Drexon nods and follows Toros to the tent, where he follows his hosts lead and grabs whatever food is available, waiting to be sat down in order to continue the conversation.
"As I mentioned, we have seen some strange things in our travels, which you might have more understanding of than we do. What do you make of this?", he says and channels his magic through his ring and makes a circle with his hands. As he does so the image of a statue appears. It is in full colour and depicts the corrupted pegasus that the would be jade thieves rode.
The image is fairly small and discrete, and positioned in such a way to minimise any other folk seeing it if possible.
Toros looks at the image with surprise and a little bit of sorrow. He stares at it for a long moment before shaking his head in sadness.
"Such pain," he says. "Nightmares, they are called. Demon horses. Hellhorses. Unnatural creature, tortured, always in pain." He pauses and clears his throat, motioning you to a mostly secluded table near the back of the tent.
"We know of 3 species of magical equines. The first is a creature of the sky, the pegasus. The second is of light, the unicorn. The third is of water, the kelpies. The sky, the light, the water -- these are their affinities. When that affinity, that connection, was twisted and severed, the pain that they felt twisted their very being to become a creature of vengeance and darkness. They become blinded by agony that they no longer think, act, and behave as normal. They become easily led, controlled, manipulated, and broken. The first recorded case of the creation of nightmares dates back to the time of the War in Heaven, but the process to create it was not perfected until before the War of the Best. Before then, the nightmares are wild creatures, still fighting the corruption within them. When the method was perfected, the nightmares become docile enough to be used as mounts that can traverse this realm and the realm besides. If you have met such a creature, did you kill it? Did you release it from its torture?"
"It was not in our power to put the beast out of its misery. I am now more interested in who would do such a thing. Have you heard of anyone or any organisations that practice such foul arts?", Drexon asks Toros, wondering if there were perhaps any rumours circulating.
"We heard of some thefts from Luck Ranch, unicorns and pegasi, so it might be happening locally".
"In this day and age?" Toros asks. "None that I can name at the top of my head. All knowledge of the method had been locked tight in the main HQ of the Archive of Ages. Only the curator or Keeper of an Annex can access such information. A purge of similar information was also done after the War of the Best."
Toros goes quiet for a long moment. His expression deepens to a scowl. "Well... perhaps there is one source," he says after a while. "Yes, that is possible. The Black Market may provide the knowledge. Not to be mistaken with a black market, a place where illicit objects are traded, The Black Market is a foothold of the Nine Circle of Perdition in this plane. Its location moves and changes randomly, so we cannot really track it despite our best attempts in the past. From what I know, it is a haven for dark wizards, warlocks, or other creatures with fiendish persuasion. For a price, one can get almost anything there. They trade in souls, so one of the ways to track them or someone associating with them is by following the trail of dead bodies or missing persons."
"That's... curious," Toros mumbles when he hears about the missing equines. He lowers his voice to a barely heard whisper. "I will have to check the requisition ledger. Since there have been no cases of missing persons or trail of dead bodies that I know of, there is a chance that the one creating the nightmares is a member of an Annex. If this is local, the only people who can request such information are the four keepers of Mantagard Annex: me, Kender, Horace, or Mara. I would be the most likely suspect because I dealt with creatures and plants, but anyone of us can request the information."
"That is disconcerting, that you would be the prime suspect. I guess the question is, did you do it?', Drexon asks bluntly, keen to get this part of the conversation behind them.
He looks at Toros carefully, not having had much interaction with Harengon before, but assuming the tells will be the same.
Karm also turns to study the Harengon in an exagerated manner, though not too much. He does not want to offend. Insight: 6+1=7
If i get the chance to speak with an important figure of the annex i cannot pass the opportunity to aks: To whom would i have to speak to discuss and learn about old scriptures?
Toros scrunches his face, offended, before smoothing his emotion. There is a sense of understanding in his eyes at Drexon's question.
"Beastfolks are simple people," Toros says. There is a deep seriousness in his voice, different from the playful tone he had previously. "We are worshippers of the primal spirits and the Treant Protector. I'm sure your leonin friend understands when I say that we do not ask of nature what we do not want to be done to us. Except for the Mad Wolf's pups -- the Gnolls, we do not hurt or hunt other animals for any reason other than sustenance. The harengon doesn't even hunt. We are herbivores. We cultivate, just as the Rabbit Goddess did so long ago. It is what must be done. To twist a pegasus or a unicorn or a kelpie to become a nightmare, to wrought such suffering on such intelligent creatures, is taboo amongst the beastfolks. It is the same as corrupting -- mangling -- your own people. Still, I understand your suspicion. I too would suspect myself given this information you've presented."
"Many of our collections are old scriptures," Toros replies to Karm. "Depends on what you're looking for, really. If don't know already, the Mantagard Annex is unique in that it has four Keepers of the Annex. I am the keeper of the Hayknot Tower for the collection of biology, medicine, and miscellaneous. Horace is the keeper of the Haventree Tower containing history, philosophy, and art history. Mara, our strange friend, is the keeper of the Westmoor Tower with an extensive collection in arcane arts, magiotechnology, and languages. Kender, the prick from before, is the keeper of the Ironside Tower and deals with information concerning geology, physics, and engineering. Now, if you're talking about religious scriptures, that's a different matter entirely. The Mantagard Annex doesn't really have much on that, but the city has a small temple dedicated to the Mistress of Memories in the Haventree district. They have many scriptures there, even from different deities and religious movements through the ages."
"Not in Mantagard," Toros replies to Cob. "At least, not that I know of. Missing persons are usually posted in front of the Mayor's Office, but I don't think we have had one in the past few years."
Drexon relaxes a bit after Toros vehemently defended both beastfolk and by extension himself.
"Had to be asked", he says simply with a shrug, as if he is moving on from that thought.
"You mentioned the Mistress of Memories, do you have any knowledge or literature regarding lost memories?", he asks thoughtfully. "As in, how one would recover memories that seem just out of reach".
"Nah, it's fine," Toros says, returning to his easy-going persona.
"Ouch, memories are tricky business," Toros replies to Drexon. "It's a very complex science -- the brain. Recovering lost memories is a matter of first identifying how you lost said memories. If it's magical, like from the spell Modify Memory, then a simple Remove Curse spell can, as the name explicitly says, remove the curse that allows the memories to be replaced. If it's traumatic, like from a brain injury or severe brain damage, then it will recover on its own time if not lost forever depending on the severity of the damage."
"Ooh! You've heard about the hidden villages!" Toros says gleefully. "It's a favorite subject of mine. Creatures that voluntarily went on their way to becoming completely separate from the greater world are always fascinating. They have their own culture which is usually an amalgamation of ancient and modern culture. Rare animals that are usually found in mythology books can also sometimes be found in these hidden villages. Well, you can say that the Black Market is like a hidden village from a certain point of view. Only those who have a... key is perhaps the closest word... can find the Black Market. It's this kind of platinum coin shaped like an octagon with an emblem of nine concentric circles of chains, usually indistinguishable from a normal platinum coin. Highly magical item. Cursed too. Some say it has a sentience that can guide the bearer to the location of the Black Market. It randomly appears around the world depending on its whim."
"I wish I could remember how I lost them", Drexon says under his breath. He doesn't quite trust anyone enough to say more though, and waits for the others to continue the conversation.
He telepathically reaches out to Karm, "Do we trust him with an image of the creature from the future? He seems knowledgeable".
Drexon replies over the telepathic link, "I am happy to ask anyone we trust. I am just not sure we can trust anyone".
He decides to leave this to chance, and takes out his deck of cards. He splits the deck, if the card shown is higher half he will ask. He draws low (8 on a d20), and decides to stay quiet.
"Did you just do a cartomancy?" Toros asks when Drexon plays with his cards. "I have a friend that used to do that before his 'inner eye' opened. He would randomly pull a card or roll a die in certain situations. Or maybe I'm boring you? I'm going to put it as Kender's fault because I'm a very interesting and enjoyable conversationalist. Usually."
"So, where do you guys hail from?" Toros asks after a while. "You seem a very eclectic bunch. You got a fairy -- Pancarona buddy, a leonin -- beastfolk cousin, a disgruntled-looking orc, and two humans. Very varied and not commonly seen together at all. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a fairy roaming this far from home. You here for a job or something? I heard the House Clarent is hiring people to secure their house in preparation for their daughter's 17th birthday on the 8th. They're one of our largest sponsors this year. They're not quite innocent people, but I live for their ability to block everything Kender proposed. Gave the others a chance to increase their annual budget instead of most of everything taken by Kender."
“Well… It’s a long story. We come from all over, but we did a couple jobs together and one of them took us… away from home.” Eremoz looks to his friends, hoping that one of them can explain more clearly. “We found we work well together.”
Drexon looks a little taken aback. "Cartomancy? No, not that. And I am not bored either. I just sometimes find when I am not sure on a path to take or decision to make, that the law of chance is the best way to decide", he says. "In this case, I wasn't sure whether to ask your advice about a very sensitive subject, and so I drew a card. Chance was not on the side of asking on this occasion, I am afraid".
He listens to Eremoz's reply about the group being eclectic.
"That is right, we complement each other nicely. We take the odd piece of work here and there, when we have time and if it interests us", he says, adding on to what Eremoz shared. "We need to leave the city in a few days, and have some sightseeing to do before then. But tell me, why do these House Clarent folk need such security? And what can they offer in return? Coin is one thing, but favours and information are far more interesting".
Cob closes his mouth when Toros mentions Pancarona, then nods.
"I ended up far from Pancarona when I was quite young," Cob finally says. "I suppose getting home some day is my job of sorts. But in the meantime, like these two have said, we seem to have stumbled into each other and are finding interesting work."
"Like a mercenary company or something?" Toros asks curiously before shrugging. "Well, no matter. You do you. So, you interested in the Clarent job? I can put you in contact if you want. House Clarent is one of the twelve founding houses of the area of Mantagard before the formation of the Republic. Most of the families already went extinct, especially after the War of the Best, but some still remained and they are sometimes unfriendly with each other. The Clarents mainly require additional security from a third party. Their own household security is quite tight, but they are widely known by the people here and specialize in guarding compounds or houses. This job is to guard the heiress of the house during a party, so they require someone that is not connected with the Clarent and someone that can mingle or be easily dismissed -- inconspicuous. I think they posted the notice at the Silver Sable Tavern. I'm not sure what the reward is, but info or favor from a House of Mantagard can be arranged. I think the last time they did this kind of thing was when the heiress was two years old and that group of bodyguards was offered permanent employment in the household."
Drexon nods and follows Toros to the tent, where he follows his hosts lead and grabs whatever food is available, waiting to be sat down in order to continue the conversation.
"As I mentioned, we have seen some strange things in our travels, which you might have more understanding of than we do. What do you make of this?", he says and channels his magic through his ring and makes a circle with his hands. As he does so the image of a statue appears. It is in full colour and depicts the corrupted pegasus that the would be jade thieves rode.
The image is fairly small and discrete, and positioned in such a way to minimise any other folk seeing it if possible.
Toros looks at the image with surprise and a little bit of sorrow. He stares at it for a long moment before shaking his head in sadness.
"Such pain," he says. "Nightmares, they are called. Demon horses. Hellhorses. Unnatural creature, tortured, always in pain." He pauses and clears his throat, motioning you to a mostly secluded table near the back of the tent.
"We know of 3 species of magical equines. The first is a creature of the sky, the pegasus. The second is of light, the unicorn. The third is of water, the kelpies. The sky, the light, the water -- these are their affinities. When that affinity, that connection, was twisted and severed, the pain that they felt twisted their very being to become a creature of vengeance and darkness. They become blinded by agony that they no longer think, act, and behave as normal. They become easily led, controlled, manipulated, and broken. The first recorded case of the creation of nightmares dates back to the time of the War in Heaven, but the process to create it was not perfected until before the War of the Best. Before then, the nightmares are wild creatures, still fighting the corruption within them. When the method was perfected, the nightmares become docile enough to be used as mounts that can traverse this realm and the realm besides. If you have met such a creature, did you kill it? Did you release it from its torture?"
"It was not in our power to put the beast out of its misery. I am now more interested in who would do such a thing. Have you heard of anyone or any organisations that practice such foul arts?", Drexon asks Toros, wondering if there were perhaps any rumours circulating.
"We heard of some thefts from Luck Ranch, unicorns and pegasi, so it might be happening locally".
"In this day and age?" Toros asks. "None that I can name at the top of my head. All knowledge of the method had been locked tight in the main HQ of the Archive of Ages. Only the curator or Keeper of an Annex can access such information. A purge of similar information was also done after the War of the Best."
Toros goes quiet for a long moment. His expression deepens to a scowl. "Well... perhaps there is one source," he says after a while. "Yes, that is possible. The Black Market may provide the knowledge. Not to be mistaken with a black market, a place where illicit objects are traded, The Black Market is a foothold of the Nine Circle of Perdition in this plane. Its location moves and changes randomly, so we cannot really track it despite our best attempts in the past. From what I know, it is a haven for dark wizards, warlocks, or other creatures with fiendish persuasion. For a price, one can get almost anything there. They trade in souls, so one of the ways to track them or someone associating with them is by following the trail of dead bodies or missing persons."
"That's... curious," Toros mumbles when he hears about the missing equines. He lowers his voice to a barely heard whisper. "I will have to check the requisition ledger. Since there have been no cases of missing persons or trail of dead bodies that I know of, there is a chance that the one creating the nightmares is a member of an Annex. If this is local, the only people who can request such information are the four keepers of Mantagard Annex: me, Kender, Horace, or Mara. I would be the most likely suspect because I dealt with creatures and plants, but anyone of us can request the information."
"That is disconcerting, that you would be the prime suspect. I guess the question is, did you do it?', Drexon asks bluntly, keen to get this part of the conversation behind them.
He looks at Toros carefully, not having had much interaction with Harengon before, but assuming the tells will be the same.
Insight: 11+5=16
That would be way to obvious, Drex, would it not?
Karm also turns to study the Harengon in an exagerated manner, though not too much. He does not want to offend. Insight: 6+1=7
If i get the chance to speak with an important figure of the annex i cannot pass the opportunity to aks: To whom would i have to speak to discuss and learn about old scriptures?
Olloray Dim - Limbo's Pit
Gunther Korroden - Nightmares in the Mist
Cob finally twigs back into the conversation at the mention of following a trail of missing persons to find the Black Market.
"Have you had any missing people around here lately?" Cob asks. "Kids specifically?"
Toros scrunches his face, offended, before smoothing his emotion. There is a sense of understanding in his eyes at Drexon's question.
"Beastfolks are simple people," Toros says. There is a deep seriousness in his voice, different from the playful tone he had previously. "We are worshippers of the primal spirits and the Treant Protector. I'm sure your leonin friend understands when I say that we do not ask of nature what we do not want to be done to us. Except for the Mad Wolf's pups -- the Gnolls, we do not hurt or hunt other animals for any reason other than sustenance. The harengon doesn't even hunt. We are herbivores. We cultivate, just as the Rabbit Goddess did so long ago. It is what must be done. To twist a pegasus or a unicorn or a kelpie to become a nightmare, to wrought such suffering on such intelligent creatures, is taboo amongst the beastfolks. It is the same as corrupting -- mangling -- your own people. Still, I understand your suspicion. I too would suspect myself given this information you've presented."
"Many of our collections are old scriptures," Toros replies to Karm. "Depends on what you're looking for, really. If don't know already, the Mantagard Annex is unique in that it has four Keepers of the Annex. I am the keeper of the Hayknot Tower for the collection of biology, medicine, and miscellaneous. Horace is the keeper of the Haventree Tower containing history, philosophy, and art history. Mara, our strange friend, is the keeper of the Westmoor Tower with an extensive collection in arcane arts, magiotechnology, and languages. Kender, the prick from before, is the keeper of the Ironside Tower and deals with information concerning geology, physics, and engineering. Now, if you're talking about religious scriptures, that's a different matter entirely. The Mantagard Annex doesn't really have much on that, but the city has a small temple dedicated to the Mistress of Memories in the Haventree district. They have many scriptures there, even from different deities and religious movements through the ages."
"Not in Mantagard," Toros replies to Cob. "At least, not that I know of. Missing persons are usually posted in front of the Mayor's Office, but I don't think we have had one in the past few years."
Drexon relaxes a bit after Toros vehemently defended both beastfolk and by extension himself.
"Had to be asked", he says simply with a shrug, as if he is moving on from that thought.
"You mentioned the Mistress of Memories, do you have any knowledge or literature regarding lost memories?", he asks thoughtfully. "As in, how one would recover memories that seem just out of reach".
“We didn’t mean to offend, but we find it best to look at the easiest explanation first.” Eremoz gives a reassuring smile to Toros.
“Does the Black Market function similar to other shifting and hidden villages and such?”
"Nah, it's fine," Toros says, returning to his easy-going persona.
"Ouch, memories are tricky business," Toros replies to Drexon. "It's a very complex science -- the brain. Recovering lost memories is a matter of first identifying how you lost said memories. If it's magical, like from the spell Modify Memory, then a simple Remove Curse spell can, as the name explicitly says, remove the curse that allows the memories to be replaced. If it's traumatic, like from a brain injury or severe brain damage, then it will recover on its own time if not lost forever depending on the severity of the damage."
"Ooh! You've heard about the hidden villages!" Toros says gleefully. "It's a favorite subject of mine. Creatures that voluntarily went on their way to becoming completely separate from the greater world are always fascinating. They have their own culture which is usually an amalgamation of ancient and modern culture. Rare animals that are usually found in mythology books can also sometimes be found in these hidden villages. Well, you can say that the Black Market is like a hidden village from a certain point of view. Only those who have a... key is perhaps the closest word... can find the Black Market. It's this kind of platinum coin shaped like an octagon with an emblem of nine concentric circles of chains, usually indistinguishable from a normal platinum coin. Highly magical item. Cursed too. Some say it has a sentience that can guide the bearer to the location of the Black Market. It randomly appears around the world depending on its whim."
"I wish I could remember how I lost them", Drexon says under his breath. He doesn't quite trust anyone enough to say more though, and waits for the others to continue the conversation.
He telepathically reaches out to Karm, "Do we trust him with an image of the creature from the future? He seems knowledgeable".
Karm thinks back to drexon
I just wanted to ask him if it was possible to see this Mara. Because of my arm. Maybe Horace would be the person to go to with your proposition.
Olloray Dim - Limbo's Pit
Gunther Korroden - Nightmares in the Mist
Drexon replies over the telepathic link, "I am happy to ask anyone we trust. I am just not sure we can trust anyone".
He decides to leave this to chance, and takes out his deck of cards. He splits the deck, if the card shown is higher half he will ask. He draws low (8 on a d20), and decides to stay quiet.
"Did you just do a cartomancy?" Toros asks when Drexon plays with his cards. "I have a friend that used to do that before his 'inner eye' opened. He would randomly pull a card or roll a die in certain situations. Or maybe I'm boring you? I'm going to put it as Kender's fault because I'm a very interesting and enjoyable conversationalist. Usually."
"So, where do you guys hail from?" Toros asks after a while. "You seem a very eclectic bunch. You got a fairy -- Pancarona buddy, a leonin -- beastfolk cousin, a disgruntled-looking orc, and two humans. Very varied and not commonly seen together at all. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a fairy roaming this far from home. You here for a job or something? I heard the House Clarent is hiring people to secure their house in preparation for their daughter's 17th birthday on the 8th. They're one of our largest sponsors this year. They're not quite innocent people, but I live for their ability to block everything Kender proposed. Gave the others a chance to increase their annual budget instead of most of everything taken by Kender."
“Well… It’s a long story. We come from all over, but we did a couple jobs together and one of them took us… away from home.” Eremoz looks to his friends, hoping that one of them can explain more clearly. “We found we work well together.”
Drexon looks a little taken aback. "Cartomancy? No, not that. And I am not bored either. I just sometimes find when I am not sure on a path to take or decision to make, that the law of chance is the best way to decide", he says. "In this case, I wasn't sure whether to ask your advice about a very sensitive subject, and so I drew a card. Chance was not on the side of asking on this occasion, I am afraid".
He listens to Eremoz's reply about the group being eclectic.
"That is right, we complement each other nicely. We take the odd piece of work here and there, when we have time and if it interests us", he says, adding on to what Eremoz shared. "We need to leave the city in a few days, and have some sightseeing to do before then. But tell me, why do these House Clarent folk need such security? And what can they offer in return? Coin is one thing, but favours and information are far more interesting".
Cob closes his mouth when Toros mentions Pancarona, then nods.
"I ended up far from Pancarona when I was quite young," Cob finally says. "I suppose getting home some day is my job of sorts. But in the meantime, like these two have said, we seem to have stumbled into each other and are finding interesting work."
"Like a mercenary company or something?" Toros asks curiously before shrugging. "Well, no matter. You do you. So, you interested in the Clarent job? I can put you in contact if you want. House Clarent is one of the twelve founding houses of the area of Mantagard before the formation of the Republic. Most of the families already went extinct, especially after the War of the Best, but some still remained and they are sometimes unfriendly with each other. The Clarents mainly require additional security from a third party. Their own household security is quite tight, but they are widely known by the people here and specialize in guarding compounds or houses. This job is to guard the heiress of the house during a party, so they require someone that is not connected with the Clarent and someone that can mingle or be easily dismissed -- inconspicuous. I think they posted the notice at the Silver Sable Tavern. I'm not sure what the reward is, but info or favor from a House of Mantagard can be arranged. I think the last time they did this kind of thing was when the heiress was two years old and that group of bodyguards was offered permanent employment in the household."
Cob looks at the others with a raised eyebrow.
"Information would be good, but do we have time for this?" Cob asks.