[Alliance] Chapter Five: Session Thirty-Eight
Appearing Characters: Caedis, Deathwhisper, Gilveradin Windrunner, Harold Kirtonos, Jackson Razuvious, Kel'Thuzad, Maraad, Remnii, Seria, Tamsin Roame, Toren Snapjoint, Uther Menethil, Velameestra Windrunner, Victor Prestor
October 16th
After leaving Kanrethad’s manor, Vel looped around and grabbed Victor to go and speak with Harold Kirtonos. It was not difficult to find Kirtonos’s estate, as it was set up in the middle of the trade district and there were already people present and lined up for the ball in the later evening. Near the front, some friendly mage duels were taking place seemingly trying to impress an extravagant-looking dwarven woman.
The estate beyond the line resembled a very gothic, small castle with statues of gargoyles and demonic creatures perched along the parapets. It felt as if a piece of the Venetian nightlife was constantly preserved by the estate. There were also large bats hanging out in the shadows, and two crimson-skinned succubi sat cross-legged gossiping as they surveyed the arrangement.
Vel’s ears turned pink.
Victor grinned.
He decided he’d just go by the name Vincent, and they opted to just cut through to the front of the line instead of wasting their time waiting. The line ended about ten feet from the gate, and she noted her undead-sensing tattoo was clearly glowing, indicating the presence of undead. At the gate were two guards that appeared to be Kirtonos’s private security.
The guards looked at each other and shared a look. She couldn’t see both their lips, but she could see one of them, and she caught the question of “another one? Was she expecting company? I can ask.”
The guards asked Vel to wait while one of them went in to check with Lord Kirtonos, and Vel caught the flash of fangs, indicating that they were likely a vampyr.
The line took notice, and a few of them were jeering and muttering to each other, clearly annoyed that Vel seemed to have gotten some sort of movement from the guards. The line seemed to be mostly upper class and rich folk, or people who were trying very hard to appear rich. It was not a place for people that did not have money. A bit later, the guard returned and whispered something to the other guard. Vel and Victor were allowed through the gates, to the annoyance of those who were waiting.
The guard that had been speaking said they would escort them in, and another guard arrived to take their place. A few other people standing in the line had started to approach the gate to plead their own cases for getting in, including the buxom dwarven noble. She completely turned her attention away from the two mages that were dueling for her favor, and they similarly dropped their show to go and back her up.
She leaned forward to emphasize her “assets”, but Vel and Victor were led away before they heard how the conversation concluded.
The doors to the estate swung open, revealing a magnificent small castle. Vel heard the chittering of bats, rats, and spiders all over the place. There was a large stairwell that headed up to the upper levels, and many people were around talking, eating, and drinking. Notably, however, there were more sayaad that were walking around and acting like servants.
All of them had bright crimson skin, and the top of their faces were dyed a darker red like face paint. She also noted that most of the menial labor, like collecting coats and dusting, was being done by skeletons.
The guard led them to the upper floors. She warned them to mind their step, and as they stepped on the stairs, it actually started to shift and bring them upwards without them having to climb. There were statues, paintings, suits of armor, and all sorts of gothic decor, and they were led to a set of double doors.
They heard a bassy chuckle combined with a high-pitched cackle beyond the doors. The doors opened, revealing a private sanctum where two figures were seated on a beautiful, velvet sofa. The scent of fancy lotions and oils were heavy on the air, and there appeared to be a bath that was only recently unoccupied as well as two other sofas that were clearly meant for people to lay down upon for a massage.
Both of the individuals were human. The man, who was likely Kirtonos, was laughing, a glass of wine in his hand, but Vel caught the distinctive scent of blood, and it seemed that he was, in fact, the vampyr lord that had spawned the vampyric guards. The woman next to him had dark skin and hair with a white streak through it, and it was none other than Tamsin Roame. She was also drinking from a similar goblet, which also had the scent of blood, but she was definitely not undead.
The guard announced Vel and Victor. Kirtonos waved the guard off, and invited the two of them in. Vel thanked him for seeing them on such short notice.
Tamsin was squinting at Vel.
Tamsin furrowed her brow.
Tamsin bared her teeth in a small scowl, clearly not pleased that Vel knew more about her than she knew about Vel.
Tamsin’s eyes widened, but then they narrowed again.
Kirtonos smiled.
Kirtonos’s eyes widened.
He looked at Victor, who explained his name was Vincent, and he was lucky enough to be her fiance.
He gestured to another sofa for the pair of them to sit down. Tamsin shot Vel a look that clearly said she was purposely not using Vel’s real name, and that she wanted to speak later, because she could wreck the illusion literally whenever she wanted.
Kirtonos offered drinks, and Vel expressed that whatever they were drinking seemed delectable. There was a ripple in the air next to her, and a succubus appeared directly next to her. She also had bright crimson skin, but she was taller and more regal than the others. Her wings also glistened, and the membranes of them appeared to be wrought of ruby stained glass. She smiled and poured her a goblet of the ruby liquid, and then bowed as she handed it to her. Vel thanked her before turning her attention back to Kirtonos.
The succubus bowed again and disappeared into the ethereal plane once more.
Kirtonos’s brow raised.
Tamsin leaned forward.
Kirtonos smirked.
He refocused his gaze on Vel.
Kirtonos said that could be arranged and he asked if she had any proof of the accusation. Vel confirmed all they had was the word of one of the cultists working under him, but they were actively working on acquiring it. It was simply a matter of having to do multiple things at once. Kirtonos correctly surmised that she needed access to the auction to find who she was looking for.
Kirtonos agreed that it would be an issue in and of itself. He didn’t think it would have quite as potent an effect in Venetia, but it was still something that could weaken their city, and if attention was drawn to them the last thing they wanted was an outbreak in their own populace. He believed Heigan was quite out of line, and many of his associates would agree on that matter. Vel expressed that she understood Heigan was a frequent guest of the Silent Auction, and Kirtonos confirmed, as he was currently winning several of the items.
Vel asked how the items were normally delivered to their victors, and Kirtonos smiled. He explained they were normally delivered part of the way by their own couriers and some of the mage hunters, but from there the buyer’s own security would take over. Of course, if they didn’t have personal security, the item would be delivered to wherever they needed it.
Capless, however, had his own security. But, Kirtonos continued, as the mage lord presiding over the Auction, it was in his best interest to ensure the purchases arrived safely, regardless of whoever was purchasing them.
Kirtonos said he could provide Vel with three invitations, but each one also covered a plus one and a servant or personal guard for each of the attendees. Caedis appeared again with three passes, and Kirtonos informed her to present them to the guards when they arrived and they would be allowed passage without question. He said he looked forward to seeing them both at the Auction.
Vel looked at Tamsin and expressed she’d be willing to catch up later, but Tamsin retorted she was hoping to catch up now, as her business had been largely concluded. Tamsin stood up and also bid farewell to Lord Kirtonos as she straightened her skirt. She flashed a look at Victor and commented that Vel had found herself a handsome one. Victor grinned and said she was too kind.
They headed out of the estate together. The crowd that had gathered around the gate got larger, and the dwarven noble seemed to have gotten more upset. She moved forward and held a hand out to one of the guards. She said her dad wasn’t going to be happy if she didn’t come back with the deal, but then she stumbled into the guard.
The dwarven noble blinked for a moment, and then looked around. She said she hadn’t planned on arriving until later, and she suddenly seemed confused. The guard, likewise, seemed to have lost consciousness for a fraction of a second, and he quickly apologized and helped the woman to her feet. The guards told the crowd to back off, and the dwarven noble said that her daddy was going to be hearing about what happened. The two men that had been dueling to impress her asked her if she was alright, and she told them to get away from her, as she had no idea who they were. She found her own personal guards, and she left.
Vel glanced back at the guards, who had started to talk to each other.
Tamsin smirked. They trailed after the dwarven noblewoman and arrived at an upper middle-class home. She slipped past the outward gates of the estate, but they knew she had gone into it. With some asking around, they were able to find out the lord of the house was Toren Snapjoint: the dwarven foreman at the Capless factory.
As Vel thought about the event they had witnessed, she noticed that her demeanor and her accent had changed. At first, she had referred to her father as her “da”, but afterwards she had referred to him as “daddy”, and her accent was not quite as strong after the fact, plus her strange memory loss.
She mused about the demeanor shift, and said it could have been possession, or any number of other things. Tamsin asked what she thought was possessing her, but there seemed to be a rather large undead population in Venetia, so it could have easily been a ghost or some sort of demon. There was ultimately not a lot of information to go on.
They decided to hold off on investigating things immediately, but it was something to be aware of.
Tamsin smirked.
Tamsin cackled.
There was a gleam in Tamsin’s eye that indicated she wasn’t telling everything she knew.
Vel produced hers and they attuned them together. Tamsin said she would be in touch, and they’d see each other at the auction at the very least, if not before.
Vel asked if Tamsin knew what kind of operation was going on in the Eastweald, and Tamsin said she didn’t. All she had found was a few samples, some vermin, and some strange foliage. All her leads went cold. However she was quite convinced that Heigan wasn’t intending on affecting Lordaeron alone. Vel confirmed that his cultists had said as much.
Vel also asked if the Scarlet Crusade still had an active presence on Caer Darrow, and Tamsin confirmed they were still trying to set up a foothold, but it wasn’t working very well. There had been an influx of exciting things there, and she cited that war had a tendency of making things particularly interesting for individuals like herself and Vel.
Tamsin pulled up her hood and headed off. Vel watched her go before leaning over to Victor and expressing if he needed context for anything that happened, she would give it to him. Victor confirmed he had a lot of questions.
Gil, meanwhile, grabbed Seria and set off to go shopping to try and find information on demiplane theory, particularly in regards to generating an ecosystem within one. From what he was able to discover, a demiplane was functionally something of a nascent plane.
Periodically, throughout the course of the day, he saw scrying sensors start to pop up around him. A few times he waved at the scrying sensor and asked their opinion on what he was buying, but Seria just dispelled the sensor in annoyance.
Remnii had woken up early and went about her morning rituals with Maraad before they diverged into Maraad’s morning exercises. Remnii found him after his morning shower with a tray of cold cider. Maraad thanked her and asked what the drink was, and Remnii explained it was a fall drink called apple cider, and he said that he very much enjoyed it.
They discussed the plan for the day, and Remnii admitted that they were simply waiting for the time being, as Remnii admitted her usefulness in stealth was limited. However, she asked if he’d be receptive to talking, and Maraad acknowledged he was.
Remnii moved to touch his arm, but she stopped herself.
She fell silent, a pensive expression crossing her face.
Maraad shook his head.
Tears came to Remnii’s eyes.
Maraad took Remnii’s hand and ran his thumb over the top of it as Remnii wiped at her cheeks.
They hugged, and Remnii nuzzled under his chin and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Remnii could tell that a dark thought crossed into Maraad’s thought when Remnii mentioned “you know I love many people, and you are amongst them”. It was a thought he didn’t like nor wanted to have, but it still pushed into his mind briefly. She was able to piece together the possibility that the question was “is Rakeesh one of them?”
They went on a small date, and it seemed Maraad’s spirits had started to improve.
Uther headed to his job that neat, with Vel shifted into a rat in his pocket. However, there were people actively searching the people that were entering. Vel warned Uther over the telepathic link that she was going to shift her spider form, and she scurried up and hid under Uther’s collar. Uther managed to prevent himself from screaming, and the guards did not notice his small passenger.
As he got to his position, Vel scurried off to start investigating the warehouse. She noticed there were suspiciously no animals or pests of any variety. As she lurked around, she heard a strange, subsonic noise. It was a beautiful melody, and something in her wanted to go to it, but she was able to overwrite the draw. She crept her way towards it, and it led her into a duct near the ceiling and dropped her into a small area where she found the source of sound in a side room. The device there looked to be a pipe of the sewers that was actively floating in a small chamber, and there was a bound air elemental wrapped around it, which caused the sound to constantly play.
Inside was an abundance of vermin traps that were set for just about everything. However, all the traps were nonlethal. Less than 20% look like they are not fresh and clean. Vel scurried away, satisfied with her assessment.
Meanwhile, Toren Snapjoint had approached Uther and expressed it was good to see him again. Uther, pretending to be Seamus, agreed it was good to be back at his job that he “liked very much”. Toren said he did a good job last night, and Capless really could do with more strong young men, and if he kept up the good work they might have had a permanent position for him.
Toren smiled at him and stepped away to let the other overseers give him his job for the night. However, Uther heard the clink of armor from another figure that stepped out from behind a corner. The figure had a cloaked cape with a hood pulled up. The figure glanced briefly at Uther, revealing it to be an older man with a massive sword across his back, and a mean-looking face with deep, black-red tattoos like some sort of mercenary mark. There was a shock of white hair that was crew cut with well-trimmed sideburns. He gave Uther a withering look, and he was likely the leader of the security detail. His name was Jackson Razuvious.
Vel also replayed what she had found in the air elemental room, as well as her discovery that vermin that were being caught were being taken alive, which was unanimously concerning. She informed Uther she was going to try and see if the warehouse went deeper, and Uther requested she let him know if she finds Lance, and she confirmed she would.
Vel managed to locate the area Uther had stumbled into before. She shifted into her spider form again and skittered under the door crack, where she saw the same facility that Uther did. She saw the cultists marking various crates as the grain was being blighted and she saw various undead in the area. She noted that the corpulent creature with the massive syringe was not actually undead, and instead appeared to be some sort of construct. There were some skeletons as well, who were working the machines while the cultists actively chanted.
Vel scurried around the outskirts of the room, attempting to map out as much of the warehouse as she could.
Kel’Thuzad laughed in her mind.
Vel found other secret locations connected to the restricted area. One had vats of liquid ooze that the corpulent, syringe-armed creature would sometimes enter to refill itself. She also found some studies and places to store ritual materials.
However, it seemed there was nowhere deeper in the warehouse. She believed there was no chamber she didn’t find, and there was still no sign of Lance.
The second part of the evening passed. Uther was able to take his first break, and there were guards watching the break room. Uther played it safe, and the work he was putting out was enough that no one was getting on his case about lack of production. He caught Razuvious watching him a few times, and he could almost sense him getting angry because he’s not seeing something that he’s looking for. He took a whole bite out of a full, unpeeled potato while watching Uther.
The night went by, and Uther got the call to clear out for the second break. He walked over to Razuvious, greeted him, and introduced himself. Razuvious looked at him, his arms crossed.
Uther smiled bashfully at him.
The guard captain stopped and looked at Uther, then started to laugh.
He spat on the ground. Uther nodded.
Uther saw Jackson’s brain visibly break, unable to comprehend how he could reach that conclusion after what he just said.
His face turned red, and some of the other security detail started to laugh quietly. Jackson rounded on them and demanded to know if they saw something humorous, and he opted to take his frustration out on the person that laughed. Uther was able to tell the man was clearly insanely skilled, and he wasn’t even trying to trounce the man he was taking the frustration out on.
Meanwhile, Vel slipped back into the warehouse so she could see what went on during the secret break. She hid behind some of the grain close to the plagued grain, and the temperature in the room immediately plummeted. She sensed incoming magic, and then she noticed the area where the plagued grain was being stacked was a teleportation circle. They activated, and then something appeared.
It was a large figure with long robes, and bright blue eyes were set in a skull face beneath a cowl. Spectral chains quietly rattled around the individual’s body. She could only surmise it was the Supervisor.
She wasn’t alone. There were a handful of undead warriors that were well armed and armored.
Then her eyes fell on the shadows where Vel was hiding. She then looked to the others and ordered them to secure the perimeter.
Vel used the cover of shadows to shift into her mist form, and she then blended into the cold mist that was actively rotating around the figure that had manifested. The figure floated through the area, and then her eyes snapped over and she held her hand out. Chains of frost cleaved through the area that Vel was at moments ago.
The lich summoned a spell as the grain was prepared for transport. She conjured a snowstorm and Vel saw the figure that Vel recognized as Toren Snapjoint, formed out of ice.
The dwarf dropped to his knees.
The ice melted, and Lady Deathwhisper began to cast [Teleportation Circle]. She incanted in Quietish.
Vel managed to slip away and headed toward the foreman’s office. It was occupied. Vel shifted into her spider form and slipped under the door. She sneaked around the table, and she found a list with a number of investors along with dates.
The dates were all after the Scarlet Crusade was formed, and the most recent one coincided awfully closely to when Remnii said Sally Mograine was there with Arellas Fireleaf. There were multiple instances of investment from mage lord Arellas Fireleaf, proving he had given multiple donations to Capless Feather Grains.
At that exact moment, the overseer jumped, having seen her, and expressed that there shouldn’t be a spider there. He raised a hand, and he was unsure if he was going to try and smash her, or if he was going to try and call for someone because there wasn’t supposed to be spiders. But in that moment, Vel’s eyes flashed, and the overseer fell beneath her sway.
The overseer lowered his hand and shook his head. He said it was probably nothing, but then asked if she was the spider from his bathroom, because she really looked like it. Opting to play up the assumption to maybe give her some more time, Vel crept closer.
Vel relayed what was going on over the telepathic bond, and that she found a donor list listing Arellas Fireleaf as a donor. She assured Uther that she would be able to get back, and Uther’s shift ended and he headed back to the mansion.
Toren Snapjoint arrived to relieve the overseer, though he looked like he didn’t sleep so well.
The overseer went to leave, and Toren moved in to start putting his nose to the grindstone to start organizing things to get word to those that needed to know. Vel eyed the list of donors, and she took a shot to try and touch it so that she could wristpocket the document. However, as she skittered down, the overseer turned abruptly to say one final thing he forgot, and she went spilling onto the desk. Snapjoint looked over at her.
Vel leaned into the lie and skittered back over to him, trying to act like a familiar would.
Toren held his hand out.
Vel sensed the overseer was heavily debating pitching Vel out a window to keep her free, however, her eyes were on the donor list. Vel used her enhancement to subtle cast [Mislead]. The illusory spider immediately hopped off the table and started to scurry around. Toren shouted for the overseer to stop it, while Vel, now invisible, ran over to the donor list and slipped it into the wristpocket pocket dimension. She skittered away under the door.
Vel heard them finally catch the duplicate, and Toren called that his hand had passed through the creature. He quickly realized it was magic, but Vel was already gone with evidence the Scarlet Crusade had donated to Heigan Capless.
That night, Gil went out on the town again. He somehow managed to clean out a casino, and a hit man was sent after him, but then Gil found out the only reason the man was a hit man was to try and cure his daughter’s sickness, and Gil opted to go back and cure the daughter’s sickness himself, forging a new friend. A very small cult had formed around Camtheas Glowsun, convinced he would in fact bring people to the stars. However, it would likely burn out quickly.
The day had gone well for Remnii and Maraad, and they had gone to dinner as well. Remnii had gone quiet on the walk back. She observed that things had been rather quiet in the evening, and Maraad said they had best still be ready for anything, as the situation would rapidly escalate he was sure.
Remnii asked him how the day was for him, and Maraad admitted he didn’t like the city, but he also saw beauty there, and he did have fun, especially because it was with Remnii. Remnii smiled and asked if Maraad would listen to one more conversation.
Maraad agreed he would as they returned to the manor.
Maraad winced, but nodded.
She explained a few more of the details of her time on Argus.
Maraad’s jaw dropped.
Remnii nodded.
Maraad put his head in his hand.
Maraad wrapped Remnii in a hug, and her eyes teared up again.
Remnii pulled back slightly.
She took Maraad’s face in her hands.
Maraad stood up and picked Remnii up.
He offered her a sad smile, but he was very resolved. And then they kissed.
