Vilus thunders down the aisle toward Razmus, who is doing his best to scurry up the ladder. He turns to look over his shoulder at the large man hurtling toward him while bristling with magic.
For the first time, the travelers see fear in his eyes.
Razmus nearly manages to get away, all but his legs out through the opening of the cellar door. As he lifts his lower foot, however, Vilus catches up. Purple sparks and wooden splinters fly as Vilus smashes straight through the ladder, and Razmus's legs. Razmus gets pulled back down through the opening by the force of the tackle, smashing his chin on the upper floor on his way down, and landing hard on his back amidst the broken wood. Rolling away, Razmus hops to his feet and backs up into the corner a few feet from Malachi. Seeing that the ladder, his only feasible way out, has been utterly destroyed by Vilus's unexpected display of strength, Razmus procures a wicked, curved dagger from within his scuffed and torn clothes. He holds it out, waving it threateningly at Malachi and Vilus.
"Stay back! Back!" he hisses. His eyes are now filled with full-out panic.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
The crackling purple sparks abate and leave Vilus' body, nothing happened this time he thinks, as he turns from the wreckage of the ladder in the darkened corner and regards Rasmus in his now panicked form, Vilus pushes his mind forward toward Rasmus "put that down, or you'll meet the same fate as your victims.." the words echo to Rasmus as they also leave Vilus' lips and he points his dagger held in a brown furred hand toward the bodies of the ratmen, it's at this point that Malachi and Vilus' realise what magic had effected Vilus' as the words leave the mouth of a 'Silas' the Minotaur.
Razmus glances around, considering his options. From the broken ladder to the dead rat-men, to Vilus’s terrifying transformation.
Something changes in his expression as he reaches a decision and his posture changes. Shoulders slouched in apparent defeat, he drops the knife and straightens his back, holding his hands up in surrender.
As the ladder is demolished, Ashley moans at the sound. In her nightmare, a portion of the maze comes crashing down and second needle is coming towards her...
"Noo... not another..." you hear her moan as she twists and turns on her cot.
Marion continues to snore loudly, nothing seemingly interrupting her, though she does twitch here and there as she lies slumped against her armour in the corner of the room.
Vilus points the dagger toward Rasmus and starts frog marching him into the back room, he connects with Malachi as they both pass "If you want to tie him up I won't argue, Where I come from we usually crush the fingers and thumbs, works better than rope ties, but I'll leave that up to you.."
Joren sits up blearily and looks around, grabbing for his greatsword wondering if this is another dream. He recognizes the half-elf through his fuzzy vision and registers that he does not seem to be in combat or panicked. Trying to keep his voice low so as not to wake the others:
"Malachi. Needing my help are you? Everything being all right?"
Joren desperately hopes that the answers are "no" and "yes" so that he can collapse back to his cot again.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
“I will keep the crushing fingers trick in mind, Silas, but I think we can make do with the rope this time”Malachi grabs some rope and secures Razmus’ arms behind his back (again) “I think we can skip the gag for now, we have much to talk about” Malachi picks up the innkeeper’s dagger and the necklace, then steers Razmus into the backroom and has him sit in the corner. He will help Silas secure the door again.
He is startled when Joren stirs “No, all is fine, go back to sleep. We can figure it all out in the morning” he knows the warrior needs his rest.
Speaking of rest, Malachi is disturbed that he was unable to influence the innkeeper’s actions, he must be more exhausted than he thought. He looks longingly at his empty cot and tries to gauge when he should awaken Ashley. He has questions for Razmus, but so many and he is so tired he doesn't know where to start. Instead, he takes a closer look at the dagger and the necklace to see if he can determine anything about them. Investigation 2.
If Malachi is saying it is fine, it must be fine, or maybe just another dream, Joren thinks muzzily. He collapses back onto the cot and instantly falls asleep.
Razmus goes along peacefully and allows himself to be bound once more, using the same rope that he must have freed himself from earlier while Vilus had been working on getting the door open quietly. Weak as he may seem, he sure has proven himself rather slippery. He does not speak as he is led into the back room and his expression is unreadable, even while he unblinkingly watches Malachi looking over the dagger and necklace.
(Investigation: critical miss) Malachi, for his part, finds nothing new about the necklace at this time, and is unable to discern anything particularly out of the ordinary about the dagger. He has seen his share of daggers flashed in alleys and taverns back home, but he hasn't seen any with quite this shape. Razmus speaks his first words since entering the back room, saying, "Careful, that blade is quite sharp." Even as he speaks, Malachi accidentally nicks himself on the edge, a cut so smooth it takes a second for his finger to even register the injury. He feels like Razmus is smirking at him and looks back up to see his expression, but Razmus's face is still impassive and still. Cold and analytical. It's almost worse than the smile, and it makes Malachi's skin crawl.
Malachi mutters a curse as the dagger slices his finger, then returns Razmus’ look, a shiver running down his spine at the innkeeper’s eyes. He shakes it off and moves to wake up Ashley for her shift, shaking her gently “Lady Ashley, wake up. It is time for your shift.”
As she wakes, Malachi brings her up to speed. He points to Silas, who may still be in his minotaur form and whispers “That is Silas, the goliath. I know that you argued earlier, but go easy on him. He struggles to control his magic and believes he is being hunted. I tried to tell him that we mean him no harm.” He turns to Razmus “And our innkeeper has awakened. We caught him trying to escape. Keep an eye on him, he is a slippery one. Wake us if there is trouble.” He hands over the necklace to Ashley, but tucks the dagger into his jacket. He will hold onto that for now.
As he heads to his cot, he looks to Silas “Help her keep an eye on him. Remember, she is a friend.” He tumbles back into the cot, wrapping his cloak about him and is soon fast asleep.
With Malachi's help, Vilus re-blocks the door, he eyes Ashley as she is awoken and gives Malachi a nod at his advice and watches him go to bed.
Now that Rasmus securely tied up Vilus lays the man on his front on the cot that Vilus had previously occupied, patting him down for any other weapons and double checking Malachi's knots as he does so. 18
Once Vilus sees that Ashley is now properly awake 'Silas' sits on the bartender, using his weight to pin down the man but trying not to crush him entirely, he looks to Ashley and whispers,
"hey, erm.. Ashley, right? ummm I wanted to say that ahh.. you were right, I owe you an apology... I have limited knowledge or control over the magics I've been 'given'...um.. but I'm learning! I'm sorry I accused you."
With that done Silas gives a sigh of relief perhaps too soon before Ashley answers.
This time, the knots seem secure. Vilus can’t see Razmus breaking loose any time soon, especially while under a watchful eye. Patting him down, Vilus finds no other weapons, though he does grab a coin purse from Razmus’s belt. He opens it to find 20 gp. Had that been obtained by grifting other travellers before them?
Continuing his search, he checks for anything tucked away in the man’s shirt, and in so doing, discovers a large tattoo adorning his chest: a circle made up of foreign runes and glyphs arranged in a pattern. Vilus’s skill is filled with a sinister buzz as he beholds the tattoo. Was this man what Vilus had been warned about?
As Malachi reaches over and touches Ashley's skin, it is so hot it almost burns him. When he wakes her, she sits upright in an instant, hair ablaze, screaming "No, not again, not again!" Malachi quickly tries to calm her down as best he can and she looks at him wildly, "are you, are you in the maze too? Did it, did it get your magic??" she asks almost screaming, about hyperventilating as she asks this last part eyes huge as she stares at him. She doesn't appear to notice anything beyond Malachi and whatever is going on in her head. Looking like she apparently realizes something, she looks up and raises her hand and casting produce flame fires it at the floor joists above her head.
A big smile appears on her face and her hair calms down a bit and she looks at Malachi, with a tear trickling down her face. "You're here. I'm me. It, it was a nightmare." she tries to calm herself down, and looking at the fire she just started, she puts her hand up, fingers spread and as Malachi watches, the tips of her fingers have almost a blue hue as she casts frostbite at the fire she just started. She sits there for a bit, trying to control her breathing as Malachi starts explaining the situation they are currently in.
As she becomes aware of the rest of the room, she sees the ratman on the floor and backs up on her cot, hugging her knees to her and starts rocking back and forth where she sits. "I, I'm not sure I can do this" she says to Malachi. Then seeing Silas and Razmus then the rest of the group sleeping soundly as they try to rid themselves of the exhaustion, the weight of the situation comes down on her and she looks up to him. "I, you, you need sleep. I'll be sure to keep an eye on Razmus." she waits till he falls asleep and then looks up at Silas.
She nods at him as he apologizes and slowly lets it all sink in. She wonders how long she has been asleep and thinks about about her last moments. It is then she even remembers who this guy is. Surprisingly she doesn't let herself get riled up again. "Everyone makes mistakes. And I know what its like to have magic you can't control. I think I have mine under control now," she glances at the ceiling to make sure the fire is out, "but there was definitely a time I didn't. Who, who are you?"
At Ashleys outburst during her waking process Vilus sits watching over the proceedings with some interest..
With the buzzing of his magic causing him to flinch at the symbols Vilus get an idea. "thank you for understanding" Vilus begins in answer to Ashleys words, "for now, I'd rather not tell you about myself, prying ears and all that" he adjusts his position on Rasmus causing the man to groan " but you can call me Silas, I.. well.. I don't normally look like whatever this is.. and I would like to talk sometime about how you learnt to erm.. control your magic,"at this he casts a quick wary glance at the scorched ceiling " however for now I think you could help me if you feel up for some light guard duty?"
Vilus then stands and gestures down to the tied up bartender laid on the cot, as if offering a seat to Ashley, If Ashley takes the prompt and guards Rasmus, Vilus will then take out his book. "this may not work, It's a long shot, but right now we have no information on what the hell is happening, and short of torturing lies out of this murderous swindler, We have no other way of getting information, If you can watch him and trust me just a little, I'll see what I can do" With that said Vilus takes out a crossbow bolt from his pack, and dipping it in the blood of the ratman uses it like a quill, copying the runes and glyphs from Rasmus' tattoo in its specific circle over the swirling scrambled pages in the back of his Book of shadows, Once that is done he sets the book in front of him as he sits cross legged on the floor,"if this works I might be unresponsive for an hour... please, whatever happens don't disturb me, I'm putting my trust in you., and He tries anything burn his ears off" Vilus points to Rasmus before he begins meditating, clearing his mind of everything but the glyphs scratched into his pages, he tries to connect with the watcher beyond.
(Vilus Arcana: 19) As Vilus closes his eyes, the book on his lap slams shut. Vilus goes rigid and still, but the book almost appears to vibrate in his lap, producing a nearly inaudible hum to Ashley that may be imagined. Like it’s processing. Or digesting.
Ashley nods when Silas invites her to come sit on the prisoner. As she tries to make herself comfortable she watches what happens to Silas and thinks, this is a different kind of magic then i'm used to, not sure how much help I'll be. Once she gets settled, she looks at Razmus and asks, "Who are you? What is going on in this Inn?"
Razmus looks at Ashley coldly from beneath her. "As I have allready stated, you may calll me Jon." Not, "my name is Jon," Ashley notes. "And at this inn, I offer weary travellers a pllace to rest. It seems you have encountered a rat probllem, but I do recalll mentioning that up front."
Vilus:
Vilus feels confident that his copy of the runes into the book is nearly as perfectly replicated as could be. As he closes his eyes to meditate on it, trying to reach out and touch the mind of The Watcher Beyond, he feels thoughts flowing through his head. They are not organized into words or images that Vilus could identify and repeat, but rather the thoughts seem to take a more primal form of a pure stream of information.
The thoughts give the impression of satisfaction with Vilus's actions, and he can tell the book is trying to break down and understand the runes. As they do so, understanding trickles into Vilus's consciousness. The first thing Vilus comprehends is that these runes are closely linked to the threat he has felt. This comes as little surprise to him, especially when compared to what comes next.
Anyone well versed in magical theory could tell you that magic of any kind in this world must be enacted by a living will. The components and language used in spells are utterly mundane without having magic directed through them by someone. Some people are their own sources of magic while others understand the principles behind calling it forth from outside themselves, but always a will is needed. Certain materials possess specific properties that can shape or enhance the magic that is channeled through them in a predictable, scientific fashion. Language, when used in spell casting serves as nothing more than a guide that has been carefully selected to guide a disciplined mind through a set of positions that facilitate in the will's shaping of a particular spell, not unlike the practiced forms of the southern monks that allow them to channel their ki's flow through their body. But these runes... they appear to defy a conventional understanding of magic. The runic language itself appears to possess its own power that can be unleashed independent of a guiding will. And for a language to possess such power...
This must be proof of something existing in this reality that many would label a God. Not like the Vilus's patron. The Watcher is... something else. Something distant. But for all the squabbling and skepticism surrounding the existence of abstract deities in the world, Vilus appears to be looking at something written in a true God's tongue. Merely writing in this God tongue could create magical effects that needed no living vessel to provide the magic.
What specific meaning or power are carried by the runes on Razmus's chest and in Vilus's book remains unknown, but Vilus can feel the Watcher continuing to work away at the conundrum in a place beyond his mind.
The question remaining on Vilus's mind is how did Razmus come to possess such a thing.
Ashley holds up the necklace and watches Razmus's reaction while she does and asks, "Ok, Jon, you didn't do a great job explaining the rat problem, can you do a better job explaining this?"
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Vilus thunders down the aisle toward Razmus, who is doing his best to scurry up the ladder. He turns to look over his shoulder at the large man hurtling toward him while bristling with magic.
For the first time, the travelers see fear in his eyes.
Razmus nearly manages to get away, all but his legs out through the opening of the cellar door. As he lifts his lower foot, however, Vilus catches up. Purple sparks and wooden splinters fly as Vilus smashes straight through the ladder, and Razmus's legs. Razmus gets pulled back down through the opening by the force of the tackle, smashing his chin on the upper floor on his way down, and landing hard on his back amidst the broken wood. Rolling away, Razmus hops to his feet and backs up into the corner a few feet from Malachi. Seeing that the ladder, his only feasible way out, has been utterly destroyed by Vilus's unexpected display of strength, Razmus procures a wicked, curved dagger from within his scuffed and torn clothes. He holds it out, waving it threateningly at Malachi and Vilus.
"Stay back! Back!" he hisses. His eyes are now filled with full-out panic.
The crackling purple sparks abate and leave Vilus' body, nothing happened this time he thinks, as he turns from the wreckage of the ladder in the darkened corner and regards Rasmus in his now panicked form, Vilus pushes his mind forward toward Rasmus "put that down, or you'll meet the same fate as your victims.." the words echo to Rasmus as they also leave Vilus' lips and he points his dagger held in a brown furred hand toward the bodies of the ratmen, it's at this point that Malachi and Vilus' realise what magic had effected Vilus' as the words leave the mouth of a 'Silas' the Minotaur.
Intimidation 25
Razmus glances around, considering his options. From the broken ladder to the dead rat-men, to Vilus’s terrifying transformation.
Something changes in his expression as he reaches a decision and his posture changes. Shoulders slouched in apparent defeat, he drops the knife and straightens his back, holding his hands up in surrender.
As the ladder is demolished, Ashley moans at the sound. In her nightmare, a portion of the maze comes crashing down and second needle is coming towards her...
"Noo... not another..." you hear her moan as she twists and turns on her cot.
Marion continues to snore loudly, nothing seemingly interrupting her, though she does twitch here and there as she lies slumped against her armour in the corner of the room.
Vilus points the dagger toward Rasmus and starts frog marching him into the back room, he connects with Malachi as they both pass "If you want to tie him up I won't argue, Where I come from we usually crush the fingers and thumbs, works better than rope ties, but I'll leave that up to you.."
Joren sits up blearily and looks around, grabbing for his greatsword wondering if this is another dream. He recognizes the half-elf through his fuzzy vision and registers that he does not seem to be in combat or panicked. Trying to keep his voice low so as not to wake the others:
"Malachi. Needing my help are you? Everything being all right?"
Joren desperately hopes that the answers are "no" and "yes" so that he can collapse back to his cot again.
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
“I will keep the crushing fingers trick in mind, Silas, but I think we can make do with the rope this time” Malachi grabs some rope and secures Razmus’ arms behind his back (again) “I think we can skip the gag for now, we have much to talk about” Malachi picks up the innkeeper’s dagger and the necklace, then steers Razmus into the backroom and has him sit in the corner. He will help Silas secure the door again.
He is startled when Joren stirs “No, all is fine, go back to sleep. We can figure it all out in the morning” he knows the warrior needs his rest.
Speaking of rest, Malachi is disturbed that he was unable to influence the innkeeper’s actions, he must be more exhausted than he thought. He looks longingly at his empty cot and tries to gauge when he should awaken Ashley. He has questions for Razmus, but so many and he is so tired he doesn't know where to start. Instead, he takes a closer look at the dagger and the necklace to see if he can determine anything about them. Investigation 2.
If Malachi is saying it is fine, it must be fine, or maybe just another dream, Joren thinks muzzily. He collapses back onto the cot and instantly falls asleep.
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Razmus goes along peacefully and allows himself to be bound once more, using the same rope that he must have freed himself from earlier while Vilus had been working on getting the door open quietly. Weak as he may seem, he sure has proven himself rather slippery. He does not speak as he is led into the back room and his expression is unreadable, even while he unblinkingly watches Malachi looking over the dagger and necklace.
(Investigation: critical miss) Malachi, for his part, finds nothing new about the necklace at this time, and is unable to discern anything particularly out of the ordinary about the dagger. He has seen his share of daggers flashed in alleys and taverns back home, but he hasn't seen any with quite this shape. Razmus speaks his first words since entering the back room, saying, "Careful, that blade is quite sharp." Even as he speaks, Malachi accidentally nicks himself on the edge, a cut so smooth it takes a second for his finger to even register the injury. He feels like Razmus is smirking at him and looks back up to see his expression, but Razmus's face is still impassive and still. Cold and analytical. It's almost worse than the smile, and it makes Malachi's skin crawl.
(It's approaching time for the final shift)
Malachi mutters a curse as the dagger slices his finger, then returns Razmus’ look, a shiver running down his spine at the innkeeper’s eyes. He shakes it off and moves to wake up Ashley for her shift, shaking her gently “Lady Ashley, wake up. It is time for your shift.”
As she wakes, Malachi brings her up to speed. He points to Silas, who may still be in his minotaur form and whispers “That is Silas, the goliath. I know that you argued earlier, but go easy on him. He struggles to control his magic and believes he is being hunted. I tried to tell him that we mean him no harm.” He turns to Razmus “And our innkeeper has awakened. We caught him trying to escape. Keep an eye on him, he is a slippery one. Wake us if there is trouble.” He hands over the necklace to Ashley, but tucks the dagger into his jacket. He will hold onto that for now.
As he heads to his cot, he looks to Silas “Help her keep an eye on him. Remember, she is a friend.” He tumbles back into the cot, wrapping his cloak about him and is soon fast asleep.
With Malachi's help, Vilus re-blocks the door, he eyes Ashley as she is awoken and gives Malachi a nod at his advice and watches him go to bed.
Now that Rasmus securely tied up Vilus lays the man on his front on the cot that Vilus had previously occupied, patting him down for any other weapons and double checking Malachi's knots as he does so. 18
Once Vilus sees that Ashley is now properly awake 'Silas' sits on the bartender, using his weight to pin down the man but trying not to crush him entirely, he looks to Ashley and whispers,
"hey, erm.. Ashley, right? ummm I wanted to say that ahh.. you were right, I owe you an apology... I have limited knowledge or control over the magics I've been 'given'...um.. but I'm learning! I'm sorry I accused you."
With that done Silas gives a sigh of relief perhaps too soon before Ashley answers.
This time, the knots seem secure. Vilus can’t see Razmus breaking loose any time soon, especially while under a watchful eye. Patting him down, Vilus finds no other weapons, though he does grab a coin purse from Razmus’s belt. He opens it to find 20 gp. Had that been obtained by grifting other travellers before them?
Continuing his search, he checks for anything tucked away in the man’s shirt, and in so doing, discovers a large tattoo adorning his chest: a circle made up of foreign runes and glyphs arranged in a pattern. Vilus’s skill is filled with a sinister buzz as he beholds the tattoo. Was this man what Vilus had been warned about?
As Malachi reaches over and touches Ashley's skin, it is so hot it almost burns him. When he wakes her, she sits upright in an instant, hair ablaze, screaming "No, not again, not again!" Malachi quickly tries to calm her down as best he can and she looks at him wildly, "are you, are you in the maze too? Did it, did it get your magic??" she asks almost screaming, about hyperventilating as she asks this last part eyes huge as she stares at him. She doesn't appear to notice anything beyond Malachi and whatever is going on in her head. Looking like she apparently realizes something, she looks up and raises her hand and casting produce flame fires it at the floor joists above her head.
A big smile appears on her face and her hair calms down a bit and she looks at Malachi, with a tear trickling down her face. "You're here. I'm me. It, it was a nightmare." she tries to calm herself down, and looking at the fire she just started, she puts her hand up, fingers spread and as Malachi watches, the tips of her fingers have almost a blue hue as she casts frostbite at the fire she just started. She sits there for a bit, trying to control her breathing as Malachi starts explaining the situation they are currently in.
As she becomes aware of the rest of the room, she sees the ratman on the floor and backs up on her cot, hugging her knees to her and starts rocking back and forth where she sits. "I, I'm not sure I can do this" she says to Malachi. Then seeing Silas and Razmus then the rest of the group sleeping soundly as they try to rid themselves of the exhaustion, the weight of the situation comes down on her and she looks up to him. "I, you, you need sleep. I'll be sure to keep an eye on Razmus." she waits till he falls asleep and then looks up at Silas.
She nods at him as he apologizes and slowly lets it all sink in. She wonders how long she has been asleep and thinks about about her last moments. It is then she even remembers who this guy is. Surprisingly she doesn't let herself get riled up again. "Everyone makes mistakes. And I know what its like to have magic you can't control. I think I have mine under control now," she glances at the ceiling to make sure the fire is out, "but there was definitely a time I didn't. Who, who are you?"
At Ashleys outburst during her waking process Vilus sits watching over the proceedings with some interest..
With the buzzing of his magic causing him to flinch at the symbols Vilus get an idea. "thank you for understanding" Vilus begins in answer to Ashleys words, "for now, I'd rather not tell you about myself, prying ears and all that" he adjusts his position on Rasmus causing the man to groan " but you can call me Silas, I.. well.. I don't normally look like whatever this is.. and I would like to talk sometime about how you learnt to erm.. control your magic," at this he casts a quick wary glance at the scorched ceiling " however for now I think you could help me if you feel up for some light guard duty?"
Vilus then stands and gestures down to the tied up bartender laid on the cot, as if offering a seat to Ashley, If Ashley takes the prompt and guards Rasmus, Vilus will then take out his book. "this may not work, It's a long shot, but right now we have no information on what the hell is happening, and short of torturing lies out of this murderous swindler, We have no other way of getting information, If you can watch him and trust me just a little, I'll see what I can do" With that said Vilus takes out a crossbow bolt from his pack, and dipping it in the blood of the ratman uses it like a quill, copying the runes and glyphs from Rasmus' tattoo in its specific circle over the swirling scrambled pages in the back of his Book of shadows, Once that is done he sets the book in front of him as he sits cross legged on the floor, "if this works I might be unresponsive for an hour... please, whatever happens don't disturb me, I'm putting my trust in you., and He tries anything burn his ears off" Vilus points to Rasmus before he begins meditating, clearing his mind of everything but the glyphs scratched into his pages, he tries to connect with the watcher beyond.
(Vilus Arcana: 19) As Vilus closes his eyes, the book on his lap slams shut. Vilus goes rigid and still, but the book almost appears to vibrate in his lap, producing a nearly inaudible hum to Ashley that may be imagined. Like it’s processing. Or digesting.
Vilus stays like that for some time
Ashley nods when Silas invites her to come sit on the prisoner. As she tries to make herself comfortable she watches what happens to Silas and thinks, this is a different kind of magic then i'm used to, not sure how much help I'll be. Once she gets settled, she looks at Razmus and asks, "Who are you? What is going on in this Inn?"
Razmus looks at Ashley coldly from beneath her. "As I have allready stated, you may calll me Jon." Not, "my name is Jon," Ashley notes. "And at this inn, I offer weary travellers a pllace to rest. It seems you have encountered a rat probllem, but I do recalll mentioning that up front."
Vilus:
Vilus feels confident that his copy of the runes into the book is nearly as perfectly replicated as could be. As he closes his eyes to meditate on it, trying to reach out and touch the mind of The Watcher Beyond, he feels thoughts flowing through his head. They are not organized into words or images that Vilus could identify and repeat, but rather the thoughts seem to take a more primal form of a pure stream of information.
The thoughts give the impression of satisfaction with Vilus's actions, and he can tell the book is trying to break down and understand the runes. As they do so, understanding trickles into Vilus's consciousness. The first thing Vilus comprehends is that these runes are closely linked to the threat he has felt. This comes as little surprise to him, especially when compared to what comes next.
Anyone well versed in magical theory could tell you that magic of any kind in this world must be enacted by a living will. The components and language used in spells are utterly mundane without having magic directed through them by someone. Some people are their own sources of magic while others understand the principles behind calling it forth from outside themselves, but always a will is needed. Certain materials possess specific properties that can shape or enhance the magic that is channeled through them in a predictable, scientific fashion. Language, when used in spell casting serves as nothing more than a guide that has been carefully selected to guide a disciplined mind through a set of positions that facilitate in the will's shaping of a particular spell, not unlike the practiced forms of the southern monks that allow them to channel their ki's flow through their body. But these runes... they appear to defy a conventional understanding of magic. The runic language itself appears to possess its own power that can be unleashed independent of a guiding will. And for a language to possess such power...
This must be proof of something existing in this reality that many would label a God. Not like the Vilus's patron. The Watcher is... something else. Something distant. But for all the squabbling and skepticism surrounding the existence of abstract deities in the world, Vilus appears to be looking at something written in a true God's tongue. Merely writing in this God tongue could create magical effects that needed no living vessel to provide the magic.
What specific meaning or power are carried by the runes on Razmus's chest and in Vilus's book remains unknown, but Vilus can feel the Watcher continuing to work away at the conundrum in a place beyond his mind.
The question remaining on Vilus's mind is how did Razmus come to possess such a thing.
Ashley holds up the necklace and watches Razmus's reaction while she does and asks, "Ok, Jon, you didn't do a great job explaining the rat problem, can you do a better job explaining this?"