Back to the Beginning

A tall man with light hair wearing the clothes of one of the guardsmen and wearing a few medals pinned to his chest claps his hands together at the front of the room. The noise is enough to bring the volume of the sound of voices down a little bit. In truth, there aren't many people gathered so the noise is minimal. The man himself looks a bit uncertain but he looks around the room with a stern gaze. "I am Balderdan Viet, and I am one of the guardsmen. Some of the more senior members of the Adventurer’s Guild as well as some of those in the lower ranks have brought a concern before the guild about some black ponds and some oozes. I'm here to keep the peace while the discussion is ongoing. Does anyone have something to say on the matter?"

Suha is there at the Adventurer's Guild too, because he's curious about this 'black pools of slime' business. He'd been leaning near one of the windows to wait for the meeting to come to order; when Balderdan claps his hands, Suha looks up, and listens. Though he doesn't know quite what's going on with it himself, so he doesn't really have anything to offer. So he waits.

Darius looks around and steps forwards, "These pools are a menace, I've dealt with them several times and it seems like they're only getting worse... I want to know what you and the Guild know about them. What exactly are they, where did they come from, who created them, why were they created, when did they start and finally how the HELL did it get into the sewers. This "black pool" and ooze has mutative properties, it took a simple housecat and turned it into a dire panther, it also created monsters out of regular bears. The incidences are getting worse and I want to know what the plans are to stop it."

Pelka turns his head slowly as Darius speaks. He opens his beak to add something, then pauses and waits a few more moments. "Did you say the part about them absorbing magic. Or feeding off of magic. I can't recall which..."

Amythyst is already inside....especially when Darius speaks up. "if you're looking for the one who has been bringing them INTO Alexandria.....he's dead." She says as she walks over towards Balderdan. "Lord Morgan....the owner of the warehouse that had been storing those things is dead. I should know, because I killed the bastard myself."

Balderdan eyes Amythyst warily. "Yes, and you were arrested for that fact. The only reason you were released is because there /was/ evidence that he killed his wife though... we will never know for certain will we?" He looks quite unhappy with her. "As for what the guild intends to do about it... I have been informed that they have sent several members of the guild to deal with these various pools and slimes in order to midigate the damage that they cause."

Amythyst smirks at Balderdan. "I turned myself in, thank you. There was no 'arrest', smartass. I walked myself into a cell, and closed it on myself. You twerps didn't even know I killed anyone until I told you. So maybe....just maybe....get your facts straight." She then looks to Pelka. "they do feed on magic. However, what they CAN'T stop is abilities. Also, if you dehydrate them, they die VERy fast. However, using a blade on them is pointless...."

Darius says, "Very well, I would like to know the details of Lord Morgan, did he ever say why he was bringing these pools in or where he found them? Did he in fact create them and if so, why are we still dealing with them now?"

Pelka looks between Amythyst and Balderdan. "I think I'm starting to see his point of view," Pelka admits with a gesture towards the guardsman. Then he hurries on. "There's magic everywhere in Alexandria," he muses. "Even outside of the city for that matter. No wonder they keep popping up."

For the moment Balderdan remains quiet, allowing Amythyst to answer the questions because she was in fact there.

Amythyst stares a hole through Balderdan for a long moment, before looking to Darius. "He didn't...DID...NOT...create them. He was having them shipped in from another country. I'm assuming from Charn or something like that, but we know what happens when we assume." She then thinks for a moment. "he did have a bodyguard though. Another assumption, but he could be continuing Lord Morgan's work. There was a warehouse out in the docks that had them all in barrels.....COuld probably show you, and some trackers, there....and it'd be easy to find them again...I assume."

Darius crosses his arms, "I for one, would like to see this menace stopped once and for all, I volunteer myself to go investigate this bodyguard and the warehouse..." He nods to Amythyst, "This needs to stop, or the city could end up overrun with mutated creatures and black oozes that can't be cut down or magicked without it becoming a much bigger problem. Not many have your ability to dehydrate them and there's not enough salt in the city I don't think to suck up their slime."

Balderdan looks from Amythyst to Darius, a little surprised. "I don't know what happened to Lord Morgan's... well he was a butler not a bodyguard. We're not keeping tabs on everyone in the city you know." He smiles at you. "As for the warehouse it’s currently empty so you're welcome to go check it out."

Amythyst says, "The Marks in my back from his short sword say otherwise. I guess your intel about him was wrong.....again." She then looks to Darius. "How about we go check out this warehouse now, Darius. I don't want to wait for the bureaucrats to clear the red tape." She then looks right at Balderdan. "Like Lord Morgan's wife waited for the bureaucrats to save her." And she's away from Balderdan and starting her way out of the guild hall."

Pelka puts a hand over one of the compartments on his bandolier. He gazes at one of the walls but he's probably thinking of something farther away. "If we go to the warehouse," he begins, "We'd best be prepared for the slimes. Besides dehydrating them, I wonder what else might work. What would be a natural predator of a slime...?"

Balderdan sighs. "Alright, I will take you all down to the docks, at least then you'll have someone to open the warehouse for you." He glances at Amythyst. "I hate to think what you might be tempted to do otherwise."

You arrive at the docks shortly after that, following Balderdan down there. The warehouse is marked with a large number on the outside and Balderdan goes to the door to open the lock with a little key that he has. "There's nothing inside but some barrels." He opens the door and leads you inside. The room is dark but he pulls out a torch to light the huge space. Most of it is empty, but you find a huge pile of broken boards inside. A hundred barrels if not more. All seemingly empty without contents to have spilled out.

Balderdan goes running to them cursing. "Vandals! Someone broke in and busted them all open!"

"Broke in?" Suha inquires. "The door was still locked. Is there another way inside?"

Amythyst just......sighs as Balderdan announces the bit about Vandals. She then turns her head. "Make sure you have a blunt weapon and check to make sure there are no more UNbroken barrels. If you find one....yell for the rest of us. DO NOT try to break it on your own! GO!"

So Sandy is here, of course. Black pools? Interesting. She's heard a little about it and she's arrived at the docks with the others.

The guardsman stares after Amythyst, clearly insulted but he answers Suha's answer. "Thieves break into these warehouses sometimes. We think they use something to pick the locks and then slip out the way they came leaving the lock intact so that we don't know until much later that they've been inside. Perhaps there /was/ something in the barrels; but it's clearly gone now." Balderdan heaves a sigh and starts looking for tracks.

GAME: Suha rolls perception: (6)+7: 13
GAME: Amythyst rolls perception: (10)+3: 13
GAME: Sandy rolls Perception: (14)+19: 33

Kicking at the ground a little with her boot, Sandy's sharp elven eyes have located something. "Here," she offers. "Tracks. Drag marks, I'd say." She's moving, now, towards the edge of a warehouse. There, a hole burned into the side of the building. Along the route, broken barrels and... one perhaps oddly whole one. She eyes it.

Just eyes it. "Hngh."

Amythyst says, "Find the origin point, Lady Sandiel.....from the hole in the wall."

GAME: Pelka rolls perception: (11)+18: 29

Pelka points at a second hole, twenty feet from the first one. "At least they're burned and not--" he tilts his head to one side, trying to think of the word. "Eroded. At least they're not eroded from a slime trying to get out."

"What made these?" Balderdan asks, looking at the hole with his torch though he keeps the fire far enough away that there's no risk of burning the warehouse which is after all largely made of wood.

Amythyst snaps her fingers and starts directing lights all over the place. "Douse that torch before you bring the entire warehouse down on our heads you incompetent lout." She says to Balderdan.

Pelka gives Amythyst a sideways look. The he turns to survey the nearest broken barrell. "Vandals? You mean to say, there were slimes in here and someone let them out unknowingly?" He tilts his head back and looks up. "We can look around outside, look for a trail. Unless they're still in here. With us." He draws forth an oversized wrench, tapping the weighty head against his open palm.

Amythyst says, "That's what I was getting at, Pelka. There were slimes in here one time and we had to fight them off....and Lord Morgan had the gall to say he had no idea they were here. Like he had no idea his wife was being turned into a Vampire by the very vampire that is currently giving us trouble NOW." She then looks to Balderdan. "DENY WHAT'S IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES, GUARDMAN! I DARE YOU!""

As Amythyst's lights spread out they show a graveyard of barrels. Piles of barrel bits and pieces everywhere. And at least two more holes hidden close to the ground where they would be hard to notice; all of them along the back side of the warehouse. Thousands of barrels stood here once, and all of them are gone or buried under the weight of other barrels who fell on them. Balderdan is all but glaring at Amythyst now.

"I /can/ arrest you, you know, for hindering a Guardsman in his duties." His eyes narrow. "I don't know what I'm seeing here except the willful destruction of someone's property. As for the rest of your assumptions, there here's NO evidence that Lord Morgan's wife was being turned into a vampire, much less that the vampire is the same one that has been attacking people in Alexandria of late."

"Oh for.."

Sandy puts a hand over her face. That is her response for the time being.

"And how am I hindering you, Balderdan? By presenting you with evidence that is very very difficult to argue against and.....you are finding every reason to close your eyes and yell 'LALALALALALALALAI'MNOTHEARINGTHIS!' at the top of your lungs. There are acid burn marks at the foundation of the building, acid HOLES in the wall and........" She then takes a deep breath. "You know what....you're right. Why AM I doing the guardsman's job for him? The guardsman doesn't see evidence that is clearly in front of his face and passes it off as something that doesn't exist." She then waves to waves to them all. "I'm going to try and find the rest of these slimes. You won't see me again, Guardsman. Not ever. Fuck you and your entire regiment."

Pelka picks up one of the broken barrels. Gingerly. Careful not to let his talons touch the inside. But he raises it so that he can peer inside. Once he deems it safe he looks even closer, almost to the point where his beak is inside. (almost). "I wonder what these are made of. Are they coated on the inside? How could they hold the slimes..."

"Someone here know how to detect magic?" asks Sandy, casually, tapping her foot on the ground in idle annoyance./

"Goodbye then. And good ridance." He waves at her to go and looks at the rest of you. "To be clear, there is every evidence that Lord Morgan /murdered/ his wife via poison and used the vampire as a means to cover his tracks. Furthermore... I admit it looks like these things burned out of here... but how did they get out of the barrels in the first place. Or into the barrels? It was brought into Alexandria as wine." He doesn't look after Amythyst to make sure she is leaving or not, but he speaks loudly enough for her to hear if she is leaving. Clearly making a point that he /isn't/ incompetent.

"Who knows? Really, only one way to find out. And I'm still waiting for an answer about 'magic'," says Sandy, casually, still tapping her foot. Growing irritation.

"No I can't detect magic," Pelka admits. "Well other than by logical reasoning that is. Like if a Ranger can shoot arrows faster than any normal person. Magic. Or when monks hit you in just the right place and then you're stunned." Pelha nods knowingly. "Magic."

GAME: Sandy rolls Survival: (4)+3: 7
GAME: Darius rolls survival: (3)+0: 3

"All right. I've an idea. 'SCuse me a bloody moment." She then sits down and begins to, well... cast a spell. She's focused on it. A moment later, after all the magical weaving and waving and muttering, a shimmering in the air appears and a creature that is crossed between dog and man emerges from it.

"...oh, it's /you/," it says to Sandy.

"Yes, it is. Now, I'm pretty sure you know what I want you to do intuitively on account of being coimpelled by my summoning magics."

".../ugh/," replies the angelic Hound Archon. He starts sniffing.

GAME: Sandy rolls 1d20+4: (3)+14: 17

The Archon leads you to a sewer grate sniffing as it goes. The sewer isn't terribly far from the warehouse, so the walk is a short one.

-End-