The New Redeemer in Town

Log Info

• Title: The New Redeemer in Town

• Emitter: Vaughn

• Characters: Dolan, Mikilos, Ravenstongue, Telamon, Vaughn

• Place: Temple of Daeus

• Summary: The Redeemer Vaughn is praying before he embarks on a guild contract to deal with the wight problem. Dolan, Mikilos, Ravenstongue, and Telamon are there, too--Ravenstongue and Telamon hoped to catch up with Dolan about their recent acquisition of a totem and Dolan's going about his business as a Redeemer. Vaughn is brought up to speed about the werewolf situation, and Dolan is informed of Pothy's recent trip to the Court of the Unseelie in exchange for a demon-slaying blade.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- Dramatis Personae =--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-    
Dolan             5'10"    174 Lb     Human             Male      Brown-haired human with scars down his face.                               
Mikilos           6'8"     180 Lb     Dawn Elf          Male      Tall male dawn elf, rosey blonde and handsome.                             
Ravenstongue      5'0"     99 Lb      Half-Elf          Female    Short half-elf girl with violet eyes and black hair.                       
Telamon           5'6"     140 Lb     Half-Elf          Male      A platinum-blond half-sil man with dancing dark eyes                       
Vaughn            5'7"     146 Lb     Human             Male      A straight-backed Human witch hunter.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

It's evening in Alexandria, but the temple glimmers all the same. Basked in golden light, Vaughn is knelt before the grand edifice of Daeus, longsword in hand and pointed towards the ground, caught murmuring a benediction.

"Blessed are those who stand before the corrupt and the wicked, and do not falter."

"Blessed are the peacekeepers, the champions of the just."

"Blessed are the righteous - the lights in the shadow."

"In their blood, Your Will is written."

He spends a beat further with his head bowed before rising slowly, peering upwards into the mural of the sky as he sheathes his sword, huffing.

Mikilos exits one of the smaller out buildings, tucking his pack back into place and peering around with idle curiosity. Spying the praying human, the wizard moves closer, waiting until he rises before speaking. "Hello again, Caleb, was it? Getting settled in?"

There are others praying in the area; Vaughn is hardly alone in doing so. Dolan has already finished his evening devotions, though, and is now on the far side of the sprawling Temple area, standing with someone tall in white robes and topped with a shock of red hair. The two appear to embrace, and possibly kiss, and then the other one turns away, vanishing with others similarly robed into the depths of one of the Temple buildings.

This leaves the man to turn towards the Temple altar proper, the scarred right half of his face made still more stranger by the spill of the last rays of the sun creating shadows in the rippled and furrowed flesh, and glinting off the yell gem set into what is left of the ruined eyesocket.

He approaches closer, and becomes clearer. He, too, wears the sunburst, but not the white and gold, and instead of the longsword, carries a harness over his back holding a greatsword as tall as he is.

There's something in that sky mural.

It's... a white raven? He flaps around inside of the temple before coming back to land on the shoulder of a dark-haired half-elf woman with violet eyes. "I sure hope Dolan is here," she says, looking to the platinum-blond half-elf man next to her, arm wrapped around his. "Would be nice to discreetly pass him the message about... what happened at the Ox."

The raven makes a whistling sound from her shoulder. The half-elf woman blinks as she observes the tall elf and the unfamiliar man. "Mikilos," Cor'lana says with a wave and a smile. "I didn't expect to see you here."

Her wave is extended again to the unfamiliar Daeusite before she looks over and also spots a more familiar Redeemer. "Dolan! Hey there."

Telamon stands there, arm in arm with Cor'lana, the platinum-silver of his hair contrasting with hers. "He should be," he says. "I asked one of the acolytes if he would be in tonight." His dark eyes twinkle, despite the gravity of the last few days. "Not sure I want to leave him a message, we'd have to be so circumspect it'd be annoying."

When Lana points out Mikilos, the half-elf raises his hand in greetings as well. "Archmagus. It's good to see you again." His eyes shift past when Dolan emerges, and he smiles broadly. "And there he is, the fellow we need to see..." Glancing at Vaughn in interest, it's clear he doesn't know the other Daeusite yet.

Vaughn follows the flight of the white raven to the small elf, peering at her then for a small beat before upturning an eyebrow. "...yes, settling is a good term, I suppose," he tells Mikilos before his gaze transfers over to the taller elf, his lips quirking upwards. "I had found this Explorer's Guild and left my name. I will be setting out to deal with a Wight-related problem very soon. I had thought to say my benedictions before I set out."

Mikilos turns at the sound of his name, smiling and raising a hand in greeting, addressing Pothy in particular. "Good to see you again. You appear hale and well." Glanceing back to Vaughn, he nods to each in turn. "Redeemer Vaughn, may I introduce the sorcerous seductress Cor'lana, her willing thrall Telamon, and her familiar Pothy, recent guest of the Queen of Air and Darkness. And perhaps you've already met Redeemer Dolan?"

The mobile half of Dolan's face lights up at the elven pair, clear and positive recognition very much there in the cheeky grin he flashes at the pair. "You came all this way into a temple to find me? I'm flattered." The scarred half of his face barely moved, though, a thing rather eerie. He seems about to ask more, but others are around, and introductions seem to be going around. "That's me, though I don't think I've met you outside of about once, and you not at all," he turns towards Vaughn. "Brightest of days. I don't want to interrupt your prayers, that's no bad thing to do before setting out on a Guild mission. Especially not when you're dealing with wights." A shudder ripples through him.

Cor'lana makes an expression sort of like she's swallowed a particularly slimy frog: upset, and perhaps a little grossed out, before her violet eyes settle into a glare at Mikilos. "Please. I am not a seductress. I just do what is good for the sake of innocent people continuing to live," she says. "If it takes some flirtatious words when other words fail, then so be it."

She looks to the newer redeemer. "Mikilos does say some truth. You may call me Cor'lana Lupecyll, this is my husband-to-be, Telamon, and the lovely gentleman on my shoulder is Apotheosis, or Pothy for short."

The half-elf girl smiles briefly at Vaughn, before her expression turns to a more serious one. "Keep your wits about you out there. Wights are no laughing matter, and I suspect Dolan would not be pleased to hear of a brother in his god's favor to fall."

She turns to Dolan now. "Yes," she says. "It's a serious matter. Regarding the werewolves. Telamon can show you what I mean."

Telamon gives Mikilos a flat look as well. It's clear he didn't appreciate the levity, and his expression says exactly what he thinks of it. "Droll, Archmagus," he says in a clipped tone, before turning his eyes to Dolan and Vaughn. A deep breath, before he smiles at Vaughn winningly. "Telamon Atlon, at your service sir."

At Cor'lana's words, he nods briskly. "Wights, werewolves, and dark days, oh my. Take care, Redeemer. Ask for help if you need it -- there's is no 'overkill' when dealing with the undead. There's only 'open fire' and 'reload'."

Tel actually twitches a little at Lana's remark about showing Dolan what she means. "Only briefly," he cautions, before reaching into his haversack. Deftly, he withdraws a small statuette, simply crafted, that looks like a depiction of the goddess Eluna. Meeting Dolan's eyes, he nods, before putting it back.

Vaughn scoffs loudly at Mikilos' introduction of Cor'lana and Telamon, his gaze lazily shifting over to the two. His smirk remains. "Sorcerous seductress. I've had to deal with one or two of those, to be sure." He then raises a finger, like a professor giving some sort of trivia, his other hand moving behind his back. "Never underestimate the weakness of men. Pride is the animal, flirtation a potent weapon, and we do what we must to safeguard the flock. I approve."

He inclines his head then to Ravenstongue and Telamon in acknowledgement of his words before turning his gaze to Dolan. "Daeus prevails, brother. Mourn me not if I die, I am a mere tool in Draco Solis' arsenal. But I will not die." To this, another smirk. "And tidings of werewolves as well. This town really is in need of redeeming," he declares to the other Redeemer, and Mikilos as well.

Mikilos shrugs, but doesn't apologize, instead frowning at the brief glimpse of a statuette. "...I assume that's been carefully examined and is being kept out of fuzzy hands?"

"Except that you're no good to the Draco Solis if you die, brother. He'd rather you use your head and not die unless you have to, yeah?" Dolan appears to be a good bit less formal in nature than Vaughn, but just as sharp. "Just don't get cocky. Hit 'em from range, and don't let 'em touch you. They'll drain your strength like that." He snaps callused fingers.

Something else has his attention, though, and he looks back and forth between his friends and the archmage. His eyes fall across the statuette, and he just nods once, complete understanding there. "I'll find out who made it. I have a way. Looks like I missed something here, though." His head turns completely as he looks from one person to another, instead of the usual flick of eyes. "Yeah, flirting with someone's pretty damned effective. Don't be ashamed of that tactic. I assume you flirted that away from somebody? If you did, good call."

Cor'lana looks almost like the energy is sapped out of her at the mention of it, but she nods, regaining her energy just as quickly. "Telamon and I went into the Ox-Strength Tavern to put up posters looking for Pothy--that's a much longer story to get into, and it's... Too harrowing to recount here. There was a man who was bragging about a good luck charm he had, and..."

Her words trail off as she looks at Vaughn. "You're a Redeemer like Daeus," she says, more quietly. "I think you're trustworthy. You should know that there's been someone working to release the Hound from his eternal prison, and it appears to be the work of werewolves that have been cropping up in the city to wreak havoc from time to time. There's these totems of power that people have managed to take away from the werewolves, or found them elsewhere--they are the chains that bind the dark god in his prison."

She turns back to the general group. "The man refused to show it to anyone, but Dirk, who was there, said he'd seen it before when he met the man before, and it was absolutely one of the totems. Telamon tried reasoning with the man. That didn't work. So... I flirted with the man."

Cor'lana shivers a little. "I managed to get the figurine from him. And I 'fell' backwards, and I threw it at Telamon. He caught it, and we ran out of there."

Telamon lets Cor'lana tell the tale, picking up when she gets to their abrupt exit. "He wasn't real happy. And the whole situation seemed a little... off. I've heard some rumblings, Dolan, and I think I'd like to talk to Lieutenant Balderdan if we can arrange a meeting. If nothing else, to establish our side of the story."

His lips quirk up. "In any case, Lana and I ran like hell, all the way to the temple district -- I originally planned to slip into the temple of Eluna. However, we ran into Verna, Auranar, and Sir Seldan, and opted to retire to Verna's place instead -- fewer prying eyes and ears."

He squares his shoulders, looking at Dolan. "Which is where I bonded to it. The chains need someone of goodly spirit to remain intact and strong, and, well..." His lips quirk up. "Guess I'm good enough for the task."

Mikilos quirks a brow at Dolan, but doesn't ask, instead peering at Telamon in mild surprise. "...bonded? That... is new information. New to me, at least."

Vaughn turns his finger into a closed fist and gestures it as if he'd caught something at Ravenstongue's elaboration. "There, you see? Subtlety won the day.", Vaughn says appreciably, before settling down with a huff. "...well, I am sure I will get by, brother. I do tend to fight from afar." A smirk then to Dolan before offering to the group in general, "Do you all need help tracking the Hound's goons? I have no experience with werewolves, but it's best to dive in, in my experience..." There is an apparently chipper tone to his self-assured murmur. He's probably a closet thrill-seeker.

"Yeah," Dolan tells Mikilos, soberly. "Those things cause the most hideous nightmares if you don't. and if you do, it'll give you some power over the Dream Realm, plus it makes the nightmares stop, and it strengthens the chains like he said." A tilt of the head in Telamon's direction, and his unexpectedly deep baritone drops in volume. "I'm holding two myself, Andie's got one. Dirk's got one. There's someone holding one that I've never met. There's a total of thirteen of 'em. Now you've got one. Mourner Verna's ..." He trails off, scowling. "What we really need is help tracking down the rest of these statues, brother. The werewolves are no joke, either, and they're everywhere."

Cor'lana nods soberly, followed by a sigh. "Secrecy is important in this," she informs Vaughn. "The werewolves are capable of blending into the city population. They look like ordinary people. Be careful who you divulge this to."

She looks to Dolan again. "By the way... Does the name 'Zalgiman' mean anything to you? That was the name, or perhaps the alias, the man was using. We believe him to be one of the Hound's agents."

Telamon furrows his brow at Dolan. "Dirk mentioned losing his to this... Zalgiman fellow. So the one I have may be the same one he had." He curls up his lips in a wry smile. "I'll buy him some good dwarven whiskey as an apology -- he was pretty broken up about not being able to get it back."

His expression sobers as well, as he regards Vaughn. "Just keep an eye out, especially if you don't have silver weapons. Actually, come to think of it..." He opens up his haversack again, and fishes around before removing a metal vial with a crescent moon marking on the cap. "Silversheen. You can use it to coat weapons or ammunition as needed." He proffers the vial to Vaughn. "It never hurts to have a backup plan."

Vaughn looks to Dolan with that smirk. It hasn't wavered once. "Good. More kindle for the pyre," he declares as he takes the proffered vial from Telamon with an inclined head. "My thanks. This will be put to good use." To Ravenstongue, he shrugs a shoulder. "I do not know enough people here to tell them about things, but if I did, I would not tell them a thing," he offers as he pockets the vial.

Mikilos nods thoughtfully to Dolan, and shrugs. "Alexandros seems to be collecting divine artifacts, wanted or not. Makes me concerned how many world altering events are going to happen at the same time." He frowns mildly to Telamon. "Mithril. Equally effective, doesn't wear off, and keeps an edge better than steel." The elf considers a moment. "Admittedly more expensive, but worth the price."

"Oh, yeah. If you get bitten by one of the wolves, don't play it cool. Take your arse back to the Temple of Eluna and have them check it out." Dolan directs a serious look at Vaughn, one that is all business but not quite a glare, and turns quickly enough back to Mikilos. "I've got one to worry about, and that's plenty."

It's Telamon, though, that has his attention. "Fuck. At least we got it back, but we've got to track down more of these. They've got too damned many. I'll see if I can find out who this asshole is."

"Don't forget the meeting with Lieutenant Balderdan," Cor'lana reminds Dolan and Telamon. "I'd really rather not be accosted by members of the Guard. I can simply turn invisible, yes, or if I really must, use a laughing or charming spell on them as I traipse away, but I feel that wouldn't help my reputation any more than it already is." She sighs deeply.

Pothy finally turns to look at Dolan. He's been a very quiet and patient bird this whole time. "Snacks?" he asks.

"Oh, right," Cor'lana says. She reaches into her own bag and pulls out a little drawstring bag. "Pothy's in a sharing mood lately, and he's wanted to give everyone he likes a bag of snacks. So..."

Pothy takes flight and lands on Dolan's shoulder as he snatches the bag from Cor'lana. He drops it into Dolan's hand if he holds one out. His tail wags up and down in happiness. "Thank you for being my friend," he says, mimicking Cor'lana's voice.

Telamon spreads his hands. "What can I do, Archmagus? I am but a simple diplomat," What's impressive is that he keeps a straight face saying this, "and my resources are limited. Perhaps we could prevail upon some of the leading lights in the Guild or the Arcanists' Society to help equip members of the guard and other worthies with such mithril weapons."

His eyes are wide, guileless, and oh so innocent as he looks at Mikilos, too.

Finally, he shifts his gaze to Dolan and Lana again. "Exactly why I want to speak to the Lieutenant. I don't really want to get into a pointless scuffle with the watch -- we're supposed to be helping them, after all."

When Pothy makes his offer, Tel blinks, and then chuckles. "Ah, yes. Pothy has discovered the joys of sharing his snacks. Please make sure you thank him, it's a genuine offer."

Vaughn hitches an elbow on the crook of his arm and strokes at his chin. "Lycanthropy. How much does it actually change you? Aside from the physical.", he asks Dolan, before nodding to Mikilos. "And Alexandros has been the center of divine attentions for some time, hasn't it? Such an odd, stormy nexus of activity. It's what drew me here to begin with. Did it disappearing into the aether have much to do with it, perhaps?", he wonders aloud as he watches Apotheosis with glimmering eyes.

Vaughn unhitches his arms and lets them drop before half-bowing to the group. "A question I must ask for another time. I must get going. Daeus prevails."

Mikilos frowns mildly at Dolan again. "Professionally curious your method to find out such things. A number of potential spells come to mind, I'm interested in what you favor." He blinks innocently back at Telamon. "Is there some sort of poor person message in that I'm too wealthy to understand?" And then up becomes down, black becomes white, and Pothy shares snacks. Madness reigns.

Oh. Oh. "Uh, yeah. I'll see if I can help you out. If any of the lieutenants'll get it, it'll be Balderdan." Dolan frowns, but nods to Vaughn. "Daeus prevails, brother. Travel safe."

He blinks at Cor'lana, and holds out a hand for the bag automatically. "Pothy? Sharing? What?" Utter bafflement stops his world and drives all thoughts of werewolves and statues from his mind for a moment.

And then Mikilos asks his question. "If I carry one in my dreams, I can see the aura around it. Each one's different, but it's sort of got a touch related to who made it, and I can see an image related. I'm holding the ones made by Thul and Tarien."

Cor'lana waves to Vaughn. "Take care, travel safe," she says in farewell to the man. It's an earnest wish give freely to the Redeemer as he leaves.

She turns to Dolan and grins. "Yeah," she says. "He's... had a bit of an attitude adjustment lately. Pothy, that is. Wish it didn't have to happen the way it did, but..."

Her train of thought slows as she sees Pothy's happy-tail wagging. The raven looks very content on Dolan's shoulder. There's a flicker of sadness in Cor'lana's violet eyes, but the grin remains. "Pothy's a good boy."

Cor'lana clicks her tongue, and Pothy returns to his typical seat on her shoulder. She tilts her head, however, at the mention of Thul and Tarien. "Coyote laugh," she murmurs. "It'd be nice to learn who made Telamon's."

She looks to Telamon with another smile. "It'd be awfully funny if it was the Raven who made yours," she says.

Telamon raises a hand in farewell to Vaughn as well, before blinking at Mikilos. "Of course not, Archmagus. I just imagine that, being a powerful wizard, you have vaults full of currency you could use to help fund the watch. You could write it off as a deduction against the yearly tax bill, I'll bet."

He arches an eyebrow at Lana's speculation, before shrugging. "I... admit I haven't spent a lot of time studying the thing. I probably need to. Is there any particular technique that might work best, Dolan? Or should I just try whatever feels natural?"

Mikilos frowns thoughtfully, nodding to Dolan. "Interesting. And you say are thirteen of them? How do you know that? Each tied to a different god or goddess? Which ones?" There's an anxious undertone to his questions. Allowing himself to be distracted, he glances sidelong to Telamon. "My taxes already fund the Watch. If I gave them things instead of selling them, I'd make less profits, which means less taxes, which makes for lower funding. I should help by rasing prices, perhaps."

Dolan looks back and forth among the others, his head turning to face each one in turn, frowning. It had automatically followed Pothy from the weight on his shoulder to Cor'lana's, and the bag is left held in his hand unremarked, so confused is he by the byplay going on around him. "The gods of Light and of Darkness made them, except for Caracoroth. Those of twilight don't. help of harm the chains," he adds absently. "They each made one, so 13. I dunno what the Raven's looks like, wasn't he of Light when they were made?" He rambles, sounding uncertain. "Pothy, though. What happened to Pothy?"

Cor'lana nods. "Navos used to be of the Light, yes," she responds. "Until Animus's death. So he should have one statue in that thirteen--unless that statue is somehow no longer functional as a result of Navos's descent into the Twilight."

There's a subtle twinge of ache in Cor'lana's voice as she speaks on the Raven, and... well, it only gets a little worse as she looks at Pothy on her shoulder. "Telamon and I accompanied Aya, Aryia, a monk named Halani, and Mikilos to meet the Queen of Air and Darkness, a fey queen among the Unseelie--who you know by meeting His Majesty, the King of the Sluagh, one of the Unseelie as well. We had to make a deal for a weapon to kill a demon woman who tried to kill Telamon, and has previously hurt and killed other people."

She leans in and kisses Pothy on his feathered head. "Her Majesty said if I agreed to live in her Court for a century, then she'd give me the weapon needed. That... Is a dangerous notion. I knew I would not come back the same. Pothy volunteered instead. He came back on the night when I took that figurine from that man--time flows differently in Quelynos than it does here."

Telamon takes Lana's hand in his, offering support. "It was... not the easiest time for Lana. For Pothy either." He sighs. "Whether this was worth it, well... we'll find out if we set eyes on that demon-bitch again. Getting rid of her... considering all the pain and sorrow she's caused, it has to be done."

He clenches his fist, taking a deep breath before letting it out. "I'll meditate on the statue this evening, Dolan. See if it'll tell me anything. I can't imagine it'll be straightforward -- that'd be too easy -- but at least we'll have more information on it."

Mikilos relaxes at Dolan's explanation, nodding. And a different sort of nod at Cor'lana's explanation, most of which he knew. And shrugs to Telamon. "Maybe this part will be easy. The whole mess, doubtful, but maybe this specific step will go smooth."

"If you'll let me, I'll try taking it into the Dream Realm tonight. I don't need to physically have it. I'll see what I can learn." Dolan still sounds unhappy when he finally speaks, hearing everyone out to the end, staring at the bag in his hand now. "The Seers taught me how to control my dreams, and when I attuned the second statue, it got really easy."

It only darkens further at the mention of the demon percolates through. "A demon, you're saying. Then it'll damn sight be worth it. I'll help you, if you want."

Cor'lana looks to Telamon. "I'd let Dolan have it for the night," she says to him, before returning her gaze to Dolan. "You're the person I definitely feel probably the safest about having it for a little while."

She nods soberly at Dolan's statement. "I appreciate that," she says. "I... have the weapon. It's a terrifying thing. More terrifying because of the oath I swore. The Wild Hunt will come for me if I ever let it kill any of the fey, and if I ever let it be stolen from my grasp. But it's what had to be done. Telamon could... have been killed by that woman." Cor'lana squeezes Telamon's hand tightly.

"Indeed. The stakes are high. But this is important." Telamon nods firmly to Dolan. "Whatever you need, friend, let me know. We're both in this together now and I suspect it'll be a lot rougher before it gets any better."

His hand squeezes Lana's. "But have faith. It will get better. We'll get through this. I haven't released you from your promise to be a groomsman at my wedding, after all." His eyes sparkle with cheer. "I'm not letting something as trifling as the threat of the Nightmare unleashed stop me now."

Mikilos huffs only a little. He was killed by that woman. Mostly by his own actions, but still.