Driders, Peace Talks, and a Faern

[DM_Absolution]

Two Charnag Maelthra operatives enters the estate of one Cal Baender, in the background a robed figure steps through the door and into view. Judging from his white robe with intricate patters and runes adorning it, this can only be Seldszar Elpragh, the notable diviner and conclave member.
The wizard slowly takes a few steps in front of his two guards and speaks out loud in a controlled and neutral manner.

"We wish an audience with one Cal Baender, i am "told" he has some business he wishes to discuss with us"

[pattu]

Cal sat down in his chair. He was back home in his estate after returning from Gloura's. He took the peace treaty documents out from his robes and placed them on his desk. He stared at them for some time while recollecting on the meeting and conversation he had with the Jaluk. The Jaluk who sat down at the table was the one who was eagerly searching for the faern. And Cal found out why..

The Jaluk sought Cal's interpretation of the scouting mission, and even offered to pay for Cal's tale. The Jaluk and the faern had bumped into each other once before, with the Jaluk also at that time asking for information on the scouting mission. Cal wondered, why was this information so important to the strange Jaluk. Cal had denied any involvement in the previous conversation, but the tenacity of the Jaluk's quest for information intrigued the faern. Cal followed the advice of Cyrithe and judged the Jaluk before any knowledge was offered.

He introduced himself as Izzrar, A name Cal had never heard of nor cared about. But it was the gnome, still at the table, who peaked Cal's interest about the Jaluk. The gnome whispered Bregan, and with that single word whispered, Cal had a better idea about the nature of the Jaluk. Although still not ready to provide information, it was when the Jaluk stated he had already spoke with and interviewed the other members of the scouting party that Cal lost his interest in protecting the information.

Cal agreed to offer clarification on matters Izzrar was not clear on. In particularly, the identity of the drow wizard and the emissaries. Cal informed Izzrar, the Drow wizard was not a member of the conclave, having verified this information himself. The emissaries Cal verified were indeed representatives of the conclave. Izzrar seemed hesitant to believe the information, only being given Cal's assurance. What Cal did not share with Izzrar was that on the faern's very person was the surviving Drider Peace Talk documents. Official documents of the Conclave, only to be carried by conclave members. Izzrar's non pursuant of knowledge about the documents convinced Cal he was not aware of their existence, and so that information was not shared.

Cal leaned back in his chair, resting his mind and nerves. He would go to the Conclave during the next cycle, being now much fatigued after this cycles events and conversations. He did not rest long as a Servant came rushing into his study. . .

[pattu]

The servant came rushing into Cal's study and yelled out of breath for the Faern's attention

"Master!"

Cal opened one eye briefly and looked at the servant before shutting it again

"Go away. Now." *emphasizing the now*

Cal adjusted his body in the chair to get more comfortable when the servant spoke again

"Maser. Someone is here to see dos."

"Who?"

"Usstan believes it is the head of the School of Divination, Master Elpragh"

Cal's eyes darted open and he leaned forward in his chair. He stared at the servant and then the documents. A sudden rush of doomed feelings loomed over him. He did not move for several seconds until the servant spoke

"Master, dos should naut keep the head of the Divination School waiting."

The comment awoke Cal from his daze and he quickly took the documents, placing them inside his robes. He then left his study in haste to the entrance of his estate to greet the Master of Divination.

Cal approached the Master of Divination quickly, yet gracefully. He knelt before Master Elpragh and bowed respectfully. With his head lowered, he greeted his guest.

"Master Elpragh, Usstan would have greeted dos outside the estate, but usstan was naut aware of dos arrival. Please forgive usstan. May usstan inquire what this honor is regarding?"

Cal head remained low not daring to make eye contact, until otherwise given permission.

[Empoweredfan]

Pacing, that was what she was going.

Pacing, fretting, grumbling . . . and at times, giggling at the idea of it all.

It was now very obvious that the faern, Cal, had not delivered the documents to the conclave. Having been confronted by a guard on the matter, her suspicions about his appearance in Gloura's Wings felt justified.

Her own current freedom though, was a bit harder to explain. What she hoped, and prayed for, was that her own standing protected her. That she was seen more as a stupid servant than as a conspirator. After all, all she had been demanded to do, was to bring word to her equally guilty companions.

Not for the first time, she thanked the goddess for her luck. Lucky that she was free, lucky that she did not have the documents and lucky that she now knew that her involvements were known. . .which made her rethink the whole conspiracy theory.

. . . How had they known?

Was the faern that hired them really a member of the conclave?

. . .If so, why did he not take a more direct approach?

. . .Why had the guard stalked her publicly? Why had he waited until she was alone to confront her?

. . . The questions had just started gathering, more and more. . .like a ball of . . . something.

Thus, she giggled at it all.

As she could still do that, things were still al right. For the moment.

Though, the faern named Cal, was in some danger of meeting her knee in an inconvenient location the next time they would meet.

[Alkaizer74]

Submerged in shadow, Szark witnessed the arrival two Charnag Maelthra and white-robed visitor.

"This can naut bode well." Szark thought to herself. "If they come for the faern, they will soon track down the rest of the scouting mission members. Usstan hope he is a better negotiator than he is a faerl user."

[pattu]

That Master of Divination gave permission for Cal to rise. Cal rose to his feet slowly, saying his thanks and offering one more bow of respect. Elpragh dismissed the respectful gestures and instead had a very friendly demeanor. This confused the faern of Baendar as he did not know what to make of it. He felt even more nerves and anxiety being unable to read Elpragh’s purpose. Elpragh invited Cal to join him at one his personal estates for a meeting. Cal knew declining this invite was not optional and agreed. Cal patted his robe to feel the contract and peace documents hidden against his chest. Cal left his estate and trailed after the Master of Divination.

Upon arrival and entry to the estate, Elpragh made it a point to inform Cal this was his smallest estate. Cal was still humbled by its appearance. Elpragh lead the two to the room in which they would meet in. Several members of the Charnag Maelthra were guarding the hallways and two posted outside the room. Cal avoided eye contact, but he could feel their gaze upon him. His nerves now were at their highest point of anxiety. The walls of the hallway appeared to close in around him as he focused on the Master of Divination walking casually in front leading Cal into the room. Cal followed.

Entering the meeting room, Cal once again observed the large and lavish lifestyle that only a Master of the Conclave could live. Elpragh very warmly motioned to a table and chair and told Cal to sit. However, Cal did not move. It was not his nerves that caused the faern to freeze. It was the Planetar (Large Powerful Angel) who was standing in the corner of the room. The large angel was imprisoned. The Planetar did not move, it did not say a thing, but its eyes stared right into Cal’s very soul. Elpragh noticed Cal’s hesitation and laughed;

“Do naut have worries regarding my large Angelic friend. He is here for testing. Simply ignore him to reinforce that any words he says shall not be heard. He is quite harmless and helpless behind my restraints.”

The faern of Baendar wondered how such an impressive being could be ignored. Cal simply nodded. He then stared back into the eyes of the Planetar. Cal saw hatred and also sadness. A small grin formed on Cal’s lips.

“Please Cal, take a seat.” That Master of Divination was still very friendly and smiled warmly while motioning Cal once again to the chair.

Cal was once more taken back by Elpragh’s kindness. The faern felt his nerves slowly start to fade away. And whether it was foolish or not, Cal slowly started to become comfortable.. After Cal settled into his chair, Elpragh started the meeting by asking Cal if he was a member of the scout team that had infiltrated the drider caves. Cal did not lie and confirmed the Master’s statement. Elpragh then asked for Cal to give a full report of the events that transpired, leaving out no detail. Cal gave full a detailed report.


Continued. . .

[pattu]

Cal went on to intricate every aspect of the mission. The goal was to infiltrate and obtain evidence of a single drider uniting the drider tribes under one leadership. Elpragh paced the room while listening Cal tell his story. Cal spoke on how the mission came to his attention and why the mission interested Cal to participate. Cal informed Elpragh about the contract provided by the still unknown employer. Elpragh halted Cal’s story and asked for evidence. Cal reached into his robe and revealed the contract. Elpragh stopped his pacing and took the contract to review. He asked if the contract could remain in his possession. Cal told Elpragh that copies of the contract were made and this copy was for the master to keep. Elpragh simply smiled and signaled for Cal to continue his report.

Cal spoke in detail about the faern the scout team met at the designated rendezvous location inside the sewer. Elpragh quickly halted Cal once more and asked the faern of Baendar if he knew the other members of the scout team. Cal thought for a moment on how to reply.

“Please forgive me Master, their names were naut worth remembering and therefore their names elude me now.” The lie made Cal worry until Elpragh responded.

“This is naut important. Usstan already know all of their names.”

After the statement, Cal watched Elpragh walk over and whisper into the ear of one of the Charnag Maelthra. The guard gave a nod then departed. Cal could only wonder what was said and he felt some of his nerves return. Elpragh turned his attention back to Cal and motioned for the report to continue. Cal started again.

Cal told Elpragh that after the scout team agreed to be teleported by the employer’s faern, they immediately found themselves in a difficult position. The team was not prepared for the number of driders patrolling the caves making stealth nearly impossible. Fighting was inevitable. Cal reported that the team discovered the peaceful negotiations when the infiltrated deep within the caves. However at the time, the meeting was simply unknown discussions between Drider and Drow. Curiosity caused Cal to lie once more when describing the meeting.

“The meeting was between drider and tw - one Drow emissary.” Cal’s arrogance was returning. Cal did not know if the second emissary had survived and returned to report to the conclave.

The statement however was not well received by the Master of Divination. Elpragh’s kindness diminished. He signaled for Cal to stop. Elpragh made a brief motion with his hands a glowing orb appeared. As soon as the orb was summoned Cal felt his mind under attack (Will: Failure). An explanation was given that the orb held a divination enchantment. Its purpose was to detect the validity of a speaker’s statements. If the statement is true, the orb would glow white. If the statement is false the orb would glow red. Elpragh turned to the orb. It was glowing red.

“Would dos please redescribe the meeting..” Elpragh turned back to Cal. His red eyes glowed in unison with the orb and stared sharply. Cal was barely able to swallow the lump in his throat before replying.

“Please.. forgive my forgetfulness. There were indeed two Drow Emissaries.” Cal then felt it best to no longer lie.

Cal continued his report. The scout team was discovered when observing the meeting and was forced to flee. At this point all element of stealth was gone. The scout team was able to corner a drider and interrogate. The interrogation yielded the answer the party sought, confirming that there was indeed a leader uniting the drider tribes. Still the scout team wanted to obtain information on the meeting taking place. The team tried once more to spy and investigate the meeting, but again they were discovered. The ensuing fight caused much confusion, ultimately destroying the peace talks. The party was able to isolate one of the emissaries and the emissary was interrogated. It was then that Cal learned that the emissaries were representatives of the conclave and were conducting negotiations for a peace treaty. The party was found by the second emissary during the interrogation and in chaos first emissary was killed in the fighting. The second emissary fled.

“The second emissary has already returned to the conclave and given his report.” Elpragh stated. His eyes were analyzing Cal. “Did your team enter the meeting room?”

“Xas. We went to the table where negations were discussed around.”

“And what did dos find?” Elpragh's eyes analyzed Cal more sharply

“We found papers confirming the claims of the Emissary who was interrogated. The Peace Talk Documents and Treaty between the driders and the Conclave.”

“Did dos take these documents!?” Elpragh’s eyes darted back and forth between Cal and the orb. His eyes burned violently waiting for a response.

“Xas.” And with that Cal took the documents from his robe and presented them to the Master of Divination.

Elpragh took the documents and read them hastily. There was silence for some time while the documents were being reviewed. The silence was broken when Elpragh looked up from reading and glared at Cal.

“Did dos make copies of these documents?”

“Nau. Usstan would be a fool to copy the Seal of the Conclave.” Cal responded truthfully and observed a wicked grin grow on Elpragh’s face.

After receiving the documents, Elpragh stated Cal’s report was done and concluded the talk. He did however have one last surprise for the Faern of Baendar. Elpragh gave Cal a magical gem. Cal did not recognize the gem (Lore: Fail) but when he held the gem he learned the purpose (Spellcraft: Success). The gem held a divination enchantment. It would act as a beacon and allow others to scry the holder’s location. The scryer would be able to see and hear what the holder does. Cal was ordered to keep the gem on his person at all times. Naturally, Cal was not pleased with a gift that would allow someone to observe his every movement. Elpragh was however quite amused by Cal’s dismay.

“How long will Usstan be forced to carry this?”

“As long as Usstan deems it necessary.”