The next morning, the city has a festival atmosphere, people gathering in the streets to celebrate the peaceful transfer of power. Music plays and people dance, all through the city streets. Several times during the morning, the group is offered free cider and snacks.

At around an hour before noon, the inauguration proper is set to begin at People's Field. It's packed for a wide distance around, but with some elbowing you're able to find a spot on a hill not too far away where you can see the stage. Currently, the high banker of Abadar in the city is standing there, giving a speech to open the event.

Bristle scratched absentmindedly at the back of her neck as they gazed upon the coronation from their hill. The skeletal rat she had animated for herself rested there, under her cloak, ready to wake her if she should fall asleep. Each of her companions had a similar skeleton. All given the same orders. Essentially, "stay within 5 feet of [person] and move as little as possible, and wake them if they fall asleep."

Speaking of sleep, the previous night had been a new experience. After finishing her prayers, Bristle spent the rest of the night awake, but not tired. Firea's spell seemed to do the trick. Bristle hadn't exactly enjoyed the lack of sleep, but it was necessary. Plus, it gave their group more time to mull over the journal Caleb had found.

"I wish I had my bear," Bristle mused, not for the first time. If things went wrong, it would have been nice to have extra firepower around. Unfortunately a big skeletal bear would draw too much unwanted attention among the crowds, so she had to leave it hidden securely at the bottom of a murky pond outside the city for now.

She turned to Firea and Voh'ren. "Either of you catch the smell of those spell components yet? Locate any potential agents of Whisper?" With such large crowds, you would be lucky if you could smell your own armpits, but she still felt compelled to ask.

Firea would shift to her Fox form, and move about a bit to see if she could catch the scent of any of the spell ingredients.

Hester had stayed awake until 4AM last night and then slept.  Whisper had not come.  She felt okay but kept watch over the others, just in case the lack of sleep affected them.  Today though, everything seemed somehow clearer.

"I wonder," she asked at breakfast.  "Could it be that Whisper is not hiding in a Librarian today but right there in view of the whole city, possessing the candidate as she awaits her own inauguration?"

Caleb had stayed up until around one in the morning, fruitlessly attempting to decode Halson's journal before finally giving up in frustration and turning in. He was quiet that morning as everyone prepared, checking, double, and then triple checking his weaponry before leaving. At Hester's suggestion over breakfast, he paused eating long enough to think it over before giving a curt reply. "Not something I'd considered, but that would actually be pretty clever. Security provided for her, no need to slip her own agents in at all. Definitely keep an eye on the stage."

So it was that, a few hours later, he was crouched on the hilltop, very much so trying to ignore the undead rat in his pocket as he scanned the crowd with crossbow drawn, ready to fire at a moment's notice as he answered Bristle's question. "I'm not seeing anyone acting suspicious in the crowd. Doesn't mean there's nothing there, but I can't tell for all the people around."

Voh'ren gives a somewhat pained smile as he accepts the "gift" of an undead rodent. He is clearly grateful to Bristle for the gesture, but somewhat unsure of how to accept something that The Green would probably consider distasteful. He looks toward Kiru, who seems to see the rat as a potential set of bones to gnaw.

"Don't even think about it," he says to the wolf.

Voh'ren gauges the distance to the stage, considering whether he could potentially reach a distant foe with a well-placed arrow. He watches the scene unfold silently until Bristle's question pulls him back toward the group.

"There were no leads at the river," he answers with a frustrated grunt, "but perhaps Kiru's nose might pick up some spell components." He directs the wolf to begin searching for hints of the ingredients' odor, pointing his companion toward promising leads. As he keeps an eye on Kiru's progress, he listens to Hester and Caleb.

"Anything's possible I suppose," he replies. "I've only had a cursory encounter with her, so I wage you all would have a better gauge on what she is capable of."

OOC:

23:51, Today: Voh'ren Wildheart rolled 13 using 1d20+12.  Survival-Aid another for Kiru. Lol, at least I still hit the Aid Another DC of 10

23:52, Today: Voh'ren Wildheart rolled 18 using 1d20+7.  Kiru-Survival.

Hester sighs in response to Voh'ren's comment.  "No, we don't, at least not in the sense of limits.  Unfortunately, we've come nowhere near approaching them and the closest we came to even inconveniencing her was when we laid to rest her catspaw."

Kiru and Firea alike fail to detect any trace of the spell components that they got samples of, in the crowd. The banker concludes his speech and steps back; Elena Raskovel, the incoming Supreme Elect, steps up and begins to give her speech.

Staying in fox shape, considering she is tiny animal now she will make her way through the crowd and under the stage to see if she smells them up there.

As Elena Raskovel took the stage, Bristle became increasingly uneasy. If something was going to happen, it would probably happen soon. She was about to cast her sleep-protection spell upon herself, but hesitated at the last second. Instead she reached over and touched Caleb on the shoulder, imbuing him with her magic. His crossbow would probably be more handy than her own claws if the group were struck by a sudden wave of sleep.

"Caleb should be protected from Whisper's Deep Slumber magic for the next hour or so. Everyone keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious..." Taking her own advice, Bristle continued to scan the crowds, continually imbuing herself and allies with divine Guidance as she did. She even used her Deathwatch to make sure none of those gathered were well-disguised undead people in service to Whisper.

---

Casting Spell Immunity on Caleb to give them protection from Deep Slumber for 70 minutes. Also near-constant Guidance for everyone!

She is also keeping an eye out for anything suspicious:
15:01, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 20 using 1d20+7.  Perception, with Guidance - People watching.

"Still, it would be good to have a guess as to what exactly I'm up against," Voh'ren replies to Hester as he watches Kiru return after a fruitless search.

"I was hired to find out what happened at Falcon's Hollow and lead survivors back to civilization," he says. "Now I find out that I'm dealing with a powerful and seemingly ever-present adversary. Not quite what I expected, nor what I'm best equipped to handle."

"Any advice you can give me?" he asks the group while he watches the the new Supreme Elect take the stage. He keeps one eye focused on the scene for any hint of foul play, and the other alert for any trace of the enigmatic Whisper's personality in the speaker...

OOC:

Not sure if I can make two skill checks, but feel free to take the Sense Motive if I can't also do Perception

17:56, Today: Voh'ren Wildheart rolled 15 using 1d20+11.  Sense Motive.
17:58, Today: Voh'ren Wildheart rolled 18 using 1d20+11.  Perception.

In her fox form she will use her tiny size to make her way back to the others, and jump up on a balcony or table near them. "I think I caught a scent from the stage of one of the spell components, it is feint though and obviously no longer present though."

Hester watches and listens to the new Supreme Elect's speech and tries to imagine it in Whisper's 'voice', just to see whether it seems that this may be Whisper gaining secular power.

Caleb shuddered and tensed as he felt Bristle's magic flow into him, though he relaxed upon hearing that it was simply a protective spell. "Thanks for that," he said as he turned his eyes upon the crowd once more, scanning it one last time before fixing his sights on the stage itself as Firea returned and shared her findings.

"So, do we think Hester's idea was right, and Whisper's in Raskovel? Maybe the Banker?" he said as he brought his crossbow to bear, his hands steady as he prepared himself to fire.

ooc: Rolling Sense Motive to see if I can spot anyone behaving strangely on the stage, with a result of 28. In addition, I'm readying an action to fire at anyone who starts casting a spell on the stage or otherwise behaves with hostility

Sebastian grips his blade, his eyes boring into the stage, looking for signs of Whisper.

11:55, Today: Sebastian Kosmin rolled 37 using 1d20+1d8+16.  sense motive.

Raskovel finishes delivering her speech. The Banker steps forward to present her with the medal of office.

"I have a theory." Firea says as she begins pacing, remaining in her fluffy seven tailed fox form. "What if, none of them are under her influence. As I said, the component I smelled was weak, and long gone from the stage. What if the ones she influenced were the ones that put this together? You know, the builders, stage hands...  Those guys."

"NO! Don't take the medal, the banker is corrupted!" Sebastian shouts, aiming his crossbow and firing. The distance is long, and Sebastian's aim is not particularly keen. He had been intending to hit the medal, but instead simply hopes the bolt flying by will give him and the others enough time to act.

Pathfinder doesn't really have called shots, but I'm firing to hit the medal, not anyone in particular. Spending 2 points of inspiration to add, but still cruddy (not a nat-1 though)
21:35, Today: Sebastian Kosmin rolled 15,8 using 1d20+1d8+11,1d8 ((2,2;8))

Voh'ren lets out a sharp whistle and points toward the banker. Kiru's ears perk up and the wolf speeds off, charging toward the banker at top speed. The Half-Orc darts after the wolf, deftly drawing his quarterstaff as he races toward his quarry...

OOC:

19:04, Today: Voh'ren Wildheart rolled 20 using 1d20+14.  Handle Animal-Tell Kiru to Attack (DC 10).

Kiru has a base speed of 50' and will charge the banker. If he can reach him (within 100'), he will make a basic attack plus a trip
19:09, Today: Voh'ren Wildheart rolled 23 using 1d20+6.  Kiru-Attack.
19:10, Today: Voh'ren Wildheart rolled 3 using 1d6+2.  Dmg.
19:10, Today: Voh'ren Wildheart rolled 19 using 1d20+4.  Kiru-Trip. If Charge's +2 applies to the trip, then it's 21

The bolt misses. Those standing nearby look in horror and rage at Sebastian, assuming that he was aiming for the Elect.

On the stage, the banker abruptly lunges. Those watching see a blade appear in his hand. Raskovel, caught off guard, is struck with vicious precision, the small blade piercing into the side of her neck. She slumps down, with the Banker cradling the body.

The crowd goes mad.

So Sebastian was acting in a surprise round - he was the only one who rolled high enough to see it coming, on the sense motive. Additionally, the crowd is too thick to permit charging (it acts as difficult terrain of a non-natural variety) unless there's a special ability in use. So I don't think that anyone is able to act further before the Banker/Whisper pulls this off. If I'm incorrect, lemme know and I can adjust it.

Voh'ren lets out a frustrated growl as the scene unfolds too fast for him or Kiru to do anything to stop it. He stops mid-stride and lets out a warbling whistle, signaling the wolf to break off its attack.

The Half-Orc reflexively draws his hood back over his face. Given the chaos that is about to ensue, he is more than a little afraid that his Orcish heritage will make him a potential scapegoat...

OOC:

I can technically hit the regular Handle Animal DCs on a Take 1, but I think I am supposed to roll them anyway?

19:34, Today: Voh'ren Wildheart rolled 19 using 1d20+14.  Handle Animal-Have Kiru stand down (DC 10).

Everything was happening so fast that Bristle scarcely had time to comprehend what exactly was happening. She had been contemplating Firea's comment about the stagehands when Sebastian's warning rendered it moot. She could tell, even from this distance, that the placement of the banker's dagger meant Raskovel had already left the land of the living. "The elect is beyond saving. Focus on the assassin!" She could also tell that Voh'ren's "fight or flight" mode had kicked in, but the ranger was currently hampered by the crowds. She quickly moved toward him before the half-orc got too far away that she wouldn't be able to catch up. She wove a divine spell even as she moved. Maybe some flight would help with his fight.

"Let Death's soul-step assist your journey. Voh'ren, take this blessing and walk above the crowds. Do what you need to do!" She would have targeted his wolf, but animals tended to need training before they would willingly walk on air. Unfortunately, in her armor, Bristle wouldn't be much help in any sort of a chase.

---

Bristle moved toward the stage/Voh'ren and cast Air Walk on Voh'ren. It will last 70 minutes.
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/a/air-walk/

Cursing at his ineffectiveness, Sebastian quickly utters a magical blessing upon himself and begins pushing through the crowd, trying to get to the front. "Out of my way you blasted fools!"

Standard Action: Cast Heroism on Self
Move Action: Push forward through crowd, trying to get to the stage.

Hester reaches out, moving as quickly as she can to close the range between her and the banker, trying to block his escape, assuming he would attempt an escape  When she gets near enough she will begin making broad gestures with her extremely long arms and cast a spell.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:58, Sun 22 Nov 2020.

Firea remains in her fox form and begins charging for the stage at full speed! Between legs, through legs, whatever route her small animal self can take to get there she takes it, and quickly!

[OOC: In fox form Firea has a speed of 40, and is tiny. So she will use that to her advantage and head for the stage.]

Voh'ren snaps his head in Bristle's direction. He gives her a nod of understanding, and runs over the heads of the crowd.

OOC:

If I can run, I'll reach the stage with the banker and the dead woman by the next round.

Caleb took a moment to take in what had just happened before his eyes, watching the madness unfold in front of him before snapping back into reality, raising his crossbow to fire. Seeing Voh'ren take to the air to charge the Banker as Sebastian attempted to push through the crowd, he dropped once more into a firing crouch and took careful aim before firing a single shot.

ooc: Spending one point of grit to use my Targeting Shot deed, aiming for the head. The result of the attack is a 29. Assuming this hits, the Banker takes 12 piercing damage from a +1 weapon and is confused for one round as a mind affecting effect. Lastly, this seems like it's probably initiative time to me, if it is my result for that is a 27.

Hester isn't using magic to get into range.  Instead, she's worming her way through the crowd, partly through barging, partly through the judicious use of the words, "excuse me" and partly by easing her way into gaps.  If that doesn't work, she'll cast enlarge person on herself and roar at anyone in her way.

09:41, Today: Hester Darkeye rolled 25 using 1d20+8.  Oops forgot initiative d20+8.

I suppose I should roll initiative too.
08:48, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 7 using 1d20-1.  Initiative

The Banker drops the blade as it is slicked with grease, a moment before the bolt takes him hard in the temple. He staggers, but straightens, looking towards the crowd. His expression is one of abject horror as the crowd screams, panicking. Some of them turn towards Caleb and Sebastian, clearly thinking them the assassins.

Meanwhile, Firea, Voh'ren, and Hester all reach the stage, at the eye of the storm that this crowd has become.

"Who benefits?" asks Hester aloud.  "Who gains from this murder.  I see the murder weapon down there", she pauses to point to it, "But who is next in line?" Obviously this is not the sort of question one should ask if one has any common sense.

Bristle continued to hustle toward her faster allies, keeping an eye on the crowds around her. She wanted to know if any guards were rushing in with harmful intent, or if any random crowd members were going to start casting the sleep spells they had prepared for. Her armor clanked noisily as she made her way past the panicked spectators.

"No!" Atraxus snarls as the bolt pierces the banker's head. He slams a fist down on the stage, frustrated with being so utterly helpless to prevent another death. He looks in the direction of the shot, and is genuinely shocked to see the shooter as Caleb. It takes him a moment to understand his companion's intent, but it does not make the present situation any better.

"We're with the Andoran government," Atraxus says to any guards taking the stage. "We may have a lead on the assassin. Please, give us a chance to investigate the scene."

"Firea," Atraxus says to the small fox once it arrives, "see if you can smell any of those spell components on the deceased. You're more familiar with the components than Kiru is. In the meantime, I'll try to look for clues."

The Half-Orc scans the scene and the crowd, looking for anything that might be amiss...

OOC:

21:25, Today: Voh'ren Wildheart rolled 17 using 1d20+11.  Perception.

Forgot initiative

21:26, Today: Voh'ren Wildheart rolled 5 using 1d20+2.  Initiative.

Firea growls low at the still living banker, flames evident in the mouth of the small fox as she stares at the banker. Her seven tails swishing behind her as she attempts to use pure intimidation upon the man. "Get on your knees, place your hands on your head, and surrender for the murder of the Supreme Elect Elena Raskovel." The very flames playing at her mouth and body shows two things, why she is indeed Firea the Firefox, and that if he does not comply she will indeed burn him where he stands.

[OOC:
17:33, Today: Firea rolled 17 using 1d20+2.  Initiative.

17:32, Today: Firea rolled 20 using 1d20+16.  Intimidate.

It's funny that she doesn't need to roll very high at all to have a good Intimidate roll. It's even more funny that a small fox can be that intimidating.

Also, does Firea smell any of the spell components on the banker as she gets closer to him?]

Voh'ren blinks his eyes, somewhat surprised that the fox is talking to what he thought was a dead banker. However, it does indeed appear that the man is somehow alive. He shifts his focus from looking for a killer to treating the man's injury.

"I'm not sure he'll be able to answer," he says as he expertly tends to the wound. "Either from the bolt in the head or Whisper's spell."

OOC:

Trying to provide first aid

15:15, Today: Voh'ren Wildheart rolled 23 using 1d20+8.  Heal-Provide First Aid.

"What are you talking about? We all saw who shot her, it was that man over there!" The Banker raises one hand to point up to the hill where Sebastian is standing. "Guards! Seize them!"

You can all roll sense motive.

"We, no everyone, saw you stab her. You will admit what your actions were, and the reasons for doing them to all who stand before you!" Firea said coldly. The flames still playing along her form.

[OOC: Since it is a new day, using one of my two uses per day of Suggestion. The suggestion is "You will admit what your actions were, and the reasons for doing them to all who stand before you!" and the save DC is 18 Will.

22:50, Today: Firea rolled 19 using 1d20.  Sense Motive.]
This message was last edited by the player at 03:59, Thu 26 Nov 2020.

I'm not sure if Bristle is close enough to properly see or hear for Sense Motive, but here is a roll anyway:
21:47, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 18 using 1d20+10.  Sense Motive: Banker.

"Hold still," growls Voh'ren at the banker, "unless you want that wound to turn into a scar like mine." He turns his head to reveal the jagged scar that runs across his cheek in order to emphasize his point.

OOC:

19:54, Today: Voh'ren Wildheart rolled 27 using 1d20+11.  Sense Motive.

Caleb rose to his feet as he saw the Banker being thoroughly pacified as he loaded another bolt and faced the confused and enraged crowd. "Before any of you does something to force me to shoot you, we are working under the employ of the People's Council, and we've got the paperwork to prove it. That thing on stage is not the High Banker, don't listen to a damn word out of it's mouth. Just stand aside and let us work. The "or else" implicit in his statement didn't need to be voiced, the crossbow slowly sweeping across the lot of them got the point across just fine.

ooc: Given Caleb took his shot from the hilltop 150 feet away, I'm fairly certain he wouldn't be able to hear what's going on stage for the sense motive to work.

Sebastian swears and glares as he tromps through the crowd with the rest of the group. He had failed. Again. It was so horribly perfect. Before he had done terrible things and gotten away with it. Now he had done nothing, but would be blamed for them all. Of course. A dark cloud came over his mind, one of despair and hopelessness. He gripped his hand on the hilt of his glades, despite the pointlessness of it. This was a fight of words and the mind, not of blades, but for all his supposed brilliance, he could see nothing.

20:54, Today: Hester Darkeye rolled 7 using 1d20+6.  Sense motive.  A natural 1.  I wonder what the effect could be.

The people around Caleb draw back, seeming thoroughly cowed by him - though it's not clear how much of that is that he claimed to be working for the People's Council, and how much is that he's an angry man with a crossbow who just accurately shot a man from fifty yards.

Meanwhile on the stage, the Banker flinches away from the party. "What are you talking about?" he says, in a nearly perfect imitation of frightened confusion. "I would never!"

The guards look uncertain, but several of them step up all the same, hands on weapons. "Beg pardon, but I have to take you in. We'll get this sorted out." One of them says, sounding genuinely regretful.

"You would never?" asked Hester.  "Interesting choice of words. Not 'I did never' but 'I would never' suggesting that it is out of character without it being a true denial.  I believe that you did ever, because I saw you holding the knife until you noticed in pure shock what you had done and let it fall from your nerveless fingers.  I suggest that what happened was, you had a black out and then found that you had murdered your victim.  Except that you didn't.  Someone else murdered him and we will find out who.  You were only the weapon."

Hester looks at the banker through half lowered lids as she spoke, her eyes looking almost but not quite normal.  She could plant the suggestion but would she be able to persuade him to act sensibly?  She would have to see about that.


11:26, Today: Hester Darkeye rolled 14 using 1d20.  Bluff = d20+12 so her total is 26

As Bristle continued to make her way the rest of the way to the stage, she debated whether or not she should interject herself into the situation further. Perhaps it would be smarter to stay out of it in case her party needed someone to break them out of jail.

She quickly dismissed that thought though. It was clearly better not to have anyone get thrown in jail at all. As Hester pointed out the error of the banker's words, Bristle huffed over closer to the guards. Her armor making her movements labored, as was usual. "Look at the neck wound," she insisted to the guards, breathing heavily from her hasty walk. "You ever see an arrow do that? The elect was clearly cut by a blade. Deep. And the only one close enough to use a blade was the banker!" Perhaps the difference in wounds was not so easily distinguishable to a layman (especially if they were avoiding looking closely at such a grizzly scene), but to Bristle it was as clear as night and day. The fact that the guards meant to arrest his companions for shooting the elect when none of those on stage were even the ones who shot a bow made Bristle want to pull her hair out in frustration.

But, to be fair, the guards were likely not thinking completely logically at the moment. Bristle doubted they had expected to be dealing with a sudden murder today. Especially by one of their authority figures. With that in mind, she added. "Let's all take a few deep breaths before anyone does something rash. I think we all have the same goal here. I, for one, fully plan to cooperate as long as this situation remains civil."

Bristle may or may not have been drawing on her past experiences dealing with angry mobs...

The banker's accusation causes an explosion of white and red behind his eyes. Typical. So very typical. And no way to confirm his suspicions about what was clearly afoot here. No matter the guards' regret, he had no doubt that they would NOT be able to sort this out. It was that frustration, that feeling of helplessness and hopelessness that set his blood afire. However, the Half-Orc swallows back the indignant rage of being falsely accused. It was something he had far more experience with than phantasmal witches with incomprehensible minds. As he stood there silently, his face scrunched up like one being forced to eat the bitterest of meals.

He is about to speak when Bristle appears. Instead, he lets the cleric speak. While she does, he slowly puts his quarterstaff away.

"Agreed," he adds when she mentions cooperating, unable to completely mask the hint of a growl in his voice.

"The banker is also lying. He is merely feigning frightened confusion, nearly perfectly mind you, but a lie nonetheless." The Fox said as she began to circle the banker, sniffing around him.

[OOC: Does she smell any of the spell components on him? As if, the spell had been used on or near him.]

"Good," Caleb said as the crowd fell back, "Now just stay out of the way and let us work." As he spoke, he advanced slowly towards the stage, crossbow still readied to fire.

As he drew nearer, he called out to the guards on stage, "We are mercenaries under the direct employ of the People's Council, you're not taking any of us away. Anybody with a drop of sense and a working pair of eyes in the crowd could tell you they saw the "Banker" stab Raskovel. If anyone should be locked in irons it's the man who was just holding the murder weapon."

The guards glance at each other. One of them looks at the Elect's wound, and nods slowly. "Don't look like an arrow wound, sir," she says.

The captain grimaces, then nods as well. "Asmodeus's balls, this is a mess. Look, I don't rightly know what's going on, but I do know that the incoming Elect is dead and someone's head is gonna roll for it. So for now, you're all coming in - you included, Banker, sir. Even if the wound wasn't an arrow, can't say for certain that the archers weren't accomplices, you ken? So I'd 'precciate it, friends, if we could all go to the guardhouse peacefully, and wait a spell for the investigation to run its course, and talk like civilized people. You ken?"

His voice is calm, and surprisingly calming, soothing almost - not supernatural, more just a rock of stability in the increasingly agitated crowd. His hand, though, is on the hilt of his longsword. And his eyes dart to the Banker as much as to the party.

Bristle had no weapon in her hand to put away (her clawed hand was her weapon), but she lowered her shield even further than it had been as a sign of cooperation. She nodded to the captain of the guards. "That sounds like a reasonable request to me. Perhaps we can even help further each other's goals."

Bristle would like to eventually explain to the guard captain how their group was actually here to try and stop anything resembling an assassination from happening. Of course, she would want to be out of earshot of a known Whisper agent when she did so. And in turn, maybe the captain could help them figure out why Whisper might want to assassinate the elect in the first place. What ramifications would the assassination have that would benefit Whisper?

Firea pads next to Bristle, staying in her fox form for the moment but not doing anything hostile. For the moment she was content to stay like she was.

Hester too has no visible weapons out.  She too walks amiably beside Bristle.  She watches and listens for clues or opportunities as one does.

Voh'ren nods and follows, keeping an eye out for suspicious activity and any changes in the banker's demeanor. His general agitation keeps him more focused on the latter.

OOC:

08:01, Today: Voh'ren Wildheart rolled 12 using 1d20+11.  Perception.
08:02, Today: Voh'ren Wildheart rolled 21 using 1d20+11.  Sense Motive.

Caleb took a few moments to turn the captain's words over in his head before nodding and pulling himself onto the stage with everyone else. Once there, he slung his crossbow back over his shoulder and followed along to the Guardhouse, though he refused to allow any of the guards to take his weapons. On the way he scrutinized the banker's every little move, just waiting for any clue he was going to make a break for it, pull another knife, or anything else.

23:54, Today: Caleb Miller rolled 22 using 1d20+11.  Sense Motive.

23:54, Today: Caleb Miller rolled 23 using 1d20+11.  Perception.

Looking around, Sebastian has vanished into the crowd - intentionally, it must be, there's no way he could have faded away that thoroughly that quickly without trying.

The guard doesn't seem to notice, and marches all of you to the guard office. The Banker is led off, held by a guard on either side, and closed into a cell, while the guard captain leads the group of investigators to an interrogation room.

Once inside, he relaxes considerably, and sits across the table from you, without bothering to have you restrained or even keep any other guards in the room with you. "So tell me your version of what happened." His voice is tired.

Bristle had been on edge as they were led to and through the guard office. She did not particularly like being put into an interrogation room, but it was a lot better than being in a cell. When the guard captain visibly relaxed, however, Bristle also relaxed. She guessed by his body language that he knew their group was innocent, but wanted to keep up appearances outside of their current room. That was her initial hunch anyway.

Looking from one party member to another, Bristle decided to speak up first. "We were trying to track down a certain... entity. We've been on her trail for the last few weeks. Our clue trail led us to believe she might try something at the ceremony today, but we weren't sure what. We were keeping a close eye on our surroundings though, and one of our group saw the banker going in for an assassination attempt and tried shooting an arrow to stop it. They missed with their arrow, the elect died to a dagger, and we rushed toward the stage to try and apprehend the assailant. Both because of the obvious crime, and because the banker might still point us closer to our target."

She looked to her companions again to see if they had more to add, or to see if any thought she had already said too much. Regardless, she asked the guard captain a question of her own. "Do you happen to know who might have benefited from the elect's demise? Or who may have suffered most if she came to power? I'm not too familiar with the local politics."

Bristle took a small consolation knowing that if their entire group somehow ended up taking the fall for the assassination, that at least Sebastian would still be out there tracking down Whisper.

---

Trying to make sure they aren't talking to a Whisper agent.
21:50, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 15 using 1d20+10.  Sense Motive: Guard Captain - is he Whisper?

Firea would sniff around the guard office as they are led through it, trying to see if she could smell any of the spell components in it as well. She would even take a few sniffs towards the guard captain once they were in the room to see if he smell of them.

Once they were in the room she would jump on the table, and sit down, letting Bristle do the talking.

Hester keeps her mouth shut and lets Bristle do the talking.  That was probably the best thing she could do since she was still half convinced that the Whisperer was an ancestor of hers.

"I have little else to add," Voh'ren says to the guard captain after Bristle finishes. "I recently joined this investigation, but I can vouch that the entity exists and is frustratingly elusive. She also holds a grudge against the people here. Perhaps the Elect had long ties to the region?"

Caleb sat back and allowed the captain to take in what the others had just said, pulling the ledger they'd recovered from Falcon's Hollow from his pack and pushing it towards the man. "I know it sounds insane, but before you have us thrown away, read this. We got this book from Falcon's Hollow, the thing that was or still is in the Banker is responsible for it going dark. We stopped it then and tried to stop it again today, but obviously it beat us. It'll keep doing things like this unless it's stopped."

The guard captain listens, then flips through the logbook, his expression carefully closed. Then he looks back to Bristle and nods slowly.

"I can't think of anyone, and that's the part that bothers me. Raskovel was...a very safe candidate for the position, if you follow. Not likely to really bother anyone. Not a radical on any topic I can think of. She was a compromise between various factions in the government, everyone knew as much. I can't see how her death is good for anyone."

He sighs. "So you think that...what, someone bribed the banker? Blackmailed him?"

"Enspelled him." The multi-tailed fox stated matter of factly.

"Given the entity's grudge," Voh'ren says, "plunging the government into chaos would be motive enough. This creature---this 'Whisper'---has the power to possess people, much like a marionette. She can also leave them in a catatonic state once she discards them. The one victim I saw in person was a librarian---Roselyn Pilov. She is now being cared for at the Temple of Sarenrae."

"Others were left dead when she finished with them. Simply worn out." said Hester.

Bristle nodded in agreement as they others gave the captain the details. "Yes. Whisper is an entity with an incomprehensibly vast mind, and a knack for possession and invading dreams. We actually thought she might try putting the crowds to sleep for some reason, since the last clue we found about her involved one of her puppets buying copious amounts of spell components related to sleep spells." Bristle pondered for a moment, then added, "Raskovel wasn't exceptionally knowledgeable in sleep magic or ancient entities, was she?" The cleric figured it was a long-shot, but still worth asking.

"Make note, I did smell remnants of the spell components in the area of the stage, but they were long gone. My guess, they were used in the area recently, possibly of those that worked on the stage." The Fox said, as she curled up on the table, laying down.

"Not unless there was a good deal more to her than I knew. She was a legal scholar, before she became a politician." The guard captain shrugs. "Seems more likely that it's what you said earlier - your 'Whisper' just wanted to sow some chaos. This will do that, you'd best believe it. There's a riot starting outside."

"It's a good tactic when you think about it. If you want to stop people from digging into things you don't want them to, start a massive fire so they'll be kept busy putting it out instead. We just happened to be looking into Whisper's origins and the next day, the Elect gets murdered by the High Banker." Caleb said thoughtfully, leaning back in his chair. "Speaking of the Banker, something will need to be done about him. Think we could get a couple priests or mages or something in to check and see if Whisper's in him? It'd be a shame to lose him too."

"That... is a great point Caleb." Bristle hadn't considered that Whisper's motive might have been so simple in nature. "So to thwart Whisper's plans, our best move may be to ignore her actions and continue with what we had been investigating?" Bristle was halfway just think aloud as she contemplated the details.

Something still wasn't adding up though. Bristle had been setting her plan into motion long before their group had gotten to town. So maybe Whisper was just being extra cautious after Falcon's Hollow, or maybe there was another reason for the chaos too. After all, if Whisper could set up assassinations, why would she assassinate the elect instead of one from their own group?

It wasn't exactly anything to go on, but it could still be another clue to keep in mind. Bristle let her fellow adventurers ask more questions while she mulled things over in her mind a bit more.

"I can get a priest in. Shelyn or Sarenrae would be best, since we can't exactly ask Abadar's clergy for it." The guard captain grunts sourly, scratching at his neck. "It'll take a little while. Streets are chaos right now. You mind sitting in your cells while the priest gets here? Don't want to start a fight, but it'll look best, and if you aren't being level it'll be best."

"All square and on the level." giggled Hester.  She was suspicious as anything but couldn't think of any way to avoid such a fate.

"Sarenrae would probably be preferred," Bristle suggested, since the clergy of her own religion would probably not be the ideal choice in this situation. "It seems they have a connection to a paladin who fought this foe in the distant past, and we brought another of Whisper's victims to their temple for care only just last night. She was left unconscious when Whisper had finished puppeteering her. So either the banker is luckier, or he is still under Whisper's control."

"As for sitting in a cell, I would prefer not to, but I can also see why you ask. Would you be willing to at least leave the door unlocked in case a wild mob comes calling for blood?"

"That is acceptable," Voh'ren says. "I do have a request, however. I have a wolf pup companion that I have raised ever since he was rejected for being the runt of the litter. Could I bring him inside this jail as well? I would hate to see him caught in the midst of a riot." His voice cannot hide the concern he has for Kiru.

Firea was not fond of the idea of a cell herself, but she would go along with what the other's decided to do. Especially considering in this form she could squeeze out. Still, something Voh'ren said caught her attention and she listened for the Captain's answer.

Caleb took a moment to think over Bristle's question before answering. "Assuming that she was just going for a distraction and the Elect didn't factor into her overall schemes beyond a distraction, yes. Of course, the harder we push the more she'll escalate her attacks until we quit. Just something to keep in mind going forward."

His piece said on that front, he turned to the captain and shrugged. "I'll throw my hat in the ring for the Sarenites too, and I don't mind sitting in a cell for a little while. I'm not giving up my weapons though, not while Whisper might still be in the Banker."

The guard captain looks momentarily taken aback, then shrugs. "Can't say I thought that'd work. Yeah, the pup can come in, why not. Not standard procedure but who cares anymore." He sighs and escorts you along the halls of the guardhouse to the basement, where a few cells sit behind barred doors. One of them holds the Banker, sitting and staring blankly as though bored. The one opposite is where the captain opens the door and waves you inside. "We'll get this sorted out as soon as we can."

Bristle nodded to the guard captain as she stepped into the cell. She kept one eye on the door to make sure it did in fact stay unlocked, and she kept her other eye on the banker in the other cell. She was curious if there was any sign that they were still under Whisper's control. Or, Bristle mused briefly, perhaps Whisper was not actually involved in the assassination and the banker had acted on their own after all. But Bristle quickly dismissed that thought since it would be too big of a coincidence. Especially since Firea had smelled those spell components nearby. Perhaps they could make good use of their time in the cell and do a bit of light interrogation while here.

When the captain left, Bristle found a spot to lean against the wall. Her armored body clanked against the stone wall. Calling over to the banker, she asked, "So, did you figure out what happened yet?" She was curious to see if they would still try and claim ignorance about what they had done to the woman on stage.

Caleb walked inside the cell, nodding at the Captain's words. "The sooner the better captain, best of luck to you."

When the man left, Caleb assumed a firing crouch and took aim at the Banker before responding to Bristle's words. "He knows exactly what happened on stage, all that confusion was a lie." As he spoke he studied the man closely, waiting to see if his words elicited a reaction.

ooc: Rolling sense motive on the Banker to gauge his response with a result of 14. In addition, I am readying an action. If the Banker begins to cast a spell, I'm shooting him.

"Oh, there's really no need to put on an act now," the Banker says, his mannerisms melting immediately into those of Whisper. He yawns, relaxes back against the wall. "Can't blame a girl for trying. It might have worked. So how's things, anyway? Have the riots started yet?" Her smile is innocent, casual, effortless.

"How should we know? As you can see, we've been put in a holding cell." Of course, the guard captain had told them that riots had started, but Bristle didn't want to give Whisper the luxury of free information. Bristle just wished she could say she was surprised to hear the banker channel Whisper's mannerisms. But alas, it was no surprise at all.

"So was that your goal then, Whisper? Riots? Simple chaos? Now that we have been captured, maybe you can fill us in on your actual plan."

"She wouldn't wait centuries for that. She could have did that at anytime." The fox said as she padded along the floor. "She has another end game."

"You don't expect us to be impressed or surprised, do you?" Voh'ren growls. "After all, you did survive a crossbow bolt to the head. That would kill most men."

"So what's the endgame then mother?" asked Hester not really caring much what it was but just hoping they could find some way to kill the whisperer.

Caleb maintained his aim on Whisper, his features hardening in clear hostility as he spoke. "If I had to take a stab in the dark, I'd say she was trying to spread chaos and fear, make people easier to attack in their dreams. That sound about right?" he said, calling his question to Whisper directly.

"Oh, lovelies. You can't really think I'd answer such questions so easily," Whisper says, seeming wholly unconcerned about the crossbow. "Nor that I'm truly held captive. It merely didn't suit me to leave until...ah, here we are."

On cue a woman in a guard uniform sauntersup. "Good afternoon," she says, with Whisper's casual attitude. "There are some riots by the by. It's getting spicier. You want some fried chicken? Or, let's see, battered fried mushrooms and peppers? From the break room."

"I wouldn't expect you to answer anything. That seems to be your lot, to not answer a thing, and give enough clues to still answer, and yet not answer anything." Firea said calmly, deciding to curl up in a ball in her fox form on a bench next to Bristle. Her head laying on her multiple tails. "And yet, for some reason you keep us alive. Also it's not like any of us are trapped here. I'm a tiny animal for crying out loud."

Bristle absentmindedly began scratching Firea behind the ears with her clawed hands as she sat on the bench. She watched the new guard and did her best to confirm it was another Whisper agent, as she suspected. Bristle's mind was rushing to take in every angle of what was happening, but she wasn't exactly a super genius. A cleric of knowledge, yes, but not a super genius.

"If there are riots happening as we speak, is this really the time to be giving a known murderer a luxury dinner?" Bristle asked as innocently as possible. She tried to gage the guard's reaction, and was certainly ready for the guard to suddenly try to slaughter their group (if she was a Whisper agent or an agent of the original banker). Either way, she was glad to have her tiny bone-army still guarding her companions in case any sleepy shenanigans were about to take place.

---

Is the guard another extension of Whisper? Or maybe someone loyal to the banker?
21:37, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 21 using 1d20+10.  Sense Motive: Guard - is she also Whisper?

"Or, I suppose any time is the right time if the murderer is yourself. Right Whisper?" Bristle looked directly at the guard while saying the name Whisper, letting her companions know the prisoner and guard were the same person.

Caleb seemed ready to respond to Whisper when the guard entered the room. As she spoke, he raised an eyebrow at the offer of food and had opened his mouth to answer, only to fall silent when Bristle revealed that the guard was infected as well.

Eyes widening in surprise and a hint of fear, he readjusted his position so that both the Banker and the guard were in his line of sight. "How many people are you in?" he asked, disgust plain to hear.

Voh'ren raises his hand, gesturing for Caleb to lower the crossbow.

"It's not as though you can hurt her or even slow her down that way," he grumbles. "You'll only harm her host."

The Half-Orc turns his attention to the "banker" and the "prison guard."

"You've made your point quite clear," he says, addressing both persons in Whisper's control. "You can be anyone, anywhere, at any time. If we confront one of your puppets, you can cut its strings and slip away. And now you've arranged for us to be caged here while another part of your plan for revenge unfolds, only to engage us in another of your momentary chats. Which makes me wonder...why reveal yourself to us at all? You've gone to great lengths to keep the public from knowing that you are behind this. Do our attempts to foil your efforts amuse you, or do you desire an audience?"
This message was last edited by the player at 01:26, Mon 25 Jan 2021.

When Bristle started scratching her behind the ears her head started to tilt and lean into the hand. "...now I see why cay's like that so much, it feels good."

As she listened to the others she considered their questions. "Fall guys. Audience. As long as no one can find out she was the reason behind it all, and she can always put another to blame, she can do this again and again and again for all time." Then she considered for a moment. "The better questions should be, why is she doing it? What happened to her, to make her want to take this path?"

Hester smiled at Firea and said in almost a jolly voice.  "Precisely.  What did she suffer and who did it to her.  Same as the little girl.  Who was it Mama?  Would it help if we fed you his private parts?"

"She's told us why," Voh'ren replies, "it's for revenge. Something that happened long ago. She's just been pointedly vague on the specifics.

"I think I'll pass on the food," Voh'ren continues, shifting his focus back toward Whisper's puppets. "Feels too much like an intimation of a last meal."

"That's not telling us truly why Mister Voh'ren. That's just telling us something to keep us more curious, so that we keep asking." The Fox said pointedly.

As the others talked, Bristle continued to sit silently and watch Whisper. Both of her. She mulled over the questions her companions were asking and watched how Whisper reacted to them being asked. But Bristle did not add any new questions of her own. Not yet anyway. She was currently in observation mode.

Noticing Voh'ren's gesture from the corner of his eye, Caleb shook his head slightly and kept his weapon raised. "She can still attack us through those bodies, and better they die than end up like that librarian."

As the others ignored Whisper and threw their ideas around, he snorted derisively. "Whatever. Not like there's anything that would excuse what she's done, and I'd bet my last coin she's not going to tell us her whole plan. And I'm not in the mood to feed your ego, witch, so try and kill us or leave already." He said, directing the last sentence Whisper's way.

The Banker grins and says, "Oh, charming, you really want to know the full story?"

"That's unfortunate," the guard continues, so smoothly that they might as well have been a single voice, or two trained actors. "You see, I have a philosophy that stories are like food. They're best when they're kept spicy, served over several courses, and keep you wanting more right...until...the end."

The guard opens the lock of Whisper's cell, then unlocks the one you're in as well, while the Banker continues to talk. "In any case, I really have no animosity towards you. Just because we happen to be on opposing sides in this conflict doesn't mean there's any need for us to be personal enemies. The food was a mere courtesy. Hospitality, you might call it. Also, I'm hungry, and it's always so uncomfortable to eat while people watch you without food, don't you think?"

"Thank you for the courtesy, I guess?" Bristle said disingenuously. "Unfortunately, after seeing what you are capable of and your insistence on keeping your goals secretive, we really have no option but to be on opposing sides. Maybe we could be persuaded if you were a little more open and honest with us, but I don't foresee that happening." Bristle stopped scratching Firea and stood up once more.

"And so, you force us to seek out answers for ourselves. For instance, let's see what answers this provides." On that note, Bristle clasped her unholy symbol and wove a divine spell of dispelling, targeted through the bars at the guard. Either nothing would happen (as she expected), or Whisper might be expelled from the woman's body. Both possible results would prove to be informative.

---

Casting Dispel Magic on the Whisper guard. It should dispel the highest level magic of caster level 6 or lower that is affecting the guard. Meh.

20:56, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 17 using 1d20+7.  Dispel caster level check.
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic...ells/d/dispel-magic/

"Ooh, are negotiations deteriorating?" the guard says. "How quaint! How positively fresh!" She stretches. "Are you sure you don't want to talk some more? Because frankly, my dears, this isn't a fight that ends well for you. I mean, think about it. If you kill me, what story will you spin for our dear friend Captain Bale?" This last line is spoken by the Banker, but follows so precisely on the last thing that the guard said that it feels more like a single speaker than anything.

The dispel magic does not appear to have had an effect.

"You are the only one here that mentioned killing." She said, a bit dejectedly as the sudden scratching behind her ears stopped. "Now I see why cats always give that look when you stop doing that."

When the door opened, Caleb had risen to his feet. He opened his mouth to answer Whisper but bit his tongue as Bristle cast her spell. After a few moments of nothing happening, he raised his crossbow again and answered the witch. "This isn't a negotiation, this is you demanding attention. Like I said, I'm not in the mood to entertain your ego, so come make good on that little threat or get out of those people and go back to whatever hole you crawled out of."

"Besides," Bristle said, adding to Caleb and Firea's words, "If I were aiming to kill you, I have much more direct means." She held up her clawed hand menacingly. Her bare hands could be formidable weapons, especially when laced with infliction magic.

"I was merely testing the waters. But you are the one who will have to explain the escaped banker. Helping a prisoner escape won't look so good on your guard's resume."

"We're negotiating?" Voh'ren asks warily. "I admit, it seemed more like a predator was toying with her prey." The Half-Orc rises and heads over slowly toward the food that the guard had offered before.

"Thank you," he says as he fetches a piece of chicken for himself and his wolf pup. He takes the flesh off of the bone and hands it Kiru as he heads back with the others.

"Normally negotiations imply both sides need something from each other. What is it we have that would be of interest to you?" The tone in his voice shows that the question is sincere.

As Voh'ren spoke to Whisper, Caleb tilted his head as if in thought, before his eyes widened in realization. "She's stalling us, there's something else going on that she doesn't want us interrupting. We need to leave, now."

"Oh.."  Hester smiled.  "Lovely talking to you as usual, Mother but we're going.  Have a nice day."  And of course, she moved to do exactly that, pausing to unlock the doors if necessary.  "Would someone mind sedating the guard please?  She might get in the way."

Bristle's eyes widened at Caleb's words, almost mimicking Caleb's own reaction. Stalling tactics? It definitely made sense on several levels. The only problem with escaping though was that it would surely cause problems for them in the future. But perhaps Bristle had gotten a bit too used to preemptively avoiding problems that could arise (studying dark magics was a delicate business). If there was a time to make waves, now was that time.

"This is about the best I can do without killing the host," Bristle replied to Hester as she channeled Death's power and let it wash over the Whisper guard in their way. Unfortunately the jail's layout made aiming her magic at the woman difficult...

---

Casting Enervation on the Whisper Guard: https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic...spells/e/enervation/

Ranged Touch Attack:
21:25, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 6 using 1d20+4.  Ranged touch attack - Enervation.
Aaaaand that's a wasted spell...

Voh'ren, if it has been less than 70 minutes since the assassination, you should still have Air Walk affecting you.

"Can't blame a girl for trying," the guard says amiably, moving out of the way without a struggle. "See you around, darlings. Sweet dreams and sweeter days."

When Bristle's spell faded with no apparent effect, Caleb began moving with urgency towards the exit. "Come on, the longer we spend time here the less chance we have to interrupt whatever she's up to," he said, say not a word more to Whisper, opting instead to keep his eye and his crossbow on her hosts until they exited the room entirely.

He walked through the precinct with the air of a man in a rush and angry about it, and this attitude did not abate when he saw the mob outside. He pushed his way through the crowd, not going out of his way to hurt people to get through but not hesitating to brandish his weapon and give a few elbow jabs where necessary.

Once they were all clear, he turned back to the others and spoke. "Alright, we've lost enough time already. Voh'ren, Firea, you two followed the librarian's trail the other day, right? Where did she go? Do you think you could sniff out those spell components again?"

Bristle was extremely suspicious of the fact that Whisper had allowed them to simply leave after the cleric had attempted to use two separate spell against her. Sure, they were both non-lethal spells, but that didn't make it non-threatening. It almost seamed like she wanted the group to go. Which was especially strange since she had just been stalling them a moment earlier. Maybe she hoped they would get charged with a jailbreak?

When Caleb asked Firea and Voh-ren about tracking, Bristle made an inquiry of her own. "Do you think we should let the guard captain know that both the banker and one of his guards are whisper agents? Incase, you know, they try to kill him?" Bristle didn't necessarily think Whisper would do that, but it would suck to lose a rare ally so easily.

"This is unwise," grumbles Voh'ren as the others leave the jail cell. "A priest is on the way and we would leave this place without even a warning. We should at least alert the guard...although I suppose all of them could be under your control." The last part is addressed directly to Whisper's marionettes. He reluctantly follows the others out of the jail, uncertain whether there is a better option.

Voh'ren shakes his head when Caleb mentions the librarian's trail. "She went to the river bank, but Kiru and I could not find anything of note. Firea likely has a better sense of what the ingredients smell like.

"We should tell the captain of the guard that Whisper lurks within his ranks and freed us from the cell," he replies to Bristle. "Not that I think it will help. I would not be surprised if both are found dead in the cell, and that we are implicated in their murders." The Half-Orc reflexively draws his cloak around himself, uncomfortable at having left after giving his word to stay.

Caleb shrugged at Bristle and Voh'ren. "I didn't see him in there, I would have said something if I had. Feel free to leave a message, but we don't know how many guards Whisper is in at this point. Hell, she could be in the Captain for all we know."

His piece on the matter said, he turned to Firea. "What do you say, think you can track those components?"

Hester returns Whisper's blessing out of politeness more than anything else.  To the others she says, "Certainly we could stay.  Is there any benefit currently in either going or staying.  I think I agree with Voh'ren here but I can't tell you why because honestly I'm over my head right now.  I guess because Priests are more able to resist invasions of fell spirits."

"Firea, you said you smelled some of the components near the stage just before the assassination, right? Maybe we should start there. Why don't our two sniffers head near the stage and look/smell for clues. I can leave a note for the guard captain. Maybe even try to Detect Thoughts on some of the employees to try and weed out who may be Whisper agents." Bristle shivered as she remembered what it had been like to touch Whisper's mind, and hoped she didn't do so again. "Hester and Caleb, you two want to split up one to each group? Whoever is better with clues could head to the stage with Firea and Voh,ren? We can all meet back up over by the stage in about half an hour or less."

As she turned to head back and write a note, she mentioned to Voh'ren, "And don't forget about that spell I put on you earlier. It might help to get a bird's-eye-view of things too. See if there is any pattern to the rioting."

"You just like looking at my tails. Or is it my paws?" The small Fox said with a chuckle to Bristle.

"Anyway, to answer your questions Caleb and Bristle. I did say I smelled them, but that scent was dissipating, on the stage. It was old. And yes I can track them, if I get the scent. But I would have to stay like this to do so." If a Fox could shrug, one could almost swear they just saw her do it.

"We should consider why they were near the stage, as well. Were they used there at some point? And then, on who?" She said, considering things.

Caleb shrugged at Firea's words. "It's better than nothing, and it's not like we have a whole  lot to go on," he said before looking to Bristle and Hester. "I'll go with Firea and Voh'ren then, I'm not good for much more than muscle if you two're going to be doing magical investigating."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 07:55, Thu 04 Feb 2021.

Hester nods.  "What he said", she says.  "Looks like I'm with you."

"Alright then. See you guys in a bit," Bristle said as she turned to go leave her note for the guard captain. To Hester, she said, "Please don't let anyone stab me while I am writing. Who knows who can be trusted right now..." If Whisper were going to stab them, she probably would have done so by now. But any random guard could potentially see them as a threat too. Especially with everyone on edge because of the riots. It was an unlikely scenario, but Bristle was feeling a bit paranoid at the moment.

When she found some paper, she wrote:

Captain Bale,

Sorry we didn't stay. One of your guards let us out, right after she released the banker. Both were possessed by Whisper. I am as confused as you are why she let us go, but it seemed better than staying behind bars like sitting ducks. The banker and guard were both still in perfect health the last time I saw them.

Guard description: [guard description here]

No hard feelings,
Bristle (the heavily armored one)

When she was finished, Bristle showed the note to Hester and asked, "Anything else we should add?"

As the plans were being made and everyone split up, Caleb gave a small gasp, as if he had just remembered something. "Forget the stage and the riots, I've just remembered something. We were going to meet a historian named Wren today about the book Whisper destroyed, remember? If all this has been a distraction for us, I'd bet my left hand that's what she's trying to keep us from."

As he spoke, his eyes widened as if something terrible had just occurred to him. "We need to go now. There's no reason to think Whisper doesn't know about Wren, and if I were her I'd want to kill the only person who might know my secrets. We need to get the others now."

"Then let us go see this Wren. We can circle back to the stage later." Firea said with a nod. "It sounds like a better lead then the stage anyway."

Hester looked at the note and nodded.  She scribbled at the bottom.  "And echoed with love from Hester (the one with obsidian eyes and silver hair)."

"Tell me where this Wren is and I'll go fetch the others," Voh'ren says. "Bristle's spell will likely let me catch up with you, and I'd rather us stick together. Strength in numbers, and all that."

The Half-Orc kneels down and addresses his wolf pup companion. "That means you go with them, got it?" He scratches the wolf behind his ears, evoking a wide grin from Kiru.

Caleb nodded. "She lives in the Liberty district, on the east side of the river, we'll meet you there," he said before turning to Firea. "I know a few shortcuts between here and there, follow me." No sooner had the words left his mouth than he was headed off down the street.

"I suppose I should be happy you didn't ask to carry me." She said as she followed him, still in that Fox form. When they were out of the eye's of others, she would finally shift to her human form.

Thanks to Bristle's spell, Voh'ren quite literally flies through the streets back toward the jail. He does his best to stay as low to the ground as possible, but uses the spell's benefits to avoid any bottlenecks caused by the riots.

"Quick," he calls out to Bristle and Hester once he finds them. "Caleb remembered that we were to meet someone named Wren---a person who might know a bit more about Whisper. They are in the Liberty district, on the river's east side."

When Bristle heard Voh'ren's words, her eyes widened. Could that be why Whisper had been so desperate to stall them? Would they already be too late since Whisper had allowed them to leave? "You guys go ahead. I will be there as soon as possible, but I can't run quite as fast as the rest of you in this armor." She began hustling as quickly as possible toward the Liberty district. There was a good chance their meeting with Wren was not at all related to Whisper's stalling, but Bristle would rather be wrong and fast than slow and correct...

"I can help with that," Voh'ren replies when Bristle mentions her speed. He closes his eyes and utters a soft prayer to the Green. Phantom leaves spiral around the cleric's legs before fading from sight.

"Given your spell, it didn't seem like I'd get a chance to use that," Voh'ren explains. "But it'll help you walk a bit faster."

OOC: Voh'ren will cast Longstrider on Bristle. It will give a +10 enhancement bonus to her speed for 4 hours.

It's a frantic sprint to the Liberty district, racing through (or above) the crowded streets. The crowds are rapidly turning into mobs, blocking streets and smashing things, though they are all shouting different things - it appears that everyone has their own ideas about who is to blame and what should be done about it. Those still on the street are forced to shoulder and elbow their way through the densely packed crowds at times, or else threaten violence to convince people to clear the way enough to run.

Eventually, though, the group all manage to reach the address of Wren. It's a quiet place, a backwater of the city tucked away in the back streets of the district just far enough from the river to not have any shipping presence. The buildings are all stone, and crammed in as tight to each other as they can be.

Wren's building in particular has six people standing out front of it. Two of them are working on the door with a light, portable ram, three of the others are carrying torches, and one is slouching in the back of the group with his hands in his pockets. The streets are eerily clear otherwise for a fair distance around.

OOC: I know that people are making different time, but given that everyone is converging onto this location, I don't know that it would really be helpful to make everyone show up at different points in time. I'm fine saying that you managed to get there at about the same time.

As they arrived, Caleb took in the scene before him and glanced to Firea as he raised his crossbow. "First round of drinks says Whisper's in at least one of them. First two says it's the one in the back," he said before shouting down the way to the group outside Wren's home. "hey, you lot! Piss off or it's a bolt in the eye for everyone! I'm not saying it twice!"

"Seems likely," Bristle agreed to Caleb's Whisper-guess even as she cast a diplomatic orison upon Caleb, then herself. She figured it would help while addressing the crowd.

To the crowd, she added, "I suggest you listen to the man. I would hate to have to add you to my... collection." She held up the skeletal rat that was in her pocket for them to see, then returned it to its resting place. She held her shield ready for potential conflict, and an offensive spell ready on her tongue.

---

Bristle cast Enhanced Diplomacy on Caleb (since he was speaking to the crowd) then herself. She is also ready to cast Screaming Flames if the entire crowd approaches with hostile intent.

"Not a safe bet for me, no chance I can win." She said with a chuckle, a small breeze making her flaming red hair waver behind her. It was in that moment she decided to take on her normal form, that of a Kitsune, the humanoid form with the seven tails and fluffy ears on top of her head.

Her flaming Kumade was out and in her hands, as a low growl escapes her. Fire playing at her fingers as she speaks. "You would do well to listen to my friend, and leave now, or feel the wrath of Firea the Firefox!" All of her tails swish then thump against the ground hard in an intimidating manner!

[OOC: 18:55, Today: Firea rolled 27 using 1d20+16.  Intimidate.

Eh, just an average intimidate roll.]

Hester smiled.  It was good to be in a group where she was not the scariest.  Almost relaxing.

"Oh, dear," the one standing in the back says in Whisper's characteristic drawl, turning. All of the others turn with her in a single movement, even their breathing keeping the same pace. "I am imperiled. Whatever shall I do. By the by, you know how hard it is to torch a stone building? Really quite obnoxious."

Hester rolls her eyes.  "Mother", she says, "You're showing off.  When the time comes, I'm going to put you across my knee and give you a good spanking if you don't stop behaving so childishly."

Bristle took a few steps closer as Hester scolded the being she believed to be her mother. "Hard to torch the stone buildings, eh?" She shot a knowing glance toward Firea. "Good to know." And with that, Bristle channeled the magic of her goddess yet again, unleashing a wall of screaming flames toward the clustered group of Whisper agents. She was tired of negotiations. Especially when Whisper was so clearly trying to break into someone's home.

---

Hopefully nobody minds Bristle going on the offensive. Again...

Casting Screaming Flames on the group. She tried to position herself so that she would be able to blast all of the enemies with her burning wall (essentially burns a 15x15 foot area, 10 feet tall). It deals 3d8 fire damage, with a reflex save vs. DC 19 for half. Anyone who takes fire damage also needs to make a DC 19 will save or take 1d3 wisdom damage too.
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic...s/s/screaming-flames

21:17, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 7 using 3d8.  Potential Fire Damage.
21:18, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 2 using 1d3.  potential wisdom damage.

Initiative:
21:19, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 5 using 1d20-1.  Initiative.

Voh'ren opens his mouth as if to say something, but the others beat him to it. He grimaces when Bristle unleashes her spell. It is obvious that he considers harming Whisper's living puppets distasteful. He starts visually scanning for a way to enter Whisper's residence, hoping to spot an entryway while the others keep Whisper occupied...

OOC:

19:48, Today: Voh'ren Wildheart rolled 12 using 1d20+11.  Perception. *sigh*
19:49, Today: Voh'ren Wildheart rolled 10 using 1d20+2.  Initiative.

"You just gave us another clue about you Whisper. You do not know much about elemental magics. A fireball would do more then torch the building, it will blast holes in the walls, and can in the right hands, such as mine, decimate entire city blocks." Then she grinned. "Now who's obnoxious?" Then a chuckle escaped her lips. "And it's evident you do not listen either, since I said I would fireball YOU and not the BUILDING. And here I thought you were SMART! Turns out I was wrong, man...because surely someone this lacking in intelligence and common courtesy couldn't be making such intricate plans such as this." She said with a smirk, as if trying to purposely piss off whisper.

Even as she was speaking she was already weaving the magic for the fireball. Holding through to her threat, she sent it souring to land in such a manner to hit the group of people but not the house.

[OOC: Firea will hold through with her threat and toss the fireball at them.

23:32, Today: Firea rolled 22 using 7d6.  Fireball Damage.
DC is 17 REX for half.

00:39, Today: Firea rolled 5 using 1d20+2.  Initiative.]
This message was last edited by the player at 05:39, Sun 21 Feb 2021.

As Whisper spoke, Caleb had begun to raise his crossbow, only to pause as Bristle threw a torrent of fire at Whisper. At that, he shrugged and carried on, firing a volley at the puppet who had spoken before slipping into the mouth of an alley.

ooc: First off, Initiative with a result of 16. I lead with a full attack, plus one for Rapid Shot, with rolls of 22, 22, and 28. Assuming these hit, the damage is 7, 9, and 8. Because of the Clustered Shots feat, all damage is totaled before any DR is applied, so it comes out to 24 damage. Cap it off with a five foot step into an alley for cover and that's me done.

The puppet who spoke falls to the ground in a heap of limbs, holts through her face and chest. Two others collapse under the waves of fire that wash against the stone of the building. The remaining pair sigh in unison. "Have it your way then. Until next time!" one of them says, before both begin walking away at a casual pace.

Once again, Bristle was confounded by Whisper's lack of aggression. "Do we- Do we just let them go?" she asked her party, ready to chase after the Whisper-puppets if someone thought it necessary. Letting the puppets go would mean they could bring back reinforcements. Although surly Whisper could do that regardless of whether or not these specific puppets remained intact.

Hester sighs.  "She's got us running around in circles.  We know what she wants.  She wants to be alive and she wants us to keep running after her.  How do we find out which of us she's really after?"

As the puppets began to walk away and Bristle questioned whether or not to let them go, Caleb leaned around the wall and took aim. "No, we put them out of their misery," he said before loosing a pair of bolts at the retreating figures.

Firing two bolts at the puppets, one apiece. Attack rolls of 32 and 21, with damage rolls of 15 for the pair.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:07, Sun 07 Mar 2021.

"She may not even be after any of us, she may jut want us to watch what she does. Be the audience so to speak, then be there to pick up the pieces." She considered. "Start the cycle over, so to speak..."

"Out of their misery. Sounds good." There was perhaps a tinge too much smirk in Bristle's reply to Caleb's comment.

Be that as it may, with Caleb letting a few more arrows fly, Bristle charged after the "fleeing" Whisper-puppets. If the arrows didn't take them out, perhaps she could tackle them or get close enough to channel some Death into them to finish them off. But even if Caleb did manage to take them out before she got close enough, Bristle would still want to confirm that they were entirely dead before focusing her attention elsewhere.

---

Bristle is Charging 40 feet closer to the fleeing people. Let me know if she is close enough that she can make an attack at the end of her charge (if they are even still alive). If they go down, she will check vitals and make sure none of them are going to get back up again.

"We pick a course of action and stick with it," Voh'ren replies to Hester and Firea. "We came here to save this Wren from Whisper's clutches. Let's do that rather than butcher those unfortunate to become her puppets." The Half-Orc goes over to the door and inspects the damage.

"Miss Wren," he calls out with his deep baritone voice, "my name is Voh'ren Wildheart. My companions and I have reason to believe your life is in grave danger. We are here to assist you.

"Perhaps someone a bit more charming might get her to listen," he says as an aside to the others. "I've found that few consider a Half-Orc face friendly."

Hester pulled her hair back and tied it into a bun and then, with the merest touch to her sleeve, she seemed to be dressed just like her own grandmother.  She began moving and speaking like an old woman as she shuffled unsteadily to the fore and said in a quavering voice.  "Please Madame Wren.  For your sake and that of the city, I entreat you to allow us to help you."

"Why are you bringing my name into this?" She stated flatly. "I am not attacking a leaving foe, am I? No. They left so I did no further attacks, so do not bring my name up for what our companions were doing." She stated as she followed them to the door.

The two Whisper hosts fall to the ground, between bolts and a blow from Bristle. They are both smirking right up until they die.

Meanwhile, after a long moment, the door unlocks. And unlocks. And unlocks. There were a rather excessive number of locks, chains, and bars holding it closed, it seems. But eventually it finishes opening, revealing a dark-skinned woman who was distinctly unusual in her appearance. She had a white mask on that covered her face with only eye holes to show what was beneath, and her black hair was done in countless small braids. She had a drum on her belt, and a blade in hand, a short sword that was old and worn but clearly well-maintained.

She looked at Hester for a long moment, then nodded, stepping back enough for the sorceress to follow her inside. Her free hand flicked through a few quick gestures, too fast to follow without practice.

Once inside, Hester asked, "Why did you let me in, if I may ask?"

After confirming all of the bodies were truly dead by using her Deathwatch vision, Bristle rushed to tuck them out of obvious view before rejoining the main group. She made sure to have her basic cantrips active (Detect Magic, Guidance, and Enhanced Diplomacy) as she followed at the rear of the group. "I presume you are Wren?" she asked. Then promptly recalled that Caleb had said the woman liked to communicate in sign language. "One moment please. I have a spell that will let me comprehend your language." She had another spell to detect the woman's thoughts as well, to help ensure this wasn't actually another whisper agent, but Bristle felt it would be more appropriate to wait on that one...

---

Casting the spell Comprehend Languages on myself. (I would have offered it to another party member, but it had a range of "you.") It should last 70 minutes.

Wren nods appreciatively to Bristle, moving inside as she waves for the rest to join them in her home. Inside it is cluttered, every horizontal surface covered in books, papers, and knicknacks. Her hands fly through gestures as she walks through a sitting room, down a hall, and into the small kitchen to set on water for tea.

As Wren began talking in her language that consisted of various hand-signs (or sign-language, if you will), Bristle did her best to translate to the group. She started by telling Hester why Wren allowed her to enter. "Hester, she says she let you in because you "drove the god-killing nightmare away from my door." And because if you meant her harm, you could have sat back and watched the mob eventually get into her home." Bristle shrugged, then addressed the entire group. "She also wants to know if we would like some tea or a biscuit. I'll take some, I suppose." The last bit was directed to Wren herself.

As Bristle found a comfortable area to lean against a doorframe or wall, she asked Wren, "So, why is it that Whisper is going through so much trouble for you anyway?" She prepared to translate Wren's response for the entire group.

---

Bristle will try to translate everything Wren says, word for word, so everyone can understand her. (Unless it happens to be something secretive meant only for Bristle.)

Caleb followed everyone else inside after confirming the kills, and as everyone else filed into the kitchen he set up in a corner, taking aim at the doorway with his crossbow. Once Bristle translated the rapid signs, his eyes widened in surprise. "God-killing nightmare? Please tell me that's just some kind of made up title," he said, in a tone that conveyed he suspected what answer he was going to receive.

"She knows," said Hester, pointing to the papers on the table. She looks over any in languages that she can read.

"An exaggeration, but no, not made up. She killed a demon lord in the old times, so thoroughly that his name is long forgotten." Wren's signs are translated by Bristle smoothly.

"As for why she'd want me dead, I suspect it's because I made something of a study of her history at one point. She's a fascinating figure in local history. I can't say I expected her to return in my lifetime, though." She sips tea before continuing.

"Before I tell you anything more, you should know that this is knowledge that can be very dangerous. Not just in the normal sense. The more you know about Whisper, the more she has an avenue into your mind. It is quite literally a vulnerability that she can and will exploit."

Hester asked, "Does ignorance bring a converse power?  We know she wants to return to life.  We've all dreamed of her and she's driven my grandmother to take ship and flee.  Would we be safer if that's all we knew, given she seems to be tracking us?"

This time the response comes slower. "Would you be safer? In some ways...Whisper needs an inroad to start infiltrating a person's mind, but you're already exposed. And knowing more would help you fight back, at the same time that it gives her access. It's hard to be sure whether the gain outweighs the cost, and likely the optimal point is somewhere in between. I don't know personally - she's too smart to try and poach my mind away."

Hester smiles.  There!  "Why would she be unsmart if she tried to poach your mind and how does she know that?" She asks, hoping against hope that this is the clue to destroying the monster that is Whisper.

"Ooooo. Smart," Bristle complimented Hester during a momentary lapse in her translations. She had been so caught up in repeating what Wren was saying that Bristle was not quite as quick on her comprehension as Hester.

The cleric had been contemplating trying her thought detection spell to test whether Wren was truly free of Whisper-influence, but was now glad she had waited. It might be prudent to learn what Wren's mental defenses were before deciding to try and read her mind. Whether discretely or with permission.

She eagerly awaited Wren's answer and was ready to translate it to the group.

Firea nodded at the offer of tea, but beyond that would let the others do the talking and listened intently to what was being said.

"Well, I sold more than my voice to Shyka all those years ago. As far as they're concerned, I belong to them, and taking me would be poaching. Whisper isn't foolish enough to make an enemy of an Eldest fey lightly." Wren shrugs.

Bristle's excitement faded when she realized they probably wouldn't be able to duplicate Wren's protection against Whisper. At least not safely. Still, Wren still hadn't left answered all of Hester's question. She had left out an important tidbit.

"I have about a million questions I want to ask about your fey dealings, but I will do my best to not get sidetracked here. So I'll only ask these two questions. How does Whisper know she would be poaching if she tried to take your mind? And is there a way we might be able to duplicate such a... mark? Signal? Warning? Preferably without doing what you had to do..."

---

What does Bristle know (if anything) about Shyka or Eldest fey?
21:15, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 10 using 1d20+7.  Knowledge: Nature, with Guidance - fey stuff.
Yeah... probably nothing worthwhile.

Caleb stood in the corner, trying to keep up with a conversation he had not the education to understand. When Bristle finished asking her questions, he piped up for himself. "I don't know what an Eldest is but I'm guessing it's something like Whisper, right? Can it kill her?"

Hester looked from Bristle to Caleb and then back again.  "An entity that Whisper fears," she said, "Is probably equally as dangerous and terrifying as she if not more so."  Her gaze returned to Wren and she asked, "Is that not so?"

"If knowledge of Whisper makes it easier for her to possess people, then what of the many she has already possessed?" Voh'ren asked.

"You're not going to convince it to kill her, not without something in return. That's how the Fey work." Firea said simply, and in thought as if she was thinking about something. She began pacing even. Something rare for the normally calm firefox.

"I imagine she knows because she looked and saw their mark. As to duplicating it...I haven't the faintest idea how. And I can't imagine that a battle between Shyka and Whisper would end well for us. 'When giants war, the grass is crushed,' as they say in the River Kingdoms. Shyka could certainly end her, they have the power of a true god, but the collateral damage, to say nothing of the price they would ask for it...."

"Power of a god." She suddenly stopped pacing, then looked towards Wren and said even as she was still considering for a moment. "Tell me Wren, what about someone blessed by a god? Would that mimic the same thing as you?"

As a devout cleric, Bristle was curious to see where Firea was going with her question. Because she assumed Firea was not referring to blessings from Death.

Still, it seemed they were getting a bit off-track, so Bristle added to Firea's words to try and help steer the conversation back on course. "Perhaps knowing what Whisper actually is would help us think of more possible protections as well. I, for one, am prepared to take on the risks of learning each and every one of Whisper's secrets. I am a cleric of knowledge and Death. And I feel knowledge will help us to bring Whisper to Death's door. Everyone stands at Death's door eventually."

"Perhaps, but you'd need your patron's personal attention and investment. How many, even among clerics, can say that their god would step in to strike someone down for killing them? Precious few." Wren pauses, and then begins to gesture again, a little slower, almost thoughtful if her body language is to be trusted.

"Whisper is...unique. At least, I assume so - the world is a big place, but they don't make minds like hers very often. Most of what I know is from sources of unclear validity, so take it with a grain of salt. But here goes.

"A very long time ago, Whisper was a half-elf in what is now Andoran, but which at the time was...who knows? Perhaps not even fully settled yet. She was a mage of rare power, one who made a lot of bargains and got a lot of power from them. She kept her word, they say, to the letter - and no further. Had more enemies in the lower planes than the upper, for all that she was a terribly evil person. She'd sold everyone down there down the river, at one point or another. Maybe that's what finally got her. No one I've found knows what finally got her killed.

Because that's the problem, miss. She did stand at death's door. And she walked away. Even as a memory, she had the power to turn back at the threshold, and she did. Found a pocket of another plane and tucked herself away, as a remnant. And she bided her time.

"She came back at least once. Or started to, same as this time, back in 2062. A dream, they said. It started as a dream. But the more you gave her roads in, the more you opened the door, the more she started to be able to do. You'd see her while you were awake. Then she'd start being able to use magic through you. Then you'd start losing control of your body, and in the end, you'd be gone. Just her left, another copy of her rather, running around in your body, but you weren't there anymore.

"I don't know how they stopped her, old Elias Halson and his friends. No one does. As far as I know, he went out into the woods alone, and never came back. His squire was the only one went with him. She came back, but she wasn't the same, she'd seen something that...she couldn't unsee. The people who talked to her say she told them that it was over, but she wasn't gone. Said to be afraid of dark places, not because of what was there, but because of what wasn't. Said all the witch needed was a vessel and she'd start it all over. And that's the last she ever spoke."

"I am unique among my kind too. They say one's like me, are blessed by Daikitsu herself. We are, the nine-tailed heirs." She said, reverting back to her kitsune form to reveal her multiple fox tails, and fox ears. "I am more wondering, if her blessing would protect me further." She asked, considering it as an option for further knowledge.

Caleb abandoned all pretense of security upon Wren's explanation, sinking into a nearby chair. He didn't speak for a minute or two, clearly turning everything he'd just been told over and over in his head, looking for any kind of spin he could to make this news less dire.

Slowly, he raised his head and asked a question, his voice uncertain. "You said she hid herself somewhere. Does that mean that if we were to somehow find that somewhere, and figure out a way to get there, we could kill her? Rip the weed out at the root?"

"There's killing and then there's Killing", said Hester. "In a very real sense, she's already dead and beyond undead. Bristle felt her mind and her description combined with what Wren just said suggests she's something like a minor god. The trick, I guess, is to find the plane she has stolen, relink it to its parent, and allow its owner to deal with her as It wishes.  She has made enemies of several evil gods by the sound of it and the danger is in getting caught between her and them."

"Perhaps...I don't know that killing her is a concept that applies, but if you could find her core self, perhaps you could use that to do something to her. I don't know. And as I said, no one I know of knows how Halson did it before." Wren shrugs helplessly. This gesture, at least, needs no translation.

"So it's not hopeless then," Caleb said, straightening back up in his seat. "Maybe it's not a simple as just shooting her until she stops twitching, but she's not invincible," he said as he began to look around in his pack, eventually pulling out Halson's journal. "Wren, I've got Halson's journal here, and I know there's some kind of code in it but I couldn't crack it. If I left this with you, do you think you could do it?"

Bristle paused momentarily in her translations to mention an observation that had just occurred to her. "I think we may have met the vessel that allowed Whisper to start her process over again. Remember Annabelle's ghost?" Of course Firea and Voh'ren wouldn't. It was before they had joined the group. "We laid her body to rest under the memorial of the paladin of Sarenrae. The same Elias Halson's memorial stone. Annabelle was another individual who had died but not yet fully passed on from the world of the living. And she had died near or at the place of Whisper's likely demise at the hands of the paladin."

Bristle took a few moments to let all of the angles of what that could mean to sink in, but there were too many to consider all at once. Instead Bristle shook her head clear, then looked toward Wren to see if she had anything to add, and to ask her one other question. "Do you happen to have the names of any of the ones Wren had displeased? The ones she sold down the river? Particularly those who might still be alive and eager to get even with the witch? Maybe they could help us put her down once and for all." Granted, such entities would probably be risky to interact with at even the best of times...

Hester frowned.  "You mean that if we'd found somewhere else to bury Annabelle, Whisper would not have been able to escape?  Did we do this, Bristle?"

"No, I mean Whisper used Annabelle as a doorway to escape her... prison? To escape whatever Halson had done to her. I think she used Annabelle as the bridge to spread her mind-disease into our world. By the time we laid Annabelle to rest, or even laid eyes on her, it was already too late. She had spread to the village long before we had arrived."

Firea frowned a bit that her statement met with no reply, but she would leave it at that for now and revisit it later when the chance arose. For now she would let Bristle continue her line of questioning.

"Whisper seems particularly focused on punishing the people of Andoran, claiming the histories of this place are lies and propaganda," Voh'ren adds. "Whatever grudge she bears, it seems to stretch beyond Halson."

"I can probably break the code. Languages are a subject I know a good deal about. But it might take some time. As for the other - I've no idea which of the gods and demons she sold out over the years. Not specifically." Wren shrugs again.

"I, at least, would be happy to have you take a crack at cracking the code." Bristle was a bit disappointed that Wren didn't know any useful names, but was not surprised. "On the subject of books though, it seems that Whisper went through quite a lot of trouble to destroy one in particular. Do you have any idea why that may be?" Bristle then went on to explain about the book that she and Sebastian had tried to track down. The one the Whisper-puppet librarian said she had burned and thrown into the river. She also explained the line of clues that had led them to that particular book and why the two of them had thought it could have relevant information.

Caleb set the book down on the table in front of Wren and pushed it towards her. "I know you said there's not much risk that she'll... do whatever it is she does with people's heads to you, but today's shown she's not above an old fashioned murder. Do you have someplace safe you can go, or someone who can keep an eye on you?" he asked, with genuine concern in his voice.

Wren's hands flicker through quick gestures, sharp. "Places, yes, but people? I think you know enough by now to know that it's not that simple. Who can you trust when it might be the enemy behind their face at any moment?" She shakes her head, needing no translation. "No. I will hide - and if you'll forgive me, I won't tell you where, in case she gets into your heads. I have ways of getting messages out. I can set up a meeting once I've gotten some of the journal decrypted. For now...the other book is a good place to start. If it's a chronicle of the year that she last attempted to return, odds are good it says something about how it progressed. I'll look into other copies of that, as well."

"That sounds agreeable to me," Bristle said. "Is there anything specific you think we should do in the meantime? I don't exactly want to be sitting on my hands for a week or a month or whatever." Of course Bristle could come up with her own things to do, (productive or otherwise) but she figured Wren might have some useful insights as to what could be the most efficient uses of their time.

"I prey she does not try to get in my head, both for her benefit, and everyone else's." Firea said as she began to pace once more, considering things.

"Before you leave, Wren" Voh'ren says, "do you know of any way to restore the minds of those she controls? We have come across her living puppets, and I would prefer not to kill those who could be saved."

"About that," Caleb said as he made to stand. "Do you know about any ways to keep her out, other than what you've got? I saw her in a dream once, and shooting her there didn't work at all."

"Unfortunately, my knowledge is limited. I know no method for curing the infected - slowing the progression is possible with a strong will and avoidance of things that give her inroads, but rooting out the presence once it is there is beyond my talents. And keeping her out is much the same - avoiding an inroad in the first place is the only method I know of, and too late for all of us. Nor do I know with confidence whether your goddess is invested enough in your well-being for it to be a deterrence - my knowledge of the kitsune race is sadly limited. In better times I'd love to interview you about it, but such is the way of things." Wren answers each of these questions with a sad expression, a sort of weary, pained look that a mother might wear while explaining to her child that fire burns.

Caleb took the information in somberly, nodding. "Looks like the only way out is through then. Best of luck to you with translating the journal, and thanks for your help," he said, rising from his seat and moving to a window, peering out at the street below. After a few moments he pulled away and turned to face the others."I don't see anyone lurking out there, Whisper may have just given up for now. It'd probably be a good idea to stick to back alleys though, better safe than sorry."

Bristle nodded, concurring with Caleb's plan to stick to the back alleys. "Yes, we should go. Thank you for your assistance. Let us know if you find any new leads." Bristle offered a handshake goodbye. If Wren took the offered hand, Bristle figured it was a good opportunity to get one last bit of information off of the woman, just to help ensure it wasn't Whisper after all. If Wren seemed to notice, the cleric would wink and whisper, "You can never be too safe, eh?"

---

Bristle is hoping to use her Lore Keeper cleric power on Wren as she shakes the woman's hand.

quote:

Lore Keeper (Sp): You can touch a creature to learn about its abilities and weaknesses. With a successful touch attack, you gain information as if you made the appropriate Knowledge skill check with a result equal to 15 + your cleric level + your Wisdom modifier (28 total).

"All I can say about my people, is for a long time I thought I was the only one left in the area and I still may be. My parents before they died, always told me I was rare amongst our already rare people. Like, one in a thousand, or less." She said with a simple nod. "Anyway, those better times will come, and when they do, I will give you that interview."

Goodbyes are spoken. Wren collects those books that are hardest to replace, packs them up, and slips out a back door. The rest of you...well, there seems little to do for it but to go back to the inn and rest for the night while you look for leads on another copy of the Annals volume you are hunting.

Of course, sleep may not be so untroubled as one would like...though Firea can likely do something about that.

[OOC: 2 castings of Keep Watch by her and no one will need to sleep as long as they do not do anything vigorous. They can keep watch, study spells, etc, but nothing more.]

The day after their meeting with Wren, Caleb rose early, about an hour from dawn. He left a note for the others with the innkeeper, informing them he'd left to take care of some business, and that if he wasn't back by ten that night to look for him.

The streets were quiet, or relatively so, considering the riots that had been breaking out yesterday. He stuck to the back alleys with his crossbow drawn, moving quick and quiet in the hopes of avoiding anyone's attention. He made good time, and just as the first rays of light were properly appearing in the sky, he stood before Our House of the Soothing Radiance, the church where he'd left what was left of that poor librarian. Unloading the bolt and returning the crossbow to his shoulder, he made his way inside.

He stood out. How could he not, a man clearly dressed for war in a house of peace? Uncertainly, he made his way to an acolyte who looked less busy than the others, and quietly asked if he'd be willing to see if Mara Cavendish was free to see him.

After the acolyte left, he made his way to a pew apart from any other worshipers, sat down and did something he'd not sincerely done since he was a boy. In that place of peace, the soldier prayed to a god who's name had never before crossed his lips.

"I don't know if you're listening wherever you are, but I need help. There's a witch, and she's doing terrible things to people, worse than just killing them could ever be. I can't do anything to stop her with what I have. There are so many stories about gods giving people powers to fix things or destroy some evil monster, if there's any truth to them I could really do with something like that. I'm not a good man, but I'm not asking for me. I'm asking for a girl named Anabelle, and all the other people this witch is going to hurt if she's not stopped. Please, give me something. A sign, a clue about how to stop her, anything. Please..."