Yes, that way in which the half-drow friend imperceptibly raised her eyebrow when the threats were proposed... according to Khessa it clearly indicates that Mal also leans instead towards trying to offer the noble an advantageous offer.
Therefore, she proposes to report the noble to the Lord Marshal, to have him summoned before him, then to make him face his responsibilities - offering him to redeem himself by collaborating (in exchange for a lenient sentence). After all, if the noble is not already completely corrupted by evil, making the initiative to collaborate be his decision (even if a somewhat... 'solicited' decision) rather than an actual compulsion, could improve his self-esteem and help him abandon the path he had begun to follow with more conviction.
As you ponder this, the Lord Marshal is enraptured by the story of action and the destruction of the Zemochs, and you can distinctly see small winches from the nobleman when you tell of the destruction, and key leaders are taken out. They are small enough that the Marshal doesn't see them as he is focusing on the story, and not the nobleman. As the story continues, his body language and sub-conscious reactions continue to confirm he is under the influence of Slaneesh, though only a small part.
Once the report is finished, Khessa turns to the traitor and focuses her blue eyes on his: "How will you now understood, since we have taken some of the key leaders prisoner, we know of a certain small cult here in the keep. A cult that a certain person, blinded by his own greed, was approaching".
"This person," the blonde arcane warrior continues, without taking her eyes off the noble's "would not have met a better end than that of the ancient inhabitants of the Cipis Empire. Slaneesh gives nothing away; at most she lends to usury - and when she collects, she collects more than it should. She collects everything. This person would have simply been used, then left to ruin. If not to death".
"But this person," the tall adventuress concludes "was lucky. He was saved from himself. And he can redeem himself by revealing everything he knows about the cult here in the keep. Revealing it now, without omitting anything (since the prisoners have already revealed something to us - therefore a lie would risk being easily discovered). In this way, the cult will be eradicated before it can do further damage. And this person will be treated with leniency, in making him atone. This person will be able to become a better person again".
"This person," Khessa softens her voice a little, while she waits for the nobleman to speak... ready to spring, in case he wants to try something else instead "should seize this opportunity... because he won't have any others, to redeem himself".
The lord Marshal is intrigued by what you say. "The cult? Here, in my keep? How pray tale good madame did you learn of this, as you have just arrived?"
The nobleman, as he is listening, looks more like a mouse caught between two cats toying with it. While he keeps his mouth shut, his body language is screaming guilt. The Lord marshal is sitting in a position where he can't see the nobleman, as it seems he normally ignores him anyways. Then all of the sudden, the nobleman speaks.
"Yes, yes, do tell harlot how you, that bag of bones, that overstuffed creatin, and others learned of this here in this keep when you just arrived? How perhaps, maybe because you are with it, and sow discord where you travel? You are envious and jealous of that which you can't have, and when you see those who are better than you, your own greed drives you to spread lies and your own kind of evil!" The nobleman quickly slaps his hands over his mouth, as if he wasn't in control of what he said.
The Lord marshal is now looking fully at him, with a deep concern etched across his face
Khessa sighs: "We have already told you, Lord Marshal, that we have taken some important people prisoner... It should therefore not surprise you too much, that we have discovered about the cult and" she nods to the nobleman "the traitor who was selling information to it. I had hoped that the traitor was ready to make amends... that he wasn't already completely under the influence of the nefarious duo, Azash and Slaaanesh... but it seems that he is finding out the hard way that he has already been turned into a puppet in the their hands".
"Maybe I can stop that pair of divine pests from controlling him again..." the blonde arcane warrior tries to protect the traitor from being possessed"Are you yourself again?" she tries to ask "Are you capable of collaborating with us, for the good of all - especially yours, as you have just found out?"
Akkron can't help but chuckle at what basically amounted to an admission.
"Well... let's see... we captured one of the Zemoch leaders and brought her back with us as proof of a Zemoch incursion, only for someone to try to downplay the significance of our discovery... that certainly aroused some suspicion,"Akkron says, lighting his pipe as his empty eye sockets gaze at the nobleman. "We have our ways of discerning the truth... but of course I would understand if some feel our word carries little weight. Perhaps we should all discuss this unfortunate discovery in a zone of truth, provided that there is a local Bard, Cleric, or Paladin who would like to cast the spell for us."
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You see the nobleman start to shake, and claw at his face before cackling in a hideous laugh. His eyes turn purple, and his voice changes to hat of Slaanesh that you heard in the temple.
"My dears, we shall keep this game a foot for now. I have no need for this meat bag, he just didn't have it in him for what I needed. As they say, you win some, and you lose some. Am I not right Lord Akron, is it? We shall or rather another one of my pets perhaps, will meet again. I find you an interesting adversary and have enjoyed our little tussle. Next time I will come more prepared. Until then, savory your victory. Ta Ta for now."
The voice changes and the nobleman eye's return, but he goes into a seizure, and blood begins to poor for his eyes, nose and mouth, before he collapses on the floor.
Tyekanik curses and rushes towards the nobleman to catch him as he falls, though seeing that he is dead in his arms ((I assume?)) he simply growls to the face, “You wont get away that easily when my axe is at your throat!”He then looks to the Lord to gauge his reaction.
Tyekanik curses and rushes towards the nobleman to catch him as he falls, though seeing that he is dead in his arms ((I assume?)) he simply growls to the face, “You wont get away that easily when my axe is at your throat!”He then looks to the Lord to gauge his reaction.
The lord marshal is simply taken aback by what just occurred, seeing a possession right before his eyes. "Was that, this Slaanesh you spoke of?" he asks in an awed voice.
"Yes, it had to be her..." Khessa shrugs, more saddened than impressed "When we met her, in the base we just finished talking about, we saw her in person and she was in a better mood... But, evidently, having been:" she begins to count on her fingers "discovered," (she raises a first finger) "dispelled," (she raises a second finger) "rejected," (she raises a third finger) "forced to flee," (she raises a fourth finger) "deprived of the said base, with her temple and her followers to boot," (she raises a fifth finger) "and finally discovered here too," (no more fingers, so she gives up counting and waves her hand dismissively) "must have ruined her day - so now she's given her worst to try to impress you all a little".
"But in doing so," the blonde arcane warrior points out "Slaanesh has done nothing but demonstrate once again how unreliable she is - even towards those who follow her. This poor fellow had placed himself at her service - and yet, as soon as she thought it convenient, she killed him without mercy" she raises an eyebrow, looking at the prisoner for a moment. "Probably, anyone who thinks it would be wise to entrust their immortal soul to such a deity, would do well to consider alternatives".
"I wouldn't have wanted this traitor to die" the tall adventuress admits. "I was really hoping that he would be able to redeem himself. But it seems he had already gone too far - he had already put himself completely in her hands".
The Lord Marshal ponders for a moment. "Then is it safe to say, if there is one, there may be more? If there is smoke, there is always fire? Would there be a place of worship for this cult, here, in my keep? How would we find it?"
"We question the dead" Khessa simply says. "Our enemies have managed to kill him before he was able to atone, but magic can allow communication even with a dead - and this will be much harder to prevent. We just need to prepare the right spell"
"Unless...?" she turns a moment to her mentor. He might have the spell prepared already...
Khessa, from her mentor's lack of reactions, assumes that he doesn't have the proper divination prepared either. She then turns to Sir Sparhawk and Borthe Maynard: "To help the Lord Marshal investigate the seed of the cult that has been planted in his keep, we may need to stop here for a while... at least, for the night, in so we can study the appropriate spells tomorrow. Is this a stop we can afford?"
Lord Akkron was lost in thought until Khessa addressed him.
"My apologies... no, I'm afraid I do not have the spell in question prepared," he sighs. "We might be able to resurrect him if we move quickly... but unless we feel that the situation is dire enough for me to call upon the single most powerful spell that can be cast by mortals, I do not have any spells that could facilitate his reanimation."
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"Mostly the dead should just stay dead," Tyekanik says, looking down at the body in front of him and scanning the room for anything else that might be a threat.
"Good idea, Lord Marshal!" Khessa approves “Regardless of what we do next, it's certainly a good start and won't take us too long”.
If the Lord Marshal gives the party access to the traitor's home, the blonde arcane warrior contributes identifying any emanations of magic. She obviously also keeps her eyes open... but some of her companions are probably much more skilled at looking for clues.
A heads up, will be out until Sunday evening
Khessa tries to read Mal's expression and, after careful reflection, concludes that the half-drow prefers...
1 = to convince the noble with an advantageous offer
2 = to force the noble with threats
2
[[ OOC: This is just what Khessa thinks, of course... Mal may very well express herself - possibly disproving what Khessa has interpreted ]]
Yes, that way in which the half-drow friend imperceptibly raised her eyebrow when the threats were proposed... according to Khessa it clearly indicates that Mal also leans instead towards trying to offer the noble an advantageous offer.
Therefore, she proposes to report the noble to the Lord Marshal, to have him summoned before him, then to make him face his responsibilities - offering him to redeem himself by collaborating (in exchange for a lenient sentence). After all, if the noble is not already completely corrupted by evil, making the initiative to collaborate be his decision (even if a somewhat... 'solicited' decision) rather than an actual compulsion, could improve his self-esteem and help him abandon the path he had begun to follow with more conviction.
As you ponder this, the Lord Marshal is enraptured by the story of action and the destruction of the Zemochs, and you can distinctly see small winches from the nobleman when you tell of the destruction, and key leaders are taken out. They are small enough that the Marshal doesn't see them as he is focusing on the story, and not the nobleman. As the story continues, his body language and sub-conscious reactions continue to confirm he is under the influence of Slaneesh, though only a small part.
Once the report is finished, Khessa turns to the traitor and focuses her blue eyes on his: "How will you now understood, since we have taken some of the key leaders prisoner, we know of a certain small cult here in the keep. A cult that a certain person, blinded by his own greed, was approaching".
"This person," the blonde arcane warrior continues, without taking her eyes off the noble's "would not have met a better end than that of the ancient inhabitants of the Cipis Empire. Slaneesh gives nothing away; at most she lends to usury - and when she collects, she collects more than it should. She collects everything. This person would have simply been used, then left to ruin. If not to death".
"But this person," the tall adventuress concludes "was lucky. He was saved from himself. And he can redeem himself by revealing everything he knows about the cult here in the keep. Revealing it now, without omitting anything (since the prisoners have already revealed something to us - therefore a lie would risk being easily discovered). In this way, the cult will be eradicated before it can do further damage. And this person will be treated with leniency, in making him atone. This person will be able to become a better person again".
"This person," Khessa softens her voice a little, while she waits for the nobleman to speak... ready to spring, in case he wants to try something else instead "should seize this opportunity... because he won't have any others, to redeem himself".
The lord Marshal is intrigued by what you say. "The cult? Here, in my keep? How pray tale good madame did you learn of this, as you have just arrived?"
The nobleman, as he is listening, looks more like a mouse caught between two cats toying with it. While he keeps his mouth shut, his body language is screaming guilt. The Lord marshal is sitting in a position where he can't see the nobleman, as it seems he normally ignores him anyways. Then all of the sudden, the nobleman speaks.
"Yes, yes, do tell harlot how you, that bag of bones, that overstuffed creatin, and others learned of this here in this keep when you just arrived? How perhaps, maybe because you are with it, and sow discord where you travel? You are envious and jealous of that which you can't have, and when you see those who are better than you, your own greed drives you to spread lies and your own kind of evil!" The nobleman quickly slaps his hands over his mouth, as if he wasn't in control of what he said.
The Lord marshal is now looking fully at him, with a deep concern etched across his face
Khessa sighs: "We have already told you, Lord Marshal, that we have taken some important people prisoner... It should therefore not surprise you too much, that we have discovered about the cult and" she nods to the nobleman "the traitor who was selling information to it. I had hoped that the traitor was ready to make amends... that he wasn't already completely under the influence of the nefarious duo, Azash and Slaaanesh... but it seems that he is finding out the hard way that he has already been turned into a puppet in the their hands".
"Maybe I can stop that pair of divine pests from controlling him again..." the blonde arcane warrior tries to protect the traitor from being possessed "Are you yourself again?" she tries to ask "Are you capable of collaborating with us, for the good of all - especially yours, as you have just found out?"
Akkron can't help but chuckle at what basically amounted to an admission.
"Well... let's see... we captured one of the Zemoch leaders and brought her back with us as proof of a Zemoch incursion, only for someone to try to downplay the significance of our discovery... that certainly aroused some suspicion," Akkron says, lighting his pipe as his empty eye sockets gaze at the nobleman. "We have our ways of discerning the truth... but of course I would understand if some feel our word carries little weight. Perhaps we should all discuss this unfortunate discovery in a zone of truth, provided that there is a local Bard, Cleric, or Paladin who would like to cast the spell for us."
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You see the nobleman start to shake, and claw at his face before cackling in a hideous laugh. His eyes turn purple, and his voice changes to hat of Slaanesh that you heard in the temple.
"My dears, we shall keep this game a foot for now. I have no need for this meat bag, he just didn't have it in him for what I needed. As they say, you win some, and you lose some. Am I not right Lord Akron, is it? We shall or rather another one of my pets perhaps, will meet again. I find you an interesting adversary and have enjoyed our little tussle. Next time I will come more prepared. Until then, savory your victory. Ta Ta for now."
The voice changes and the nobleman eye's return, but he goes into a seizure, and blood begins to poor for his eyes, nose and mouth, before he collapses on the floor.
Tyekanik curses and rushes towards the nobleman to catch him as he falls, though seeing that he is dead in his arms ((I assume?)) he simply growls to the face, “You wont get away that easily when my axe is at your throat!” He then looks to the Lord to gauge his reaction.
PbP 🎲: Tyekanik; Moneo Noree; Korba Muris; & occasional DM:
The lord marshal is simply taken aback by what just occurred, seeing a possession right before his eyes. "Was that, this Slaanesh you spoke of?" he asks in an awed voice.
"Yes, it had to be her..." Khessa shrugs, more saddened than impressed "When we met her, in the base we just finished talking about, we saw her in person and she was in a better mood... But, evidently, having been:" she begins to count on her fingers "discovered," (she raises a first finger) "dispelled," (she raises a second finger) "rejected," (she raises a third finger) "forced to flee," (she raises a fourth finger) "deprived of the said base, with her temple and her followers to boot," (she raises a fifth finger) "and finally discovered here too," (no more fingers, so she gives up counting and waves her hand dismissively) "must have ruined her day - so now she's given her worst to try to impress you all a little".
"But in doing so," the blonde arcane warrior points out "Slaanesh has done nothing but demonstrate once again how unreliable she is - even towards those who follow her. This poor fellow had placed himself at her service - and yet, as soon as she thought it convenient, she killed him without mercy" she raises an eyebrow, looking at the prisoner for a moment. "Probably, anyone who thinks it would be wise to entrust their immortal soul to such a deity, would do well to consider alternatives".
"I wouldn't have wanted this traitor to die" the tall adventuress admits. "I was really hoping that he would be able to redeem himself. But it seems he had already gone too far - he had already put himself completely in her hands".
The Lord Marshal ponders for a moment. "Then is it safe to say, if there is one, there may be more? If there is smoke, there is always fire? Would there be a place of worship for this cult, here, in my keep? How would we find it?"
"We question the dead" Khessa simply says. "Our enemies have managed to kill him before he was able to atone, but magic can allow communication even with a dead - and this will be much harder to prevent. We just need to prepare the right spell"
"Unless...?" she turns a moment to her mentor. He might have the spell prepared already...
Khessa, from her mentor's lack of reactions, assumes that he doesn't have the proper divination prepared either. She then turns to Sir Sparhawk and Borthe Maynard: "To help the Lord Marshal investigate the seed of the cult that has been planted in his keep, we may need to stop here for a while... at least, for the night, in so we can study the appropriate spells tomorrow. Is this a stop we can afford?"
Lord Akkron was lost in thought until Khessa addressed him.
"My apologies... no, I'm afraid I do not have the spell in question prepared," he sighs. "We might be able to resurrect him if we move quickly... but unless we feel that the situation is dire enough for me to call upon the single most powerful spell that can be cast by mortals, I do not have any spells that could facilitate his reanimation."
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"Mostly the dead should just stay dead," Tyekanik says, looking down at the body in front of him and scanning the room for anything else that might be a threat.
PbP 🎲: Tyekanik; Moneo Noree; Korba Muris; & occasional DM:
"We could search his home and see what we can find there," suggests the Lord marshal. "Would it be likely that this cult would use his place to meet?"
"Good idea, Lord Marshal!" Khessa approves “Regardless of what we do next, it's certainly a good start and won't take us too long”.
If the Lord Marshal gives the party access to the traitor's home, the blonde arcane warrior contributes identifying any emanations of magic. She obviously also keeps her eyes open... but some of her companions are probably much more skilled at looking for clues.
The lord marshals nods, "I will go with you and give you access to his home; no one would dare bare me entry in my keep!"