Advancement

[Ebiris]

"Please tell me more about these forces and magical defences," she asks. Malcanthet and Violet are certainly the main threat but she'd like to know what to watch for on the flanks.

[Anastasia]

"Legions of lesser demons and demons. As much as there are military forces, including incubi and hezrou in thrall to the succubi and Malcanthet," Is the answer, "A new balor leads them, his name is Scraladax. Good with a sword and better with an axe. The magical defenses are blasts of elemental magic and various beguilements and dispellings.""

[Ebiris]

Nothing particularly dangerous then. "Back to that secret way in you mentioned before. Who else knows about it?"

[Anastasia]

"Several of us...perhaps around a dozen total," Is the answer, "If that."

[Ebiris]

"Who is 'us'? Does Violet know?"

She's certain Violet knows and will operate on that assumption regardless but she wants to hear what he thinks.

[Anastasia]

A headshake, "W-we haven't told her, she'd probably fortify it and deny it to us," Robeaux says quickly.

"So you think she doesn't know?" Antenora challenges right back.

"S-she doesn't, as far as I know," Robeaux quickly insists.

"Hmmm." Antenora considers that a moment, "Tell me, demon. Violet manipulates memories and the Styx. How do you know what you say isn't a result of that and you are nothing but a pawn to be sacrificed?"

The silence stretches after that, Robeaux silent and ashen. "...I'm not," he finally says, weakly. "I'm not."

"You believe you aren't, you know you aren't as far as you know. It's true to the limits of your knowledge," Antenora considers.

[Ebiris]

"It's an elegant trap, isn't it?" Alicia agrees, smiling slightly. "Though perhaps less elegant and more terrifying from your perspective - what plans can be made for the future if your past isn't your own? It's fortunate you at least have a pre-existing reputation to compare against, but... you might not even be the real Robeaux. What was it you said earlier? Copies of knowledge and power and wisdom?"

[Anastasia]

"You may not even be anything more than a mane reforged, or a soul larvae," Syala agrees.

Robeaux's color is that of burnt ash, managing to stammer out, "I'm m-me! I remember my life!"

"A life. Robeaux's life, lived by you or perhaps another," Antenora concludes. "Something that defies easy analysis, since at heart it comes down to multiple blind guesses."

[Ebiris]

"It's not something we can easily test for right now, no," Alicia agrees. "Not until we see ourselves what's at Rosewater. Still, perhaps you ought to reconsider your immediate future plans and where the ideas for them really came from."

[Anastasia]

Robeaux is shaking, his head in his hands. He says not a word to that.

Antenora's expression softens visibly, tight lines giving way to gentle concern. "For the moment, you're safe here," she says.

Can we find a way to discern the truth of this?

[Ebiris]

Can we?

Like are there divinations that look into the physical past of a being rather than their memories?

As a deity can we look at a soul (even a non-worshipper) to see its past?

[Anastasia]

Yes, I'm sure there's divinations that could do it. I don't think there's any canon ones offhand, though it's possible there's something in a splatbook that would serve. At worst something homebrewed would do the job.

I'd be fine with trying to alter reality it that way, souls are what deities deal with, after all.

[Ebiris]

We can try brute forcing it with divinations. If there is a real Robeaux he's likely secured beyond reach of planar bindings.

"Antenora's right about your safety, and we can investigate your situation more thoroughly although you'll have to be patient," Alicia says to the tiefling. "Do you have any items on you that you regularly use? A weapon or protective piece of jewellery?" A Legend Lore could compare it against his memories, and Robeaux is powerful enough to count as a legendary figure for the spell to work with.

[Anastasia]

"This," A pendant with a small iron sphere is put down, "Golem's Tear." He takes a long, shaky breath, "It's powerful and old."

[Ebiris]

Marie teleports in at Alicia's behest and takes the sphere. "You'll get this back shortly," she says as the eladrin vanishes and hands it over to Alicia's avatar who now has to take some time casting legend lore on it.

[17:10] <@Ebiris> roll 1d4
[17:10] <Kobot> Ebiris rolled 1d4 --> [ 1d4=1 ]{1}

Fortunately she'll only take ten minutes. Syala, can you manage a legend lore on Robeaux here? If he's a ringer he won't have any legends, since the spell doesn't touch on his memories just his physical impact on reality.

"We're using legend lore to look at your objective impact on reality. A fake, no matter how convincing its own memories, does not have the same history and that's what this spell contacts."