Kiyoka

[Drannin]

(OOC: Bah, I'm still convalescing from a 14-hour bus ride. Gimme some slack here.)

Argus raised an eyebrow. "Walked right through the wall, You say?" Fascinating. He shrugged sympathetically. "Well, I suppose everyone's a critic." He coughed. "Thank you, Brother Farley, this is very illuminating." Argus' eyes shone. He was smirking with excitement. I've only heard of these things in old books. But it HAS to be!

Turning to Brother Egbert, Argus noted: "I think we can rule out cosmetic magic at this point. We can also rule out one of your sisters being very sad or cold," Argus smirked ironically. "Walking through walls isn't something the average person does on a regular basis." He paused, then recanted this. "Actually, I can think of one woman who probably COULD walk through a wall without blinking, but believe me, people WOULD react to her." Argus shuddered at the awful, awful memory. Women should not be shaped in such a fashion. He shook himself and returned to the present.

"What it sounds like is some form of humanoid magical construct. A very rare, and ancient, type of golem. One I've only ever heard about." Argus pondered. "Now, who would possess such a thing?" he murmured to himself. "And more importantly, where can I get one?"

(OOC: Had some evil ideas here, but I don't wanna mess with one of Viking's character's NPCs. I might be a treading the boundary right now, although I'm intentionally trying to be vague...)

[Graybeard]

"What it sounds like is some form of humanoid magical construct. A very rare, and ancient, type of golem. One I've only ever heard about." Argus pondered. "Now, who would possess such a thing?"

"I've wondered that myself," Father Egbert agreed. "One possibility is the Tsuirakuans. That might explain why they've been unwilling to delve too deeply into what happened here. On the other hand, if I understand your background correctly, I'd expect that you would have known if they'd had anything like our blue nun -- unless they found her after you and they had a falling out." He left a brief conversational space for a reaction; when none was forthcoming, he continued, "Certainly this is nothing that our Church has ever fooled around with. We don't have any particular doctrinal problem with golems, much as some of the zealots might tell you otherwise; they're soulless constructs, one might as well have doctrinal problems with an ox cart. (And yes, I know that the Eastern Ancient Croatoans do have problems with ox carts, but they're heterodox.) However, we also don't have the time to go on random exploring trips to find ancient artifacts, although we'd eventually like to open a mission in the Northern Confederacy that might allow us the opportunity." And ... other ... opportunities. "So we're left grasping at straws here -- elves, dwarves, super-civilizations from other continents, who knows?

"In any event, with your leave, I'd like to ask Brother Farley to escort you while you examine the other structural damage to the building and decide what has to be done. Our Abbot is presently back in Emerylon, reporting to the Patriarch on what happened here, and I should let him know that you've generously agreed to come to our aid. I can't tell you how much we appreciate it, but our finances will do the talking for us." Smiling, he shook hands with Argus (carefully) and took his leave.

"Before we tour the rest of the complex," Brother Farley said as he walked toward the chapel door, "Two questions. One, did you ever deal with the Mesuinu family in Tsuirakushiti? The crazy woman last night is supposed to be part of that family. I've heard the most amazing stories...

"Two, if you do find that blue nun and she turns out to be human ... could I get her phone number?" He was blushing again.

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

After returning to his chambers, calling the Abbot and getting his approval, Father Egbert placed another call, one that the Abbot most definitely would not have approved of.

"He's the real thing," Egbert told the woman at the other end of the call. "I think there's a very good chance we've found our Wizard out of the West. He clearly has the magical skills, and you wouldn't believe how much he hates the Tsuirakuans. We don't know much yet about his, shall we say, determination, but the signs are all promising. And there's a possible bonus." He went on to describe the odd "Ms. Shade" as best he could.

The woman pondered. "I'll make some inquiries. The last I heard, a good candidate for the Terror of the North had been identified, with a couple of backups if that one doesn't pan out, and possibly even the Beast from the East, although that one strikes me as a long shot. And the Man in the Middle ... well. Things are starting to come together. But we're still looking for a candidate for the Southern Stealthmage. If your Ms. Shade turns out to come from some southern territory that we've never heard of, she might be, shall we say, interesting. We'll continue our own investigations, but keep an eye on her and let us know what you think." She broke the connection without a goodbye, as Father Egbert realized that he'd developed a cold sweat.

[Drannin]

Argus didn't really hear the man asking about the "nun's" phone number. He just heard the name "Mesuinu," the qualifier "part of that family," and a reference about that lunatic girl from last night. His footsteps slowed and then stopped as Argus stared into the distance, shock seeping into his expression. "Mesuinu," he said flatly. Argus groaned and planted his face in both hands. "Ohhh, by the star-cursed weave itself, the Mesuinu family! That's not a name! That's a diagnosis!"

Argus stood there groaning, trying to drown out some very bad memories, while Brother Farley stared on awkwardly. "So... that's a 'yes,' then?" he hazarded.

Argus sighed and looked up "Regrettably, yes. Amazingly enough, I don't have anything personal against them. Much as you wouldn't have anything personal against a lunatic street preacher so long as he kept his distance." Argus sighed. Farley looked very curious, so he decided to give the man a story in the hopes that it would clear his own mind. "I had to deal with them a few times. They're wealthy, so they made a great source of grant money. All I had to do in return was aid in some 'renovation' and do some private research for them." Argus paused. "I guess it was worth it." Another pause. "Probably." Another pause. "Well, they paid, and I got out of there as quickly as possible. I mean the way they decorated their house... their interests..." Argus shook his head. Farley couldn't swear later if the man had been blushing, turning green, or looked somewhat intrigued. "Let's just say that the family is a little... off... and leave it there alright." Seeing Brother Farley's look of disappointment, Argus reassured the man; "Believe me, I'm doing you a favor here."

The old mage reflected. Yes, the crazed young woman had seemed familiar. Definitely a child of the family. Mentally as well as physically. Hadn't his daughter known a Mesuinu...?

That thought sent off a sharp pain in his chest, so Argus quickly quashed it and changed the subject. "Well, less said the better," he said quickly. "Why don't you show me the rest of the damage? And, as for our nun..." Argus smirked a little lecherously. "Er... I may be a little too greedy to share." he confessed. Especially if it's one of THOSE types!

Argus' expression could have gotten him arrested in several places within Veracia.

[Graybeard]

Brother Farley stirred uncomfortably. Neither of his questions had been answered in any way that he liked ... although at least as far as the Mesuinu name was concerned, he couldn't say he was surprised. Time to change the subject.

"Let's step outside and look at the external damage," he suggested. "That's probably more efficient than poking through individual interior rooms that may or may not have been compromised. Let's see, we're not really supposed to use this exit except for emergencies, but I don't think the Abbot and Father Egbert would mind..." He went to the slightly-damaged, but basically intact, southeast corner of the hall and passed his hand over a blank area of wall. The outline of a door flashed into existence.

"Let's see," Farley said as he opened the door -- it was heavier than it looked, emergency exit or no -- "who else was in the hall when all the weirdness happened that you might talk to? Pretty well the whole congregation, and most of the Church people, were with the tour group, and they all headed home to Veracia early, not that I blame them. Sister Rose might know something; she was playing the tambourines for the sing-along, and I think she might have given some first aid to a couple of the tourists who got bonked by bricks. I haven't seen her around today, though; she might have gone into town to get supplies, she also serves as our quartermaster." An odd turn of phrase, Argus thought, but the monk continued, "And Brother Jerald -- have you talked to him?" He caught the look on Argus' face and just said, "Oh."

The door was finally open, and the two men stepped through. Farley was just starting to talk about the architecture of the building as they turned the corner, but stopped in mid-sentence when he saw they weren't alone. About fifty feet down the narrow street (or was it a wide alley?), a young woman with Kiyokan facial features, wearing the uniform of a battlemage, was looking at the reconstructed south wall, with an expression of horror on her face. As the two men followed her gaze to a point about ten feet up the wall, they could see why:

Hanging from the outside of the wall, apparently lifted off the ground when Argus had done his magical reconstruction and showing signs of "wear" from rats, was a short length of what looked for all the world like a cooked segment of human intestine.

"The battlemage from the other night," Farley quietly choked out, trying not to be sick.

[Drannin]

(OOC: Is the intestine hanging off of the wall or was it partially assimilated into the wall?)

[Graybeard]

(OOC: Is the intestine hanging off of the wall or was it partially assimilated into the wall?)

[OOC: You really want the morbid details? The intention was that it was trapped between two bricks when the wall got raised -- think of it as part of the mortar -- and is now hanging loose against the bricks on the outside. But whatever.]

[LordofNightmares]

Tsubasa, walked down the street smiling to her self "so the sister was spying on me" she thought to her self. She continued her walk in to the busier parts of the streets her face still hidden by the kitsune mask,"now on to the task on hand." She went around town asking about a Young Female Mage that is not all there mentally and where she is staying. "I wonder what Father Egbert is up to?" A stray thought arose "I Could use that but it gives me a bad head ache." She decided to keep searching for the mad mage.

[Drannin]

Argus swallowed sharply. He'd seen some bad things in the battlemages, hell, even DONE some stuff when he'd had no other choice, but seeing a single human intestine hanging off of the church wall like that was a little too much. Especially when the only action he'd seen since leaving the battlemages involved a romantic evening with his wife. Although those moments were quite exciting on their own.

Wow. What an inappropriate thought at a time like this. Besides, thinking of Cirella brought only pain. Argus focused on the now. Intestine. Sticking out from the cracks in the wall. Where Argus had reassembled the wall. Probably got caught on one of the stones. Only one thought really summed up Argus' thoughts on the matter:

Oops.

Also...

Shit.

And, for no given reason:

Daffodils.

He'd wonder about that last thought long into the night.

Still, there was a battlemage right ahead of him who might know something about what happened last night and who might be talkative in her current state of shock. And wasn't he an investigator? Right.

Carefully injecting shock into his face, voice, and posture, Argus gasped "What... happened?" With a sharp glance at Farley, he hoped the priest would play along. The last thing he needed was for the battlemage to associate him with this horrid little accident. It was a calculated risk... and there was a non-zero chance she might know something.

By the weave, he needed a keg of brandy.

[Graybeard]

"What... happened?"

"I ... don't know," the young woman gulped. "Captain Kitaura sent me to see if there were any more traces of poor Private Ryono that I could dig out of the rubble and take back to the lifemages to try to get something out of. My specialty is earth magic, so they thought I could move the rubble around until I found something, but what am I going to do about that?"

"You can't use your spells on the building?" Brother Farley asked. "It's earthen construction, after all." He'd come up to where she was standing, and was regaining his composure remarkably rapidly; he didn't want to be sick in front of this battlemage, after all ... she was actually quite attractive ...

"No, we've been told to leave the building entirely alone," the young woman said. "I don't know why; you'd have to ask Captain Kitaura. I think it's something about ... wait a minute ... you're one of the people who work in there, aren't you?" A hint of doubt had crept into her voice.

"Yes, I am; Brother Farley, at your service," he said. Time for a little diplomacy here, he thought; maybe that can lead to some ... chatting up. "We'd like to cooperate fully in your investigations of this affair. May I?"

Without waiting for an answer from the girl, who was looking increasingly doubtful, he muttered a quick spell, grunting at the effort of shaping mana beyond his real skill level. A vaporous knife materialized right where the guts emerged from the mortar between the bricks and made a slash across them, then vanished with a pop. The severed entrails fell to the ground ... or at least most of them did. One small bit of gore, however, splashed onto Argus, who'd joined the other two by this point.

"Sorry about that," Farley panted, as the girl gingerly started to push the mess into a small bag, giving him a moon-eyed look.

[Drannin]

Argus looked at the gore stain on his robes with a bit of annoyance. Oh well. Heaven knew it had been through worse. Very carefully, he wiped the material off with a bit of rag he carried around for emergencies. What kind of emergencies, he preferred not to speculate upon.

Still, despite the morbidity of the situation, Argus was suppressing a smirk. For a priest, Farley was one smooth operator! Perhaps this fine specimen of femininity was going to be much better acquainted with the priest before to long. Well, that's one way for her to 'Feel the power of Luminosita.' Talk about progressive conversion methods... Argus very carefully kept his face neutral. This WAS not a time to start laughing.

Approaching carefully, Argus put a sympathetic look on his face which was not really feigned. The poor girl. "Did you know him well?" Argus asked her gently.