Questions for Ryon

It's a misty day, hot and humid and the world is obscured around the edges. You've come to the nobility district, specifically to the residence of Ryon Shik and his wife Kaelyn. He opens the door himself silently, no sign of any servants in his home at all. No sign of his wife either, and as he leads you into his parlor he explains that she's upstairs sleeping.

He looks exhausted, and yet to Dolan's eyes significantly better than the last time they met. He offers you seats in the parlor, and apologizes for the lack of tea or other refreshments. "My staff ran off after..." His eyes grow dark and he looks at Dolan. "I never got to thank you and your companions for what you did for my son. I owe you a debt that I can not repay."

Dolan has chosen to do a thing for this trip that Magpie and Auranar will _not_ be used to seeing - instead of his usual adventurer's gear, armor, or simple shirt and trousers to which he is given in the summer months, he wears a white and gold mantle over his shoulders, pinned at the shoulders with small, stylized dragons that are one of the symbols of Daeus, and beneath that, a similarly-styled white and gold tunic and trousers with his usual adventuring boots. They're at least clean. His own holy symbol is worn openly, visibly hanging below the mantle. The scarred face and golden-gemmed eye is still absolutely unmistakable.

"It's fine," he demurs, following the man into the parlor and keeping his voice down and unexpectedly low, although if asked even he would not have been able to tell you why he does so. "The rumors about us are pretty bad sometimes, but we're still here to help. I'm glad we were able to release him for you, but - " He stops, and hesitates, taking a seat.

As the party began the walk to the Shik estate, and Dolan filled them in on the events that gave *rise* to the problem they're working on, Magpie has been... uncharacteristically subdued. Imps are one thing, but an imp controlling the spirit of a dead youngster? That's the kind of hurt one can't even *imagine,* if it hasn't been lived.

And by the crushed look on the gnome's face, it's clear that during the whole walk over she's been trying to imagine it, very hard.

Suddenly feeling out of place in her riotous motley, she keeps behind and to Dolan's right for the initial meeting, smiling briefly and dipping a curtsy when introduced. But even pleasantries are sticking in her throat, and when Dolan sits, the sorceress looks left, then right, trying to figure out what she's allowed to sit on and failing.

Knowing that they were headed to the nobility district, Auranar had dressed up a bit. Wearing one of her nicer dresses in favor of not sticking out like a sore thumb. His explanation of things on the way over had garnered a similar response from her as it had from Magpie. Largely: uncomfortable silence and concern. She more than most understood the horror and terror of fiendish beings.

She takes her seat when one is offered, and when the gentleman brings up the subject of the reason they've come almost abruptly, she feels put on the spot. "I'm so sorry for your loss." She says quietly, her dark eyes showing that the words are not just wrote for her. "Won't you sit here beside me Magpie?"

Noticing Magpie's dilema, she offers a suggestion to the woman, patting the seat close to her and returning her gaze to the man they'd come to see. Dolan has this well in hand at the moment.

Ryon nods politely enough to Auranar's condolences, but doesn't actually offer any words to her of them. The customary gratitude seems beyond him at the moment, but it's hard to blame him. Instead he draws himself up a little. "Yes please sit, make yourselves comfortable." He's trying hard to be a good host, but his stiffness shows that it's an effort. "What? Is... Is there something wrong with my son's passage to the afterlife?"

Suddenly alarmed at the possibility, Ryon leans forward, his eyes glittering with sorrow. "Please, speak."

That draws a smile and a shake of the head from Dolan, a gesture meant to be reassuring even if the smile is short-lived. "No. Your son's soul is safe." He starts to reach out a hand towards the man, a hand that doesn't quite know what to do with itself, then drops it. "That imp that was controlling your son's soul was working for a fiend, sir. It's gone, but we're trying to find its boss, so what you suffered doesn't happen to someone else. I was hoping you had a little time to answer some questions about how it ended up attacking your son."

He looks back and over at the others, and the mobile half of his face falls at the sight of the two women sitting together looking so uncomfortable, but he turns back towards the father.

Magpie can't restrain a quiet, grateful sigh as Auranar indicates a place she *can* sit, and clambers up to plop herself in place, extracting a notebook and stylus. If she doesn't know what to say, she can make herself useful and take notes. A task to do, this is good.

Looking up and catching Dolan's fallen face, the gnome gives the Inquisitor a small, encouraging smile, and a nod. It's okay, she says without speaking, this is your job.

She fully expects to have something to say later! But, now is not the time to be Magpie.

Auranar is initially surprised by the father's vehement confusion, and immediately sets to reassure him. "We're here for another reason entirely, it's as Dolan says." She offered a reassuring smile to the man, and tries to radiate a feeling of comfort to him. "Our concern for the moment is the imp. If you know anything about it."

"Ah." Ryon nods, relaxing but only somewhat, a dark cloud brewing on his brow. "I suspect... That the death of my son and the resulting haunting is in fact my fault." He covers his face with one hand briefly. "My poor Kae... Philri..."

He coughs with the effort of not crying and stoically lowers his hand. "I was an adventurer once. Before I met my Kae and we fell in love. I knew when we married that I had to retire. The life was too dangerous. My parents were right, and it was easy to fall back on handling the family business. But it seems that my enemies did not forget me like I tried to forget them."

This is hard to watch, and that fact shows clearly in the mobile half of Dolan's expression. The other half is still unnervingly still, especially the gem-in-a-ring set where his other eye should be, but somehow, he relaxes just a little when the father explains that he used to be an adventurer. _That explains a few things,_ his firm nod says. "When you do what we do, you make enemies," he replies, lifting his eyes and focusing entirely on the father. "It happens. I've crossed fiends once or twice myself." Any trace of smile vanishes. "Tell us what you can."

It's especially hard, hearing about the price that comes with an adventuring career, particularly for one who looks upon the life with nothing but freedom, anticipation, and occasional nearly-pants-wetting terror. Magpie's stylus dances across the pages, not in her usual crabbed and enigmatic shorthand, but the long way, as fast as she can manage.

"Please," she says speaking up for the first time since arriving. "Anything you could tell us might be helpful, milord."

All Auranar can do is nod alongside Dolan's comment about having faced fiends once or twice. She's had her fair share of close scrapes with some of the most powerful fiends that she could imagine. The fact that she was still around to talk about it was a miracle that she never took for granted. For now however she keeps her peace, trusting that the man will give them perhaps a few much-needed answers.

"I faced a lot of evil in my time as an adventurer, but the most powerful being that I ever came across was a being known only as 'V'." Ryon shakes his head. "I never learned its real name, or even terribly much about it aside from the fact that it was a fiend that used demons and devils alike for its purposes. It seemed to prefer devils, but it would use a demon if one was necessary or handy. From what I could piece together, it worked directly itself for Caracoroth."

He looks up suddenly, staring at a sword which hangs on his mantle and looks at it consideringly. "I can't say that I did a great job thwarting V directly, but I managed to get in the way of his General a few times. Jal'goroth. I was in Stormguard at the time, and he was using a cult of werewolves to feed his master. Never did figure out the whole plot but my trusty silver sword put a real pain in their side." His face falls.

"If I'd known that it would mean my son's life later... I would have never picked the damn thing up."

GAME: Dolan rolls will: (20)+9: 29 (CRITICAL SUCCESS)

Dolan - freezes at the mention of Caracoroth. Colorful language, and lots of it, writes itself plainly in the scowl that twists his features into a mask of fury that also, somehow, holds a connection snapping into place. It's quite obvious - the Daeusite makes no attempt to hide it - that he knows quite a bit about this. Still, he doesn't swear. In fact, he doesn't say a word for some breaths, and when he does speak, it is even, even pleasant. "Got it. So this -" Pause. "Fiend is behind the werewolves in the city." More silence. "Jal'goroth was that imp's boss. That sending of regards will be a fatal mistake."

That pleasant tone takes on a note that could easily be read as _your bacon is mine_.

Magpie's stylus snaps upon hearing the name 'Jal'goroth,' and her head snaps up, eyes the size of dinner plates. Frantically patting herself down for a new writing tool, she starts scribbling frantically, occasionally reverting to her shorthand mid-sentence, and starts gnawing on her bottom lip as her mind races. "...So... um... sorry... but um... milord? Was there anything special you did to uh... get in his way? Or was it just the werewolves?"

Astutely Auranar glances at Dolan. Trying not to draw attention to his obvious state of ire and revelation, but Magpie has a similar expression as well and Auranar simply shakes her head. "Anything you can think of about the devil would be useful also. Any information at all might be the critical piece we need; even if it seems innocuous to you."

Ryon offers the half ghost of a smile to Auranar. "In truth I didn't ever learn that much about any of them or their plans. I wasn't an adventurer long. To the contrary... I got the impression more that... I think me and my companions at the time killed someone important to them, or took something that was valuable to them. Without ever realizing its importance." He shakes his head and looks at Dolan. "If you do manage to put the fiend responsible for my son's death down... Would you come back here and tell me of it? It'd put my mind at ease to know that it's done."

"Yeah. Yeah, I will," Dolan agrees at once, nodding firmly, even vigorously. "But -" His flesh eye narrows. "Did you ever, at any time, come across a statue in your adventuring? It would have been ugly and twisted, like the parts of different creatures smushed together?" He leans forward in his chair, elbows resting on knees, hands clasped before him.

And upon 'took something valuable,' *another* stylus snaps, and Magpie looks up again, wide-eyed. There's a small squeak as she *just* begins to ask a question, but Dolan heads it off, and she nods, digging for a third stylus.

If she seems to vibrate a bit on her chair, well... perhaps she's just excited that the questions are bearing such ready fruit.

In all frankness, Auranar would never have thought to ask that question, and the realization that it might be the source of this man's misfortune makes her tense as she waits for an answer.

"Curious that you should ask, but yes." Ryon rises to his feet and heads out of the room for a moment, returning with a twisted statue that is familiar to all in the room. "I dug it out of storage a few months ago thinking to sell it, but... Never could convince myself to part with it."

He stands there with the statue in his hands, eyes dark. "Me and my adventuring companion, and the wizard who was helping us all got one from these strange underground temples or something." His gaze is intelligent as he looks at Dolan. "I take it that it's important?"

Dolan straightens from his intently listening pose when Ryon gets up, and immediately shoots to his feet when the statue in his hands becomes visible. "Yeah. That's what Jal'goroth wants." The words are tight. "He killed your son for that. Been having bad dreams at all lately?" The words are casual, but the question is anything but. "I've been chasing these things for a bit myself, and I know what he wants it for. Your friends are in danger, too."

It's curious, the shift that comes over Dolan. Despite the attire, he was a bit unsure, an ordinary, humble guy in Daeusite attire. Now, he's - laser-focused. Confident and sure, and implacable, although his ire is not directed at anyone present.

The moment the statue is brought out, Magpie cannot suppress a squeak, and flips to a new page, sketching hurriedly, eyes darting from page to totem and back again. Her skill at art isn't the *best,* that much is clear should Auranar glance over her shoulder, but before long a passable depiction of the totem in its current state is clear to see.

"...Also uh... your wizard friend? What was his name, it's probably worth following up with him?"

Almost audibly Auranar swallows as the totem becomes visible. She should have known, and now they did. She also rises to her feet, but more hesitantly than Dolan. A small sound escapes her, almost disapproval when Dolan declares that the man's son was killed because of this item, and she immediately speaks, trying to bandage any injury caused by that thought. "It's not your fault sir. You couldn't know that the devil was after it. It's a bit of a complicated mess, but... It'd be wise to turn the statue over to Dolan. It's not safe to keep it here."

Ryon looks at the statue in his hand almost hopelessly. "Killed for a statue?" He murmurs, his eyes watering and his hand shaking with barely suppressed rage. "I knew... I knew it was my fault when you brought up the imp but... for this?" He makes as if to throw the blasted thing on the ground, but Auranar's words stay him and he looks from her to Dolan.

"Do you have anyone you love? Any plan of a family sir?" There's tears in his eyes. "I never did, and now mine is torn to pieces because of this thing, and I could not in good conscious give this curse to another who might lose their heart for a trinket's sake."

GAME: Magpie rolls will: (11)+5: 16

Ooops.

Dolan winces visibly when Auranar steps in, the hard edge falling away and back into the human being. "Yeah. I'm already protecting two of these, and my girl's got a third. She knows what's up. You might say I'm in the business of pissing off fiends." A cheeky grin as he taps the metal edge of his artificial right eye, and the furrowed scars across his cheek, meaningfully, but it fades away. "Another one won't put me in any more danger than I already am, sir, and it just might keep you from losing someone else." The last two sentences try desperately to be gentle, and he sits back down.

"All I can promise you, sir, is that as long as you or your friends have that, the devil will be after you. I'm willing to take that risk from you. I'm already dealing with it. You said your friend has one, too, and the wizard you were with? Would they be willing to talk to us?"

"It *wasn't* your fault!" Magpie pipes up, unable to sit on her words any longer. "You were doing *good things,* and that thing *could* have just decided to steal that from you! You probably wouldn't have even noticed, or if you did it'd be just another mark for the board! But he *chose* to make you suffer, and that's on *him,* and you can be *damn* sure he'll get what's coming to him for that!"

By now, the gnome is standing on her seat, book waved over her head like a battle standard, and *now* is when she remembers herself and her location.

Cheeks fairly glow in the dim light, as she plops back onto the cushion. "...Sorry... um.... milord..."

Auranar makes a small amused noise at Magpie, eyes shinning. "Well said Magpie. It's as Dolan says though, if the devil is going to come after us - any of us - he will do so regardless of if there is one more of those statues in the mix. You can trust us sir." Auranar nods to the man politely and retakes her own seat so that he doesn't feel crowded.

Ryon seems to be thinking it over seriously, holding the statue in his hands. Debating with himself whether he should give it up. Magpie's words make him nod but he only seems to look more tired. "No, it's well said lady. I'm no adventurer anymore, and... I can't undo what has been done. Nor can I abandon Kae in her time of need. This fight is beyond me now." He sets it on the table between you all and leaves it there. "Do with it what you will."

He sighs and sits down. "As for my friend... Joel Maver, he's settled in a small plot of land to the north-east. I haven't heard from him in years. So I don't know how he'll take visitors. We were close though, so if you let him know I sent you, he might hear you out at least. He can be a little... stubborn." A small smile here followed by a shudder. "As for the wizard... He just helped us a bit locating treasures to dig up. He didn't actually travel with us at all and I always got a... uncomfortable feeling from him. His name is Albus Kinkade. Not sure where he is now. Maybe Rune?"

At first, Dolan had turned and stared in shock at Magpie's outburst, but that cheeky, good-natured grin takes over. "Yeah, he will. Dropping his name was one of the bigger fu-" He covers his mouth abruptly, not unlike a kid catching himself saying something he shouldn't. A cough, and he drops the hand, clearly trying to smooth his expression and managing only to look even more guilty. "He made a mistake dropping his name," he rejoins, a touch lamely.

When the statue is set before them, he stands and walks over to it, picks it up, examines it, then turns and offers it to Magpie. "Are you protecting one of these yet? I've got two, and holding a third will put me closer to the Dream Realm than is probably safe. You'll want to attune it, or it'll give you nightmares, just put a drop of your blood on it. I'll ask the Knight for healing afterwards, if you need-" He's rambling some.

"Are you ABSOLUTELY KIDDING ME," Magpie says, shooting back to her feet when Albus' name is dropped, and for a moment just stands there, pinching the bridge of her tiny nose, then heaves a quiet sigh. "Gonna put some *spice* on that research request..."

And all thoughts fall away as the statue is simply *offered* to her. Her mind races, thinking back to the last time she'd seen one of its like, how the attuning was done, and what was said to have happened after. 'Too close to the dream realm' cinches it, and she screws up her face, then jabs a hand against one of the spikes on the morningstar hanging from her belt, bloodying her palm.

"...Oho *wow,* that's brisk," she says through gritted teeth, pressing her hands together just in case, then reaching up for the totem with red, shiny palms. "Give it here, Dolan. I got this."

Auranar once again foresees an issue coming and pales a bit, motioning for Ryon to remain calm. "It's okay. The statue needs to be... attuned to make it safer. It doesn't do a LOT, but it does cull the nightmares associated with the statue. You have to bleed on it though." She smiles apologetically at the man and gives her companions a wary look.

Ryon does indeed look like he might complain. Either about a woman stabbing herself in his parlor, or maybe just the bloodstains on his carpet. Either way, Auranar once again smooths over the ruffled feathers and he relaxes.... well somewhat.

GAME: Dolan rolls bluff: (3)+3: 6

Dolan looks - deeply confused, when Magpie bloodies herself, but hands her the statue, watching intently. "I didn't mean _here_, Magpie. Sorry, sir-" He, too, flushes deeply and scratches at his hair with his free hand, clearly thoroughly embarrassed and more than a little lost. "So, um, Albus Kinkade." Flail. Different Topic Time(tm)! "Uh, so he might be in Rune? And your friend's out in the northeast. Uh, yeah."

"...Sorry 'bout that," Magpie mutters upon seeing Ryon's upset look. "Just soonest begun, soonest done." Never let on that it's entirely possible she'd forget to attune the thing if she left it for later, no... Seize the moment! And the statue!

Which she does, clapping her hands around the totem without hesitation.

Auranar shakes her head again, but rather than comment on the situation, she listens to Ryon in the hopes that he will provide at least a few more answers. Whilst also keeping an eye on Magpie and her newly acquired totem of course. Just in case it doesn't change, or something else terrible happens. One can't be too careful really.

Glad for the distraction, Ryon focuses on Dolan's words, though his eyes admittedly don't leave Magpie. "Ah. It's alright? The mage was Albus Kinkade yes. I'm not sure at all where he is. He sort of disappeared toward the end of my time as an adventurer. I always assumed he retired to Rune. Where else would a wizard go?"

While he talks the statue is... slowly... VERY slowly changing. Almost as though uncertain what it wants to become. "Is it moving?" He asks curiously, tilting his head at the statue as it finally becomes the image of a smiling, thin, and somewhat lanky gnome. "Why... How strange!"

GAME: Dolan rolls knowledge/religion: (3)+9: 12

Dolan, too, watches, although with no trace of confusion. He's seen this transformation several times. He can't help himself, really, although he is listening. "It's sure a good place to start, um, sir. We can go find your friend, too, and we probably ought to do that first, before that general's lackeys do." He's still quite red, and although he's staring at the statue, who it's of doesn't come to him. "We think they assume the form of whatever deity you follow when you do that," he explains helplessly. "It helps hide 'em, too, I think, on top of stopping the nightmares."

He seems torn, now, looking back and forth between Ryon and Magpie, like he doesn't have any idea what to do.

"Oh is that it?" Magpie says, looking up at Dolan. "Then it's probably Tairen. I'm not, like, really *faithful,* but I do like the cut of that guy's jib. That's how you use that, right? I heard a sailor say it once and I've just been *itching* to use it aga-- right. Not the time. Sorry. Sorry."

Dropping the totem into a bag, heedless of the blood smeared on it *and* the fact that her idea of a bag isn't going to properly fit a totem of this size, she clears her throat. "...Didn't mean to alarm you, sir. Just, figured it was the best thing to do at the time, like pulling off a bandage when the poultice has dried out and stuck to your skin. Get it all done at once."

Clearing her throat, she shakes the stray fluff out of her thoughts, and keeps her hands together to keep blood from dripping onto the floor. "But yeah, we really ought to find your friend, and... I'm *really, really sorry* for what happened, milord... But just remember, okay? It happened *to* you, not *because of you.*"

-End