by Inoadar on October 26th, 2013, 7:10 am
Inoadar pressed on to the Northeast, passing into the Merchants Ring at an angle that would stretch across an arc of its territory and back out into a separate quadrant of the Docks. He started thinking about what he was going to give as his reason to "see him right away". The mage, Ervis, was not going to be happy with him for coming without a good reason.
Saying he needed his help with this or that person that might be spying on him was not likely to be received well. The man would not want a man being followed to lead them to him. And any agents assigned with that task would need to give a lot of ground to avoid detection. He was probably going to be well inside the man's stronghold before they could approach without the timing being suspicious. No, he would be on his own for the initial debriefing. He would have to stall.
So what would be a reason this man would want to see him? Ervis had given him the skull on the basis of Inoadar being a potential ally. He'd have to have something he'd want. He shouldn't claim an item. Ervis would never believe that this poison crafter, with no magical experience, had somehow gotten access to some relic of old.
There was no reason for the mage to suspect that Inoadar had "turned", though. He would still think him an opponent of Rhysol, though not necessarily a prospect to join the Rising Dawn. Inoadar wondered about the conflicting authority between Ervis and Siriana that he'd overheard during the riots. It seemed pretty clear that Ervis' designs were not entirely in line with the rebels'. He suspected it was a case of similar short-term goals only.
But what partially-shared goals would he be after? He thought back to the overheard conversation. Ervis had defied her to a large degree, inflicting greater destruction than she had wanted, claiming that the presence of The Voice was an opportunity that could not be missed. So, he defied her to make an attempt against The Voice's life, at the expense of many civilian lives. This was not anything Inoadar particularly faulted the man for. But she had also instructed him to "DEAL WITH" the C.E.B.
There was certainly nothing conclusive about the wording, but it struck him as wrong somehow. After his belligerent defense of his defiance, he'd caved in on that order without a peep. And Inoadar recalled that when he'd gotten there, Ervis had NOT immediately destroyed the building, as the instruction to "Deal With" would indicate. It stood out now, more than it had at the time, that the man had been searching through one of the chambers for several chimes, but once finished there, he was all for immediate razing of the whole structure. Inoadar had barely escaped with his life.
So he wanted The Voice dead, but also some record from the C.E.B. just as much. Inoadar wished he'd known what sort of documents had been stored in the chamber Ervis had ransacked. Then another connection struck him. All the bones! The old mage had had fetishes and medallions and other accoutrements of glyphed bone, as well as a staff that appeared to be crafted of solid bone. Was he a Maledictor?
Inoadar added up the main elements. Ervis was likely a Maledictor, crafting things of bones...He wanted some special records from the C.E.B....His pursuit of these records was not part of The Rising Dawn's plans...He was willing to go to horrific extremes to kill The Voice...Inoadar's current association with Wrenmae gave him a basic awareness of a maledictor's interest in bones. He'd seen several of Wrenmae's crafted items...all of glyphed bone...Like Ervis' had been...Did Ervis want to obtain bones from The Voice?
His lie fell into place. He would tell Ervis that he'd found documented evidence of the location of The Voice's interred corpse. This might even give sufficient interest to admit to the worry that he was being spied on. Ervis would not like it, but if he was after the remains, he would consider it a risk worth taking. Inoadar would intensify the claim with the mention of the theft of his ledger. He would say he'd kept the evidence away from his shop, but after the theft, those suspecting him would have cause to question their suspicions, and then the shop would become the BEST place to keep it.
He would say he didn't dare keep it on him while crossing the town. He'd say that he needed to have Ervis come back to the shop with him. He knew he was bait, but by Rhysol's Grace, he would hook this fish.
I would prefer you called me "Nolan Parnell"...In fact, I insist.
