Nautkia, and the South

[Sareth]

"He looks unhappy," Lillith commented, looking towards Argus. "The man talking with him doesn't seem nearly so displeased though. He doesn't look quite right for this place somehow." Lillith gave the situation a sharp look. "I think Argus looks even less pleased than he had been before." She shook her head, then munched a slice of pear. "This place makes no sense whatsoever. it's one of the most peaceful places I've been since I left home, and yet the people here are about as confusing as anything I've seen."

[Graybeard]

Sister Rose raised an eyebrow at Lillith's comment. "'Peaceful'?" she said. "I suspect your interpretation of the term is different than my own ... Well, actually, I'm sure it is. You're probably reacting to the nice grounds, healthy trees, flowers, all that, and that's fair enough. But on the human side ..." She let her voice trail off.

Argus was joining them now, still looking unhappy, but rather than stay and converse, Rose and Brother Miguel stood up. "I got your message," Rose said. "Let us go ... prepare ... the wagon for a trip into town. Why don't you and Lillith stay, chat, be comfortable and meet us at the stable in half an hour? We should have secured the horses by then." There, the double entendres should get the message across.

Two surprises were awaiting Rose and Miguel when they reached the stable. First, Lisebeth was there, wearing the jump suit of an outdoors worker; the woman seemed to get around. Evidently the server in the dining hall had been someone else. She nodded but kept silent, probably because there were two other people at the stable, lay workers that Rose and Miguel didn't recognize. Second, there was a parrot sitting on the frame of the wagon, and it didn't have a message capsule attached to its leg. Whatever it had to say was going to be classified and ears-only. Again, this didn't seem like the time and place to hear the message, but Rose noticed that Lisebeth glanced toward the bird and nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Well, let's take a minute and ... consecrate ... this thing for our voyage," Miguel said, and the two put up every detection and divination spell they could muster; it wasn't a specialty for Rose, and Miguel's skills, though greater, still stopped short of a good Tsuirakuan specialist. Still, under the circumstances, it was better than nothing.

[Sareth]

Lillith watched the two walk off with a shrug. She looked up at Argus and gave him an impartial smile. "They have some things to do in town today. They didn't tell me what, but that's alright. I have some things to do too." She reached over for another pear slice. "What about you?"

[Drannin]

Argus sat down slowly. "I have a few things to take care of," he admitted. "Though I must admit that I am looking forward to leaving this place." He shrugged. Argus really didn't have much of an appetite, and didn't really feel like talking. Still, there were some things he needed to find out.

Discreetly.

He glanced over at Lillith and took a careful look at her face before leaning back in his chair and studying the construction of the rafters. Decent work, really. Damn. I see the resemblance. All those years ago, but some things get seared into your brain.

"By the way, Lillith, where did you say you were from? Up north?"

[Sareth]

"Um..." Lillith's eyes looked a little suspicious. Santuariel was a safe haven for half elves only because people didn't know where it was. Too much talk could threaten that. Still, "Up North" was a rather large area. "Yes. It took me a while to get down here."

[Graybeard]

Remarkably enough, the wagon didn't seem to have any bugs, scrying spells, etc., on it, as far as Brother Miguel's limited spellcraft (and Sister Rose's even more limited spellcraft) could discern. "Looks like we're good to go," Miguel said, after turning his attention to the horses. "But what are we going to do about the parrot?" The selfsame bird was eyeing them uncomfortably, awaiting an exchange of code words.

Rose had an idea. "Let's walk out into the pasture behind the stable, just a short distance. These things usually aren't too loud, and it's a calm day. We should be able to hear it over ambient noise just fine." Indeed, the weather was glorious, still in the cool of the morning, radiant sun ascending the eastern sky, only the slightest breeze stirring. This place would seem to have a nearly idyllic setting ... were it not for the human components of the scene.

Miguel agreed, and five minutes later, in conditions of increased privacy, the parrot started its recitation.

(UNCLASSIFIED) We hope your night in Nautkia was comfortable. Several things have happened since our last messenger, and it is fair to say that there is good news and there is bad news.

(SECRET) The good news is that the criminal investigations ministry has agreed to cooperate during your visit. (You may already know this.) The young man that they have on the scene will be contacting you shortly, if he has not already done so. He will be using grmpf

Once again, the parrot's narrative was interrupted as Miguel clamped its beak shut. "Young man?" he asked Rose, who had the same look on her face as Miguel had on his, half puzzlement and half chagrin. "I could have sworn that OW!"

This parrot wasn't quite as amenable to interruption as the previous one had been, and it twisted its head free to administer a sharp nip to Miguel's finger, causing him to lose his grip. Thus disencumbered, it took up where it had let off, glaring at Miguel all the time.

the typical "Semper Fi" greeting to establish his bona fides. That is about all I know of him, but the top cops say that he is new on the scene in Nautkia and he is very good. Please protect all information concerning his identity at the SECRET level, and if possible, conceal it from the foreigners you are traveling with.

(LUMINOSITA'S SECRET) The bad news comes from Tsuiraku. The Tsuirakuan homeland-security authorities report that the desk that was sent to Tsuirakushiti for analysis has, quote, "disappeared" on its journey back to Kiyoka. They allege that it must have been, quote, "hijacked" somewhere on the surface following its descent from Tsuirakushiti. Needless to say, this explanation is causing consternation in Emerylon. There is growing suspicion that the Tsuirakuans discovered something that they aren't admitting and want to keep the desk around to see if there is anything to it that might be weaponized. (Privately, I can't blame them; I would have been tempted to do the same thing, under the circumstances.) Sister Margaret and Brother Farley are beside themselves, and so, apparently, is Brother Farley's Tsuirakuan girlfriend, who has been cooperative throughout. We'll keep you posted on this one.

(LUMINOSITA'S SECRET) There is also bad news from Centoriel. As feared, there was an "energetic event" there of unknown provenance, and according to LT Bindiel, the site has been devastated, with no survivors -- in fact, no bodies. The possible Malletarian traps that you observed appear to have been within the blast radius of the event, which left a crater estimated at half a mile across. LT Bindiel's team is not well equipped for thaumatic forensics, and no analysis has been performed on the debris in the area yet. Yet another team of specialists will be arriving to do good forensics, but it will take them a while to arrive.

(UNCLASSIFIED) You people do show up in a lot of places where things go boom, don't you? Just kidding, but in all seriousness, tread carefully and try not to blow anything else up as you continue your search.

Bernie

[Drannin]

Argus nodded, not pushing things. "Thought so. Just curious." Well. That pretty much confirmed it. Now what?

Probably nothing. For now, anyway.

Lillith gave him a weird look, then seemed to shrug it off. Argus turned his thoughts to the imminent meeting in town. And how in hell he was going to handle this situation...

[Sareth]

Lillith breathed a sigh of relief as Argus' question was not followed up with anything further. However, it was not long before she felt the silence grow uncomfortable, and she found herself breaking the silence.

"So, have you ever been up north? I mean, you've traveled a lot, so it seems like a silly question. But I suppose that you probably have."

[Drannin]

Argus nodded. "A few times when I was in the battlemages. We used to patrol along the frontier, and occasionally investigate 'sites of interest,' whatever that means." Argus shrugged. "Usually it was just some loony with a little magic scaring the locals. I also used to vacation up there with my family when I was young, but that feels like a whole different era." He chuckled at this to cover his slip. Let's not go there.

"Anyway, I haven't been there in years. Dunno. Just wondered what things were like up there, these days." Argus shrugged. "I apologize if I seemed a little nosey."

[Graybeard]

"Well, that creates more questions than it answers," Brother Miguel mused, as he tried to figure out what to do with the dead parrot. "Using" it wouldn't be quite as easy here as when they were on the road, but how else to avoid suspicion? But first things first. "What do you make of Bernie's implication that our contact here is male?"

"I don't know, and I was hoping you'd have some good idea," Sister Rose answered. "Maybe our 'Lisebeth' is in drag. It seems unlikely; the voice was feminine, she wasn't all that tall even for a woman, she carried herself like a woman. But I can't think of any other explanation -- at least none that I like."

"Nor I. Polymorph, maybe?"

Rose shook her head. "Everything I've ever learned about polymorph magic says that changing sex with it is all but impossible. Even the Tsuirakuans aren't believed able to do it. Even getting to an androgynous appearance is hard for almost everyone." But not impossible, much as I regret it. She winced, thinking of the dominatrix shape she'd taken at the Homeland Security complex with Argus ... no, best not to go there.

Now what was that all about? Miguel wondered, then decided it would be best not to ask. "All I can think of is an illusion -- or the possibility that Lisebeth isn't who we think she is. I think we'd better try to resolve that. Let's go see what's taking Argus and Lillith so long; maybe we can have a chance encounter with Lisebeth on the way." They started back to the stable, the parrot stashed under a hedgerow and forgotten for the time being.