The Eye of Anubis: Book Ten

[NeoTiamat]

Stables, Falkovnian Compound, Muhar, Har'Akir
August 26th, 761, 7:40 PM; Day 162 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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"I meant more if you knew any way to identify him amongst the soldiers..." Lieutenant Schiffer said, a grim smile on his lips. "But I'm getting a general 'No' feeling here."

"In you go." Lebrecht led Flea into his stall and closed the door, putting a solid layer of wood between Charles and the demon-horse. The Falkovnian patted the horse's nose again. "I'll see you in the morning, Flea, sleep well."

"And I had best be off to report." Lebrecht said, turning to Charles. "If the mage is half as dangerous as you make him out to be, we've bigger problems than we thought..."

Barring further reaction-worthy comments from Charles, Schiffer is off to tell Vedarrak about Cavvy.

Kitchens, Falkovnian Compound, Muhar, Har'Akir
August 26th, 761, 7:40 PM; Day 162 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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The Akiri girl continued to cry, her trembling fingers dropping the silverware back on the floor more often than she actually picked it up. Eventually she just gave up, instead watching the bizarre foreign men who had knelt to do the work of a kitchen drudge. Mandisa quivered slightly as Otto spoke. His words seemed to surprise her, but it was quickly replaced by shock as she finally made eye contact with the gunsmith. For Otto had the yellow eyes of a jackal.

"I-i-it is?" she whispered, her voice a sharp squeak. She looked as though she wanted to scream, or to run, but she could hardly do so surrounded as she was, not without making things a great deal worse.

Barrack, Falkovnian Compound, Muhar, Har'Akir
August 26th, 761, 7:40 PM; Day 162 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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Sascha stares at the man in silence for a moment or two longer than is comfortable, a strange tick affecting the corner of his eye. Finally he swallows slowly, his face a decideedly paler shade than normal and replies in an odd voice that sounds like he's struggling to force breath into his lungs.

"Now why would you think that?"

"Because you look familiar, old man. What kind of stupid question is that?" The Falkovnian soldier snorted, utterly oblivious to Sascha's change in demeanor. More thoughtfully, Hermann peered at Sascha. After a moment, he shook his head. "Damn... know I've seen you before. "Ever been in Lekar?"

"We do want something, yes," she says. "You are the soldier who was impersonated today. Had you had any odd experiences lately? Did someone show more interest in your person than is otherwise usual? It seems likely that you had been targeted by a shapeshifter."

"First the lieutenant, now you." Hermann growled. "Look, it's like I said, I haven't noticed a thing. I've spent ever morning riding out on patrols along with the lieutenant, then I spend the rest of my shift standing in front of that ugly temple across the way with Burke, Kasimir, and Johann. Rest of the time, I'm in here minding my own business."

"Nobody's shown any interest in me, nothing. Locals just keep out of our way, they know what happens otherwise." Hermann continued, the words coming out in harsh, clipped syllables. "Nothing more interesting out here than watching them run off while we're on patrol, and nobody goes near the temple."

[Sense Motive: DC 25]

[DocBeard]

Tomas thinks back to his education-Uffington calls it 'divine magic'. "Just so you know." Tomas mutters, as he works, not looking at her directly in the eye. "There's nothing...evil about what you just did. Unless I missed my guess, it's no different from a priest healing you."

He doesn't want to draw attention to the girl, however, and so he keeps working.

[Kaitou Kage]

"What's wrong with the temple?" Kuzan asked curiously. Being a priest, of course, he'd certainly be interested in such things. "Something about it that bothers folks? Or you?"

[NeoTiamat]

Kitchens, Falkovnian Compound, Muhar, Har'Akir
August 26th, 761, 7:43 PM; Day 162 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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"There's not?" Mandisa sniffed, eyes growing blotchy with tears. There were some women who could look beautiful while crying. The Akiri girl, however, just looked like a mess.

"I'm not a priest. I'm nobody special." Mandisa whispered in a doleful voice. "It just happens sometimes."

Barrack, Falkovnian Compound, Muhar, Har'Akir
August 26th, 761, 7:43 PM; Day 162 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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Hermann jerked as if stung. The Falkovnian glared at Kuzan, a pugnacious scowl on his features. He was a few inches shorter than the priest, but also a few inches broader in the shoulder, and built like a grizzly bear. At the moment, all that implied violence was concentrated into a beady-eyed gaze that settled upon Kuzan.

"I've got no idea what you're talking about." Hermann growled. "Now, I've got guarding to do."

[Kaitou Kage]

"Wait," Kuzan replied quickly, "Sorry, I didn't mean to insult your bravery. I'm a priest myself, so if there is an issue with a temple going bad, I ought to look into it. Even if you don't believe in gods, anything you tell us could help solve those problems. And potentially yours if whatever makes people avoid the temple also causes problems for the garrison."

[Nathan of the FoS]

"And I had best be off to report." Lebrecht said, turning to Charles. "If the mage is half as dangerous as you make him out to be, we've bigger problems than we thought..."

"I'll go with you, if you like," Charles replies. "He might have other questions, I suppose."

[lostboy]

"Damn... know I've seen you before. "Ever been in Lekar?"

Sascha takes a deep breath before answering.

"I was in Lekar, a lifetime ago it seems, and we parted company with less than fond memories." He answers through gritted teeth, silently wishing his oaths of honour didnt bind him to being truthful at all times.

[NeoTiamat]

Stables, Falkovnian Compound, Muhar, Har'Akir
August 26th, 761, 7:40 PM; Day 162 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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"I'll go with you, if you like," Charles replies. "He might have other questions, I suppose."

"Probably better not." Lebrecht shook his head. "If he needs to talk to you, he'll send someone over."

Barrack, Falkovnian Compound, Muhar, Har'Akir
August 26th, 761, 7:40 PM; Day 162 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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Hermann just gave the priest a dull glare, then ignored him in favor of Sascha. Whatever was going on at the temple, it didn't seem that the Falkovnian was eager to talk about it. Or he may simple have enjoyed glaring at Kuzan. Anything is possible.

"Thought you looked familiar." Hermann agreed in some triumph. "Well, your loss if you didn't like it. Now anything else, or can I get back to guarding?"

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"Why do you not wish to tell us about the temple?" Lia asks, voice deceptively soft. "Is it that you fear to show weakness to strangers? If you withhold what you know from us, however, the one most likely to have impersonated you ... Well. He uses weakness the way a master jeweller uses faults in a diamond. He applies just the right pressure to each little flaw, until you split apart into the pieces he likes."

Perhaps the creepiest thing about this masked apparition is the fact that her voice remains so calm and controlled, almost conversational.

"You are better off talking to us, now," Lia continues, making a soothing gesture at the soldier. "If you don't, the one who impersonated you is sure to return sooner or later. He already knows you, it would seem. If it pleases him, he will impersonate you again. We have seen what he does to the people he mimics. He can turn your mind inside out, and he has a thing for turning the living into the undead. Your impressive physique would probably appeal to him very much ... as raw materials for a new undead pawn.

So kindly speak your mind freely to us. The more we know, the better our chance of driving the shapeshifter off before he turns all of Muhar into his playground. We have seen what it looks like when he makes towns, even cities his own. It is ... quite a sight."

[NeoTiamat]

Barrack, Falkovnian Compound, Muhar, Har'Akir
August 26th, 761, 7:40 PM; Day 162 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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Hermann paled at this bizarre, eerie apparition, reciting its litany of horrors in a placid tone. The Falkovnian's anger grew, about to unleash a torrent of verbal abuse on the smaller Mordentishwoman. Then, all of a sudden, his resistance just cracked.

"You want to know what's going on there?" Hermann's voice came out as a harsh, croaking whisper. "I said I don't know."

"Sometimes, it's noon, and we're in a desert, and it's like there's a cold wind around the place. Sometimes, I can swear the shadows are moving. Once I was on duty, and I heard someone sigh, right behind me. I don't know what's going on there."

"But I know one thing." The Falkovnian stepped in, thrusting a finger out towards Lia. His bloodshot eyes focused entirely upon her, ignoring all else in the world. "And that's that the temple? The big temple with the green guy on the doors? That place is spooky."

"Now if you'll excuse me, I figure my shift is over." Shoving past you more roughly than was perhaps necessary, the Falkovnian guard left you.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"It is unusual," Lia says once Hermann has gone, "to think that a Falkovnian soldier might be sensitive, to a lesser extent as professor Devereux is sensitive. What our unconversational 'friend' just described are classic signs of a haunting.

A temple dedicated to the ruler of the dead, as the Akiri see the universe, is being haunted? No one is allowed to go into that temple anymore, are they? What better place for Cavendish to hole himself up could there be? With his powers, he could easily desecrate the works of Osiris' priests and 'sanctify' the building to his own dark purpose!"

[Kaitou Kage]

"Then," Kuzan said brightly, "Let us see if we can go to the temple tomorrow and see what may be there."

[The Whistler]

"I'm not a priest. I'm nobody special." Mandisa whispered in a doleful voice. "It just happens sometimes."

Otto winced mentally-- (Damned eyes...easy to forget about that whole "marked by the fey" thing when you use the evidence to look with...) --but is heartened somewhat by the girl's reaction to Tomas. And if all I can hope for is "nonthreatening by association," well...

The gunsmith sighs and looks away momentarily, removing his spectacles briefly to wipe the dust off.

"That is it: this is a sort of thing that is not happening to *anybody* special...which is what makes *it* special, yes? It simply *is*, for better or worse--but I am knowing several people who are having such, and..."

Otto paused. Well...one of them's standing next to me, and the other... traded his for three years of freedom.

"...For them, it turned out for the better." The gunsmith gives Mandisa a soft smile. "Certainly, it is nothing to regret."

[lostboy]

Sascha watches the man leave, his gaze never wavering from Hermann until he is out of sight, a look of disquiet etched over his features.

"Let us see if we can go to the temple tomorrow and see what may be there."

"Agreed" Sascha mutters pulling himself together, "let us see if it truely is the root of all evil in this place, as our comrade so clearly beleieves."

[DocBeard]

"Yeah." Tomas nods, and gives Otto an appreciative look. It's kind of a compliment, in a roundabout sort of way, and the backup is appreciated. "I worked for a few years with a knight of the Ezran church, he taught me how to tell the difference."

"...look, I don't know for sure, but I might be able to help you. At least to figure out why this happens." Tomas trails off for a moment, standing back up and placing the fixed tray on a table. He offers the girl a hand up, speaking with the cautiously shared pain of someone who's gone through this himself. "I know you don't have much reason to trust me, but it's got to beat going day to day terrified of someone seeing you cut yourself and deciding you're a witch or some fool thing."