CH. 7: The Viper's Nest

[JadedDM]

Haahqae, Gregeddin and Grubnick (Near the old brothel, Harbor District)
Gregeddin kneels down by the blood stain. "There may have been a fight here. But not much blood." He stands up. "Should we try looking inside again?"

Tulbas Erogund (Unknown location)
The snake woman nods. "Yes, Darewind. In fact, I was one of those who witnessed his demise in the marketsquare, although I was disguised at the time."

[djhyland]

Arulia frowns worriedly at Magnus's mention of the hardships incurred by the tax hike, and shakes her head at the mage's mocking offer of apprenticeship. "We will manage well enough on our own," she sniffs. "Thank you for your help; we will trouble you no longer."

Once she and Kendra leave the mageware shop behind, Arulia asks, "Should we find your friends? If they're looking for Tulbas as well, maybe they know where he might have gone. At the very least, they can tell us where they've already looked, and we won't cover the same ground without need..."

[Haahque]

"Sure, maybe if they have a teleportation circle or something like that it'll have left a trace we can follow."

[HorizonsDream]

"The problem is, I have no idea where they could be," Kendra admits to Arulia. "And if he was captured, we really aren't in any position to be of help since neither of us have weapons," she points out. "So, we are probably better off doing what we were doing, which looks to be joining up with the army."

[BishGada]

"By the way, I'm called Tulbas." Tulbas waits for the woman to introduce herself and then continues cautiously. "You know, there was a rumor that several years ago, the Belzorites leader, experienced fate similar to Darewind's. I would be happy to hear your opinion about the subject." Tulbas shows interest.

[djhyland]

"I have a weapon," Arulia whispers. "Armor, too. If we really need to fight, maybe I can sneak them past the guards to where we need to go." She sighs heavily. Speaking aloud again, she says, "But maybe you're right. Joining the army might be the best thing to do."

[JadedDM]

Haahqae and Gregeddin (Deserted Building, Harbor District)
Haahqae and Gregeddin re-enter the deserted building they had checked out before. They find it is still unlocked. Nobody is within and it looks much like it did last time they were here. Immediately to the right is a nook that may have once been a living space for squatters before the army shipped away all of the homeless. There is a rope tied from one side of the nook to the other with old, smelly furs hanging from it, perhaps to provide a slight bit of privacy. There are old sleeping bags in the nook, stained and reeking. Beyond the nook, on the right side, is a small table with a few chairs around it. By the table is a pile of trash--old clothes with holes in them, food remains (fish bones, etc), broken pieces of wood, and so forth. At the far end of the right side of the room is a single bed that looks to have been smashed apart for kindling, only some of it still remaining.

Immediately to the left is a sort of kitchen area. There's a table with a bench next to it. Flies buzz around the remains of rotted food on the table. There are a couple of barrels near the table that hold small amounts of brackish water. Further down is a fireplace, cold, dark and empty of wood; a couple of old chairs sit before it. At the far end of the left side is a double bed, its sheets removed and the mattress stained and odoriferous.

At the far, back end of the room--directly across from the entrance, stand a couple of bookcases against the wall. One is completely empty. The other has a few book covers on it, the pages themselves having been torn out.



Tulbas Erogund (Unknown location)
"Well met, Tulbas. I am called Leota," the snake woman replies. "And what you heard was no rumor. I was there, six years ago. We were all devastated to learn that our leaders were frauds, that Belzor had never existed. Many of us joined the Seekers, and some of us swore off all religion altogether. But a few of us banded together with a new mission," she explains.

"We realized that while Belzor might have been false, the idea of him had very real effects. We brought hope to people, gave them something to believe in. We united those together who had stood apart before. Despite how things turned out in the end, it felt like we were doing good work until that point. So one of us, a powerful mage, reached the conclusion that if Belzor isn't real, we should make our own Belzor. We should make him real!" she intones passionately.

"He developed arcane techniques to change his body, to make himself more like Belzor physically. The rest of us have also gone under the change, but to a much lesser extent." She examines the scales on her arms. "I am really nothing more than an acolyte at this point. The stronger priests have transformed much more than I, and Belzor himself--as we began to call our leader--has shed almost all of his human form." She looks down at Tulbas. "In a way, our Belzor is better than any god, because he was born mortal. He understands us, knows what it is to be like us. Can the old gods say the same? How can they care about us and our plights when they have no point of reference for what it is like to be sick, to go hungry or feel pain? Belzor--our Belzor--has the best of both worlds. He is real, unlike the Seeker gods, but he is relatable and knowable, unlike the so called Dragon Queen."

Grubnick (Near the old brothel, Harbor District)
Grubnick watches as the two examine the alley, then enter an abandoned building nearby. The windows are boarded up, the paint is peeling, and he can see at least one small hole in the roof from his vantage point. They leave the front door hanging open.

[TristenC]

Hmm... I guess they don't mind anyone knowing they're in there... Of course if they have actual authority from the Dragon Queen they may not, but I would think they'd exercise a little more caution... Then again, with the gnome maybe it's not so surprising...

Grubnick gnaws gently on his pipe-stem, mulling over his options. Finally he moves to the boarded up windows to see if he can see anything inside.

Ooc: would Grubnick know not to speak the Dragon Queen's name from his studies?

[Haahque]

"Well it still doesn't look like anything's changed here. No secret passages, no illusionary walls, no signs of people coming into or out of the building. But the blood suggests that Tulbas was outside and he's probably been injured by something, likely Belzorite. He could be in great danger. Do you think you can track his blood? Maybe he left a trail of it to wherever he was dragged off to. They're not in here, and they're not in the Brothel, but I think they must be close by somewhere."

[HorizonsDream]

"With the check points, I don't think that is possible," Kendra explains. "But there still might be other options too, other than joining the army. I'm sure many of the new soldiers have visited the taverns around here. What do you say we pay a visit to one of the taverns, and gather some information from there?"

[BishGada]

Feeling that Leota is very cooperative, Tulbas encourages her to continue the conversation. "I see... I can relate to that devastation you mentioned as I wondered myself if The Master was a true god." He says and eats another spoonful of the oatmeal. "Leota, I've have many thoughts and questions regarding the ideas you have just presented, but before that, I'm curious, may I ask what was your occupation before you joined the Belzorites so many years ago?"

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(OOC: JadedDM, if there will be an opportunity that Leota will be distracted please let me know. Tulbas might consider acting, depending on how this conversation goes. Thanks.)

[JadedDM]

Haahqae and Gregeddin (Deserted Building, Harbor District)
Gregeddin nods. "I'll go back out and check to see what I can find. Why don't you remain here and search around, see if anything is amiss?" he suggests.

Tulbas Erogund (Unknown location)
"I was a clerk," Leota answers. "Are you done eating yet?" she asks. She turns away from Tulbas to collect the empty bowls from the two burned patients and place them back on the tray she had brought in.

Grubnick (Outside the old brothel, Harbor District)
Grubnick moves over to the building and tries to peek through the gaps in the boards on the windows. He sees Gregeddin and Haahqae inside, talking. Immediately to the right is a nook that may have once been a living space for squatters before the army shipped away all of the homeless. There is a rope tied from one side of the nook to the other with old, smelly furs hanging from it, perhaps to provide a slight bit of privacy.

Immediately to the left is a sort of kitchen area. There's a table with a bench next to it. Flies buzz around the remains of rotted food on the table. There are a couple of barrels near the table that hold small amounts of brackish water. Further down is a fireplace, cold, dark and empty of wood; a couple of old chairs sit before it. At the far end of the left side is a double bed, its sheets removed and the mattress stained and odoriferous.

At the far, back end of the room--directly across from the entrance, stand a couple of bookcases against the wall. One is completely empty. The other has a few book covers on it, the pages themselves having been torn out.



(OOC: I would think so. She has been back in the world for about 100 years now, so I imagine Sirrion would have warned Grubnick's master about it, who in turn would have warned Grubnick.)

[TristenC]

As soon as Grubnick sees Gregeddin begin to head back outside he moves cautiously away from the window. He then goes about 15 feet down the lane on the other side of the street, but facing the open door.

He nibbles on his pipe stem a bit, I suppose I'll be discovered tailing them sooner or later. He relaxes against a building opposite the brothel waits outside for Gregeddin to see him.

[Haahque]

"Well I investigated and checked this place very thoroughly yesterday and I couldn't find anything, but if you think it's a good idea, I guess it can't explode if I try it again. Who knows, maybe I'll see something's different today."

Haahqae will search the room, trying to find anything that is different from yesterday to today. He'll once again check for illusionary walls and poke various things in the room to make sure they're solid and what they appear to be.

[BishGada]

"I'm almost done. Are you in a hurry?" Tulbas asks. "You can go on your errands and I'll wait here." Tulbas smiles. "I promise." he adds.