Tooth and Claw, Part 36


After you've carefully considered the status of your agents in the other realms, you turn your attention to Rysanial. "I'm curious how your investigation into Elianna Imfiel went while I was gone," you say. "Did you learn anything useful about that heroine?"

Your succubus' eyes light up. "Oh, did I ever..." she says. "Including one particular tidbit that I'm sure you'll enjoy. A tidbit that not even that cleric herself knows about. But I'll save that one for last."

With the sinuous, seductive grace that comes as naturally to her as breathing, Rysanial uncoils from her chair to give her report. "The Holy Mother spends most of her time working at the orphanage she runs," she explains, spreading out a map of the city to show you what she's talking about. "That's where she sleeps, and most often you can find her in or around there."

Then Rysanial traces a path through the city with her finger, from that first building to a far larger one. "She also visits the Grand Cathedral to give sermons or to instruct some of the other clergy from time to time. Twice a week for her regular visits. Though they sometimes also call her for sudden emergencies, such as if they need her powers for a particularly difficult healing the other clerics can't handle."

You consider the two points on the map. "And I presume that the consecration of their Grand Cathedral's holy ground is significant?"

Rysanial shudders. "Older and stronger than any other holy ground I've ever encountered. I didn't even want to get close to it. It was making my skin crawl just observing it from a distance."

That would make approaching her there very difficult, though not technically impossible. With your abnormal Constitution and Willpower, you could probably handle moving about even there, without giving away any obvious signs. Though actually activating any of your demonic powers would still be impossible, and if you were caught it could go very bad, very quickly.

"And the consecration isn't their only defense," continues Rysanial. "They've posted guards at both the orphanage and the cathedral... and they don't allow anyone to enter without anointing them with holy water first. Even the children."

No doubt a precaution added as a counter to the shapeshifting powers you've demonstrated in past encounters. No matter what form you're in, holy water will still burn you.

"What about the other defenses?" you ask. "For instance, the secret guards that Mockingbird was hiring to keep an eye on the orphanage. Has she increased those?"

Rysanial shakes her head. "No. In fact, when I checked with the contacts I'd made during my previous investigation, they said that those guard shifts have been drastically reduced from what they used to be. Now it's usually just six hours, in the middle of the day."

Now that is interesting. You can only think of one reason why Mockingbird would respond to the appearance of an imminent threat by reducing her guards in that specific way... and that's if she was doing it herself instead. Just as Torild has joined forces with Emiko at her dojo over in Vekmar, so too do you suspect that Mockingbird is now directly involved with Elianna's day-to-day protection... whether the cleric realizes this or not.

That could make things much harder. Though if you're clever, it could also open the potential to tempt multiple heroines at a time. You glance down at your brand, and its four remaining runes. With your remaining time as limited as it is, having two heroines in the same place could be an invaluable boon, even with all the associated peril.

It all depends on how daring you want to be.

"Did you find any weaknesses we could exploit?" you ask.

"A few," the succubus replies. "I watched the nuns who work at the cathedral, and I eventually found one who seemed open to our temptation. I can give you her name, and where to find her. If you wanted someone on the inside, subverting her should be hardly any work at all."

Then Rysanial leans in, a devious smile on her face. "But that isn't even close to the best part. I wouldn't have found the most important secret if I hadn't already investigated Mockingbird too. But after looking into it from both sides... I managed to track down exactly how the two of them are connected."

A spark of excitement runs through you, as you prepare to reap the benefits of all the investigation you've done into this mystery. Why does Mockingbird launder the proceeds of her thefts to secretly donate to Elianna's work, in particular? Why did she join the pact of heroines immediately after the cleric did? Why has she spent so much effort, doing everything she can to protect the elf from the shadows?

At last, it's time for some answers to those questions.

Instead of giving you answers herself, however, the succubus snaps her fingers. "Bring her in!" she calls out, in a loud voice. A moment later a muscular orc enters, one hand on the shoulder of a very nervous young human woman dressed as a barmaid. At your inquisitive look, Rysanial explains. "Rather than my second-hand description, I brought back the witness I found, so you could see it for yourself. She'll let you visit her dreams—isn't that right, pet? Just search for her memories of 'Polly' and you'll see what I mean."

Now truly intrigued, you wait until the orc guard has led the human girl to an empty chair, pushing her down into it. She tries to shrink in on herself in a vain attempt to disappear from sight. Did she even begin to realize, when she naively followed her intoxicating new lover out of the city, just how far in over her head she would find herself by the end?

You give her a quick, reassuring smile. Then you focus your mind and silently request a willing dreamwalk. A request which she reluctantly accepts.

The world around you quickly fades away, replaced by the young woman's inner dreamscape. It doesn't take you long to call up the first of the memories that Rysanial told you to look for. You find yourself in the remembrance of a much younger version of the human, clearly well over a decade ago. You also find yourself among a group of many other children of various ages, all of them clustered around one elf woman in clerical robes.

This must be the orphanage. Which means that this elf must be Elianna herself.

It's hard to pull your eyes away. You can't remember ever seeing an elf who is quite so buxom and motherly before. There's a soft, tender aura to her, one that makes even you feel safe and welcomed, despite watching it from years in the future. Kindness suffuses everything she does, as she tirelessly works to provide for the children. Feeding them. Teaching them. Preparing them for the world.

Her long blonde hair is bound up tight in looping braids behind her head, a practical method of keeping it out of the way of her day-to-day efforts. And while elves stop virtually all of their physical aging at their peak, you can still see the ancient wisdom in her gray-blue eyes, from all the centuries she's lived through.

The children certainly seem enthralled by her presence. In particular, as you watch the memories play out, there is one girl who is inseparable from her. A halfling child—no more than four or five years old—who follows Elianna around like a tiny, quiet shadow. Often the child uses her fingertips to cling to the edge of the cleric's robes, as though it agitates her to be separated in any way.

They call her "Polly".

Most of the other children, however, are less than fond of her. You see many repeated memories of them angrily confronting Polly in private over missing toys or other random objects, which always seem to be found hidden in her possession. She always crumbles when actually faced with the evidence, promising never to do it again... but after the fourth or fifth time, the other children stop believing her.

In one memory, the dreamer you're inhabiting is one member of a group of older children who have cornered Polly in an alley near the orphanage, trying to recover a small wooden horse. The halfling child shrinks against the dirty wall behind her, clutching the toy tight to her chest as the larger children crowd around.

"I don't get why you're always doing this!" demands one of the boys in exasperation, causing Polly to shrink back even more. "You know we're gonna find out you have it. Everyone knows to look through your stuff now, whenever something goes missing. Why do you keep trying to get away with it?"

Polly opens her mouth, struggling to reply. But she can't find the words to describe it. You wonder if she even understands why she does it herself. Either way, she only grows more frightened, while the children cornering her only grow more frustrated at her inability to explain her actions.

"You know this is going to make things harder for Mother Imfiel, right?" another one of the older children asks, this time a halfling boy like her. "How's she supposed to find you a family that will take you in, if you're always doing this stupid stuff?"

That causes Polly's head to snap up. "I don't want to go to any other family!" she blurts out in agitation, with far more heat and force than you would have expected from the child. "The only mother I want is... is..."

Now it's one of the girls who speaks up. "You're acting selfish, Polly. You know none of us can stay here forever. One way or another, you will need to leave one day."

That comment, more than any of the others, sets Polly off. She clenches her eyes shut and shakes her head violently, as though she can negate the truth by the sheer force of her childish refusal to accept it. With a sob she pushes her way through the crowd moving with astonishing speed for one so small. The other children are caught unprepared for the sudden outburst, and they are unable to prevent her from escaping.

It goes on much like that for the next few years. Her thefts do increase in skill and daring, and she also increasingly focuses them outside the orphanage. Probably because Polly is desperate to keep Elianna from ever learning about her stealing compulsion... and she knows that it won't take long for even the other children's disapproval of "tattling" to wear thin.

It also probably doesn't hurt that the peddlers and traders in the marketplace have much more interesting trinkets than her fellow orphans ever did. She even lets the other children play with them when she loses interest... which is almost immediately, most of the time. It's clearly not about the items themselves for her. It's that simple need she feels to take... and the pulse-pounding thrill of pulling it off.

Until it all comes crashing down.

The final memory you find starts with angry shouting heard in a different room of the orphanage. Your dreamer runs toward it, wanting to know what's going on. Rounding a corner, she sees a terrified Polly hiding behind her beloved Mother Imfiel, clinging tight to her robes. The holy mother is facing down a man wearning merchant's clothes, flanked by several other men. Each of whom is far more muscular, far more menacing, and far better armed than he is.

"I know the brat took it!" one of the guards snarls. "She's the only one who could've!"

The cleric stands firm, utterly unintimidated by the thug. "Please, gentlemen," she says calmly, holding up her hands. "You're frightening the children. There's no need to make such a violent scene. I'm sure we can settle this by talking it out like civilized beings."

"We can settle this by your thieving half-girl returning the property she stole from me," retorts the merchant coldly. "And then we can see about taking the little bitch to the city guard. No one gets away with stealing from me. And I will have satisfaction before the day is through."

Elianna's gaze shifts from one man to the next, taking each of their measure in turn. Then she turns to look down at the trembling figure behind her, looking her in the eye. "Polly. Did you take anything that belongs to this man?"

"No!" The young girl is clearly scared out of her mind, nearly hyperventilating with fear. "No, no, I swear, Mother Imfiel! You have to believe me! I... I would never do anything like that!"

At that, the cleric turns back to the men looming over her. "Any accusations you wish to bring against this child, you may address to me," she says, her voice like cold steel. "And I will endeavor to settle the matter to your satisfaction. But you shall not lay one finger on her."

"Fuck that!" says the merchant. "I'm not here to take some fucking payoff under the table to hush me up. I'm here to make sure it's known that nobody messes with my business without paying the price. And believe me... that little half-girl is going to pay."

He takes a step forward, trying his best to look intimidating. And while Elianna is utterly unmoved, Polly behind her jerks backward, stumbling further away from him in a panic. This lasts for a few steps, until her back hits the far wall. And at the impact... something hidden in her smock dislodges, tumbling out to roll across the floor.

The dreamer remembering this scene can't see exactly what it is through the crowd of other children. But the merchant's reaction tells you more than enough. "See! See!" he shouts, pointing down. "I told you she was just a worthless liar!"

Elianna turns back to look at Polly... and you can feel the entire mounting tragedy hinge on that one terrible moment. Because while you can see only sadness in the cleric's eyes... it's clear that in her own crushing fear and shame and guilt... Polly thinks she sees something far worse than that. Polly sees the look of disappointment and rejection that she's feared for as long as she's kept this secret.

With a wracking, full-body sob, the crying young halfling flings herself away, weaving through the crowd of children toward a nearby window and leaping through it with a surprisingly acrobatic vault. Behind her, you hear Elianna cry out her name, telling her to stop. The thugs also give chase, charging recklessly toward the crowd of children themselves... but they hardly get a few steps before they are immobilized in a few brief flashes of golden light.

Then Elianna herself rushes to the window, pulling aside the shutter to search the area outside. But Polly is already gone, with no trace of her remaining anywhere.

Even though you already see the shape of things from just this much, you still peruse the next few memories out of a grim sense of completeness. You see Elianna search tirelessly for her missing ward... but without any results. The merchant whose property was stolen incites the guard to do much the same. But no one is able to find her.

It seems that this moment of extremity was where Polly truly began to explore and exercise her extraordinary genius for stealth. A gift that would only grow more powerful as the years went by. Eventually it would allow her to create the persona of the master thief "Mockingbird"... and give her a chance to help the mother-figure she loves so desperately.

Even if she's too ashamed to meet her again without hiding behind a mask.

You're silent for a while after emerging from the dream. But eventually you relate what you saw. The reactions are varied. On hearing the story, Lily and Khaytala look like they want nothing more than to chase down Mockingbird right now and give her a hug. The other heroines, meanwhile, are similarly sympathetic, if noticeably more controlled.

Rokaviel just looks bored, while Iskro strokes his furry features in thought. "This is promising, master incubus..." the ratfolk spymaster says. "You could be using this in many different ways."

He isn't wrong. This is indeed a powerful emotional lever. A truth that Mockingbird would no doubt be desperate to keep Elianna from ever learning. As well as a truth that could be used to influence Mockingbird's behavior in any number of other ways.

Which brings you back to the question of which heroine you are going to go after next. Considering how the heroines are starting to group up, there's no need to make decisions on how to prioritize a pair that have joined forces, not until you see the situation on the ground with your own eyes. Still, you can see three main possibilities for where you go next.

Though that does raise one final question. "Where even is Lyra Orilana these days?" you ask. "If I were to go after her next, where would I find her? Has she moved to join forces with any of her friends as well?"

Iskro shakes his head. "When the bard is hearing of the incubus threat, she is canceling her performances and rushing back to protect her family," the ratfolk explains. "She and her wife are both staying at the Bard's College, where their younger daughter has been studying. And my sources are telling me that the College has sealed its grounds for the emergency. No one is traveling in or out, except with very strict security."

That could be tricky... though by no means insurmountable. "What about their other child? The son they adopted?"

"They are still not expecting his adventuring party back yet for some time," Iskro explains. "They were exploring old ruins high up in the mountains, on the very northernmost border of Nelin. But no one is knowing exactly where they are now. It would be requiring a skilled tracker to find them."

If you did find them, however, having another family member under your sway could go a long way to bypassing the security protections with much greater ease. You'd have to decide if it was worth the effort, as opposed to just dealing with the College's defenses yourself.

Either way, those are all decisions for later. The specifics can wait. Right now, you need to decide who you're planning to target next. Lyra Orilana at the Bard's College? Emiko and Torild at the dojo in Vekmar? Or Elianna and Mockingbird in the Nelin capitol city?