Chronicle of the Scavenger Lands (Exalted 3E) - IC

[jaydude]

[Ending the battle with Melisande's surrender.]

Melisande again manages to narrowly parry the blow, but the force of it knocks her off her feet and onto her rump. She quickly scrambles back onto one knee and holds her daiklave up in a guard position, but she's panting rapidly from both adrenaline and fear. Before Ryan can follow up with another attack, she drops her weapon down by her side.

"Fine. I yield." she says in a flinty voice, her anima still burning. She slowly raises her hands while remaining on one knee, as if waiting for Ryan to give her permission to stand up. With Quincel secured, Sergeant Tannis hurries over and kicks Melisandre's daiklave out of her reach, the starmetal weapon scraping against the floor.

Ailera, Zedradon and any of the other Solars who decided to join them enter the wine cellar a few seconds later.

 

[Rykon]

"Alright, get her up on her feet." Ryan says to Tannis with a relieved exhalation. He turns to Ailera Sherwood and Zedradon D. Rex . "Ailera, can you hold onto her Daiklave for the time being. I don't want any more ill-advised attempts at resistance getting someone killed. Doctor, can you make sure both of them are in good shape before we move along?"

 

[D. Rex]

"Would you like me to make them sleep?" He asked Ryan as he moved to the captives. He would check them. A thorough examination, for health and hidden weapons. Rykon

 

[Rykon]

"We could do that, but there's a chance they might panic when they wake up. I don't know about you, but I have some questions I'm curious to hear the answer to. Like the truth about how the king died, or how a man who drove out his alleged Solar sibling has enough of a change of heart to marry a Solar in an Immaculate adhering state... among other things." The commander said with a shrug. "Speaking of, let's make sure none of the staff see her caste mark just yet. The last thing I want to have to settle is a zealous riot in here."

 

[jaydude]

Melisande stands up while keeping her hands raised, and doesn't resist when Tannis ties her wrists together. Examining her and Quincel, Zedradon finds them both to be perfectly healthy, and completely weaponless. The Eclipse Caste raises an eyebrow upon seeing Emancipation, seemingly taking it as confirmation that Ryan has other Exalts under his banner.

When Ryan voices his thoughts, Quincel - who is currently looking at his wife with clear disbelief - stammers out, "No...I...I had no idea she was a..."

"I never felt the need to tell him." Melisande explains with a shrug. "Though I figured I could convince him it was no big deal just now, assuming we were able to escape this place."

She then focuses her gaze upon Ryan. "You seem to know quite a bit about this kingdom and its politics." she remarks. "So tell me. When Quincel here drove out his sister, do you think his only reason for doing so could be to uphold the tenets of the Immaculate Philosophy?"

Quincel looks angry at this. "You think I only did that for the sake of the throne?! My sister poisoned my father!" he exclaims.

 

[Sherwood]

Ailera pulls out a length of cloth from her pocket and quickly begins to wrap up Melisande's head to hide the Caste mark. "There. That may not keep her from getting free, but it may slow her down a bit and keep her from causing mischief." She then gathers up the Daiklave and steps back.

 

[Rykon]

Ryan gives Ailera and Zed an appreciative nod. He turns to Quincel and Melisande to respond. "What I think doesn't really matter, does it? I will say my impression was that your sister suspected you might have had something to do with it Quincel. So now I'm personally curious... If both of you are telling the truth and neither of you had anything to do with his death, who did? I'm sure you and all your siblings want the real culprit brought to justice on the 'off-chance' it wasn't her, correct? For what it's worth, I hope you and your family find the truth and make things right. Not just for his sake, but for the people out there currently being persecuted as well."

 

[D. Rex]

"Healthy and clear of weapons." Zedradon said, stepping back and leaning on Emancipation. He noticed her look but didnt give much reaction. He was used to such looks by it being soulsteel alone, but it could be any number of meanings behind that gaze.

"Though no doubt she isnt harmless, though. Being an Anathema herself, no doubt she has tricks up her sleep."

Politics wasnt his thing, but he wasnt without his own comments. "I dont suppose you would be so kind as to reveal all of your plans to us, hmm? A shame it is for one of the Sun to take a path of corruption and murder. Meant for greatness yet letting a kingdom rot." Zedradon tsked. "You are either woefully incompetent yet lucky, or it is consequences of a larger scheme."

 

[jaydude]

Ryan gives Ailera and Zed an appreciative nod. He turns to Quincel and Melisande to respond. "What I think doesn't really matter, does it? I will say my impression was that your sister suspected you might have had something to do with it Quincel. So now I'm personally curious... If both of you are telling the truth and neither of you had anything to do with his death, who did? I'm sure you and all your siblings want the real culprit brought to justice on the 'off-chance' it wasn't her, correct? For what it's worth, I hope you and your family find the truth and make things right. Not just for his sake, but for the people out there currently being persecuted as well."

"She denies it...of course she does." remarks Quincel, chuckling to himself before looking at Ryan. "She and about half of this kingdom blame me for the previous king's illness and death, but you have to admit that what happened seems more convenient for her than it does me. After all, she was the designated heir to this kingdom's throne when our father was poisoned. If I was truly willing to commit patricide for the sake of becoming king, don't you think I would have convinced my father to make me the heir first?"

Politics wasn't his thing, but he wasn't without his own comments. "I don't suppose you would be so kind as to reveal all of your plans to us, hmm? A shame it is for one of the Sun to take a path of corruption and murder. Meant for greatness yet letting a kingdom rot." Zedradon tsked. "You are either woefully incompetent yet lucky, or it is consequences of a larger scheme."

"You think this was all part of some grand plan? No. The truth is, my only goal was to accrue more power and influence for myself within the Scavenger Lands." replies Melisande. "But for what it's worth, it was never my intention to run this kingdom into the ground along the way. The suspicious circumstances in which Quincel came to power, and the damage he caused in his efforts to find his sister, turned a lot of the people against him. To get enough support to hold onto the throne in the short term, we had to find some rather unsavoury allies among the nobility of this kingdom. Neither of us are proud of that, I can assure you."

She then looks at Ryan. "I'm curious about something." she says. "If you don't believe that either Quincel or his sister poisoned the king, who do you think could have done the deed?"

 

[D. Rex]

Zedradon harumphed. "Such a short-sighted girl if what you say is true. With all the powers of the Sun in your hand and you take a path of much risk and minimal personal gain. You need to sell that claim much harder."


The doctor leaned back,"Well you, obviously. After all, you did want to gain that influence and power. Would be no difficult task for a determined exalt to do such a deed."

Zedradon then scratched his chin in thought. "Though care to tell me about this illness and poison the king had suffered?" He asked, though his gruff voice made it sound much more like a demand.

 

[Rykon]

Ryan thinks back to the time he woke up in the dungeon of the Twinskull bandits but tries to shake the thought from his head. "I... can't really say I have a solid lead. I haven't been here long, but let's say the circumstances under which I met Ysandre leave more questions than answers too. I want to understand how all this chaos fits together before we end up as naught but toys in someone else's sick game."

Ryan turns to Quincel with a sad expression. "Convenient...? Really? After all this mess?" Ryan makes a vague gesture to the room as a whole. "Do you really get the impression that her ambition burned so bright she became murderously impatient? Honestly, I find it hard to understand the animosity between siblings that nobility so often sustain. After all the time you two spent growing up as siblings the thought that there'd be so little trust between the two of you is... depressing, really. As I said, I do hope you both find the truth and that justice is done for your father. Though given recent events, there's a lot of trouble going on at once." Ryan gives a nod in Melisande's direction. "Either way the wind blows going forward, I doubt there will be much any of us find convenient."

 

[jaydude]

Quincel looks at Ryan. "I don't know what things were like for you when you were growing up, but the fact is that sometimes, regardless of their status, siblings can't help but resent and envy one another." he says. "In some cases, it's over things like looks, talents, or anything else that someone can feel inferior in compared to another. But other times, it's over possessions. A child refuses to share one of his toys with his younger brother, who tries to snatch the toy in response, leading to the two of them fighting, and the parents having to break them up."

He exhales. "Of course, some siblings grow out of it as they get older, but not all of them. When you're royalty, you, your brothers and sisters can have a lot of things, and some of us can't help but covet what our brothers and sisters have. Especially if we feel those things were unfairly given."

The unspoken message is clear to all of the Exalts; Quincel is bitter about being passed over by his father, in favour of Ysandre.

Quincel then glances between Ryan and Zedradon. "I can't remember off the top of my head exactly what kind of poison was used to kill my father. All I know is that it's rare, and it originated in the East. That is, the forests east of the Scavenger Lands." he says. "One day my father was healthy, the next day he was bedridden, delirious, and suffering a severe headache. He died ten days later. The court physician tried his best to save my father, but there was nothing he could do. And it was only after my father's death that we discovered the poison in his system."

"For a long time, I thought my sister was the only one who could have done such a thing, whether by hiring an assassin, or poisoning my father herself." he continues, before turning his gaze to Melisande. "Of course, that was before discovering that my dear wife was an Anathema..."

Melisande has been serene and silent for all this time, her anima continuing to burn, but now she lets out a contemptuous snort.

"Please. I wouldn't act like an innocent party here if I were you, my dear." she says to Quincel, her tone becoming mocking at that last word. "Ysandre was driven from this kingdom three days after the old king became bedridden, and before anyone besides the culprit knew that he had been poisoned. Even if you didn't know in advance what had happened - a claim that you can't prove - you were still planning to seize the throne for yourself before you had a legitimate reason to depose Ysandre. That's the only way you could have seized power so quickly".

 

[Rykon]

Ryan chuckled as Melisande snapped back at Quincel. "Well, if I'm being charitable I suppose I could chalk that up to the covetousness you mentioned earlier. Regardless, the timing of it all does seem rather damning on the surface. Yet, the story as I heard it was that she was driven out not because of having anything to do with the King's death, but because she was accused of being an Anathema herself. Or perhaps that's just what stood out to me and I'm misremembering..." The commander trailed off. He looked to some of his soldiers, likely some filing in to secure the immediate area. "Jenkins, some chairs if you would. This may take a while." The commander turns his attention back to the captive royals.

"On that note, I'm curious Melisande. Have you had much of any contact with others of our kind?"

 

[jaydude]

"I did claim that she was an Anathema at first. That's how I was able to get some of the local Immaculate Order on my side against her." replies Quincel. "I didn't think she'd actually turn out to be one, though."

Melisande glances at Quincel, then turns back to Ryan. "I haven't . But I have heard some rumours that might relate to other Solars. A thief in Nexus with a ring of golden light on her brow. An exiled leader among the Marukani horsemen with orichalcum weapons. A barbarian chieftainess in the eastern lands who carries a spear and shield of pure gold." she replies absentmindedly, showing a finger for each one. "I even heard tell of a supposed one among the Northborn, in the lands west of here. A young knight, or minor lord, apparently."

"Those are some of the stories, and I've certainly considered trying to make contact, or at least get more information, but I wanted to improve my own position first. And so far, none of them have reached out to me."

 

[Rykon]

Ryan buries his face in his hand at Quincel's confession of gross opportunism. "Wow... that was... beyond petty and conniving to do that Quincel. You're sure you weren't the one that poisoned your father? Cause it certainly sounds like you had the start of this all planned out. The follow-through certainly leaves much to be desired though it seems."

The commander instinctively clenches his fist and grits his teeth at the mention of the Northborn, but pauses to keep his blood from boiling over. "...Among the Northborn, huh? I honestly thought I'd be able to avoid having to kill a Solar... That... That definitely changes things though. Looks like building up our strength was the right move after all."

 

[D. Rex]

(Would Zedradon be able to recognize the poison? Or I can make it up as need be by introducing fact.)

 

[D. Rex]

Zedradon waved his hand at Melisandres anima banner as if it was a fly in his face. Without asking he stepped behind her and placed a finger on her carotid artery, pressing down to block the flow of blood. The slowing of blood to the Melisandres brain was painless, and sent a signal for the brain to apply emergency protocols and enter complete system shutdown to protect the brain from damage. Despite how it sounded, it was really quiet harmless. Basically putting the body to sleep, a standby mode until it was safe to wake up.

Zedradon held his finger there momentarily, waiting for her anima banner and caste mark to waver and vanish before releasing her limp body.

"Nuk Root, it sounds like." Zedradon said. "A thorny thing. Its poison keeps hellboar from eating them. But it's tough enough to put a man to bed for weeks racked in pain. Though deadly if ingested over a period of time. Much less painful but it damages the stomach, liver, pancreas, and kidneys. The resulting effects show signs of illness akin with that of a fast onset form of Turin's Weakness, a common genetic disease among certain bloodlines in the south and east wherein you you feel generally I'll and fatigued as you body shuts down being unable to process any food you ingest. While Turins Weakness forces you to starve to death, Nuk Root weakens your body to certain chemicals. Where not just you starve, but even the poison in an apple seed is magnified, bringing death all the sooner, and leaving no clear poison of which might have caused it. Making it easy to confuse it with illness."

As Zedradon spoke he jammed a finger against a pressure point the back of her neck to speed Melisandre back to waking. Dazed but unharmed.


"Not all that common, given that it requires several doses of a couple weeks to take effect. Most assassins arent willing to wait that along and risk its bitter taste being discovered. There are a few who do use it. The Nogiri to the south have been known to use it to poison enemy wells. The Grass Spiders to the east claim it as their venom. A few others, but those are the most notable. It is the poison of the patient."

 

[jaydude]

Quincel gives a little shrug at Ryan's condemnation of him, as if saying "Well, whatcha gonna do?". Melisande glances at Zedradon out of the corner of her eye as he moves behind her, but makes no attempt to stop him. When he touches the side of her neck however, she lets out a small gasp of surprise before gently collapsing to the floor.

By the time Zedradon's finished with his explanation, Jenkins and some other soldiers have bought some chairs into the room and set them down, but Quincel will remain standing unless invited to sit. No doubt he's worried that sitting down without permission will incur Ryan's wrath.

After being woken up again, Melisande gets back up to her feet while giving Zedradon an annoyed look, before noticing her anima is dim again with a look of mild surprise.

"So what happens to us now?" she asks calmly, looking at Ryan. "You made clear that you weren't here to kill us outright. But you and your friends are working with Ysandre, that much I can tell. And I can't imagine she's very happy with the two of us."

 

[Sherwood]

Ailera speaks up with, "That is up to Ysandre, but I hazard a guess that she will try to encourage you to join with her cause."

 

[Rykon]

"It is as Ailera here says. My company and I are just mercenaries displaced from Alsein. However, while it's not technically any of my business what happens here, we still have to live with our part to play with what goes on in this kingdom now that we've intervened. So, my advice will be that time is taken to get to the truth of what started this whole debacle. I imagine there will be some consequences for Quincel's reactions as a whole too. I can't rightly say what that will be exactly, just that I think death is a waste. Especially the death of an Exalted. I suppose some of the outcome will depend on what needs to be done to placate the nobility and the people as a whole. I can't really speak to the state of the court or how authority really works here." Ryan said flatly with a shrug.

"Perhaps you can enlighten us on what that whole situation might look like. I at least know there will be overwhelming consternation about Ysandre regardless of what she chooses, given that everyone thinks she's a Solar by now."

 

[jaydude]

Quincel exhales, sounding frustrated. He doesn't seem in the mood for answering further questions right now.

"It's true that the Immaculate Philosophy's prevalence within this kingdom will cause problems for a Solar who can't hide what they are. Even those who don't attend Immaculate services will have heard about so-called Anathema." replies Melisande. "They'll be a lot of people, in this city and the kingdom as a whole, who won't be happy with Ysandre at first. But you know how it is; a populace can forgive their ruler's quirks if he - or in this case, she - proves capable of governing them well. I imagine that as long as Ysandre doesn't do anything stupid as Queen, the majority of people will come to accept her. There'll be a disapproving vocal minority of course, namely the traditionalists, the Immaculate zealots, and of course those who benefited from Quincel and I being in charge."

 

[D. Rex]

Zedradon pokes Quincel in the ribs with the staff of his very large Scythe made with tortured souls. As if to remind him he isnt exactly in a position to clamp his mouth shut.

"Don't sulk like a child who has had their toys taken away. Its unbecoming. If you have anything to enlighten us with, do so. I insist. It truly would be good for your health."




Zedradon looked to Melisandre. "You are taking this rather coolly." He commented.

 

[Rykon]

Ryan laughs at the jabs from Zedradon, "Well, he's been given a lot to think about already. I'd be surprised if he doesn't have questions of his own. Might as well pass the time until Ysandre's ready to declare how she wants to proceed. "

 

[jaydude]

"Did you expect me to be snarling and grinding my teeth together in these circumstances? Right now, my dignity is all I have left." Melisande says in response to Zedradon's statement.

Quincel meanwhile winces and gives Zedradon a miffed look when the latter pokes him. He then looks at Ryan and shakes his head.

"I've only really got one question, and I can guess what the answer's going to be." he says. "It's as Melisande said earlier; my sister isn't likely to be lenient with me. And not just because I usurped her as ruler. I was...quite brutal when I tried to find her after she escaped. And to keep hold of the throne, I did some things that I'm not proud of..."

 

[D. Rex]

Zedradon raised an eyebrow, "I did, kind of yes. Or trying to offer us stuff for setting you free. That kind of thing." He said simply.