1/7/01 THE COMING OF THE ZIOTH TURN FORTY-SEVEN Around Ardith's hand, the bruises subsided, until there were only a few blue lines winding through otherwise healthy-looking skin. The man took one wheezing, shuddering breath, and let it out slowly. His chest hardened as the splinters of bone fused together. His eyes flickered open but then closed tight, and his breathing was once again a slow, trickling wind. Kreemon and Johannes, neither of whom had ever seen such a spectacle, stared at Ardith's hand, speechless. Kreemon had at least seen magic before, so he was able to compose himself and, for the time being, pretend that nothing special had happened. Johannes could not. "Well, I think it's obvious what happened here," the constable said suddenly. "Rosteral, the bald man, is master of the baths, and the younger man beside him is his apprentice Hirlay, who served as bathhouse attendant --" "Didn't you see what just happened?" Johannes stuttered. "And what was that?" The constable stopped talking for several seconds while he stared at Johannes. "Yes, I did indeed. Now Hirlay, most likely drunk or insane, broke into Rosteral's house and stole his money pouch off of his nightstand, when Rosteral's wife, the woman in the corner, came in. Hirlay cried out with his annoyance at the complication, and was forced to kill her. Then Rosteral entered, hearing his wife scream, and found her lying in the corner. Hirlay, of course, was hiding under the bed, but he was soon spotted by Rosteral. A struggle ensued, which led both of them from the bed to the door. Rosteral's chest was caved in by several blows from Hirlay's fist, and Hirlay, satisfied that his master was dead, picked up the money pouch and headed out the door. Just then, Rosteral retrieved his dagger, and stabbed his apprentice in the back. Now I think it's time we all left this room and informed the temple." Johannes drew in a deep breath, and struggled to focus on the constable's words. "Interesting thought, except that Rosteral's wounds are completely inconsistent with ordinary blunt trauma, as might be caused by Hirlay's fist... His ribs were _bent_, not broken, curse it! This is the second person in this town that I've examined that had _impossible_ injuries, and he just got an _impossible_ form of healing..." Johannes took a deep breath and continued, his voice ragged. "The villian behind this is no ordinary man, and Rosteral was _not_ felled by a fist. It would be most prudent to keep Rosteral under tight guard until he has recovered enough to give testimony, so we can have first-hand evidence as to the goings-on here. "And while we're on the subject of impossible goings-on, there's something I'd like to show you. We'll need a volunteer or two from the locals around here aside from yourself, since it's most assured that you'll not believe it if we demonstrate on our own." "Look here, everything is under control. I'll be responsible for the law in this town, not a bunch of foreigners, no matter how impossible things seem to you. And I don't --" The constable stopped talking, as if he was searching for words. "I don't have time to go parading around town, looking at every little thing a king's man wants to show me. I'm a busy man, and I have a lot of work to do, with murders and all. So I suggest you all leave and let the law handle this." Johannes turned away, his shoulders shaking. When he spoke, it was only in a choked voice. "Come on, everyone. There's nothing more we can do here." So saying, he slowly headed for the door. The rest of the group followed, with the constable in the rear. As the constable left the room, he pulled the other man behind him. "You stay here and guard this room. I'll be back in a minute, and then you can leave too." The constable followed the party to the downstairs hallway, made sure they were walking in the right direction, and then turned back. Ardith pondered, shaking her head. Not only did the constable fail to acknowledge her as a Priestess of Andritha, despite that her Holy Symbol was in full view, but he did not even comment on her performing a miracle before his very eyes. Nor did he seem interested in the possible testimony of the "folded man." Once the constable was out of sight, she whispered to Johannes and Kay, "Something stinks here, and I don't mean the blood. The constable seems entirely too keen on his own interpretation of events and not willing to look at new evidence. What's wrong with this picture?" Kay was beyond her depth. She agreed that the words and actions of the constable were strange, but had no opinion as to what could be going on. She followed Ardith. Johannes didn't immediately reply, but nodded slightly. Ardith missed the gleam of tears in his eyes. When they were out of the house and away from the bulk of the crowd, he steadied himself and said softly, "...so I'm _not_ losing my mind. That's reassuring..." He laughed unsteadily. "That story was too stupid to even be a good lie... if he's really trying to block us, I don't think he could possibly be that stupid. Our enemy has the ability to alter minds, would you not agree? I mean, that is the nature of those defenses..." Johannes trailed off for a moment. "Curse it, Ardith, you didn't tell me _you_ were a mage! What I saw in there... The constable is going to have Rosteral sent to the temple, right? Assuming that our enemy doesn't kill Rosteral off before he arrives, we _need_ to talk to the _priests_. We _have_ to insure Rosteral's safety. Our enemy isn't going to want him to live to talk, and we need any information he has; plus, we just can't let him die! You know, by now, we've probably been noticed by our enemy... oh sweet Jarram..." Johannes sank to his knees and clutched his head in his hands, sobbing softly. That was twice Johannes had invoked the name of Jarram, who his followers called the merchant god. Ardith had been warned in her seminary that she might run into Jarramites if she were to leave Zadothar, especially if she spent time in big cities, and Johannes was from the biggest city of them all -- the center of the Jarramite cult. Her teachers told her all about Jarramites; they worshiped money. Many would do anything to possess it, moral or immoral, for wealth was the holiest state possible for them. They prided themselves on their money and knowledge, and thus they were merchants and bankers of the most cunning intelligence. Jarramites were heartless towards the weak and generous to the strong; in no way could their philosophy be further from the Andrithan ideal. Andrithans allowed them to remain in Rang's cities only because they had arranged it such that without them, the cities would fall into financial ruin. Right now, however, Johannes seemed neither merciless nor heartless. He was merely nervous and afraid, and, however much at ends Andritha was with the Cult of Jarram, she also taught her followers to aid the distressed and support the weak. If Ardith were going to take issue with Johannes' religion, she would wait until another time. Ardith put a comforting arm over Johannes' shoulders and lifted him to his feet. "Come, my friend," she said softly. "Let us recover our wits in yon watering hole. Come." Once inside the tavern, Ardith found a window table for three where she could watch Rosteral's house, and ordered ale for herself and Kay, and a brandy for Johannes. "It will brace you, my friend," she offered before he could refuse. Kreemon sat down across from Ardith, and Bork lifted his paws up on the window. "Now," Ardith said, "you have had quite a time the past few hours. First, the ruins ended your belief that there is no magic. But then, no doubt, you could cling to the idea that magic was gone from the world today, even if it was present five hundred years ago. Then you saw me perform a healing, and thought it magic. So your belief was shattered. Then, the strange behavior of the constable. "But let me leave that subject for later." Ardith paused as the serving wench brought the ale and brandy. "Drink up, Johannes. It will restore your circulation. You are as pale as a freshly laundered linen sheet," she said, looking at the shifting crowd outside the window. Johannes put both his hands around the cup and stared into it. "Now, firstly, I am not a mage. I did not perform magic. I am a cleric of Andritha, and you might call what I did a miracle, but not magic. And besides, I did not do it, Andritha did. I was merely the conduit through whom Andritha could reach into this troubled world. "That aside, I assure you that there is indeed magic and magicians in the world today. I have seen magic done and have known magicians. "Not all magic is evil, and not all clerical spells or miracles are good. Clerics perform for their God or Daemon -- excuse me, I am using the terminology of my Church. You might think of Daemons as evil gods. "In any event, be comforted that both magic and miracle are quite rare in our world today. And I doubt the constable is capable of either." Ardith paused to watch the house to look for any activity, then sipped her ale before continuing. "As to that person, he might be incredibly stupid, he might be under some spell, or he might truly dislike and distrust strangers. It is more likely, however, that he has an agenda. That is why I chose a place from which we can watch the building of the murders. Perhaps, by observation, we might uncover something." Johannes took a short swallow from his brandy, and his shoulders started to sag as some of the tension drained itself out of them. "Miracles..?" He laughed nervously. "I'm not really sure that's any more reassuring than magic... And you seriously mean to say that people have worshipped demons? Frankly, that seems unlikely to me." Ardith smiled, "Not to my _direct_ knowledge, but tales have it that people have worshipped demons or evil gods. Be that true or myth, there are evil people, you must admit." "Heh. You'll find no denial here. As far as the constable, I'd actually find it more likely that his mind has been... _altered_ ... than that he has an agenda." Johannes drained his glass and continued. "I mean, that story he gave wouldn't fool a Polinaka, back when they were about, and he expects us to believe it? No one could be _that_ stupid..." Now Polinaka? It seemed all the teachings of her seminary were swarming through and about Ardith's ears. Polinaka was a religion that had been dead for three hundred years, since the Plague of Morenth, that bloody period when the followers of Morenth completely wiped out those of Polinaka. Polinakas believed there were gods in everything, and order could be brought to them only through the actions of Man. The sun rose in the morning only because they prayed it would the night before. Spring came only because they prayed for winter to end. The constellations moved through the sky only because Polinakas prayed each week that they would. In effect, they believed that they, themselves, were gods. Why Johannes would think to bring them up was beyond Ardith, but there was no time to think of that now. Johannes was still speaking, and Ardith did not want to appear distracted. "He said he was delivering Rosteral to the temple, and I fear for Rosteral's continued safety if something isn't done to protect him. Maybe we should split up, with some of us keeping watch here and some of us heading to the temple to try and convince the priests of the truth. I don't know... maybe I'm not thinking straight anymore..." He buried his head in his hands. Ardith glanced at the length of the shadows outside the western window. "I have an appointment with the son-in-law, but there is still time. I can go to the Temple and ask someone to watch for the arrival of the victims of this... whatever happened here. Then I can go to make my meeting." "Not by yourself!" Kay interjected. Ardith smiled at her friend's concern. "I am loath, however, to give up the vigil here. I do not trust this 'constable' very much. Perhaps one of you can stay and watch yonder building, and track the constable's movements when he leaves?" "Maybe they already left the back way," Kay muttered. Ardith stared at Kay a moment, then continued, "I find it curious and suspicious that they have not yet brought the victims out to bring them to the Temple for healing or burial. It has been longer than necessary to catalogue the situation and remove the bodies, and far too long for them to bring out that poor man who was folded in half -- Rosterol was his name? -- it is bad. "I still think something stinks here. Kay may be right. But why would they sneak them out the back way?" Kay noded her head in agreement that something was wrong, and said, "If you wish, Ardith, I'll stay and watch, but I would rather be with you... you may need protection. I think that cop in there has it in for you. You may not be safe. None of us may be safe. Maybe it were better if Johannes kept watch, best, I think, with Kreemon. I do not think any of us should be alone anymore, without a friend to guard our backs!" Ardith fingered her holy symbol distractedly and said, "Kay may be right. Perhaps extreme caution is in order. What say you?" "Agreed. Whoever our enemy, they have proven themselves to be dangerous in the extreme. It is in all probability best to seek safety in numbers. As for your specific plan... it would seem to take into account all that we have discussed, and thus I support it. Hmmmmm... I suppose we should meet back at Ranes'. Once we have followed the constable as far as we deem safe, or once the night is well gone, we shall return there. Our watch will be of little avail if we fall into slumber whilst waiting, after all, and as such cannot be prolonged indefinitely..." *********************************************************************** It is two and a half hours past noon on this cool eleventh day of Farinon, ninth moon of Halkak, two hundred and thirty-fifth day of the one thousand first year of the Zioth, in the town of Dunweig, the Barony of Huerten, the Kingdom of Rang. /--Next New/Full Moons--\ Upcoming Events | New Full | ----------------------- | Halkak: 10/1 9/14 | 10/16 First day of winter | Tirop: 9/20 9/28 | | Ot: 9/28 10/17 | Market days occur on every 2nd and 6th day | Ilsapeich: 10/8 11/6 | of the week. The next one is on the 13th. | Zabrigar: 12/8 10/4 | \-----------------------/ Notes ----- This was an interesting turn. Not much action, and it was kind of short, but it makes a good read! :) I can't wait to see what happens next! The next turn will begin where this one left off, and should quickly progress to the carrying out of Ardith's plan, if no one has any further things to bring up. I'll start you off shortly after you get this. Kreemon, you still around? You didn't post anything for this turn. Naturally, you didn't get any experience. Your Bill, Sir -------------- Ardith: 1ag (2 ales and a brandy) Levels and Experience Totals ---------------------------- Ardith: 4 6650/13000 (Good dialogue) Johannes: 1550 (Good dialogue) Kay: 2 3800/4000 (Good stuff, but not much of it) Kreemon: 2 3000/4500 (Where are you?) *********************************************************************** * Game Name Real Name Internet * *********************************************************************** * DM Eli Fenton * * Ardith/Kay Karl Schinke * * Johannes Nathan Weismuller * * Kreemon Darrell Bowman * * Ziedon Alex Corbin * *********************************************************************** * Zioth web page: http://www.zioth.com/zioth * ***********************************************************************