Post by Glint on Jun 9, 2022 21:33:23 GMT
This mission was going all kinds of wrong.
It's difficult for any mission to go right when it starts by a pale lady giving you a ride in a velvet-clad carriage to a dark manor that spends most of its time crossing into the Shadowfell.
Guarded by two… constructs? Armored ghosts?
Inhabited by a family consisting of an insane father, ruthless daughter, dead mother, death-worshipping older son and an absent-minded younger sibling who was too focused on poetry to notice the surrounding world.
Yes, Von Wald family manor was definitely an interesting place to be. The infinite empty rooms emphasised both the wealth and the desolation. Wilhelm's tower honestly looked like the most welcoming place. Certainly better than Johannes's chapel with an Ilmater statue smashed into pieces. The second floor was a bit rougher. The empty bedrooms covered by a layer of dust gave Glint goosebumps. And a room with a smashed summoning circle that contained pieces of hair and some gooey substance that might or might not have been caked blood would set off any arcane user's mental alarms.
But the most distressing thing was to find out that Johannes Von Wald apparently could see through Glint invisibility.
Yes, definitely could see through it.
He was standing right in front of him, staring right into his face, and Glint was pretty sure the invisibility was still up.
"Did you knock on my door?" The man asked impassively, the large chandelier draped across his shoulders moving menacingly.
"No. I saw a rat, and kicked it," Glint lied with what he hoped was a convincing smile.
A well-defined eyebrow arched up gracefully.
"You saw a rat, in a house where nothing lives, and kicked it with a noise that sounded exactly like a heavy boot hitting on my door?"
Glint sighed. Not convincing enough.
"Alright, you caught me," he said quickly, hoping to change the topic before Johannes would look down and see that his shoes were nothing like Iorveth's sabatons that caused that noise in the first place. "I wanted to talk to you." To himself, he thought: "That's right. Half-truths, those always work. Technically, I do need to talk to you to find out how to help your sister to inherit the house and get paid. And I should probably stop thinking about it just in case you're a mind-reader…"
Johannes gave him a piercing stare. He was still bitter about Glint making an illusion of his mother to see if his father would react, but after some persuasion, he agreed to talk in the library. It was at that moment that Leonida decided to get out of Kyra's room, but luckily, Johannes didn't mind. Nadine, of course, had no chance of hiding without invisibility. So, Glint rushed the four of them to the library.
The discussion was just as unsettling as Glint expected. All the way from the Von Wald heir theorising that the strange sounds in the stables were produced by their grandfather, casually mentioning that their mother might still be in the crypts, and, well, to disclosing his intentions to raise the family home and kill his siblings on a religious hunch (a thing so rarely known to be wrong, Glint thought with chagrin) that it would stop their curse and let them into the afterlife.
At least Glint decided that Kyra was definitely a more preferable candidate to inherit the title, and just hoped that Iorveth managed to sneak into the room and find something that would discredit Johannes.
As it turned out, he did. He stole the man's rosary and was wearing it as a necklace over dinner. Johannes didn't even need a second glance. He was clawing at Iorveth's neck and hitting him with his hammer as soon as his eyes fell upon the relic. Glint was aching to cast a Wall of Force or Banishment. With a deep breath, he locked away his protectiveness and played along with the performance, only trying to put himself between Iorveth and the madman. That was for naught, as Johannes chased the bladesinger around the kitchen, and eventually smashed his head in.
Glint ran up to Iorveth immediately, scooped up the bloodied body, and was already reaching for his healing ointment when he heard Leonida's voice in his head: "Make the illusion of the mother again!" It took all the wizard's self-restraint, and admittedly humble acting ability, to do a dramatic pieta scene, and address the father.
"My lord! Your son has lost his mind. He just killed my companion for no good reason! What would your wife say?"
At the same time, he conjured an illusion of Isabella Von Wald looking shocked and sobbing in fear. Meanwhile, Nadine used her last spell slot to bring Iorveth back to life. That didn't last long as Johannes brought him down immediately.
"He did it again!" Glint turned to Albrecht, but his illusion seemed to have worked all too well – the man was non-responsive, staring into the distance with a broken expression.
Luckily, his daughter was much more proactive. She jumped on the table and tackled Johannes. Glint used this momentary respite to finally give ointment to Iorveth.
"You're done here, now leave! Vorst will pay you!" Kyra shouted.
They quickly made way past the youngest Von Wald sibling, completely inured to the violence before them, got their payment from the lord's bodyguard and left in the same carriage that brought them there mere hours before.
Glint lay on the bed in his small room at Fort Ettin, still mulling over this strange job and wondering if he did the right thing. Well, he did one right thing – healed Iorveth, so at least nobody had to die over this inheritance case…
Nobody had to die immediately, that is…
But there was also something else he wondered about. Brow furrowed, he thumbed a piece of copper wire, casting Sending to a new addressee.
"Hey, Sunshine. Have you ever pondered raising the family house to the ground, killing off me and Sunbeam, and scattering our ashes?"
There was a momentary delay in response as his sister considered her reply.
"I do now! There are situations in which I don't want to hear my big brother's voice. They involve hot triton twins and sun cream."
Glint dropped the connection immediately. Perhaps Sending should be reserved for people he had no chance to catch in an inopportune moment. That pretty much ruled out his entire family, so perhaps he should stick to writing letters.
Continued from The Matchstick and the Orchid
It's difficult for any mission to go right when it starts by a pale lady giving you a ride in a velvet-clad carriage to a dark manor that spends most of its time crossing into the Shadowfell.
Guarded by two… constructs? Armored ghosts?
Inhabited by a family consisting of an insane father, ruthless daughter, dead mother, death-worshipping older son and an absent-minded younger sibling who was too focused on poetry to notice the surrounding world.
Yes, Von Wald family manor was definitely an interesting place to be. The infinite empty rooms emphasised both the wealth and the desolation. Wilhelm's tower honestly looked like the most welcoming place. Certainly better than Johannes's chapel with an Ilmater statue smashed into pieces. The second floor was a bit rougher. The empty bedrooms covered by a layer of dust gave Glint goosebumps. And a room with a smashed summoning circle that contained pieces of hair and some gooey substance that might or might not have been caked blood would set off any arcane user's mental alarms.
But the most distressing thing was to find out that Johannes Von Wald apparently could see through Glint invisibility.
Yes, definitely could see through it.
He was standing right in front of him, staring right into his face, and Glint was pretty sure the invisibility was still up.
"Did you knock on my door?" The man asked impassively, the large chandelier draped across his shoulders moving menacingly.
"No. I saw a rat, and kicked it," Glint lied with what he hoped was a convincing smile.
A well-defined eyebrow arched up gracefully.
"You saw a rat, in a house where nothing lives, and kicked it with a noise that sounded exactly like a heavy boot hitting on my door?"
Glint sighed. Not convincing enough.
"Alright, you caught me," he said quickly, hoping to change the topic before Johannes would look down and see that his shoes were nothing like Iorveth's sabatons that caused that noise in the first place. "I wanted to talk to you." To himself, he thought: "That's right. Half-truths, those always work. Technically, I do need to talk to you to find out how to help your sister to inherit the house and get paid. And I should probably stop thinking about it just in case you're a mind-reader…"
Johannes gave him a piercing stare. He was still bitter about Glint making an illusion of his mother to see if his father would react, but after some persuasion, he agreed to talk in the library. It was at that moment that Leonida decided to get out of Kyra's room, but luckily, Johannes didn't mind. Nadine, of course, had no chance of hiding without invisibility. So, Glint rushed the four of them to the library.
The discussion was just as unsettling as Glint expected. All the way from the Von Wald heir theorising that the strange sounds in the stables were produced by their grandfather, casually mentioning that their mother might still be in the crypts, and, well, to disclosing his intentions to raise the family home and kill his siblings on a religious hunch (a thing so rarely known to be wrong, Glint thought with chagrin) that it would stop their curse and let them into the afterlife.
At least Glint decided that Kyra was definitely a more preferable candidate to inherit the title, and just hoped that Iorveth managed to sneak into the room and find something that would discredit Johannes.
As it turned out, he did. He stole the man's rosary and was wearing it as a necklace over dinner. Johannes didn't even need a second glance. He was clawing at Iorveth's neck and hitting him with his hammer as soon as his eyes fell upon the relic. Glint was aching to cast a Wall of Force or Banishment. With a deep breath, he locked away his protectiveness and played along with the performance, only trying to put himself between Iorveth and the madman. That was for naught, as Johannes chased the bladesinger around the kitchen, and eventually smashed his head in.
Glint ran up to Iorveth immediately, scooped up the bloodied body, and was already reaching for his healing ointment when he heard Leonida's voice in his head: "Make the illusion of the mother again!" It took all the wizard's self-restraint, and admittedly humble acting ability, to do a dramatic pieta scene, and address the father.
"My lord! Your son has lost his mind. He just killed my companion for no good reason! What would your wife say?"
At the same time, he conjured an illusion of Isabella Von Wald looking shocked and sobbing in fear. Meanwhile, Nadine used her last spell slot to bring Iorveth back to life. That didn't last long as Johannes brought him down immediately.
"He did it again!" Glint turned to Albrecht, but his illusion seemed to have worked all too well – the man was non-responsive, staring into the distance with a broken expression.
Luckily, his daughter was much more proactive. She jumped on the table and tackled Johannes. Glint used this momentary respite to finally give ointment to Iorveth.
"You're done here, now leave! Vorst will pay you!" Kyra shouted.
They quickly made way past the youngest Von Wald sibling, completely inured to the violence before them, got their payment from the lord's bodyguard and left in the same carriage that brought them there mere hours before.
Glint lay on the bed in his small room at Fort Ettin, still mulling over this strange job and wondering if he did the right thing. Well, he did one right thing – healed Iorveth, so at least nobody had to die over this inheritance case…
Nobody had to die immediately, that is…
But there was also something else he wondered about. Brow furrowed, he thumbed a piece of copper wire, casting Sending to a new addressee.
"Hey, Sunshine. Have you ever pondered raising the family house to the ground, killing off me and Sunbeam, and scattering our ashes?"
There was a momentary delay in response as his sister considered her reply.
"I do now! There are situations in which I don't want to hear my big brother's voice. They involve hot triton twins and sun cream."
Glint dropped the connection immediately. Perhaps Sending should be reserved for people he had no chance to catch in an inopportune moment. That pretty much ruled out his entire family, so perhaps he should stick to writing letters.
Continued from The Matchstick and the Orchid