured by it. Go home and pray to Osiris and Ma'at for wisdom and the right path to take. Do not act in haste and bring doom down upon yourselves and your families. Go home." The Wizard sounds rather kindly -- as well as rather tired.

[Nathan of the FoS]

"Shapechanger," Charles mutters at Andre. "Not necessarily an illusion."

Turning and speaking for the crowd again, he asks sharply, "Who is this who claims the name Banafrit, who seems to praise Osiris and yet whose words are filled with violence and horror, who would slay us all on the spears of the hawk-men? Is this not a demon come to sow discord? Where is the family of Banafrit?"

Charles pauses, and then continues in a lower but still penetrating voice, "Was not Banafrit found dead this last night, together with her family? Has not the god Osiris arranged all to reveal the presence of this demon, which has now betrayed itself through its malice and mockery?"

Perform (oratory) 30, diplomacy 39, bluff 66

[DocBeard]

"A wha?" Tomas looks confused, pinging back and forth from all of this nonsense. Maybe he should just punch her in the throat.

[The Whistler]

To tell the truth, Otto is rather spellbound by this bit of theater as well--though it's difficult for him to directly participate, given that the only two Akiri phrases he thinks he knows are "That price is too high" and "Where is the restroom." (The only two Akiri phrases he *actually* knows are "Madame Price is very tall" and "Please acquaint me with the good Sir Restroom"--Otto has trouble with the concept of gendered nouns.)

He has, however, been closely following the commentary among his companions. Leaning in toward Andre, he mutters:

"Lebentod, perhaps? I am not aware of the precise nature of their disguising, but if we are seeing them before now as well..."

He frowns. "On the other hand, there is the more *obvious* shapechanger of which we are aware...though I would certainly invite myself to be proven wrong."

[NeoTiamat]

Town Square, Muhar, Har'Akir
August 27th, 761, 1:10 PM; Day 163 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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It was a very neat speech on the part of Charles. Resounding, well-spoken, a masterpiece of oratory on all counts. It didn't, however, have quite the right effect. Most of the crowd stared at Charles for a few moments, glancing at Banafrit, then back at Charles.

"Ah... Effendi..." One of the other people present, a young man. "That is Banafrit, the ferryman's wife."

"She is my sister-in-law!" An older woman yelled. A man agreed. "Zeku's wife!"

"There were people killed yesterday..." Another helpful man said. "Kaji and Harif and Mella and Friedlan..."

"Harif was only a boy..." One of the other men said softly, his voice sounding like a funeral bell. "And now he is dead."

"Interesting, Effendi, that you know that people were killed." Banafrit said, eyeing Charles with a calm gaze. "But not their names..."

[Nathan of the FoS]

"Interesting, Effendi, that you know that people were killed." Banafrit said, eyeing Charles with a calm gaze. "But not their names..."

"Interesting that you know that they were killed, and don't seem to care," Charles responds sharply. "We learned of the tragedy as we returned from the temple of Isis; a woman calling herself Banafrit told us. Where did you learn the powerful magics that surround you, o humble wife of the ferryman? When did the simple goodwoman learn magecraft? Holy Nathifa, priestess of Isis, I invite you to confirm what my learned friend has seen--that this woman who claims to be known to all of you is surrounded by powerful magics!"

[DocBeard]

"Great, this is going to end well." Tomas crosses his arms and sighs to himself. It was Barovia all over again, right down to his not being able to understand much of the language.

"Okay, look." Tomas steps forward, holding his hands out. "We know people died because they came up to us, asked us for help, and then killed themselves in the most ineffectual assassination attempt ever. There was a temple to Set beneath that place, and the ghost of the old high priestess is the one who broke it. Also this poor old woman is being possessed or something, I can see the devil writhing around in her body, someone should take care of that before it hurts her perminantly."

"If you guys don't believe my friend Charlie here, you just really want to hurt someone, and I'm not letting anyone else be a scapegoat. " Tomas holds his hands out, defiantly glaring at the old woman before returning his gaze to the people. "I'm not going to hurt innocent people, so if you want to lynch me or something, here I am. Let my friends go back to the embassy and try to get the Falkovnians out of town without killing everyone, please. They're your best chance at that happening. I'll be your captive, and if they can't manage it, you guys can beat me within an inch of my life or whatever."

Tomas then looks up, behind a building. "And if someone decides to be a man and fight me in the open, I'll be right here. But you're not getting to see us fight decent people who just happen to be a little afraid, do you hear me?" And with that, Eisenwald holds his hands forward, expecting them to be tied or chained together.