Episode 10: Not All is as it Seems

Adventuring

General Summary

Aftermath

The three have quickly dressed and put on their combat clothing. Magnus, flushed, organizes the scene. Patroclus and Pelopia have recovered and related to the party what happened: They were gossiping and gathering the laundry when someone grabbed them from behind. The next thing they remember is opening their eyes to Magnus hovering above them. After ensuring everyone is ok, Magnus investigates the body. There isn't much identifying on the body itself. The body, which appears to be that of an inquisitor, is wearing a ring he's seen once or twice before. It's an oath ring where if anyone falls, they cannot be revived. Magnus takes the ring along with a holy symbol. Magnus ponders that the body of Inquisitor Joaquin wasn't due to ship out until tomorrow am. Kneeling over the body, Magnus considers the implications of the timing of the attack. "It's too soon." Ianthe, giving Magnus plenty of space, watches wrapped up in her own thoughts. Kallisto returns and indicates that she has sent Euripides to fetch Hippolyta and share with her what has happened and check on whether Inquisitor Joaquin's body had been returned. Magnus looks up and looks at Ianthe considering. "I fear the church was involved in your family's... the attack on your family." Kallisto frowns. "You may be over simplifying." Magnus considers. "But certainly they were a player. They don't have the naval presence, but there is definately a conspiracy afoot."

Reassembling

The three are sitting in silence when Crethon enters. "My lady. Vulcan and the others have returned." Magnus turns to Crethon. "Let us meet out in sitting area." He picks up the body and carries it out to the courtyard, where he meets Cille Flokisdottir, Otlyn and Hestia . Hestia is carrying a 2m earthenware vase. Cille notes the body and laughs. "Oh, you have one too! Is that one alive?" Magnus drops the body. "No. Uh, this one's dead. You were attacked?" Cille nods. "It was one similar to that one, and these swoopy things. Hestia, would you do the honors?" Hestia smiles, somewhat innapropriately, "Dinner is served." And she lifts the lid on the vase to expose the unconscious form of another inquisitor. "So what happened?" asks Hestia. Vulcan responds tritely. "We both got attacked. Not good." Magnus speaks up. "Conspiracy. Plot to defeat Ianthe & family." Kallisto asks. "But why the church? And why the Meletitís Family. If you were trying to weaken Asteriápolis or the league in general, you would come after my family. If you were trying to weaken us economically, you would come after Otlyn & Hestia's family." Magnus asks "What happens if Ianthe hadn't survived, if we wiped out the family." Hestia answers. "All the female heirs dead? The assets would become property of the state and sold off." Kallisto considers. "But why attack all of us? And why now?" Vulcan pauses. "Are they targeting Magnus? They seem to have gone after all those who he held in high regards?" Otlyn and Cille look at each other. Cille speaks up, "What better way to sow discord than to frame a one or two houses in the destruction of a third?" Kallisto barks a laugh. "Framing may not have been necessary. Vulcan and I have reason to suspect that one of the houses paid off the Norjord to commit the attack." She pauses. "The focal point for this is all over the shop. You don't attack the chain of command by just lashing out. If you're going to go ahead, it's not as if Ianthe's family is occupying a key position. They don't play a key military function. No offense, Ianthe, but if anything Anti-war." Cille asks "How would Phlios's reforms have affected the church?" Magnus considers. "They wouldn't, not directly, There is no threat from the league at the moment. It's too early to strike at me for the death of my cousin. However they weren't very happy with me to begin with. I can easily see my uncle.... this may indeed have been a strike at me... and my companions... and my friends." Crethon briefly interrupts. "You have more guests." Hermione enters the room, carrying a body clothed in similar manner to the attackers. Tossing it down, she looks at Magnus. "I believe these belong to you?" Magnus sniffs. "They do not belong to me." He gestures at the one at his feet. "It seems the church has been very busy tonight." Cille puts the cover on the clay pot, not unnoticed by Hermione, Hestia and Hermione. "Was anyone hurt?" asks Magnus. Hermione explains that Eunice and Hermione were joining members of the family for dinner. Shortly after it had broken up, they were attacked by two assailants. The attack failed spectacularly. She had reached out to her contacts, including Vulcan. Vulcan looks a bit startled and nods. Magnus shakes his head. "Well I don't suppose I have to feel guilty about dragging the league into a war with the empire anymore." Eunice looks around the room. After a moment she speaks quietly. "Everyone in this room was here when Joaquin confronted Magnus." The group takes that in for a moment. Magnus nods. "You're right." He frowns, as if suddenly realizing something. "And... I was not a target." Hermione adds "Perhaps was a message." Magnus considers further. "An external threat always helps keep the nobles in line, maybe creating chaos..." At this point, Crethon interrupts again. "My lady. Archon Hippolyta Megalos, Strategos Damian Megalos and Kyros Megalos." At this point, the three entered with two Rávdoi. After introductions, Damien takes control of the interrogation of the witnesses within the room starting with Hermione, then Hestia. Hestia, while not avoiding, does not mention the captive. Damien looks at Kallisto, then turns and looks to Magnus. "Magnus, what happened here." Magnus proceeds to recount the fight from the start of the sounds, the nearly murdered servants, and then the battle within the womens baths. As Magnus proceeds to tell the story, Hippolyta, Hestia, Hermione and Kyros all eye Magnus's slight blush, while Cille smirks. Kallisto glares at Damien the whole while as if daring him to comment, while Otlyn watches. Damien pauses. "Where is the extra body?" Hestia gives a sideways smirk and lifts the lid to the final attacker encased in the stone vase. Hippolyta intervenes. "Is he dead?" Otlyn shakes her head. Hipolyta says "Wake him." "It'll take a while."

Waiting

Crethon quietly suggests to Vulcan that now might be the time to give Cille the artefact they've been working on. As the two step out of the room, Damien instructs them not to go far. Hestia and Ianthe sit off to a corner, furiously whispering. Intermittantly Hestia gives a long sideways look at Hestia. After a few moments, Magnus becomes aware that he's being subjected to a bit of ritual hazing. He gives a sly smile and then turns away to speak to Kallisto. Damien growls quietly, "Know your place, prick." Kyros intervenes and walks up to Magnus. He rubs his jaw as if an old wound. "We haven't always agreed." Magnus nods once. "You have my apologies for my earlier behaviour." Kyros looks surprised. "Neither of us acquitted us well." Magnus holds out a hand. Kyros considers a moment then takes it. Kallisto, quietly observing the scene smiles and Damien frowns. Hippolyta breaks the tension by sharing that when she heard the news, she attempted to contact the crew of the diplomatic party returning Inquisitor Joaquin. They were preparing to sail in the morning. When no response from any of her men on board the ship, she sent men down to the docks.

Atunement

Otlyn and Cille joins Vulcan in his workshop. The workshop appears just like any other, save for the large magic circle, a chair with leather restraints, and an odd set of channels funneling towards the axe. Vulcan gestures with a catlike smile to the chair. "Please, have a seat." Cille looks skeptically at Vulcan. "You'll need to remove your armor." Cille sighs and removes the armor, along with her clothes. Otlyn blushes and skips out. Vulcan smirks. "It'll only hurt a bit." He hands Cille a number of scrolls and asks Cille to begin. As Cille reads from the scroll, small amounts of blood are dripped upon the blade. After 12 scrolls, the axe shudders and suddenly the blood coalesces and runs back up to Cille who passes out. Crethon looks at Vulcan. "Was that supposed to happen?" Vulcan nods. "Yes. I think so." A few moments later, Cille rouses with a screaming headache. Crethon offers her water. Cille looks around. "Why am I naked?" Vulcan answers "Because we asked you to take off your armor, and you decided it was a good idea..." Cille looks around "but... nevermind. Headache." Cille stands up and starts to walk towards the door when Crethon suggests putting on her armor. After her head clears, she looks to the axe and picks it up. Where before the axe was difficult to even lift, now she simply tosses it over her back as if it were nothing. Vulcan smiles. "Looks like it works." The three set back off towards the others and Vulcan nudges her to disguise the armor.

News Arrives

Cille returns, with a large great axe strapped over her shoulder. Magnus nods. "Good. Strong weapon for you. Excellent." Damien eyes her carefully, but before he can speak, two of Hippolyta's men arrive at the door breathless. They report that they have found the crew murdered, and the inquisitor's body is missing. They hand her a peice of parchment, and the dagger that they found holding it in place. The note is short and reads "Woe be upon those who blaspheme and reject the love of Dieu. We have judged the false teachers and pronounce sentence on them and those led astray." Magnus sighs, recognizing the language used was that used to pronounce a death sentence. "Oh Goody. The church has signed the death warrant for all of us."

The prisoner awakens

With that, the cloaked man regains consciousness. He looks around and processes. He sees the others dead at his feet and then focuses on Magnus. As he comes to, Cille quietly casts a spell to discern truth, and Eunice nods quietly. Otlyn adds her own incantation before the questioning begins. After several moments, the prisoner asks for water. Otlyn reaches over helps him drink. Cille speaks up. "Lady Hippolyta would like some answers." Hippolyta's eyes linger on him for a moment, then begins. "Who were you sent to kill?" She continues to repeat the question over and over, for several minutes. After several more moments Hippolyta's eyes change, and her hands glow red. She steps towards him and slowly steps forward and slowly begins to stroke his ear. The prisoner writhes in pain, and Hippolyta continues to target the pain centers. Otlyn gives him more water. The prisoner swirls it around in his mouth and then swallows. He looks over at Magnus and growls, pained, "How do you keep that foul blasphemer in your presence?" Magnus considers and then says, "Why are you stalling?" He asks for water again. Cille puts out her hand stopping Otlyn. Magnus continues, "You are stalling, inquisitor. You call me blasphemer. You are the ones who blaspheme the name of Dieu. You are not fit to speak his name." Otlyn steps fowrard and pries his mouth open. Several tiny bugs crawl out of his mouth. Suddenly he cackles in a scream of pain and shouts "My lord Joaquin will destroy those who teach your heresy and then we will wipe your league of unbelievers from this world! The end of your reign is near! Dieu will raise up the faithful in his kingdom to come!" He yells an invocation of some form, and two magic circles form in the courtyard. The man's eyes roll back in his head and swarms of worm like creatures spill out of his mouth and eye sockets and onto Otlyn's hands. Vulcan yells out "Burn them! Burn them all!" Eunice cries out "Don't let them touch you!" Kallisto, Hippolyta, Kyros and Cille all act at the same time. An inferno bursts into existance where the prisoner was leaving nothing but ashes and melted stone. Otlyn yells "Eww!" and finishes off the mess with a bolt of fire. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! Ack! They're on me!" Magnus quickly steps up to Otlyn and moves to protect her. He calls on the name of Dieu and several of the bugs drop from her forearm dead at her feet. Otlyn cries out and water bursts into being over her, drenching both Otlyn and Magnus. "Eww! Dirty!" Kyros joins Magnus and helps to check that Otlyn is ok, while the rest of the room begins to still. Hermione sits back and quietly repeats the final words as if memorizing them.

Implications

As she repeats the words, Magnus says "I fear that there is more than Empire declaring war. It feels like Church is making a move to consolidate power within the empire." Vulcan walks over to Magnus. "I don't think your Inquisitor friend is dead." Cille nods. "I was following him. I saw him go up with the whore, but I didn't see him leave." Hermione looks very cross. "Companion." Cille shrugs. "Whatever. Sex is Sex." Magnus walks over to Hermione. WIth a lowered voice he asks, "You said my cousin was dead, yes?" Hermione recounts the fight again. "We tried to revive him, but couldn't." Hippolyta adds, "You saw the corpse." He pauses, then looks at Hermione. "Did he summon any creatures?" Hermione shakes her head. "No. The only odd thing is that it's like he wanted to be discovered." Magnus blinks. "I think we're being played." Hippolyta begins to seeth with rage. Both Kallisto and Kyros take a step back, concern crossing their face. Damien looks at her and simply watches. Magnus repeats. "We're being played." Hermione and Hestia in the corner continue taking turns repeating the phrase over and over again while Eunice looks on. Each time, they use slightly different pauses or emphasis. Magnus turns to the two girls. "'Rejecting the love...' Most likely, that's a direct reference to me." He suddenly turns. "Teaching. Akadimía." A moment pauses and everyone begins to move at the same time. Hippolyta turns to Kyros. "Contact Dorothea." A moment passes. "I can't." Magnus continues "Why warn us?" Damien, pacing, "Because by the time we knew it would be too late." He turns to Hippolyta and continues. "The academy is not our responsibility. Our responsibility is to protect Asteriápolis first, then the other cities. They have their own means of protection." With that, Damien sends the Ravdoí off with instructions to wake the Polemarch. Cille asks "How fast can we get there?" Kyros looks at Hippolyta. "Is the gate active?" "It should be." she answers. Kallisto glares at Damien. "Your role here is done. Go protect your city." She turns to the rest. "Let's go." Hestia smiles. "I'll stay here with Ianthe. Get going." Cille, Otlyn, Magnus, Otlyn, Kyros and Kallisto start towards the door. After a meaningful look, Hermione and Eunice join them as they make their way through the city. Stopping briefly at the Aerasópoulos family home to grab their gear, they continue on to the

A Closed Door

As the group breaks into the room next to where the body was kept, the ruins of the teleportation circle lie in front of them. Hippolyta swears. "So that's why he was here." Magnus swears in Human. Hippolyta thinks. She turns to Cille. "Go get Briseis." Cille sets off.

Briseis

As Cille bursts into the room, she immediately begins a jumbled mess. As Cille talks, Briseis steps forward and places a hand on her shoulder. Moments later the two appear back in the office. As Briseis takes in the scene she shakes her head. "I can't fix it." Hippolyta asks "Can you get them there?" Briseis thinks again. "I can get them close." With that, she begins a complex incantation. While the group waits, Patroclus nudges Magnus. "Your equipment sir." Startled, the group realizes he had followed after they left. As the gate springs into existance, Hippolyta gestures to two of the guards. "You and you. WIth them." Patroclus looks on expectantly. Magnus turns to him. "Can you fight?" Patroclus looks at Magnus steadily. "For you? Always." Magnus pats his shoulder. "Very good, get ready." One of the spear wielders looks at him. He removes his hoplite armor and gestures to Patroclus. "Make us proud." Patroclus looks stunned, and then quickly dons the armor and takes the spear. With everyone ready, the group steps through the portal.

The other side

The first of the party emerges into fire. The docks are destroyed and flames leap from the city and surrounding area. As the last of the group steps through, the gate snaps shut.

Rewards Granted

Oath Ring (Magnus)

Notes

The best moment in the session, out of character. GM: You've read the Iliad?
Kelley: "Patroclus. He puts on someone elses armor..."
Jessica: "And gets himself killed!"
All: Shit. Second best moment. GM: And Troy's on fire... Kelley "We're the trojans in this. I don't like that!"