Umbertiel, part 2 (Inquisition)

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Graybeard
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Re: Umbertiel, part 2 (Inquisition)

Post by Graybeard »

Sister Rose thought for just a moment, smiled. "We'll be glad to visit Father Arpad without you, so you can do your sleuthing and rumor control. Argus, this doesn't get you off the hook about misbehaving." She winked, hoping ... well, hoping for several things, but at the moment, hoping the action would provide cover for a brief bit of mind-speech. <"Let's keep a low profile about the diary. If he asks, we'll tell the truth and say we have it, but I'm not volunteering anything.">

The pair walked out of the inn, accompanied by Brother Timothy, Brad and Lillith, bound for wherever they were going. The street seemed quiet. That was good; there was something Rose wanted to ask her fellow priest and new traveling companion, and the fewer townsfolk heard it, the better.

"You said the accusation of Maduin doesn't fit what you saw about the fire. Well, I agree, it doesn't fit, but we've heard that it was Bree's soul, or a demon, and I don't believe those either. So if you don't mind me asking ... just what did you see?"

[OOC: Something to follow that should ... amuse ... Eli and Desiree, but there's a serious moment en route. Drusia, if you're unexpectedly off line, just imagine that Desiree is continuing to enjoy herself. :P ]
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Alberich
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Re: Umbertiel, part 2 (Inquisition)

Post by Alberich »

"Next to nothing," he replied. For Brother Timothy had not seen Maduin's little effort to get the crowd's attention by making the fire roar louder. If he had, he might consider the mystery solved (and be very angry at Maduin).

"But when I arrived, Maduin was standing there and encouraging people to fight the fire more. He wasn't doing much to help himself, when I was looking, and he was being pretty arrogant about it, to tell you the truth," - a hint of peasant in his tone, come to that - "but I don't read him as being quite that brazen. And I didn't see Elmy there anyway, and the places he'd be that time of day aren't anywhere near it. And Elmy hasn't had an original idea in three years." And that was a rather unfortunate one about mixing fizzy wine with applejack. "Which means he got it from someone.

"Also, your team sticks together well enough that he wouldn't do it on his own without you approving. And if you approved, you've got enough magic between you to pull it off without anyone seeing. Which you wouldn't anyway. It doesn't add up."

Maybe he was saying a little more than he should. Around the Bishop he'd always choked it off to a minimum. But Rose was a listener and didn't seem to mind his excess chatter. Still he awaited Lillith's answer to Brad's suggestion. He could certainly go it alone, but if she and he cared to join him, well, at least it might be a way to get to know some of his new companions.
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Re: Umbertiel, part 2 (Inquisition)

Post by Graybeard »

[OOC: Just a little fun here, for the sake of those who haven't been with us from the very beginning of the game. Follow the link below and scroll down an entry or two for the rest of the story ...]

Sister Rose nodded. "That all sounds right. I'm certain that nobody in our party had anything to do with that fire ... but it was set, it didn't just happen. So we're left with the question of who set it."

They were coming to a parting of the way, as Rose and Argus were continuing on to the temple, while the other three would turn off to check things out in the town. "Let's agree to meet for dinner," Rose said. "Good hunting. Brad, take good care of Lillith ... and vice versa." A smile and a wink.

As she and Argus approached the temple, she became aware of one small thing that needed fixing.

The window was open in the upstairs cell in the cloisters where Eli and Desiree had been installed. The sounds coming through that window were ... not exactly what one normally expected to hear in a temple of the Orthodox church.

Rose rolled her eyes at Argus. "I think we'd better do something about that. Our reputation in town is already a bit, well, dubious. I just hope I've got the range for this." She summoned magic and cast the same damping spell Argus had seen used at the temple in Kiyoka, and by Brother Miguel in the Reformed temple in Saus. Yes, she had the range; filmy magic covered the window above them, and the sounds of the ... activities ... within diminished to a soft, nondescript susurrus of white noise.

"There," Rose said with a smile, "our little contribution to peace and quiet in Umbertiel. Eli and Desiree shouldn't even notice, what with their attention being elsewhere." She winked again. "Let's go find the acting Abbot."
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Re: Umbertiel, part 2 (Inquisition)

Post by Drannin »

Argus glanced back up at the window housing Desiree and Eli, then back to Rose. "It seems someone's using up the mischief quota, so to speak," he commented with a raised eyebrow.

As they traveled to visit the abbot, Argus sent a mind message: <"So. What's your take on Brother Timothy?>
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Re: Umbertiel, part 2 (Inquisition)

Post by Sareth »

"Did she just..." Lillith blinked, and then a slow grin crossed her face. "Touche."

The girl hooked her hand in the crook of Brad's arm and then turned to Brother Timothy. "I'm not familiar with the ins and outs of this town. What did you have in mind? I'm not sure I can help, but I'll try."
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Alberich
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Re: Umbertiel, part 2 (Inquisition)

Post by Alberich »

[Borrowing Lillith a little here, just to advance the story.]

"Good!" he said. And he was glad of it. Despite the secret message, which indicated he'd be let in on the deeper secrets tomorrow, he suspected he'd soon be a very junior member of this expedition. Here was a chance to lead in something he knew well - to swim in familiar waters and find some useful treasure. This was a place where, if you came to do business, you socialized first, at least most of the time you did.

They began together, with a tavern Timothy rarely visited. The bartender answered a few questions about who'd been where. There'd been a crowd at midday, excitedly discussing the fire. Somoene or other had come up with a description of the man who'd set it, and sure enough, once Crazy Elmy heard it, he was all on fire to put a stop to it. Did he know who all was here? Quite a few folks - he couldn't name them all but he knew his regulars.

Tim gave directions as to who'd go where and talk to whom, using his local knowledge to steer them the right way. Some of the less devout souls wouldn't have opened up to inquisitive priests - "Speak less than you know" was a common proverb here, and Questions From Authority Meant Trouble - but one named Aidan was quite ready to stop his potter's wheel spinning and have a long chat with a demure young girl - an older woman who didn't care much for Tim opened right up to poor, earnest Brad - and after an afternoon of false starts and blind alleys, they were pretty sure they had their man.

The source of the rumor was Colby, and this was his reputation: A simple-minded man, an early widower, inclined to drink early and disinclined to think before he talked, not as hard a worker as he should have been, a little touched in the head - but friendly and generous. Why he would say something like that about Maduin was a mystery that needed solving.

Before they could make the walk out to his farm, another family absolutely insisted on giving supper to the two young priests and their companion. Their crowd of children was a little noisy, but the atmosphere was warm, and the food - the wife's work of the afternoon - delicious. Brother Tim kept the talk to local affairs mostly, but Brad and Lillith added a story or two about the places they'd seen, bringing smiles to the couple. Despite his status, Tim helped a little with the after-dinner chores, and then an adorable little girl wanted a fairytale from Lillith, which led to another from Brad. Then there were ritual thanks from guest to host. And so it was sundown before they got away, and well after dark when they reached Colby's farm.

Colby's spindly son Nyle answered their knock. Yes, Dad was home - it would take a minute to wake him up. He did. Gripping his patience after this long afternoon, Tim apologized for the inconvenience, and made his business known. Had Colby seen the fire get started? Why, no, but see, there was a stranger passing through, poor feller couldn't afford an inn, and Colby'd let him sleep in his barn. He'd rushed in from town with excited news about this fire and the looks of the man he'd seen starting it. What's that? Why yes, he, Colby, had just mentioned it down at the tavern. Shouldn't he have? No, that was fine, but could they meet the stranger? Couldn't say, said Colby. He didn't come in for no supper but maybe he was still out there.

Tim thanked the fey farmer and bid him goodnight. They trudged out through the darkness towards the darker shape of the barn. Brad picked up a stone and prayed over it 'til it glowed with light. Tim advised him to cover it 'til they were inside. They walked closer.

To Be Continued (in my next post)
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Re: Umbertiel, part 2 (Inquisition)

Post by Graybeard »

<"So. What's your take on Brother Timothy?">

<"I'm not sure,"> Sister Rose thought back. <"Seems nice enough. On the other hand, a lot of the young priests do, until they figure out that serving Luminosita means a life without romance."> She stopped to admire the scenery, or more likely, to finish the mind-chat, and let Argus see the wry smile on her face. <"Based on the way he was sneaking glances at Desiree, I think he's just starting to figure that out. So what do you think?">
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Re: Umbertiel, part 2 (Inquisition)

Post by Alberich »

[OOC: Am doing a little more presumptuous borrowing. Really, this is too bad of me.]

Timothy led them to the edge of the door, and then walked in. He was hoping the stranger would be there, and able to answer a question or two. From the sound of his breathing, Brad wasn't hoping to meet anyone in here, and might need a nice soft pile of hay to faint on. Lillith suspected the stranger was gone, but perhaps the spirits of his campsite could tell her something.

Timothy was just about to call for light, when Crrrr-wwssshhhhh---THUMP!!! - the barn door shut, it was barred from outside, and light appeared. An unpleasant flickering blue light, the size of a small bonfire, appeared in the rafters high above them, filling the barn with lights and shadows. Timothy rushed out for the middle, and a red fire appeared, twenty yards from him, ten feet in the air. Lillith called look out! - the young priest jumped - and just in time. Thunk! - a crossbow bolt hit the straw-strewn dirt floor. The fire vanished.

Lillith and Brad stayed nearer the edge, and Tim moved further along. Then a new fire appeared, twenty yards from his new position, and ten feet up. Expecting it, Lillith could now see it was not a fire, but a glowing ring - like a loop of red crystal, not a yard in diameter, crinkled into an octagon, and glowing in the middle. Tim saw it too, and dodged again - once more the bolt missed, and once more the small gate vanished.

"Any idea where it's coming from?" called Tim.

"No," replied Brad - rushing forward with an impulsive idea. The ring appeared again, facing Brad this time, twenty yards away and ten feet up. As it did, he raised his hands in supplication and called out "Strike!" A bolt of heavenly fire leaped from him to the ring, and scattered on its magical defenses.

But of course, thought Lillith. If magic could get through it, they'd be shooting fire, not crossbows.

By rarest luck, the crossbow bolt pierced Brother Brad's robe between his legs, striking the floor behind him. "Eeeeeee!" he cried - but fear kept him up. White-faced, he ran back to Lillith. He tried to stand in front of her, but she pushed him gently aside. If it appears and you dodge, you're no protection. And if you don't, you're dead. Sweet, silly boy.

Timothy had unbelted his robe and thrown it off, to avoid tripping as he dodged. Lillith saw he was wearing rustic pants and low boots below, but was shirtless. His long-armed body was lightly-haired, well-muscled, and unblemished. And why not? No doubt he heals himself when he gets hurt. A large knife, completely useless here, was strapped to his left forearm.

A few more bolts, a few more charges and dodges, and several things were clear to Lillith:

(1) There wasn't much in the way of shelter in this barn. A ladder led to a hayloft, disappointingly devoid of hay.

(2) Colby might not have animals anymore, but he'd kept this barn in distressingly good repair, and it was quite lacking in loose planks, escape-sized holes, and other handy features of that kind. And he hadn't left any tools, not so much as a shovel or pitchfork.

(3) Colby's farmhouse wasn't close, and no help was within earshot, or even within earshot of being within earshot. They were on their own.

(4) The "window" appeared a few seconds after it vanished, maybe just long enough for a crossbowman to reload. The target was always whoever was closest to the middle, where the light was strongest; but when they all tried pressing to the sides, it still picked one of them for a target. (Brad. He fell as he dodged, but dodge he did.) Twenty yards away, ten feet up.

(5) For the moment, Tim and Brad were very game, and would keep dodging the bolts as they came. But she had a nagging suspicion they'd run out of vigor before the enemy ran out of ammo. This was an athletic sort of contest, and the enemy wasn't letting up.

(6) Her spirit magic was too slow to be of help here. Her brain, however, might not be. And that was a good thing. While the two boys were being brave, and Tim in particular was showing himself agile, they weren't coming up with any ideas for getting out of here, or stopping the sniping.

Thunk! went another bolt.

Think! said Lillith to herself.
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Re: Umbertiel, part 2 (Inquisition)

Post by Sareth »

[OOC]No worries[/OOC]

And think Lillith did. For a moment she stood, then suddenly she was on her knee. She pulled A surprised Brad down next to her and drew a circle around them both.

"Lillith?"

Lillith put a finger to Brad's lips with authority. "Don't break the circle, no matter what." She closed her eyes, not waiting for even a nod from Brad, and opened her mouth to whisper softly.

Gentle spirits soft and slow
Who's gentle draft through hair does blow
Come to me in time of need
And grow in power, strength and speed.
Noble spirits of the air
Whose wrath this lowly one does dare
Forgive this one and hark to me,
Storm lords come...


Suddenly her eyes popped open, alarmed. She turned to glance to where Brother Timothy was continuing to dodge crossbow bolts, brandishing the surprising blade he held. She pursed her lips as she stared and then sighed. She turned away from the man and let her eyes close once more. She pulled Brad close, then finished her over-hasty prayer.

so let it be.

For a moment there was a stillness in which the sound of yet another crossbow bolt could be heard darting past Brother Timothy's ear.

Then there was a soft moan that came from the voice of neither human, half elf, or assailant.

And then the doors blasted violently inward, one of them springing its hinges. A roaring of wind filled the place stirring up a cyclone in the center of the room, and picking up stones, straw, and anything else inadequately tied down.

Inside the circle, not a single wisp of Lillith's hair stirred from where they covered the priestess' pointed ears.
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Re: Umbertiel, part 2 (Inquisition)

Post by Graybeard »

OOC: I'd like to request a brief pause in the action at the barn while Alberich and I work a couple of things out offline. It's considerably later in the day out there than at the temple, anyway, so Argus and Rose and Father Arpad can go ahead and do things, as can Maduin, Bryce, Eli and Desiree, until evening falls. This pause shouldn't take long; action should resume at the barn in a few (real-world) hours.
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