Diablotin 2 session 22

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Session

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Prologue

[Narrator] When your betrothed arrives in one of the imperial carriages to pay you a visit, then, your mother suggests you might take a walk in the gardens (though she also suggests you keep to the east side, where the work is closer to being complete...)

• Menard looks pleased to see you, and embraces you politely (since your mother is nearby, after all.)
• Ilphere returns the embrace in a proper fashion.

[Menard] I'm glad to see you've returned safely. [Ilphere] It is so wonderful to see you again...! :) [Menard] Everything went well? [Ilphere] Oh yes, it was a fascinating trip...!

• Menard asks as you make your way out to the gardens.

[Menard] You'll have to tell me all about it :) [Ilphere] I would love to... You'll have to stop me if I am boring you, though...! [Menard] I'm sure it won't be boring. [Ilphere] Well...! :D

• Ilphere begins to tell the story of their journey to the shadow plane...
• Menard listens attentively.

[Ilphere] (should I go into things or is this not the main bit of the scene? :) [Menard] (you could just give me an idea of what you do or don't tell him, so I know what he knows :) [Ilphere] (Well I'll tell him about the ruined city, and the temple and the statue and the shadow dogs (but downplay how dangerous they were), and about how parts of the city seemed to echo this one...) [Narrator] (okay - so skipping the time-imprisoned lady? :) [Ilphere] (yeah, for now anyway :V) [Narrator] ('k) [Menard] That's amazing.

• Menard looks a bit apprehensive.

[Ilphere] Oh yes! We are considering a second expedition for some time in the future...!

• Menard nods.

[Menard] Ilphere, I'm afraid I have some unfortunate news. [Ilphere] Oh dear... what is it?

• Ilphere asks worriedly...

[Menard] My cousin the Count of Desperée passed away yesterday. [Ilphere] Oh no... [Ilphere] What... what happened...? [Menard] Apparently he took his own life. I don't know too many details. [Menard] I mean, I don't think it likely had anything to do with you.

• Menard adds hastily.

[Ilphere] I see... [Ilphere] Well that's... that's very sad... :/ [Menard] The family are keeping it fairly quiet, I gather. [Menard] His son is of age to take over the title without a guardian, fortunately. [Ilphere] I would imagine so... [Ilphere] I wonder why he would do such a thing... He seemed very rational when I met him... [Menard] I don't know. [Narrator] You are walking along the narrow gravel path, which takes a turn and deposits you before the fountain where Dominik found you when you had that strange dream. [Narrator] The fountain has been cleaned of vines and its water flow restored, so that it looks quite lovely, sparkling in the sunshine.

• Ilphere sighs...
• Menard approaches to admire it.
• Ilphere walks up to it with him.

[Narrator] The statue at the top of the fountain is a representation of a young man in clothing of some five or six hundred years ago. His bearing is quite regal, and indeed, looking more closely, there is an Imperial circlet at his brow. [Ilphere] (Wah :o is it the dude from my dream?) [Narrator] (maybe? It's possible.)

• Ilphere leans over to get a closer look.

[Narrator] The inscription below is now legible once more. It reads "IN MEMORY OF EMPEROR RUCHARD 1724". [Ilphere] (Are there any inscriptions or whatever on the fountain oh) [Ilphere] Emperor Ruchard... [Menard] A relative, I suppose? [Ilphere] They say he disappeared from his bedchamber one night, and was never found... [Menard] Oh. That's... odd. [Ilphere] A distant one... [Menard] Hm, now that you mention it, I think I've seen a little memorial to him in the palace as well. I didn't pay much attention at the time. [Ilphere] Is it much the same? [Ilphere] I find his story fascinating... Even all these years later, no one knows what happened to him...! [Menard] Not a fountain. It's a tablet in the temple, I think. I suppose they didn't have a body to bury at the Mausoleum... [Ilphere] Perhaps sometime I will be able to see it...! [Menard] Of course - whenever you like :) [Menard] I wonder if we'd be allowed into the Mausoleum. [Ilphere] Oh, that would be fascinating...!

• Menard smiles.

[Menard] I doubt most ladies would think so ;) [Menard] Anyhow, I don't know if it's even allowed, even for Princes. [Ilphere] You never know until you try, I suppose...!

• Menard nods.

[Narrator] (we'll move on to Seth if Steve is ready :) [Seth] (sure, I can be ready)

• Menard will continue your walk, then, and give you an affectionate kiss before departing.

[Ilphere] (woot, iiiinteresting)

[Narrator] Seth, you have moved your (rather meagre) possessions into the palace, which still seems quite incongruous to you. [Narrator] Menard seems rather vague on the question of what you'll be doing and where exactly you'll be staying. For now, you're in his chambers (which are large enough to house a small army, so there's no stepping on each others' toes.) [Narrator] However, he also mentions something about you meeting with the Lady Chamberlain to find you some rooms of your own. Although it took several days to gain a meeting with her, finally you have one arranged. [Seth] (how is Nell settling in to her new abode?) [Narrator] (Nell seems fine, though doesn't seem to like very bright lights) [Seth] (I'll make sure to clear out a nice closet for her then) [Narrator] (heh, okay) [Seth] (what do I know about the Lady Chamberlain?) [Narrator] (K: noble?) [Seth] (urr, no?) [Narrator] Then all you know is her name is Martine Sathin, House Wolf. I'm sure you recognize the last name... [Seth] (rings a bell, yeah)

• Seth will try to look respectable for his meeting with the Lady Chamberlain.
• Martine Sathin is a tall, strong-featured woman nearing fifty, with long hair (still black except for a single streak of grey at her temple) and sharp blue eyes that look like they don't miss much.
• Martine has a notebook on her desk, which she consults.

[Martine] You are Seth... Argo, is that correct? [Seth] Yes, m'lady, that is correct.

• Martine scrutinizes you.

[Martine] And what do you do, M. Argo? [Seth] I am part of the retinue of Prince Imperial Menard. We have been compatriots since infancy. [Martine] Yes, it is my understanding that Prince-Imperial Menard wishes for you to be accomodated here in the palace, preferably near him if possible. [Seth] That is most agreeable to me. [Martine] You are good friends with the Prince, I take it. [Seth] Yes, quite so. And I am also friends with his betrothed, the Lady Ilphere de Quessenet. [Martine] I see. [Martine] We must describe you as something, if you are to remain in the palace. [Seth] Very well, m'lady, how would you prefer that I be described? [Martine] Gentleman of the Bedchamber?

• Martine suggests.

[Seth] Uhhh ... err, that is to say, perhaps that is not the most felicitous turn of phrase. [Martine] Some would consider it an honour. [Seth] I'm certain that some would. [Martine] If you have an alternate suggestion, I would gladly entertain it. [Seth] Ah well, err, that is to say, m'lady, I would of course defer to whatever etiquette is appropriate for individuals of similar positions as my own, errr, assisting the Imperial family. [Martine] Well, if I knew what you were assisting with, I might be better able to describe your postition.

• Martine taps her pen idly.

[Seth] My specific duties have as yet to be fully enumerated. My role is to assist the Prince Imperial by arranging matters in his social life, uhh, taking letters for him, ahhh, managing lesser financial affairs, making purchases, that sort of thing. [Martine] Secretary? [Seth] Yes, I suppose that could do.

• Martine jots it down in her book, then.

[Martine] 'Secretary to the Prince-Imperial'. [Martine] Are you by any chance related to Mlle. Gwen Argo? [Seth] Why yes. She's my father's sister. [Martine] ...I see.

• Martine jots down another note.

[Martine] Very well, M. Argo. I believe I can find a room for you off Regent's Walk, overlooking the southern courtyard. It is not too distant from the Prince-Imperial's private chambers. [Martine] I'll have someone show you there and help you move your things if you wish. [Seth] That would be most excellent.

• Martine nods.

[Seth] If there are difficulties, is it to you to whom my inquiries should be addressed, m'lady?

• Martine rings a bell for a servant.

[Martine] If there are difficulties related to your, ah, professional duties, you may address them to me or, if they concern diplomatic matters or correspondance, to the Secretary of State... whoever that may turn out to be. [Seth] I see. Very well, that is most agreeable to me, m'lady. [Martine] Have a very pleasant day, M. Argo.

• Martine says as the servant arrives to help you get moved in.

[Seth] Thank you for taking the time to meet with me, m'lady. [Narrator] The room you are presented with is small, but indeed overlooks the courtyard and seems as though it should suit your needs.

[Narrator] Sanadhil, you are kept quite busy for several days working on your translation of the scroll, but finally you achieve a version that seems to you to capture most of the spirit of the original.

• Sanadhil has been in an honest good mood lately, also, while working on it

[Narrator] You are quite proud of your efforts, and indeed, toward the end of your work, you are finding that you don't even need to cast your spell to understand some of the words. [Narrator] After working long into the evening to finish your task, you retire for some well-deserved rest. [Narrator] However, sometime past midnight, you are startled by a voice. [Narrator] "I return." [Sanadhil] ! [Sanadhil] ...Dozilva?

• Dozilva is at the other side of your small attic room. The moonlight from the window gives you a glimpse of her white hair, though her head is mostly hidden beneath a hood.

[Dozilva] Yes. Tell me your name. [Sanadhil] Sanadhìl Orecalo. [Dozilva] What does it mean?

• Sanadhil blinks

[Sanadhil] ....Enlightened mind. sort of. [Sanadhil] Does your name have meaning? [Dozilva] All names have meaning.

• Sanadhil nods

[Sanadhil] What does yours mean? [Dozilva] Walker-in-the-forgotten-ways. [Sanadhil] I see... Thank you for returning, Dozilva. [Dozilva] You ask me to return, I keep promise.

• Sanadhil nods

[Sanadhil] There are a lot of things i would like to ask you about...

• Sanadhil considers

[Sanadhil] and something I would like to show you [Dozilva] You may ask. If I wish, I may even answer.

• Sanadhil smiles

[Sanadhil] Would you like some tea? [Dozilva] ... I accept.

• Sanadhil nods, and will go and make some then

[Sanadhil] I am curious about Vrag, and what he means to your people [Sanadhil] or it, i suppose [Dozilva] Vrag is ... a lost god. [Sanadhil] lost how? [Dozilva] Lost to our people. Lost to itself. [Sanadhil] There is a....man here who claims he wants to bring Vrag to power. [Dozilva] There are such madmen in my home as well. [Sanadhil] This one may be having some success. [Sanadhil] Why do you consider them madmen? [Dozilva] What can a mortal do to aid a god? It is beyond their understanding. [Sanadhil] I suppose it depends on what they want... [Sanadhil] Also, i'm not certain this man is a mortal, exactly. [Sanadhil] hmm [Sanadhil] Can you tell me more about Vrag? [Sanadhil] or about Sarasagel? [Dozilva] The lost city. [Dozilva] How do you learn of it? [Sanadhil] ...I found it.

• Sanadhil watches her carefully

[Dozilva] ... [Dozilva] It is cursed. [Sanadhil] I would believe that. [Sanadhil] What do your people know of it? [Dozilva] That it is cursed, and abandoned long ago. [Sanadhil] why do they say it is cursed? [Dozilva] Many deaths there.

• Sanadhil nods

[Sanadhil] its an eeries place, certainly.... [Sanadhil] here, I want to show you something.

• Sanadhil will take out a recently complete transcription of the scroll, in Shadar-kai
• Dozilva takes a cautious step closer.

[Sanadhil] This is a copy of a text from Sarasagel

• Dozilva will take it and look at it. She seems to have no trouble reading it despite the darkness.
• Sanadhil watches her read it

[Sanadhil] have any of your people been there since the fall? [Dozilva] Some... some have not returned.

• Dozilva hands it back to you.

[Sanadhil] others have?

• Dozilva shrugs.

[Sanadhil] you can keep that if you like [Dozilva] Perhaps.

• Dozilva will keep it, then.
• Sanadhil SMs her

[Sanadhil] (22)

• Dozilva seems uncertain whether she believes you or not.

[Sanadhil] (is that a perhaps 'yes' or a perhaps 'no') [Dozilva] (perhaps others have) [Sanadhil] Do you know anything more about the conflicts that it describes? [Sanadhil] There is very little recorded in human history about interactions with the Shadar-Kai [Dozilva] In old books, there are stories from those who fled. [Sanadhil] is there any way that i could see them? [Dozilva] Why would I risk that for you? [Sanadhil] What risk is it? [Dozilva] To remove books without allowed - I would be punished. [Sanadhil] ahh, I wouldn't want that, no. [Sanadhil] And there is no way that i could see them in the library? [Dozilva] How could you go there? [Dozilva] I cannot take you with me when I return. [Sanadhil] I know someone who has a way, but I don't know if she would let me. [Dozilva] Who? [Sanadhil] I don't know if I should say - she has her own connections with your people, and i don't want her to get in trouble either, or them. [Dozilva] Ah.

• Sanadhil is trying to figure out how he could even work this out with Nycaise anyway o_O

[Sanadhil] but if I could get to the library.... [Dozilva] Not safe. Others there.

• Sanadhil sighs

[Sanadhil] what would they do? [Dozilva] Maybe capture. Maybe punish. Maybe kill...

• Sanadhil wonders whether he could weasel out fo any of that... probably

[Sanadhil] At least the risk would be mine

• Dozilva shrugs.

[Dozilva] Your risk, if you wish it. [Dozilva] Farewell, Sanadhil Orecalo. [Sanadhil] ! [Sanadhil] Wait! [Sanadhil] will you come back? [Sanadhil] Please?

• Dozilva smiles faintly in the darkness.

[Dozilva] If you are so eager, next time you come to me. [Sanadhil] how... where? [Dozilva] You say you have a way. You wish to be bold, so prove yourself to me. [Sanadhil] I have a way to get to your plane.... but *you* know where *I* live... [Dozilva] You know where is the library. I am there most times. [Sanadhil] its a big place [Dozilva] So it is. Be clever, then ;) [Sanadhil] very well [Sanadhil] I will see you again, Dozilva do Baru

• Dozilva steps back into the shadows and disappears.
• Sanadhil smiles to himself, then

[Narrator] Ysabeau, you have been working with the coins and bones that were recovered during your excursion to the Shadow Plane.

• Ysabeau doesn't know a lot about coins and bones so was going to catalogue them and then make sure others in the

[Ysabeau] (Society who are more familiar with them know they exist, and to ask them to let her know what they learn from them :) ) [Narrator] The coins are a mix of metals (though mainly silver and gold) and denominations, but the designs are unfamiliar to you. [Narrator] Some are oval-shaped, or square. The square ones bear a star pattern, and the ovals a coiled serpent. [Narrator] A small number appear to be of Aveyrone origin, with one side bearing the sign of the Wheel, and the other a rather worn and indistinct head.

• Ysabeau finds that very interesting.
• Ysabeau would do the obvious, see if the star pattern matches any constellations we know.

[Narrator] (It's more like a design made of stars, rather than a constellation.) [Ysabeau] (And is the Aveyrone head at least distinctive enough to tell whether it is male or female?) [Narrator] Male, you believe.

• Brother_Onec is the Society's resident expert in coins, and so it makes sense for you to ask for his insight into the collection.
• Ysabeau will do so.
• Brother_Onec is an enormously fat man in his mid-sixties, in the purple robes of the Order of the Owl.

[Brother_Onec] Well, well, what can I do for you today, Mlle. Chanuier? [Ysabeau] As you're aware, I was part of the expedition into the Shadow Plane. [Brother_Onec] Ah yes, I heard something about that. [Ysabeau] We found a skeleton in a temple to Ophion, who is probably the same as Varg. It had these coins in a pouch. The really interesting thing is that some are from there, and some are from the Aveyrone Empire. [Brother_Onec] Really?

• Ysabeau nods.
• Brother_Onec picks up one of the coins in his pudgy fingers and examines it.
• Brother_Onec pulls out a loupe to examine the coins more closely.

[Ysabeau] The heads on the Imperial coins are pretty worn - I can't identify whose they are. [Narrator] And all of these were found together, you say? That is most unusual. [Narrator] (ww) [Brother_Onec] And all of these were found together, you say? That is most unusual. [Ysabeau] I thought with your familiarity with coins you might be able to figure out which Emperor's reign they were made in, which might help date the skeleton and other finds.

• Brother_Onec nods.
• Brother_Onec pulls out a loupe to examine the coins more closely.

[Brother_Onec] These imperials are easiest to put a date to. I believe the imperials are from the reign of Emperor Cazimir Arguelles, probably later in his reign. If I had to guess, I would say that they date to about 1740 or so. [Ysabeau] That's fantastic.

• Ysabeau beams.

[Brother_Onec] The square coins are of elven make. It's difficult to date them precisely - the Cozovodë rulers reign for such enormously long times, and rarely change the design of their coins. They could be anywhere from five hundred to a thousand years old. [Brother_Onec] These ones with the snake pattern, I have never encountered before. Fascinating... [Ysabeau] Well, i assumed they were from that plane because they worshipped snakes. [Ysabeau] But that assumption was probably made too early. [Brother_Onec] It could well be the case, though. [Ysabeau] I suppose some civilization on this planet might have produced them since the traveller had been here and to Cozovode. [Brother_Onec] We should also bear in mind the possibility that he or she found some or all of these in the course of travelling.

• Ysabeau nods pensively.

[Ysabeau] That's true, too. [Brother_Onec] They were found with a set of remains, then?

• Ysabeau nods.

[Ysabeau] The skeleton didn't look human - I'm hoping someone can identify what it was. [Ysabeau] I hope we can learn *some*thing from it... it was pretty heavy to lug all the way back here, let me tell you! [Brother_Onec] You might have Ser Julian take a look at it. [Ysabeau] Oh, good idea. [Ysabeau] I'll try to track him down. [Ysabeau] The skeleton had a bottle and a few other things too, but I believe Master Orecalo brought those back.

• Brother_Onec nods.

[Ysabeau] He should have catalogued them and added them to the collections by now. [Ysabeau] However, he has been very busy working on that scroll. [Brother_Onec] Well, I will be curious to see what presentations you lot can come up with out of this excursion. It sounds as though there is a great deal of material to examine.

• Ysabeau nods.

[Ysabeau] I'm not sure whether we *should* examine everything we came across, though. [Brother_Onec] How so? [Ysabeau] Well, the lady that scroll talks about is there. [Brother_Onec] I am sorry, I haven't had a chance to peruse the scroll yet. What lady is this? [Ysabeau] Oh, she's something like a queen of the Shadar-kai who invaded our lands and enslaved our people before the founders of the Empire took it back from them. [Ysabeau] Well, not her, she was not born or an infant at the time. But her people invaded here and enslaved ours. [Ysabeau] And then the scroll talks about how one of our people turned hers into acid-spewing undead and their elite classes chose to end their own lives rather than die in an undignified manner. [Ysabeau] But they cast a spell on this lady to stop her in time. [Ysabeau] It all sounds quite amazing really. [Ysabeau] I believe Master Orecalo and Mlle. de Quessenet would like to end the spell and bring her back here or something.

• Brother_Onec listens attentively.

[Brother_Onec] I see... [Ysabeau] But I am not really comfortable with that idea... I mean, she is just one person. But a ruler. [Brother_Onec] Do they have the capability to end the spell? [Ysabeau] I doubt they do, yet. [Ysabeau] But that doesn't mean they won't try to find someone who can, in the name of science. Or work towards it themselves. [Brother_Onec] Well, perhaps it is nothing to worry about just yet.

• Ysabeau nods.

[Ysabeau] Maybe not too much yet. [Brother_Onec] But thank you for bringing it to my attention nevertheless. [Ysabeau] You're welcome. [Brother_Onec] Is there anything further I can do for you? [Ysabeau] No. You might like to read the scroll yourself, though. It is very interesting. [Brother_Onec] Thank you, I shall. [Ysabeau] You're welcome. [Narrator] (Do you want to seek out Ser Julian at some point too? We could do that now as well, if it's fairly short :) [Ysabeau] (sure)

• Ser_Julian can be found around the society at some point, I'm sure.
• Ysabeau will track him down.
• Ser_Julian smiles to see you, but looks somewhat tired, you would say.

[Ser_Julian] Ah, Miss Chanuier. Always a pleasure :)

• Ysabeau smiles and greets him as one should greet a Spokesman - whether by a curtsey or what, I don't know.

[Ysabeau] How have you been, Ser Julian? You look tired. [Ser_Julian] I'm well enough, thank you. Just somewhat preoccupied of late. When you get old, it seems harder and harder to sleep. [Ser_Julian] What can I do for you? [Ysabeau] I've heard that. [Ysabeau] Oh - I was wondering if you'd had the chance to go over the artifacts we brought back from the Shadow Plane? [Ser_Julian] Ah, the remains?

• Ysabeau nods.

[Ser_Julian] I did have a look at them, yes. [Ysabeau] I am really keen to know what kind of person that skeleton belongs to. [Ser_Julian] They appear elven - though I cannot say for certain if they are Cozovodë, not being an expert in the physical structure and differences between the elven races. [Ser_Julian] Male, and certainly several hundred years dead. [Ysabeau] Brilliant. [Ysabeau] He had some other items with him. Coins, a vial or two... [Ser_Julian] I am uncertain of his age at death - again, I think I would need to know more about elven bone structure to judge.

• Ysabeau nods.

[Ysabeau] I'm afraid I can't help you with that. ;) [Ser_Julian] I wonder if M. Orecalo knows anything about the subject... [Ysabeau] The coins included some from Aveyrone and Brother Onec dated them to 1747, so that approximately matches how long you thought he'd been dead. [Ysabeau] You could try asking him. He'd probably be interested to know that the bones were Cozovode, anyway. [Ser_Julian] Well, may be :) [Ysabeau] Some of the coins were Cozovode, too [Ysabeau] And some were unidentifiable. [Ysabeau] Oval, with a coiled snake.

• Ser_Julian nods, listening.

[Ysabeau] My first assumption was that they were from the Shadow Plane whose denizens seem to have an affinity for serpents. [Ser_Julian] That would seem a sensible assumption. [Ysabeau] But I can't entirely rule out the possibility that they come from a civilization on this planet that we're as yet unfamiliar with.

• Ser_Julian nods.

[Ser_Julian] Well, it seems as though you have plenty of research ahead of you!

• Ysabeau nods.

[Ser_Julian] The best of luck to you, then.

[Narrator] Alma, you have the whistle to examine. What do you want to try and find out about it? [Alma] (Aaarg I forgot about that.) [Narrator] (if you need to think more, we can postpone that to the end :) [Alma] (Maybe, and then I'll try for items belonging to the body as well?) [Narrator] (okay) [Narrator] In the short time you were away, César threw a party for his friends, and left the house in a mess that Sagesse is still trying to clean up. [Alma] D:

• Sagesse mutters crossly to herself as she scrubs footprints off the marble floor.

[Alma] How he managed to ... I wasn't even gone a day! [Sagesse] Amazing, isn't it. [Alma] Is he here or is he out... galavanting? [Sagesse] Monsieur is sleeping it off. [Sagesse] That poor girl... [Alma] ... how is she? [Sagesse] She hid in her room the entire time. [Sagesse] No doubt that was for the best. [Alma] Yes... [Alma] Do I wake Cesar or do I see if she's alright?

• Alma muses to herself.
• Sagesse shrugs.

[Sagesse] At least she is likely to be awake. And sober. [Alma] I'll warn Felise that she might hear a commotion :| [Sagesse] Very well, my lady.

• Sagesse says approvingly.
• Alma will go to check on Felise.
• Felise is in her room, reading a book.
• Alma knocks.

[Felise] Come in.

• Alma will open the door.

[Alma] Good day :) [Felise] Oh, it's you :)

• Felise seems glad to see you.

[Alma] I thought I'd see how you are doing after all the commotion. [Alma] Sagesse tells me my brother brought the whole Animalarium over. [Felise] Oh, yes. I'm all right, thank you. [Felise] It was quite a ruckus, though. [Alma] :| [Alma] Loud enough for... the neighbours to hear? [Felise] I don't know... maybe. [Alma] Well perhaps I'll make some sort of gesture of apology just in case. :|

• Felise nods.

[Alma] I should send César over to clean their shoes.

• Felise smiles a little at that.

[Alma] Well, you should have the home to use again. And you can let Sagesse or Marielle if you need anything else.

• Felise looks concerned for a moment.

[Felise] Thank you... [Alma] (SM 30) [Alma] Is something wrong? [Felise] It's just... during the party, a young gentleman walked into my room. I was in bed at the time. [Felise] I pulled the covers over my head, and I may have shrieked... He apologized and left quickly, but I'm concerned that he may have seen me. [Alma] Do you know who it was? [Felise] I really didn't see him, I'm afraid. [Alma] I could ask César. They must have all had a chortle about that after. [Alma] :| [Felise] :/ [Felise] I'd hate to cause any trouble for you. [Alma] Nonsense. [Alma] I'll ask César about it, and let Mr. Renaud know. I spoke with him before I went on the expedition and let him know I'm at his full disposal.

• Felise nods.

[Alma] Well, I'll let you continue your reading :) [Felise] Thank you. I'm glad you're back, Sister :) [Alma] Thank you :) Perhaps later I'll have time to tell you about the expedition. [Felise] I'd like that. [Alma] Now, off to wake the rogue. [Felise] Good luck... [Alma] Hopefully I won't distract you from your reading.

• Alma will head to César's room.
• Alma knocks firmly.

[Cesar] *mumble* [Alma] César, it's your sister. [Cesar] *mutter* *shuffle*

• Cesar opens the door just a crack. He looks rather rough, and is wrapped in his dressing gown.

[Cesar] Oh, you're back. [Alma] Yes. I am back from my very brief expedition. [Cesar] Had a good time? [Alma] It was fascinating... elightening even. But I imagine it couldn't compare to the time /you/ had. :| [Cesar] Oh, that. It was enjoyable, but I'd hardly call it enlightening.

• Alma shifts in the doorway, a little irritated that he's only opened it a crack.

[Alma] What possessed you to throw a party and trash the place?

• Cesar steps out into the hall, so he can close the door ;)

[Alma] ... [Cesar] Well, I was out with some friends, and we were tossed out of too many bars, so we came here. I didn't 'throw a party', it just sort of ..followed me home ;) [Alma] Tossed out? D: [Cesar] Asked to leave, then. [Alma] That's the same thing, only tempered with respect for the son of Béziers! [Cesar] I'm sorry if we made a mess.

• Cesar says, not entirely contrite.

[Alma] You should be apologising to Sagesse. [Cesar] I will. [Alma] Next time you want to bring hooliganism home, do it in the stable.

• Cesar suppresses a smile and nods apologetically.

[Cesar] I apologize, sister. It was imprudent of me.

• Alma looks briefly at the door.

[Cesar] Certain among my friends were disappointed not to find you at home. [Alma] You're ... being prudent in other ways. [Cesar] Hm? [Alma] (that was a question, sorry) [Cesar] What do you mean, sister?

• Alma stumbles a little n her words as César brings up his naughty friend.

[Alma] I mean... you know.

• Alma tilts her head toward the door.

[Alma] You don't want ... added complications. [Cesar] ... Oh! [Cesar] Oh, no, don't worry. [Alma] You're being respectful? [Cesar] Of course.

• Alma nods awkwardly.

[Alma] Good, good. [Cesar] I hope Felise wasn't disturbed. I did try to keep them away from her... [Alma] Well, if she'd like something to eat, I'm going to have Sagesse set us out a cold meal for the evening so that she can go home early. [Cesar] She? [Alma] Oh, yes, that reminds me. Some one walked in on her. [Cesar] Oh, dear. [Alma] Yes, she...

• Alma tilts her head at the door again.

[Cesar] Oh... [Cesar] Yes, right.

• Cesar looks awkward.

[Cesar] Is Felise all right, though? [Alma] (SM 22) [Alma] (re awkward, but I'm not sure what Alma'd clue in to myself quite yet :P)

• Cesar is hiding something, certainly.

[Alma] Yes, she's fine. Do you know who saw her? [Cesar] I'm not sure. I can ask around if you want. [Alma] Discreetly please.

• Cesar nods.

[Alma] Alright, well... I'll let you finish your beauty rest. [Cesar] Yes, my head is killing me. I'm going to lie down a bit longer - but do call me when that cold meal is laid out.

[Narrator] Guillame, Aden invites you to his home for dinner upon hearing of your safe return.

• Guillame will of course arrange to attend!
• Aden_ 's home on Apple Blossom Court is cosy and welcoming.
• Aden_ takes your hand affectionately as he lets you in.

[Aden_] I'm so glad to see you again. How was the trip? [Guillame] It was... so very exciting! And surreal, and bizarre, but mostly exciting. [Guillame] How have you been? [Aden_] Well... busy. There was a meeting last night. [Guillame] Was it eventful?

• Aden_ serves a simple meal of slices of cold duck with mustard, accompanied by rice with leeks.

[Aden_] It's left me a bit concerned. I can't quite put my finger on it, though. [Guillame] Anything in particular that comes to mind, or the meeting as a whole? [Aden_] Thea's brought in a few new members. Well, of course that's all right, I trust her judgment about who to admit, but...

• Aden_ shrugs and takes a sip of his drink.

[Aden_] Some of them seem to have more, ah, violent tendencies than I would really prefer.

• Guillame frowns

[Guillame] It's a frustrating business, but if they're just looking for a fight, that's going to end badly. [Aden_] Well, I don't know if that's the case. But I hope that we can make them see that violence isn't going to help the cause. [Guillame] Yes. I think that's the best course, if their intentions are right. [Aden_] You can let me know what you think after the next meeting, assuming they return. [Guillame] I... if it comes to violence - a revolution, a riot, or another misunderstanding like last time... what would you do? [Aden_] I suppose I would try to calm people down as much as I was able. [Aden_] Or, failing that, I would intervene at the highest level I could to try and prevent things from escalating further. [Guillame] What if the new Emperor outlawed Populism - if you were arrested? [Guillame] I'm sorry, I don't mean to be so depressing. [Aden_] Then I would go to prison, if need be.

• Guillame nods

[Aden_] It's all right - I've certainly had to think about these things many times. [Aden_] What do you think you would do? [Guillame] I'd like to think I'd do the same - keep my head, argue my case, abide by the decisions, but... [Guillame] The system seems very skewed to me, sometimes. Those in charge have nothing to gain from any kind of noble ideals. [Aden_] It's hard to know until you are faced with the situation, of course. [Guillame] I'll look forward to meeting these new members, then.

• Aden_ nods.

[Aden_] They are interesting, certainly. [Aden_] Perhaps their enthusiasm will help revitalize the group, without leading to violence.

• Aden_ says, trying to be optimistic.

[Guillame] Yes, hopefully. [Guillame] It's all just sort of come crashing back, talking to you - I'd all but put aside thoughts of politics.

• Aden_ smiles.

[Aden_] I'm sorry. We can talk about something else, if you prefer :) [Guillame] There's a whole city there, you know? Ruined and desolate, inhabited only by very real ghosts.

• Aden_ brings out some stewed pears in brandy for dessert.

[Aden_] Real ghosts? [Guillame] Well - visions of atrocities, which probably happened. Close to my idea of what a ghost could be. I didn't really see much, but some of the others said they heard voices or saw things. [Guillame] I hope we go back. There is something so... unresolved about the place.

• Guillame doesn't really feel like talking about the girl in limbo
• Aden_ nods.

[Aden_] It sounds eerie, but very intriguing. [Guillame] Like it's waiting for something.

• Aden_ nods.

[Guillame] It's not really any more cheerful than our last conversation!

• Aden_ chuckles.

[Aden_] Well, we don't have to talk at all, if you don't want to ;)

• Guillame grins

[Guillame] Well, I've finished my rather delicious dessert... [Aden_] Would you care to retire for the evening, then? ;) [Guillame] Lets do that

• Aden_ will leave clearing the table for later, then!

[Narrator] Altheo, things seem to be under control at the Boar when you get back - Marissa did a fine job managing the place while you were away, as you expected she would. [Narrator] When you've been back a few days, Julian stops by to visit you.

• Altheo will meet with him in his office.
• Ser_Julian looks tired, as though he hasn't been sleeping well, or perhaps at all.

[Ser_Julian] How's business? [Altheo] Better than yours it would seem.

• Altheo goes to pour us both a drink.

[Ser_Julian] Things are difficult right now.

• Ser_Julian accepts the drink gratefully.

[Altheo] How so? [Ser_Julian] On multiple fronts. [Altheo] Well, I'm keeping very busy, but nothing new has come up about the dragon affair. [Altheo] but tell me your troubles. [Altheo] I am a bartender after all.

• Altheo smiles at his friend.

[Ser_Julian] The necklace... I think the Hush were the ones who stole it from the Society. I don't know whether they released the creature deliberately or accidentally, but either way, I'm reluctant to report these findings to anyone.

• Altheo nods.

[Altheo] But do the Hush have any reason to release that thing? Unless they got taken over by somebody else. [Ser_Julian] I don't know as much about the Hush as I would like to, but from anything I've heard, they're splintering. [Ser_Julian] Just as the Warlord would like to take over the Spokesmen and bring them under her authority, she's trying the same thing with the Hush. [Altheo] That seems like fighting two tough battles on two very different fronts to me. [Ser_Julian] Some of its members are resisting the idea, certainly. [Ser_Julian] Did you know Ser Kaladon Escalera? [Altheo] I don't think so. [Ser_Julian] A Spokesman, of course, and a distant cousin of the Emperor. He apparently killed himself a few days ago. [Altheo] Apparently? [Ser_Julian] It's being very hushed up. Maybe the Imperial family just want to avoid the gossip, but... [Ser_Julian] I worry that he knew something. [Ser_Julian] And either took his life because of it, or was killed and made to look like a suicide. [Altheo] Do you think its the new Warlord behind all of it? Or was this something that was a long time coming? [Ser_Julian] I don't know. [Ser_Julian] That necklace... I can't shake the feeling that it all comes back to that, somehow, even though it seems crazy. [Altheo] I don't think it seems crazy at all. [Altheo] Its the linchpin that started all this.

• Ser_Julian nods, takes a drink.

[Altheo] If we unravel that plot, we are bound to see the rest of the peices. [Ser_Julian] There's something else, as well.

• Altheo sips his drink and waits for his friend ot continue.

[Ser_Julian] Sister Luisa, who runs the orphanage since Clea died, came to speak to me this morning. There was a break-in there a few nights ago. [Ser_Julian] Clea never threw anything out if she could help it, and I guess Luisa's much the same... there are records there going back decades. [Altheo] My records were stolen?

• Ser_Julian nods.

[Altheo] was it part of a bundle? or just mine? [Ser_Julian] It was a mess, and it's hard to tell if others are missing or not. But.. I checked on yours, and couldn't find them anywhere.

• Altheo nods.

[Altheo] What would those records say?

• Ser_Julian takes a deep breath.

[Ser_Julian] I didn't want to have to tell you - you've made your own life, and I didn't want to interfere with that.

• Altheo takes a long pull, and reachs for the bottle.

[Ser_Julian] Your mother's name was Genevieve... Genevieve Corriveau. [Ser_Julian] Tatiane's eldest daughter... she was wild, she ran around with boys, I don't know if she even knew who your father was. [Ser_Julian] Tatiane asked me to take care of you, to keep you safe from... that world. I don't know how well I managed, but I did what I could.

• Altheo listens, drinking faster than usual.

[Altheo] So that girl that had the necklace in the first place...she was what my neice? [Ser_Julian] Ninon... your cousin. [Altheo] How do you know Tatiane Corriveau? [Ser_Julian] I've known her since we were young...

• Ser_Julian says a bit evasively.

[Altheo] Is she still alive? [Ser_Julian] Oh, quite. [Altheo] Then why would she give me up to be protected, and leave Ninon to live as she does? [Ser_Julian] She's just about my age, but not as decrepit.

• Altheo snirks at that.

[Altheo] And is my mother actually dead? [Ser_Julian] Ninon's father - and her mother, for that matter - were there to take care of her. [Ser_Julian] Yes, I'm sorry. She died having you - that much was true.

• Altheo contemplates this...his eyes far away.

[Altheo] Whoever stole this...would they know I was a spokesman as well?

• Ser_Julian nods grimly.

[Ser_Julian] When you left the orphanage, there would have been a note made that you were joining the Order. I suppose they wouldn't necessarily know if you were still a member, though. [Altheo] really? I hadn't realized the records were so firm. [Altheo] Well then... [Ser_Julian] You have several cousins... uncle, aunts... I don't know if you want to track them down, but it shouldn't be too hard... [Altheo] I'll need to think about that. [Altheo] But have you questioned Tatiane about the necklace?

• Ser_Julian nods.

[Altheo] And what did she say? [Ser_Julian] She got it from my uncle. She was his mistress for a time...

• Altheo laughs.

[Altheo] Well, for a moment there I thought she was YOUR mistress... I wasn't quite sure what to think of that. [Ser_Julian] She said that he probably got it as payment for a hit, but she may have been exaggerating.

• Ser_Julian looks embarassed.

[Altheo] (SM, was she HIS mistress too?) [Altheo] (15, but I'm betting he has a crappy bluff) [Ser_Julian] (you think maybe)

• Altheo is a bit surprised he is actually upset that his friend cheated on his wife. But hides it from him.

[Ser_Julian] It was before I was married... [Altheo] ah.

• Altheo smiles.

[Ser_Julian] And before she was, for that matter. [Altheo] Youth is such an interesting time. [Ser_Julian] Heh. [Altheo] I think it was a hit.

• Ser_Julian nods.

[Altheo] Sister Alma beleived the same thing. [Altheo] Is she really a Crime Lord now? [Ser_Julian] She took over much of my uncle's network when he died. [Altheo] I don't suppose she would help find out who broke into the orphanage. [Ser_Julian] Maybe she would. It concerns her, after all. [Ser_Julian] Do you want me to ask her? [Altheo] I would. [Ser_Julian] All right. [Ser_Julian] I'm sorry. [Altheo] There is a very slim chance it may have been a business rival...but I doubt it. There was one half-elf that was giving me problems a little while ago. [Altheo] Hey, your plan almost worked.

• Ser_Julian chuckles at that.

[Altheo] I almost ended up respectable. [Ser_Julian] Would this half-elf know where you grew up? [Altheo] He is a pimp in the shambles. I doubt it, but I've never hidden that I grew up in an orphanage. [Altheo] He might have put in the effort to track it down, but I doubt it. [Altheo] Its probably somebody looking into me for a different reason.

• Ser_Julian nods.

[Altheo] Could be the necklace investigation, could be the sex cult, coult be the shadow dimension thing....Like I said, I'm keeping busy.

• Ser_Julian nods again.

[Ser_Julian] The Hush seem to have been targeting Ninon for some time. I'm concerned that they're broadening their interest in Tatiane's family. [Ser_Julian] Then again, Ninon's a special case. [Altheo] Why? [Ser_Julian] Her brother's in the Hush. I don't know what side, though. [Altheo] Ah. [Altheo] Well, I suspect it probably is the Hush. They have the resources to know I'm more than I pretend to be, and they are probably curious as to why.

• Ser_Julian nods.

[Ser_Julian] That seems most likely to me as well. [Ser_Julian] It's their kind of tactic, too. [Altheo] So where do we stand with the Hush? As spokesmen I mean? [Ser_Julian] Officially? I think we pretend they don't exist whenever possible. [Ser_Julian] Unofficially, we co-operate with them if it doesn't interfere with our own principles. [Ser_Julian] And from my own personal point of view, I think they're a bunch of shifty bastards. [Altheo] I guess what I meant was. It looks like they got a major threat released from that necklace, but it also looks like we have a common problem with the Warlord. [Altheo] I'm assuming the Spokesmen and the Hush are both resisting the Warlords take over? [Ser_Julian] Well, at least some of the Hush, as far as I can tell. The Lord Marshall is, as you might expect, unhappy with the idea himself. [Altheo] I bet. [Altheo] I think its a bad idea to be sure. [Altheo] at least with the Spokesmen it is.

• Ser_Julian nods.

[Ser_Julian] I don't know what will happen. But I felt I had to let you know what was going on, even if I don't fully understand it myself. [Altheo] Thank you. [Altheo] I appreciate it.

• Altheo pours them both a drink.

[Altheo] So what was Sir Alcina's little secret in the end? [Altheo] I supose she isn't my half sister or something? [Ser_Julian] No, no.

• Ser_Julian chuckles.

[Ser_Julian] She's been spying on the Revelators for the Order for some time. [Ser_Julian] Long enough that I think she's started to believe their philosophy herself. [Altheo] I do think she ratted us out to Nestor. [Altheo] But what happened after we left your place? [Ser_Julian] Did you know Nestor Dryden was a priest? [Altheo] No, I didn't. [Altheo] Of what order? [Ser_Julian] I don't think he makes it publically known. Order of the Owl, though he's Houseless. [Ser_Julian] So I think his allegiance is... open to question, at least. [Ser_Julian] Alcina told me that he was a priest, I checked it out, and she's right, at least on paper. As long as she's ratting on both sides, I'll keep her around ;) [Altheo] Well, good to know. [Altheo] :)

• Ser_Julian finishes up his drink.

[Ser_Julian] I should get on my way. I'll be sure and contact you if I find out anything more. [Altheo] Thank you. [Ser_Julian] Be careful, Altheo. [Altheo] And let my grandmother know, she is always welcome at the Boar.

• Ser_Julian smiles.

[Ser_Julian] I'll be sure to mention it. [Altheo] I picked the wrong professions for that. [Altheo] But I'll do my best. [Altheo] You too, I'd hate to lose you.

• Ser_Julian nods.
• Ser_Julian bids you farewell, then, and departs.

[Altheo] Your still the closest family I have. [Altheo] ;)

• Ser_Julian smiles affectionately at that.

Solos

[Narrator] Altheo, things seem to be under control at the Boar when you get back - Marissa did a fine job managing the place while you were away, as you expected she would. [Narrator] When you've been back a few days, Julian stops by to visit you.

• Altheo will meet with him in his office.
• Ser_Julian looks tired, as though he hasn't been sleeping well, or perhaps at all.

[Ser_Julian] How's business? [Altheo] Better than yours it would seem.

• Altheo goes to pour us both a drink.

[Ser_Julian] Things are difficult right now.

• Ser_Julian accepts the drink gratefully.

[Altheo] How so? [Ser_Julian] On multiple fronts. [Altheo] Well, I'm keeping very busy, but nothing new has come up about the dragon affair. [Altheo] but tell me your troubles. [Altheo] I am a bartender after all.

• Altheo smiles at his friend.

[Ser_Julian] The necklace... I think the Hush were the ones who stole it from the Society. I don't know whether they released the creature deliberately or accidentally, but either way, I'm reluctant to report these findings to anyone.

• Altheo nods.

[Altheo] But do the Hush have any reason to release that thing? Unless they got taken over by somebody else. [Ser_Julian] I don't know as much about the Hush as I would like to, but from anything I've heard, they're splintering. [Ser_Julian] Just as the Warlord would like to take over the Spokesmen and bring them under her authority, she's trying the same thing with the Hush. [Altheo] That seems like fighting two tough battles on two very different fronts to me. [Ser_Julian] Some of its members are resisting the idea, certainly. [Ser_Julian] Did you know Ser Kaladon Escalera? [Altheo] I don't think so. [Ser_Julian] A Spokesman, of course, and a distant cousin of the Emperor. He apparently killed himself a few days ago. [Altheo] Apparently? [Ser_Julian] It's being very hushed up. Maybe the Imperial family just want to avoid the gossip, but... [Ser_Julian] I worry that he knew something. [Ser_Julian] And either took his life because of it, or was killed and made to look like a suicide. [Altheo] Do you think its the new Warlord behind all of it? Or was this something that was a long time coming? [Ser_Julian] I don't know. [Ser_Julian] That necklace... I can't shake the feeling that it all comes back to that, somehow, even though it seems crazy. [Altheo] I don't think it seems crazy at all. [Altheo] Its the linchpin that started all this.

• Ser_Julian nods, takes a drink.

[Altheo] If we unravel that plot, we are bound to see the rest of the peices. [Ser_Julian] There's something else, as well.

• Altheo sips his drink and waits for his friend ot continue.

[Ser_Julian] Sister Luisa, who runs the orphanage since Clea died, came to speak to me this morning. There was a break-in there a few nights ago. [Ser_Julian] Clea never threw anything out if she could help it, and I guess Luisa's much the same... there are records there going back decades. [Altheo] My records were stolen?

• Ser_Julian nods.

[Altheo] was it part of a bundle? or just mine? [Ser_Julian] It was a mess, and it's hard to tell if others are missing or not. But.. I checked on yours, and couldn't find them anywhere.

• Altheo nods.

[Altheo] What would those records say?

• Ser_Julian takes a deep breath.

[Ser_Julian] I didn't want to have to tell you - you've made your own life, and I didn't want to interfere with that.

• Altheo takes a long pull, and reachs for the bottle.

[Ser_Julian] Your mother's name was Genevieve... Genevieve Corriveau. [Ser_Julian] Tatiane's eldest daughter... she was wild, she ran around with boys, I don't know if she even knew who your father was. [Ser_Julian] Tatiane asked me to take care of you, to keep you safe from... that world. I don't know how well I managed, but I did what I could.

• Altheo listens, drinking faster than usual.

[Altheo] So that girl that had the necklace in the first place...she was what my neice? [Ser_Julian] Ninon... your cousin. [Altheo] How do you know Tatiane Corriveau? [Ser_Julian] I've known her since we were young...

• Ser_Julian says a bit evasively.

[Altheo] Is she still alive? [Ser_Julian] Oh, quite. [Altheo] Then why would she give me up to be protected, and leave Ninon to live as she does? [Ser_Julian] She's just about my age, but not as decrepit.

• Altheo snirks at that.

[Altheo] And is my mother actually dead? [Ser_Julian] Ninon's father - and her mother, for that matter - were there to take care of her. [Ser_Julian] Yes, I'm sorry. She died having you - that much was true.

• Altheo contemplates this...his eyes far away.

[Altheo] Whoever stole this...would they know I was a spokesman as well?

• Ser_Julian nods grimly.

[Ser_Julian] When you left the orphanage, there would have been a note made that you were joining the Order. I suppose they wouldn't necessarily know if you were still a member, though. [Altheo] really? I hadn't realized the records were so firm. [Altheo] Well then... [Ser_Julian] You have several cousins... uncle, aunts... I don't know if you want to track them down, but it shouldn't be too hard... [Altheo] I'll need to think about that. [Altheo] But have you questioned Tatiane about the necklace?

• Ser_Julian nods.

[Altheo] And what did she say? [Ser_Julian] She got it from my uncle. She was his mistress for a time...

• Altheo laughs.

[Altheo] Well, for a moment there I thought she was YOUR mistress... I wasn't quite sure what to think of that. [Ser_Julian] She said that he probably got it as payment for a hit, but she may have been exaggerating.

• Ser_Julian looks embarassed.

[Altheo] (SM, was she HIS mistress too?) [Altheo] (15, but I'm betting he has a crappy bluff) [Ser_Julian] (you think maybe)

• Altheo is a bit surprised he is actually upset that his friend cheated on his wife. But hides it from him.

[Ser_Julian] It was before I was married... [Altheo] ah.

• Altheo smiles.

[Ser_Julian] And before she was, for that matter. [Altheo] Youth is such an interesting time. [Ser_Julian] Heh. [Altheo] I think it was a hit.

• Ser_Julian nods.

[Altheo] Sister Alma beleived the same thing. [Altheo] Is she really a Crime Lord now? [Ser_Julian] She took over much of my uncle's network when he died. [Altheo] I don't suppose she would help find out who broke into the orphanage. [Ser_Julian] Maybe she would. It concerns her, after all. [Ser_Julian] Do you want me to ask her? [Altheo] I would. [Ser_Julian] All right. [Ser_Julian] I'm sorry. [Altheo] There is a very slim chance it may have been a business rival...but I doubt it. There was one half-elf that was giving me problems a little while ago. [Altheo] Hey, your plan almost worked.

• Ser_Julian chuckles at that.

[Altheo] I almost ended up respectable. [Ser_Julian] Would this half-elf know where you grew up? [Altheo] He is a pimp in the shambles. I doubt it, but I've never hidden that I grew up in an orphanage. [Altheo] He might have put in the effort to track it down, but I doubt it. [Altheo] Its probably somebody looking into me for a different reason.

• Ser_Julian nods.

[Altheo] Could be the necklace investigation, could be the sex cult, coult be the shadow dimension thing....Like I said, I'm keeping busy.

• Ser_Julian nods again.

[Ser_Julian] The Hush seem to have been targeting Ninon for some time. I'm concerned that they're broadening their interest in Tatiane's family. [Ser_Julian] Then again, Ninon's a special case. [Altheo] Why? [Ser_Julian] Her brother's in the Hush. I don't know what side, though. [Altheo] Ah. [Altheo] Well, I suspect it probably is the Hush. They have the resources to know I'm more than I pretend to be, and they are probably curious as to why.

• Ser_Julian nods.

[Ser_Julian] That seems most likely to me as well. [Ser_Julian] It's their kind of tactic, too. [Altheo] So where do we stand with the Hush? As spokesmen I mean? [Ser_Julian] Officially? I think we pretend they don't exist whenever possible. [Ser_Julian] Unofficially, we co-operate with them if it doesn't interfere with our own principles. [Ser_Julian] And from my own personal point of view, I think they're a bunch of shifty bastards. [Altheo] I guess what I meant was. It looks like they got a major threat released from that necklace, but it also looks like we have a common problem with the Warlord. [Altheo] I'm assuming the Spokesmen and the Hush are both resisting the Warlords take over? [Ser_Julian] Well, at least some of the Hush, as far as I can tell. The Lord Marshall is, as you might expect, unhappy with the idea himself. [Altheo] I bet. [Altheo] I think its a bad idea to be sure. [Altheo] at least with the Spokesmen it is.

• Ser_Julian nods.

[Ser_Julian] I don't know what will happen. But I felt I had to let you know what was going on, even if I don't fully understand it myself. [Altheo] Thank you. [Altheo] I appreciate it.

• Altheo pours them both a drink.

[Altheo] So what was Sir Alcina's little secret in the end? [Altheo] I supose she isn't my half sister or something? [Ser_Julian] No, no.

• Ser_Julian chuckles.

[Ser_Julian] She's been spying on the Revelators for the Order for some time. [Ser_Julian] Long enough that I think she's started to believe their philosophy herself. [Altheo] I do think she ratted us out to Nestor. [Altheo] But what happened after we left your place? [Ser_Julian] Did you know Nestor Dryden was a priest? [Altheo] No, I didn't. [Altheo] Of what order? [Ser_Julian] I don't think he makes it publically known. Order of the Owl, though he's Houseless. [Ser_Julian] So I think his allegiance is... open to question, at least. [Ser_Julian] Alcina told me that he was a priest, I checked it out, and she's right, at least on paper. As long as she's ratting on both sides, I'll keep her around ;) [Altheo] Well, good to know. [Altheo] :)

• Ser_Julian finishes up his drink.

[Ser_Julian] I should get on my way. I'll be sure and contact you if I find out anything more. [Altheo] Thank you. [Ser_Julian] Be careful, Altheo. [Altheo] And let my grandmother know, she is always welcome at the Boar.

• Ser_Julian smiles.

[Ser_Julian] I'll be sure to mention it. [Altheo] I picked the wrong professions for that. [Altheo] But I'll do my best. [Altheo] You too, I'd hate to lose you.

• Ser_Julian nods.
• Ser_Julian bids you farewell, then, and departs.

[Altheo] Your still the closest family I have. [Altheo] ;)

• Ser_Julian smiles affectionately at that.

Solos

• Sanadhil will be at the society making a clean transcription of the scroll

[Ilphere] Ah! Sanadhil! There you are...! :)

• Sanadhil looks up

[Sanadhil] good afternoon, Ilphère [Ilphere] I have made an interesting discovery...!

• Sanadhil sprinkles some sand over the part he's just finished

[Sanadhil] oh? [Ilphere] Well! My parents have been having the garden tidied up and I was walking by the fountain with Menard... The one where Dominik found me when I had that peculiar dream...? [Ilphere] It is a memorial to Emperor Ruchard Rademacher...! It bears his likeness. [Sanadhil] so he is the one from your dream then? [Sanadhil] I can't recall whether he was one of the ones you'd picked out from the portrait books [Ilphere] Yes... He is the one who disappeared in the night in 1724. [Ilphere] I believe he must be the one I saw...! [Sanadhil] interesting - it would make sense. [Sanadhil] is there any way of pursuing it, do you think? [Ilphere] Apparently there is another memorial to RUchard inside the palace... I may* be able to gain access to it, and it may yield more clues...! [Ilphere] Certainly I believe he is tied in somehow with the visions Theron and I have experienced...

• Sanadhil nods

[Sanadhil] that would also be sensible.... I wonder if this connection started with him, or if he is only another example of it [Ilphere] I definitely want to find the answer to that... I do not wish to disappear from my bed in the night...! [Sanadhil] that would be troubling... At least we'd have a few more clues to go on, so far as tracking you down. [Ilphere] I'm sure it will not come to that, though...! :) [Sanadhil] indeed... [Sanadhil] So, what do you make of the sleeping Tal-antar? [Ilphere] I find it strange that we should have found her before any of her own descendants... [Sanadhil] I wonder why... I wish I could speak to some living Shadar-kai agin...

• Sanadhil will come find you early, at school
• Ilphere is in the stacks.
• Sanadhil hunts you down - he is well groomed and so forth and seems quite animated, but there are telling signs that indicate he hasn't slept

[Sanadhil] There you are!

• Sanadhil says, quiet but excited

[Sanadhil] She came back. [Ilphere] Oh, ... oh! [Ilphere] Last night...?!

• Sanadhil nods

[Ilphere] What happened?! [Sanadhil] I asked her a little more.... i told her of the city, but not of the sleeping queen [Sanadhil] they think it is cursed [Ilphere] Cursed? Why...? [Ilphere] BEcause of what happened to the people there...? [Sanadhil] yes [Sanadhil] I don't know if they have the full story [Sanadhil] I gave her a copy of the scroll though.... [Ilphere] So that would be why no one has come looking for her...? [Sanadhil] I didn't tell her about the sleeping queen [Sanadhil] however they do have more books that talk about the fall of the city [Sanadhil] possibly [Sanadhil] they have sent expeditions there [Ilphere] Well she or someone else is bound to figure it out from that scroll, I would think...! [Sanadhil] not everyone has returned [Ilphere] Ah, I see... [Sanadhil] I don't know if Dozilva has all the details [Ilphere] I wonder if this could be a chance to establish relations between our two peoples...! [Sanadhil] possibly... they seem rather Xenophobic. [Sanadhil] As mlle L'Averti said, it id dangerous to venture there [Sanadhil] However. [Ilphere] However...? [Sanadhil] I think I must, if miss l'Averti will agree. [Ilphere] What do you plan...?

• Ilphere narrows her eyes...

[Sanadhil] if I can get back to the library and find Dozilva there, she's said she'll talk to me more. she might be able to bshow me these other texts! And think of what else there is to learn... [Ilphere] How fortunate you are to have made such a contact...

• Ilphere tries to hide her disappointment, feeling that she is about to be left behind in this venture... :(
• Sanadhil is apparently too excited to be perceptive today

[Sanadhil] I'll manage it somehow.... [Sanadhil] but there are a lot of other bthings I'd like to work out first, if we can [Ilphere] Oh...? [Sanadhil] I still wish i knew more about vrag [Sanadhil] they consider him a lost god [Ilphere] HE was imprisoned in the Arch... [Sanadhil] though apparently there are also Shadar'kai who seek to bring him back to power [Sanadhil] They know he's been released [Sanadhil] she told me as much the first time we met [Ilphere] Is it general knowledge? [Sanadhil] I don't know. [Sanadhil] Names, and the meaning of names, are very important to the Shadar-kai. they're meant to be very descriptive and precise, I think. Dozilva's name, and her place at the library, implies that she might not be a good one to judge by on that account [Ilphere] WHat do you mean? what does her name signify...? [Sanadhil] Walker-in-the-forgotten-ways [Ilphere] Ah, I see... [Sanadhil] I'm still amazed she came at all [Sanadhil] but apparently she takes her promises seriously

• Ilphere nods...

[Sanadhil] I thought you would be excited, in any case! [Sanadhil] what do you think should be done about the sleeping queen? [Ilphere] Well... [Ilphere] Perhaps she could be returned to her people... it might foster a better relationship... [Sanadhil] that's what i was thinking [Ilphere] I would very much like to be a part of that... [Sanadhil] I want to find out more about what they woudl do with her [Sanadhil] if they consider her cursed still....

• Sanadhil nods
• Ilphere asks, vaguely hopeful...

[Sanadhil] of course

• Sanadhil smiles

[Sanadhil] I certainly can't manage it all alone... [Sanadhil] And I have no idea what to expect rom the rest of the society [Sanadhil] We should speak to Mlle L'Averti again [Sanadhil] she may know more [Ilphere] Yes, some of them seem frightfully conservative, moreso than I had expected...! [Sanadhil] about how she might be received by her own people, i mean

• Sanadhil nods

[Sanadhil] this war, or whatever, was over a thousand years ago, and the god she worshipped is clearly not en vogue now... [Sanadhil] Your people doens't seem to have any lasting quarrel with the Shadar-kai, and indeed seem to have quite forgotten about them [Sanadhil] unless it seems like they might renew their interest in the subjugation of humanity *now*....

• Sanadhil pauses, and files away another thought

[Ilphere] Well, that would be prudent to find out, along with how they might receive her, yes! [Sanadhil] well, should we contact her then? [Ilphere] They don't *seem* particularly interested though, so I can't imagine one person, powerful though she might be, might convince them it's worth another go... [Ilphere] Yes, definitely...! [Sanadhil] well, I'll see about setting up a meeting then - though it might be best to schedule around your availability [Sanadhil] the rest of us aren't planning an imperial wedding :) [Ilphere] Alright... I am free (times) as far as I know...! [Sanadhil] i'll work out something and let you know as soon as possible, then [Ilphere] Wonderful! :)

• Ysabeau is in a hall on campus where we usually practice, then...? Unless we practice at like, your house or something. ;)
• Ysabeau 's house is likely not big enough to accomodate several musicians plus gear.
• Symon will have met you on campus after one of your classes, and have brought another instrument.
• Ysabeau smiles to see him.

[Symon] (There'd be more learning aids in a classroom too :P) [Ysabeau] Hi Symon! [Symon] Hi Ysa :) How was your day? [Ysabeau] It was pretty good. I chatted with some Society members about the things we brought back from the Shadow-city. [Ysabeau] How was yours?

• Symon rolls his eyes.

[Ysabeau] Not good? [Symon] Evening with the family. All my father talks about is business. [Symon] It's boring, that's all. [Ysabeau] Ah well, business is what keeps you up to your neck in instruments to play. ^-^ [Symon] Increasing the tonnage of steam engines, blah blah blah. [Symon] Yeah, true...

• Symon looks a little sheepish.

[Symon] I guess sometimes it's the quiet implication that perhaps my instruments aren't as ... productive... [Ysabeau] Yet.

• Ysabeau winks.

[Symon] :) [Ysabeau] We seem to get a few more gigs with every passing month. [Symon] Well, best case scenario is getting a patron as wealthy as my father, not actually being as wealthy... but that's good enough for me :)

• Ysabeau nods.

[Symon] Speaking of gigs... I hear your friend is betrothed. Imagine that! Acquainted with the fiancée of the Prince Imperial! [Ysabeau] My goal is being able to afford to buy my own house and live comfortably... [Ysabeau] Oh, yes, Ilphere.

• Ysabeau smiles.

[Ysabeau] The best thing is that they really care for each other. [Symon] Really? A marriage at /that/ level and they like each other?

• Ysabeau nods.

[Ysabeau] I know... a rarity. [Symon] Yeah, I guess miracles do happen :) [Ysabeau] But happily it has worked out that way for them. [Symon] Do you think they need a quartet? :) [Ysabeau] Well, I am not sure how much of the decisions they get to make since I understand it's to be a triple wedding. [Ysabeau] Emperor, prince and princess imperial married off all at once. [Symon] That's a little strange, don't you think? If the average person did that, you might think they were country bumpkins. [Ysabeau] Well, maybe the Emperor has other plans and needs to get the marriages all done at once instead of dragging them out. [Ysabeau] I don't pretend to understand what goes on his Imperial Majesty's mind. [Symon] It could be another good opportunity for us though, to be at both of the big Imperial events. We could make a habit of it :) [Ysabeau] Yes, don't worry - the thought hadn't escaped me. [Ysabeau] I do try to drop hints when the moment seems right. :) [Ysabeau] But Ilph has a LOT on her mind, as you can imagine. [Symon] Good point, you run the risk of seeming crass, I suppose.

• Ysabeau nods.

[Ysabeau] I think we did well at the Emperor's ball; that's in our favour. [Symon] Perhaps, since the affair is once again so big, we might just get in touch with the Imperial staff from last time? [Ysabeau] I hope the master of ceremonies, who is probably the REAL power behind the wedding and its related festivities, will have remembered us. :) [Ysabeau] I suspect there'll be auditions again, Symon - we'll just have to keep our ears open and be there. [Ysabeau] Since we played at the last event, they ought to let us in the gates for auditions, at least. :)

• Ysabeau plucks some strings and fiddles with tuning keys until the tone meets her approval.

[Symon] So, you really found another world? Down an alley? [Ysabeau] I don't know if I'd call it another world so much as another layer of this world, so much, maybe. And perhaps even this world is merely a layer also reflecting another place. [Ysabeau] The city through the alley is a mirror image of our own Diablotin, only with alien architecture and alien gods.

• Symon sits down, viol in hand.

[Ysabeau] There's a river right where our Ousel is, though it's all dried up. And where our palace is on the island, they had a temple to Ophion (or Vrag as he was known to them, I believe), shaped like a snake. [Symon] It's like a fantasy tale.

• Ysabeau nods.

[Ysabeau] Complete with tragedy and an ensorcelled queen.

• Ysabeau laughs.

[Ysabeau] Seth was asking me why I wasn't busily composing a ballad about our trip there, while we were waiting for the rest. [Symon] I know they do a lot of complex research at the Castalia, but... still... [Symon] A portal to another world right in the middle of the city. [Symon] And you went! [Ysabeau] Now that Master Orecalo has translated the scroll we found there, I think I've got a ballad. [Symon] And brought stuff back!

• Ysabeau nods.

[Ysabeau] It's not all air and fluffiness, though, Symon. [Symon] You said it's at the society?

• Ysabeau nods.

[Ysabeau] That city is dead and full of flitting memories of horrible things that happened. [Ysabeau] And those people who built it, invaded our world, and enslaved our people. [Ysabeau] The founders of our city won it back from them. Then, later, someone from our world started killing off their people horribly and painfully. [Symon] Well, I never said I didn't think it was creepy... but it's still incredible. [Ysabeau] They're all dead now. [Symon] I'm disappointed I didn't go to Mister Orecalo's presentation now :/ [Ysabeau] Well, I suspect this is only the first of many excursions there, so if you want to go, you ought to be able to in the future. [Symon] Well, it didn't really seem like my sortof thing then... [Symon] Perhaps later, if you go back to look for inspiration, I might come too. [Symon] I don't see much point in visiting such a dark place otherwise... if it gets dangerous, I'm not about to save my skin with the viol :P [Ysabeau] I don't know that I want to go back. I am fond of my world of light and colour. But I may go back if others go. [Symon] I think the city needs more light and warmth right now than it does gloom, so we might be better looking for inspiration here :) [Ysabeau] They had a palace where our Castalia is, and that's where their queen lies, stopped. [Symon] Not that I don't see the beauty of sad music... [Symon] Stopped? Like, petrified? [Ysabeau] No... when the woman from our world unleashed something that turned their people into the walking dead, the elite classes chose to die by their own hands rather than face such a death. But they cast a spell on this one woman so that she's frozen in a moment of time for eternity. [Symon] And she's just ... in the tower, alone?

• Ysabeau nods.

[Ysabeau] Alone with the corpses of her retainers. [Symon] Are they all dead except for her? You would expect ... that there would be looters if nothing else. [Ysabeau] That's one of the mysteries of the place. [Ysabeau] We did find one skeleton of elvish descent in the temple, who had coins from here and Cozovode, as well as coins of others. [Ysabeau] I think the other coins might be from that plane. But I don't know where he got all the coins or anything. Maybe he was a looter. [Ysabeau] There were shadow creatures there that attacked us. [Ysabeau] We were able to fight them off, but maybe he wasn't so lucky. [Symon] I'll have to take a look at everything you brought back. [Ysabeau] The Aveyrone coins he had were all from 1740 or thereabouts. [Ysabeau] Which was the emperor after Ruchard Rademacher disappeared...

• Ysabeau me muses allowed.

[Symon] Well unless you think Emperor Ruchard was an elf, it's probably not him :P

• Ysabeau smiles.

[Ysabeau] No, I doubt he was. But maybe someone had an idea where the emperor might have disappeared to. Or it could all just be a big coincidence. [Symon] Well who knows what's gotten lost between the worlds in the past centuries, if a ... hole like that's been here all along!

• Ysabeau nods.

[Ysabeau] You should go look at the artifacts since it has kindled your interest. [Symon] I'd best say my prayers each night :P [Symon] I will! Did you see anything... about culture? Sculpture? [Symon] I'd bet any instruments would have long since decayed...

• Ysabeau shakes her head.

[Ysabeau] Just the weird buildings themselves. [Ysabeau] The temple to Ophion was all carved to look like snake scales, though. [Ysabeau] And inside there was an altar in a snake's gaping jaw. [Ysabeau] The jaw closed if you pressed a plate in the floor, and the fangs were poisoned. [Ysabeau] Not a deadly poison, at least not to elves. We believe they made sacrifices there. [Symon] Like, live sacrifices? [Symon] Guess it's a good thing the city was deserted... [Ysabeau] Probably live sacrifices, yes. [Ysabeau] I'm glad it was deserted, but it did make it very eerie. [Symon] Well, we should probably get some practice in before some one kicks us out :)

• Ysabeau smiles, still a little distant but bows her head over the viol, positions the bow and plays a decent chord.
• Symon waits a bit before beginning to play along.
• Ysabeau and Symon have a good jamming session. ;)