Saturday, November 3, 2018

Master of Strings Ch59: Covert Mission

Alaroc walks back to the rest area to see Leo sitting there and he gives the cavalier a small salute and a devious smile.

"Hey there big fella, you ready to get our plan underway?"

"You think of a way to get some information?"

"Sure did, just give it a bit... 3...2...1." Leo points to the guard at the door. That guard begins to wobble and suddenly falls over. Alaroc jumps at the falling guard as Leo stands and moves over to the guard. He then motions Alaroc over to join him and says,

"Bit of Oil of Restfulness in his canteen, we have maybe an hour before he wakes up at least. Come on, hide him in the bathroom with me." Alaroc keeps an eye out for any other people, but they seemed to all be up in the viewing platform waiting for the fight. As Leo begins to strip the guard of his armor Alaroc begins to ask,

"So besides not giving me a minute to relax, what's the plan?"

"All our registration information is kept secret on the east side of the arena. I figured our fake paladin has a a secret we can look into there."

"Couldn't he just have lied?" Alaroc asks before Leo shakes his head and gets a little sad.

"No way, I couldn't lie so why would he be able? I think the officials had some sort of Zone of Truth or something since when I tried to write my name as Jin Shi Wu Kong, I couldn't."

"Zone of Truth for writing!? What will they think of next? Message, but with taste? Or maybe Cure- MUPFH." Alaroc was immediately thrown the armor of the guard to put on. Leo then began to speak again,

"So the plan is, we need to get over there, I could likely make it myself, but I don't know what I'll find, so a two man job is much safer." Leo turns toward Alaroc to see that he had already swapped helmets. Leo was sorta bummed he couldn't see Alaroc's face.

"You pretend to be a guard, and I'll watch your back, with luck no guards will be suspicious."

"Sounds perfect. Let's get going." Alaroc uncorks his flask for a quick drink, but Leo swipes the flask and says, "Sorry Al, but guards don't drink on duty."

Alaroc's eyes under his helmet go wide and he can feel the end coming on. The world collapses, Orcus and his undead armies ravage the land and wipe all forms of life away. Women and children run from the destruction only to see the main town gate has already been seal with them inside. None will survive.

"I cannot do this Leo."

"Yes you can."

"No."

"Yes."

"If its so easy, you do it."

"If you can cast Invisibility, I'll trade right now."

"You can cast it on me, That spell works like that."

"You're in the armor already."

"I'll take it off."

"I'm sneakier."

"You're also a better actor."

"Good point, counterpoint, I only have 1 Invisibility in my book and..." Leo immediately casts the spell and vanishes from sight. Alaroc utters a short curse and walks out of the bathroom, then the door behind him is locked  by an unseen force before the door is closed with the guard inside. Alaroc puts out his hand and asks.

"Once we pass the door I can't, but gimme one last drink before there's no going back." After a moment The flask appears back in his hand and Alaroc drinks the entire flask in one go. They both proceed through the door that the guard stood in the way of.

The Arena seemed to also act as a small garrison for the district guards as a half dozen guard look to be walking about preparing for carting off the dead from the fight currently taking place or maintaining their own equipment. While they look fairly capable, they'd be nothing compared to Alaroc should things go south.

Alaroc and Leo needed to make their way to the opposite side of the fighter pit. Some of the guards looked up to notice Alaroc, but none really approach him. The first obstacle they could find was the standing guard at the door. He looked at attention and like he took his job way too seriously.

Alaroc walked up to the door and the guard asked him, "Hold on there, what's your business?" While Leo expected Alaroc to say some little lie of some such, Alaroc instead said "Jurst ag rouutiine patrul." With a little bit of liquid spewing from his mouth as he juts his lower jaw up to keep the liquid in.

Leo panicked and snatched the guard's spear away and tipped it down to the ground. The guard looks to his fallen weapon and knelt down to get it, leaving Alaroc to walk right by with a salute and saying, "Guld day."

As Alaroc walked he heard a whisper in his ear, "You idiot! What is in your mouth!?"

"Awle."

Leo gripped his hair unseen but continued moving to keep up with Alaroc. Alaroc passed the small corridors but as he came to a more open room he saw two guards, off duty, were playing cards at a small table in the way of the hall.

As Alaroc began to walk up to them to ask them to move he was suddenly struck with a hard thud in his back, forcing him to swallow and spit up what was left of his ale. The guards turn to the fake guard. Alaroc side glances to see Leo hiding behind a door frame.

Leo quickly looks to have his eyes brighten up as he goes through the magus technique called Spell Recall and casts Invisibility again and Alaroc grimaces as he faces toward the two guards and says,

"Passing through boys, move it out."

The guards grumble and gather up their cards and table to let Alaroc by. Leo follows along, unseen again. Alaroc and Leo finally arrived in a room where the records were kept, and the files began to get rifled in by the unseen Leo. Alaroc walked over, but then the rifling stopped and he was held back.

Alaroc was turned about by an unseen force toward the door and his arm was moved up to his eyes and then pointed at the door right after. Alaroc sighed and leaned against a wall, keeping an eye on the door they came through.

Leo eventually found the file he needed after a few minutes, picking it out thanks to it's upsetting contents. He found a file that was registered to a 'Aakif Harlix, Paladin of Freya'.

The file is thrown up and scattered, grabbing Alaroc's attention. Leo broke his Invisibility and turned to his warrior companion.

"Sneaky faker shattered the truth spell or something, his registration says he isn't lying."

"He's gotta be though, Cruxis says there are no other male paladins."

"I know that, one second, I'm gonna check for the truth spell." Leo turns and cast Detect Magic on the registration papers.

Alaroc thinks for a bit and asks, "Maybe Cruxis could be the most help. He'd know the most about how to catch a fake paladin of his order."

"I thought the same, but he may also fly off the handle. It's a bit risky."

As they speak this over they hear the crowd begin an uproar. Leo curses under his breath and continues,

"Sounds like another person is dead, we don't have time , we better get back." Alaroc nods, and Leo uses Spell Recall again to vanish before the two walk back into the corridor.

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