Living Among the Dead

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An undead citadel created before the cataclysm, Sahova is devoted to all kinds of magical research. The living may visit the island, if they are willing to obey its rules. [Lore]

Living Among the Dead

Postby Ialari Pythone on May 20th, 2010, 5:10 am

Ialari pondered the paths that led to getting Shalla a new body. It was still early in the season with one of the shipment dates, the 35th, almost upon them. While interception was certainly an option, it carried with it some definite risks. As well, getting a body from storage was also quite dangerous and was not something Ialari could do personally thanks to the numerous protections in that area of the citadel; protections that made it deadly for the living to trespass. Despite the risks and potential complications, a plan was already forming in Ialari's mind.

"Shalla, correct me if I am wrong but when I first arrived, our group was greeted by a golem. Is it safe to say that the shipments of bodies would also be tended to by golems? If so, couldn't we acquire one of these golems and you change its orders? Perhaps have it conveniently lose one in my lab? Or for that matter, have one nab a body from those already stored here?" Ialari said all this as she stood in front of Shalla; glancing down at the nuit's bindings.

"Before you answer that however, I want to remove your bindings as a sign of continued good faith. I am trusting that our growing understanding will continue if I do so?" Ialari considered the possibility of Shalla attempting something through the use of magic although she was confident that if such a thing occurred, she could crush Shalla's skull with a simple backhand if necessary. Besides, where would Shalla go? Qiao was able to snatch her up the first time around, chances are he could do so again; thus the need for a new body to begin with.

Assuming all continued to go as well as they were starting after the removal of the bindings, Ialari would allow Shalla some freedom within the laboratory, simple as it was, where they could iron out their plans and preparations for the quest ahead. Perhaps she would wait until the coming of Spring to depart after having plenty of time to prepare herself for what sounded like a potential death trap. The rewards however were such that she would fight until death and although distasteful beyond reason, even further if necessary.
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Living Among the Dead

Postby Tarot on May 20th, 2010, 9:15 pm

"No doubt it will." Shalla slowly stretched her muscles as soon as she was free from the magic shackles. Ialari could see that even among the Nuit there were different philosophies as to how they approached their bodies. Some held it in utter disregard and did not mind showing off the rotting and decay; on the other end of the spectrum there were those like Shalla who checked every muscle group with meticulous care. Of course, while others could afford mistreating their bodies Shalla was now an outlaw by Sahovan law. She had to take good care of her own assets.

"Yes, these menial tasks all go through golems. Communicators broker deals with a ship's crew. Observers check for unauthorized trespassers. Peacekeepers are armed with glyphed spells and can release them on intruders if called upon. In addition to those, an Overseer is the only anthropomorphic golem at the docks and only steps in as required. That said, we shouldn't even need to hack anything while at Port Silence. The golems there are definitely not up-to-date with who's fallen out of grace with Qiao lately. To them, I'm most likely still a 'master'. If I tell them to fetch me a body, they will do so dutifully. Internal security was never their purpose - that was Drainira's thing. Once again, it's very convenient that she's not here anymore."

The Nuit took the ear-golem device and gave it a thorough inspection. "Now, I kind of have to die here for this to work." She sat at a desk and placed the surveillance bug in front of her, drawing a circle with a piece of chalk around the golem and another besides it. She connected the two circles and bit on her finger, pressing a droplet of Soul Vector ichor on the chalk line. "Rewind and play," Shalla ordered, and voices began to flow out of the little thing. After a while, Ialari could recognize her own voice coming from the device, if with a metallic undertone. The conversation with Rawass unfolded just how she remembered it. "I'm going to copy phonemes from your recording to feed the golem fake speech with your voice, or mine and Rawass' for that matter," Shalla explained. "What do you want Qiao to hear?"
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Living Among the Dead

Postby Ialari Pythone on May 25th, 2010, 8:33 am

Ialari considered what Shalla said about the golems. It had indeed been a relatively short amount of time since Drainira's departure and the round-up of renegade nuit. With all the chaos and uncertainty floating around the Citadel in the growing number of days after, it made sense that the numerous golems around Sahova would not be up-to-date enough to recognize much difference. The nuit of the island had quite a few more important issues to fill their time.

When it came time to the alteration of the recording device, Ialari took a moment to listen to the recorded conversation. Such an interesting device unlike most anything Ialari had come across before. Of course she had been introduced to some of the more simplistic forms of golems back at the Silver Tower yet animation was not a part of her advanced studies save for the basic theory and possible applications. There was little time for marveling however and she noted several things that had already been recorded.

"Ok, first off, get rid of that stuff about Dominion. That is the last thing Qiao needs to know. Instead, have Rawass say something that would implicate some of the nuit who claim voluntary alliance with Qiao. If we can stir up dissent focused on his underlings, we can not only weaken his overall control but also make me look a bit better in his eyes; make me look a little more useful in his eyes." Ialari didn't want to appear a failure to Qiao yet at the same time she didn't want to be seen too much as a threat. If she came of as being useful, somewhat loyal and not all that threatening, she would have a better chance at carrying out future plans regarding Qiao.

Then came the conversation between her and Shalla. "Of course our conversation needs to be completely removed and redone. Create one where I demand information about Drainira's plans, what you know about them and why you were seen as a useful cohort in it all. Of course you refuse to tell me which leads to some rather unpleasant interrogation. I want to be sure we gear this toward finding information for Qiao so as to make him think I am upholding my end of the bargain. Have yourself tell me something about a key to disarming Drainira's trap that she left in her stead. He knows that I encountered something unpleasant when I merged with the Citadel so that will play along well with existing perceptions. We can lead him to believe that is why I need to leave Sahova for a time in order to find this key. Finalize it with me crushing your skull slowly."

Something else occurred to Ialari while Shalla was working on the device. If one renegade nuit could be convinced to aid Ialari in the current tasks, would it be possible to get more? The rest of those who sided with Drainira did so because they thought they could finally be free of what they perceived as a prison where they were under the control of Maeshan or Qiao or whoever else happened to have enough power to do so. They were already condemned to a final death at her hands so what if she gave them another option?

When Shalla was finished with the device, Ialari asked, Shalla, the rest of those who rebelled, could any of them be convinced one way or another, to aid us in taking the Citadel from Qiao? I am fully prepared to destroy every last one of them while draining every drop of information I can from them. However, if they could be persuaded to volunteer their services, it would be a much greater use of potential resources. I am apt to offer them a similar deal that I did for you; new bodies and a break in the monotony of unlife, including revenge upon Qiao, in exchange for their specialized services. Are any of them worth my time in such a venture?"
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Living Among the Dead

Postby Tarot on May 27th, 2010, 9:10 pm

"Sounds like a solid plan," the Nuit nodded, and began work on overwriting the golem's memories. She had it rewind the sounds up to the point when Ialari had begun her interrogation of Rawass. "We can't implicate one of the Council of Five. Qiao keeps tabs on all of them; betrayal would seem unlikely. Even more unlikely for a small fry like Rawass to know about it. A second-tier master will do. Kuracs once made a very regrettable pass on me when we were alive… time for payback." It was no mystery Shalla was quite vengeful. And so, she pressed her finger on the circle and mouthed the words that the golem dutifully repeated. Master Kuracs was in league with Mashaen to provide him with information about Qiao!

The second part was even easier as it was Shalla's own voice being redone. The fake interrogation started with the usual denial and Ialari upping the ante with brutal methods until the prisoner confessed to actually knowing about Drainira's plan. The entire system was still hosting a number of malicious modifications that the golem had devised and could potentially activate at any time, the fake Shalla said, unless one recovered a certain passphrase. In a stroke of brilliance, Shalla added that one of the mainlanders - the female Akvatari - must have heard the golem speak the passphrase while in Drainira's company. It made sense for Ialari to chase after her. And it ended with Ialari crushing a skull.

"Done," she announced and held the faux brick out for the Isur to take. "Slip it back where you found it when we're done talking, and give it a gentle push to make it start recording again." The Nuit pondered Ialari's plan. "Doable, though not risk-free. You will not be able to smuggle everyone out of Sahova, and you need to ask yourself what they'll do if they are found out in the citadel. Not everyone is as good at stealth as I am, and some won't hesitate to sell you out for a chance at being pardoned. Not that Qiao would actually grant it, of course. If it were me, I'd leave them in chains a little longer. Psychologically, it will weaken them and make them more pliable. Later on, when we've garnered support from other Sahovans, we'll have people on our side who can effectively hide these freed prisoners in their quarters."

Appearances could be deceiving. It was hard to look at Shalla's sweet innocent face, probably selected for that very purpose, and imagine such a calculating bitch hiding behind the mask. "Also, a good portion of them are no good. Actually corrupted by Drainira. Some are easy to figure out, they just keep babbling about 'freedom'. Centuries of subliminal Hypnotism and a final trigger can do that to you. That golem probably selected them from the start. Weak Auristics, lesser willpower… altogether the weakest links. But she may have done some subtler conditioning on others - or conditioning that's not been triggered yet. Of course, this applies to everyone here, prisoner or no. I'll let you play that game of trust, you seem rather good at it."

The Nuit shrugged. "As for me, I'll just find myself a crate to crouch into. You can get me out of the citadel as a piece of equipment. I once spent a full season without moving, just to see if I could do it. I could."
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Living Among the Dead

Postby Ialari Pythone on July 2nd, 2010, 8:25 am

Ialari smiled softly as she listened to the recreated interrogation sessions; Shalla would indeed prove to be quite the useful companion. Taking the brick from Shalla once the nuit was finished, Ialari held it until they were finished with their current business. She then pondered Shalla's comments about turning other nuit against Qiao. Her new comrade made a good point about leaving them to suffer longer. Ialari had no problems with letting them sit and rot until the time was right.

Ialari's eyes narrowed however at Shalla's comment about playing the game of trust. The undead "woman" had a sharp tongue, something that Ialari didn't care much for. It was a small price to pay though for the skills the nuit possessed. "We shall handle any of these "sleepers" as they present themselves. For now though, there is an empty crate I often use to gather junk from some of the lesser used, less secure chambers nearby. It should be big enough for you to use." Ialari set to cleaning up some of the mess created by her interrogation of Rawass. She took the vessel containing Rawass' soul vector and filled up several smaller containers from her poisoncrafter's kit. The strange substance could be quite useful in her work with poisons. She also gathered a few samples of Rawass' physical remains and added them to the collection as well.

"One never knows what could be done with ingredients such as these. Also, before we get this underway, what sort of preparations do we need before we set out on our search?"

Assuming everything was in order and Shalla was ready, Ialari put the crate on a small utility cart that she used to transport various items she used in her work at the forge and set off for Port Silence.
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Living Among the Dead

Postby Tarot on July 17th, 2010, 9:00 pm

"Supplies for a lengthy journey, several hundred miles of the place the living now call Sylira. I have few needs, but I am assuming you will want to eat daily." Shalla smiled. The woman had a sharp tongue indeed. "Nothing we can't buy in Zeltiva. Nyka itself is well-stocked, but something of an oddity among cities according to what I've heard. Four demigods are in command and can hardly ever agree on anything; their monks keep the peace so they can fight among themselves on the streets. In spite of it all, though, it's a fairly large city by modern standards. It's built around some kind of large fissure in the ground, a crevice the locals call the 'Aperture'. Apparently you need to spend three days and three nights down there to become a monk, but outsiders are also allowed to visit at their own risk.

And there's precisely where we are going. Farke saw the ghosts of Berliotz in the Aperture. The locals say anything can happen down there. Anything. It should be fun." And with that, she crouched into the crate and stopped moving altogether, as if frozen in time.

Ialari's ambition had set her on a path fraught with uncertainty and danger. It was time to move the first step and hope that Izurdin would be watching over her.

OOCI think we can wrap this thread up and start a new one in the wildlands. If you're okay with that I'll award XPs in my next post. :)
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Living Among the Dead

Postby Ialari Pythone on July 18th, 2010, 10:18 pm

Ialari nodded to Shalla as the nuit spoke of supplies and of Nyka as the thought of purchasing real food caused her stomach to cramp slightly. For longer than she wished to remember, she had eaten but a few berries and chewed on a handful of herbs gathered from the occasional short walk along the safer parts of the island. Even her otherwise enduring, physically powerful isurian body was feeling the effects of so little food. She had lost weight and with it energy. The worst thing about it all though was the effects it was having on her patience; her anger had been coming easier than usual.

Blinking heavily and attempting to turn her thoughts away from food, Ialari took her gear and packed it loosely in the crate with Shalla. Such a thing would not stand up to thorough searching but would pass the casual glance if they were to be stopped. Ialari also had her story prepared in case they were questioned by any of Qiao's lackeys; a story that would stand up to the one given for the recording device.

Although her journey ahead was filled with the potential for death and possibly worse, Ialari couldn't help but smile. She had left Sultros seeking knowledge and she was already getting more than she ever imagined. Exiting her quarters, she closed the door behind her and made her way out of the citadel.

OOCNew thread and xp sounds divine!
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Living Among the Dead

Postby Tarot on August 1st, 2010, 7:39 pm


Image
Ialari
  • +5 Interrogation
  • +5 Torture
  • +3 Investigation
  • +2 Persuasion
  • Lore of Amir Berliotz
  • Lore of Dominion
  • Lore of Listening Golems
  • Lore of Qiao's past [partial]
  • Lore of Nyka [partial]
  • Lore of Soul Vector
  • Shalla's services

Comments: Great thread! Sequel forthcoming. :)
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