Previous Entry
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I returned to the Inn with Isaac and Rekka. I needed to collect myself after the untimely death of Cleric Rob. There was also the matter of my vendetta toward Pendral that I wanted to discuss with Isaac. Once Isaac and I were in my room, I spoke to him in gnomish about my plan. First I would go to the Court of the Gods to give my condolences, as feeble as they may be considering I was the cause of Rob's demise. Then I would see if any of them would be interested in assisting me in my vendetta or knew of a resistance I could join. Isaac was all for taking Pendral down. However he was fairly sure going around asking about a resistance or for help to bring Pendral down was a very risky move. I had to agree. With the black guard and their tricks, if I wasn't careful, I would be found out instantly. I told Isaac I’d be back once I had paid a visit to Palor's cathedral and hopefully from there plan further as to what to do about Pendral.
Downstairs I saw Rekka, Gideon, Billy, and Jessica sitting around a table. I made eye contact with Rekka and mentioned that I was off to the Court of the Gods. Gideon stood up, wanting to come along. I made no objection. Before we could leave, Rekka stopped me and mentioned that she had heard of a lady named Sarandral. She was Pendral’s wife and word had it that she was seeking revenge on her husband. Sarandral had been praying to the God's of late for this revenge and suggested I keep an eye open for her while in the Court. I knew I would and was grateful that I possibly had a leg up on Pendral if his wife certainly was seeking revenge on him. It be another thing to do after visiting the Clerics of Palor.
Gideon went to his deity's cathedral while I went up the stairs to the cathedral of Palor. I saw the one Cleric whom I had inquired of Cleric Rob earlier that day. He, as well as everyone there, was sitting somber like, as though praying. I sat beside him, casually looking around to see if anyone had taken notice to me. A wave of hate swept over me for what I had done. I hated that Pendral had such a foul law in the first place. I took a deep breath before carefully speaking.
“I’m very sorry about what happened to Cleric Rob,” I said. The Cleric barely glanced my way. He didn’t say anything. Instead he looked as though he was continuing to pray. More cautiously, I whisper, “I plan to avenge him. I will bring Pendral down.”
At those words, it was as though I had encased his entire body in ice. The Cleric became rigid and slowly looked toward me. His face was pale and aghast. He stood up slowly and walked away, leaving me with a look suggesting I had spoken treason. Whatever Pendral was doing, he sure had everyone in fear of him. With that, knowing there was no point in trying to receive aid from these Clerics, I made my leave by reverently exitting the Cathedral.
My next order of business was to see if I could find this woman, Sarandral. I look around at the other Cathedrals and Shrines for the various deities. I asked a few people if they knew where Sarandral might be. To this I’m told she’s praying for the death of her husband at the alter of Bhaal. They pointed me in the direction of the deity. It was obscene how masterful the cathedral was for this evil deity. Clearly designed in a way to lure greed folk in. I walked in, my foots steps echoing on the polished, granite floor. A large, black altar, was in the middle of the back wall. Before it was a single person whom I assumed to be Sarandral. When I got right next to the person, I knew it was a woman. She took no notice of me. So I knelt down next to her.
“Are you Sarandral?” I asked, my eyes adverted as though I were praying.
“Hmm?” she responded. I could hear faint muttering of words.
“I heard you are wanting to kill your husband.”
“I would never do such a thing," the woman snapped, "That is why I am here praying,” she slowly added. I chose to assume that that woman was Sarandral. I could hear her continue to mutter her prayer.
“We have a common interest you know. I want to bring an end to him too.” I looked out of the corner of my eye to see what Sarandral's body language was. She was looking me up and down, clearly in 'ah' by my appearance. She hadn’t realized she was talking to an Angelic. She turned back to the alter and gave a small bow. I figured she thought I was deity sent.
"Meet me at the Knight's Inn in an hour," Sarandral instructed.
"Where's that?"
"In the first sector you're in upon entering the city." I nodded my agreement. She then left the cathedral, I following after.
I met up with Gideon shortly after leaving Bhaal's cathedral. He told me he went to St. Cuthbert to seek a holy weapon. Apparently he wasn't in good standing with his God at the moment and has to redeem himself. Away he could do that with in the city was by destroying an Alop that was kept in a prison in the southwest sector of the city. I hadn't a clue what an Alop was and so thought we should regroup with everyone. Perhaps Isaac knew what an Alop was. I also needed to get back and find the Knight's Inn.
Once back at the Inn, everyone must have been off running errands or finding information, for no one was at the Inn. I told Gideon I had someone to meet and that I should be back with in an hour. If not in an hour, I'd definitely should be back before the day's over.
The Knight's Inn was easy enough to find. Sarandral was waiting in the lobby and escorted me upstairs to a room. Once in a room, she instructed me about how she was sure that Pendral is messing around with one of his students. She asked if I would take a disk shaped device and attend his 6pm seminar at the Wizard College. There I could plant the device in his classroom. That way once the class was over, if there was any infidelity going on, it would be caught and Sarandral would have evidence of him cheating. If there was a scandal, that could be his downfall. I was more than obliged to help. It seemed simple enough. Sarandral told me to meet a man named Guthrie outside of the Wizard College and to tell him that I was there on her behalf. Before leaving she did tell me that I was welcome to bring others to assist me if needed. I also need to retrieve the disk and meet her in the East Gardens. Apparently it was their wedding anniversary and they were to have dinner at 8pm.
I hurried back to my party’s Inn to see if anyone was interested in helping out. As I walked in I could see Gideon was in discussion with everyone. When I got closer I could hear it was about the Alop. They asked if I want to help, but I inform them that I had to be at the Wizard's College in an hour. I explained what I was to do and all felt it would be wiser to handle Pendral first and together. I then noticed Cortanna still wasn't at the Inn. I was concerned because last I saw her, she was running off with Joran. I asked if anyone had seen her since that morning. No had. I decided after delivering the disk back to Sarandral, I would check the market outside the city gates to see if she had decided to stick there to avoid being caught. As I thought that another thought came to mind. I imagined after Joran and his father were reunited, that they would have left. I figured she must have been watching our wagon in the mean time. If not that, then surely she must have been caught... I tried not to worry too much about it.
We arrived outside the Wizard College. Finding Guthrie was no chore since he was the one checking people at the gates. Upon telling him that I was there on Sarandral’s behalf, he gave each of us a pass. While handing them out, he mentioned a book that was in Pendral’s office that he’d love to have a look at. Guthrie was unable to get it and wondered if we’d be able to help. I tried to refuse, but he tagged on that he didn't have to give us the passes. I was miffed to say the least, but Isaac volunteered to check it out. As we walked away, Isaac mentioned to the party that if anything, nothing will come of it because if Guthrie was unable to obtain the book, then we very well couldn't.
Inside, Isaac chose to go scout out the book for Guthrie. Billy, of course, went with him. Rekka, Gideon, and I found the class that Pendral was to teach. We dispersed ourselves with all the other students. There was actually quite a collection of folk in attendance. Some Satyrs, Miras, a Tiefling, and a couple reptilian like folk. At least Gideon and I wouldn't stand out.
I sat down and took out a few items, pen and paper, to hopefully make it seem like I was any other student there to learn. Pendral entered 5 minutes late. He seems like any typical guy. His hair was short, well groomed with a clean shaven face. His robes were finely tailored and ordained with a rather large amulet. The amulet was quite interesting for it never moved as Pendral walked around the room giving his lecture. His teaching style was dismally boring. Perhaps it's a wizard thing to be interested in long lectures about physics behind our magics, but I thought the hour would never end. Pendral finally excused the class, 15 minutes late. I got up, purposely leaving the disk, paper, and pen behind (the latter two being visible) so I had something to retrieve once Pendral left the classroom.
After watching the crowd leave and seeing that Pendral hadn't come, I noticed only Gideon was with me. We looked around for Rekka. If she was hiding, it was definitely the worst timing on her part. I really hoped she wasn’t in the classroom, or anywhere else since I didn’t want any of us getting caught for being fake students.
10 minutes went by when suddenly Pendral emerged. I ducked into the room and as I walked through the door, I almost ran into a woman on her way out. I guess Sarandral was right I thought. As I retrieve the device and my paper and pen, I saw Rekka stand up and begin to hurrying out. She body language suggested she was scared, or disturbed... I felt bad for whatever kind of grown-up affection she ended up sitting through...
When I caught up to her I asked if she was okay.
"Why did you guys leave me in there!?" she snapped.
"Since when were we your parents and had to make sure you were where you were suppose to be?" I countered.
"It was so <a word I didn't understand> awful! I mean, the lecture. I fell asleep and when I woke up... Pendral was with a," Rekka dropped her voice to barely a whisper, "a succubus."
A chill ran up my spine. The woman who passed me on her way out must have been the succubus in disguise. I also had to wonder if the infidelity wasn't completely Pendral's fault. I brushed that thought aside. Even if he was the innocent party, he had a lot of other vile things going on in Sardik's city that he needed to account for. With that, Rekka, Gideon, and I went to the main floor of the college to wait for Isaac. He was already there waiting with Billy. They managed to get the book too interestingly enough. As we left, we handed the book off to Guthrie and left the Court of Power (that's where the college was). As we walk toward the garden, the clock tower reading 7:35, Rekka added that Pendral and the succubus were planning to kill Sarandral that night. How unfortunate that she'll soon know his plan, I thought to myself.As we went around a corner, a man, along the wall to the Court of Power, begged us to help him reunite with his grand niece and nephew. They were in the college. Apparently no one’s been taking care of him like they had promise. Since we were already trying to take care of one situation, we said we’d think about it. Plus, we're not suppose to help those in need according to Pendral.
We continued to make our way through the crowd when suddenly, as the garden entrance came into view, Cortanna ran into us! I grabbed her by the shoulders, unsure if I should hug her seeing her safe. I asked how things went once she got out of the city. She informed us that Joran and her were able to make it to his father. Before leaving, Joran's father secured their wagon so no one would mess with it. Cortanna did admit that she gave him some of our wealth as a 'thank you' for watching and securing our things. And coming back into the city didn't give her any problems either.
Cortanna asked us where we were headed. I told her we were about to deliver proof that Pendral’s cheating and planning her death to Sarandral. To this Cortanna face lit up. She was adamant that we went with her first. I explained we only had a little under 20 minutes left to deliver the disc, but she said it would only take a minute. She persisted telling me to trust her. Out of frustration for her lack of communication I responded, “Last time I and the rest of us trusted you, you got a child killed!” Cortanna's eyes narrowed on me to which she replied, “and I got him back to his father alive!” I bit my tongue. I knew what I said was way out of line and I figured, as a peace offering, I'd quickly follow her to wherever she wanted us to go. Hopefully it would truly only be a few minutes.
We're taken to the entrance to Sardik’s Court. There we could see the Captain of the Guards standing around. He gave a knowing glance in our direction and I could only assume Cortanna was taking us to him.
“I have your evidence,” she informs the guard.
“What, so soon?" the guard stumbled to get out, "How- oh never mind follow me,” he said, leading us just beyond the gates and into a wooden shed. After shutting the door, all sound was canceled from the outside. He stroked his beard and with eyebrows furrowed in thought, he asked what the evidence was. Unsure if he was for or against Pendral I asked why it mattered to him. He explained that he and his guards have been trying to catch Pendral for along time. He was certain Pendral was up to no good and didn’t like how he’s taken control of the city, but since there’s nothing to prove any of his crimes, they can’t do anything about it. I then told him that I had recorded evidence on a devise Sarandral gave me. I also explained I was just about to deliver it back to her since she wanted proof of him cheating and in the process found out he was plotting to kill her. The Captain then told me that Sarandral was no better than Pendral. I was a bit shocked, for if she’s no better, why was I helping her? The Captain then tells us that we should go do what we already agreed to do and once the evidence was seen, they’d place Pendral under arrest. Hopefully then they'd get the city back in order.
We all gathered in the garden at 7:55. I presented Sarandral with the disk. She promptly operated the device to which a visual recording of all that went on in the classroom could be seen. Even Rekka could be seen, well at least until she dropped down. Sure enough the student was a succubus, and thankfully all they did was some kissing and plotting. After the recording finished, I had assumed the guards would have swarmed in and done something... but nothing happened. Sarandral hardly spoke to us. In fact she didn't seem a bit surprised, though disappointed, that Pendral was seemingly involved with a succubus. The minutes continued to pass by and I felt uncomfortable just waiting about for Pendral to show up.
Amidst the growing awkwardness of just standing around, a serving boy came out. He had a drink for Sarandral. He placed the drink on the table for her. Sarandral barely looked at him. He was quite bold actualy and began to flirt with Sarandral. Her mood lightened and interestingly enough, she was enjoying the attention. The serving boy, after a few minutes of chatting, then leaned in for a kiss and Sarandral was more than willing to allow it. I adverted my eyes, but when I looked back Sarandral looked odd. As I think of it now, drained described how she looked perfectly, but the word didn't come at the time because I hadn't a clue what was happening. At the moment though, I was also distractedby how willfully Sarandral was fraternizing with this boy after how angry she was with Pendral's side action. What would happen if Pendral had walked in on her kissing another guy?
I tried to interrupt the two, especially seeing how drained Sarandral was becoming after each kiss. It was then I was beginning to think the server boy wasn’t who he appeared to be. I looked at my party and they too seemed concerned. When I looked back at Sarandral, I was the boy give her one last kiss to which Sarandral went limp in her chair. Immediately Billy went over and wrapped the serving boy in a huge hug. It was hear that we found out it was the succubus Pendral was with for she let off her disguise. Billy maintained his grapple on her while the rest of us attempt to take her out. It was difficult to say the least. As I went to attack her, Isaac caught my attention and I remembered an awareness coming over me. It was clear he was a devil and just as bad as Pendral. With the succubus grappled, I knew I had to attack Isaac first. I swung with all my might at him, ready to trigger the stored spell in my halberd. At the time, it was unfortunate that I missed him. After the attack my senses returned and I realized once more that Isaac was nothing more than a Hellbred. He asked what I was pulling and I apologized stating I felt compelled for a moment to attack him. His eyes darted to the succubus for a moment and I had to wonder if it was something she had done.
Isaac began to walk away when the delusion to kill Isaac came over me once more. Once more I failed to strike him. Isaac clearly was concerned for his life. He then cast a spell that killed the succubus. The others caught their breaths as I checked Sarandral. She was dead. I was furious with the situation that was at hand; in a garden with 2 dead bodies, no guards and no idea where Pendral was. I was especially frustrated that the Captain of the Guards hadn't shown up after the evidence was displayed. My thoughts were then disrupted by a recognizable person.
“Who are you guys?” Pendral asked. He still wore the fine robes he had on from his class. His hr was slicked back now and a faint cologne caught my nose.
“We tried to save your wife from this succubus that attacked her,” Isaac answered without skipping a beat. He pointed at the dead succubus. Pendral's eye narrowed on Isaac and a smirk spread across his face.
“She was meant to be killed," Pendral barely muttered.
"What?" Cortanna asked.
"Sorry. I was just saying thank you for your help,” Pendral spoke up, "Now I must be going-" Pendral began to say. As he stepped back, a dozen guards were there surrounding him. The Captain of the Guards informed him of his rights while placing manacles upon him. Isaac asked about all the creatures he summoned to this plain and the amulet he was wearing. Pendral's eyes were livid and he held his tongue. Isaac then asked if he could remove it. The Captain of the Guard was now engrossed with the conversations but Pendral still wasn't unwilling to speak. Isaac mentioned chatting with his imp familiar to which Pendral summoned him. The imp looked sheepish as he admitted that Isaac was in his office and did nothing about it. Isaac and Pendral get into a debate about the creatures summoned by Pendral. Isaac managed to convince Pendral to unsummon all the creatures he brought to this plain. He then had him remove his amulet. As the amulet passed over Pendral's head, dissolved into a pile of ashes. Billy nudged me and pointed at the ashes. I barely caught sight of the ash being in the shape of the mark. Isaac saw Billy point and when he realized the symbol on the ground, kicked the ashes about. I knew I shouldn't say anything, but it explained a lot about Pendral and the way this city was being run.
The Captain of the Guard thanked us for our help and if there was anything he could do for us as payment. Isaac told him how we wanted an audience with Sardik since we had matters that needed addressing that involved him to some degree. The Captain nodded his head, mentioning that getting an audience with Sardik may be difficult, but seeing how Pendral was no longer a threat to him, it could very well be a likely matter to take place. The guards then dispersed, leaving the seven of us in the garden with two dead bodies.
As a group, considering the night was still young, we decided to help Gideon with his quest to destroy the Alop. We traveled all the way to the other side of the city, a good hour travel. Gideon informed the prison guards that we were there to destroy the Alop. One of the guards asked if that was an order from Pendral. I heard Cortanna begin to say that we had killed him to which I nugded her and was aboutt o say myself, 'yes' when I heard Gideon honestly answer, 'No.' The guards gave a funny look at us since mine and Cortanna's answers didn't go unnoticed.
"It was the Clerics who asked me to come here to destroy the Alop," Gideon truthfully explained.
"And you're willfully going to march in and kill one of Pendral's creatures?"
"Pendral no longer is with us."
"What do you mean?"
"He's dead," Isaac said nonchalantly. The guards looked at each other and a smile spread across their face. They happily escorted us through the jail, explaining how they went that many of Pendral's creatures resided here, none of them pleasant to guard. If any escaped they could very well be killed or worse. I shuddered at the thought having to unwillingly guard something dangerous. The jail itself was small. There was the main room with a series of 12 doors, not counting the one we came through. 5 on the left and 5 on the right walls with 2 at the back. The guards took us through one of the back doors. As we all crowded into the rather small room, one of the guards explained that there were a series of doors that we had to go through one at a time to prevent the Alop from escaping. The final room had a spell of containment casted upon it to prevent the Alop from traveling through the walls. We could only open the doors one at a time. So we could to stay together, Billy picked me and Rekka up to save some space. I know I didn't weigh much, but it was still impressive for this boy to carry roughly 200 pounds with ease.
We then began the slow process of reaching the Alop. When we opened the final door there was nothing to be seen. I casted light on the floor. Cortanna stepped in, looked around and gave a small scream. She pointed above the door. Billy, after putting me and Rekka down, went into the room. He grabbed the Alop and threw it to the ground. He then punched a hole through it. I couldn't say if the Alop was hurt, but Billy's hand began to shrivel. Isaac and Gideon casted some kind of negative energy on the Alop while Cortanna and I attacked with our weapons.It was a strange sensation to swing my halberd into a ghost like creature. I would have thought nothing happened except the Alop disappeared in a bright light. Cortanna looked somewhat dazed.
Us girls looked about the room while Gideon and Isaac healed Billy. Isaac had tried to heal Billy, but after a moment his hand would begin to shriveling again. However, together Gideon and Isaac were able to heal Billy. Both looked at each other with a look that I wanted to ask about, but I didn't. It suggested that there was something about Billy that surprised them, but then again maybe they were exchanging a silent thank you to each other? I don't know.
We returned to the guards, announcing that the Alop was gone. They are thankful and we take off without further ado. As we walked along the road back to our Inn, Rekka reminds us of the man who needed help by the Court of Power. It was nearly 9pm now and as group we thought, why not? Gideon told us he'd meet up with us at the Court of Power after he went to the Court of the Gods. I had forgotten how far the College was from us. It was a little after 9:30pm when we got there. The late hour made for some quick travel with few people being out. Gideon caught up to us. having a new weapon sheathed about his waist.
The old man who pleaded for our help earlier was still outside the wall to the Court of Power. He kept asking people, as they passed, for help. We inform him that we'd like to assist and he quickly tells us he has a niece and nephew, Mable and Dibber, that he wanted to be reunited with since no one was taking care of him like he was promised. With the names of the relatives, we made our way into the court. But first we had to get Cortanna and Jessica passes. We spotted Guthrie and were able to get an extra pass for Jessica and Cortanna before going in. We asked a few people about Mabel and Dipper to which a guard informs us that they were in the Library. Before we could leave the guard sniffs and asked us if we had heard the tragic news. We said we hadn't. The guard informed us that their 'beloved Pendral' was deceased. I looked at him, shocked. I suppose he mistook my look for sorrow or concern for after looking at me, he added that there was going to be a gathering up stairs in honor of him. Isaac tells him that we'd be happy to go, I holding my tongue thinking 'happy' was not the word I would use to describe our unwillingness to attend such a gathering.
The guard tells us where the gathering would be happening and then points us in the direction of the library. When we enter the library, there's only the hum of folk studying. We split up to see if we could locate Mabel and Dipper. I found Dipper, and mistook him at first for Mabel.
"She thinks you look like a girl," Mabel giggled. They were about 12 years old and clearly twins. Mabel had an odd quirk about her. I wasn't sure if she was eccentric or not all there. Isaac, who was with me, had Billy go gather the rest our party. A few minutes later screams lit up the library. We turned toward the sound and saw Billy dragging random couples toward us. The couples noticed that Billy was undead, screaming their realization that there was an undead in the library. Suddenly more shots came saying a whole swarm of undead were in the library and they had to escape. Pandemonium erupted, Mabel laughing the entire time. Dipper mentioned she had made an illusion of a horde of undead chasing after them. I placed my hand to my head thinking that wasn't exactly a nice trick, but hey, it took the pressure off of Billy. Isaac commanded him to put the couple he still had a hold on. The couple quickly scurried away. Rekka, Jessica, Gideon, and Cortanna come around one of the bookshelves, a look of concern etched on each of their faces.
Isaac jumped right in with how their Uncle was outside the school and that no one was taking care of him. They seemed confused since they were told that if they came to the school that their Uncle would be taken care of. We asked if they were able to go check on him once in awhile. Dipper explained that since Mabel was a savant illusionist the college headmaster brought them there and didn't let them leave the college. I thought that was very controlling. They took two children from their home, with the promise their Uncle would be cared for, and couldn't leave the vicinity? Isaac tells them that they should talk to their headmaster since their Uncle clearly hasn't been taken care of. Dipper snickers and suddenly a pig showed up. Mabel apparently had turned the headmaster into her pig familiar...
The twins went on to explain how once their Uncle was once a professor there, but had made some bad choices that led to getting his magics removed. Mabel carried his magic in a necklace. Isaac suggests that they could have their Uncle live in the school with them, that way he was cared for, and that he’d be happy to hold the necklace to prevent their Uncle from ever getting his magics back. Mabel willingly gave Isaac the necklace.The headmaster disappeared and reappeared a moment later with Mabel's and Dipper's Uncle. Their Uncle was so thankful that he went to each of us to shake our hands. We decided to get going since our job was done. As we rounded the corner, Isaac stopped suddenly. He turned around and went back to the twins. Isaac asked Mabel where the necklace was. She said she didn’t have it. I cast detect magic seeing if I could pin point the item. If the mecklace was holding all of her Uncle's magics, it would be strong.
I detected roughly 4 items of magic on her. I asked her what magic items she had. She listed off three of the four I sensed. I asked her why she wasn't telling me about the fourth and suddenly she got defensive saying she had told me all of them. I calmly stated that I knew there was a fourth magic item on her and wanted to know what it was. I reminded her that since she said she didn’t have the necklace, she had nothing to hide. All of a sudden, Dipper became enraged. I mean, he bursted into flames! When I looked at him, I knew he was an illusion. I was confused. The thought came to me that seemed to explain what was happening. With the oddness of Mabel, and her being a savant illusionist, it made sense that she made an illusion of a brother for herself.
We all prepare to attack, I focusing on Mabel since I was certain she was the cause of Dipper's rage. Dipper was beginning to burn the whole library. I don't know what the others were attempting to do about Dipper, but with the boy about to bring down the library in a ball of flames, I attacked Mabel. I aimed for her arm to prevent her from continuing her spell. Whether I miscalculated my strength or her size, I suddenly am met with screams from a 12 year old girl, clasping the gushing stump of her shoulder. The shrill scream was enough to make everyone stop cold for a moment. After a moment, my senses came back and I saw Dipper was still very much there and in control. That left me feeling sick with myself. I just lopped off a 12 year olds arm.... and the screams were too painful. Too close to Meryths...
I looked to Gideon who seems to read my expression. He came over and healed Mabel enough that the stump closed over. No idea what was to happen with her arm... but I had to leave. I had to get out of there. I staggered out of the door to the library. My head was in a fog of shock. With what happened... I kept telling myself that that wasn't why I was there. That was not my plan for being back in the mortal plain. To harm innocent children. Was it wrong of me to have abandoned my companions? I don’t know. I suppose if they come back to the Inn, they’ll either curse me for leaving them or for almost killing a child... I don’t blame them if they hate me. I hate being me.
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