Interrogation

A captured Cleric of Torrin tells all he knows, but a surprise visitor may change the plans of those in Westmark.

17.

Interrogation

 

 

They brought him into the Ducal Audience chamber bound hand and foot, for the man was determined to die rather than be interrogated by the subhumans.

 

He screamed and cursed, raged and foamed at the mouth like a madman as they carried him in.   He was a cleric of Torrin, a hater of all things magical and any intelligent being that wasn’t human.

 

All assembled watched in amazement as the guards laid the crazed man in the middle of the room, still bound.   All eyes turned to Eleazar, who stood next to Matron Zeatt and he glanced at her.

“I suspect he won’t willingly cooperate.”

“I imagine you are right.   Shall I cast the spell then?”

“If you would, yes, thank you.”

 

Several of the ducal guards muffled the frantic man and Zeatt cast the spell, touching the man on the head as soon as it ended.   When the guards removed their hands from his mouth, he was quiet, and his eyes somewhat glassy looking since he was now under the spell.

 

Zeatt turned back to her nephew-in-law, “The spell allows for six questions before it wears off, and it will not be possible to cast it upon him ever again.   We know he is one of the disciples of Torrin, so I would imagine he has connections at the deepest level with those in Aeropolis.”

 

Eleazar nodded and went forward to stand in front of the man, “What plans does the Emperor have that involves Northmarch?”

 

The bound man answered at once, “His Excellency desires Northmarch to be added to the Empire.   He is using Earl Redburr as a pawn.   When he is no longer useful, he will be discarded.   The Emperor has equipped Earl Redburr’s army with weapons, armor, supplies and the Talismans of Torrin.   He seeks to send a large army into Northmarch in the spring, to finish the job.”

“This war was only a means to determine the strength of the enemy and their magic.   He was asked by the Prophet Torrin to allow some of his disciples to accompany Earl Redburr’s forces, to begin to instill into the humans the discipline of purity.”

 

“Explain to me what the Discipline of Torrin consists of and how will that effect non-human races?”

“The Discipline of Torrin is the tenet that only humans were beings created by the Creator God and only they are acceptable in his sight.   God requires all humans to destroy these subhumans or at least reduce them to slaves.   All humans are to submit to the authority of Torrin, who is the blessed prophet of God, and who is represented by his disciples who always seek and obey his will. “

“Yesh is an abomination of the nature of the true God, and all faithful shall denounce him as a devil.   Magic is another abomination of God and should be avoided and destroyed when possible.   Only by obtaining racial purity and through the destruction of magic and false races, then by submitting to the teachings of Torrin the prophet, will humans be saved from destruction.”

“All non-human intelligent races will be hunted down and destroyed, as the prophet Torrin proclaims, although some will be allowed to live as slaves until their usefulness has ended.”

 

“Tell me about the Talismans of Torrin: what do they do, how are they made, and where do they come from?”

 

“The Talismans of Torrin are the holy symbols of Torrin.   They are loadstones that have been placed against the Gem of the Oscinate for two days, which fills them with the Gem’s anti-magic field.   They dispel magic in a radius of about 10 feet and will retain their anti-magic properties for nearly a year, before they begin to fade.”

 

Aurei came forward and joined her husband, to ask a question, “What is the Gem of the Oscinate and where is it located?”

 

“The Gem is the most holy relic of Torrin, for it was shown to him in a vision from the One True God, and he found it in the southern desert.   It is now in the Temple of the One True God in Aeropolis.   Upon the death of Nunmontu, the mantle of prophet was immediately passed to his chief disciple, Torrin, and it is he who placed the Gem in the Temple.”

“The Gem is most holy, for it dispels all magic within a 10 mile radius around it, and no magic can counter it.   Torrin has proclaimed that the Gem shall accompany the legions into battle against the subhumans of Northmarch, to insure their victory.”

 

Aurei glanced at Eleazar and Zeatt, “Nunmontu is dead.   That explains the swell of hatred toward demi-humans and magic.   Torrin is now controlling the Nunmontuites.”

“Torrin is far more dangerous.” Zeatt responded, with a worried look on her brow.

Eleazar leaned in close to the man to ask the last question, “How large is the Emperor’s army and how soon will it march against Northmarch?”

“I do not know the exact size, but I have heard him say that no less than half of the Imperial legions will be used, and he is training 50 auxiliary legions to join them, though they will not be as well trained or armed as the regular legions.”

 

“There are 60 Imperial legions, each with about 5,400 men!”  Eleazar exclaimed, as the spell wore off the disciple of Torrin and he resumed his manic screaming and yelling.  The guards pulled the man out and Eleazar waited until his yelling and cursing faded as they carried him down the stairs before continuing.

“Reverend Zeatt cast a truth spell upon that man, so we know that what he told us is the truth, as far as he knows it.   If half of the legions come against us, that would be 160,000 highly trained soldiers, with about 270,000 axillaries.   Redburr nearly overwhelmed us with 40,000 men and they were poorly trained.   I would say we face a serious problem.”

 

Those assembled around him mulled over the gravity of the situation for a while until finally Aurei spoke, “We won’t be able to even up our chances if they bring that ‘Gem of the Oscinate’ against us.   If we could destroy that, then perhaps we’d have some advantage, as they don’t use magic.”

 

“If we could rally the Faesidhe Elves to our cause, that would help.”   Amala suggested, glancing purposely at Aedric.

“Their forces probably don’t number above 15,000 at the most.”   He replied to her, “They are scattered all through the Great Forest as well, so pulling them all together would be quite a feat.”

”Well, ye can count on the Dwarves to stand with ye.”   King Kylheilm proudly said, “I brought only half of my army, so with the other half, that would give ye 20,000 Dwarves.”

“We might muster 60,000 at most - counting all of our faithful comrades from the Dwarven and Sylvan Kingdoms.   We would still be greatly outnumbered.”

 

They all sat there grim and considering their very limited options when they all became aware of a large bat flapping around in the room.   The creature fluttered down until it was about head level with Aurei and Eleazar, who both had their swords drawn.

 

An instant later the bat had changed into a tall, shapely Drow woman, wearing an extremely revealing red leather outfit that marked her as a Sorceress.   Aurei recognized her immediately, though she had not seen her for 80 years.   It was her mother, Alleania, a vampire.

 

She held her hands up and out and shouted, “Peace!  I mean you no harm!”

Those assembled had surrounded her with weapons drawn.   Zeatt stood by stunned, for she had not seen her sister the last time she had come to Westmark.

 

“How did you get in here without us detecting you?”   Aurei asked her, surprised that they hadn’t sensed her.

“One of the Talisman’s of Torrin, which I… lifted from one of the dead captains of your foes.   It seems to work very well, though its range is not great, for it did not affect your spell on that prisoner.”  She smiled at Aurei,  “Hello, child, I haven’t seen you in eight decades.”   She then turned to look at Zeatt, “Hello, sister.”

“Alleania.”   Zeatt’s voice cracked when speaking her name and she could say no more.

“Yes, it is I.   I have come here in the very midst of you, knowing of the danger, but I ask only that you listen to my reason as it may benefit all of us.”

 

Everyone looked at Aurei, who somewhat cautiously nodded.   Eleazar frowned but yielded the floor to the vampire without another word.

 

“Thank you, Duke Dullerm.” Alleania said politely, “Allow me to explain.   As most of you knew and the rest of you now know, I am a vampire.   Over 80 years ago, Chal and I worked with Aurei to defeat Soric Potollis.”

“Which nearly cost Aurei her life in the process!”  Eleazar snapped.

 

Alleania accepted the chastisement with a nod, “You are right, Duke Dullerm, it was short-sighted and dangerous.   After this, I came here for a while and began preying on a few of the criminals and enemies of Westmark, much to the chagrin of my dear daughter when she learned of my presence.   She very rightly sent me away, and I returned to the Underdark.”

“Since that time, I have resurrected House Ar’Rilla, rebuilding it with some of the surviving members and adding to it by adopting other members of other lost Drow houses.   As a result of eight decades of work, Ar’Rilla is a strong Noble house.”

“What about the gift I gave you?”   Aurei asked, skeptical of her mother’s story.   The lovely vampire smiled brightly at the question and raised her hand above her head, made a hand motion then spoke a Drow word.   An instant later a large earthen jug floated down from the rafters, then moved diagonal across the room until it plopped down into her hand.

 

“This is the vessel you gave me, child.   I have used it exclusively every day since you gave it to me, except for three times when I killed assassins that sought to take my life and drank their blood.   All the rest of my nourishment has come from this jug.”

 

Aurei nodded, but still seemed slightly skeptical, “What about all that I told you about Yesh?   Have you placed your trust in him?”

 

Alleania shook her head sadly, “I haven’t, child.   But I have respected those who worship Yesh.  I can honestly tell you that none that I knew who were, or were suspected to be, a follower of Yesh has been harmed or even harassed by me or any of those of House Ar’Rilla.   I have tried, child.”

 

“So why are you here, Alleania?”   Zeatt asked, standing close to her husband and clutching tightly to his hand.

“I have come here because recently we have learned that the followers of Torrin are planning an invasion of the Underdark, with the goal to exterminate the Drow and any other races living there.   My spies have learned that they will use the Gem of the Oscinate to dispel all the magic of the Drow and without our magic, we will fall easily to the vast human army.”

 

“I admit, sister, that my concern is for my House, but I also wondered about my only other blood kin, here on the surface.   So I decided to see personally the situation here.   I have watched the battle today - through magic that enabled me to come out for several hours in the daylight--- and I quickly could see that the same dilemma faces you as it does my house.”

“So what are you proposing?   To join up forces?   Vampire Drow soldiers added into our army?”   Eleazar asked.

“You assume much, Duke Dullerm.   I have no ‘vampire Drow’ army to add to yours.   In my Noble House, there are two vampires aside from me.   Neither one I made into a vampire.   My House is made up of the unwanted and forsaken from other Drow families.”

“We even have a number of refugees from Aeropolis.  Those Drow who fled when the Church of Yesh was persecuted.   They all knew Reverend Mother Zeatt and were thrilled to join my house when they learned that I was her sister.”

“Did you tell them that you were a vampire?” Zeatt asked, angrily.

“Oh yes, I did not hide this from any of them.   Zeatt, you too are assuming too much.   Do not think that I am making minions in the Underdark.   I simply restarted Ar’Rilla from the remnants.   We no longer control the Dart’loxinchu, but through time and patience, we have regained the armor and weapons sales.”

“But as a Noble House, you would be expected to worship the Spider Queen.”   Her sister said unhappily.

“Not any more.   Much has changed.   Most still give lip service to her, but a few do not and are not punished.   Ar’Rilla does not give lip service to that demon.   It is a different house, sister.”

“What about the brothels and drug dens?”   Zeatt demanded to know.

“We do not cater to that crowd.   There is money in hiding those fleeing from the other Noble Houses as well as sheltering the underground Church of Yesh there.”

“You are sheltering Yesh’s church?”   Eleazar asked.

“Yes.   I doubt that you believe me, but I do not blame you.   I will remove the Talisman of Torrin and the other magic ring that I wear.   Then I invite all of you to cast your spells of detection and determination upon me to test my words.   Aurei; you and your husband can certainly detect evil - see if there is any within me.”

 

She handed the talisman to Eleazar, as well as the ring that protected her from the effects of daylight.   The Duke looked at Zeatt, Alvis, and Aurei and they all shrugged, so he took the magic items out of the room, while Zeatt accepted her sister’s challenge.

 

A few minutes later, Zeatt was finished and great conflict covered her face, “She’s not lied to us.”

Aurei and Eleazar (as well as all of the other Paladins in the room) had scanned her for the presence of evil, which they could easily detect.   Though she was indeed a vampire, somehow, she didn’t radiate evil.   She also didn’t radiate goodness, but there was certainly no evil about her.

 

Alleania had sat patiently on the end of a long table during the process, staring at Amala, Snoe, Gamel and baby Aidan.   They knew why she stared, for they were her grandchildren.   It was a stare that they returned, for they were amazed at seeing her.   She was shockingly young looking and beautiful, resembling her daughter and her sister, as well as Sophia.

 

She finally turned to Zeatt, Aurei and Eleazar, “Well?   Are you satisfied with my truthfulness?”

“You’ve told us the truth so far, Alleania.”  Aurei said cautiously, “But you have failed to tell us just how your Noble House can assist us, or how we can help you.”

“When your father and I were members of the Necromancer’s Guild, we were privy to information that most of the lower members of the Guild did not know about.   One of those pieces of information was that the Necromancer’s Guild had a means to move large numbers of their undead - or their living Necromancers- around unnoticed, through teleportation devices underground.”

 

Zeatt looked skeptical, “Teleportation over about a mile is impossible in the Underdark, Alleania.”

“That is true, but they created a series of relay teleportation rings that they set at one mile intervals on some of the main passages of the Underdark.   By using these relays, a teleportation spell cast at one place would ‘flow’ along these relays, and if the selected destination was on the path of these relays, the teleporter would end up there. “

“So how does that help?”   Eleazar asked.

“They still are functioning, Duke, and since returning to the Underdark, I have learned how to utilize these teleportation relays.   They stretch all along the Underdark where there are mountains.   It is possible to travel from the mountains just north of Westmark all the way to Southgate and even further, to the mountains only 20 miles north of the Imperial capital.”

“By teleportation underground?”   Aurei clarified.

“Yes!   There are cave entrances at many spots upon the way that none but the Necromancer’s Guild knew about.   The pathways even extend to the north under the eastern mountains and completely ring Northmarch.   Don’t you understand?”

“You could move an army -instantly- from the point north of here, underground, to the very heart of the Imperial capital without any detection.   The Imperial Senate does not allow legions within 50 miles of the capital, so you could strike and overwhelm the city before the legions could respond!”

 

“Well, that is all well and good, but I doubt the Emperor would stay in the capital,”   Eleazar replied, “He usually camps with his army.   Besides, even without the Emperor, it would seem that it is Torrin who is controlling things.”

 

“That is the problem " the power and authority of the Nunmonites must also be dealt with.   There is something about them that I suspect none of you -not even my dear sister- knows about them.   My spies have infiltrated the Torrin sect.   There is something far more sinister behind this new religion.”

 

Zeatt drew nearer to her sister, “Alright, Alleania - explain it to us.”

 

“The Nunmonites and especially the Disciples of Torrin preach about how other races are inferior and must be eliminated, along with all magic.   But they are not just misguided worshipers of ‘The One True God’ as they state.”

“Then who do they worship?”   Zeatt demanded, growing somewhat impatient with Alleania’s slow build-up to telling the information.

 

“They are followers of a demon, Zeatt.   But not a demon from this world.   He is a greater demon, from the Prime World.   I do not know what plans your Yesh has made to counter him, but he is present in this world.   No-one here knows of his name, but he is as old and as powerful as the Sidhe.”

“A demon from the Prime World?   You can’t be serious, Alleania.   Do you truly believe that Yesh would allow this?   Believe me, there can be nothing coming from the Prime World to Synomenia.”

 

Alleania shrugged, “All I know is what I have learned from several different sources.   This demon is not material; ‘he’ is like a Demon of Rage, but much, much more powerful and uncontainable.”

 

“Like a Demon of Rage?   I know about them very well.   What you are telling us is very hard to believe.”   Eleazar said with a frown.

 

“This nameless demon’s purpose is to fuel evil among humans.   This is what he did, I am told, in the Prime World.   He is crafty and diabolical in his methods.   He is here to continue his work.   But he cannot manipulate the races that are not present in the Prime World.   There are only humans - they say- in the Prime World.   So he must eliminate the other races as well as magic, so that he can manipulate the humans without any opposition.”

 

Zeatt threw her hands in the air, “This is ridiculous!   What do you think we are, Alleania; fools?   What are you trying to scheme here?”

 

The Vampire woman stood up and faced her sister, her red eyes glowing, “Then cast more spells upon me, sister, and see if what I am telling you is the truth!   Why would I come here with such a story?   There is great danger facing all non-human races here.   You know this!   I am telling you the reason.   There is a non-material, elder demon that came here years ago.   It is he who manipulated Soric Potollis to betray Yesh.   He was behind the Necromancer’s Guild.”

 

“Alleania, the Necromancer’s Guild used magic heavily!”  Zeatt countered, “You were a member of it as a Drow!   If this demon is behind all of this, why would he now be against races and magic, when he allowed them earlier?”

 

“It wasn’t the demon’s idea, I would imagine, Zeatt!   He manipulates human minds, but does not control them completely.   Soric found magic and demi-human races very useful to his ends.   But I can tell you that there were very few non-humans who were powerful in the Guild.   Soric had thinly veiled contempt for all races not human.   He greatly coveted magic though.”

 

Zeatt, Aurei and Eleazar just stood there silently staring at the vampire lady, who defiantly glared back, angry at their skepticism.

 

Finally Eleazar took a deep breath and spoke, “Alleania, you must understand that we have been through a great deal of chaos recently and it is against the very fiber of being of a Paladin to believe the words of a vampire.   Yet when we scanned you, we detected no evil.   I am beginning to think you are telling us the truth.   But even if you are, there are many details and considerations that must be addressed.   Tell me; what do you propose we do here?   What are you offering us, and what do you ask of us in return?”

 

Alleania paused to select her words, and then responded, “I know I am an alien to all of you now.   I don’t expect to come here and be accepted.   But even though I am a vampire, I am a member of Aurei and Zeatt’s family.   Believe it or not, a vampire still feels family connections and bonds.   Long have I desired to see both of them - and my grandchildren.”

“When I found out this information about Torrin and the demon behind the movement, I realized that the danger was not only to myself and my noble house in the Underdark, but to my daughter and sister and their families here in Westmark. “

“I don’t want to lose them, though I am not part of their lives now.   Just knowing they live here is a comfort to me in my unlife in the Underdark.   So what I propose is to show you and your army how to use the teleportation rings.   Do not think this is any small thing, Duke Dullerm.   Allowing a surface army to know of the secret entrances to the Underdark is akin to treason in my homeland.   Zeatt knows I speak the truth.”

 

“So what do you get out of this, Alleania?”  Zeatt, who had calmed some, asked her sister.

“We survive, sister.   It is a harsh, hard survival there, but we survive, without a demon fueled cult trying to rid the world of us.    You see, it is from this demon that this ‘Gem of the Oscinate’ originates.   The demon either brought it from the Prime World or somehow constructed it himself, here.   I do not know which.”

“My spies learned that he gave it to Torrin, though it is said that he constructed a different story.   Some have said that he actually assassinated Nunmontu in order to take control.   It could have been at this demon’s bidding.”

 

“So you provide the means to get there, but you want us to not only defeat the Emperor, but also destroy Torrin’s movement and this incorporeal demon as well?”   Eleazar asked incredulously.

 

“I doubt anyone in Synomenia could kill this demon, Eleazar.   But I have learned that there could be a way to send him back to the Prime World…for a long time.   One of my wizards said that an ancient text speaks of a complex spell that will repel a greater demon and force him back to his place of origin for 66 years.  This spell must be cast by those who are pure of heart and soul.   A Cleric of Yesh, assisted by Paladins could do it, with help from wizards and sorcerers.   It is said to be a complex spell, but effective.”

 

“Yet you have no first hand knowledge that it truly works.   Surely Yesh could cast out this demon with a word from his mouth.” Aurei replied, and both Eleazar and Zeatt nodded in agreement.

 

Alleania sighed, “Alright - why don’t you go to Yesh in prayer about this and ask for his will?   Present what I have said to you before him and have him show you the proper way.   That is what Paladins and priests are to do, are they not?   I know, Zeatt, that you have spells to seek the will of Yesh that you can cast.   Why not do so now and end all this pointless debate?  When you receive confirmation, I will tell you where this spell is located.   But, Zeatt, seek the will of your God first and I will abide by the decision.”

 

The three were surprised at her suggestion.  Zeatt tapped her chin while considering her sister’s suggestion.

“I cannot cast the spell with all of you around.   It will take over an hour and will require a sanctified room.   I will ask that all the paladins here stay and pray while I cast that spell.   The rest of you go downstairs and wait in the ducal ballroom.   Alleania, if you are willing to do this, then I wish for you to remain in the drawing room next door.   Forgive me, but I do not trust you, so you must be watched to prevent any sort of magic or attempt at manipulation.   Do you agree?”

 

Alleania nodded with a smile, “Perhaps you will allow my grandchildren to guard me?”

 

Eleazar and Aurei both looked up in alarm at the suggestion.   Alleania laughed at their reservation.

“Surely you don’t believe I will cause harm to them!   I promise I won’t try to bewilder them or bite them!   I merely want to meet them and speak to them.   From what I’ve seen, all of them are more than capable of defending themselves.”

 

Aurei looked nervously over at Amala, Gamel and Snoe (who was holding her baby sister on her lap as she sat beside Aedric).

“I will leave it up to them to decide.”   She said with some hesitation.

“Will it be alright for my presence to not to be included with the other Paladins?”   Gamel asked his great Aunt.

“Yes.   In fact, why don’t Aedric, Aaron, and Allea join you?   That won’t bother you, will it Alleania?”   Zeatt asked her sister, watching her reaction closely.

“Not at all.   If you would feel more comfortable, sister, cast a protection from undead spell over them beforehand, so your mind will be at ease.   I mean nobody here any harm.   Especially not members of my family.”

 

Zeatt had a brief private conference with her niece, Eleazar and Alvis and then they agreed.   Within a few minutes, everyone had cleared the room except for the Paladins.   Zeatt took Alleania’s suggestion and cast a spell of protection from undead over those ‘guarding’ the vampire lady, and they accompanied her from the room.

 

Eleazar quietly put the ducal guards on high alert for any sort of trick and ordered that they make preparations for battling a vampire - just in case.   Then he rejoined his wife and her aunt with the Paladins and sought the will of God in this situation.

Reviews

[Elina]

"...a teleportation spell cast at once place..." I think you were wanting "one" instead of "once."
"...spell over them before hand..." "before hand" ought to be one word.

[Eddie Davis]

Thanks, Elina, I didn't know beforehand was one word until you told me tonight. One is never too old to learn!