"Is the trapper still alive? Should I head back?" he asks.

[Quick question:

[[ Yep, I can see it. If he cant, then maybe he's not logged in (it logs me out periodically) ?  ]]

[[ Re: WorldAnvil, it sometime says you are logged in when you are not. Top right sometimes says "Alaric Brand" but when I refresh, it does not ]]

Quote from AlaricBrand >>

"Is the trapper still alive? Should I head back?" he asks.

[Quick question:

[[ Yep, I can see it. If he cant, then maybe he's not logged in (it logs me out periodically) ?  ]]

[[ Re: WorldAnvil, it sometime says you are logged in when you are not. Top right sometimes says "Alaric Brand" but when I refresh, it does not ]]

[[That seems to have been Andrew's problem. Thanks. I haven't experienced the problem, because I refer to the site regularly, presumably resetting the inactive timer.]]

"Is the trapper still alive? Should I head back?" he asks.

Brand's father acknowledges him with a nod and then a frown. "We have not seen his body amongst the fallen. Did he not make it back to the boat?"

[[Sorry, but that's all I can do tonight. Today has been long.]]

"Not on the boat when it left. It sounded like Rawl or some of his men were still alive when I left, but it looked like the Seeker had probably sent for backup. Who's left alive now and, if I head back -- and you find the trapper -- will you be able to contact me and let me know where he is?" He glances between Sameena and the other man who he assumes is Assam, to whom he nods.

[[ Can Brand get a look into the scrying stone, assuming that's where everyone is looking? ]]

[[That seems to have been Andrew's problem. Thanks. I haven't experienced the problem, because I refer to the site regularly, presumably resetting the inactive timer.]]

[[ It's weird. Sometime it happens twice in a day, but at the moment I have not seen it for a week or so. I wonder if it relates to them rebooting servers or something (old-school cookies were in-memory, not on-disk). Though that wouldn't explain why you've never seen it.]]

"Not for a while," says the older man unbidden. "It is taxing and I need to recover."

Then Madame Damass—who is speaking mainly to Brand's father—adds, "And, as I said before, changing my focus will make me lose Rawl's location. I would still be able to see his surroundings, but without recognisable landmarks I won't know where he actually is."

She then points at the orb in front of her before continuing, "See, he and his two confederates are back in the stormwater drain, and based on the direction of the flow of the water at their feet, we can assume they are heading away from the cistern towards the shrine. However, if they manage to get out into the streets, then it will become much more difficult to work out where they are."

Looking into the orb, Brand can see three shadowy figures in miniature moving through a dark tunnel, their way lit by what seems to be two hooded lanterns.

Brand nods at the older man, and turns back to Smaeena, "Thank you -- both of you -- by the way."

Then he turns to his father, "Where was the trapper when you last saw him? And how was he doing? I could go back and enlist the aid of the Seeker....there's a chance he might listen to me the second time. Since he knows my connection to at least Assam, it might be worth the risk, especially if the trapper knows more. I would of course have to admit to a connection to the trapper, and if he has attacked the Seeker, that could be a problem."

The older man recognises Brand's thanks with a nod, but Madame Damass has turned back to her orb and is deep in concentration.

After a few moments, she speaks, saying, "He is nowhere near Rawl."

Brand's father then briefly fills in the details: "We don't know a lot," he says. "It takes a damnably long time for Madame Damass to change the subject of her scrying, so we can only guess at what happened. We were with you when Seeker Mannish used his magic to put you to sleep, and it was Gerard here who managed to speak for you safety with Mannish. Trusting that the Seeker would not kill you out of hand, Madame Damass began the transfer of her scrying back to Rawl. And, by the time she was able to see him again, Rawl and his surviving cronies were ransacking strongboxes. As we could not see Seeker Mannish, or any of his men, we assumed that he had retreated with you hoping to question you. We could also see no sign of my trap finder, so we assumed he had already fled."

He then looks sharply at Brand and asks, "I presume you used those magical stones of yours to escape invisibly, but does Mannish know your identity?"

[[No hurry to respond. I'm roleplaying tonight.]]

He then looks sharply at Brand and asks, "I presume you used those magical stones of yours to escape invisibly, but does Mannish know your identity?"

[[ Grumble. Would he really say that in front of everyone?  How about: "I presume you escaped without being sees, but does Mannish know your identity?"

I didn't event know he knew about them... ]]

Quote from AlaricBrand >>

He then looks sharply at Brand and asks, "I presume you used those magical stones of yours to escape invisibly, but does Mannish know your identity?"

[[ Grumble. Would he really say that in front of everyone?  How about: "I presume you escaped without being sees, but does Mannish know your identity?]]

 [[From the lack of reaction of the others, it seems that their existence is not unknown to the others.]]

 [[From the lack of reaction of the others, it seems that their existence is not unknown to the others.]]

[[ Just to be clear....Sameena first appeared to Brand when he was already invis/lev with them in gloves, and left Brand before he swapped any after waking up. Is that also your understanding?  And I think you previously said that they don't have a magical aura. ]]

Quote from AlaricBrand >>

 [[From the lack of reaction of the others, it seems that their existence is not unknown to the others.]]

[[ Just to be clear....Sameena first appeared to Brand when he was already invis/lev with them in gloves, and left Brand before he swapped any after waking up. Is that also your understanding?  And I think you previously said that they don't have a magical aura. ]]

[[I don't believe that was the case, seeing as he talked with them in his father's office before he set off, which was when Sameena 'saw' him and is important for the purposes of scrying. However, Sameena, while using her scying orb, was apparently not disadvantaged in any way by the fact that Brand was supposedly invisible. Also, the orb that he associates with Sameena was not seen by Brand after he woke up from being slept. The orb was with him up to the point he was rendered unconscious, it was guiding him as to the direction he should go, which means that she saw him while he was both invisible and levitating.]]

[[ which means that she saw him while he was both invisible and levitating. ]]

[[ Yeah, I agree she saw him invisible and levitating: she would know that. I also agree she saw him in office (as a normal person). What I am disagreeing with is that she ever say him pull out, use, or manipulate stones; my comment about the first time was in reference to the first time she saw him doing anything after he left the office as a normal person. My assumption is that the orb left some time before he reached the end of the tunnel crawling, so all she ever saw was him invisible/levitating.

Perhaps we are talking at cross-purposes and I'm missing something. ]]

[[The powers of the orb and its user are what you aren't taking into account. Also, what people talk about while watching a small image through a crystal orb.]]

 [[ The powers of the orb and its user are what you aren't taking into account. ]]

This was the bit I was wondering about; I was assuming it was a 'normal' scrying spell/orb; the fact that the stones do not have an aura made me think there would be no way she could now how Brand was doing what he was doing since the stones were already being used when Tinkerbell was present, and he made no swaps in that time. I'd guessed they might say "how's he doing that", but believed it would remain a mystery.

Any hint on how she worked it out?

[[ In any case, he'd say: ]]

"He does not know my identity, unless he too possesses other powers. I could go back and enlist the aid of the Seeker....there's a chance he might listen to me the second time. Since he knows my connection to at least Assam, it might be worth the risk, especially if the trapper knows more. I would of course have to admit to a connection to the trapper, and if he has attacked the Seeker, that could be a problem."

"Or I could head to the Shrine and either try to detain them, or follow. them. The men you hired today may also be useful. How many of Rawl's men are left alive, and in what condition?"

[[ Edit: I lied, he DID put one stone away at the end of his move when he was 40' down the smoky tunnel, after passing Tinkerbell ]]

"Good," says his father in response to Brand telling him that Mannish shouldn't know his identity.

But when Brand suggests that he goes to talk to the Seeker, his father says, "It's probably best you don't get involved with Seeker Mannish. The involvement of the Donai worshippers was ... unfortunate. And it makes the Rawl situation even more dangerous than it already was."

He then gets up from his seat at the desk and comes over to Brand. "Walk with me, son," he says, gesturing toward the door. "There's something I need to talk to you about."

However, before they leave the room, Koric turns back to Madame Damass and says, "I will double your price if, at the end of the night, you can tell me where to find Rawl."

"I will try," says Madame Damass, but Brand can see the tiredness in her eyes.

Koric leads Brand out into the corridor and towards a small alcove at the end of the corridor where a window looks out of the river. Then, after checking that no one can possibly hear what they are talking about, he says, "Rawl cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of the temple. He must disappear, either by his own doing, or otherwise... Can you help me?"

[[ Any insights on how she saw the stones, above (and below)?]]

Brand looks back at Sameena, then signals to Mikkel [[ Assume still guarding?]], "Madame Damas could probably do with more Caf".

When Mikkel has gone,, he turns back to his father, "I'm a little worried about how everyone in that room seems to know about my .. items. What exactly to they know, and how?"

 [[Saved for later:]]

"As to Rawl, could be highly incriminating given his past involvement, is that the reason, or is there some other matter at play here?"

Quote from AlaricBrand >>

[[ Any insights on how she saw the stones, above (and below)?]]

[[Insight won't help here, but I will let Brand make an Arcana check.]]

Brand looks back at Sameena, then signals to Mikkel [[ Assume still guarding?]], "Madame Damas could probably do with more Caf".

When Mikkel has gone,, he turns back to his father, "I'm a little worried about how everyone in that room seems to know about my .. items. What exactly to they know, and how?"

[[I believe that Mikkel was dismissed for the evening after he helped Brand prepare for his mission and that Brand was surprised that he was sleeping in the stables, but suggested he talked with iMad while he was there. Therefore, no Mikkel.]]

---

 [[Saved for later:]]

"As to Rawl, could be highly incriminating given his past involvement, is that the reason, or is there some other matter at play here?"

Koric frowns and then says, "I do not have their magicks of perception, but they freely shared what they saw and surmised with me, seeing as I could see nothing of you in the orb—apart from when the Seeker's spell foiled your magic and his lights lit up your sleeping form. Master Assam was particularly impressed, saying that no sorcerer he knows of could duplicate the feats he saw you perform. Apparently, keeping three such spells active simultaneously is unheard of. However, it was Madame Damass who determined that your... items were hidden in your gloves. It seems her vision, if not her knowledge, exceeded his."

Having answered Brand's question, Koric then says, "It is imperative that Rawl not be questioned by either the temple or the local authorities. I need him either gone from Constantine, or if that is not possible, silenced for good. You said before that your skills lay more with killing [[I seem to remember this, but can't actually find the comment. So, correct me if I'm wrong]]. Are you up for the job?"

[[ Any insights on how she saw the stones, above (and below)?]]

[[Insight won't help here, but I will let Brand make an Arcana check.]]

Arcana: 17

[[I seem to remember this, but can't actually find the comment. So, correct me if I'm wrong]]

[[ I also recall it, and search tools are awful. So we are either both right or both wrong, I vote just go with it... ;-) ]]

Brand frowns, "My estimation is that he should be silenced, not persuaded to leave. But this is a man who apparently bested a trained Seeker, and in close quarters... so only he would have faced the seeker, unless the tunnels widened considerably. Going up against him and his friends might be a tall order for one man. Was he wounded and how many men does he have left with him, and what are their condition? How is it that he bested the Seeker?"

[Saved for later:]]

"As to Rawl, could be highly incriminating given his past involvement, is that the reason, or is there some other matter at play here?"

Quote from AlaricBrand >>

[[ Any insights on how she saw the stones, above (and below)?]]

[[Insight won't help here, but I will let Brand make an Arcana check.]]

Arcana: 11

[[No joy. But roll again for experience.]]

[[I seem to remember this, but can't actually find the comment. So, correct me if I'm wrong]]

[[ I also recall it, and search tools are awful. So we are either both right or both wrong, I vote just go with it... ;-) ]]

Brand frowns, "My estimation is that he should be silenced, not persuaded to leave. But this is a man who apparently bested a trained Seeker, and in close quarters... so only he would have faced the seeker, unless the tunnels widened considerably. Going up against him and his friends might be a tall order for one man. Was he wounded and how many men does he have left with him, and what are their condition? How is it that he bested the Seeker?"

---

[Saved for later:]]

"As to Rawl, could be highly incriminating given his past involvement, is that the reason, or is there some other matter at play here?"

"Unfortunately, we didn't see what happened," Koric says. "Madame Damass's crystal orb takes a damnably long time to change its focus of attention, and whatever happened, happened while she was changing her attention from you back to Rawl. However, we do know that Rawl only has two remaining men. One of the original four was killed by the horde of rats that he and his men stirred up, while the other looked like he might have been killed by the Seeker, as he has a stab wound to the heart. Rawl and one of the others, an ex soldier named Ubol, just have a few rat bites, but the third man is in worse shape. Don't know much about him, I'm afraid. Dour fellow, barely spoke and when he did so mumbled atrociously."

Brand considers for a moment, "So when, in this painfully slow process, did she take the time to discover how I was doing what I was doing? Where was he...sphere...and where was I?"

[[ Edit: and just checking, in the time she did this, she also identified the source of the spells as stones and not the gloves? ]]

[[ Edit 2: XP! ]]

Arcana XP: 21