File: Infernal activity and the "Three Pieces of a hellish artifact"
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Levi.
I ask once again, Who of the clovers holds the head piece Nethki stole from me.
I expect it returning in the next day with an apology.
Bryce
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Like the wind after a rainy storm, we shall start refreshed then Levi.
My experience with the residents of the abyss is severely limited, consisting of small footmen of the Emerald Lord and the occasional Mephit. But if I can slay a beholder without wetting myself too much, I am sure I can find some way to assist with this as well.
First off, on behalf of the Council, what do you need? Help with a plan, resources? Or further information on Lawrence, Daisy and the staff?
I proposed to Bryce a divination ritual on the fragment held by the Dawnlord, to find out more about the history of the staff and the Thorne family. That might be a start.I shall ponder a proposal for a plan.
But until a precise one is written, I propose the entire council do what they can to assist you in this matter. Hunt down any rumors on Lawrence and Daisy, or the staff. I shall begin with a bounty for further information on them, perhaps there is something out there, which has simply not caught our attention yet.And finally, Levi. I have no desire to look you and your crew over your shoulder. I got involved when I heard rumors a staff held a powerful devil, and someone was trying to piece the prison back together. I had not heard of Lawrence of Daisy until they were mentioned to me within the last three days.
Adrienne
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I enclose Slades report on the matter
I approached Nethki within the Precept Arcanum to speak about the artifact stolen from Bryce. She feigned ignorance, poorly, and I asked if we could speak in private upstairs. I was surprised to find that she led me past the common area and to the private chambers on the third floor. From there I told her I hoped we could speak candidly and went on to say that Bruce is not the type to just misplace an infernal artifact. I knew she had taken it and I knew she had likely handed it off the Levi. At the mention of Levi she shifted uncomfortably and she grew more defensive. I decided to change strategy and told her I didn't particularly care if the Precept had the artifact in question as officially magical artifacts are their purview, and proposed a plan where I "find" the artifact to be turned into the council which would surely vote for the Precept's custodianship of it. This seemed to convince her that I was a friend and she told me that while she liked my plan, it would not work as the Precept doesn't even know she has it. At this revelation I realized that she had brought me to the third floor so her superiors wouldn't find out what she had done. From there I slowly extracted that she was in fact working on behalf of the Clovers in this regard. I asked her to explain what it was they were working on that was so important and she confided that one of their number was in deep trouble and the artifact was the only way to fix it. I told her I'd like to help but would need to know more. She sensed then I think that she had made a mistake, and demanded a sample of my blood as "collateral," which I refused on the grounds that only a great fool would do so. I wish to help her but surely she had no use for fools. She turned cold to me then and said I'd need to decide quickly as they intend to do what needs doing quickly, and sent me away.
I went to the Faceless and found Levi there. I decided I would attempt a gambit. I told him I had spoken to Nethki and she had told me of the Clovers troubles. That she thought I could help, (this much was true, she had said as much, with the caveat that they didn't need me -that- much. I believe they may need tiefling blood to progress, as it's the only thing about me she could feel certain of,) and that I should speak to Levi himself directly for the details of what must be done. He said we should speak in private and brought me to the Falcon's Rest tower, which he revealed to be his favorite clandestine meeting place. Unfortunately for me, Nethki had spotted us and followed. Knowing the jig was up I revealed my intention was to trick him into revealing what he wished with the Ortrant. Fortunately for me, he was so amused by this that he in turn revealed more than Nethki had initially been willing to share with me in order to entice my aid. He said that one of their number was being hunted by an entity and they needed the three Ortrant pieces to save them. He said he already had gathered two of the pieces and that Bryce had the third. He asked if I knew where Bruce kept it, not knowing that Nethki had already revealed to me that he had it. I asked him if it was he who was being hunted by the entity but he flatly refused. As I had just caught him in a lie I remained suspicious. Nethki however was looking at me with such open hatred at this point, and I knew that the full extent of her mistake had set into her. I wished them luck in their endeavor and said I should like to help once again, before departing.
At this point I had extracted the following details.
-That the Clovers were working alone and using the Precept as a political shield for their workings.
-That one of the Clovers was being hunted by an entity that could only be stopped by an infernal tool crafted to combat demons.
-That knowledge of who this person was had to be guarded by "mutually assured destruction" via blood magic.
-That all three pieces of the Ortrant had been recovered.
-That they intended to make use of it very soon.
With all this information I felt I had a fairly good guess at what had happened.
One of their number had struck a deal with a demon, and said demon was trying to collect on this deal. The price is too high and this person is now trying to worm their way out of it by roping their compatriots into it. At this point I thought perhaps I could convince them to bring me along so I could witness it first hand and confirm my theory.
Knowing that time was short however, I decided to inform Adrienne of my suspicions, as I felt confident that she would not inadvertantly blow my already dubious cover.
She in turn has informed me that Nethki has approached one of her informants and revealed she needs help releasing an entity from the Ortrant itself. As this is an infernal devices meant for combatting demons, it seems clear to me the desire is to release a demon at the behest of this Entity that is after one of the Clovers.
From what little I know of the Clovers as individuals I believe the hunted member is either Nethki or Levi. Nethki's body language betrays her and she gives me much reason to suspect her, but Levi also has the means and has proven untrustworthy.
Regardless, it has become clear to me that by the end of this the entire Clover organization will be considered infernalist by merit of releasing whatever demon contained in the Ortrant.
- Slade Greymantle
Whilst this report is from before the vision, Some things are clear. That Nethki did steal the head piece from me and hid the fact from some members of the Precept, However some members who are also in the Clovers likely know. Whatever it is they plan to do is likely at the very least legally dubious if not outright illegal therefore the need to hide it from the Council.
This cannot be allowed to stand,
I demand the council be told who holds the headpiece, as not knowing where dangerous magical items are is a security concern
Bryce
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Are you all about Finished? This is ridiculous and given this is about items of infernalism we will be watching this case closely. I suggest you all start learning to cooperate. You have 2 days to sort out your misgivings and deal with this infernal situation or at the very least a cooperative game plan if not I will be more than happy to had this case over to the Aster to be thoroughly investigated regarding all parties involved.
Dawnlord Jadzia Sunguard
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Dawnlord.
Whilst cooperation would normally work, the Clovers and some of the Precept have shown utter unwillingness to work with others.
I therefore propose the following. As already suggested by Adrienne we perform a divination on the stave piece held by yourself to learn more of the threat and what it is that hunts what I can only assume is Nethki.
We do not know what this Lawrence is. In fact I did not know they existed if they even do, so we need to be certain.
Once we know that we should be able to form a more solid plan on how to deal with it
Bryce
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I propose the following.
The council declares the stave a matter of great importance that must be handled by the council.
That pieces of the stave are to be turned over to the council for study and a plan of action to be formed by the council.
The pieces will be held by a neutral member of the council so the Clovers cannot claim it was taken as a vendetta against them, I would suggest either the Dawnlord or Ezri as the neutral member
I will put this to a vote but I welcome suggestions on the neutral member
Bryce
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Given how much it's been discussed it's already a matter of importance to this Council. Making a vote of it is a waste of time, effort, and air.
Instead of making a grand display out of it I would have just proposed to put the damned thing in the Council's storage, where Naresh can still relinquish it and it will be well guarded under neutral terms. Whomever enters the Council chambers passes by the Militia, the clerks, and typically Drakebane, and an invisible hand would still need to open the door.
As to who should remove the piece from that storage, or if it should be turned over to another body is a more worthy discussion. Then again I doubt that this Council will go forth with that method.
-Councilor Grurec, son of Torunden
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What body would you suggest Grurec?
The Clover have proven unwilling to work with the council, and as with the sendings of Shadows demise much of the Precept are in the clovers this would make them unsuitable.
Bryce
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As my last act as Councilor, it gives me great joy to announce that the Precept Arcanum in a joint operation with Eveningstar and the Clovers has dealt with the Infernal Broker otherwise know as Lawrence the Immortal and his apprentice Marcus Baker, the Red Devil.
The staff has been destroyed and the demon dealt with, demonic activity should now begin to dwindle.
It has been an honor to serve this city, and though I may not be here anymore. I shall continue my duties to the city undaunted.
-Naresh Sabzvari, Blood Dragon of the Precept Arcanum
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The demon inside the staff allowed for Lawrence to return infinitely from death as Lawrence Thorn was the sole remaining member of the Thorn family, Mandy's death allowed him to begin piecing the staff together and transferring the demon from the staff to a new vassal allowed us not only to slay the Infernalist, his apprentice and have the Demon moved to a safer location, but ended Lawrence's several centuries of infernal activity.
The demon is now housed safely, where it can never be freed.
Mandy Thorn prepared for the moment she'd be killed by putting her soul into the rod she'd made, sacrificing her ability travel beyond the fugue so that we had a way to defeat Lawrence by housing the demon within it.
With that, I think that concludes the report on the matter.
-Blood Dragon, Naresh Sabzvari
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Moved from Plot Faction: Council of Twelve Peers by S Swifty Willownall
