Trademeet

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Tania saw Dalamar point and cast her modified entangle spell. Sea weed wrapped around the pirates holding them in place.

Hearing Dalamar's orders for a line up Tania tapped once more into her silkie magic and came up with a watery command spell. She was able to move some of the creatures against the wall and then cast a hold spell.

"Um. Interrogation time. Depends on what that involves. I have to keep on Lathander's good side. He doesn't go in much for torture. I could come up with a truth spell. He likes truth."

 

"Oooh! I LOVE interogating prisoners!" Galliel gushed. "It's always so much fun. Can I help?" she asked, taking a long prickly thorn out of her pack.

 

Andra withdrew a length of silk rope from her ever present pack and started tying hands and feet for when the holding spells ended. "A truth spell would do wonders," she said to Tania. "But will we ask the correct questions?" She stepped over to the side, in case someone decided to try for an escape. Her mega squirrel curled up by her feet and fell into an exhausted slumber.

 

"I am not quite sure what to ask. But let's wing it."

Dalamar had his own 'special' way of interrogating. He put his hand on one pirate's temple and closed his eyes. Darkness spread from Dalamar's brain to his fingertips, and into the pirate's head. Shadows engulfed all happy thoughts inside his head.

All he could think of or see was Dalamar, red eyes pulsating, and dark energy coursing around him.

Tell me why you are here, he hissed, Who do you work for? What are their plans?

The pirate shuddered from all of the energy. "I..I am h-here with S-Saemon Hav-varian. I w-w-work for him, and I have n-no ideeea who h-he works for, or what the-ey are p-planning."

Dalamar slammed the pirate's head away, and cried out. "They are all probably like this one! I knew we wouldn't get the real leaders! They probably all knew we were coming, and teleported out of here before we came in!" He drained the pirate of his soul, letting it seep out of his mouth into his own.

"I have to communicate with Elwithral. You interrogate the rest." He stormed out of the room and slammed the door.

 

Tania looked at Galliel and Andra. "Pick someone and I will cast a truth spell. Choose carefully, Lathander is not prolific with his spells. Now if we had a nice pool of water here Galliel and I could have them screaming to talk." She smiles at Galliel.

"My silkie personality is not as nice as my human one."

 

Kalab grabbed on man by the scruff of the neck and hauled him out of the room. Muttering something about interigating him with an old barbarain technique.

A few minutes later Kalab came back into the room wipeing blood from his hands and face with a rag. "He didn't know anything that we already knew."

 

Galliel chose a nice looking man from the group and led him out of the room after Kalab came back. A while later she came back, without the man. "At first, he didn't seem to know anything either. But then he started moaning about the little boy, who was the key to it all, who would bring about the event horizon. It was all very strange, but it seemed to somehow be important. Something about the prince who was robbed of his birthright. I couldn't make much more sense of it than that. Ring any bells for any of you?" Galliel readjusted her belt and made sure her blades were well set in their scabbards.

 

"Many princes have been robbed of their birthright or at least a lot of people claim to be princes robbed of their birthright."

Tania looks around at their captives. A motley lot. She walks over to the mer-folk gives a command word and begins talking to them in the swirling, singing language of the deep sea.

Shortly she returns to the others. "Nothing of worth there. They were recruited to join an invasion of the land. Promised that they would be given the sea to rule. We learn little here. Galliel did you find anything worth while? Something that might at least give us a hint as where to look next. I hope we hear from Elwithral soon. "

 

Crossing her arms over her chest, Andra grumbled, "I hate it when people plot within a plot. It just garbles the whole, overlaying, master plan." She sighed, a bit unhappy that this was a wild goose chase. To the group, she said, "I don't know any princes or anyone claiming to be royalty. I suggest we search this place and look for clues or papers or something."

She walked over to a table-cum-desk and filtered her fingers through the few papers left behind.

 

Dalamar tried to connect with Elwithral in their minds, but the distance was too great. He slammed his fist into the wall, causing a few pebbles to fall from the ceiling.

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"Hullo, Elwithral. I would be happy to see you if it were under any other circumstances, but I have dire news," he paused, "I fear that there is a group of persons plotting to overthrow Faerun."

"I'm guessing that my comrades in Calishman already know this? I sensed some stirring in my head a few moments ago, maybe it was Dalamar trying to communicate with me. I have seen a small part of their army, and Suldanessalar has agreed to protect Athkatla while they prepare."

Elminster looked at him quizzically, "You have convinced Ellesime to help Athkatla?" he chuckled, "Ah, Elwithral, my old friend, you are more charismatic than I had ever conceived. But I must depart. I must meet with the Harpers and devise plan."

He put his hand on Elwithral's shoulder, "Good luck Elwithral. I hope to see you and Dalamar again when this is all over." And he was gone.

Elwithral jogged up the forest path, trying to find the home of his friend. After turning a few corners, he soon found the home of his friend. He knocked on the door and waited. And waited.

"Daren! I need you! Get up!" He looked in the window and the rooms were dark inside the hobbit hole. He happened to glance down and saw the corner of a parchment under the welcome mat. He picked it up and read:

Dear Person-who-is-looking-for-me,
I have gone adventuring in Icewind Dale, and I hope to be coming back in the near future. I have put my hole in the care of Pikel Bouldershoulder, my close friend. So if you need any more information on my whereabouts, please contact him. I may find a few adventuring partners up there, so don't wait up for me.
Daren P. Baggins

"Sigh, Daren.." Elwithral walked away from the hobbit hole and came across a small moss-covered grove. He kneeled where the sunlight was coming through the tree-tops and called upon Mystra.

Mystra! I, Elwithral, of the Light and Darkness, call upon your power! I have need of it to travel to Calishman! My powers are not strong enough to teleport myself there, and--

Yes, Elwithral, I know why you have called. I shall grant your request. I know of what goes on. You will need some extra enchantments as well. His weapons glowed blue and red and his armor gold for a moment, then slowly faded, Are you prepared? I will take you there as soon as you are ready.

I thank you my lady. I shall not fail you.

I know.

Elwithral disappeared in a flash of purple energy.

 

"I'm not finding anything I can read." She held out a few papers to Galliel. "Care to take a look? There's one with a drawing of a building on it, but the notes on it are gibberish to me."

 

Galliel took a look at the paper Andra held out. "Oh my, this is weird. I drew this picture, but the notes aren't mine. It's a schematic for a building in Waterdeep that I was going to rob for some strange wizards, but then they never came through with the down-payment, so I didn't do the job. I remember there was some powerful artifact in there that I was supposed to retrieve for them. I'm glad I didn't do it, 'cause at the next guild meeting I heard that four thieves from a rival guild got fried to bacon trying to get in there. I wonder if they ever got it, the wizards, and the artifact, I mean."

 

"Wish Elwithral would show up or get in touch with us."

Tania wanders around the room looking to see if they had missed anything but doesn't find anything. She looks around at the various creatures they have captured.

"What do we do with all these..um..people. I could wipe the memories of some but all of them."

 

"That sounds like a good idea. Let me know whose memories you can't wipe. I'll deal with them, Kalab would probably be glad to help me there. If you can wipe memories, can you implant different new ones too?" Galliel asked.

 

"To some extent. Mostly they'll just be confused as to why they're here. I can easily do the mer-folk and the humans since they are related to me in a manner of speaking and also any halflings. Dwarves and gnomes a bit harder. The elf-kin I'm sorry I can't do much with except destroy their minds and of course any off-world creatures (she glances at Andra) are out of the question. I suggest you move those elsewhere before I do any memory swapping.

We can tell the ones left they were called to a meeting to defend Faerun but there are complications and they should return home and await instructions from us."

 

"I'll be waaaaay over there if you need me," she said, taking Tania's warning to heart. She loosened her muscles to help shift the elf bodies.

 

"Where's Dalamar? Oh yes, trying to get in touch with Elwithral. Just as well. He is a little heavy handed and I really don't like unnecessary killing. Well, at least not in human form. Let's move the ones I can't memory-swap in the next room.

Say, I wonder if we could make it look like they fought among themselves. Galliel, do you think you and Kalab could do that? I know The Two Faced one escaped but hopefully he didn't see much."

 

"Let them go, none of them are important. Let them run back to the holes they crawled from." Kalab said from the back the room. He had been quiet for some time. He was thinking about what he had seen so far. "None of them are the real threat. Other than Saemon Havarion, none of these people hold any sway over anyone else. Let them run back and always remember that we could've easily killed them all"

 

Dalamar stormed back into the room, and quickly agreed with Kalab. He gave each of them a Dimension Door scroll and told them (also prying at their minds) to go back to where they came from.

"Tell your leaders! We don't care!" Dalamar yelled as the last of them disappeared, "They can send an army, I'll kill them all!" Dalamar breathed a heavy sigh after a few moments, then settled down. The group had just witnessed some of the legendary powers that were possessed by the Light And Darkness. While he had been talking to the prisoners and looking into their minds, his power had gotten the best of him, and the group had felt the Dark energy grow stronger, licking at their minds, and making the room full of deep shadows.

Once he had cooled down, he sat down. He could sense Elwithral. "Wait."

A purple flash and Elwithral was standing amongst them. "Allo, all," he said, grinnning, "Why the long faces?" Elwithral sensed a trace of Dark energy in the room. "Oh," he paused.

"Well, we best be off, no time to lose, ya know!"

 

"What have you learned Elwithral. We haven't learned much." Kalab said as he nodded towards the formerly wayward companion.