MEANWHILE AT CASTLE THORNE

[abraxasmods]

MEANWHILE AT CASTLE THORNE

Once the hour is up, the execution courtyard of Castle Thorne is a great deal emptier than it had been. The portals are gone with no trace and life is trickling back into those frozen by wild magic. The banners resume their fluttering, the sounds of the castle resume, and guards stumble as they complete steps they’d started. Throughout the courtyard and beyond there’s a general sense of bewilderment as time resumes.

It doesn’t take long for any of the Thorneans to realize what’s happened - they’ve lost a large portion of guests and prisoners. Some guards begin rushing out of the courtyard to search for any who may have lingered, lesser mages stagger in to lend a hand and investigate.

And many eyes turn quickly to those who remain. Any prisoners who have lingered are immediately seized and returned to the dungeons. Welcomed guests are rounded up and herded back to their rooms, where a guard remains posted at each door and will not allow them to leave. While they remain unshackled, it is clear that even welcomed guests will not be treated with impunity.

One by one, everyone will be interrogated regarding the events of the day.

Thorne is not happy.

Comments

INTERROGATIONS WITH JOLENE SYBELL

[abraxasnpcs]

[ The mood in the castle is oppressive and heavy. All remaining prisoners have been returned to their cells, and the welcomed guests are confined to their rooms. After a few hours, a pair of enormous and rough guards begin removing people from their rooms and cells one by one. Any effort to resist will be met with force, so it is best to just walk with them.

They escort you to a large room in the dungeon, lit with torches and containing only a single table with a chair on either side. At the table sits Jolene. You've probably seen her in the group of apprentice mages, although she has been training the longest and most intensely - she is the most likely to replace Ambrose when the time comes.

The guards stand to each side of her, and all three look at you across the table. They are here for information, and the guards make it obvious that anyone unwilling to help is in for a bad day. Jolene folds her hands on the table and speaks, in a soft but strong voice. ]

Good afternoon. Please, in your own words, explain exactly what happened today at the execution.

[brittlest]

[It is this last turn to the dungeons which plucks the string of anxiety he has, until this very moment, kept easily silent. The chaos of the execution yard hadn't done it; not even the hour of confinement had managed it (it is hard, he thinks, to be very alarmed in a well appointed room), but the descent into that dreadful place raises the small hairs at the back of Ralston's neck.

He had slowed by just a fraction at the top of the stairs—not slow enough to encourage his escort to take measures to hasten him along, but slow enough for his own mind to mark the hesitation. He can feel it still now as he sits across from Miss Sybell: a slowly unspooling kind of fear. Anywhere but here.

Does it show in the uneasy flicker of Ralston's dark eyes? Possibly. He certainly seems to find it difficult to make himself comfortable in the chair even after he's hooked his borrowed cane over one of the arms. Yet, the tenor of his reply is all languid indifference—]

Tell me, are you most concerned with the parts before or after those two came along to paint the High Mage in a fool's colors and encourage the majority of his work to slip their leashes? —Or noose, as the case may be.

[abraxasnpcs]

[ Jolene remains unfazed in the face of feigned nonchalance. She simply flips a page on a clipboard, writing in elegant but small script. Her body language is nothing short of completely neutral, and she looks at Michael with a benign smile on the corners of her lips. Still, her eyes flick toward the way he tries to resettle in his seat, how he can't seem to find a satisfactory position in which to sit. ]

We're interested in what happened during the time in which our time was stopped, Mr. Ralston. This is simply a conversation between us.

[brittlest]

A conversation, [he echoes, a reflexive and unpleasantly put on smile pasting across his face. His eye line doesn't rover about the room, but it's a near thing. Funny place for a conversation.]

Two mages I didn't recognize created a portal to bring the High Mage's discards out to the yard. They opened two further passages, briefly explained that they led to the Free Cities or to some backwater, and then slipped away nearly as fast as they'd come.

[His restless attention sharpens. He forces himself to slouch further into that chair, to rest his chin and cheek in the upturned palm of his hand. To not think about the empty shape of the air here where so little of the arcane is permitted.]

It seems what you people are doing in this castle is frightening someone. Not, I think, whomever it is you might suspect from the Cities. Do they have saboteurs in Slovunn?

[Isn't really a question, though he pauses here anyway as if anticipating some answer. A conversation, yes?]

[abraxasnpcs]

Is that where you think the mages were from? Solvunn?

[ Jolene knows that they weren't. Solvunn is ostensibly neutral with Thorne at the moment, and certainly no one who lives there is capable of magic of this magnitude.

She writes down what he says anyway. ]

There are saboteurs in every city, of course. I would wager the same for all of your worlds, too.

[brittlest]

No. [No, there aren't saboteurs where he's from, or—?] I don't think they were from Slovunn. If they represented either, I doubt they would have given anyone a choice on where to go.

[Yes indeed; Kalvad is home to saboteurs aplenty.]

They didn't care where anyone went or why. I think[—is needling, to echo her—]they just wanted us separated.

im so sorry mods i got carried away.... ilu

[vixening]

[ yennefer is in no way surprised by the events that follow. she is still in the yard when it happens, her breathing slightly labored by the chaos she had expelled to protect ambrose, and also her eyes bright. it had been far too long since she'd felt chaos back in her fingertips, so much that perhaps she might have been a little too willing to exhaust herself. not that it matters - for as soon as the thorneans around her begin to move, yennefer's hands have already fallen to her sides, her stance patient.

she had known that she would be unceremoniously dragged back into her cell. (and in many ways, was thankful for jaskier's healing if only to make the escort a bit easier to handle). she had also known that in time, she would be called into interrogation - ambrose, for all his talk of power and knowledge, had been rightfully played by more agile magic users, and yennefer could imagine the chaos it had thrown thorne into. so, when the guards arrive, yennefer already looks a bit bored by it all. her trip to the interrogation room within the dungeon is one that might as well have been up in the court halls itself, with her head held high, her steps easy, and when she does step inside and see jolene, her brow lifts curiously. ]

I don't believe we've met. [ yennefer had been nearly unconscious when she made it through that well the first time, her memories only supplying her ambrose, and nameless mages at his side. still, yennefer does not sound necessarily unfriendly when she says it, though there is a near-haughtiness to her as she settles in the open chair. for a very brief moment, yennefer simply studies jolene - her posture, her expression, if she can feel any sense of magic coming off of her. she doesn't expect to, knowing that now she's been back in the dungeons and her own connection to chaos has been cut, but still she stares. just for that moment. ]

Since I'm sure this isn't your first...conversation today, I'll try to be brief. [ she flattens the hem of her tunic with specific movements, before sitting back in her chair again, one ankle crossed over the other under her chair. ] Ambrose, and by extension, you and the other mages here in Thorne, have been outplayed by a pair of- where I come from, at least- only halfway decent mages with access to rudimentary spells, though with considerable influence.

[ yennefer can't help but allow the small amount of disdain come through her tone. she's not looking to make enemies, here, and she's certainly not trying to insult jolene (the guards on the other hand, yennefer couldn't care less if she offended), but the facts as she says them are really quite simple. the magic, as she saw it used, was powerful in scope but unimaginative in use. the fact ambrose, or the other mages, were unaware and unprepared- well. ]

The prisoners, and some of your honored guests took leave through those portals as soon as the options were made available to them. [ her tone around the term is meant to be noticed. but again, she is not saying anything. not outright. ] Some of the more disdainful prisoners attempted to harm Ambrose along their way, and a few of us chose to step in and divert the attack. [ yennefer takes a very brief, but very pointed moment, to simply allow the information to settle, before she gives a small, and in no way genuine, smile. ]

I assume to some level of success. I'm not entirely certain, though, as I was dragged back down here into your prison before I could check on the status of the High Mage.

[abraxasnpcs]

No, we haven't. You were in quite a state when you got here. My name is Jolene Sybell, and I am a mage under Ambrose. It's a pleasure to officially make your acquaintance, Yennefer.

[ Her expression is actually quite amiable, if not exactly welcoming. She listens to what Yennefer has to say, writing rapidly on a clipboard. This is helpful and lines up with the stories that she has heard from others. The matter-of-fact nature makes her more inclined to accept it without pressing, as Yennefer is clearly uninterested in flattery and manipulation as negotiation tactics. ]

I see. These mages, can you describe their magic? Not the portals, but rather the magic that would have frozen the entirety of the nation. We know who they are, but not the means by which they executed such a large-scale spell.

[ To paralyze thousands of people for an extended period of time is heavy lifting. But Jolene gives Yennefer a gentle smile, pausing in her writing. ]

Ambrose is just fine, by the way. He and the people of the kingdom of Thorne thank you and the others that sought to defend us during this heinous crime.

[vixening]

[ the smile yennefer gives her in return is also on the more amiable side, if not exactly still annoyed. she is doing a fairly decent job at hiding her absolute distaste for having been imprisoned for weeks on end, but having her magic back and then once more having it ripped from her is. in many ways almost worse.

yennefer exhales at the question from jolene, her eyes moving from one guard to the other before returning to the mage, her notes. ]

If I had seen them when they first used their magic, I may have had more to give you. Unfortunately, it took place while I was still locked down here. By the time I was in a position to know anything about them, the citizens of Thorne were already in that state. [ she offers a look of genuine disappointment that she can't offer more help. the worst part of this is that she's not at all lying, either. if she had been there to see them use their magic, there's a chance she would be able to know how, or by what means. jolene is correct in understanding that it was no small feat to pull off magic at that size, but it's also interesting, and yennefer makes note - entirety of the nation. they were thorough, then.

the update about ambrose has yennefer giving a smile, a small, tight-lipped one, yes, but a smile all the same. ]

I'd been worried. His attacker was a man of great strength and power. Ambrose is lucky to have so many willing to put their lives on the line to protect him.

[abraxasnpcs]

[ Jolene takes notes, but then points a finger, as if Yennefer has reminded her of something. ]

This attacker, he wasn't associated with the mages that froze time, was he? Was he a fellow prisoner?

[ Her eyes flick up from the parchment to meet Yennefer's eyes, emerald green ones locks on violet. ]

Yes, he's terribly lucky. Surprising that he's not a Wheel. And to repay his luck, we would like you to move upstairs and live in luxury. You have shown a heroism that defies the circumstances of your arrival, and we apologize. Ambrose must have misread when you came through the well.

[vixening]

[ yennefer shakes her head. ]

Prisoner. It seems Ambrose's decision to imprison those he thought dangerous did not sit well with everyone. Once his powers were restored, he decided to release them on Ambrose at his first chance. But the two I appeared I hadn't seen before, or heard mention of, even in the discussions amongst the other prisoners.

[ the emerald eyes lock onto yennefer's, and she doesn't so much as blink, waiting for her to either ask or say what she's thinking. the look, itself, is probably a bit intense. yennefer has a lot of underlying tension, after having that taste of her magic. she wants it back.

the offering has yennefer slowly smiling, pleased that her risk is - now, officially - been worth it. it takes half a second later before her practiced look of thanks, of gratitude, slips on after. it is a relief, through and through, and yennefer is not looking to fight that. she lets out a breath, relieved. ]

That would be wonderful, thank you. And yes- Ambrose must have misread. And as you said, I was in a bit of a state. I don't fault him for assuming me dangerous.

[nightwash]

[ Ronan does not look happy. Even with the dungeon's protective sigils failing, there's enough anti-magic in the air to make his skin crawl after an hour or two in a cell. Or maybe that's just his anxiety. Anyway, he's scowling by the time he's sat down at the table, which is a particularly unpleasant expression on his already unpleasant features. Yet, though he's big enough in stature that he could make a considerable problem even for two armed guards, he's choosing patience. For now. ]

What happened to Ambrose?

[ Because he was still breathing, last Ronan checked. ]

[abraxasnpcs]

[ When Ronan sits, Jolene smiles at him, certainly more welcoming toward him than most others. His reputation is well-known, of course, and Ambrose has handed down orders regarding certain individuals. ]

Hello, Ronan. Ambrose is absolutely fine. He's upstairs meeting with the king and queen right now. We've heard about your actions during this incident, and he sends his deepest thanks, as do the people of Thorne.

[nightwash]

[ Ronan's suspicion doesn't quite recede, and his eyes flick to the guards in a way that suggests he doesn't quite know what he's doing here, then. Here, as in the dungeon — because deepest thanks isn't the reception he and Hennessy received when he woke up a couple hours ago.

Alright. He's willing to believe the lackeys didn't get the message, maybe, in all that chaos. That doesn't make him any happier, but it does keep him from tearing into Jolene for all this bullshit. He looks at her again and folds his arms. ]

What kind of spell was that? The one they used to freeze you guys. I thought there were wards and shit to keep that from happening.

[abraxasnpcs]

[ Jolene can't help much of the bullshit, unfortunately. She also has qualms with what's happening in the castle right now, but it's not up to her.

She sighs and places her quill down. ]

We're not entirely sure. There are many wards on the castle, of course, but however they managed it, they used an impossible amount of magic and power to accomplish all of this. Many times more than two people would be able to realistically channel.

The sheer strength of that much magical energy disrupted all of our standing protections. Nothing like that has ever happened before.

[nightwash]

[ Ronan frowns, a pensive expression rather than further displeasure. From his point of view, it doesn't matter whether it's two or twenty people. It's all about the skill and willpower of the magician. At least, that's how it works with dreamers. That's how it works with him. ]

I've done magic like that before. I just haven't done it to so many people at once. But I think that means I might be able to figure out a shield against it. Or a cure, in case it happens again.

[photophobic]

[Kylo doesn't look particularly pleased by the treatment he's been subjected to, or the attitude of his escort— but beneath the somewhat sullen set of his expression there is an unmistakable edge of curiosity. Whatever the invaders did to Thorne's defenses, the effect lingering makes the dampening effect of the dungeon far easier to bear than the miserable amputation of his senses he'd endured the last time he had cause to visit.

His dark eyes slide into cool, steady focus on Jolene's face.]

Why ask for words when I can show you? I can offer you more than a statement. I can give you what happened. My experience of it can be yours.

[abraxasnpcs]

[ Jolene is not perturbed by his sullenness. Kylo is another that she has specific instructions regarding, but she is still interested in his offer. To be able to see it, well, that would prove invaluable. ]

That would be most appreciated, Kylo. What would you need to do?

[photophobic]

[Mood perceptibly improved by even this level of acknowledgement, Kylo observes Jolene thoughtfully for a beat. He's seen her around, of course, but they haven't actually worked together.

Which, he supposes, isn't all that surprising. After the trick Sims pulled, they're fortunate Thorne didn't see fit to dispose of the whole batch as a preemptive measure against further treachery, and if as he's heard Jolene is tipped to be Ambrose's successor one day, they would consider her time and attention something of a privilege to be earned, much like the High Mage himself.

He considers.]

I would need this... [he pauses, lifting a hand and letting his fingers drift through the magically dampened air as if running them through a stream of water] haze... lifted. Quiet. A willing mind, open, actively reaching. I would then bridge our thoughts and carry that mind with mine long enough to share the experience of my memories. We would see as I saw, hear as I heard, and feel as I felt, together. Perhaps with those insights you could recognise the magics cast and discover any weaknesses your visitors exploited.

[His lips twist slightly. It's probably intended as a slightly wry smile, but Kylo's face tends to make most expressions a little awkwardly unpleasant.]

I will teach anyone willing to try. And, of course, an observer could use the same suppressing magic you use down here to break any connection I make at any time. If the prospect of being joined to my thoughts concerns you.

[abraxasnpcs]

[ She listens carefully, nodding, and returns that tiny quirk of the lip. Her response is measured and quick - linking to his mind doesn't even seem to give her pause. ]

I see no reason not to try, though we will have to go upstairs. But first, Kylo, we wanted to discuss something with you. An opportunity, if you will. We think it'll suit you very well.

[harmonian]

[Sasarai sighs when he is escorted from his room by two rough looking guards. It's an intimidation tactic, he knows, and he feels offended that they would use this on him when he'd been so busy napping.

Offended, but not surprised.

By the time he is taken to the dungeon and seated in front of Jolene his posture is heavy with drowsiness. Calling on the True Earth Rune for the first time in this world has knocked the wind out of him .]

Sorry, I don't know if I have much to say.

[His clear eyes slide from Jolene to the guards then back again from within gray sockets and a smile cracks across his features that lacks its usual luster.]

Two mages I don't know did something to the crowd and opened up portals to elsewhere. Some people left, some stayed.

I was a bit preoccupied with stopping an assailant from killing the High Mage.

...Speaking of, my throat is still a bit dry from shouting those chants for so long. You wouldn't happen to have any water, would you?

[abraxasnpcs]

[ With a gentle wave of her hand, Jolene dismisses one of the two guards to fetch a cup of water. He disappears for several moments while she speaks with Sasarai. ]

I understand. Ambrose thanks you for your protection during this unpleasant mess. All we're trying to do here is get to the bottom of things. Now, these two mages, did they say anything to you all? Or did they just open the portals without a word?

[ The guard returns and places a cup of water in front of Sasarai. ]

[harmonian]

[Sasarai gently lifts the cup and takes a slow sip, thinking back on what happened in the execution yard.]

They said time would be frozen for an hour and explained that their portals led to places outside Thorne. Free Cities and ah...

Sol...something. Solvunn? I think that's right. They told us a little bit about those places, too. A very little bit.

[He sits back in his seat.]

They said Thorne would not be able to trace the portals and I'm guessing that's true. Lots of people left, I wouldn't be surprised if many of them were in the dungeons before and went through the portals to escape persecution, not much caring where they ended up.

[That last bit is not said in a scolding tone, it's just an observation.]

But outside all that they didn't say anything that might suggest who they are what they stood to gain from all this.

[abraxasnpcs]

Yes, Solvunn. It's a commune to the south. Our relations with them are... smooth, at the moment.

[ She jots down another note. ]

Did you happen to catch the identities of people leaving, and to which kingdom they were going to?

[harmonian]

Some.

[He sighs, watches her write something down, then shrugs lazily.]

With most folks dressed the same it was hard to keep track. I don't know many faces here just yet, I've only been here a few weeks. And, well, once that elf fellow jumped for Ambrose that's where most of my attention was...

If I saw a lineup of everyone who'd been in the castle maybe I could say more.

Sorry.