On The Trail Of The White

[*SubtleBlade]

*Crystalis watches on learning what she may after being transferred to Dace's group.*

[*MimiFearthegn]

Dace's lecture seemed to strike a nerve, and Lusineh glared at the assembled mercykillers.

"I very much doubt you've taken care of 'him' nearly as well as you claim. How have you warded this cell? Can you stop a demon from walking through the door?

"And tell me, if you do get to the root of all this - what good does that do me? Can you dissolve a pact? Or will you decide not to punish me - out of the goodness of your hearts - for something my hands have done, willing or not?"

[*Mausman]

Somewhere in the Prison, Silas grins at the fact he was asked to partake in the mission. He now sits, waiting for his permission to go and start...

[*Taurus Daggerknight]

Dace doesn't seem particularly impressed by her response, but he raises a finger and gestures approvingly. "Ah, pact... now we're getting somewhere."

"As for the whole "demon through the door" thing...well, that's a surprisingly snarky remark, considering you sounded like you had some vague idea of where you are and who you are dealing with. If not, let me spell it out for you..." He leans forward a little. "You are now in a prison operated by the Red Death. It is actually our business to make even immortal fiends regret every second of their eternal existence should they cross certain lines, so... no, a demon trying to walk in the door is not terribly high on my list of concerns.

[Intimidate mod= 10 rolled: 20 Total: 30]

In any case, that's all quite besides the point. How this all benefits -you- however... well, that's also frankly besides the point. What is important is this.... you can either cooperate here, get to the root of what led to the destruction of Ecstasy, and maybe, if the evidence supports, you will be given a pardon and sent on your way while the truly guilty parties are taken to task." He then shrugs. "Or you can continue to be a proud idiot, in which case I simply have these two lovely ladies here drag you down to a chamber where they will burn and bleed the truth out of you."

He leans back in his chair. "We're offering you what you will not find in Carcerie or anywhere else Lusineh. A way to possibly clear your name, and take down whoever put you in this situation in the first place." He narrows his eyes. "But continue to play the part of a snarky imbecile, and we'll be happy to go several paces further than what you were apparently looking for in Curst."

"Can your pact be dissolved? Depends on the pact really... you should probably start talking about that if we're to answer." He gestures to his comrades in the room. "Lucky for you, all three of us in this room happen to have years of experience dealing with pact cases. So... one more time. Elaborate on your condition. Start from the begging, explain what really happened in Ecstasy."

[*MimiFearthegn]

Lusineh heaved a deep sigh, and mumbled something about people wanting her life story. Then she began:

"I say pact because that's what he called it. But before you condemn me for signing my soul away to a demon, let me say that I never signed anything. I'm not really sure what I did.

"I grew up in the Outlands - though not around Ecstacy. I was with an adventuring group for a while, and settled down in . . well. . . that town afterwards.

"Spellcasting isn't really in my blood. I used to have this wizard friend- nevermind, that's irrelevant. Anyway, I couldn't cast a single spell until a few weeks before the incident. That's when this old friend of mine turned up and gave me a trinket he'd found on his adventures - this little spider figurine.

"No, there wasn't anything suspicious about it. It was all very natural. I know he didn't mean me any harm. But it was after that that I got my first vision or nightmare.

"At first it was about that figurine - the spider, coming to life, crawling around the house, attacking me. . . So we investigated it, to see if it was cursed. It was faintly magical, but nothing else.

"When the dreams got worse, I tried to get rid of it. It wouldn't leave. It always ended up back in my room somehow, and we couldn't manage a remove curse spell strong enough to force it out.

As she talked, she was very matter of fact about the entire thing - as though she had rehearsed the details in her mind over and over in the past. Now she was just resigned to it all.

"Then I started having visions about other things. . . committing crimes, my home burning. I was really upset. My friends told me they'd seen me sleepwalking. Then some of the things I dreamed about - the slightly more innocuous ones - started coming true. . . and they got worse. . . all leading up to the destruction of the town. . . and then my arrest. I'm sure you have all that on file.

"It was only after I was imprisoned that he appeared to me for the first time, and said that I was 'chosen' and bound to him by blood."

Her voice trailed off, and she sat looking down at the table.

[*LadyLightning]

Brynn remained silent throughout the testimony, her quill quietly scritching and
scribbling against the parchment in her hand, as she records, word for word,
the claims of the prisoner. Finally, she looks up from the parchment, across
the desk at Lusineh.

"D'you still 'ave the figurine? Tha' spidah? Every curse 'as a focus, an' Oi'm
willin' to be' tha' yours is focused 'round tha' figurine. Woz the spidah statue
in your personal effec's when you woz firs' arrested? Tha' sor' ov curse...
i' may spread, if i's deemed you no longah useful."

[*MimiFearthegn]

The woman glanced up at Brynn as she spoke.

"I do have the figurine still, in a way. Its. . .mm. . . part of me now. . . it has been since before the incident."

[*LadyLightning]

Brynn frowns a little at that.

"Tha's no' good. I's beginnin' t'sound loike a possession case."

[*Taurus Daggerknight]

Despite his words, Dace couldn't help but feel sympathetic to the woman's situation.
That, and he was begining to suspect that the strange circumstances were already known to the Justicar. Part of the test? Not that it mattered. The case was open, and now in his hands. So long as that was true, neither his sympathy for Lusineh nor his suspicion of the Justicar were important.

"By "part of you" I assume you mean that tatoo right over your heart?

And the man who gave you the talisman in the first place...elven male? Same one you met in Reflection a few days ago?"

[*SubtleBlade]

*Crys merely shakes her head with a frown as she remembered Emmy's pact and what it took to break it. Hopefully such would not be the case with this woman.*