[Game Thread] Chapter Four: Complications

[Blue]

I guess that means the answer it 'No'.
That it would be done in private was obvious, but it would be done.
As to the Deceiver's Bane, she apparently had to explain herself.
It would depend on whom 'requested' it. A good conman is apt at making people think they need something they can provide and one popular conman strategy is making your prey believe he is dealing with an organization when truly he is dealing with a single man.
I'm just seeing scenarios where everything can potentially add up. If Aiden wasn't even aware he had recently provided Shali with a Deceiver's Bane... well, we'll see.

[SpatulaOdoom]

I agree that we shouldn't push Schakri in public, if he isn't an enemy we're ruining his potential usefulness to us in doing so. We should do it soon though. Tonight, before he has a chance to catch his balance.
Then again if Schakri was involved in the attack on the Dragonblazes he might have never lost his balance, which would in itself be telling.
Regarding the Deceiver's Bane my only concern is that we really do know 'all' of it's capabilities and the correct command to remove it. Do we?

[Watcher]

Given the news, and ill tidings, shared by the others, it was time Syltar shared his own. He didn't look forward to what he had to say, and in some ways it made the situation - and the event in the cave - become real. As it was, it was obvious that the young mage was saddened...

"Aiden," Syltar said, looking to his cousin, a frown on his face. The young mage didn't particularly like recent events, especially the sickness that now plagued them, but times called for some information to be shared. "I have troubling news about the Ancestor..."

With a glance to Phyre, and a deepening of his frown, Syltar sighed and knew that now was the time to say as much as he could without insulting Phyre or her companions with his half-truths in the cavern. He suspected that they knew he had been holding something back, and now the young mage would look at putting those suspicions to ease.

"A mysterious blue woman, an agent of the aforementioned, invaded the Ancestor's home and overpowered him. I arrived to see them taking the defeated elder through a portal to a location known as sanctuary... it's possible he died, though I'd rather not say for certain, as I do not presume to understand the Ancestor's power."

Syltar cleared his throat as he held up a hand to stop any interruption. He needed to share the next point, also, which was just as important in its own way.

"Additionally... it seems that Versiejir is working with them. Against us. I witnessed his involvement with my own eyes."

And with that, the young mage fell silent.

[Blue]

Nevh turned to Sylar with an expression of mild disgust and and anger. Hopefully Scion had perished and would not be used against them, but they had a Paragon able to return the dead to life, and this irritating habit of taking back with them the bodies of every strong foe they face.
"Without disbelief, Archmage, I am amazed that they allowed you to bear witness to these events and let you go with your life to tell the tale."
She turned to Aiden, her lips tightening. There were more pressing details than Syltar's safe return.
"I will hear that story later, I hope."

[Makenshi]

Aiden's frown deepens at the news of the Ancestor's defeat, as does Schakri's, however it pales in comparison to the anger on both of their faces when he names Verseijir as being involved. Aiden gives off a deep, rumbling growl. "Verseijir." The loathing on his voice made it clear what Aiden's opinion of the man was, as did Schakri's dark expression.

The name seems lost on Esiard however. "Who's that?"

Schakri is the one to respond this time. "A Nameless and former Dragonblaze wanted for torturing and murdering multiple women. By the time he was firmly connected with suspicious deaths he had dissapeared, leaving even more bodies in his wake."

"We've been trying to hunt him down ever since." Aiden continues. "Unfortunately he is a very talented mage who kept the majority of his tricks and abilities to himself, and he's annoyingly...charismatic. Since hunting him we've come across more than a few people who sheltered a 'nice young man' just as we've come across more bodies that he's experimented on - we still don't know why he does it, beyond enjoying it at least, but there seemed to be a purpose to whatever he was doing."

Esiard nods in understanding. "I'll make sure to familiarise myself with him and have the Captains do so to." He turns towards Syltar. "Did you see anything else?" He looks towards the two paintings. "Those two have shown up around the Blue Woman before for example."

~MTWC

[Watcher]

Syltar glanced to Nevh, red eyes staring for a moment, before he turned to listen as Aiden explained about their black sheep in the family. The actions and path Verseijir had taken was horrid, and a stain on the Dragonblaze. Though, compared to the madness and recent events concerning it now, the lone murderer's smudge to their name might as well have been a slight bump under a wagon wheel - save for the company Verseijir was keeping, which left room for much concern.

"There were two other women with them, yes," Syltar said when he had had the chance to look at the paintings, and following Esiard's question. "They may well have been those two individuals depicted there, though I did not see their faces. The hair and build seems comparable enough to presume they could be the blue woman's companions."

Looking to Nevh, Syltar remained stoic as he grunted.

"And given there were four of them, as well as several Trolls, you might forgive my reluctance to announce my presence to challenge them to a short, bloody, severely one-sided battle to my death... especially given they had so promptly overpowered a being more powerful than myself."

Turning to glance at the Dragonblaze, then back to Nevh, Syltar sighed.

"I felt it more prudent to remain in order to share events, and the threat, rather than be slaughtered in a show of bravado and honor... to no avail."

[SpatulaOdoom]

Morgan waves a hand at Syltar.
"You did the only thing you could."
His eyes sweep the people gathered.
"Hear me. Scion isn't the most powerful opponent she's felled. People like us can't even momentarily inconvenience her. If you encounter The Blue Lady with the Eyes of a Void the only option is running and hiding all, else is death without purpose."
His eyes settle on Esiard.
"I'll have that report I promised you a while ago on your table tomorrow. There's still a lot of question marks, and what I have isn't encouraging, but it's something at least."
Even if he'd given Esiard what he had sooner it probably wouldn't have changed anything that happened today. Still Morgan can't help but feel a spark of guilt. What if he'd been a little bit quicker, or pushed their sources a little bit harder. Might they have seen this coming? Would he at least have been able to save Valin?

"The thing to take away from this is that the attack on Scion was coordinated with the bout of madness that those suffering from this mysterious illness received. I don't think anyone here is naive enough to think that the timing was a coincidence."

[Blue]

Nevh winced, a softness in her eyes.
"I am actually simply amazed that one of the most powerful beings in this world simply did not notice you. Or if she did, chose not to end you. Either way, it is encouraging."

She sniffed.
"I wasn't being condescendent."

When all the Blue Woman and Scion's defeat matter would be done with, she'd return her attention to Aiden, making a step forward.
"Now, I think it is in our interest to try to minimize unrest about what just happened. I'll try and see if I can twist whatever emotional condition the Quallish students got out of it to something more productive but I'll have an easier time at it if I had a good idea on how you intend to deal with the aftermath, mostly what you'll have Phyre say at the inevitable Greater Council. We're not too good at forgiving and changing our minds, so I'd love it if what I tell them fits what you'll get told to everyone."

[SpatulaOdoom]

Morgan shrugs he'd been pondering that since he'd interviewed Syltar.
"Raw power is different than skill and finesse. There are plenty of superlative swordsmen or master magi who couldn't see their nose in-front of their own faces.
Worse I think would be the assumptions they'd have made going in. People like them just don't understand a mind set that isn't completely selfish. Chances are the thought literally never occurred to them that Scion might not call each and every servitor and ally that he had on hand to help him out in the fight. So once the fight was over, they relaxed and didn't look around too much."
In some ways the more powerful a person was the less alert they were. It was the little people that survived on being aware and ready at all times.
"We're just lucky they didn't hang around and instead left the cleanup to the mooks, or they might have stumbled into him on accident, or worse been there when Versovesh and the others showed up."
Morgan's mind goes to the dagger Syltar carried in his satchel.

'Very' lucky.

The idea that they might have turned Syltar had occurred to him, that he'd been left behind as a mole. But there was simply no way they'd leave the dagger behind on purpose. More than his magic or his and Eloise's ability to smell a rat that simple fact was what made Morgan willing to trust Syltar. Morgan had done the math.

[Blue]

She turned an eye Syltar's way, then Aiden's before locking them on Wainraith. Eyes mid-shut into slits.
"It may be so, but they are not just raw power. Although I have never met or seen this Blue Lady, I have met her kind before and have a decent idea of how they work, what they want and what they are. Considering they are more or less Aheka itself, and how perceptive the last one I've met seemed to be, it is still astonishing."

She rubbed her lips pensively, what she had just said bringing something she had heard to the surface. Involuntarily she turned to stare at Syltar. She looked curious and rather intense. She had noted a few things that seemed to dull the senses of the Elder Demon, but the possibilities were almost too wild to seriously consider...

[Watcher]

Syltar listened to Morgan and Nevh, perhaps more so the latter, as they expressed opinions on his ability to survive the encounter. Being that as it were, the term encounter was an overstatement, instead being more a glimpse at the confrontation. Still, he didn't appreciate the looks he was getting, and couldn't help but feel there was an undertone of suspicion still hovering over his person.

"I didn't have the impression they knew I was there, when I saw the end of the battle from down the hallway," Syltar said simply, shrugging. He didn't need to defend himself, as he had already been put under scrutiny from Wainraith. "I'm certainly no sneakthief, but I did try to maintain some level of stealth so as to escape notice. Whether that was the case, or the fact that I got lucky, I cannot say... all I know is what I saw, and that I escaped notice, and when I returned to the main chamber saw Phyre and her band having arrived and having dealt with the Trolls."

Glancing to Aiden, the young mage gave a wry smile. Events were certainly spinning out of control, and Syltar didn't know how else to reassure the others concerning himself.

"As it stands, no one knew I was with the Ancestor, training with him, and so I believe the blue woman and her band simply assumed he was alone... he is prone to being a recluse, after all, and visitors are rare."

Syltar avoided mentioning parts of his tale that involved collecting items, and hoped Phyre and her companions wouldn't feel the need to mention it also. Given that they hadn't really been too interested in the objects the young mage had gathered, it was unlikely they would reveal anything about the dagger he held - the one both Wainraith and he agreed shouldn't be mentioned, especially not to Aiden...

[Makenshi]

Originally Posted by Eloise

"The thing to take away from this is that the attack on Scion was coordinated with the bout of madness that those suffering from this mysterious illness received. I don't think anyone here is naive enough to think that the timing was a coincidence."

Aiden gives a bitter laugh. "No. Definitely not." A dark look crosses his face for a moment before the nobleman gives a sigh, looking more than a little tired. "So much to do...so little-" He gives a sudden start, the mask coming back on, bar a slight look of annoyance, though whether at himself or someone else is unclear.

Originally Posted by Nevh

"Now, I think it is in our interest to try to minimize unrest about what just happened. I'll try and see if I can twist whatever emotional condition the Quallish students got out of it to something more productive but I'll have an easier time at it if I had a good idea on how you intend to deal with the aftermath, mostly what you'll have Phyre say at the inevitable Greater Council. We're not too good at forgiving and changing our minds, so I'd love it if what I tell them fits what you'll get told to everyone."

Aiden gives another bitter laugh, the mask breaking again. "I wish I shared your belief that I'll be in a position to tell my sister what to say."

"Aiden-" Phyre begins, before being cut off by her brother again.

"The only reason I'm standing is because I'm still in my Dragon form. Once that ends all the magic I've used to contain the other Dragonblaze and the magic I used to transform in the first place will catch up with me. At best I'll be in similar condition to Edan-" Judging by Phyre and Schakri's expressions, that was not an encouraging thought. "-and at worst you'll be needing one of those collars."

Jarlan frowns. "Exactly how bad is Edan then?"

Aiden gives the other Lord a dry look. "Bad enough that I had to step up to take his place." He looks back to Nevh, obviously not intending to give a moe thorough response to Inaha's question. "Tell your people what you know. Someone has attacked the Dragonblaze - making some of us sick in mind and/or body - but that not all of us have been afflicted or even can be afflicted. Beyond that, you will have to speak to Phyre once she has a better understanding of our situation."

Originally Posted by Nevh

"It may be so, but they are not just raw power. Although I have never met or seen this Blue Lady, I have met her kind before and have a decent idea of how they work, what they want and what they are. Considering they are more or less Aheka itself, and how perceptive the last one I've met seemed to be, it is still astonishing."

"You've met another of 'her kind' before?" There is more than a hint of disbelief in Aiden's tone. "Care to enlighten the rest of us then?"

~MTWC

[Blue]

For a brief moment she wondered if she had said too much. If Zera had agents in this room learning that particular detail could have been regrettable but, considering they were able to feel each other, through the Blue Lady, he most likely already knew and there were no use in lying about the numbers or anything.
She sniffed. Not really appreciating the idea of revealing herself as more than a simple piece in the checker, but feeling the certain usefulness in it as well. For a short moment it probably showed on her face that she struggled with idea of bothering to explain anything.
"Sure. She is a fragment of Aheka itself. One of the Elder Demons sealed by Ashtarte ages ago, so, long story short: it is technically impossible for her to die. They're are new entities with the memories of their two components, but their knowledge is mostly intact, their intelligence beyond ours. And, yes, raw power. Lots of it... though the rebirth left them with but a fragment of what they originally had, which now seems mostly focused on their individual specialties. This one, in example, made the trolls.
"The human she once was got influenced by Zera to have her loyalty pass over to the new being once the rebirth process would be complete, but they cannot be injured for long in any way, so Zera is more than likely renewing his powers on some kind of daily basis to keep it working. If we knew who she used to be, some kind of memento of her old life has good odds of provoking a surge that would free her of his influence. It should also be possible to have her heal on her own if we could put her in a place where magic cannot exist for an unknown period of time."

Her thoughts went to those collars they mentioned, briefly wondering if that would do the trick, yet doubting it.
"Normally, their attention would be centered on the preservation of this universe. They created it and are now a literal part of it, and also cannot leave it. They seem to desire to keep out those whom would mess with it; mainly the fiends. They still have their human memories and so do not mind so much that humans occupy it. Something that affects them is the current imbalance in our world. Because some of them have returned while others are still dormant, there is imbalance, which is seriously screwing us up as time goes. It will lead to Fisali losing her hold, perhaps some new Demongate Wars and our probable return to being fiendish property. Those missing are still sealed in the daggers Ashtarte used, likely in the possession of some devils... fortunately, and unfortunately, the nature of these daggers are such that they block the senses of those with the senses of the Void, and so whoever has them have good chances of not even knowing what they possess. When every Elder Demon will be released, the balance will be restored."

That made her smile somehow.
"In a sense, we should be thankful Zera brought her back. He did one fifth of all work required to save the humanity until the next crisis. So, even in these terms, that is at least one less dagger to find across the multiverse."

She winced, her eyes gaining a cold look. It was a shame someone so resourceful had to die so bad.
"But he is a crisis that must be dealt with before we really think about solving that one, anyway. The other one will be attentive to what happens here and, if something specific needs to be done or communicated, I can relay the needs."

She blinked, now looking like a nonchalant history teacher.
"Questions?"

[SpatulaOdoom]

Morgan listens to Nevh somewhat uneasily. He'd winced internally when she'd let that slip. She was being "too well informed" and people would notice that, that's why Zil had suggested Morgan be the one to pass this all on.

"That jives with most of the information I've collected. I've been told that they could be killed if they were taken outside of Ahkea. I've also been told that if the imbalance becomes severe enough that the dormant ones will be released without needing be... joined with a host, which in theory would leave them with their original personality. That would be bad.

Did your source tell you whether they can be put back into the daggers? It seems to me that it would be far preferable to re-entrap whichever are loose rather than release all five and hope for the best."

A phrase flits through Morgan's thoughts, one that he's had several times before since all this insanity began.
It all comes down to family.

Morgan curses sulfurously under his breath as he digs in his satchel. He comes out with another charcoal sketch.
"Syltar, you saw the Blue Lady with your own eyes. Did she look anything like this?"
The sketch is of a lean woman with long braided hair and intense eyes. She has Tyyrykan features and a strong chin. Notations on the edge put her at about six and a half feet tall, extraordinary for a woman. It was Morgan's sketch of Kelta Alyyryk, the one he'd failed to show to Syltar when they'd spoken.

[Blue]

What Morgan had just said didn't seem to disturb her. The worse case scenario was already so horrible that making it even worse didn't sound too alarming.

"While finding a way to kill them would be quite counter-productive considering we would be killing our world, I seriously doubt killing them outside of Aheka works so well. They may not even be able to leave it. Doing it outsider of this entire cosmos, perhaps, but that would require finding a way to make them leave it.
"As to your question, the daggers are now completely inefficient against them. Disjoining these new beings should not be possible, as both of their individual components are no more."

When she saw the portrait, her eyes dimmed. She had strongly suspected that she might have been the mortal used for that process. Zera had taken her, but compared to his likely more powerful ex-godlings, what other use would she had had. The brother had also been sacrificed, it was logical the sister would be used in a similar fashion. If she had to take a guess, though, the brother had been the lucky one.