The following is an edited log that contains a good summary of the developments of the ghost storyline up to the point of Janessa's departure. Anyone with a PC at the castle is welcome to join in; Pam has more than enough evil and chaos to go around. If you don't have a PC in the castle, make one! :)
--Dan ====================== Tirdas, Ninth day of Sun's Height, in the 472nd year since the founding of Tagrana* Castle Molentia on the Isles of Myst, approximately 4:30 PM local time. ======================= Corvarath had spent most of the day either in his chapel or his study, diligently avoiding contact with any of the castle's other inhabitants. He had given up trying to explain what happened last night, since the servants had patronized him and behaved as if he were a lunatic, a liar, or a drunkard. No, he couldn't possibly be telling the truth about what had happened in the garden last night. His patience for accusatory looks and malicious whisperings was almost at its end, and he longed to be able to inflict the punishments such behavior would earn servants in Charnath. He had no idea what Loreli had said to her last night, but Janessa was livid and wouldn't even admit him to her chambers this morning. He'd been icily rebuffed by one of her Ladies in Waiting, who had told him in no uncertain terms that the Queen had no wish to see him. What he wouldn't give to get his hands on her secretary and teach that spiteful bitch a lesson. He had endeavored to think of something he could do about that accursed ghost aside from waiting for the Gatekeeper he'd summoned for Alesia. Loreli had gotten very little sleep last night, spending most of it trrying to figure out exactly what happened last night. And then this morning, Jan was inconsolable and furious. Not to mention she was damned ashamed of her fearful behavior last night in the garden. She'd seen magic before, but it had simply...caught her off guard, is all. She'd merely told Janessa what she'd seen. Of course, she'd also not told her about her confusion about everything she'd seen. So now, with a refreshing splash of water and a change of clothes, she was going to get to the bottom of this with the maybe soon to be ex-groom. Not to mention, she'd heard some rather nasty things the Royal Elites were whispering. And the fact they quit whispering while she was around didn't help matters at all. So she was checking prince Corvarath's usual haunts at the moment, searching for the prince so she could get some answers. At the moment, however, he was in the library, trying to find a book. When he and Janessa had been searching for information about Charlena's family, they'd found an old note hidden in the binding of a book that said, "In the Dark of Ages, I have left my mark." He'd been puzzling over the meaning of this clue for some time, and it occurred to him that Dark of Ages might be the title of a book that would contain another clue. It wasn't much to go on, but it was something to do besides think about how he'd like to torture certain members of the court. Squaring her shoulders, Loreli walked into the library, not exactly timidly...carefully! Yes, careful was the watchword, because if Jan was furious, she'd really rather not be trapped along with Corvarath since his mood couldn't be any better. Loreli was quite correct in his assumption. While he'd been doing his best to stay calm and avoid doing anything that would make the situation worse, the Alesian was in an exceedingly foul mood. Charlena had told him that she was the servant of a god of chaos and death, and she'd also said that chaos was the only thing worth living or dying for. In light of those ominous words, he was trying very hard not to do anything that would increase the chaos already caused by last night's incident. Loreli walked through the aisles of books with a quiet tred, wanting to see him before he saw her and gauge his mood, so to speak. This little debacle was making Jan desperately unhappy. Just because she didn't like or trust Corvarath didn't mean he was automaticly bad. It was obvious Jan loved him, but she hadn't started this! He was the one that had been rolling about on the grass with some strange woman! He was standing on a stepstool, trying to read the titles on the spines of the books on one of the higher shelves in the library. One hand is on the shelf to help him balance, and he's at this for a moment before he sees something out of the corner of his eye. He turns to look, and when he spots Loreli, he glares at her for a long moment, as if he were trying to burn a hole through her skull, and the door behind her, as well. After once again savoring the mental image of her chained to the wall in a dungeon, after a merciless flogging and having her tongue cut out, he asks, "What do you want?" One could practically see the icicles hanging from his words. Loreli jumps a little bit as she sees him and then hears him, and she straightens up and smooths her skirt down. "I'd like to speak with if you've the time," she says cooly. "Very well," He replied, making his lack of enthusiasm painfully obvious. He had to wonder about the purpose of this conversation. Did she need more material for whispering half-truths and distortions into Janessa's ear? He goes back to searching the shelf of books, so his time won't be entirely wasted while she's speaking. Loreli frowns, watching his reaction. "I only told her what I saw. Perhaps you'd like to explain it a bit better?" She snaps in reply, crossing her arms over her chest. "I already told you what happened last night," he responded curtly. He wondered to himself if she hoping that he would have told a different tale this time. Or perhaps she was looking for inconsistencies in his telling to go scurrying back to Janessa and report? Loreli shakes her head. "No you didn't, and I was in no condition to listen either," She admits as she continues to look at his back. "That's big of you to admit that you weren't listening to me." The icy tone made it plain enough that he was still not a happy camper, obviously. Considering that he was nearly raped and driven insane by a vengeful ghost, nearly killed himself with a spell trying to fight it off, and received the treatment he had, he had plenty of reason to be pissed that he's been made the villain in all of this. After a moment of silent deliberation, he adds, "I'll explain everything from the beginning." "Please do," she says and settles onto a stool nearby where she'd been standing. It had been a long day and a longer night before. Still facing the shelf of books, he begins his tale. "Some weeks ago, Janessa discovered a secret passage and asked me to come explore it with her. We found a hidden chamber down there, a prison, really. We encountered the ghost of a young woman--she doesn't look more than sixteen or seventeen years old--who said that her name was Charlena de Matarine. She claimed that she'd been imprisoned by her family because she'd fallen in love with a man her family didn't approve of, and was sent down there until she regained her senses. She said that after a time, they stopped bringing her food and water and left her to starve to death." Pausing for a moment, he turns and looks over his shoulder at the Queen's secretary. "She said that she'd died in the year 212, which is almost a hundred years before Janessa's ancestor landed here, and that this castle had been her family's home. She thanked us for freeing her, and we promised that we'd try to discover the fate of her family." Loreli's blond brows rose at this fantastic tale, but held her tongue for the moment. She'd asked for the truth. And whether this was it or just the ramblings of a man going insane were yet to be proven. She could always discreetly ask Janessa about the ghost. "Despite her protestations that she meant no harm," he continued, "I was suspicious of her. I've never encountered a harmless undead creature, and I thought that even if the girl had been of a gentle nature when she was alive, there was a good possibility that over two hundred and fifty years alone in the dark would have driven her mad. She appeared to me again, a second time, about a week later while I was alone in the gardens. She startled me and seemed hurt by my less than pleasant reaction." "She again assured me that she meant us no harm, and I told her that Janessa and I had made little progress in the search for news of her family. She asked some questions about who I am and who Janessa is, and congratulated us on her upcoming wedding before she departed. I went to Janessa and related the whole story to her right afterwards." Loreli nods slowly, her hands settled into her lap as she listens to this story. Jan's increasing involvement, which he knew she could verify, meant that this was somehow true. "She appeared a third time last night right after I'd finished a conversation with the new Lord Marshall. She asked how the preparations for the wedding were coming, made a remark about how much the castle had changed since her family lived here. She complimented the beauty of the gardens, then asked about the nature of the wedding, whether it was arranged and whether we were marrying willingly. She asked me if I loved Janessa, and I replied that I did, very much so." "She gave me a flower, and asked me to give it to Janessa. I held it long enough to put it down on the table beside me, but by the time I had let go of it, I'd lost feeling in my right arm. I tried to get up and run back to the keep, but my knees were already locking up. She pushed me back down into the chair, and by that point, I could no longer move at all. I couldn't open my mouth or move my hands to use any of my magic, nor call for help." Loreli gives a quiet sigh and loooks away. She was still holding herself partial in all of this mess. Well NOW she was. She lifted a hand and rubbed at her forehead. He frowns faintly as he watches Loreli turn away, but continued on nonetheless. "Her appearance changed...became more menacing. She said that the "love" she'd been imprisoned for was named 'Lord Calatine'...she said that he was the god of chaos and unholy death. I'd never heard the name before. Have you?" Loreli blinks and straightens, then shakes her head. "That's why you said 'help me?'" she ventured, considering that was the only reason she'd go near him. "No, I was asking for help because I nearly electrocuted myself, and I was in a great deal of pain," he responded flatly. You see, she dragged me to the ground, where you found me, and began undoing my clothes. She said that she'd love me as no mortal ever could, and that I'd go mad when she finished. Needless to say, I was terrified for my life at this point. I began meditating, trying to grasp some thread of magic I could use to escape, and judging by the scream I heard, you must have seen how I managed to chase her off." Loreli nods quickly. "It ... you were covered in this blushish lightning..." The Alesian nods in affirmation. "Yes, I'm not entirely sure how I did that. I'm just glad that it worked, and I didn't kill myself doing it." Loreli takes a deep breath and stands, pacing away from him, but not going far. "I've never heard of this...god of chaos. Lord Calatine you said?" She chewed her lower lip and looks back at him. "If she was here before Nypin landed, then I doubt you'll find anything in here about it, unless there are elven or dwarven texts," she says, tackling the problem, and not lingering on her involvement for him being in his current position. She was feeling very guilty right now. "I've sent to Alesia for a Gatekeeper," he continued on, as he tried to interpret her increasing agitation. "They're servants of our god Llarm, and dedicated to fighting the undead and other unnatural creatures. They're...rather similar to the paladins you have here. In the meantime, I'm looking for anything I can do while I wait for him to arrive, and wait for Janessa to be rational enough to speak to me again." By way of explanation of how he's been passing his time, he makes a sweeping gesture to indicate the shelves of books surrounding him. "Now, when Janessa and I were in here before doing research, we found a note hidden in the binding of an old book that said, "In the Dark of Ages, I have left my mark." I have been trying to figure out what this means for several weeks now, and today it occurred to me that "The Dark of Ages" might be the title of a book. I have no idea who wrote that note, or if it's even related to our current problems, but it's something to do." Loreli looks away and nods, though she stiffens some as she realizes he's bringing more Alesians here, but keeps her mouth shut about that and merely nods. "Janessa will listen, and we will look for any references to this woman and her family?" she asks with a raised, faintly upsweapt eyebrow. Lor knew books, and she knew history. It's what made her a good secretary, her love of knowledge. Just like Janessa had been good to her when she'd brought her out of her shell. He nods in reply to her question. "Yes, that too. Now, I meant what I said last night. She means to spread chaos and death here, so everyone here is potentially in danger. Janessa and I are particularly at risk because we were the ones who let her loose, and she seems to have a fascination with us. She's asked plenty of questions, and I dread to think what she intends to do. So far, she's only appeared after dark. She said she fears the light, but I'm not sure how much of what she said before she attacked me was true or not. Hopefully, she only manifests after dark." Loreli nods as she listens to him and starts moving down the aisle, looking for the book he'd mentioned. But it would be hard. There haddn't been a librarian here since Janessa's father died, and things were in a horrible order. "Would she become angered that I interrupted last night as well?" She had a few ideas, and note to her mother needed to be sent off as quickly as possible. "She seemed to be, initially. Just before I unleashed that spell, she started hissing like a snake. She may have seen you coming, because right after that, I felt her bite into my neck, and I have a mark there now. You may have foiled her initial plan, but she was determined to make the situation look as bad as possible, it seems. I heard her laughing at me when the Guards were carrying me inside, so she seems pleased by the end result of what happened." "Of course she would," Loreli says with a sigh. "Since I was the reason her chaos spread so quickly." She frowns, but admitted it. There. She hoped he was happy as she continues looking for the book. He seemed not to take notice of her admission of guilt. There was much more at stake than soothing his wounded ego. "Now look, I think that she might try to exploit the current situation and try to do something to Janessa while she's still angry with me. I don't think she's done with me yet, but it seems to me that doing something to Janessa would cause more mayhem than a second attempt on me. But you know that it will be next to impossible to convince Janessa that she's in danger, and agree to take precautions. No matter what we do, she'll sneak off by herself eventually to get away from all the throngs of attendants preparing for the wedding." Loreli glances over at him. "I will speak with her...try to calm her down. We're friends...and I started this all in the first place. I will speak to her tonight after she wakes from her rest." "Charlena seems to like to work her mischief when there aren't any witnesses, Janessa's in the most peril while she's alone. If we can't keep her from being alone until we've disposed of this spiteful bitch, can you at least warn her not to speak to Charlena, not to take anything from her, and not allow her to touch her? In fact, if she sees Charlena, the safest thing to do is to run like hell to a place where there are other people." "Should we call in a cleric of some kind? It would be saffer if a blessing could keep her safe for the time being, it would free us to search more quickly," Loreli offered. "Yes, find one with all possible speed. I told the Elites last night to send for one at dawn, but they were very patronizing to me. They thought I was drunk. And Jornos help the one who said that he understood that I was worn out, and drew some parallel to a whore he once visited. If I find out who he is..." He'll be spending the rest of his days in the gardens as a toad, he finished his statement mentally. "Understandable," she says. "The scene was set last night for suspicion. I must admit, though, she's become this Lord Calatine's most able hand. We need to find more out about him I believe." "Yes, we do," he agreed. Do you have any idea who might know of such things?" "The only one I could think of is my mother. She may well be able to find someone who might know of it, or find someone who knows of a book." She shrugs and says, "All I can do is ask." "Please do. And if you should happen to see a strange woman with blonde hair, wearing an odd-looking dress, that's her. She can make herself as solid and real-seeming as you are. But she looks and talks like she did when she was alive, so it's not difficult to spot her. I don't know what she's capable of, but last night's incident would seem to indicate that she's not to be taken lightly." "No, I wouldn't think so. A cleric for the queen, though...I know of someone. A friend of hers. I'll send word to her and ask her to come." He nodded. "Excellent." He lapses into silence for a moment, then chuckles humorlessly. "Janessa was positively thrilled that the castle has its very own ghost, it was all so very exciting. She needs to be informed as soon as possible how dangerous the situation is, before she sits down to have a friendly chat with Charlena." Lords above, she was working with the Lord of Darkness himself, she thought to herself. Loreli should be thanking her deity of choice, however, that Janessa's not marrying Etaudus or Larold. "Now, if we can just find that book..." He said more to himself than to Loreli, surveying the seemingly randomly arranged collection of writings crammed into the room. "I know...This place is a mess. It will likely take a few days to find anything. Nothing's in order..." ------------- Note: * Tuesday, July 9th, 2002 ---- "Where have you ever seen or heard that a knight-errant was brought before a judge, no matter how many homicides he may have committed?" -- Don Quixote (Pt. 1, Ch. X) -- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Archives & Other DMI Lists: http://islesofmyst.com/lists.php3
