Kolath


"But who has this...Way of Vision?" He glanced at the others.

"Does one of you?"

<Marlith>

He looked at the priest. He =seemed= to be able to read ...

Jorlak

"My own gift from Zardor is close enough to that Way for most purposes. I expect that anyone with the Way of Vision could have obtained the same information I did from this device."

Hollis Hunter (aka Keila Champion)

"Someone please tell me how I am supposed to use this thing to find our mystery wizard?" Hollis said. "I don't see any way to actually make use of the thing. If nobody can tell the difference between one and the next, then it won't make a difference what kind of reading I get, we won't know if it's the mystery wizard or not.

"As soon as someone tells me how I am supposed to make it work, well, I volunteer to do it. But I am not going to wander around waiting for it to go off, then confronting some Kandar and accusing him of being the mystery wizard. Unless you want me to just kill everyone who sets it off and is Kandar. I guess I would eventually get him that way, only I might kill of a few innocent wizards along the way."

Kolath


He held up a hand, an idea finally occurring to him.

"I do not think we need the device as long as we have him," he said, pointing to Jorlak.

"He knows what the impression was or the whatever you call it..." the legionnaire frowned, knowing he did not know the correct phrases to use.

"Anyway, if I understand this correctly," and he was not at all sure that he did, "then Jorlak here can go with us, read each Kandar we meet and, when he gets the same uh... reading he got here from the machine, we have our man."

"Is that right, Jorlak?"

Hollis

Hollis looked stunned, not at the conclusion but that Kolath had come up with it. She grinned from ear to ear. "I am proud of you," she said. "You are so smart."

Kolath


The legionnaire smiled briefly but he did not seem overly comfortable to be receiving such praise.

"You know," he said, shrugging, "even a blind porkler finds a snuffler sometime."

Jorlak

The priest nods, then turns to Marlith. "You mentioned that you saw the device react earlier to what must have been the kandar that left an impression. What do you remember about the circumstances? That might help narrow down the search."

<Marlith>

He considered, his mind going back to review the events. "We tested the device using Hollis to be sure it was registering. Then we had the prisoner seated in the chair, ready for questioning. There was a flash, the machine reacted with such force that I thought perhaps it had been damaged, and the prisoner had vanished."

Hollis

"So either the prisoner was capable of removing himself from your presence, or he had help," Hollis said. "Do we know anyone who definitely has such capability? It would be a place to start."

<Marlith>

"It seems unlikely that it was the prisoner Guruinath that wielded that power. Why stay in custody so long, only to 'leave' us when he is surrounded by detectors. He had plenty of time to do so before now with less scrutiny."

Hollis

"Sounds right to me," Hollis said. "Who stands to gain from his release? Whoever is behind all the attempts to destabilize the government, do harm to the legion ..."

<Marlith>

"I suspect that such a brazen, visible display suggests that it was more an issue that Guruinath had incriminating information that 'they' did not wish revealed ... more than they wanted to spare him suffering."

Hollis

Hollis grinned. "I like the way you think. Why not just kill him, though? That would be less likely to point the finger of guilt in their direction, wouldn't it? Now they have to keep Guirinath hidden and his mouth shut, not an easy task."

<Marlith>

"That =is= the key question isn't it? Perhaps he has some key information that 'they' need. Once they have that, they may decide to get rid of him. Or he may be needed for some skill he possesses or some such."

Hollis

Hollis sighed. It was useless to speculate, since they had no clues as to the nature of the unknown psi. "Okay. What do I do now?"

<Marlith>

He looked at Hollis, then at Kolath. "That is not something I have an answer for. I am not well versed in current political climate. My field of expertise is historical records", he admitted with a shrug and a sigh.

Kolath


The Kandar Legionnaire was growing more exasperated by the moment and he began ticking off questions on his long, slim fingers.

"Who was most likely to want to keep Guruinath from talking to us? Who had most to lose if he did talk? And who is most likely to possess such an ability?"

Hollis made him do the math. "Who wants to short-stop the normal governmental processes, weaken the legion? Someone who wants to *become* the new government, that's who, or their inside agents high up in the Karazthan. Who else?

"Who had a hand in the assassination attempts? Who would see a competent, properly armed legion as a danger to any political plans? Who hates humans and would oppose any attempt to improve their rights? Who have I been saying all along is in this up to their evil ears?"

<Marlith>

Listening to that woman run through her litany, he was reminded why he had spent so much of his life lost in the great library. He wondered again which god he had offended to have been pulled into all this.

Kolath


"Oh, that is obvious, Hollis, but where do we go to search them out?"

"Inside the Karazthan," Hollis said. "But don't ask me how.

"I might be able to do it, with some help. I'll need some specialized clothing; a map of the inside in detail, with all rooms, vents, bolt holes, passages and adits noted; and someone from the Academy who can put me in there at a spot of my choosing, without having to pass through their door security. I will then move to a decent vantage, overhear whatever I can that is of use, and then report back."

Kolath


He frowned for a moment and then spoke.

"But... for this to work, wouldn't you have to take him along?" He pointed at Jorlak.

"So he could point out whoever might match the... psychic pattern?"

Hollis

Hollis nodded. "Eventually, I would have to bring this person together with the machine and Jorlak somehow, true. But I was thinking some espionage was in order to try and figure out who it might be. I figure, follow Guruinath around and see to whom ...

"...wait. That won't work. This person will likely be able to read my mind and spot me even if I am hidden." She cursed at the hitch in her plan.

Nir-Urileyr Kavarluis returns at this point.

"So, Kolath", he says, "Do we have a plan of action? Last time something like this happened, it involved arcane machinery on the ship which you sank. Presumably the wreck is still at the bottom of the river. While I don't understand what sort of wizardry that machinery did, I suspect something similar again".