War.

Re: War.

Postby Jirai » Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:51 pm

With Glenn's help, Rhaena descended from the carriage, bestowing a bright smile upon both Agnie and Aleksei (and really, weren't the two of them looking so lovely together? But she'd -promised- not to say anything to Agnieszka and so she wouldn't. But she'd think it!). Anyway, the gowned woman seemed entirely oblivious to Agnieszka's odd look. "Agnie, I had to reschedule the meeting with the tailor, but I ought to have something for you to try next week sometime." The woman seems to be in entirely too good of a mood, given the circumstances. That, of course, does not last long past the opening of the door and the revelation of a very, very dead man. Bronze eyes widen, a hand flying to her mouth.
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Re: War.

Postby Suede » Thu Mar 01, 2012 1:48 am

"Entirely unnecessary, Miss Olwak. I can take a few measurements right now, if you like." There was a wink towards the trader girl for anyone that turned to the tailor's voice near the fallen body of Marion. His eyes then turned down to the bloody cucumber sandwich he'd taken up from the dropped tray. A quick sniff of it and he pulled a rather curious face before tearing off the bloody portion and shoving half of it into his mouth.

The tailor had simply appeared over that body a moment after Aleksei checked it and continued on, and now he was following after the scholar at a casual stride, spare hand fisted at the small of his back and a disturbed bounce in his step.

By the stories constantly spread about him you'd expect him to have a handlebar mustache and wear all black, but such was not the case. The clean shaven man was wearing very dark greens; a perfectly tailor shirt and vest over trousers, and even leather boots that had been dyed the same hue and lacking a shine. His eyes held a mirthful twinkle as he came into the room where Kerrak lay with the headless body. "You owe me rent, you know." This last part to Aleksei.
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Re: War.

Postby channe » Thu Mar 01, 2012 2:03 am

Agnie herself looks like hell. She's been up all night, she hasn't showered, her clothes are rumpled -- "... I'm pretty sure I'm fine with that," she responds to Rhaena -- and then --

-- the bodies.

She takes it all in quickly. The unconscious Kerrak, the headless body, the puddle of blood -- and she's on her way to Kerrak himself when Suede appears out of nowhere. She assumes the dead man caught Kerrak unawares, because otherwise the man would still be awake and waiting for them; she finds no scorch marks, which means the man didn't loose his powers. When Suede appears, Agnieszka Kaczmarek has had it. She's just had it. She's exhausted, she's tired, a formerly good friend made her release an unspeakable evil on the world, and she just can't deal with the fact that Suede Roschen is standing here acting like a total douchebag. Aleksei will have to deal with the fallen Kerrak for now; Agnieszka has a suspect.

-- and when he picks up the bloody sandwich, eats half of it, she draws her sword, raises it at Roschen. Quickly. Jons called her 'Sister' -- that means that the demon can access the memories of the person who is possessed. "Tell me what happened here or I'll assume you're the demon and run you through."
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Re: War.

Postby Glenn » Thu Mar 01, 2012 2:06 am

It had been a bit of a pandora's box, giving Aleksei Suede Roschen's old shop as an abode, but that had been the man's terms of employment. He wanted a house in town and it was damned hard to afford such a thing. Even Glenn's house was a relatively modest thing, more prized for its location than anything else. There wasn't a Governor's House. Quite the opposite. You had to be a landowner to BE Governor, or Councilor or mostly anything else important. Glenn had procured the shop, on the cheap, with government resources shortly after his return from Underdark. No one wanted to live there or use it as shop considering it was the former residence of the drow-swain, stripped from his possession when he was deemed a traitor. Considering his rumored connection to the now-dilapidated Black Market and the fact he so liked to dabble in poisons, it was a dangerous place. A perfect test for Aleksei, one that he had passed with flying colors so far. Maybe, just maybe, Glenn had even wanted to get some of Suede's attention off of himself, to give him a new rival to distract him from endangering Myrken in large and deafening ways.

It seemed, however, that despite wards and whatever magical changes the Eleanor lady had made, Suede had been able to keep tabs. Or perhaps he had just worked it out some other way. It didn't REALLY matter. He had gotten there before them, it seemed, and now he was sticking his foot into Myrken affairs at absolutely the worst time. He might have even seen what had happened. Hell, for all Glenn knew, he had saved Kerrak's life. They had been Councilors together, no? Still, it didn't REALLY matter. He was too unstable, too much a risk. "Agnieszka," Glenn's voice was terse. He didn't think the tailor had anything to do with this, though he was probably a wonderful subject to get possessed. "You have EXACTLY the right idea. I know that it's been building up in you all night now, all morning. Here is the chance for you to really get it out. Take Suede to the balcony, interrogate him, and please stab him repeatedly, at least once in the groin." No humor in his voice, just business. "Aleksei, continue your work. Rhaena.." And no more words had to be said. He knew what she wanted, even if she was alarmed by Suede's sudden appearance, by everything else. "will stay with me."

He'd squeeze her hand and they would communication. Not yet. He knew what she wanted, but Kerrak was prone. So not yet. She could keep her distance. She could scan his mind for INTENT. For corruption. For other presences. Glenn would support her, would protect her from any.. bleeding. Nothing would invade her mind from Kerrak's so long as he was there. They were stronger together than they were apart and they had trained for this sort of thing. Never again would she be cursed or invaded. But she would find out if they could trust the unconscious man, and if they could, then and only then, could she could heal him like she wanted. If not, he would ask her to look away as Glenn took this unique opportunity what he must.
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Re: War.

Postby BetaFlame » Thu Mar 01, 2012 3:27 am

He had expected the noise from Rhaena. What he didn't expect was the sudden apperence of Suede. His eyes lift, but he can't stop drawing the wards. So.. he draws faster. He needs to complete this one and then get to Kerrak to ward him in. Just in case. He doesn't know who Suede is for sure, but he can take a guess. Unless Dulcie employed super creepy bouncers and he forgot his room payment, there was only one place he was 'renting'.

Agnie's reaction is not that surprising, given what he is guessing about the man. The last rune is finished and he edges toward Kerrak. Chalk in one hand, sword in the other. Unless Suede does something to stop him, he starts drawing the runic circle on the ground around that as well. He knows full and well he can't rush this. The circle has to be precise. Hopefully, he doesn't try anything, or Agnie and Glenn can stop him if he does. He doesn't really need Glenn to tell him not to stop, but he knows full and well it makes the man the man feel better to issue order, so he doesn't bother complaining.

"Rent? Well, perhaps we can discuss that later. As you can see, I am busy, and Agnie seems to have a few questions for her. I hear she can get pointedly angry when she is kept waiting."

A slight smirk and he goes back to tracing the wards on the floor.
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Re: War.

Postby Jirai » Thu Mar 01, 2012 9:34 am

There is a part of Rhaena that wants nothing more than to rush back to the carriage and pretend that none of this was happening. It is a small part though, and she does no such thing. She does take careful pains to look anywhere else but the bodies, and Suede Roschen is an excellent alternative, if rather unexpected. The woman's mouth opened and closed once before she managed to get any words out. "...I am afraid I wasn't speaking of you, Mister Roschen." She manages a perfectly normal tone somehow (though her breath is coming decidedly faster than normal), despite the fact that she was having to lift her skirts with one hand and step oh-so carefully to avoid the pools of blood everywhere. Roschen did do good work though, probably better than the woman she had employed and... well, now was really not the time for that, but it really was preferable to thinking about dead bodies. "I think Agnieszka would like a few words, though." Again, perfectly polite, as if this were a social occasion and not a murder scene. She did feel sorry for the tailor, with Agnieszka's threat and when Glenn directs her friend to stab Roschen, the woman's shoulders twitched and perhaps she looked a bit ill. Or maybe that was from catching another glimpse of Marion's body.

Rhaena stayed close to Glenn's side, clinging tightly to his hand. She did not truly mind waiting - Glenn was right in that, of course. There were more important things at the moment and the woman shifted her attention away from Rhaena and Agnieszka and even Aleksei to focus on Kerrak's prone form. She did not need to be close to the man for this, and stayed carefully back from the man (and all that blood). Bolstered by Glenn Burnie's presence, both physical and otherwise, Rhaena's bronze eyes lost their focus as she reached out mentally to the once-councilor. Carefully and cautiously she would do what Glenn asked and check the man's mind with a delicate touch for taint and the truth.
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Re: War.

Postby Suede » Thu Mar 01, 2012 9:46 am

To Suede's credit he didn't seem particularly concerned about Agnie's actions or Glenn's suggestions. He tilted his nose slightly into the air and stared down it towards the blade pointed in his direction before giving an insufferable sigh and turning away from chairwoman as if she were little more than a stain on the hem of his trousers. Instead he turned to Rhaena and offered her a half-bow. "Ah, you've wounded my pride a bit, but I suppose since I put my shop on loan that is to be expected."

Stabbing in the groin? Now really Glenn, while it wasn't entirely uncalled for, now wasn't the time for flirting. The tailor turned to trail after Aleksei, watching the man work his magic into the floor around his former compatriot. "I think she'll have to wait. The old ball and chain gets a bit jealous when I let other women stab me in the groin." Take that as seriously as you will, scholar.

Suede tossed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth before reaching into his vest and pulling out a blue hat box wrapped with a fanciful yellow bow and setting it near Kerrak, but away from the runes being placed down. No need to be rude and upset the man's pretty work. It's worth noting the package was far too large to fit in his vest without there being an excessive bulge. Still...

Unless forced to move by some means he'd lean over Aleksei's shoulder and raise his voice to ask loudly to the room. "Don't you find that rather pointless considering the head of the other body already walked off into the woods a bit before you got here?"
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Re: War.

Postby channe » Thu Mar 01, 2012 10:16 am

And that's it for Agnieszka. She's had entirely too much stress these past couple hours, and Suede treating her like a piece of rotten ham is the absolute last straw. It doesn't matter, see, if Agnie's a Councilwoman or a bum; this is why she left, this is why she went to Razasan, this is it -- in Myrken Wood she'll never get any more respect than a whore with a kitchen knife. This is one of the many reasons that when Glenn Burnie speaks of her bravery, of her soul, he has her on tenterhooks.

"Aleksei. Ward that box, too."

A pause. She's quiet. Looking like she's taking it from the tailor, looking at her feet -- and then when his back is completely turned, she'll move, fast as anything -- the goal is to destabilize Roschen, push him against the wall, to lynch his hand around his back and put a dagger to his throat as quickly as possible. If she succeeds, or if she doesn't, the question still comes out -- "Why did you kill the servants? What the hell did you do to Kerrak?"

Whether or not she believes the tailor capable of this savagery is a different story. Sometimes you just have to start with the bastard that's right in front of you.
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Re: War.

Postby Vanidor » Thu Mar 01, 2012 1:13 pm

If there was ever anything true about the former Councilor, its that his mind was something akin to a fortress. Mental walls that kept secret the many things he had learned over his many years as the right hand to the Duke. Several things he'd learned on his own about this, that and the other whatnot. The Will to keep control over his most chaotic of abilities. How and when to use them. That sort of thing. Other deals of import, men and women who's secrets he had pledged to keep over his tenure as Burel's spymaster. These things and more and buried behind the towering ramparts of his mind. Again. It is a fortress.

And unfortunately. Those doors are unbarred and unguarded. The fight against the Jons-Thing had taken more out of the man that he would have personally guessed. Not just sword work, mind. The man called Jons had been... a friend. At least at one point. To have him come in and slaughter his staff. TELL him about it. Well. That had unbalanced several things within him. But that was neither here nor there. Taking the creatures head had been an required, especially after the man had put his mace into Kerrak's side and broke... things. Normally, even when asleep or otherwise without wit, Kerrak could maintain his hold on his thoughts and secrets.

Now? Now Rhaena had almost free reign within that mental barracks. The memories of the recent fight were closest to the surface, of course. Tastes of rage and anger. That sort of thing. That is on the surface, anyway. Beneath is a myriad of things all bound together tenuously by Will alone. All that Kerrak was, light and dark, was held together in such a fashion. That he was alive and functional was a testament to that Will, perhaps. In anycase, the intrusion into his mind was NOT unnoticed, even prone the man had excellent mental defenses. Physically, al'Nerun was unconscious and being circled in wardings that were wholly unneeded. Mentally, however, he was awakening. The last time this had happened, he had shredded several powerful illithids, and returned to his mind a madman...
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Re: War.

Postby Jirai » Thu Mar 01, 2012 2:54 pm

Thus far, Rhaena has been putting on an excellent facade. Likely only Glenn would realize how tenuous her hold was. After all, it had only been a day or so ago that a brief glimpse into Zilliah's memories had left the woman sobbing in the fae's arms - and there had not even been any dead bodies involved! Here, there were dead bodies aplenty, violence brewing between Agnieszka and the tailor (though Rhaena was quite fortunately oblivous to that right now), and a mind before her own that doubtless held all sorts of horrible things.

Rhaena does not like horrible things.

She slips smoothly into al'Nerun's mind, a gentle, reassuring, happy presence. That was the essence of Rhaena, even disturbed as she was by current events.

In truth, Rhaena Olwak has little interest in Kerrak's secrets, save only the ones Glenn has asked for, and those only because of this emergency. What had happened here, and those memories did not require any searching, close as they were.

Unfortunately, these are not particularly nice memories, are they? Kerrak's mind is sadly lacking in puppies and rainbows.

They need to be seen though, filtered through Rhaena's Skill to the Governor (on whom she was leaning rather heavily by this point). Carefully, quickly, and without thinking overly much about them. She was very well aware of Kerrak's history, and the risk inherent in what they were doing.

Just those memories would not be enough, though. Rhaena had to go deeper, balancing every move against Kerrak's awakening and his own defenses. Other things needed to be found - the memory of directing Glenn and Agnieszka to Cristoph and the truth of his intentions in doing so. His loyalty to Myrkenwood needed to be proved and she needed to be sure that he was not posessed by whatever demon had been loosed. That was a taint that Rhaena thought would be obvious at least, but she is not exactly experienced in rooting out demon possession.

And it would be nice if the Channeller did not awake in madness. Particularly while she was occupying his mind.
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Re: War.

Postby BetaFlame » Thu Mar 01, 2012 3:39 pm

His ward around Kerrak finishes just as Rhaena enters the man's mind. Suede's words have his head whip around to look at him just as Agnie makes her charge. He just gets out of the way, sliding smoothing to one side, sword in hand. He move to help her fence the Evil Tailor of Death in. The sword taps on the ground, starting the chain reaction of vibration, and Resonance.

He flicks his eyes around, keeping his eyes on the look out. The head wasn't likely to come back, and he wasn't even going to bother responding to Suede's taunts. Even if the head was housing the main portion of the possession, there was no reason not to be safe and seal in the body as well. "Agnie, if you break him before we get answers, we might never get them."

The sword hummed, almost like it was in anticipation of exploding something again.
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Re: War.

Postby Suede » Thu Mar 01, 2012 3:51 pm

Ward his delivery? Well that was a rather rude suggestion. His eyes drift to it a moment and he frowns deeply. He thought it was a rather dashing hat, but maybe the style was a bit too Thessilanian. Aleksei looked his way, slipping to the side, and then Agnie collides with his back. The force sent them both towards the wall and she'd succeed in getting a grip on his hand. Suede was just as much a weasel as Catch stated and the instant before he'd have been sandwiched into the wall he wasn't there anymore.

No tailor's body crushed into wood, nothing in Agnie's grip to jerk around an absent back. It would be several heart beats that passed before he'd cough from where he was standing by the headless body. "You're going to mess up all the man's hard work at this rate."

With the toe of one boot he nudges the mace where it lay while he rubbed the wrist Agnie had gotten her fingers around. "It's no wonder this is considered a backwater. Instead of simply asking me reasonably like adults you let the angry woman stomp around in a childish tantrum. If you had half the brain you pretend to, you'd know I'm no butcher."
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Re: War.

Postby Vanidor » Thu Mar 01, 2012 4:01 pm

It would be nice if he stayed unconscious and did not awaken in the middle of all this, wouldn't it. It'd mean that he'd only have vague memories of someone screwing around and tromping through his brain, instead of KNOWING that it had happened and it wasn't just a dream. But in any case. That wasn't the main issue. The issue at hand was where, exactly, did Kerrak's true loyalties lie. Was it with Myrken, his recently adopted home? Was it his former nation of Thessilane, before Burel had his own small spat of insanity (invade Derry? Really?), or was it something far more sinister?

The surface memories are full of shock and some disappointment. He had heard the ruckus below him and had been at the ready by the time his door had been breeched. Jons had been a friend. They had done... many things together in their time, keeping the rule of the Tassnehof line as secure as possible. Kerrak had been the face, and Jons the hand. And eventually their paths and skills had diverged. Having to kill his friend had saddened him. Cutting off his fool head had been easier than expected, seeing the head grow legs and scurry over the wall to vanish down the ally had made him pass the hell out. No. There certainly were no rainbows, nor puppies here. Another thing is certain. Roschen is most certainly not in any of his memories of the duel.

But this isn't what she's there for. Deeper?

The deepest truth on the loyalty of Kerrak al'Nerun was this; Kerrak did not hold to anything anymore. He... did not want to be here, in Myrken. For all truth, the man did not even wish to be alive. At the core of things, or at least that core that Rhaena is able to access despite the slowly forming bulwarks, is that Kerrak wanted to be dead. Returned to the beyond, where he had been, and not HERE. There are the vaguest of memories involving what was his afterlife. Perhaps the puppies and rainbows that Rhaena had wished for, or at least something akin to it. There had been no pain there. No need to contain himself or control things to the point of denying what it was to be Kerrak al'Nerun.

Yet, despite this lack of over-arcing loyalty, neither was ill-will directed towards Myrken nor any of those who called it home (well, maybe a few people, like that baker who gave him bad muffins the previous week). He honestly wanted to do right by the people, especially considering how the previous incarnation of his life had gone. Do as much good as possible before the inevitable. Even here, there are dredged up images of Kerrak and Agnieszka facing one another across a tower. A bell ringing behind them at counterpoint to their sword swings. He is laughing in this thought. In this psudo-memory. He is not trying to kill the woman (who looks younger and more vibrant in this quasi-memory, as she was in her youthful innocence), but teach her something. Sometimes you have to sheathe the blade, and accept the consequences. Sometimes YOU were the sheathe. He so wanted to be the one to bestow her title upon her. Blademaster Kaczmarek. It had a nice ri -

Kerrak groans softly here. A low moan that sees him gripping his loose sword. The memories buck some. The bulwarks strengthening. His eyes do not open, but his awareness of self does. Perhaps Aleksei will hear the intake of breath.. A soft murmur. Or perhaps not, considering the amount of scuffle going on around him. For Rhaena. One thing was perhaps certain. It is a mortal mind that flexes against her. Well trained, but still mortal. If there is taint, it is from a lifetime of killing for other people. But it is a mortal thing, not born of darkness and the daemonic. Another thing for sure. Even as he is waking, he is dying. And despite the bodies urge to live and continue going, that mind is considering an embrace of death. And there's a good chance he'll hold onto Rhaena as he does so.
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Re: War.

Postby channe » Thu Mar 01, 2012 4:04 pm

Agnieszka lets out a screech at this magic and steps forward towards the tailor, following his foot as it hits the mace.

She stops cold.

Looks at the dead, headless man.

Looks at the mace.

The head walked into the forest.

Her stomach flips.

Oh my God, she thinks, I was so sure of things that I thought -- I knew he was -- but he isn't -- and now he -- And finally, she looks back up at Glenn and Rhaena. "Oh, God, I'm a feckin' idiot. Oh my God ... everybody step the hell back, right now," she calls, Suede forgotten for the moment. Thanks kindly for distracting her, tailor; this morning continues to go so incredibly well. "It's Jons. The body is Jons. Everybody else out, right now. Someone help me get Kerrak out of here. This whole place burns. Right fecking now."

Agnieszka steps forward, here, towards Kerrak, intending to get behind him and hoist him by his shoulders.
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Re: War.

Postby Glenn » Thu Mar 01, 2012 4:20 pm

"Honestly," This to Suede, more than he should have said, but he deserved a little treat of honesty every now and again. "I just wanted you distracted for a little while, and if she stabbed you, all the better." It was true, Suede's interference could have been disastrous. He continued to support Rhaena, even as she saw all that she did.

And as Agnie hoisted the unconscious man, he moved closer to them, staring him straight on and when Burnie spoke, it was both in words and in mind using Rhaena as a conduit. He wouldn't let her fall. He wouldn't EVER let her fall, but right now, he wouldn't let Kerrak either. His work was still undone. Nor did the governor care if any of them looked at him oddly. They were welcome to. "I am not without mercy and kindness. Your hand is upon this, Kerrak, so far back. Until we settle it, you can't have peace. But when it's done and over with, I promise that I will end you myself. Quickly, painlessly. Permanently. I promise you on Myrken itself." There was not much holy to Glenn Burnie, but if anything was, his home was likely it. "Now wake up and live. Our Agony is intent on burning down all that you own and some of it is rather nice."
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