Completed Confrontation

[Inoadar]

Inoadar had no idea what the scroll would or would not do. He had not felt his suggestion had been truly mocking, though he hadn't made any effort to sugar coat what he honestly thought the Ebonstryfe would do to the mage if he treated them the way he was treating him. He had been completely prepared to abide by his own offer, though he really hadn't thought Clyde would be stupid enough to take him up on it. All he'd wanted was for Clyde to realize that most people would have found his actions, on the day of the 'Bird Skull incident', to be threatening. He'd be damned if he was going to volunteer to give ANY oath to a petching mage!

He had not denied that the shelves beside Amolina contained poisons. He had not tried to fool either of them, about ANYthing! 'What did these idiots think there would be in little vials on the shelves of a poisoners shop, anyway?' he thought in a rage. 'Now they will use her actions as an excuse to say that I turned this violent. What a crock! He makes all these remarks, that crazy oath thing, does he really consider THAT to be a PEACE gesture? More like slavery! Then he suggests that I've broken my promise to her, a promise I had almost finished, but is now ruined, by THEM! Then this bit about my true name. As though there's any real reason he needs it, when he can just torch my shop anytime he wants to...'

Fury built to a near unmanageable level. "SILENCE'? Did he truly just order me to be silent?' The unmitigated gall of it was the only reason he had been speechless long enough for Clyde to finish his tirade. If Inoadar even noticed any shimmering effect in front of Clyde's face, he'd have chalked it up to the trembling that accompanied the rage hum growing in his ears and red tint that was beginning to dominate his vision.

Fear of what this man could do was forgotten. That slight sliver of concern for Amolina was a thing of some distant past. Fire and incineration was just a part of the anger burning in his own heart. Tomorrow was irrelevant. If he ever saw it, it may as well be in another lifetime. His hand gripped the leg of the stool he'd been leaning on, his knuckles white, The grinding of his teeth lost in the hum as he saw Clyde's lips move, making no significant noise.

"You...PRICK!" he stormed, the proverbial die cast from the proverbial hand, "You order ME 'SILENT'? YOU INSUFFERABLE PIECE OF SELF-RIGHTEOUS SHYKE! IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU, ISN'T IT?" His voice quivered in wrath. "YOU have the right to take offense and bring threats right to my face. But not ME!...YOU have the right to get defensive when you feel threatened. But not ME!...YOU have the right to interpret my every action in the worst way. But not ME!...YOU have the right to call me a cheat, and a coward, AND A LIAR? YOU?? You only call my words LIES because you TWIST THEM OUT OF ALL CONTEXT!"

He slammed the stool on the floor a couple of times, mimicking the actions Clyde had made with his staff. "And YOU have the right AND THE NERVE to call this "RESPECTFUL"? And don't even TRY to act like you give a CRAP about "This Woman"...Like YOU care what happens to her! You hypocritical, sanctimonious, self-serving, delusional ASS! GET OUT! GET OUT NOW!" He stomped to the door, dragging the stool with him. The scroll was squeezed in his hand as he jerked the door open hard. He slammed the stool against it to hold it open as he stepped back from the entry.

"AND TAKE YOUR PETCHING SCROLL WITH YOU!" he roared, cocking his arm to throw the partly crumpled sheet through the open door.

[Amolina]

Amolina had woken up when the yelling had started. She had heard Clyde Sullins say she was going to die here in the shop this evening. She didn’t feel any better but she felt more scared than ever and she didn’t want to die. The renewed fear gave her energy she hadn’t know she still had in her. The duel of logical words seemed to be over and ... Clyde had his staff and Parnell had a stool, both of them were yelling, and the silvery substance she had seen in the mage’s lab had started to pour out of his eyes. She knew it was the substance he had used to create fire…and the way he had tossed the scroll at Parnell like he didn’t care anymore enhanced the impression that Clyde Sullins had reached the point where he was going to burn the place to ashes. She got her scroll out of her dress again and held it in her hand. It was no use being careful with it anymore. She too would toss a petching scroll soon … didn’t care where it landed. She just knew she wanted to get rid of the scroll that shackled her to this situation and she was going to do like Parnell was yelling about and leave the shop …she would simply try to run to the open and dash out of the shop. This might kill her, but she was clearly going to die if she stayed too, she thought. Having tossed the scroll away she lunged forward to get past Parnell and Sullins and run. But she had been dizzy and a bit slow to let go of the shelf she had been supporting herself on. Rushing towards the door she heard the ominous sound of breaking glass behind her. In her shaky state she panicked and screamed when she heard it, like she was breaking with the glass and going to pieces together with whatever had gone to pieces behind her. She didn’t look back. Her goal was the door and the dark night outside it. In case she succeeded to leave the shop she would just run and run and disappear into the night. She ran towards the open door… at the speed that was possible for her to run at tired as her body was.

[Clyde Sullins]

What came out of Clyde's mouth next was a roar, not of fury, or anger, or hate, but of fear, as he screamed out "NOOOOOO!!!" and leaped forward with his staff. He swung the head of the staff at the poisoner's hand, attempting to knock the scroll out of his grip, or at least to stop him from tossing it out the door and setting it off. After all, he still had another scroll in his pack, and he did not want the scrolls going off right next to him. If he had to he could drop the pack and toss it at the poisoner, but he did not want to... After all, he really liked this backpack, he had been using it for quite some time... And he supposed it would also be counterproductive if the entire shop and possibly this poisoner were destroyed... Regardless of whether or not his aim was true, and if it actually striking his hand led to the scroll being knocked from the mans hand, he would continue onward, still talking loudly, but no longer screaming as the sudden NO had been. "Petch, don't you listen to what I say? Do you think I lie? When have I lied? I already told you if you try to remove the scrolls from the shop, it will set them off! You just nearly burnt down your entire shop, do you realize that? And it would have been at your own hand, not mine!" Clyde let out a huff of air, and sucked in another mouthful, before setting down his backpack before him. If the poisoner made no move to exit the shop or to attack Clyde, or trying to once more remove the scroll from the shop, Clyde would reach down with his free hand and rummage around in the pack till he extricated the scroll he still held on his person, keeping his gaze however not on the pack or its contents but on the poisoner. When he did start talking again though, it was in a much more conversational tone. "I don't lie, even when I am less than truthful. I find it far easier to simply deceive by telling the truth, or part of it. For who expects a word to be true when its contents are confusing or seem like a lie, or seem improbable impractical or impossible?" "So you see, I have no need to lie, in order to lie, while you by necessity must with your line of work, which I feel is inherently no more wrong or less wrong than any other job, excepting by commonly held assumptions. But I think we both know such stereotypes are less than useful when dealing with real people..." "I cannot lie with my scrolls, it does exactly as its words say. You can look at the one you hold, to see the truth of my words. Words are honest, even if the ones who writes them are not, and so trust my wording even if you don't trust me, even though I have yet to lie." Clyde would give the poisoner some time to read the scroll he had earlier thrown at him, without doing anything else himself, while he himself now held the third scroll, the one that had been in his pack. Now all three were out in the open, and easy enough for Clyde to distance himself from.

[Inoadar]

With Amolina's hasty departure and Clyde's hollering swing of the staff, Inoadar rocked back on his heels, staring around in disbelief, "Wha?...the petch?" He still held the scroll, and listening to Clyde's tirade brought home how close he'd come to incinerating the whole lot of them. Now the truth of what the scrolls would do became clear.

He watched as Clyde went through his backpack, pulling out an identical scroll. It suddenly struck him that he should have held his scroll right up to the door and demanded of Clyde to stop moving, stop talking. He still believed Clyde had come here to kill him and figured he had nothing to lose, and ought to at least take the damned djed-winder with him.

But he'd missed his opportunity, just like he had when Clyde had first appeared at the door. But he couldn't help but laugh a little as Clyde continued. "Ohhh, well...So you only lie when you are being TRUTHful...And telling less than the truth is being honest...Okay NOW it all makes sense...And to think I didn't know if I should take what was on those scrolls at face value...Tsk, tsk, tsk." He let a doubtful look cross his face, but he had to admit though, Clyde seemed to be trying to come to terms.

Clyde seemed to be finished, so he responded. "Look, I thought you were gonna kill me, okay? And just now, when I saw you pulling another scroll out, it came back to me that you said that if one went off, they all would. I sort of thought for a second that, as long as you were gonna kill me, I may as well take you with me." He watched to see if Clyde was going to make some defensive move, but he held fast.

"Okay, what it comes down to is that both of us could have killed us all, several times over. But we didn't." He moved to sit down, away from the door. He chuckled, thinking how surprised Amolina would be to see him alive next time. "We didn't...Do you think it's because we didn't want to? I can say honestly that I wanted to. But only because I thought you wanted to kill ME. From way back, I thought so."

He set the scroll down on the table beside him. "But now I am completely at your mercy. Do you have any idea how much it goes against everything I am to say that to you? And I'm not talking about pride here. It's not that you know it. It's that it's ME telling you. You said it yourself about my "line of work". I too, find half-truths far better than outright lies. But people don't know about a poisoner. Someone can have me bound and gagged, with a knife to my throat, and they STILL don't know if they're safe, if I haven't somehow contrived to put poison on the handle of it."

He sat back. "But you have been repeatedly putting me in a position of having to spell out whether I am a threat to you or not. This has got to be the first time since I arrived in Ravok that I am telling someone with complete honesty that I could not stop them from killing me if they wanted to right now. But because of what I am...my "line of work", you don't know if you can believe me. But there's nothing more I can give you."

He stood again, pacing in disrupted circles as he spoke. "You need to understand, that I rely on that uncertainty. As much as you rely on your djed crafting, I rely on keeping my potential enemies off guard. I don't want you as an enemy, but it was handed to me that way. It seems to me that you expect everyone to act according to the same beliefs, priorities and sensibilities that you possess."

He held his hand up to thwart Clyde's response. "Hang on, I know, I know, you're not the only one. I do the same. And it's only natural for two people with such contrary outlooks to be at odds. We both blame each other for starting this...And we're probably both right. Are you willing to concede this much to me?"

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde for good reason was wary of the thought of the scrolls be setting off. While he would not be certainly killed by them going off as the poisoner would, he doubted he would be able to make it from such a sudden conflagration unscathed. His calling upon his res was for all extents and purposes instantaneous, it came as soon as he willed it to do so, and the rate at which he could issue it forth was unparalleled. Which meant he would likely have a moment or two to exude out a small cloud of res from him, in an attempt to use it as a ward, to attract away fire, and to attract it around him instead of at him. He would likely still get burnt, since he would have little time to prepare, but he would not die if worst came to worst. But that was not an ideal outcome, far better would be to not let it happen at all, and to escape totally unscathed, or so Clyde thought. "No, I did not say that, I said... Ah forget it, it does not matter. Sometimes the truth can be as muddled and confusing as a lie, open to interpretation. What I say is honest and truthful in intent, to me, but perhaps you will interpret it in another way I do not intend, and you will see that as a lie..." "Or perhaps you don't see the whole picture, which if you did would show you what I say is true, but it is lost on you because you are only seeing one angle of the situation, or of the information pertinent to what I say, which can also make it seem as a lie. I am always truthful, but within my truth can be construed lies and confusion and misunderstanding. But I don't lie. It is to dangerous for me to be caught in one in my line of work, to be caught in a lie, so I choose not to lie, but not to tell the whole truth either." Clyde listened to what the poisoner had to say, and decided to once more be candid, and tell another truth, albeit one that was a bit vague in its specificness, which meant Clyde likely meant more to it than what would at first be obvious, but was still truthful. "I will say it once more, before today when you came after me I had no plots against you, no plans to kill you. To be honest, I had forgotten about you. And assuming we can settle things here, I have no desire to see you die, or to kill you, so long as our situation does not change and you don't try to kill me again, and as long as I am not pushed in some other manner to change our current state of affairs and interactions." Clyde was fairly certain that the poisoners attempt to remove the scroll was not a thought out and purposeful move. He believed in fact it was a blunder, a move made out of lack of information, the information Clyde has presented in part earlier. But clearly for this man, as Clyde was beginning to learn, saving face was very important. So he would let that lie, lie. "Contrary outlooks? I would argue the opposite, it is the similarities in our demeanor and outlooks which causes us to clash as we do. Perhaps at a glance we seem so different, but looks can be deceiving. However yes, we did both play a part in this occurring, if to differing degrees and avenues of causing." "But then how do you see this playing out? Us both just walking away? If nothing else, I would like to leave these scrolls here as a safety measure, the same reason I brought them to begin with. If you do as you promise, they will cause you no problems, and will remain dormant. But should you go back on your word, and try to kill me, then they will act. And I in return will live knowing that should the scrolls be set off, you could very well have contingencies set in place to come after me. Though considering most of the triggers for the scrolls to go active involve my own death, that seems more of a moot point..."

[Inoadar]

Inoadar heard him out. For the most part he had no objection, but... "I do not deny that the half truths we rely on make it difficult for either of us to take each other at our word. I want to believe you, I truly do. But this is a liability beyond just you. I know all too well the power of mind djed tricks. Are you immune to them? What if someone uses them on you to convince you I have made another attempt? Or just some simple coincidence serves the same end?"

He began pacing again, counting now a second finger. "Or what if you are murdered by someone else even without thinking I am involved? I still suffer this immolation. While you are fighting for your life, you are not going to think to take the time to perform some sort of "nullifying effect" on the scrolls' triggers."

A third finger joined the first two, "Or not even murder. Say you fall in the lake and drown? What then? And what if some Paladin is here buying...well, never mind, you'll be dead, anyway...Are you going to tell me that this is just my tough luck? That I deserve this uncertainty for having brought this on myself? Because I can assure you I do not share that viewpoint."

Inoadar was genuinely perplexed. He could see the validity of the mage's position, but did not feel that he had committed such a horrible insult back when the bird skull event was going on. He had been defending what he had held to be Rhysol's honor. '...Rhysol's honor...'

Suddenly, an entirely new outlook on the situation struck Inoadar. This WAS Rhysol's honor. This was a powerful weapon, that had a completely random element to it, but was also possibly able to be manipulated. In certain situations, Inoadar himself could trigger it in a marvelously chaotic capacity. A rigged booby trap to destroy an enemy inside his shop. A potential reversal of an ambush. He could almost feel Rhysol smiling at him for finally figuring it out. What matter if he was in peril for his god's designs?

Clyde looked exasperated, as though the thought of, once again, going through the whole spiel, again, was just becoming unbearable. Inoadar suppressed a chuckle. He had now decided he would accept that there would be a bomb of uncertain vulnerability implanted in his shop, but felt like, just one more time, he would indulge his own viewpoint, one more time, and let the mage suffer through it, one more time.

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde looked back at the poisoner, as he spoke of "mind djed tricks." He knew all to well of what they could do, and the fact that if they were done to him, and done well enough, he would have no idea they had been done, nor that anything was amiss... Of course that was simply speaking from experience, his own, and his muddled memories of those times. "I think should such a occurrence happen, someone using those 'mind djed tricks' on me, me deciding you have tried to come after me would be the least of your worries... But yes, that is a good point, I should set up some kind of mechanism to warn me that I am under the influence of another, and in the future when I have time I will prepare such a thing. A simple enough application of the principles I have already practiced." Clyde let out a sigh, as he made a mental note to himself to do this. For after all, having gone through what he had, the last thing he wanted was to go through it again... Though the wording on it would need to be very carefully done... "Though I wonder how much you really know of such things, of such 'mind djed tricks...' Can you truly fear something, until you have experienced it? Or petch, for all I know you have had such a thing used on you, and its the reason all this has occurred. I don't know, in fact if it did occur then neither of us would know we had been the recipient of such a tactic." Clyde let out a sigh again, not noticing how many he had been giving off. All of this talking, debating, this high strung energy ridden confusion was exhausting, and it was finally catching up with Clyde. He was tired, and just wanted to end things. But he knew that was no time to be making a deal, and he could not let his desire to end things affect his actions. "As for me being murdered by another... I don't think I am quite so easy to kill. Yes, I could alter the scrolls, but at the same time perhaps I should not, then it wold be in your own self interest to keep me alive, not just for you personally to not be the murderer." "And the wording required to do such an affect, to specify you alone would be complex, since it would not be enough to just say you were the cause, I would also have to cut out loopholes. What if you hired someone to do it? What if you without giving a direct order persuaded someone to do it upon your behalf in your best interest, perhaps to earn your favor? No, the wider I make something, the more complex it becomes, and the more impossible it becomes to reign in all the possibilities. I am afraid it will need to stay as is." As he thought more on the topic, Clyde thought of something else. Really, all the scrolls would promise Clyde was that if he should be killed, this mans shop would be destroyed. It would be far to easy for him to be out of the shop when it happened, or to even pay someone else to go in and take the scroll out, setting it off, just to dispose of the threat. Or he could purposely walk one out, when it was the most opportune of moments... No, the scrolls were already a shaky enough deterrent without adding in anything more to limit it. If the poisoner did not already know this, had not already figured it out, he likely would. He was many things, but stupid was not one of them. If not for this nights events, he could have let the episode with the skull go. After all, he was out of sight, out of mind, and Clyde had forgotten about him. No, it was the events of today, of this attempted assassination, that ironed Clyde's resolve, and forced his hand.

[Inoadar]

Inoadar feigned resigned disappointment. He would find a way to check into the wording of these scrolls and see if there was a loophole. And if not, then any time some situation called for a sacrifice of his shop to destroy a powerful enemy, he had the means to do so. No, this was not such a bad thing.

He had no intention of having any further dealings with this mage, and doubted very seriously that the mage felt differently. But he did perceive that the hostility had waned to a non-threatening degree. Mr. Sullins probably had NOT ever had any ill intent towards him. 'Damn that Wrenmae and his tricks!' He might have had a powerful ally here. Perhaps if he accepted graciously enough, he still could...

"Very well then, Mr. Sullins. I will not argue the matter any further. I have come to realize my fault in this and will trust to the greater maturity you have shown to be evident of your overall good will. I will give you no cause to be concerned over any future actions of mine, and trust that I will not be destroyed on any whim of yours."

He took a breath, "I have nothing more than my word on this, however, and cannot deny that this is pretty much what I would say if I were trying to deceive you, so I can hardly blame you for wishing the scrolls left here. I can only say that, if some word should come, second hand, of events that would implicate me, I hope you will consider the possibility that some third party might gain by my demise before you act."

He held out his hand. "I will take no offense if you do not wish to shake my hand. Nor to see any more of me whatsoever. But I hope perhaps that we can see clear to work together, rather than at odds, in the future." He thought of adding, again, that he had only acted in what he thought was necessary self-defense, but decided that would just be redundant.

[Clyde Sullins]

As the poisoner spoke once more, Clyde could not help being a bit suspcious. Once more, it seemed that the man was having a sudden change of heart, or giving in far to easily... Which seemed far out of character from what was going on before... He doubted that he would really give in so easily... Which logically meant... That he knew something Clyde did not, and that was why he was agreeing. He had ulterior motives for giving in, or appearing to... Though as Clyde thought on it, he realized it was likely simply the very fact he had been examining, that of using the scrolls for his own use. Likely he had figured that out, and it was why he agreed... It seemed the simplest solution, since the only other option Clyde could think of was that this man knew of a way to circumvent or neutralize his scrolls. But by their very wording, and his own skills in Glyphing, he highly doubted that... Which meant the most likely reason was the first one. Still though, Clyde shook the mans hand, giving him a strong grip, perhaps a bit stronger than strictly necessary. Done with their talking, Clyde began to turn to leave, before having one final thing to say. "Before I go, I still need something to call you, I clearly can't go on referring to you as the poisoner, nor the other name you gave me." After saying this, a thought occurred to him... Had he actually called the man the poisoner, or had he simply been referring to him as that in his head? If so, and he had never said it out loud, this question might seem a bit more odd and confusing than if he had at some point said it out loud. Regardless, after waiting for the answer, Clyde would turn and leave, leaving all of the scrolls behind, all three inside of his establishment.

[Inoadar]

The mage seemed to wish to make a statement with his grip when they shook hands. But Inoadar was not going to let himself renew this pissing contest over such a matter. If the mage thought he'd hurt him, he was wrong.

"I'm sorry, is there something wrong with 'Morely?" Inoadar asked, his tone genuine, not sarcastic at all. "You see, it's more than simply masking my identity here and now. I give everyone such a name, so that...well, everyone that is more than just a customer...Anyway, I give these names so that people who come to see me, ask for me by the name I have given them. Then, when I ask the clerk for messages, I know who has come to visit by the name they asked for. If I go home and hear that someone asked to speak to Mr. Morely, I know that you wish to see me, and not any one of a dozen or more others."

He picked up the scrolls and carried them into the back, looking for a box he could lock them in. He called back as he did this, "You are, however, certainly free to call me by the same name my customers do, 'Nolan Parnell'. This is the same name by which the Black Sun itself recognizes me. And they have certainly investigated me to their satisfaction. In fact, I have citizenship papers to prove this."

He knew that Clyde was not such a fool as to think that this statement in any way proved that 'Nolan Parnell' was the poisoner's true name, but it was his way of diplomatically letting the mage know that it was the best he was going to get. "But for anything not shop-related, I would prefer you ask at Tarsin's for 'Mr. Morely'. So that I know it's you and can treat it with higher priority than some others."

A last gesture. "Oh, and I would take it as a compliment if you call me simply 'the poisoner', for it would indicate that there can only be one man you mean, only one 'poisoner' in town." he winked and bowed, with a bit of an extra flourish, and went to find a lock for the box.