Cerebral Paladin
First Post
Dame Brionna proceeded to one of the many stalls nearby in the marketplace and purchased a heavy hemp sack, grossly overpaying in the process. Taking care to avoid touching any of the possibly tainted items and remnants directly, she put everything in the sack. She then gestured at one of the urchins who was still watching this process, agog, and asked him to run for a priest to purify these areas of the street. As the commoners in the square recovered from their shock, they began cheering and thanking Dame Brionna, in some cases approaching to feel the fringe of her tunic. She held up a hand for silence and then led the assembly through the standard Glor’diadelian post-battle prayer of thanksgiving. As she was finishing, the priest she had sent for hurried up to the location and began swinging a censor filled with an enormous amount of incense while chanting a prayer to purify the area from any abyssal taint. Later that night, the dog returned and performed a purification of his own: carefully urinating on the spot where the undead champion fell.
With the threat attended to and the people reassured, Dame Brionna flew back to the palace. She placed the remains in a sanctified, secured room and posted a guard to ensure that it would not be disturbed. She then asked Father Waters to examine it. He listened to her description and then sent for one of the Archbishop’s experts on the undead without even waiting to look at the bones and weaponry himself.
Dame Brionna gave an in person report to the rest of the council. About twenty minutes later, a page stuck his head in. “The Reverend Canon Yang to see you, your grace.”
The clergyman entered, bowed perfunctorily, and launched into his report. “It was an abyssal incholate.” He lay down a small sapphire. “This is its gem. Drained-- I’ve never seen that before.”
“Who was it working for?” asked Kit.
“Normally, an abyssal incholate can only be working for an abyssal knight. Rumor has it that there is an abyssal knight on this plane.” Canon Yang named the molydeus beneath Brightspan.
Alistair nodded. “That makes some sense. But what can you tell us about incholates in general? I fear we are not well informed about them.”
“Incholates are powerful warriors, in general. They take a powerful warrior and pour its life out, so they have a shell that is still alive but without what is actually living.”
Kit interrupted. “Where does it go, dare I ask?”
“To whatever plane it belongs on, Dame Knight. Then they pour an abyssal spirit in. It is not a possession and cannot be expelled, because no native spirit remains present. The abyssal spirit in this case was a powerful warrior, what used to be called a fourth order demon. It was destroyed by the holiness of the lance, but the lance also drained the incholate power. That could now be released in a blast of energy, stripped of the unholiness, but still powerful. Absorbing the force could have shattered the weapon, but it is now stored in a one time only blast.
“The principal question is, what did it want? Normally, incholates are used for three purposes: to spread plague; to seek information; or to seek out and destroy a particular person. When one is bound to one of these missions, the lifespan is bound to the mission. We can safely discard plague: if that were the incholate’s mission, it would never have been in the marketplace. I suspect it was sent to kill someone. The knight knows that his grace is secure, as long as he remains on ground held by Canberry, unless of course he is slain by someone he loves. It could have been hunting a member of the household, but again, that would not explain its location. I suggest that it would be wise for a careful search of the market for someone who at one time performed a great service for the Archduchy or betrayed the knight.”
“Was the sword unholy?” asked Dame Brionna.
“Indeed. The blade is a souldrinker. It is not of terribly good workmanship but still dangerous.”
“So it lets some of the soul dribble while drinking it?” asked Kit.
The canon raised an eyebrow at the metaphor, but then nodded. “A reasonable statement.”
“Any clues as to who made it?” asked Alistair.
“The abyssal knight, your grace. He had to have. It was being worn by his incholate. We do have an advantage now. The advantage is: one knight; one incholate; at one time. Because the incholate has been destroyed, the abyssal knight will be without this tool for some time. But we should still be alert. If the attack was a matter of revenge, it may have been a throw away effort. If it was somebody who has done a service to the Archduchy in the past, then why would it bother? But if it is one who will do a great service in the future, than the abyssal knight will try again.”
“I don’t know that it intended to begin fighting when it did,” said Kit. “That may have been triggered by one of the Archduke’s agents who noticed it and then provoked it.”
“Ah. It was uncovered prematurely. That increases the likelihood that it was sent to wait for someone.”
The Council thanked Canon Yang and dismissed him. Kit snapped open her fan and reached out to contact the dog.
<<Oh, mistress! Shiny woman come just like you said she would. Shiny woman kill him.>>
<<She’s my friend, and a good knight.>>
<<Mistress has good friends.>>
<<Can you go where you found him and sit?>>
<<Yes, mistress.>>
Kit then sent Alvin to find the dog and send a picture of where he is. Alvin sent back a picture of a third-rate hedge witch’s shop. The signage indicated that it was the shop of “Deitricha.” A very old lady sat in the shop, doing a brisk business in salves, potions, and poultices. From what they could see, she appeared to be licensed and above-board. Kit ordered Alvin and the dog to remain outside Deitricha’s shop, remaining discreet and looking for anything that appeared out of the ordinary.
With the threat attended to and the people reassured, Dame Brionna flew back to the palace. She placed the remains in a sanctified, secured room and posted a guard to ensure that it would not be disturbed. She then asked Father Waters to examine it. He listened to her description and then sent for one of the Archbishop’s experts on the undead without even waiting to look at the bones and weaponry himself.
Dame Brionna gave an in person report to the rest of the council. About twenty minutes later, a page stuck his head in. “The Reverend Canon Yang to see you, your grace.”
The clergyman entered, bowed perfunctorily, and launched into his report. “It was an abyssal incholate.” He lay down a small sapphire. “This is its gem. Drained-- I’ve never seen that before.”
“Who was it working for?” asked Kit.
“Normally, an abyssal incholate can only be working for an abyssal knight. Rumor has it that there is an abyssal knight on this plane.” Canon Yang named the molydeus beneath Brightspan.
Alistair nodded. “That makes some sense. But what can you tell us about incholates in general? I fear we are not well informed about them.”
“Incholates are powerful warriors, in general. They take a powerful warrior and pour its life out, so they have a shell that is still alive but without what is actually living.”
Kit interrupted. “Where does it go, dare I ask?”
“To whatever plane it belongs on, Dame Knight. Then they pour an abyssal spirit in. It is not a possession and cannot be expelled, because no native spirit remains present. The abyssal spirit in this case was a powerful warrior, what used to be called a fourth order demon. It was destroyed by the holiness of the lance, but the lance also drained the incholate power. That could now be released in a blast of energy, stripped of the unholiness, but still powerful. Absorbing the force could have shattered the weapon, but it is now stored in a one time only blast.
“The principal question is, what did it want? Normally, incholates are used for three purposes: to spread plague; to seek information; or to seek out and destroy a particular person. When one is bound to one of these missions, the lifespan is bound to the mission. We can safely discard plague: if that were the incholate’s mission, it would never have been in the marketplace. I suspect it was sent to kill someone. The knight knows that his grace is secure, as long as he remains on ground held by Canberry, unless of course he is slain by someone he loves. It could have been hunting a member of the household, but again, that would not explain its location. I suggest that it would be wise for a careful search of the market for someone who at one time performed a great service for the Archduchy or betrayed the knight.”
“Was the sword unholy?” asked Dame Brionna.
“Indeed. The blade is a souldrinker. It is not of terribly good workmanship but still dangerous.”
“So it lets some of the soul dribble while drinking it?” asked Kit.
The canon raised an eyebrow at the metaphor, but then nodded. “A reasonable statement.”
“Any clues as to who made it?” asked Alistair.
“The abyssal knight, your grace. He had to have. It was being worn by his incholate. We do have an advantage now. The advantage is: one knight; one incholate; at one time. Because the incholate has been destroyed, the abyssal knight will be without this tool for some time. But we should still be alert. If the attack was a matter of revenge, it may have been a throw away effort. If it was somebody who has done a service to the Archduchy in the past, then why would it bother? But if it is one who will do a great service in the future, than the abyssal knight will try again.”
“I don’t know that it intended to begin fighting when it did,” said Kit. “That may have been triggered by one of the Archduke’s agents who noticed it and then provoked it.”
“Ah. It was uncovered prematurely. That increases the likelihood that it was sent to wait for someone.”
The Council thanked Canon Yang and dismissed him. Kit snapped open her fan and reached out to contact the dog.
<<Oh, mistress! Shiny woman come just like you said she would. Shiny woman kill him.>>
<<She’s my friend, and a good knight.>>
<<Mistress has good friends.>>
<<Can you go where you found him and sit?>>
<<Yes, mistress.>>
Kit then sent Alvin to find the dog and send a picture of where he is. Alvin sent back a picture of a third-rate hedge witch’s shop. The signage indicated that it was the shop of “Deitricha.” A very old lady sat in the shop, doing a brisk business in salves, potions, and poultices. From what they could see, she appeared to be licensed and above-board. Kit ordered Alvin and the dog to remain outside Deitricha’s shop, remaining discreet and looking for anything that appeared out of the ordinary.