A Spy Intercepted

Thaluk Kor'ali's frowned severely as he climbed the staircase from the basement up to the ground floor of Apartment Number 6. It had been close - too close, Thaluk thought to himself. He carefully closed the trap door into the basement behind him, sealing it with a magical ward and disguising its presence. The House Wizard folded his arms across his chest, pursing his lips thoughtfully. Then with sudden resolution, he went to the desk, procured parchment and a pen. The pen glided effortlessly over the parchment, leaving in its wake neatly curled words in the Drow dialect of Elven.

"For the revered Matron Mother Vorne Kor'ali and all of her trusted subjects,

I have made a most disturbing discovery. I have captured and subdued a female sent to infiltrate our ranks and spy on us. She came in the disguise as a thrall roaming the city of Szith and attracted my attention. She claimed to be a slave set loose by her merchant mistress. Naturally, this made me wary of her immediately, as no mistress would freely depart with her property and set it free in a foreign city. She was dressed in slaves rags, but I noticed that she was well groomed and well fed - something that again contradicted the story of a mistress wanting to be rid of her slave. Her disguise, however, was masterfully crafted and fooled all but me.

I decided to investigate this further - the riddle of this unusual slave beckoning me like a flame does the moth. Even if her story seemed implausible, at least she appeared to be an able servant, and I seized the chance to enslave her in the service of our great House. Yet there was something unsettling about this girl that caused me to be wary; the mere flicker of something else in her eyes that betrayed her disguise, that exuded confidence and determination while everything else about the supposed slave did not.

I decided to test her capability as a servant and took her out into the tunnels of the Underdark. Master Zaka'rath joined me and I found that to be a valuable addition later. The girl handled a bow with a proficiency and skill that no mere slave would be allowed to attain. And there was something else. Darkness clung to her like young to their mother, and she shimmered in and out of sight, materializing where she should not have been. Naturally, we both questioned her on this, but she answered only in fragmented stories that I recognized as lies. I decided to have the Weapons Master bind her and bring her back to Szith for questioning.

There I quickly subdued her and cursed her with every hex in my spellbook. I soon had her writhing and squirming in agony, as I dangled her on the doorstep of death, but yet the girl gave me few answers. I gathered that she was indeed not a slave, but rather a trained spy designed to infiltrate our ranks and gather intelligence. Of course, this was hardly a great surprise. On the contrary, I would be astonished if the other Houses did not try to spy on us. But there was more.

Between her strangled groans and dying gurgle, I heard something I would first have dismissed entirely as the desperation of a fly caught in a web. Something I would not even have considered, were it not for the flicker of truth in her eyes. By then I had grown wary of her lies, but this one was different. She claimed to act in the service of Arch Priestess Bel’drana Mori’hyanda, sent to test our faith and probe for any weakness. I will need to assemble the entire House’s efforts into investigating this matter. We must get to the bottom of this. We must unveil her true identity.

Perhaps we can sway her, manipulate her or send her back with false information. However we may use her best, we will. The Matron Mother’s wisdom will guide is in this matter. The girl is shackled by ankles, wrists and neck to a rack in the torture chamber of the basement. I trust everyone will know how to uncover the trap door and dismiss the magical seals. I have drained every ounce of strength out of her, but be wary of her tricks.

The Goddess has blessed us with this trial. Let us answer Her with strength and unfaltering faith”

The letter is signed Thaluk Kor’ali

((This was great fun to role play - thank you, Radra. As I have promised you, we won't keep you captured for more than a Real Life day. I encourage everyone to do some interrogation rp, if you catch Radra online. I would especially like to see Vorne Kor'ali part of it, as she is the one in contact with Bel'drana. I figured it could be part of our event tomorrow (Saturday) at 10 pm GMT. I hope Radra and everyone else can be there to make this a fun plot. ))

Im logging in game now as Vorne to see about it....

Screams echo from the mainroom of apartment six, bringing a smile to Vorne's face. She stares into the eyes of her prisoner with utter joy as she see's the blood flowing so freely from the tortured female's prone form....

The prisoner is that of Radra Morcane, a spy caught by Thaluk while trying to infiltrate the house. As Vorne stands over the prone form she looks to Zaka'rath and Istinid at either side of the female. "Take her away jaluken, deposite her on the doorstep of the temple." She says as she kicks the prone form one last time. She then turns back to the table behind her. On it lays the various tools she uses for torture. As her fingers lightly trace the edge of one of the many cruel tools, a wicked grin comes to her face.

She lifts her keen scalpel up from the table. The thin blade is still covered with the blood of the prisoner. She dips it into a glass of water on the table to clean the blood from it before replacing it back where it belongs. Her gaze now moves to a long thin needle. It is still warm to the touch after it was used on the latest victiam. She grins as she remembers heating it until it glowed red and orange and then inserting it into Radra's forearm. Watching the woman writhe in pain brought comfort to the matron as the sufering of others often does. She dips the needle into the water and then replaces it next to the other tools. She then turns to Zaka'rath and Istinid who are lifting the prisoner to remove her from the apartment as instructed. "Wait..." She snaps as they turn to leave. "I have a message that she will deliver."

Vorne quickly scribes her letter on a peice of parchment near her tools. She then lifts a sharp elaborate dagger with a hilt crafted to look like a spider from collection of tools. She looks back to the prisoner and smirks as she see's the many wounds in her stomach from the dagger that she now holds once more. She approaches menacingly.

"My dearest dalinil. You will take this letter to your employer for me." She says with a cold calm in her voice. Seeing little response from the unconcious female, Vorne stabs once more into her gut with the dagger. She places her note between the blade and the prisoner's abdomen before thrusting it securely into place. She then waves her hand dismissively and ushers her males to carry out their orders. With a smug grin she rubs the face of her playmate with the back of her hand. "Do come back dalinil, I would very much love to entertain you again." She says as Zaka'rath and Istinid carry the unconcious Radra from the apartment.

She turns to the table again and begins to scry a message for her house wizard.

"Thaluk you have done well in exposing this spy. For this you have earned my praises. I see my decision to give you the position you have was naut a poor one. I wish to meet with you at once reguarding this. There is still much work to do."

She then turns from the table, leaving the note in place. With a confident stride she moves to her private chambers to meditate over what has transpired.