Exterminate!

Erendriel is approaching Belhan in the shop as she considers something he just said to her. "I would not know anything about making any things like that... but since I moved here I'm having to do dangerous things to keep myself eating. I um. Do you have um, robes."

Belhan considers a few moments. "I don't belive we have any robes on hand, but I know Mikilos made the one he wears himself. I'm sort of familiar with other types of magic robes, but I don't know the details. I leave the magic stuff to Miki and just keep to running the shop and my own crafting."

Quietly at the front of the shop comes the sound of the door opening and closing. A tall, pale-haired man comes in through the doorway, his eyes already roaming the unusual little store. He looks about with undisguised interest, his blue eyes taking in everything before finally landing on the inhabitants that are walking through the shop. Menel recognizes Erendriel instantly of course, but not the one she speaks to. With a smile spilling over his lips Menel gracefully makes his way toward them. He moves like a dancer, but his grace comes not from anything so peaceful.

Erendriel waves to Menel. "Hello! And good news, the Priests of Eluna confirmed that I am cured, completely." she smiles. "So now I'm looking at maybe buying something for myself." So then she looks to Belhan. "I've heard of something called a... Blazing Robe."

Mikilos stumbles through the back door, bracing himself on the doorframe a moment. Red, bloodshot eyes skitter about the room, locking on Erendriel a few moments before looking away with a sigh. "No... no... not here either. I just don't know. I don't know. Do you know?" He tall elf perks up at the concept, looking excitedly to the others. "Do you? Do you know where I can find Valadhiel? I have to find her. I HAVE to!"

Belhan perks slightly as his cousin enters, but eyes widen as the mage speaks, and the shopkeeper starts to slowly back away.

GAME: Menel rolls sense motive: (3)+1: 4
GAME: Erendriel rolls sense motive: (6)+1: 7

"Hello! That's fantastic news!" Menel grins broadly at the woman, and allows her to continue her discussion with Belhan. Then, quite auspiciously Mikilos arrives. "Hey there Mikilos!"

The swordsman looks the mage up and down, taking note of the other man's appearance and his determined attitude. "I can't say that the name's familiar. You look a bit tired there Mikilos." He laughs suddenly a gentle little warm laugh. The sort that's easy to join into. "Been staying up too late looking for your friend have you?"

Erendriel nods to Menel, and in celebration fires a random fire ray at the forge, nearly missing and hitting the wall. "I feel so much better." She then turns to Mikilos. "Sorry I don't know who that is, but um... do you sell Blazing Robes?"

Mikilos frowns a few moments. "Sleep? I don't sleep. Stopped that a while ago. Magic. Too much to do. Have to find Val. HAVE to." He turns to Eren, frowning mildly. "Robe? No. Tunic. Green, sometimes brown, with trousers. And a bow. Maybe at the Pointe? I checked there, but it's been a while. Maybe she came in." The mage heads for the front door, brushing past without a thought. At closer proximity, the wizard -reeks- like stagnant water and sweat.

The warrior reaches out, and clasps Mikilos on the shoulder. "Hey there." There's hesitation in the lines of Menel's body, but... Mikilos' scent has him more than a little worried, as does the man's preoccupation. "I don't think that skipping out on sleep has been such a good idea. You know... if finding them is that important... Have you tried magic? I've heard there are magical ways of finding people."

Erendriel looks up at Mikilos, and shakes her head. 'Sorry, I wasn't asking if that person, Val, wears a Blazing Robe. I was asking if you sell them. Are you sure you're okay? What's going on that's so important?"

Mikilos twists away from the grasp. He's not overly agile, but he -is- slightly greasy. The mage takes a few more steps towards the door, before freezing dead still for several seconds. "...scrying. I can scry. Then I'll know!" The wizard plops himself down on the floor right where he was standing, grabbing at his bag and pulling out a large silver mirror. Frowning a few moments, the wizard glares at the reflective surface before he suddenly brightens, reaching into the bag again to pull out a length of cord, looped at each end... a bow string. Tossing it into the curve of the silver mirror, the wizard begins muttering quietly, hands tracing runes along the outside edge of the mirror.

Belhan has backed against the wall, watching with wide eyes. "....that's not normal, right?" he asks quietly. "I mean, he always weird, but this is weird even for his weirdness."

Menel blinks twice at Mikilos. The reason that he has come here dangles in the back of his mind like an overripe fruit, but this... This transcends that. "Mikilos. Why do you need to find your friend. What's so important?" The swordsman glances toward Belhan and hesitantly shrugs. "I can only think that it's /really/ important that he find her. Maybe she knows something that will help him with something he's trying to do... or something like that?"

The swordsman kneels down, looking at the magical materials carefully. "Come on Mikilos, if you just tell us what's going on maybe I can help."

Erendriel watches the man sit down on the floor, completely ignoring everything else she said, and visibly concerning his own family member standing right there. She glances to Belhan. "I like Mikilos, but I have to do it." She then steps up to Mikilos, pointing her index finger at him, and shoots him with a point blank fire ray on the cheek. "Snap out of it!" she then shouts.

Mikilos jumps as the ray of fire burns his cheek, sending the mirror flying a breaking his concentration. It's not terrible, but it's certainly going to leave a mark, maybe a blister. The wizards hands twitch a few moments as he looks at the overturned mirror. It's sturdy metal, so the object is fine, but the spell is gone. Slowly, the elf's hands start to shake as tears well up in his eyes. "...I... I.... I -have- to find her! I just -have- to kill her!"

Menel's eyes widen and he reaches out and offers Mikilos his hand. "Come on. I think your friend's in the temple district. I'll come with you." Menel looks over at Erendriel. "We'll both come with you in fact; make sure you find her."

Not very subtly Menel winks at Erendriel. He has a plan. There's definitely something wrong with Mikilos and though he doesn't know what just yet. Surely priests of some variety will.

Erendriel lets Menel do the manhandling, but she folds her arms wat the talk of killing. "No. You don't need to kill anyone. Why would you ever need to kill anyone?" She then goes to fetch the mirror, picking it up and handing it to Belhan.

Mikilos hauls himself to his feet, listing slightly to the side. He's exhausted, mental if not physically, but grasps at the information. "Temple District? The temples. I didn't check there yet. I need to go." And the wizard is moving again, not quite a jog, but a quick walk, focusesd again now that he has a direction.

Belhan accepts the mirror wordlessly, the shopkeeper well over his head with this level of weird.

The swordsman is right behind Mikilos, following in his footsteps and motioning Erendriel to follow him. Once they've stepped just outside the shop Menel lowers his voice considerably and talks to Erendriel. "We've got to have a cleric look at him. I think that maybe... She got to him somehow. Maybe Kol. He can get inside your head and make you do all sorts of crazy things. The priests should be able to undo it though... I hope."

Erendriel gives a shrug to Belhan and walks out. To Menel she nods "It might be them. It might be something else. But it could be the plague. And he could just be tired." She's smaller than Mikilos and can't keep up normally, so she quickly casts Spider Climb on herself in order to be able to take shortcuts to keep up with him.

GAME: Erendriel casts Spider Climb. Caster Level: 5 DC: 17

Mikilos maintains a steady walk, though he does stumble a little now and again. It's not exactly a short hike down to the temple district, but it's fairly direct, the wizard murmuring quietly to himself as he goes. He does stop to let a cart pass by in the road, but brushes past a few other walkers, ignoring them almost completely.

"Stars, I /hope/ he's just tired." Menel utters the words mostly to himself seeing that Erendriel has taken to the buildings in order to keep up. He keeps by Mikilos' side, offering brief apologies as he goes to those that Mikilos brushes past. It's eerie seeing the mage this consumed by the thought of killing someone. He quickly catches up. "Hey Mikilos. I was just wondering... while we walk. Why it is you have to kill this person?"

Erendriel will eventually catch up with them as they get into the Temple district, having taken whatever shortcuts she can. "Maybe I need a magic item to let me fly..." she says to herself as she re-finds Menel and Mikilos. "Good question." she'll chime in.

Mikilos's head sweeps in wide arcs, trying to look everywhere all at once in the District. After looking at everyone in the plaza at least once, the elf slumps for a moment, before rousing his resolve and heading towards the Temple of Gilead. That's the place to find a ranger, right? "...why? Why. I... I... I have to. I just -have- to."

It's an answer that Menel can't argue or reason with, but Mikilos turns to the Gilead temple and Menel hurries a few steps ahead of the mage. It takes him practically running at the speed that Mikilos is going, but he makes it there somewhat ahead of the group. The moment he arrives he grabs ahold of the nearest priest and smiles at the woman's startled expression. "Sorry, but I think there's something wrong with my friend, would you have a look at him please?" He motions toward Mikilos who is headed for them this very moment.

Erendriel shakes her head, and gets an itchy fire finger. But she doesn't shoot Mikilos AGAIN because she tried that and it didn't work. "Killing someone isn't going to solve anything."

Mikilos hurries up the steps, pausing before the priest, trying both to make eye contact and look over their shoulder into the temple. It's sort of dark in there, so he turn his focus to the priest. "I -have- to find Valadhiel, the Ranger. But I can't. I don't know where she is. Is she here?"

GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20: (16): 16
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+16: (12)+16: 28

The priest draws herself up, and as she does you realize that she's quite old and a bit grizzled. She looks like the sort of woman that was an adventurer back in her day. She looks over Mikilos and nods to Menel's words. "You're quite right. There /is/ something wrong with your friend." She offers a smile to Mikilos as he comes rushing over peering into his eyes and looking at him seriously. "Some kind of Enchantment. Here, come with me, I'll help you." This last is said to Mikilos.

The moment that the priest acknowledges that there is something wrong with Mikilos, Menel's shoulders droop with a combination of relief and worry. Relief that someone believes them, worry that there really is something controllng the mage. "Do you mind if we come with?"

Erendriel doesn't find a temple of Gilead to be a particularly comfortable place to go, so she follows in with the other two. But.. she remains quiet, holding her breath as Mikilos is examined and addressed.

Mikilos blinks a few moments, not quite sure if he should frown or smile. "We'll find her? I -have- to find her." He glances vaguely to Menel. "I don't mind. You can help!"

GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d100: (48): 48

The woman leads them back to a small room beyond the main halls of the temple. She holds the door open for the group of you, and once your inside she barricades the room with her body. It's clear that the person Mikilos is looking for is /not/ here. "You two keep him here while I fetch someone with the proper spell prayed for, I did not ask Gilead for it this morning." She looks slightly abashed. "Had I known but... that's such as it is." Quickly she closes the door.

Menel immediately himself moves to stand in front of the door, crossing his arms over his chest. The position puts him in prime position to draw his swords while maintaining a casual pose. "Looks like we have to wait here a bit Mikilos. We'll get this sorted though okay?" The last thing he wants to do is fight his friend, but if someone really is controlling Mikilos... There might not be any choice.

Erendriel does start breathing again, folding her arms again, watching this. She KNOWS what it's like to go to the priests to ask for help, but Mikilos isn't exactly asking for help. He's being pushed or tricked into this. She'll stand at the door so of Mikilos tries to leave, he'll have to go through her.

Mikilos frowns, looking sort of past Menel, at the door. "But... I -have- to find her? I.... okay." The wizard slumps a little, but only for a moment, before he starts to pace the small room, anxiously looking towards the door, hands dry washing over each other. "...she... she said she'd fetch her, right? Right." Priests don't lie, right? Right. Not these ones. I mean, priests of Taara certainly do. The wizard bites his lip, eye the door as tears start to well up in his eyes again. "I have to. I just -have- to." he murmurs softly.

GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+16: (19)+16: 35

It doesn't take long, thankfully. A few minutes after she left there's a brief knock on the door and two priests allow themselves inside. The second priest is a sith-makar, one who looks to be quite old himself. The woman moves forward, past Menel and Erendriel; leading her colleague to Mikilos. Subtly the sith closes the door behind them and once before Mikilos the sith-makar lifts his claws. "Grant thisss your ssservant your wisssdom and sstrength." The intonation ends and the priest looks at Mikilos. The spell settles into the mage, undoing the spell placed there.

Erendriel will step out of the way for the priests who enter, but she's determined to be the meanest little roadblock that ever kept an archmage from leaving a room.

Menel holds his breath as the spell is cast, waiting for the other shoe to drop. For it to not work. For... something to happen. "Mikilos? Do you still feel like killing someone?"

Mikilos slumps down to the floor, blinking hard, and shaking his head slowly... "...does Kol count?" He blinks hard again, eyes watering. "...gods, is that smell -me-?!"

With a quick once-over the priests nod to Erendriel and Menel, even offering Mikilos a brief nod before they remove themselves from the room politely. The woman stops briefly. "If there's any more trouble just ask for Mary. You can use the room as long as you like." Those words quickly given are the last from the priest.

Erendriel sighs deeply, relaxing and walking up to Mikilos. She doesn't know what to say though beyond "Do you want to clean up?"

"I'm afraid to say that it is. And I think that killing that vampire once and for all is a good idea." Menel walks over to Mikilos and offers his hand to the mage. "Now that you're free of him though, lets get you home and cleaned up like Erendriel suggested. I'd like to talk to you about what happened... and a few other things besides."

Erendriel reaches out to pat Mikilos on the arm.. after he's cleaned up. "A bath sounds like a good idea. I know what it's like to be controlled. I hope you can relax now."

Mikilos frowns mildly, and peer at Erendriel. "Are -you- okay? Last I saw you were in Kol's clutches." he considers a moment. "Nothing personal, but think if there's a next time I'm going to focus on killing him. Too many people getting hurt by taking time to try and keep people from getting hurt."

"Kol got ahold of her too?" Menel looks at Erendriel and scrubs a hand through his hair. "This is getting to be too much. We /have/ to kill Kol. And Her if we can manage it. Somehow."

The swordsman looks at Mikilos. "Be careful Mikilos. You don't want to hurt innocent people to stop him, and if you put yourself out there to hunt him you could end up on his radar again. Or worse Hers."

Erendriel beams up to Mikilos. "I'm cured. I'm completely cured. We asked around and people say I was taken by him but... I don't remember anything of that. I just know I have a scar, and the priests say I'm completely cured. Well and I know I can't possibly fight that vampire we saw that time."

Mikilos frowns mildly at Menel. "I ruined his suit and he sent me to kill my best friend. I think we're past keeping off his radar. But I take your meaning." He looks thoughfully to Erendriel. "So something happened that cured you... we have no idea what... but seem to indicated -some- kind of cure exists. We just have to figure out what it is."

Menel just shakes his head. "About that..." Menel presses his lips together and looks at Mikilos. "Would it help you if you knew what the spells She uses... look like?"

Erendriel looks to the other two. They know more than she does. "Yes, some sort of cure exists. I guess? I don't know."

Mikilos frowns thoughfully, and shrugs. "It wouldn't hurt. I may be able to learn something useful, if only what sort of caster she is." He nods to Erendriel, and shrugs. "We'll figure something out. just a matter of trying and trying again."

"Then we have a lot to talk about." Menel offers a grim smile to accent his words. "In the meantime though; lets get you home."

-End