The Scourge of Shadowlore Keep (Councillors win!)

Started by Remiel, June 06, 2011, 03:18:01 AM

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Beguile's Mistress

#25
Mistress Beguile paced the room eyeing first one member of the party and then another.  The hem of her dark blue robes dragged across the floor as though to anchor her in place and long-fingered and dainty hands were exposed below the cuffs of the long, full sleeves.  Beneath the robe a shift of the finest lawn clung to her figure as she moved and would have provided a seductive distraction had she not met each pair of eyes boldly with her own translucent emerald orbs.  Her jewel-like eyes and flaming hair that hung to her waist in thick and vibrant curls were a perfect contrast for her pale complexion and cheeks warmed with a soft pink blush.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she said in a soft voice that commanded attention, "have a care for whom you accuse.  It takes strength and cunning to overpower one such as the gardener or to ambush the cook in the confines of this keep.  Look at whom you accuse and tell me if you think they have presence enough to act out these heinous deeds."  Mistress Beguile reach out a hand to a plate of fruit, plucked a grape from a fragile stem and held it to her frull, red lips as though to kiss it softly. 

"To my mind rottenaim is a more likely candidate."  And then to finalize her declaration she bit into the grape and pushed the pieces between her lips with a delicate finger before licking up the spilled juice with the tip of her tongue.

Ryven

His eyes narrowed a bit as his hand moved to set his cup down on the table.  "What reaction should you have me make, my dear Xandi?  Hmm?  Should I panic and become near aghast without a thought in my head as of what to do?  Psh.  I am not so simple as to let a little death shake my mettle.  If you recall, I was the first to chime in and try to begin the fight against those who would kill the innocent.  I will not have these hallowed walls sullied by the blood of my friends.  Think of me what you will, but I find it odd that I am garnering so much attention.  Could it be that you are conspiring to have me killed?"

He turned toward Izu with another smile then turned back.  "Are you plotting with friends in an effort to take me out?  Or is it that you're just jumping on the first bandwagon that looks good to try and save yourself?"

Count Ryven stood and walked over to Count Izu, bowing politely before moving closer.  "I will say though.  Your vote just makes me think that you desire my wrath...of a certain kind."  He smirked and whipped his cloak behind him before moving over to stand near the Duchess Marguerite.

"And what of you, darling?  Have you turned against me as well?"  He smiled at her.

rottenaim

A surprised laugh bubbled up and spilled from her lips as Lady Aim entered the hall. “Mistress Beguile, you wound me! Truly you do.” She said with hand lifted to her heart, although the shocked yet amused expression belied any significant amount truth to her words. “You honestly believe that I would be capable of such violence?” She tsk’d softly as she took a goblet of wine from one of the serving trays, lifting it to her lips as she took a delicate sip. “It is a misguided and a rather strange compliment that you offer me that you think I cunning enough, much less possess the strength, to murder either of those two poor unfortunate souls - I assure you, you’re quite wrong. I am as innocent as the day I was born, Madame.”

Her dark amber gaze cut to the left, narrowing slightly as it rested on Lord Starlequin. “Although on more than one occasion, rumors have been known to be laced with truth. What reason for your late hours, Lord Starlequin? Surely you don’t mind the inquiry, considering the dire situation we’re presented with.”

Aiden

"Our indecision will also lead us to run..."
Duke (Aiden) Lothar, sighed heavily as he looked around his assembled nobles before letting his sight linger on those of Mistress Beguile with a everything but appropriate glance. He shifted in his chair, tapping a chain mailed finger along the table as he worked it over in his head.
"Lord Starlequin, there has to be a reason why so many have accused of foul play already and my suspicious have been spurred as well now." 
The man sighed, praying he did not just condemn an innocent man. Even the red headed Mistress Beguile could be one of the foul beasts and she was a close second the way she seemed to tease him, who ate grapes in that manner unless they where up to no good!

Valerian

The Lady Val, Marquess of Pembroke, watched it all quietly, and uneasily.  Life at court was usually uncertain enough without throwing two terrible murders into the mix.  Now it didn't seem likely that all of them would live to see the next sunrise.

She sipped at her wine, then sighed, doubly uneasy now at realizing that they would all have to speak up, all have to offer up their opinions of who might be guilty of these foul deeds.  No doubt everyone would be accused at some point -- even her, she realized with a start, as Geeklet, in hir usual savage dress, asked pointedly where she'd been.  "Quite alone, unfortunately," was the only answer she could give.  "Certainly not busy killing anyone, however."

She set down her goblet and smoothed out her green velvet dress, carefully trimmed with cloth of gold.  "Perhaps... perhaps Mistress Beguile is correct, and Lady rottenaim knows something about these dreadful events."
"To live honorably, to harm no one, to give to each his due."
~ Ulpian, c. 530 CE

That Girl Analise

Analise bit her lip... She still had no idea who to trust. After doing a random pick in her head, she said "My apologies, Lady Rottenaim, but I know not of you and know not yet if I can trust you. Please, I mean nothing personal... And I hope that if you are innocent you are spared this vote," she said, wary of having made a choice... but a decision needed to be made.

Remiel

Current Tally:

Starlequin (5): Imogen, Foamweber, Josietta, rottenaim, Aiden
rottenaim (3): Beguile's Mistress, Valerian, That Girl Analise
Ryven (2): Izu, Xandi
Mithlomwen (1): Ryven
Rhedyn (1): Kyrsa
Valerian (1): Geeklet

Votes not yet cast: Rhedyn, Moirae, Starlequin, Mithlomwen, Eden, Marguerite, Lord Mayerling

Starlequin

Lord Starlequin's eyes darkened momentarily at the growing mound of accusations levelled against him, but his expression remained convivial as ever. He drew away from Lady Josietta, looking her over lasciviously and paying her a wink before clearing his throat to garner the rest of the nobility's attention. He finished his wine and gave his most charming smile, then started to speak.

"Honored Ladies and honorable Gentlemen, by all means allow me to put to rest these childish doubts and slanderous speculations against my character. I do not deny my habit of keeping late hours; on the contrary, I admit it proudly, and shall tell you why. The reasons for my seeming disdain for diurnal activity of late are two-fold. Firstly, as I've no doubt at least a few of you are aware, there is a great deal of work involved in running an estate in the service of our venerable king, even one so small and generally inconsequential as that which I have the happy privilege of overseeing. Due to the nature of some of my correspondences with various merchants, farm owners and land-holding  officials, I'm afraid several of my requisite conferences demand later hours for the sake of maximized mutual convenience. I'm sure many here can bring yourselves to understand my position.

"The rest of you, perhaps, lack such ardous experience with matters of commerce and adjudication as I have accrued in my humble career; no doubt you have busied yourselves with equally important matters of state instead. For example, I understand Lady Weber occupies her time tending to the, er, 'morale' of the many stablehands and their charges which reside upon her extensive property, while rumors abound that Lady rottenaim has recently been witnessed personally assuming custody of several hundred gallons of bull seed in varying degrees of freshness, reportedly destined for her kitchens, which of course leads one to wonder what other manners of...unusual cuisine in which she might happen to partake. However, while I have every faith that such activities are of critical importance to the operation of those most esteemed properties, I cannot help but wonder if their patrons might not be using their considerable resources and time to less than their best effects.

"And secondly, like many of you I had heard these troubling whispers of vicious beasts and foul nightstalkers for some time now, and have of late taken it upon myself to investigate said rumors on their own ground -- naturally at great personal risk, of course. Perhaps some might think it unwise, even foolhardy or suicidal, but I have spent several long nights searching for evidence of these murderous curs among the wilds surrounding my own estate, and have taken the liberty of investigating some few acres of some of each of your properties as well, my beloved colleagues. Regretfully I have found not a trace of our unnatural enemies, I confess. But thankfully, I understand the king has summoned hunters of these miserable nightmares, and I have every confidence that they will soon root out and dispatch the source of our sorrows."

As Lord Starlequin spoke he wandered through the room, meeting eyes with those who had had grace enough to not yet accuse him unjustly. He could tell there were still a few who doubted his sincerity, and supposed he could hardly blame them. Obviously fear was beginning to take hold in their hearts, but he hoped there was a chance his words might yet sway them back to the side of reason. And if not, he still had one last argument to make.

"I can see there are still a couple among you who don't trust me, and I want you to know I understand your reasoning. 'Why should we trust anyone who spends so much time wandering about after hours,' you're probably wondering. Well, let me ask you this. If I were really in league with these depraved monsters, why would I engage in what could only be considered blatantly suspect behaviors and draw unwarranted attention to myself? Surely these creatures' bloodthirsty designs must command an undeniable need for secrecy, one that would only be compromised by my actions if indeed I were a part of their infernal plot! No my friends, I tell you with all the honesty within my heart, I am as innocent in my humanity as any of you. On this, I give you my word."
You live for the fight when it's all that you've got.

Beguile's Mistress

Mistress Beguile smiled at the soliloquy and brought the back of her first and second fingers to her lips to cover what looks suspiciously like a yawn.  Several more grapes were selected and eaten and a glass of Eiswein sipped by the lady.

Mithlomwen

After listening and waiting to gather as much information as possible, Dame Mithlomwen cast her vote for the Lady rottenaim.
Baby, it's all I know,
that your half of the flesh and blood that makes me whole...

Ryven

"After much consideration and deliberation, I have decided to change my vote to the Lady rottenaim as well."  He said before pouring himself another cup of coffee.

Geeklet

As the suspicions were narrowed to a select few, Geeklet listened closely, but said nothing. It was a tough decision as to what side, if any, to take.

desert ashes

Finally from the chair shi had been silently occupying, Moirae lifted hir head and quietly said, "It is difficult not to be swayed by such arguments, even more so to ignore a collective opinion.  I, too, shall vote for the Lady rottenaim and pray for God's forgiveness if it is an innocent we are sending to their death." 
make me forget
how to breathe

leave me with the
taste of your sin
they will lie about you, insult you, hurt you,
betray you, injure  you, set you aflame and
watch you burn. but they will not, shall not,
c a n n o t, destroy  you. because  you, like
R o m e, were built  on ashes, and you, like
a phoenix, know how to rise and resurrect.
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let there be beauty born from ashes

Remiel

#38
Current Tally:

rottenaim (8): Beguile's Mistress, Valerian, That Girl Analise, Starlequin, Mithlomwen, Ryven, Moirae, Geeklet
Starlequin (7): Imogen, Foamweber, Josietta, rottenaim, Aiden, Lord Mayerling, Marguerite
Ryven (2): Izu, Xandi
Lord Mayerling (1): Rhedyn
Rhedyn (1): Kyrsa


Votes not yet cast: Eden

Lord Mayerling

Margrave Mayerling the Skeptic was deeply troubled by what was happening. What was happening here was murder, not by beast, but by someone who wished to incite fear and terror into those who they would wish to lord over. Jacob, the boy who cried wolf, was just that, a deviant juvenile with a need for attention from absent parentage. Mrs. Plough, hardly lucid at the best of times, was under the influence of more than one hallucinogen, and in fact sold the fungi she collected in the forest on market days. The murderer, knowing this, had found the perfect victim in which to enact his plan.

Naturally, he asked to see the bodies.

Upon inspecting Natalia, Mayerling surmised that the victim’s blood had been thinned with a tonic, and then removed by siphoning, using a process common in both taxidermy and embalming. Her body had then been neatly deposited in the larder for all and sundry to find, whereupon the discovery would either lead to mass panic, or her death attributed to some process undertaken in the preparation of food. Everyone knew the king loved wildly elaborate meals served at table and banquet.

The gardener, Nathan, was a shite-side worse for wear. As opposed to the other, this corpse was mangled and mutilated; the work of a dark, desperate, unholy man, but a man no less. The marks laid upon his body were indeed gruesome, and Mayerling had to fight the bile in his throat as he inspected the victim, but they were in fact distinctive. Were not the marks shaped like the iron prongs of a tiller, a common gardening tool? It appears the murderer had access to the tool shed.

“Oh yes,” Mayerling returned to the gathered group in the Great Hall of Shadowlore Keep, “there have been two murders here tonight, but these murders were done by man or men, not beast. We must reign in our fears, and trust the path that logic and deduction leads may doth take us. First, we must find one who could wield a tiller with enough strength and precision to overcome the skilled gardener…”

Mayerling the Skeptic unfurled his finger deliberately. "Starlequin, it is you."

Geeklet

And that was when Geeklet's eyes shot to Lord Mayerling, looking at him in disbelief. "After all that has transpired, you still say men did this? We know of the plague that haunts all of our lands. We know of the beasts and foul creatures that roam in the moon's light. The proof is sitting right before our eyes and yet you still deny it? I wonder if perhaps you aren't one of them, trying to get us all to doubt your very existence. Even if not, I fear that this refusal to see what is actually going on might just lead to the death of more innocent men and women."

Marguerite

Duchess Marguerite smiled and looked at the list before she put her vote in for Starlequin. "I have been told things and I can only hope I am right in expelling a murderer from the group. For now, I will retire to my room with a glass of scotch and a few scones."
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Rhedyn

"Dame Kyrsa, I can assure you you only think me strange because you don't know me. I had nothing to do with these foul deeds."

Having listened to everyone's words of both wisdom and folly it was Lord Mayerling's that she found most remarkable, and not for their wisdom. "I too cannot hold humans accountable for what has transpired, not given what we have seen tonight. Perhaps you did have something to do with this and are attempting to use reason to cover your guilt?"

Geeklet

Geeklet sighed before addressing the group "I apologize if it seems like I am coming off as fickle, but as more votes roll in, I see something going on that I cannot in good conscious let happen. I do not understand how you people can keep on voting for Lord Starlequinn after he has given a quite thorough explanation, while Lady rottenaim has given virtually none?"

Nadir

Admiral Eden stealthily plants a battered, green leather tricorn (a sharp eye seeing it is the wrong size) as shi leans against the Baker Count and hums softly in contemplation. "I'll take you up on that offer, Ry. It'll be a lovely distraction from this horrific events. But to business, I cannot suspend my disbelief. Her words sound her to be a liar - innocent as the day she was born? No one is that sheltered. One deception, why not another? Lady Rottenaim's honesty leaves something to be desired."   

Remiel

Final Tally (Day One)

rottenaim (9): Beguile's Mistress, Valerian, That Girl Analise, Starlequin, Mithlomwen, Ryven, Moirae, Geeklet, Eden
Starlequin (7): Imogen, Foamweber, Josietta, rottenaim, Aiden, Lord Mayerling, Marguerite
Ryven (2): Izu, Xandi
Lord Mayerling (1): Rhedyn
Rhedyn (1): Kyrsa

As the evening drew to a close, a sombre hush fell upon the assembled council.  A plurality--not quite a majority--of the councillors present had harboured suspicions of rottenaim--or, at least, had publicly stated as such.

King Gregorii regarded Lady rottenaim, frowning, studying her intently over his steepled fingers.   He seemed quite reluctant to speak.  However, as the lengthy pause wore on, he realized he had no choice.  The Council had spoken.

"Very well," said the King, sadly.  "Lady Aim, I have no choice but to sentence you to death.  Take her away." 

With a brief, almost imperceptible nod, the King signaled the royal guard, two of whom stepped forward.  They each grabbed an arm, and dragged her to the palace courtyard, where an executioner's block had been erected.  A large, bulky man in a faceless black hood stepped forward, wielding a special axe whose blade had been forged out of silver.   As the entire palace watched grimly, the axe head blurred through the air and neatly severed rottenaim's head from her body.

She faced her death bravely, and with resignation; she neither screamed, nor cried out, nor begged for mercy.    The King and all of the Council held their breath, watching the corpse, waiting to see what would happen. However, as the minutes ticked by, there was no change at all. 

Lady rottenaim was neither werewolf nor vampire.

A subsequent search of her personal belongings revealed a worrying discovery: along with sharpened wooden stakes, vials of holy water, and a large crucifix, there were several volumes of vampire lore, with pertinent passages dog-eared and underlined.  Lady rottenaim was, in fact, the vampire hunter, and her untimely death would allow the Nosferatu to rest just that much easier.

King Gregorii said nothing, but closed his eyes in sorrow.  He quietly ordered for rottenaim's body to be given a proper burial, and then retreated to his personal chambers.




Night has fallen, and all of the Councillors must face uneasy dreams.  Vampires and werewolves, please PM me with the respective names of your victims.  Werewolf Hunter, I need your target as well.  As always, any Councillors who have a Charm of Scrying and wish to use it may do so at any time.

Remiel


The new day dawned, and with it came a temporary sense of hope, that whatever troubles the kingdom might be facing, the good men and women of Carpathia would, through diligence and hard work, overcome them in the end.  King Gregorii rose, faced the morning sun, and drew a deep breath.  Despite the tragic loss of Lady rottenaim, he was sure that the curséd monsters would still be found and brought to justice.

His sense of optimism, however, was very short-lived.  A piercing scream from the direction of Admiral Eden's chambers brought the king's men running.  There, in hir bed, the good Admiral was found, hir throat ripped out as of by the jaws of a savage beast, in a manner very similar to the grisly way that Nathan the gardener had been discovered.   The battered green tricorn hat was gone, vanished without a trace, presumably plundered by purple pirates.

But that wasn't all.  When Lady That Girl Analise did not materialize for the day's Council session, a search party was formed.  She was eventually discovered stashed away in the castle dungeons, stiff and white and bloodless, with two bloody holes in her neck.

Both Admiral Eden and Lady Analise were well-known to be loyal Councillors of the Realm, and their loss would be felt keenly.  With a grave countenance and heavy heart, the King convened the Council once again--this time, hopefully their judgment would be more sound.


---

The voting phase has begun. It will end Thursday, 23 June, at approximately midnight, EST (GMT-5).

Aiden

The Duke found himself arriving promptly when the king called them in once more. The night and the deaths had taken its toll on the court but they could not fall to despair. The young man felt like pacing but he remained calm with his hand at the hilt of his sword and his attention diverted out to the courtyard below. He sighed loudly, a fight with a known opponent was much more preferred then a cowards blow, the bloody creatures that hunted his fellow court mates had him on the verge of holy rage. Duke Aiden only hoped they would find who was responsible for the deaths at the King's summoning that morning.

Imogen

Even the lady Imogen had taken to carry a small dagger, snugly tucked in a small scabbard at her hip. It's rough practicality clashed with the lady's usual frivolous attire of lace and velvet just as much as the simple cross she'd donned instead of more fancy jewelry.

When Aiden stalked past she stopped him briefly. "Analise had been searching for a circle of trustworthy councillors. I believe she may have trusted the wrong person." She advised him. "Perhaps worth looking into?"
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Aiden

He looked at the lovely lady and nodded his head somberly.
"She came to in full confidence, I swore to protect her and now she lays dead, drained and left a twisted shamble of her former self."
The man's face held steadfast not allowing it to twist with emotion , the tone in his voice made it clear he was holding back a curse at what he would say.
"She went to Marguerite, tried to speak with her and Admiral Eden about staying together and now those two are dead and the wench lives!"
He hissed lowly with nothing for venom for the one he knew was responsible!