>>25508099
Is it still night?

>>25508099
Well, I believe we wanted to figure out if this place truly was in Golgoth's pocket so let's shadow (Let's face it, pun intended) the Guard Captain for a few hours and see if he bumps into Ivan again perhaps.

I basically have two ideas on how to proceed from here.
1) Find the Count alone (perhaps in his sleep. Can we place delusions on sleeping targets?), delusion him that his captain of the guard is collaborating with a Golgothan daemon. If he is already aware of this, he will do nothing. If he is not aware, he MIGHT try to investigate this.
2) Try to sneak information out of either guard captain or just any guard about what's going on with Ivan. It seemed that even the guards on the streets were aware of him but did nothing, so they might know something. If we can find one alone we might be able to get something out of him by posing as a distressed girl (perhaps upset about the goddamn one-eyed daemon) and applying a "you can only tell the truth" delusion.

>>25508327
I'd vote for 1, then 2 personally.

File: 1371574341581.png-(149 KB, 1553x872, TDQ Map Situation.png)

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>>25508372
Second if probably safer. The castle has a significantly higher chance of being warded than the rest of the city.

>>25508372
>>25508403
>>25508327

Well, 4chan looks stable enough for a response, but there's no consensus (looks like my sizable audience is split 1-1), so let's roll, d100, highest wins. As usual, if I've miscounted votes or a tiebreaker shows up or something, I'll go with consensus.

Rolled 27

>>25508563
I'm gonna settle for the second tactic actually, so that may not require a roll then. I'll still put one up though.

>>25508563
My preferred method depends on the time of day. That's why I asked about it.

>>25508633

Oh, right. It's still night, but getting close to dawn.

>>25508763
Good time to try to pull off number 2, then. I don't know how to catch the captain alone since he's probably either in an office or asleep, but we can probably find a lone guard in the streets, and we may still be able to extract something useful by asking the right questions. Like claiming that we saw a one eyed monster and asking if he believes us (is he aware of Ivan being in the city), are the guards going to catch it (if they've been instructed not to he'll have to say no), does he know what it is and why it's here, things like that. Bonus points for engaging him with tears in our eyes, stuttering out of fear and such. Unless the guards are super-edgy, that should help make sure he doesn't just tell us to fuck off. And make the act believable.

>>25508587
>>25508853

You find a lone guard, work yourself up some tears, and run up to him. You start with the delusion and then tell him you saw a one-eyed demon, but his only response is "get inside, kid, I haven't got time for this."

"B-but it's a demon and-"

"Just go inside, he don't go inside," the guard says, "and I ain't got the luxury of going in while he's out, so don't bother me about it."

>wat do?

>>25508928
"But why is he here, sir?" in a scared voice. Whether or not he answers that, we'll leave afterwards and not make a scene.

>>25508928
Well, confirms that the regular guards are very well aware of him. Let's try to push a bit more out of him. Try to run right up to him and hold tightly around him, add a "you can't interrupt me," then continue "P-please sir knight, I'm so scared. Why is it here? Aren't the guard going to kill it?"

>>25509082
We ARE making a scene. That's the point.

>>25509147
"you can't interrupt me" was of course intended as a delusion. We're not going to both threaten and beg him.

>>25509147
Oh, well then sure let's go the whole nine yards.

>>25509147
>>25509082

"I'm a guard, not the town crier," the guard says irritably, "get going 'afore I get angry!" And since he can't *interrupt* by whacking you over the head with his spear, instead he *responds* by doing that. Your vision swims momentarily from the blow to the head but soon returns to normal.

>wat do?

>>25509361
Geez, these guys sure aren't a nanny state. Whatever, we did manage to at least find out that the guards are completely on board with Ivan rather than imminently stressed out and just letting him go. We need to investigate the captain.

>>25509361
What a nice man. Guess he isn't going to be any more help. Let's exit by giving him the most miserable and heartwrenching face we can pull, whimper "you're a bad man" and leave holding our head like we're in great pain. You know, for the small chance that he'd actually be bothered by it later, not because it's going to get us anything.

Next stop is the castle, either we try to spy on the captain or we try to drop the delusion mentioned earlier on the count.

>>25509659
Trying to confront him directly may not be a good idea, we're simply not going to be allowed near him. We can try to stalk him from the shadows for a while, but it sounds like the place is crowded with guards so it may be difficult to keep up. Still, worth a shot.

>>25509659
>>25509697
>>25509877

You leave the guard with a look that will hopefully bother him a little bit. Then again, this guy cuts off urchin hands for a living, so maybe not.

In any case, you head back into the castle. It's dark and full of people, giving you plenty of shadows to hide in, which makes it easy to get around. The problem is, the Count is basically never alone. There's always a guard nearby, and usually his spymaster or bailiff or a knight or someone else important.

>wat do?

>>25510231
We need to kill the count?

>>25510243

You planned on deluding him. Deluding him where others can hear you would make it immediately transparent that something is up.

>>25510243
Oh god no, we're not an assassin. Mostly. We don't want to kill him. We only want to place a delusion on him. We CAN do so even with people around, but the problem is the delusion has to be spoken, and so it would be heard by those around. That doesn't have to be awful, they may just reason with themselves that "it was just the wind" or something like that, but they might also catch on that something weird is going on. Though, if we can catch him at a time with only one person around, even if we're heard there should be a decent chance it will just be ignored.

In that case, we just have to pray that Ivan hasn't placed wards in here. If we can also catch him in a spot other than his most common locations, such as a throne or such, that should be less likely to be warded.

>>25510407

The Count does have to go places, of course. Now he doesn't usually leave his castle, but he does spend plenty of time in corridors walking from one place to another. Along the way, you lay one of your delusions on him. Perhaps a nearby guard heard, but he doesn't speak up.

A few hallways later, the Count grabs one of the guards and says "find me the captain of the guard and bring him to the audience hall, I must speak with him immediately."

It's a half hour later when the two both show up there, but the Count's demands are immediate. "That creature in our castle, I need to know more about it," he says, "what do you know?"

"Nothing but what it has told you, my lord," the captain says.

"It is for Golgoth," the Count says.

"What makes you believe this, sire? It has only searched for foreigners, foreigners it says are spies from Kestis," the captain says, "surely when it finds them we shall know for sure. In fact, several of my guards confirm that while it was searching two nights ago, it was attacked, and the attack came from the same inn that it later told us to search for a young girl. The position of the arrow across the street confirms that it was fired from the room of a young girl, and she vanished the same morning. Surely this strikes you as suspicious, my lord? She evades your justice, and is heavily armed and deadly. I believe the creature. This is no child, but a demon in disguise!"

"No," the Count says, "I know not what this child is but I know that creature is not on our side."

"But how?" the captain asks.

"I...It's obvious!" the Count says.

"My lord, we were warned that the spy was a demon. We were warned that it beguiles the mind," the captain says, "with all due respect...What if you are under the thrall of some magic?"

"I..." the Count is confused and says nothing further.

"Your judgement is clouded, my lord," the captain says, "pray, bring in the other officers of your court, that we may muddle this out together."

>wat do?

>>25510930
Delude the Captain into thinking it'd be better to have a one-on-one before the meeting.

>>25511034

You are aware that since they're alone in an otherwise silent room, there is basically no way the Count won't hear what you're saying?

>>25511192
Can't we whisper?
Or create a small disturbance near the door?
Or can't we imitate his voice?

>>25510930
That's a clever angle Ivan's got going there, I guess. We didn't trigger a ward either, so that's nice, maybe Ivan hasn't had freedom to ward the castle.

>>25511034
Doing so without stirring more suspicion is probably difficult. However, we may not need to do anything at all. This confirms to us that the Count is NOT with Golgoth, and the captain might not be either. Now, an interesting angle here is that we actually had plans to try to kill Ivan when he's prowling at night, but this night he wasn't in the streets at all. Perhaps after this, the count or captain will demand Ivan gets back out there.

Of course, that's risking our chance to score Sholta over for an alliance against Golgoth. To preserve that, perhaps we should come clean right now. It'll be our word against Ivans, but still we should have a chance. I'll need some moments to think about it.

>>25511192

Actually, technically not alone, but the guards are all posted at the doors whereas the Count and the captain are like ten feet away from each other, so it will be obvious the sound is not coming from any of the guards. And the guards are silent regardless.

Point is, if you delude either one of them, the other is going to hear. Possibly also the guards.

>>25511212

You are the little girl. You can't imitate a grown man's voice without a Glamour power, which you most definitely don't have. A whisper will carry, because the room is otherwise completely silent and echoes easily. He might not make out individual words but he will know a little girl is whispering. Creating a disturbance might work, but you'd have to create the disturbance, then be back close enough to whisper a delusion before it was dealt with.

>>25511213
Okay yea I thought about it and I don't want to risk the chance of getting Sholta to join. I'd suggest going to either side of the room, away from the armed people, going corporeal, lifting the delusion and opening with: "I sincerely apologize for touching your mind, Count Visin, but given the presence of a Golgothan daemon I had to be certain of your loyalty before I revealed myself. I am most commonly known as Anomaly, and I come not here to spy, but to make a request of Sholta, if you would hear me out."

>>25511212
That's something that's been a lot of trouble for us in the past. Our delusion power is incredibly useful, but when trying to use it against people who are actually suspicious of it, even if they don't understand the nature of it they will catch on to the fact that their mind is being toyed with.

Sorry for the delay, I have been experiencing technical difficulties. Back online now.

>>25511408

The Count stands up from his chair, drawing his sword, while the captain of the guard spins around doing the same when you reveal yourself. "What do you want?" the Count demands, and turns aside to his captain, saying "bring the council, we shall need as many clear heads as we can to speak with this creature."

"But my lord," the captain says, "what if she attacks?"

"No amount of swords will help against a demon that appears and disappears when she pleases," the Count says, "find the others, now!"

"Yes, my lord," the captain says, and heads for the door.

>wat do?

>>25512658
Well that's okay, it's not like we can use delusions to get what we want in this case, seeing as we can't maintain one for more than a week. And that's if we don't use any others.

With a sigh, remark that "The Count really need not fear me, but if that is what you wish then go ahead and assemble your brightest minds, but I do hope you will at least put away your sword."

>>25513046
Wow, I could've been way more eloquent there, but whatever, the point is there. Let them assemble if they want to, asking otherwise is just making ourselves less trustworthy.

>>25513046

"What do you want?" the Count asks, his sword still ready. The guards have lowered their spears in your general direction as well, but they're all twenty feet or more away.

>wat do?

>>25513204
I wouldn't mind some cheese to be honest, it's been a long journey to the castle.

>>25513204
"I want Golgoth removed from Margell. I understand that the various factions of Margell have done a rather poor job of getting along, but now that the entire kingdom is under threat, I was hoping that could become a thing of the past. Gigan and Kestis are set to ally against Golgoth, and I want Sholta to join the fight as well when the time comes."

>>25513355
We should go more casual first I think.
Assure them we're not a threat.

>>25513412
Just did let them know we don't mean any harm, he simply asked again what we want. I don't know how you intend to further prove we're not here to kill them all or anything like that.

>>25513355

"Why should I trust you?" the Count asks, "you have invaded my castle and beguiled my senses so that I cannot trust anything I see, hear, or even feel within me, and now you have the gall to claim that you are my friend?"

>response?

>>25513865
I'm erm, actually outside your castle.
I'm talking to you through use of my powers.
And.....you're having trouble with your senses?
I think I've heard of that phenomenon before but...

>>25513865
"I didn't claim to be your friend, but I believe we have a common interest. Once again, I apologize for the methods I was forced to use. I have already released any influence on your mind. I hope you will choose to see past that offense so we can give Margell a chance of ever being a kingdom again."

>>25513922
Let's not tell any lies unless we have to. It's bad for longterm relations.

>>25514073
>>25514087

I can't tell, are you two different people voting for the same thing, or just one? Do we need a roll for this? Would be helpful if people could roll for it just in case, but as usual consensus wins so long as there is one.

>>25514230
I'm >>25513922 I give.

>>25514073
and
>>25514087
are both me. Posted before I saw the other post.

>>25514234
>>25514298

The Count simply glares. It's not more than a few minutes later that the rest of his officers arrive: The spymaster, the bailiff, a pair of knights, the master smith and the master scribe, and the captain of the guard. The Count fills them in on who you claim to be and what's happened so far, and warns all of them that any strong reaction may be planted by you. Or any weak reaction. Really, there's no telling what your powers are, which is why the Count is hoping that having an entire room full of keen minds on hand will help sort things out.

"Intruders is intruders," the bailiff says, "I say we stick her while we can."

"If we go where she says she could be leading us into a trap," the first of the knights says, a large man with an equally sized mustache, "we were warned a demon from Golgoth would arrive and here she is, a perfect match!"

"She claims that Spectis is the Golgothan, that we have been deceived," says the scholar, "it is not impossible."

"She only tried negotiating after beguiling our lord failed," the captain of the guard says, "if she really wanted to work towards mutual good, she would not have had reason to try treachery and magic to begin with."

>interject something?

>>25514538
"And what would you have had me do captain? I did not know if you were already allied with Golgoth, and stalking any of you for days would be counter-productive to my purpose. Time is of the essence; Golgoth comes closer to seizing the interior with each passing day. I was using the resources at my disposal to determine if this spirit had already beguiled you himself without wasting time.

>>25514538
Yes, address the captain: "I did have reason. You are harboring a Golgothan daemon, an enemy of mine. I needed to confirm if the Count himself was aware of this fact. To do so, I placed on him the belief that you were cooperating with a daemon of Golgoth, and as you noted earlier, he could not explain this belief. I have since withdrawn that effect so that he is no longer forced to believe so, and revealed myself openly now that I know your allegiance.

>>25514734
Got cut off. Add "I apologize for the fact that I had to use such a method."

>>25514749
This. Being open is important.

>>25514734
I prefer my own suggestion >>25514749
Here's why: I'm hoping that straight up explaining what we did might sound familiar to the count, so that he'll consider that we may be acting honestly. I also don't think we should point out our limited time yet, they might accuse us of the Mari incident which wasn't exactly going straight to the point.

>>25514734
>>25514749

These are different enough that we should roll for them.

Rolled 8

>>25515032
Rolling for >>25514749

Rolled 72

>>25515032
>>25514749
Supporting this.

>>25514749

"It's not like we don't have spies," the spymaster offers.

"We don't spy on people's hearts," the captain of the guard responds.

"Trust me, I would if I could," the spymaster responds.

"And I don't trust you either," the mustached knight says, which gets a few nods from the group, "given a choice between believing the creature that broke into the castle and put a spell on my lord or the one who sent a messenger, I don't see why we should trust the former."

"Rather than taking one or the other at their word, why don't we investigate?" asks the other knight, a thin man with blonde hair.

"How?" the mustached knight asks, "send a spy down to Golgoth to see if they keep a registry of the demons in their employ?"

"All Spectis wants is this one," the captain says, jabbing a thumb towards you, "well, let's give her to him and be rid of both of them."

>wat do?

>>25515460
"Does it not strike the gentlemen as odd, that this daemon accuses me of being with Golgoth, when I have come here to ask that Sholta join the fight AGAINST Golgoth? How could that possibly add up?"

>>25515861

The mustached knight snorts. "It doesn't take a genius to figure out that we oppose the Golgothan invasion of Margell."

"It's not exactly a secret," the thinner knight says, "and an enemy might pose as a friend to lead us into an ambush."

"There's no telling that our enemy isn't Spectis," the scholar says.

"Except that Spectis didn't break into our castle," the mustached knight says.

"Indeed," the Count says.

>wat do?

>>25516185
"You said he announced himself with a messenger? The polite thing to do, I'm sure, and a luxury easily afforded by one backed by an incredibly powerful empire such as Golgoth. Not as easily afforded when your enemy is that same empire, an empire perfectly capable of sending agents to any corner of this land to hunt you down"
Then pull aside our clothing from our shoulder to show them our latest wound.
"I still feel the sting from the last squad that tried. Barely escaped alive in fact. Is it not understandable that I would be as careful as I was, even if it wasn't the polite thing to do? Would you not be just as cautious in the same situation?"

>>25516643

"You don't need an empire to send a messenger," the spymaster says, almost incredulous, "you don't even need land of your own. Merchants hire them all the time, and Golgoth can't possibly search every message in the entire land before it reaches us, nor could they search every message that comes into this castle, and failing that you could've put on a cloak, knocked on the door, and requested an audience. Even peasants have that right, and they exercise it every day."

"And failing even that, you could've started with an introduction rather than an attack on my senses," the Count says, "the very notion that breaking into the castle and using black magic was the only way you could possibly have communicated your intentions is an obvious lie, and one you clearly haven't worked enough magic to mask." His voice is growing angrier, and what supporting voices you did have (the spymaster and the scholar, mostly) have fallen silent or else reconsidered. This is going poorly.

>wat do?

>>25517241
"At the time, all I knew was that you were keeping a Golgothan daemon here, one whom I fought recently in the war against Golgoth in Dorrik, I could not simply walk in here and ask if this was a trap set by that daemon to capture and kill me. I had to be certain that it was safe here before I could appear openly. I understand that you'd be offended, and I continue to apologize for resorting to such methods, but I saw no other means to confirm the safety of this place. Please consider that if it was my intention to use magic to get what I wanted from you, I would have continued to do instead of revealing myself. I would not stand here, trying to defend myself from mortal accusations if I did not wish an honest deal.

If you still do not believe me, then please ask anything you need to ask and I will answer truthfully. And if that is still not enough for you, then at least hear me out with doubt in your heart instead of not hearing me at all."

>>25517923

"And is there any truth in any of that?" the mustached knight asks of the scholar.

"You're asking me? I guess I do know something of how magic works, but all the sources are so contradictory, I conclude that every spell works differently. It may be that she could be using more magic even now or it may be that she's simply run out, or perhaps she can only beguile someone once, or only at a certain time. But I will say that it's not unreasonable to at least hear what she wants from us exactly, I don't think," the scholar says.

"Unless doing so gives her time to work more magic," the captain of the guard responds.

"Perhaps," the spymaster says, "but it is always best to act with more information rather than less. We shouldn't let the possibility that maybe something we don't understand works in a way disadvantageous to us get in the way of what we do understand."

"Fine, then," the Count says, "you want us to join the fight against Golgoth. You've said as much already. Elaborate, then. What haven't you told us?"

>wat do?

>>25518729
"As you said yourself, you oppose the invasion of Margell. That is good. Now, the problem is that Gigan and Kestis apparently decided to sell out their neighbor to Golgoth instead of putting aside their petty squabbles and facing the common enemy together. What is happening now is that they are being completely outmatched by the Golgothan forces who are managing to secure most of the valuable land, and if Gigan and Kestis do not receive aid now to seize critical strongholds they will stand no chance when Golgoth turns against the rest of Margell. Including Sholta, of course. That is why you need to act now. Get in contact with Gigan and Kestis and coordinate to aid the war effort before it is too late. If you do not, these pathetic excuses for kings and their ceaseless infighting will be the last ones Margell will ever see."

>>25519191

The Count sighs. "We're aware of the situation. Do you really expect us to believe you went to all this trouble just to point out the obvious?"

"If Kestis or Gigan wanted to send another envoy, they could've just sent another envoy," the spymaster says, "this demon may mean to change your mind for you, or may have been sent by Golgoth. In any case, she's certainly not here just to make an offer that's been made a dozen times before."

"She did seem to be rather worried about being caught by her enemies," the scholar says.

"Then we should surrender to Golgoth now and throw ourselves at their mercy," the spymaster says, "if they really have informants so thorough they can record every person who moves in and out of this city and assassins so competent they can kill people in this castle at-will, we have no hope of defeating Golgoth in the first place, not if all of Margell united tomorrow. No one can fight an enemy who sees all and knows all."

Sighing with frustration, the Count says "put her head on a pike!" and raises his sword again. The guards rush forward.

>wat do?

>>25519685
Shadow form. Look for any indication of their weapons having been enchanted, the usual runes and such. If we see any, escape. If not, turn to the count ask him "you are aware of the situation, but you are not doing what needs to be done. Why?" He's probably not going to answer at this point, but a "probably not" is still worth doing.

>>25520002
Agreed, I'm starting to get sick of how short-sighted and idiotic these people are being. Even if we can convince them they probably aren't worth our time with how blatantly ignorant they behave.

>>25520104
Can't blame the Count for being pissed really. Having your mind tampered with isn't a lot of fun.

>>25520184
He'll be having a lot more fun with that once someone with Majesty is allowed inside the city and starts mind rapid their leadership into submission.

>>25520232
mind-raping*

Not a fun way to go for a mortal.

>>25520002
>>25520104

They show no sign of any enchanted weapons, but the Count isn't in much mood to respond as the guards' spears and pikes scratch against the wall. "Our plans are our own," is all he says, "begone or I shall summon those with the magics to kill a demon!"

>wat do?

>>25520267
"As you wish. You will have nobody to blame but yourselves if Golgoth perseveres."

And then with that we take our leave, heading back to Mari and making the journey back to Shorefall. Girdin shant be kept waiting.

>>25520326

Right.

How are you going to find Mari?

>>25520414
We...didn't tell her anywhere in particular to stay in did we? I guess we check back at the place we dropped her off and wait in relatively plain sight to see if she comes back.

>>25520414
Go corporeal in the area we left her, wander around until either we spot her or she spots us. Oh and watch the sky.

>>25520482
>>25520523

You wait around for several hours for Mari. She seems to have kept moving. She might be in the same area still (since she knows you won't be able to track her if she goes far), but she might also have gone further (since she knows the Count's hunters WILL be able to track her if she doesn't go far). It's close to noon, now, but the good news is there's no search parties out here in the woods yet, so the Count isn't pouring too many resources into catching Mari.

>wait longer, or do something else?

>>25520822
Keep waiting. We don't want to miss her. Also check in with our shade to see how Lark's doing.

>>25521173

Lark has been mostly hanging out on the island since the Caelum left. Just recently he mugged a farmer on his way to the market and managed to get some pocket change and a large cloak, which he used to buy passage to Arn. He's not really in the habit of thinking aloud unfortunately, so you don't know why, but probably he plans on chasing the Caelum. Your Shade has loyally dogged his heels.

The shadows are growing long when Mari does finally find you. You notice her from about fifty feet off, but then you're good at spotting people incoming. Mari is cautious, but once you identify yourself she's relieved. "What's going on? Are we leaving? Why are they looking for me anyway? Are they looking for me?"

>wat do?

>>25521511
Tell her that we aren't sure but doubt it. If anything Ivan might be looking for ourself soon. So we need to move. If she asks about what happened just say the negotiations with Sholta fell through.

Also give her the fun fact that Ivan's real name is Spectis.

>>25521736

With that, you and Mari set off for the relative safety of Shorefall City. You'll have to leave Mari behind for the last leg of the trip while you race ahead to meet Girdin in time. She should be fine for one night, though arranging a place to meet up would probably be wise so you don't burn a day looking for each other.

In any case, any mishaps during the journey (if any) as well as what happens when you arrive back at the cove is something that will be divulged next time, because right now I'm done for the night. Trickster Daemon Quest will return sometime 1200-1530ish server time tomorrow, follow @MCJohnnyQuest on twitter so that I can tweet you the quest start time.

>see you then