Esvaris

"I know this may come as a shock, but in reality, I am a cleric of Usoara, not an aristocrat. This is simply a brilliant disguise I've adopted so I can investigate the house. I can tell you everything I know, which is not much. She was in love with a servant of Usoara, a guard of the sun gate. Tristan, I think is name was. They were going to run off together. Maybe get married. It was really sweet. I learned this while I spoke with her in the guise of her brother, Dawnlord Menges. The next day, I heard she had disappeared. I found Tristan and told him to go find her, but the he got himself killed by something, maybe that guy Warren who was really a chage-a-mawhatsit. That's all I know."

"Something is definitely wrong here. Too many people have died or disappeared. And people are turning into monsters. Do you know anything about the Yuan-Ti?"

"Also, and this is getting ever more urgent, do you or do you not know where the lavatory is?"

(OOC, Esvaris still has a little trouble remembering Warrel's name.)

Korlan 

I step forward and raise my hand with a single finger up. “Warrel, actually ma’am.” 

"You sure are different than you acted before," Quill mutters.

"And definitely not a prophetess. Or wouldn't you know where she was?"

Quill seems unaware of the impending threat, lost in thought as he is.

"Unless this is a trick, and you are attempting to manipulate us into completing some kind of task? But, then, what task could you not complete yourself, leader of a group such as you are, and, it appears, not without skills in less social areas? So I suppose we should take you at your word, as it seems illogical for you to be attempting to deceive us, unless, no, hmm..."

Quill trails off into silence, glancing at the blocked closet.

Esvaris, Korlan, and Quill: She stares at the three of you for a moment.  As Esvaris bluntly speaks of the girl's disappearance and her love's death, Kara-Tur's dove grey skin seems to pale in shock.  Her mouth opens, then closes, and she pushes back her thick black hair, as if reconsidering her response.  Then she lowers her weapon and sets it down on the desk.  Turning to a small wooden end table behind the desk, she opens a decanter of wine and sets out four small crystal tumblers, pouring wine into each.  She takes one, tosses it back in one drink and pours herself another.  Then she moves to sit on the corner of the desk and gestures towards the other glasses, inviting you to join her.

"Well then, 'Sir Not-so-noble'," she grins wryly with her beautiful mouth at Esvaris.  "It seems we both prefer to gain information while in the guise of someone we are not."  A laugh interrupts her attempt to take another drink. "Though, I would not have the audacity to impersonate Dawnlord Menges, himself." She raises her glass to acknowledge your boldness.  "Let us forgo further prevarication, and lay our cards on the table.  I have been very well paid to locate the duchess.  I do not believe she has 'run off', with or without some handsome young guard.  I believe she was taken.  But the only evidence I have found so far tells me that firstly, she was placed in the Atterley family secretly by her father and secondly, that the Atterley heir, Brackus, had no intention of marrying her... or letting her go."  She picks up a piece of parchment from the desk and passes it to Esvaris.

Esvaris

I read the note. Then I pour myself a glass of wine that is full to the brim, and gulp it down. "Have you gone to the garden?"

Esvaris:  She arches one eyebrow. "Now, that is the question of the hour, isn't it?  Which garden? Where?"  She gestures with her glass toward the north end of the house.  "I've seen every inch of the Atterley's garden.  It's nothing more than a few manicured paths between some badly sculpted hedges."  Leaning towards you intently she asks, "Tell me, also, what are Yuan-Ti and what do they have to do with the missing girl?"

Esvaris

"So, the thing about Yuan-Ti is that I dont really know what they are. They are people... that... really like snakes. Like, a lot. And people can get turned into Yuan-Ti. But I dont know how. And when they get turned into Yuan-Ti they become bad. Quill found directions on how to turn someone into a Yuan-Ti. Oh, and I found this book." I pull the book I found out of my pack (which is currently invisible). "As for gardens, I am friends with a gnome girl who tends the gardens of the basilica. Her name is Tryma. Maybe she knows. She has been crawling through the gardens getting rid of"-i pause as I come to a realization-"snakes."

My eyes play over the room and land on the closet door. I remember what I saw earlier. "What's in that closet?"

Esvaris:  Kara-Tur's eyes light up upon seeing the book and she asks if she can examine it, setting down her drink to reach for it.  At your question she glances over her shoulder at the blocked closet.  "Hmm?  Oh. I don't know.  I haven't gotten that far in my search yet."  Then she notices Quill, who has not yet taken his eyes off the closet since entering.  She rises from the table, collecting her crossbow and turns toward the door in question.  "Is there something I should know?" she asks in a suddenly more deadly voice, glancing at the three of you mistrustfully.

Just then a slight bump sound comes from the closet.

Demoiselle:  The elven scribe moves next to you and says in a low soft voice, "This is a private meeting, miss. Perhaps you should be about your duties."  But the smile in his eyes shows he clearly appreciates the interruption.  "Perhaps, though, if you're free this evening, we could have a private meeting of our own?" He gently lifts your right hand and kisses the back, never taking his dark green eyes off yours.

Quill hesitates, then nods.

"I believe Da...someone of great import is in there. If you will not hinder me, I shall presently confirm this for myself, and for all of us."

Assuming he doesn't get shot or anything, Quill moves past Kara-Tur and attempts to open the door.

Quill: After pushing the large high-backed chair out of the way, you open the closet door.  Bent awkwardly around two high shelves and a large wooden chest you see your beloved Dawnlord Wintermoon.  His white robes are a bit dusty, shoulder length grey hair mussed, and his yellow stole has fallen off onto the floor.  He is gamely attempting to look serene, as if being found crammed into a closet is an every day occurrence and not the least bit unusual.  "Ah. Young Quill. So good to see you." The ancient elven cleric carefully extricates himself from the small closet with a surprising amount of dexterous grace.  Then he turns back around, puts his left foot up onto the chest, reaches in with two hands to grasp his gnarled old wooden staff which is jammed between the top shelf and the bottom right corner of the floor, and strains to pull it out. It suddenly comes free and the old elf topples backwards into Quill. (Make a Dex check, DC 10, to remain standing.)

14

Esvaris 

I will help Dawnlord Wintermoon up and give him a big hug.

Demoiselle was sure that she had actually brought food up to the meeting, but apparently not. Still, when the scribe had made his offer she gave a mental shrug and decided to roll with it. She batted her eyelashes at him and purred "Of course, how absent minded of me." She left the room, a little sway in her walk that she hoped was not too obvious.

Quill, much to his future chagrin, falls backward with the Dawnlord on top of him. Once the Dawnlord is helped up, he goes to give him a hug like Esvaris, but remembers that that would not be proper. Instead, he smiles happily at Wintermoon.

"Dawnlord Wintermoon!" he says in a hushed tone.

"What are you doing here?"

Esvaris and Quill: Dawnlord Wintermoon, leaning heavily on his staff and accepting your exuberant greeting with a small smile and a nod, says in his quiet way, "Thank you, for coming so promptly.  My investigations have led me here, although," and now he looks over at the fake prophetess, Kara-tur, "I may have misjudged the source of my inquiries."  Reaching forward he wordlessly plucks the letter from Esvaris' hand and quickly reads it.  A thoughtful "hmmm" is his only comment.  Then he smiles at Quill. "I apologize for my recent unexplained absence. Just remember that as the great Enoch has said, 'if my ship sails from sight, it doesn't mean my journey ends, it simply means the river bends'."

Kara-Tur marches over to Dawnlord Wintermoon and snatches the letter from him.  Her eyes narrow. "You have not said what you were doing hiding in that closet. Were you spying on me?" she whispers angrily.  Suddenly drawing herself up straight to her full height, she looks down her nose at the old elf.  In an icy tone she adds, "If anyone should be under suspicion, it is you and your antiquated religious leaders.  I have been studying your basilica and it's 'dawnlords' for several months now because I believed it possible that the assassin who killed the girl's mother may have also kidnapped the babe, herself. Our intelligence reports indicated that the assassin ran off to join this whitewashed tomb you call a religious order, so we assumed the girl was being raised and brain-washed as an acolyte here." She pauses and looks thoughtful for a moment.  "Although, I no longer believe the High Lord Emeritus discovered my search and disappeared with the girl.  Rather, the evidence now seems to point toward this Atterley fellow."

Dawnlord Wintermoon seems unfazed by the woman's outburst.  He gestures toward the letter with his staff and looks at Quill, Esvaris, and Korlan each in turn.  "It seems you have your work cut out for you this evening." Then he begins to head toward the door. 

Korlan stands there in amazement, unsure which words to use and unable to move as Dawnlord Wintermoon emerges. After a shake of my head I head in and shake the Dawnlords hand. “Glad you’re alright Dawnlord,” I say keeping an eye on Kara-Tur. As Dawnlord Wintermoon begins to leave I burst out, “wh- where are you going?” 

Korlan:  Dawnlord Wintermoon crinkles his eyes at you and says, "I have a funeral to attend."  He looks around at your group as if assessing your capabilities. Then he nods, satisfied. "You will need an appropriate distraction while you go about your work... I think I can adequately provide that."  Seeing your expression of trepidation, he pats you on the shoulder with one wizened old hand.  "The task before you may seem daunting.  It's best, though, to 'do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small'.  That is monkish wisdom, but we clerics of Usoara can see her light even when it shines upon another house."

Esvaris, Quill, Korlan:  From somewhere in the house you hear the low dolorous sound of a funeral bell ringing.  The funeral will start soon and the meeting will be breaking up.  A voice from the main floor calls, "Let the pallbearers come!"

Demoiselle exited the room and murmured a curse under her breath. She heard the bell toll, and started to look for the others, ready to hide behind a column or corner at a moment's notice.

Esvaris

I look around at the others and Kara-Tur and ask, "what is the distraction for?"