The Eye of Anubis: A Second Interlude

[NeoTiamat]

Dining Room, The Monastery of Stilled Nightmares, Sebua
July 20th, 761, 1:32 PM; Day 125 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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• Hello Everyone,

The letter read.

• I'm going to guess that by now you've found out that I've slipped a little something into the food last night, and that the gear and camels are gone. You'll probably be cursing my name from the monastery till the University, but I figure I owe all of you an explanation. We've been together long enough that you deserve that much.
  
  This Expedition hasn't been what any of us have been expecting. We were hoping for a quiet jaunt through a desert, followed by a few months of digging up old ruins, and then another quiet trip back to Dementlieu. Hasn't really worked out that way, has it? Our opening night got interrupted by the Anubite throwing a corpse through a window, and it's only gotten worse. Allikhain was murdered in Barovia, then Ulsaon in Phiraz, and now Professor Pelletier's been killed. And that's not even counting how many close-calls... Khalil... Lia... Guy... myself... This isn't that big an expedition, but we've been losing people constantly, and we're not even at the Tomb yet. There have been so many deaths...
  
  I don't want that on my conscience. Pelletier's death leaves me in command of the Expedition, and so I'm going to do something I doubt he would have considered, which is to try and save lives. Simply put, it's getting too dangerous, what with Cavendish, and the Anubite, and the fact that this entire desert has proven far more lethal than anyone could have imagined. So I'm taking the members of the Expedition most capable of protecting themselves, the guides to lead the way, and Lily because we need someone to watch over this and make sure it's all above-board. The rest of you need to stay behind for our own safety.
  
  Which is the second part of it, really. Some of you are dangerous now. To the point of being liabilities for this entire Expedition. Lia has gotten us all involved in a Faerie Pact. Kuzan has something living in his head. Otto is an Mist-blessed werewolf. And Andre... I'm not even sure what my old friend is these days. I can't be responsible for what happens to you, and I don't think I can be responsible for what you might do.
  
  So I'm leaving you here. Now that Lia's 'taint' is gone, the Monastery is the safest place in the Amber Wastes for you, and hopefully Cavendish and the rest won't have any reason to go after you if we're going ahead. So stay here and stay safe. Fassahd tells me that caravans stop by from time to time, even Vistani, so you can pick up a caravan home in few weeks or months, a little dusty but not the worse for wear. Myself and the others will press on to the Tomb, where we'll collect everything, make rubbings of everything, and bring it all back to the University for examination. Not perfect from a scholarly perspective, but I'm not going to let Dame Academia cost us lives.
  
  Obviously, I don't expect you to agree with me, and I can't be accepting everyone on the grounds that "this is an exception, you need me!" So Michel and myself slipped enough soporific into your food last night to stun a small army. I'm also taking all the provision boxes and the animals so you don't follow us. Maybe this will keep you out of trouble.
  
  Stay safe, and see you all in Port-a-Lucine.
  • • • • • • • • • -Samael Aurelius Maleagant

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The rather reduced Expedition had gathered in the dining room of the Monastery. There really wasn't anywhere else to go, and it at least had tables and places to sit.

Professor Marchand-Renier had taken to pacing about the room, chuckling under his breath and repeating "That bastard" under his breath with considerable amusement.

Edmund had been woken up, and was seated on a bench clutching his head, which now felt as though a hangover of epic proportions was trying to break it down.

Sarari still stood to the side, a deer ready to make a break for it if startled with a loud noise. Dieter was beside her, making small talk and trying to coax her out of her tenseness, with very limited success. Remy just sat quietly in the corner.

Carter, for his part, was composing a list of what they had left. It was a depressingly short list, all told. "From what it looks like, we've got the clothes on our back, one horse, and whatever food the Monastery can spare us. And there's no way we can carry enough to see us to Muhar or Phiraz."

We will give you whatever you need, of course. The Abbot agreed. The dark-robed entity was seated upon another of the benches. The Monks, for their part, had known nothing of Samael's little escape, had still been used to staying inside their rooms at night. The Abbot was... he seemed saddened, but not really surprised. Humans had their own tendencies. Unfortunately, we do not have any animals. No real need for them here, where we get our food by scavenging.

Sebastian chuckled. "One thing I will say, when Maleagant prepares a betrayal, he lays the ground work. We're safe, sound, and staying put..."

[yalenusveler]

"One of the base metals you can at least transmute into gold with the proper alchemical procedure" Andre said, shaking his head and sighing.

"And unfortunately, not the brains that the gods gave a turnip, sometimes. They're doing the fantastic equivalent of walking right into an ENORMOUS trap, Fasshad isn't even likely human, I doubt they have any magic with them to deal with Cavendish, and they might as well be knocking on a demonically possessed madman's bedroom door with a platter of biscuits and tea and saying "Wakey Wakey!"" Andre said, going into an exasperated pace.

"I'm not sure if I'd be more or less angry if it wasn't for the stupid, pig headed almost nobility of it."

[Nathan of the FoS]

"Nobility?" Charles says, giving Andre a odd glance. "Well, it is the reputation of Borcan nobility to have an eye for the main chance. He doesn't intend to protect us, Professor Theroux. He wants to be alone at the Tomb."

[Kaitou Kage]

Kuzan sat by Edmund and was fussing lightly over his wound, trying to mix an herbal concoction that he swore up and down would help. It was nothing like the strange, synthetic medicines or bleeding practices in the Core, but the party had learned over the course of the Expedition that Kuzan's unconventional medicinal practices worked as well as advertised. That and it was usually much less painful.

He looked up from his work after a moment.

"It's probably best if we all take stock and compare notes on what we have, what we know, and what we can all do," he said, "Andre is right. Sam is leading all of them into their deaths, and he might be arranging some of that on his own. Moreover, they don't have a lot of the assets we do, so that's why we should look at ourselves first and go from there."

He glanced up at Carter while taking the mortar and pestle to the herbs. "Food and water will not be a problem," he said with a hint of a smile, "Lady Annapurna, my people's goddess of plenty, whispers great things in my ear, things that we can all benefit from. I've seen her blessings and they are quite exceptional."

The priest, emboldened by this idea, abandoned his mortar and pestle and stood up. His eyes half-closed in a prayer trance for a few moments. Then, things started materializing on the table. First it was plates and service, the former beautifully decorated ceramics, the likes of which didn't occur "naturally" in the Core, the latter real silver -- as real as the spell, anyway. Some empty glasses, pure crystal, materialized in their proper places. Even the napkins were smooth, soft cloth, just perfect for wiping one's mouth.

Then the real treat appeared. As Kuzan concentrated, it started from his end. First a platter, set on a neat little doily appeared. Then a whole roasted turkey, basted with deliciously aromatic herbs, materialized on top of the platter. This continued down the tables in the monks' mess hall. A platter, plate, or bowl appeared, followed by a fantastic-smelling dish. Some, the party recognized easily -- mashed potatoes seasoned just right, rich gravy full of flavor, bean and lentil soup cooked to absolute perfection, a salad with just the right amount of everything -- while others were unfamiliar to most everyone save Kuzan and Carter, but smelled of rich spice and flavor. There were even cakes, pastries, and other desserts, the kind that reminded one of those delicious, obscure bakeries that one could only find if one knew where to look.

The coup de grace came from the crystal glasses. After the food laid itself out, the glasses filled up with a beverage so sweet, light, and refreshing that it was like nectar. Pitchers manifested, filled to the brim with the liquid, and they refilled themselves after being poured.

Kuzan looked around, grinning like a cat that just got into the cream. "Lady Annapurna takes good care of us," he explained, a little sheepish, "There's more than enough here, so take what you like." He turned to the Abbot. "Everyone, the monks as well. A thank you for everything you've done for us."

He picked up his glass, raised it as a sort of toast, then downed the drink. "Let's eat," he said, "Then when our stomachs are full and our minds a little cooler, we need to compare notes and find out what we all know about them, about the Tomb, about, well, everything."

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"Then I will start," Lia says, her voice as cold as it was on the day the Expedition started out, and yet she is visibly seething with fury. "I will start by confirming what many of us have probably suspected.

This 'expedition' is a front, a sham, a deception. There is an organization, a subversive group, that put all of this together with one central goal in mind: the acquisition of the Eye of Anubis. They sent Pelletier as their chief agent, but they also hired Maleagant and his group to serve Pelletier along the way. Judging by what I gleaned from his spellbook, Pelletier is the one who had been trying to kill Maleagant, probably because he suspected the man of being the one who poisoned him. Ironic, is it not, that the man managed to poison us, as well?

As for Maleagant - that is not even his real name. He and Jervis are both of te Dilisnya clan, and if you have not heard of them yet, there are a multitude of stories about that family. Moreover, Sam had reasons to fear pursuit by justice, or at least by the law. And now he has a chance at the ultimate freedom; thanks to the Lorelei's blessing, he and his lackeys are secure from magical tracking. He has enough friends among the Red Wizards of Hazlan to assume a completely new identity.

And what will he do with such freedoms? Why not get rich by plundering what he can from Menetnashte's tomb and then absconding with it? 'See you again in Dementlieu', indeed. Stuff and rubbish! Maleagant and his cronies can now approach the tomb of Menetnashte unobserved by magic. If they are stealthy and sly, they stand an excellent chance of slipping past both the Anubite and Cavendish, and getting out without anyone being able to follow them! Lily - Lilith now has limited spellcasting ability. She can probably warn her lover of what items in the tomb are too dangerous to touch.

We have to stop them. Regardless what he would do with the Eye, the Dilisnya bastard should not get his hands on it - nor on anything else in that accursed tomb."

[yalenusveler]

Andre was rather enjoying a bit of soup up until Lia made her dramatic declaration. At that point, enjoyment stopped, his spoon hit the table, thankfully after having reached his lips, and Andre began to make a face akin to the sort that drowning fish make, his lips opening and closing as if he were trying to form words of some sort with his hands now fidgeting with the rings he wore.

"Before anyone begins to ask if Lia has snapped under the strain of the day's events, I can confirm as fact a great deal of what she has said, at least in matters not pertaining to Samael's motivations. I can also add that Fasshad is either no longer human, or he is possessed by a minion of Menetnashte." Andre said with grave seriousness. "He frightens my cat."

And with that wonderful explanation of fact checking, Andre gave a tidbit to Pumpkin.

[Kaitou Kage]

"Okay," Kuzan said around a mouthful of very spicy curried chicken. The stuff was enough to make most people's tongues shrivel up and fall out of their mouths but the priest ate it heartily, even despite the day's events. "This brings several questions, then."

He swallowed and began.

"First, who in that group is actually on the same page as Sam and who is just being manipulated? If Lia's correct, then Jervis is right up there with him, but what about the others?" He took another thoughtful bite as he considered this. Then he went down the list.

"Most of them are being paid by him, so there's some loyalty to that. But even then, I can't think they'd all just up and abandon us without some convincing. Michel has a mountain of gambling debts and would be easy to manipulate. Khalil hasn't been friendly with us since we found the crystal in Aremshah, and the reaction he gave to our displeasure shows he's a greedy *expletive*." Said expletive was delivered in Rajian. Judging from Carter's faint wince, it wasn't a nice term at all.

"What about Guy?" Kuzan continued ruefully, "He just doesn't seem like the kind of man who would do something like this. Do you think it's possible Sam delivered the same story to him about how we are a liability and it's safer to leave us behind?"

This time, he took a sip of the nectar. The food and drink was incredibly refreshing and satisfying, and there was a certain divine purity in it that made one feel as though he were getting more blessings than wealthy sustenance.

"Then there's Mary," the priest said, turning to Harris. "Many of her things are still here, Ed. Did you see her at all?"

"Finally, Lily. I get the impression that if she is part of this conspiracy, she's not nearly as loyal to Sam as he wants her to be. They're lovers, but I've gathered from my talks with her that she's a very ambitious woman, and I don't think she's the kind to just let herself be manipulated like that. Now that you say what you've said, I suspect there will be, what is the phrase, difficulties in Heaven?"

"Then there's the matter of what we have with us." He stuck another mouthful in and swallowed. "I can do this--" he gestured at the grand feast "--every day and the blessings of Varuna, the God of the Dark Oceans, allow me to create a large amount of water from thin air. Furthermore, if we truly need it, I can make more simple fare for us to eat.

"Travel will be a bit of an issue, but I think more importantly we need shelter. I've heard magic can create shelters as needed, but if we're going to push forward, we need something to protect us from the weather, the desert, and any other natural forces that could come by. For travel, I cannot help all of us get there quickly, but Varuna has taught me how to tune in to specific locations and find the most direct path to those locations. I can certainly guide us to Muhar, if not the Tomb itself."

"Finally, even if nobody else goes on, I am going forward." He opened and closed his marked hand. "I have a chance to find out where I came from and who I am, and even though it might end badly, I am too close to be able to turn back now."

He turned a solemn gaze to the Abbot. "Do you recognize this?" he asked, holding out his hand for the alien creature to see. "Anything you could tell me would help us greatly."

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"I am also going forward," Lia replies. "I will not go back. Not when the fate of this entire desert, and possibly the rest of our world hangs in the balance.

Do not bet the farm on Lily, however," she continues as she finally sits down at the table, shoulders slumping slightly. "She was also desperate to leave behind her past, enough that Dilisnya was prepared to make special arrangements for her. There are some crimes she is fleeing, and Dilisnya and she are joined together ... Guy, I would not be able to speak for nor against."

Lia shakes her head wearily. "Give me two days," she continues, her voice grim. "Two days for some studying and scribing, and I will be able to provide beasts to ride* for twenty hours each day, and shelter to sleep in** when we are in the wild places. It will be a bit of a squeeze, but I will be able to provide it."

Abruptly, the Wizard snatches up a glass, turns her back on the other people present in the room, and adjusts her mask so she can gulp the liquid down. Mask restored to its proper place, Lia turns back to the others, her eyes blazing with fresh vigor.

"Before we go any further," she says coolly, "I believe we should hear from Edmund Harris. I know for a certainty that he reported directly to the late professor Pelletier. I should like to know whether he is a member in 'good' standing of the subversive organization I mentioned, or merely a different kind of employee than the Dilisnya spawn."


*: Regal Procession spell; it'd help if I could research a camel version.
** Secure Shelter spell.

[NeoTiamat]

Dining Room, The Monastery of Stilled Nightmares, Sebua
July 20th, 761, 1:32 PM; Day 125 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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Kuzan turned a solemn gaze to the Abbot. "Do you recognize this?" he asked, holding out his hand for the alien creature to see. "Anything you could tell me would help us greatly."

The creature turned its bronze mask to examine Kuzan's hand, reaching out with one cool, black-gloved hand. It appears familiar... Let me consult a few books, perhaps there is something that may be useful. Excuse me, if you would. Call for Ianthe if anything is necessary.

The Abbot bowed his head politely and departed, making for the library.

"Lily was also desperate to leave behind her past, enough that Dilisnya was prepared to make special arrangements for her."

"Special arrangements...?" Professor Marchand-Renier asked, pausing in his pacing to look up at Lia. "Such as?"

"Before we go any further," Lia says coolly, "I believe we should hear from Edmund Harris. I know for a certainty that he reported directly to the late professor Pelletier. I should like to know whether he is a member in 'good' standing of the subversive organization I mentioned, or merely a different kind of lackey than the Dilisnya spawn."

"Really now Lia..." Professor Carter said quietly. "I know we're frustrated, but no need to take it out on Edmund."

"No... she's right." Edmund said quietly, voice thick and slow from the aftereffects of whatever narcotic Samael had injected him with.

"I've noticed that this Expedition's been fragmenting since Hazlan or so. Samael would give me one set of orders, then a half-hour later Pelletier revokes them in favor of a different command." Edmund sighed, regret in his eyes. "I should've done something, but I decided that since Pelletier was the Expedition-head, it was my job to keep him safe, especially after he was poisoned in Dezbar. I guarded his tent when I could, I tried to keep him safe, kept an eye on Samael for him..."

"He knew," Edmund said slowly, a haunted look in his eyes. "And I completely missed it. He wasn't worried about Cavendish. Certainly not the Anubite." He gave a short, humourless laugh at that. "All of his orders pointed toward the expedition. It was Sam and Jervis he was afraid of. But he didn't trust me enough to tell me. He didn't trust anyone. Maybe that's why he didn't care if his Shadow Beasts killed us." He shook his head, slowly, then apparently regretted it. "I should have realized that was him. The way it went after Sam specifically... the way Pelletier dispelled them so easily. Sheriff Finhallen would demote me to fetching his tea if he saw me now."

"So I suppose I am a lackey." A half-smile twisted on Edmund's face. "And not even a good one."

"Then there's Mary," the priest said, turning to Harris. "Many of her things are still here, Ed. Did you see her at all?"

"No idea." Edmund shook his head. "I went looking for the others after I woke up and noticed their beds empty. I'd reached the stables when Jervis attacked me."

"We fought, but the man's a demon in human skin." Edmund said quietly. "I think I spotted Samael, maybe Guy before it went dark. I woke up when you were standing over me. I didn't see Mary at all."

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"As I seem to have done you an injustice, captain," Lia slowly speaks, "I shall apologize for calling you a lackey and implying you were integral to the efforts of our enemies. For I can call the people who drew us all together as an expendable screen for their true purpose nothing else. We have all of us been cruelly abused. Do not doubt that Pelletier would have exterminated us, had such served his purpose.

Still, captain, there is something which I would appreciate your explaining. One time when I spied on you and Pelletier" - Lia manages to admit to spying with a remarkable lack of embarrassment - "he said 'the woman can not interfere', and that you should not make a fuss. What did he mean by that?

As for Mary ... She strikes me as odd, still. But she seemed very eager for 'adventure'. Mayhap she has somehow managed to ingratiate herself with the Dilisnyas.

As for Jervis. Even if he is, as captain Harris says, 'a demon in human skin', I imagine I can put a few blisters on his hide, if I get a clean shot at him."

Slowly, Lia clenches the fingers of her left hand into a fist. Her eyes visibly glow. "And if he attacks any of us, I will have lost my very last reason not to do just that."

[yalenusveler]

"Demon in human skin might be a righter assumption than you think, Edmund." Andre stated quietly, looking up from his meal. "Doctor Pelletier wanted me to somehow test him using holy water. To what end..I don't know, but not seeing any way to do so without Jervis promptly disemboweling me, I made excuses. And then, just before we assaulted Cavendish's position here, Pelletier ordered me to kill Jervis. Seeing as he was being an asset at the time, I chose not to. I got quite the verbal lashing for that." Andre said, with a bit of a weak smile on his face.

"Pelletier also wanted me to "deal" with Lia, and Lily..probably any of you if you got close to what was really going on. The problem of course is, a conscience is like kudzu, once it begins to grow, you really can't be rid of it."Andre chuckled, and slipped a ring off of one of his fingers, holding it up for all to see, a silver snake biting its own tail, its eyes small onyxes.

"Pelletier wasn't the only member of the organization on this little venture. I..was more or less his protege which only goes to show how utterly mad he truly was. The organization consists almost entirely of arcane spellcasters, and most of them illusionists. They believe that the world we see and perceive is itself, illusion, and that a way to master it can be found which sets them up as kings or even gods." Andre shook his head, sighing, letting the silver ring dance around on his fingertips, contemplating it a moment.

"They..have a singular distaste for necromancy. Makes it amusing I got in, but that's neither here nor there. So Pelletier, scared of his own mortality, couldn't go the usual arcane route for eternal existence, so instead he seized upon the Eye as a path to eternal life. I tried to tell him SEVERAL times that this was not in fact, what it did, but he ignored me. I now remember full well what it's like to be on the other end of academic condescension." Andre chuckled, a bit weak, but trying to find some amusement.

"He only finally believed me after Cavendish's little experiment in reality warping, when I told him that Cavendish's next stop was Port-a-Lucine, Pelletier was planning on sending a warning to the organization to tell them to prepare. I don't know if he succeeded in getting the message out before what he likely had coming to him caught up with him." Although that wasn't exactly the most flattering way to say what he had to say, Andre's tone suggested that there was perhaps a SMALL amount of fondness for Professor Pelletier left in him. Maybe a grain of sand or so, or a mustard seed.

"I doubt my contacting them would do much good. I was low ranking, I'm not an arcane spellcaster, and now..I'm not human any longer, and I've pacted with an outside force, which is enough to mark me for death in their eyes, and the only reason I'm telling you all this. Confession is good for the soul and all." Andre gave a weak smile, then considered the ring for another moment, then promptly tossed it up into the air, "Clamo!" leaving his lips as he gestured towards the spinning ring a shriek piercing the air as a bolt of solid sound impacted the ring, rendering it down into so much nothingness.

"Not the most civil way of tendering a resignation, but then again protocol and I have an antagonistic relationship."

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Without saying a word, Lia stands, walks over to Andre and puts one hand on his. She pats it twice, then grabs one of the glasses of nectar and holds it out to him.

[yalenusveler]

Andre smiled, and took hold of the glass, raising it high. "To Alikhain and Marilena, Ulsaon and the people of Phiraz, and all those others who have died because of this expedition whose names we know not. May we strive to ensure their deaths were not meaningless." And with that, he downed the Nectar.

[The Whistler]

As for Jervis. Even if he is, as captain Harris says, 'a demon in human skin', I imagine I can put a few blisters on his hide, if I get a clean shot at him."

Slowly, Lia clenches the fingers of her left hand into a fist. Her eyes visibly glow. "And if he attacks any of us, I will have lost my very last reason not to do just that."

Otto looked up from his tea with a rather apologetic expression; true to his nationality, he'd politely eschewed the curries and gravitated toward the less adventurous meats on the table, his greatest foray into culinary adventure being a side order of naan with his turkey. Not that he was particularly hungry to begin with.

"Ahem. I suspect Jervis of lycanthropy."

He put his mug back down.

"The man has been having multiple quantities of raw meat, secreted within a false bottom of his traveling case."

He picked his mug back up. Took a sip.

"Pelletier contracted me to investigate his poisoning; among with some of what has been revealed today, I discovered this thing. I did not place enough of this information together in time to prevent the death of the Professor, or to predict this recent action of Samael."

Put it down.

"Such is my error. I am inclined to resolve it through whatever means I am able."

Paused, silent through Theroux's declaration, watching the table.

"Andre...though I may, too, have contracted with forces which I still do not understand, I can not have experienced the conflict of interest of which you faced. Yet, if it is possible for me to support you nonetheless, I shall." A small, rather sad smile. "We never know what bonds we will form in life...but once made, I am knowing how difficult they may be to sever."

He raises his glass with the others, and drinks deep.

[DocBeard]

Truth, truth, and more truth.

Each hits Tomas like a punch in the gut; people he respected being part of a twisted Fraternity of Shadow-men, the man who asked him to help save Pelletier's life...it was only as a ruse! He was used and used again...

"Verdamnit Los!" Tomas shouts, his fist crashing through the nearest available wooden object. Panting, Tomas turns around, strapping his shield to his back again. "So does anyone ELSE have any dark secrets we should be knowing about? Sinister oaths to unspeakable powers, master plans to revolutionize the world, double lives as masked vigilantes? Because now seems like an opportune time to tell!"