Investigation Part Three|Aegestrom, Maelstrom

[Northen Light36]

Master said to do the shopping quickly, the man was thinking. Must be quick. Master's waiting.

He ignored Thelon and hurried on.

[Kender Bard]

Master? Thelon thought.

Something was wrong. He stopped and touched his signs, murmuring, before reaching out to grab hold of the other man in a telekinetic grip. He didn't want to hurt the other man but he did want to restrain him.

It was possible the other man was simply a servant to a nobleman. But if that was the case, Thelon still didn't care because he was going to get answers one way or another. ~I said stop~ he growled into the other man's mind quietly.

[Northen Light36]

Shadow watched Thelon and braced himself for a fight as the captured mind stuggled in Thelon's grip both physically and mentally, his thoughts flaring with panic and the desire to obey 'master'.

Then something unusual happened the moment the captive realised he was out powered. Captured. Must... Must forget. Master says must forget all. Trapped by the orders of his master, and proving that the master was a clear (for no one would willingly do what followed) the Mind's mind began tearing its self in the struggle to obey an impossible command.

[Kender Bard]

"Stop!" Thelon cried out in shock mentally and physically. "Stop, I'll let you go!"

He had no intention of losing this man, but he didn't want to watch the other man tear himself up. He relinquished his telekinetic grip. "We need to follow him but we can't stop him or he'll destroy himself," Thelon told Shadow distractedly, his eyes gazing off elsewhere.

[Northen Light36]

Released, the man stumbled a bit, then calmed down and raced into the market to complete his earlier order. As soon as he'd finished his shopping, the mind abruptly teleported away.

"Can you find him?" Shadow demanded of Thelon.

[Kender Bard]

"Yes," Thelon said and flashed the image he'd gleaned from the man's mind just before he teleported away. "He went here. Before we follow, though... That man was a slave of a Clear, Shadow. He kept babbling about a master and he began doing things to himself no sane man ever would."

[Northen Light36]

A flicker of pity crossed Shadow's face, but his expression hardened again when he asked quietly, "Did he kill Tres?" He couldn't truly blame the slave, if that was the case, but he could hate the Clear behind it.

If a Clear took Tres from us... Shadow thought darkly. Dami... Forces I wish you'd managed to finish what you started. Or that I could finish it for you.

[Kender Bard]

~I don't know yet~ Thelon replied, agitated at the latest events. ~With what he was doing to himself, I didn't want to go in there and root the information out.~ He wouldn't have that reservation the next time, though. ~I just wanted you to know so we could both brace ourselves. Let's go.~ Laying a hand on Shadow's shoulder, he brushed his own signs and teleported to the spot he'd glimpsed at.

[Northen Light36]

The pair found themselves standing in the dining room of a reasonably large and fine house, though not so fine as to give the impression the owner was nobility. The mind they'd followed stood silently in a corner while an elderly man, his once brown hair now far closer to silver, sat at the table, sipping a cup of tea.

He seemed completely unbothered by Thelon and Shadow's intrution and in fact gave them both a warm smile. "Ah yes, Latio told me we might have guests. Come, sit down. I'll have Latio get you a cup of... tea, perhaps?"

Shadow growled softly, feeling the faintest, weakest brush of clear influence. "Poisoned, I suppose, so you can kill us like my sister?" he hissed.

The old man's eyes twinkled with amusement. "Which one?" he asked. "As I recall, I killed three sisters of yours. And a couple of brothers." He tilted his head to the the side, as if in thought. "Oh yes, and your mother too. But you didn't go to all this trouble for a lesson on family history, surely?"

[Kender Bard]

Thelon had heard all he needed to hear. He fell back a step, his fingers still on his forehead and lashed out with his mind at the old man, sending his own mind ferreting for the information he wanted. ~DID YOU KILL MY WIFE?~ He trusted Shadow to keep him safe while he threw his focus into his mental attack.

[Northen Light36]

The answer was easily found in the old man's mind, particularly since he had no intention of hiding it. No, he thought. That was the neat work of my young pet there. And your wife's own foolishness. She need not have died if she hadn't put herself so firmly between my employer and the king. Though, I admit, sending a Mind from your own former community and using your name on the little gift he delivered was for my own amusement.

Shadow quickly found himself in combat with the enslaved mind, feeding off both mental attacks and sword swipes as well as possible.

[Kender Bard]

Thelon dug deeper. ~And who is your employer?!~ he demanded. He was prepared to tear this man's mind into a million tiny pieces to find the answers he needed. In fact, he looked forward to it.

And when he got to know everything he felt he needed to know, he would take this man, destroy his mind, and then cut him into pieces slowly, tossing each one into the Naurorod volcano.

[Northen Light36]

Despite the pain Thelon was causing, the old clear laughed. Dear boy, I don't need to know who hires me. I was paid in advance, the job done, the request burnt. Perhaps you should have kept a closer eye on your wife, so she learnt to mind her own business.

Latio scored a deep cut to Shadow's arm by teleporting behind him. Hissing out a pained oath, Shadow switched his sword to his left hand and continued the fight. He was the better swordsman, but Latio had the advantage of teleportation and forcing Shadow to use his off hand. That didn't mean Shadow hadn't scored some painful hits of his own.

[Kender Bard]

~I don't believe you don't know~ Thelon growled. ~And since you won't tell me, I'm going to find out.~ And so he began the search for any information connected to this job the man was apparently hired for, making a point of doing it as painfully as possible.

[Northen Light36]

You'll never know, the man thought smugly and with a hint of triumph as he began to convolse in his seat. Along with the memory of a brief, unsigned letter requesting his services, his thoughts revealed the deadly mix of poisons he'd been drinking in his tea when Thelon had arrived. He'd be dead within a few more seconds. Maybe they'll replace my pet with your pretty little girl.

His eyes closed as his body fought to survive... and lost.