Song and sunshine weave together as you feel the soft wind like Syala's gentle caress.
One thing you've found about your realm is that at times, a gentle breeze blows from Dweomerheart. This breeze brings magic, often no more than a cantrip's effects. Lights, phantom sounds, enhanced taste for food and drink and more all come from this occurrence.
You sit in the warm light of your private quarters. At the window Antenora sits, perched on the windowsill. She wears a gauzy gown of silken white, ethereal and often transparent in the light. The dress of a summer fantasy, of beauty too delicate to grasp outside of a treasured moment in time. Here Antenora sings a song of profound beauty.
It is a song that only uses a few words of Celestial. The first few words of a sentence and no more, meaning only hinted at before she sings pretty words that mean nothing in any language. Nothing more than beautiful sounds. Yet you begin to understand as you listen, your own lawful nature in natural resonation with it. You find yourself able to grasp Antenora's meaning without words, only the intent. It is a song of righteousness and love, one that sings of selfless love's ability to overcome the darkest night.
Words are not needed with that profound love and the joy it brings. Words are not needed when absolute order brings structure to love. It is joined by radiant sparkles of light. Opal blue, bright gold.
The fate of Creation rests on your shoulders and those of the other nodes. Yet in this moment you are at peace. For now the battles that await you seem distant.
Go ahead and set yourself up with this. This is purely a chance to stretch your legs and get yourself going with Alicia.
If you wish to include Marie feel free.
While her voice may be pleasing to the ear, Alicia lacks Antenora's sense of melody and rhythm so any contribution of her own would only mar the song being sung. She's happy to listen however, as much as she listens to so much else in the form of prayers from across Creation and sounds of Sylica for miles around and the steady undercurrent of rising tension that leaves her feeling taut as a freshly strung bow.
Antenora's song is a nice distraction from that.
Shar.
Shar.
Shar.
Whispers of shadows.
Prayers of salvation from the night.
The preparations for a war that may well be Creation's last.
Antenora's song is the counterpoint to all of that, and yet it is your own vigilance that is rewarded. A single invocation of your name. Routine, a prayer to you in its most basic form. A flash, an image. A simple guardsman of Mercia, a former mortal now in the form of a lantern archon. But this archon is perceptive and in the right place at the right time. One of Mercia's city squares. It's full of people going - both those living life and those that prepare.
An image. An unremarkable mercane. But he subtly, every so subtly, takes out a glass vial. A long finger goes to uncork it as you see with it is something a wretched green. Something about it is wrong, something about it turns your stomach. It's just begun to leak from the vial, just begun indeed.
Alicia trusts her instincts. Something nasty enough to turn her stomach must be dealt with immediately and can't be trusted to more subtle or indirect means.
A word of magic interrupts Antenora's song and then she's gone.
Quickened maximised time stop and then teleport to the square next to the archon.
Can I identify the substance with portfolio sense (purification is relevant maybe?) or a skill check? Can take 10 for 72 on spellcraft or arcana.
edit: Also clearsight and see magic are go for what they can give me about the mercane.
You can tell it is poison. A vile poison of death, of the undead. A spreading plague that would turn any it touches into the undead and may even harm spiritual beings. A terrible, terrible poison. Aerial, the wind would spread it of its own accord.
The mercane is merely a mercane. He has nondetection active on himself but hardly remarkable, no better than what perhaps a talented but unremarkable mortal may manage. You could do far better before you ascended. There's no magic on him, yet...he's not in his right mind. He moves subtly off. Someone who has had their free will compromised, someone enchanted, charmed or otherwise dominated, in spite of there being no magic on him.
Someone with the skills to control such a person with words alone is a fearful thing, but it is known.
She repositions near the mercane and uses her dance of the unicorn ability to create a cleansing mist throughout the square that purifies all poisons.
Then when time resumes she neutralises the poison directly with divine power while her divine aura extends just a few feet around her, enough to include the mercane but no one else.
Dance of the Unicorn should work regardless but just in case doing the neutralise poison which I have to do after time resumes because I can't affect a held object until then.
DC 51 will negates.
Divine aura is set to daze, DC 32 will negates.
> roll 1d20+11
<Rei-chan> Kotono rolled : 1d20+11 --> [ 1d20=8 ]{19}
> roll 1d20+11
<Rei-chan> Kotono rolled : 1d20+11 --> [ 1d20=8 ]{19}
Consistent.
Just in time. Your power is enough to neutralize the poison - you see it dissolve in Dance of the Unicorn, your spell potent enough and your followup enough to still what remains. The mercane stares at you blankly a long moment, not seeming to see anything at all. For the moment at least, Sylica seems safe.
As soon as that's done, Alicia teleports herself and the mercane elsewhere. Sylica has its dungeons, and not the fun ones Syala makes to test people's skills in, but the ones where they put people who don't deserve their liberty.
Hopefully no one enjoying their day in Mercia need know how close they were to disaster.
DC 47 will to resist being teleported.
Meanwhile one of her avatars will join Antenora to explain her sudden departure.
> roll 1d20+11
<Rei-chan> Kotono rolled : 1d20+11 --> [ 1d20=5 ]{16}
Antenora understands and merely asks one thing. "Do you require my aid in this matter?"
Meanwhile the dazed mercane is taken right to the dungeons without any complications. He looks around slowly, as if some mild change of scenery that merits no special commentary.
"Yes, a mercane tried to unleash a virulent poison in Mercia. I think he'd been manipulated into it rather than magically compelled, but the outcome is similar. There's two obvious suspects of course, but who knows how many others? I could use your help in getting to the truth of things," Alicia says to Antenora via avatar proxy.
Meanwhile her real self with the aid of the guards at the dungeon ensures the mercane is stripped of anything dangerous and put into confinement, her aura no longer deployed.
In an instant Antenora is at your side as the dazed mercane is taken into the dungeon. His reactions are too muted. It's obvious now he's been influenced, more and more apparent by the second. Your daze has a large part of it at the moment, but this still isn't right.
Talona is the most obvious, but who else do you have in mind before I seek the truth from him?
Yarus would want to strike back at us after his capture and we know he's interested in poisons.
Of course.
I lament that Creation is so plagued by evil that so many possibilities come to mind.
With that Antenora heads into his cell. Are you going to participate in this at all or let Antenora work on her own?
She'll sit in to ask any relevant questions that come to her.
Also that lantern archon can receive a lucky deific gift! A permanent +2 competence bonus to perception should be in line.
It is simple to do. You feel the connection settle in place, the reward given. It fits the archon, an enhancement to him directly.
Antenora kneels next to the mercane, who sits there, in a daze still. She lays a hand on his forehead. Magic. Divine will. Analysis of his body and spirit. "Oh." Antenora breathes out. "Cruel. Crude. Butchery." She lists those off slowly, "I will restore and regrow the parts of your brain that were removed."
The mercane obeys, seemingly still dazed as Antenora's aura overtakes him.
Lobotomy. A particularly vile art of mind modification through removal of parts of the brain. Most effective on mortals, but sufficient skill can make it work on far more. I've heard of master pain devils that delve into such arts. It requires great skill in the medical arts and surgery, and as magic does it far safer and better, it is a rare art to see.
"Parts of his brain were cut out?" Alicia asks, revolted.
I only saw briefly before I had to intervene, but he was being subtle. Careful, like someone who understood the importance of his actions and the necessity to not be seen. Not the actions of an automaton.
Strange and stranger. Thank you, I fear I may have made a mistake otherwise.
In a moment Syala is there as well, kneeling with Antenora. "This won't be pleasant," she warns. "Imagine a brain sliced up and incomplete, like a half eaten wheel of cheese. If either of you wish to look away, now is the time."
Alicia has seen worse.
She's even had to slice up a few giant sized ambulatory brains in her time.
A tap on the forehead and a spell. The mercane's head opens up like a series of blocks, moving aside of their own will. His skull does the same, revealing his brain within. Indeed, chunks throughout are gone. Rather like someone scooped out helpings of gray matter, leaving it like holey cheese. Despite this the mercane does not show any signs of harm or discomfort.
You can see it. Strange, swirl-like symbols of tiny size are carved into the brain that remains, often within the recesses where gray matter has been removed. In other places tiny filaments of glass and steel have been installed, often with a tiny, near invisible metal thread that connects to another such. Often visible lightning runs along these threads.
"What manner...?" Antenora murmurs.
> roll 1d20+73 Syala (+15 divine inspiration) HEal check
<Rei-chan> Kotono rolled : 1d20+73 Syala (+15 divine inspiration) HEal check --> [ 1d20=11 ]{84}
"Have you ever wondered why lightning can momentarily paralyze or cause your body not to respond properly?" Syala mentions as she examines it. "It's a little known fact that some of the brain's biology involves a tiny fraction of electricity. In those cases the electricity going through you overwhelms what's already there to cause it. This is a gross perversion of the concept. Whomever did this is sublimely talented. It's almost a shame they'll have to face judgment for their sins, the work is exceptional."
"That narrows down our pool of possibilities," Antenora states as Syala continues to examine the mercane's brain. "And if I take your meaning, you mean that these wires and lightning overwrote normal behavior?"
"I believe so." A slow click of her tongue, "I believe Ebony once mentioned that Canderella has a passing familiarity with these arts, but to more...enjoyable ends." Clearing her throat, Syala continues. "I'd want to consult with perhaps her and Jetina. I believe Jetina has the sort of background knowledge in this that may be well suited to this. I don't think Latha does, she's always been focused on magical healing, but her senses may well be useful as well."
"How did he even survive the surgery and modification?" Antenora asks curiously, "Brain injuries are so often debilitating or lethal. A wise torturer knows well to be careful of such things."
With a slow look over, "Talent and perhaps magical support." A comment at that, "Sometimes I forget your previous affiliation and the unique insights it lends us."
"Be grateful this knowledge can be put to productive ends," Antenora says with no embarrassment, "...are you going to..." she gestures at the head and skull blocks.
"Brain or bone, a regenerate spell doesn't care," Alicia says, as ever full of confidence in the boundless potential of magic.
"But still, where is the electricity coming from?"
No magic on the brain that I can see? This doesn't count as a magic item? I can do spellcraft things with?
None.
"I'm not sure," Syala says, "Between that and needing to study the work, I'm going to do this slowly and carefully. I suspect the metal itself is some sort of rare material, or it's somehow using the brain's energy to generate it." With a grimace, "I don't trust that there's no traps."
Syala pauses a moment, blows out a breath. "Give me an hour or two and we should have more answers. Whomever did this is distinctive, I doubt there's many who can do this in Creation. It may well be a clue to the culprit, this manner of work is rare and speaks of surpassing skill."
"It would stand to reason there may be a stealthy trap if this work is a telltale sign," Antenora concedes, "Will you need help?"
"No," Syala declares, "Just time."
"We'll let you work on it for now, but regardless there are spells to probe the memory that we can try whatever the outcome," Alicia says as she peers at the curious fusion of biology and mechanics. "Whatever's done to the flesh, the soul still remembers."
Honestly, after Violet she's getting remarkably sick of people producing these mind-wiped disposable trouble-makers to throw at her. If she wanted someone to detonate a bomb on Avernus she could manipulate them to do it a lot more simply without leaving any trace back to herself, it's like people are addicted to complexity.
"Yes," Syala agrees, then stops. "Also, it wasn't just us. I asked Jetina a question and she said Hope's Landing had someone like this, with the same mental alterations. They stopped him too, if just."
Antenora's quiet a few moments to mull that before, "A coordinated attack? Unless it's a misdirection, what enemies do we share?"
"Someone with a lot of time and expertise to do this kind of work on multiple occasions," Alicia says. "We already have our obvious candidates, but lets not lose ourselves in baseless speculation. Once we've recovered this person's mind then we can work on some actual facts."
> roll 1d20+73 Syala (+15 divine inspiration) Heal check
<Rei-chan> Kotono rolled : 1d20+73 Syala (+15 divine inspiration) Heal check --> [ 1d20=9 ]{82}
An hour passes before Syala emerges. In a wooden container sits a pile of those threads as she comes out, carried by Syala. "He's restored," she announces, "Go on, you can stir and talk to him whenever you're ready. I took the liberty of applying a spell to soothe his mind in case he has trauma. He probably does. We can skip the break down in tears or screams part of this interrogation."
"For the best," Alicia agrees, going in with Antenora to see what they can learn from their unfortunate mercane.
He lies on a bed that's new to the room. His eyes are open and watch you as you enter.
"Thank you," The first words out of his mouth are filled with gratitude. "It's over. The nightmare's over."
"There are no nightmares here," Antenora agrees, going to his bedside. A chair appears from nowhere as she rests. "I am Antenora and that's Alicia. What happened?"
A slow gulp, "Honored patrons of Sylica. Thank you." A beat before he continues. "We traveled back from a trading venture in Air," The mercane begins, "We had taken a portal to the Astral to visit either gith traders or the Cauldron, or maybe both. We hadn't decided yet. As we took a rest to decide, we were beset by a sudden attack. Yugoloths." A soft shudder goes through him. "Mercenary yugoloths."
"Redundancy," Antenora notes wryly.
"Yes," Almost a smile, almost a moment of rest before he goes on. "In short we lost the battle and I was beaten into unconsciousness. The cell I awoke in was cold. It was so cold there. The air was thin. Dark stone, dirty dark stone. No manacles or shackles. The door were layers of dagger like rib bones that only opened to the ones there. Each to a last clad in full body coverings. Robes mostly, but some wore layers or armor. No faces, only masks. Masks of the dead, of rotting faces, of fiends. They didn't speak much, but I did catch them using Abyssal once or twice when they thought I couldn't hear. I have good ears."
Antenora smiles at that observation, "That's helpful. Go on."
As he seems to be a victim in all of this, Alicia has her 'comforting face' on rather than her 'threatening face'. Trusting Antenora to see through any lies in the tale she listens to what he says, nodding along at Antenora's prompt for him to go on.
"Eventually they took me elsewhere. I can't tell you of the trip, they blindfolded me and the sounds were those of.." a pause. "I remember the smell. Rotted meat. Have you ever battled zombies in a cold climate? I had the displeasure and the smell was similar. There weren't many sounds. The occasional moan. A snap of what may have been bone once."
A pause. Distant pain. An echo of it on his face as Antenora rests her hand over his. "Courage."
That hand is taken. "It was a chamber. Not too large but I got glimpses of the walls. They were engraved stone. A skeletal face with horns was common. Some horrid demon, grossly fat. I was bound by chains and unable to move." A squeeze of Antenora's hand. "I only saw one person, the person who...worked on me. The thing. Tall and lanky, it wore a white smock of sorts and was badly bloodstained. Old bloodstains and new. Undead, it was rotting. It had this blade it used to cut into me."
A pause for breath. "It loved what it did. Sometimes it laughed and spoke in a language I don't know. Sometimes it shivered as I bled and paused to lick the blood up. Other times it recoiled from its own work or grew excited, chanting to itself at a maniac pace. A few times I believed it even touched itself. Then it began to dig into my brain. I don't easily remember much after that. My thoughts weren't my own once it started to add things to my brain. Metal wires."
Honestly, undead in cold climates are far more pleasant to face than undead in warm climates. Tropical undead are the worst. The dryness of the desert usually scours away the worst of it, and the sulphurous stench of volcanic regions masks many other sins. But oh, nothing is worse than fighting a wet rotting corpse surrounded by bloating flies in an otherwise verdant jungle, the smell of rot mixing with sweet fruits and flowers...
Well. Best not to dwell on it, really.
"It's alright. Those wires are gone. Your mind and body are your own once more," she speaks. "You never did tell us your name?"
Distracting him with that prompt she reads his mind. Seeing this creature and hearing its voice for herself to see if she can identify it.
Using a miracle to emulate probe thoughts, DC 51 will negates.
Take 10 for 107 on knowledge religion to identify the undead, buffed up with divine insight and guidance of the avatar.
Not resisting so no save.
You see it. Tall, lanky is right. Filthy blonde hair that's too long. Human-like on a glance but its eyes are black. It wears a bloodied smock and goes from rapt interest to fury to a dozen other emotions. A dead thing, a rotting body given form.
You know this thing. Pardol, a servant of Orcus. Obscure if known, one said to have long ago been some sort of mortal doctor. It's said he mostly keeps a low profile and works on his insane experiments. Notably unstable and uncontrolled, but that's not really a drawback in Thanatos unless you irritate Orcus or a rival strong enough to kill you.
This isn't quite his normal MO, he tends not to openly provoke too often, but he's unstable enough it's 100% within his abilities. Or if he was commanded to do it, one supposes.
She lets Antenora and Syala know while allowing the mercane to provide his name and continue his tale.
Our brain-butcher is probably Pardol. Servant of Orcus. Matches the iconography described. Of course it's all easily faked too.
"I don't remember much else until then, just a blur. I can clarify anything you want. My name is Barnen." He answers.
Of course it is. I'm trying to square why Orcus would pick a fight with us.
It could be unrelated to Orcus. A mad dog may lash out for whatever reason it likes. But...it doesn't make as much sense with Hope's Landing being attacked too.
Perhaps Orcus owes someone a favour? We're not exactly popular down there.
"Thank you Barnen, you've already been very helpful."
Even if he doesn't consciously remember, probe thoughts can access suppressed or hidden memories, so she'll see if it can find his memory of entering Sylica in there.
It can.
He enters Sylica through the planar boundary with Elysium. He simply enters with others, part of the crowd. Anonymity through participation. There's nothing remarkable about it. But you do notice something. His tells of being mind controlled aren't there at first, but as he goes, they slowly become more notable.
What is he thinking at that point?
What is he thinking when he takes out the poison?
He's thinking that he can complete his task in both cases.
A steady sense of determination with just the slightest bit of giddiness.
That master Pardol will be pleased.
Does he know what the poison will do?
After ascertaining that she looks back at older memories, of the surgeries to see if they match what he told them, and of Pardol giving him his orders.
And when he learned Pardol's name.
Something that will please master, he suspects, but you get a sense it's not important. Not truly in his right mind like this.
They all match. Once it's done Pardol caresses the mercane's face with both hands, smearing blood all over his cheeks. He stares into the mercane's eyes. The eyes turn with the fires of madness as he whispers how beautiful his mind is now. How he'll do what he needs to do. How he'll watch them all suffer and die. How the realm of that filthy whore will burn for it. How she won't compete with him for master's dark attention.
The orders come, whispered into the mercane's ear like a secret shared between gossiping girls. Follow where you are lead. Go to Sylica. Mercia. Open and spread the vial you are given. He'll make him proud. Please him. Please Pardol. They'll be together again if he's good and he'll again show his favor by sculpting his brain and flesh. His beautiful body. A masterpiece to be made, to be changed. So many beautiful changes to be made.
Any other memories referring to said filthy whore that can give better context as to which one of Sylica's deities has garnered Orcus's attention?
Nothing, Pardol doesn't go into that sort of detail, unfortunately.
Was he given any instruction for what to do after unleashing the poison?
Obviously he wasn't expected to survive but she's still curious if anything's in there.
Also did he see any other captives suffering the same fate?
No instructions beyond that. Not that it seemed to bother the mercane in the state he was in.
Nope, no other captives seen, but as he was held in a cell there was hardly much chance.
"It's clear in any case that you meant no harm yourself and were the victim of another party," she says aloud after her scan through his thoughts. "Where is your home? We can send you there."
And to Antenora and Syala? His memories check out with his story. Pardol is apparently jealous of some attention someone here has garnered from Orcus. Have either of you had any issues with him lately I never heard about?
"A small house in the Consortium," The mercane answers, then bows. "I owe you and yours a great debt. If I can ever repay it..."
Not at all, beyond the usual anyway.
I've heard he's unstable. This may not be the actions of a rational creature.
I despise that answer, but I must confess it would fit such a loathsome being.
"Perhaps we'll have occasion to call that debt one day, but for now go forward in peace," Alicia says, opening a gate for him to where he wants to go.
And checking with the other three goddesses.
Not me, but I think this is blowback from other activities you've done recently. Someone called in a favour, Orcus agitated one of his unstable minions in the right direction, all without seeming to order anything directly. Saves him from getting off his throne.
Entirely possible, Marie. That fits just as well.
In practice I don't think it matters much for our response. What I'm chewing over is why Hope's Landing was also attacked, but I've heard nothing else of other instances.
Shall I investigate this, sister? If Pardol has attracted any attention or made any moves recently, I can find out. If Orcus has tipped his hand, I may well be able to find that too.
'I confess I have nothing that comes to mind, beyond a general opposition to Orcus. We've had other problems,' Latha chimes in for her part.
If you can spare the time, Jessica. And consult with Hope's Landing to see if they uncovered anything different from what we did.
As Jessica is surely off? Antenora comes to your side.
"The timing could be better," she confesses in a low voice to you. "But odds are in our favor Orcus won't respond fast to any provocations short of extreme. Also Syala's right, we're missing one piece here, the reason why both of us were attacked and not just Sylica or just Hope's Landing."
The two of them return back to Liberton and privacy - perhaps with Syala if she was nearby too.
"We just can't afford to respond to the provocation right now," she admits. "Greater matters are in play and we can't risk being indisposed fighting battles in the Abyss."
At the moment it's just you and Antenora. She sits, smoothing her dress before, "I agree - but. If we can strike at Pardol quickly and without great risk of a war, I see no reason not to do it. We can't let this go unaddressed, and if it does give us an opportunity...unless, of course, that's the entire plan and it's to have us incur Orcus's wrath and be distracted."
At that Syala catches up, appearing into the room and sitting next to Antenora. "You're thinking like a devil, Antenora, not a demon."
"Heaven forbid I think like a demon," Antenora's retort lacks heat to it, but instead, "It may be best to see what Moore turns up as does Jessica."
"No, I agree," Alicia shakes her head. "Whoever orchestrated this, I don't think it was Orcus at the first step. But it would certainly benefit them for us to be so busily distracted and dealing with an escalating conflict with Thanatos. Sometimes you just have to bite your tongue."
"For reference, Shar is suspect number 1 but hardly the only one," Antenora says, "Talona could be behind it, or a dozen other enemies we've made and the timing is either opportunistic or coincidental. In the latter it really is nothing more than bad luck." She's quiet a few moments after that, as if lost in thought.
"Well?" Syala asks.
"I'm asking Moore how his end goes, in case that illuminates this further," Antenora answers. "Let's see. Another mercane victim, innocent, and likely part of the same group that was captured. Moore did have a small conflict with Orcus semi recently."
"Us being a diversion for an attack on Moore is plausible but doesn't fit with Pardol's ravings about Sylica specifically," Alicia says. "But yes, I suspect Shar as the primary motive here, or one of her underlings. Talona and the Nameless Lying Demon are also potential movers of something like this who'd have the necessary pull with Orcus."
"I think we may have gotten lucky this time," Antenora says at last, "We countered Pardol's tricks rather than jumping to conclusions." Drumming her fingers, "No matter who is behind this, and I'd like to know who very much, I think that last bit clinches it. It's a distraction. Maybe from Shadow but maybe from something else. Either way..."
"If Pardol's an easy target we can consider it then," Syala points out.
"Or worry about it later, when things have calmed down. We just can't spare the time or resource to get entangled in tit for tat," Alicia concludes.
Okay, give me a d100 while I get Moore to catch up a bit. I don't think he needs more than a post or two.
[19:46] <@Ebiris> roll 1d100
[19:46] <Rei-chan> Ebiris rolled : 1d100 --> [ 1d100=32 ]{32}
Soon Jessica returns. "I'm back, sister," she announces as you look up at her presence. "We found Pardol."
"That was fast," Alicia says, surprised.
"Maybe he wanted to be found?" Marie speculates. She's here now too!
"That very thought crossed my mind," Jessica agrees, taking a seat. She's not even dirty as she rests back, "Magma. A demiplane laboratory."
"So how did you find it out? And what do you know about this demiplane he's set up on?" Alicia asks.
"The location helped," Jessica says, "With what's brewing in Fire with the Crimson Firebrand, news about Fire and connected planes is flowing fast and free." A moment to exhale as she rests, wings becoming shadowy things that cloak her, surround her in protective, warm darkness from her neck down. "Brokers are paying a premium for news from there too."
After a moment to let you absorb that, "The source is reliable, one of my best ones there, and ideologically sympathetic to righteousness. To the point that if things ever turn against them on Magma beyond tolerance, they have an open offer of refuge in Sylica. Anyway, Pardol brought a bunch of demons over and being demons, some of them went about and did demon things. The natives noticed."
Antenora's there in between blinks of the eye. "Are you shielding his identity?" she asks calmly. She's in her full armor now, her spear nowhere to be seen.
"Yes," Jessica bows her head, "I'll tell you if you ask of course, but they're in a somewhat delicate position. It's good sense to protect their identity because of that."
"I know, I didn't mean you didn't trust us," Antenora says gently, "But I know well the reasons why someone may keep their identity a secret. It's good spycraft to do that, within reason."
"It's fine, knowing the source's name makes no difference to me," Alicia says. "But still. Very odd. Why isn't Pardol in Thanatos where he'd be far safer from reprisal? To make himself a more tempting target? Has the feel of bait."
"To play, ah... devil's advocate," Marie speaks up, looking appropriately contrite about her phrasing, "He could be there to escape Orcus's notice if he's doing an off the books operation. His ravings suggest this is motivated by personal spite over Orcus's attention not being where he wants it to be. Of course it's easy to put on a performance for someone you know is going to be captured and mind-read, so I'm not saying it's not bait."
Antenora smiles at Marie's particular turn of phrase. "Regardless, it's very well reasoned. Yes, it may well show to bait to any with a mind, but it's logical you infer it's not on some analysis."
"It's interesting but does it change our calculus?" Jessica asks simply, "Or even with the thought we may well want to spring this particular trap?"
"If it's a trap for us, lets not spring it ourselves," Alicia says. "We can use intermediaries. Marie, since you had so many better ideas last time we got entangled with the Abyss, I'll leave this one to you. Show how tricky you can be."
"At last!" Marie crows. "Jessica, tell me exactly where that demiplane's entrance is? I'll whip something up. I might need some material resources from you as well Alicia, but I can handle this."
So things can be skimmed/handwaved as necessary, Marie is going to pose herself as an inevitable (with appropriate knowledge check to choose an obscure one likely to have a grudge against Pardol) and recruit some mercenaries/rouse up some natives, buff them with spells and bardsong and have them storm the demiplane to capture Pardol for her.
Okay. So I can coordinate any response, are you going to work with Moore's group at all with this?
It sounds like Kaja and Cresiel were going to smash the place themselves? Honestly if they do that she doesn't really need to do anything, but she'll ask that they hang back to let her try it her way, and if shit goes bad/the trap gets sprung they can come in as reserves.
Okay. Does that work for you, Moore?
All good here.