On Matters of Thievery

It took a couple days. Granted, having Dolan in his corner helped, but... they say waiting is the hardest part. Telamon's found that to be quite true. Even within the confines of his home, the sorcerer can't help but be... nervous. Now, though, he's gotten word back, and so he slips into the Temple of Daeus. Touching his brow as he passes through the vestibule, making his way towards one of the temple's backrooms used for private prayers and services.

Finding the correctly labeled door, he turns the handle... the door clicking open, as Tel slips inside, finally letting out a breath as he relaxes.

Balderdan stands in a corner of the room. He's an unobtrusive looking fellow, and not terribly remarkable in any way. He wears the standard armor of the guardsmen, but his is a little more well-looked-after than that of the average guardsman. Maybe it's the lieutenant stripes on his shoulders. Maybe it's just him. After all, there's a look in his eyes that says that there's more to him than one can tell at first glance. He looks Telamon up and down as the other man enters the room. Weighing him in the fashion that any warrior might. Then he nods and offers his hand to Telamon. "Greetings. I am Balderdan Viet."

Dolan is already waiting in the room, a relatively bare thing with little more than a religious icon and a few pillows. Chairs have been brought in for this, but he himself has also chosen to stand, perhaps following Balderdan's example. Not normally a formal sort of guy, he has today chosen the breastplate and a mantle of white and gold over it, pinned with a stylized image of a dragon at each shoulder that makes his allegiance clear.

He doesn't say anything just yet - this isn't his conversation, but his head turns between the two of them, clearly taking in every detail.

Telamon nods, taking the lieutenant's hand in a firm handshake. "It's been a little while, Lieutenant. Good to see you." He gives Dolan a smile as well. "Dolan. Happy to see you too." Once the pleasantries are over with, Tel doesn't waste time.

"Lieutenant, you may have heard about the incident in the Ox-Strength Tavern a few days ago, where a 'Zalgiman' -- assuming that's his name -- is accusing several people, including my fiancee, of stealing his 'lucky charm'." Telamon's voice is firm and even. "Well, he's -half- truthful. She and I did steal it -- but there was nothing lucky about it. I don't know if you've been told about the chains that bind Caracoroth, but this was one of those totems."

He stands up straight. "I won't apologize for us taking action, but the whole thing seemed -very- strange and out of place. I was able to confirm, with both Dolan here as well as others, that the statue was in fact the real thing."

Balderdan's face if anything becomes even more serious as he listens to Telamon speak. "I have heard about it. Zalgiman has been very insistent that we of the guard do something about his missing property. Though he wasn't sure as to the identity of those who stole it..." He hesitates here a moment. "I know very little however about this 'chains' business. I take it that this thing you stole is some kind of magical... something. Something you thought best out of his hands."

He sighs and looks at Dolan a moment then looks at Telamon once again. "If you had called the city guard, or even informed the Temple of Eluna that he possessed a dangerous magical artifact... That would be one thing, but it's a little... difficult that you and your fiancee steal something and then afterwards claim that it is... I take it evil?"

"Enough so to put me on my knees, Lieutenant. It has been - neutralized, and is of no danger at the moment." Dolan speaks for the first time, with a sigh, the mobile side of his face reading uncertainty. "Here's the problem with it. You remember that the werewolves are all over town, right? They're still there, especially in the Temple of Eluna. These statues are what these werewolves want. It's what they're trying to get. They're what's causing the nightmares that show up sometimes among spellcasters."

Telamon inclines his head. "Just so. And while I've no concrete evidence... Zalgiman's -intense- interest in reclaiming a totem that should've brought him nothing but bad dreams strikes me as quite curious." He spreads his hands. "Lieutenant, the totems are what's driving this infestation of werewolves. If we can locate them all, and find a way to put them out of their reach, it'll be one less thing on your plate."

Tel rubs his chin. "If it helps, I believe Mourner Verna and Sir Seldan could vouch for our words on these totems as well. I know this complicates things for you, and I wouldn't ask lightly. But I am looking for help. If nothing else, to avoid uncomfortable interactions with the guard."

"I do not doubt your word sir, and Dolan is a man of his as well." Balderdan seems thoughtful. "It does seem suspicious that he would want an item that is evil in nature, but he could claim the same of you for taking it. Would you be willing perhaps to allow the Temple of Eluna to hold the item and determine its nature with certainty? Verification of it's evil would give me some leeway in dealing with this situation."

"It's a dual-natured thing, Balderdan. Whether it's evil or not depends on who's controlling it. I've learned way too damned much about these things." Dolan reaches to pinch the bridge of his nose, comes into contact with the half-melted flesh on the far side of his face, and drops his hand quickly. "I'm sorry. I know you're in a damned difficult spot, but Alexandria's in a nastier spot than a lot of people realize. He's got it attuned to himself so it doesn't start causing the nightmares. If one of these things is around, it's the only way to make them stop. They're things of the Dream Realm. The problem is that the Temple of Eluna is rife with the damned wolves. I don't trust a single damned one of 'em right now."

Telamon nods sourly. "They're far too good at infiltrating, and the current refugee problem from the wight attacks has only given them more cover. Hell, one was caught in the Temple of Vardama -- they're going to be more paranoid than a room full of kobolds." He shakes his head. "No, Lieutenant. I'm not willing to set this thing aside yet, even if I could."

He glances at Dolan. "I tried meditating on it, doing some lucid dreaming, but I wasn't able to gather much. Only the image of a very dangerous looking, but very voluptuous woman." He coughs. "You don't have to mention that bit to Lana." He looks back to Balderdan. "As near as we've been able to tell, the totems were crafted by the gods themselves, which is why they're dual natured and so hard to destroy."

GAME: Dolan rolls knowledge/religion: (10)+9: 19

Balderdan crosses his arms, looking between the two men. "Well then what do you suggest here gentlemen? Because I can not, and should not allow for an item to be stolen from someone purely on telling that it is magically... causing nightmares and may or may not be evil depending on who owns it. It would be utter chaos in the streets." He hesitates and then scrubs a hand through his hair. "Unless perhaps you know that he stole it from someone else? Returning it to its rightful owner would take precedence."

When Telamon spoke, Dolan's gaze went off into the distance, like he was thinking hard. "Taara or Illotha," he says, almost absently. When Balderdan mentions him stealing it from someone else, he immediately snaps his fingers and points at Telamon. "Didn't you say he stole it from Dirk?"

Telamon nods. "He did. I've been meaning to catch up to him -- tell him it was safe. He was pretty unnerved about losing it, as he knew its nature." His starry eyes glitter. "That might work. Although he was out on a mission last I heard. Hopefully he's made it back -- something about escorting a merchant."

His gaze flicks to Balderdan. "Alright. If Dirk asks for it back, I'll turn it over to him. And we'll seek him out to make sure one way or the other. But..." His lips curl up. "I would like the guard to take a second look at this Zalgiman fellow."

"Very well. Returning it to this Dirk is acceptable. If possible I would like to be present for its return so that I can personally verify that it is with it's rightful owner. Until then I will trust you with its safekeeping... As for looking into Zalgiman... I've already done that to a certain extent. He's from Stormgaurd originally. He came from there with a group of other young men, but they decided not to settle here and he has been corousing through the bars with the locals regularly. So far he's caused no real trouble. Here." Balderdan seems to doubt that the man hasn't caused trouble elsewhere.

"Dirk was with me when we found it on one of these Guild runs. He took it, it's damn well his." Clearly the solution makes Dolan a much happier man. "Leave word with him at the Guild. He'll show up. Dirk's a woodsman, and khazad to boot, so he might not be in the city all the time, but he checks with the Guild. That'll be your best bet."

He settles down, listening carefully to what Balderdan has to say about this Zalgiman. "Yeah, if he's Stormgard, him worshiping the Nightmare wouldn't be out of the realm of reason, but we'd better figure that out for sure. If he was carrying that statue unattuned without nightmares, that doesn't say anything good, either.

Telamon inclines his head. "He may not want it, Dolan. But I won't argue one way or the other. Every soul has to choose its own destiny." He smiles. "I'll leave a message at the Guild. It may take a few days."

He taps his fingertips together. "There were some odd undercurrents I picked up on when Lana and I were in the Ox-Strength. Zalgiman was -very- persistent about wanting everyone to 'have a drink on him'. Also, when, ah, I grabbed the totem and bolted, one of the onlookers -immediately- jumped up to grab me, apparently at his command. I grant I haven't spent much time in dives like that, but usually those places, nobody gets super excited unless they've got money involved."

"Was he poisoning the drinks do you think?" Asks Bladerdan with interest. "Or using magic on the drinkers to make them obey him? Either of those things could land him in my court."

"Up to him. So long as someone of the Light holds it, we're safe." Dolan's still staring off into the distance, and drums his fingers absently on his leg. "Wait. He what?" He, too, turns to Telamon.

Telamon furrows his brow. "That's the problem. I don't -know- he was spiking the drinks. I used a detect poison cantrip on one and didn't pick up anything, but... look, I'm pretty good at gauging people and their reactions. And there was some very weird behavior going on when I made my break for it."

He looks up at the ceiling, thinking. "There were others there. Mourner Verna, Lysos, Dirk as well. They might've seen or heard something that I missed."

Balderdan nods. "Well no one there that night has come forward to report anything untoward except for him and yourself. Which means there's not much there for me to pursue." He taps his foot thoughtfully and then shakes his head. "Maybe he offered some people there some money in advance to be his bodyguards or was extra thoughtful buying drinks. It's hard to say. I do know that the - Worg - that he brought in is apparently his own brew. He brought some of it with him."

Click. Click. Whirrrrrrrrr. Dolan continues to drum his fingers on his leg, but then his head snaps up. "Balderdan. I'd have a word with the owner of the Ox-Strength, and maybe the keep behind the bar that night. Because I'm _damned_ sure that there ain't a bar in the city that'll let someone else bring their own brew into the establishment and peddle it willingly. Not when they're not making the coin selling drinks."

Telamon narrows his eyes. "Dolan's right. It's one thing to bring a keg of homebrew to a picnic or a party, but what kind of tavern lets someone hand out free samples?" He sighs. "Shit. Also, if someone could get a hold of some of that... 'worg', I think we could find a few people willing to run some tests on it with alchemical gear."

Balderdan looks between the pair once again then shrugs, clearly not understanding their trepidation. "From what I understand he sold the cask to the Ox-Strength and they made a good profit off it. He bought a few rounds for the locals to prove it was good and then the night's sales made good on his endeavor. From what I understand it was lucrative enough that he's planning to do it again so if you want a sample of the drink... I don't doubt you can purchase a hefty amount of it from there even now."

At that, Dolan relaxes at least a little. nodding. "That makes more sense, then. I thought you'd said he just hauled in a cask and started giving it away. Nah, not much you can do about that, really. Might not be a bad idea to see what all the fuss is about, though.” His fingers go back to drumming against his leg.

Telamon sighs. "It might be nothing. I know I was... well, as nervous as a long tailed cat in the hunting dog kennel when I saw that statue. Maybe I misread things." He runs his hand through his hair. "But I can't help but wonder about the motivations of a Stormgardian selling ale out of a hole like the Ox-Strength. There can't be -that- much money in it."

Balderdan laughs lightly at Telamon's comment. "Perhaps not! But then perhaps he couldn't sell it elsewhere!" He shakes his head. "Either way I'll trust that you two will look into what needs looking into and inform me if you learn anything vital. Until then, I am awaiting your call on this... chains matter. Let me know the moment that Dirk gets back to you." He nods firmly.

Dolan nods, just as firmly, in response. "Do me a favor, Lieutenant. You get word of people having nightmares in the city, like every night? Let me know. I'll help figure it out. I kind of know what to do about it now." The hand finally drops to his side. "Just be careful."

Telamon places his hands together. "Absolutely, Lieutenant. I'll go from here to the Guild right away, and post that notice for Dirk. Once he gets back to me we'll contact you to witness things." He nods to Dolan's sentiments. "There's enough things out there to give us, well, 'real' nightmares. We don't need something forcing the issue in the city itself."

"As you say." Balderdan nods to Dolan, his eyes slightly worried and offers him a handshake before offering one to Telamon as well and then leaving promptly through the doorway.

-End