LOST TRAILS 1: A Meeting in Monksblade

[alhoon]

''You'll be interrogated by priests of Helm the Watcher, and maybe others...Why do you ask? Have you incurred the wrath of some god?"

"Probably the Lawgiver, somehow. He's not very friendly with wizards."

[ewancummins]

The Governor rises from her seat.

“All right, then, let’s not waste time. I sent for the clerics as soon as I read the Provost’s dispatch.” Without turning she calls out,
“Send in the priests.”

Two men in open-faced helms and baroque head-to-toe plate tramp into the room. Scarlet cloaks hang from their shoulders and they wear steel gray tabards, which each display a cyclopean eye. Ornate but functional-looking maces ride in loops at their hips.
The Helmite priests’ cleanshaven faces show little expression beyond a hint of controlled wariness.
The one on the left speaks in hollow tones,
“May the holy might of the Ever-Vigilant One guard us from treachery and may his wisdom reveal to us every subterfuge of the enemy.”
He then says,
“It will go quickly and well if you do not resist the power but accept it. There is no harm in what we do now. Only truth.”

Both raise their hands and continue chanting, now in some exotic or archaic language.
Benn and Klokulf can tell

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that this is a divination spell of some sort.

[kintire]

Kat watches the spectacular display of magic with amusement, at least as soon as she sees that the locals here seem more relaxed about magic than they would be back home. She then follows with no great enthusiasm to the Governor's residence, watching thoughtfully as the conversation goes on. She mimic's Alwina's behaviour to a degree, sitting quietly, letting others do the talking and trying to look like an unimportant companion.

She frowns very slightly at the spellcasting, but makes no move to do anything about it. Now is really not the time!

[ewancummins]

The Governor asks simple, direct questions:

Who are you?

How did you arrive in the Vast Swamp?

Where are you from, originally?

Are you on a secret mission for somebody? Are you spies? Assassins?

Do you intend any harm to me, my government, or the people of the Protectorate?

[Adam]

The Governor asks simple, direct questions:

Who are you?

How did you arrive in the Vast Swamp?

Where are you from, originally?

Are you on a secret mission for somebody? Are you spies? Assassins?

Do you intend any harm to me, my government, or the people of the Protectorate?

Assuming the others are alright with his speaking, Bennedict will reiterate his answers.

"I am Bennedict Gehrman. I am from a land called Lamordia, but we came here from the city of Pont au Museau. We are not on a secret mission, nor are we spies or assassins. Before we came here, we had never even heard of you or your protectorate. We mean you no harm, unless you actively seek to keep us from our journey home."

He blinks at this last bit, not having intended to say that, but sighs in irritation. He should have known, after all.

[alhoon]

Raen replies on the same questions right after Benn giving mostly the same answers. However, he answers that he is "from Darkon, a large state to the North of Richemulot. Large by our standards at least; it is probably smaller than the Protectorate."

[ewancummins]

The Governor nods at the answers from Benn and Raen.
''Fine, fine..."

When Kat mentions her role as a "trade facilitator", the Governor says,
"Trade facilitator, you say? Fortune has landed you in a place you may find favorable, once you learn the laws and customs. Sembia is a trading nation, and we've tried to improve the trade here. You'll find plenty of opportunities for honest commerce. Some trade's banned, of course. I send slavers to the galleys, and I invite poison-sellers to sample their own wares. But you aren't involved in those things, are you?"

When Kat answers in the negative, the Governor says ''Good. If you need more advice about the laws and customs of this land, stick around and I can have someone fill you on on what you need to know to do business and stay on the right side of the law."
She then moves on to the rest of her questions.

[RocEter]

Clive, the outlander knight

The Governor asks simple, direct questions:

Who are you?

How did you arrive in the Vast Swamp?

Where are you from, originally?

Are you on a secret mission for somebody? Are you spies? Assassins?

Do you intend any harm to me, my government, or the people of the Protectorate?

"That depends on the day. I arrived in the swamp through magical means, of which I lack the proper training to describe. A far away place, even further from where my associates have traveled from. I am no spy, or assassin, nor was I sent on some secret mission. Only if you prevent us from returning home, or if you're a practitioner of the dark arts."

[ewancummins]

The Governor frowns at a couple of Sir Clive's suspiciously vague answers,
''Depends on the day? What's that supposed to mean? What's your name and your profession?And where are you from? Not 'far away'--where? Straight answers, if you please."

[Wolfglide of the Fraternity]

Hoping to slip his answers in before the situation deteriorates, Klokulf claps the outlander on the shoulder and interjects, "If you need an example of straight answers, allow me to demonstrate."

He then turns to the Governor and swiftly goes through the basic set of questions. "My name is Klokulf Blix. I was deposited in the Vast Swamp in the aftermath of an attempt to seal a dangerous gate. I hail from the nation of Nova Vaasa in the east of the Core. I am not an assassin, and I am far from a spy; in fact, it is my duty to assist in the examination and excision of evil within the Church of the Lawgiver. I do not intend to harm the Protectorate, especially since it appears to be in such good hands."

[RocEter]

The Governor frowns at a couple of Sir Clive's suspiciously vague answers,
''Depends on the day? What's that supposed to mean? What's your name and your profession?And where are you from? Not 'far away'--where? Straight answers, if you please."

Hoping to slip his answers in before the situation deteriorates, Klokulf claps the outlander on the shoulder and interjects, "If you need an example of straight answers, allow me to demonstrate."

He then turns to the Governor and swiftly goes through the basic set of questions. "My name is Klokulf Blix. I was deposited in the Vast Swamp in the aftermath of an attempt to seal a dangerous gate. I hail from the nation of Nova Vaasa in the east of the Core. I am not an assassin, and I am far from a spy; in fact, it is my duty to assist in the examination and excision of evil within the Church of the Lawgiver. I do not intend to harm the Protectorate, especially since it appears to be in such good hands."

The outlander remains silent for a moment, then sighs.

"Some days I am a royal knight and bodyguard to the Empress, other days I am her most feared executioner. You can see why, I am hesitant to share my name, it is kept secret for my personal protection and that of what family I have left. If you must know my name, I am Sir Clive." He says.

"To be more specific, I have traveled to two different worlds in only a few days time. In the world I come from, I live in the royal palace located in the capitol city of the Empire. The cities name is Far-scratch." Clive says.

"Does that sound to familiar to you?"

[ewancummins]

The Governor shifts her gaze away from Klokulf to turn to Sir Clive.
''Far-scratch? No, I don't know it. Is it in the Shining South? Ah, but you said another world..."

She turns back to Klokulf.
''The fight against evil--that's been my work, too. Before I was given this trust, I fought the horrors out of the Vast Swamp for years, with my husband. He died there. ''
Her eyes grow bright a moment.
''On with the questions.''
She regards those who have not yet given answers.

[ewancummins]

Alain says he comes from another world, but not the world of Benn, Raen, Katrin, and Klokulf.
He recalls that he possessed another name there, but the sound of it fades in his mind...

Alain, perhaps drawn into a fugue by the clerics' magic, talks disjointedly of seeing knights in shining plate-and-mail riding in straight columns down the streets of Royal Chendl, of his nocturnal investigations into a coven of witches who served 'The Old One', sorcerous duels on the sands of the Bright Desert...

He finishes his account with straightforward answers that match well with those of the others. He's not a spy or an assassin, but an adventurer, a botched ritual sent him into a magical fog, and he doesn't intend any harm to the Protectorate at all. He's simply lost.

[alhoon]

Raen, still in the spell looks at his outlander-outlander companions. "You both have been in three different material planes, snatched from your world twice. That can't be a coincidence. Regardless, I would like to know more of your worlds when you find some time."

[ewancummins]

Alwina shoots a puzzled look at Raen, then turns to the Governor and says,

"I don't really understand what's happened. But I'm Alwina. I lived in the Palace with the others of my people. Sub-men attacked me and my friends while we were in the gardens beyond the walls. Usually they only come at night, but it was foggy. I got loose from them in their horrible tunnels. I ran. I found a door. I thought it was a way back up to the surface, but it led into a dungeon. There were these people--"
The blonde girl indicates the others in the party,
"Sub-men and monsters came through a pit in the floor! They fought the monsters. It was really scary. Then we rested and they did, I do not know…stuff, after a long sleep. Candles and chants and things. The floor fell away and we dropped into fog. We walked down a road in the mists till we came into that nasty swamp. There were two more with us, but they are gone. One was an enemy, and I know the other was a friend. I don’t know if the skull monsters in the fog got them or if they are wandering lost. More lost than the rest of us, I mean."