A Drow's Dilemma Ep. 70: Decisions

Athaia stood up and stretched. Her nightgown changed into her usual white dress of understated elegance. "Ready. Let us get all this over with."

"Yes. Let's," Caleldir complained. "If only the two of us could switch jobs, you negotiating with the rusalka, me talking with the leaders."

"That would be nice, but both of us must do things that we would rather not," Althaia said solemnly.

Althaia, Ashyr, and Selene discovered from a helpful servant that the leaders they were to meet with were already in the meeting hall. That was when they split the party; the women going to the leaders' meeting, and the men staying behind to find out a way to the Rusalka's eddy.

Carlotta, Zarag, Dria, Urag, Ungrai, and Artur were all sitting around a large table, along with a random assortment of about a half dozen other people. They spoke to one another with open, smiling faces as they ate and looked out over the city.

"Heroes!" Called out Artur when he caught sight of the ladies of the party approaching. "Come join us; we have things to talk about!" With that, Artur, Urag, and Zarag all stood and offered them their chairs.

"Of course, good sir." Althaia said sweetly to Artur. "But I am averse to taking your seat from you. Is there not enough chairs for everyone here?"

"There are chairs enough somewhere, I'm sure." Artur responded, still standing just behind the chair he vacated, and still apparently intent on giving the ladies his seat at the table. "But we'd have to send someone running for more. Really, It's fine; I can stand. I do far too much sitting around than is healthy for me."

Frankly, Althaia was torn. On one hand, it was rude to take a seat from her elders. On the other, it was also rude to refuse a gift that an elder insisted she take. Ashyr could get away with this sort of thing. She just did what she wanted. So did Selene, for that matter. After a few agonizing seconds, Althaia decided that she was overthinking things. "I thank you graciously for your seat, then." She curtsied elegantly, before taking the proffered chair.

For her part, Selene was more than happy to accept a chair from Urag. She settled down in his vacated spot with a regal expression on her face. Ashyr just rolled her eyes at Zarag, grabbed his arm, and forced him to sit back down in his chair, much to the half-orc's bemusement. "Don't want to sit." Ashyr explained as she took her place behind Zarag's chair. "We wanted to talk to you all about what's going to happen with the city."

"We wanted to speak to you as well. We have our own places we want to take care of; we were hoping that your party would be able to find someone to take Faust's place." Dria responded.

"Well then, you're in luck. Althaia has volunteered to stay back here while the rest of us wrap up our other mission. She may need your help in the beginning, but we're hoping that all of you can go home before too much longer." Ashyr explained. When she was done talking, she turned her attention to the Paladin to see if she had anything to add or request.

"My friends are going underground on a mission that requires stealth. Although I can hide my form, I cannot yet hide my paladin aura, which makes me unsuited for such a mission. There are other reasons for my decision, but those are of a more private nature." Standing up, Althaia bowed to the assembly. "If you will allow me to, and the people of Port Afron are not opposed, I would be honored to accept the mantle of leadership for this city until such a time as I am relieved from those duties by one more suited. On my honor as a paladin, and in the eyes of the gods, I swear that if you give me this duty, I will not disappoint."

All of the people present at the table looked relieved. They collectively sighed with relief and shot grins at each other; they would be able to go home soon. All trusted the Paladin to do a good job with such a task. She managed to get the druids and mercenaries to stop fighting, did she not?

"We will gladly give you this task, Lady Althaia. And know that we will not be far away, should you need to call upon us for help." Said Dria in a warm, friendly voice.

"I am truly honored by your faith in me," Althaia said humbly, then sat back down. She took a deep breath, calming herself. Being completely focused on being on her best behavior was exhausting. "If I need your help, I will be sure to call on you. But before you leave, Lady Dria, would you mind helping me a bit with my druidic magic? I mean, it seems like something of an irony for one such as I, for whom those arts are a facet of my being rather than something I learned, to have to ask, but I confess to being very young. I have not had centuries to practice, unlike my sisters, and lack many of their instincts, for I was born a child instead of springing forth as an adult. They proved to be useless in educating me. I need the experience of one who has earned her powers and actually knows their use. As of now, I have great strength in the divine but no finesse. If you would be willing to teach me, I would be very grateful."

"I would be glad to teach you some of my art, Paladin Althaia," Dria said as she gently reached out to touch the younger woman's shoulder.

"My troupe and I will be staying here for some time, at least," Artur informed her. "We will make up for the part we unwittingly played in distracting the city those weeks ago. By distracting them even more, of course." The people around him laughed at this. "I know a little about leading on a small scale. So you will at least have me whenever you need someone."

Althaia gave Artur a pleased smile. "Thank you, sir. I will be sure to come to you for advice. I know little of the ways of civilization. My knowledge has been of faerie and nature: of plants, insects, animals, and springs, not of civilization and culture: of castles, laws, lords, and kings. The sophistication that you bring, borne of a putting on a show in a thousand settlements across the world of mortals, will be a priceless resource for one such as I."

Ashyr smiled to herself. Althaia was having a little difficulty maintaining her behavior instead of falling into the immature silliness that she often exhibited, but to the rest her manners were as one born to servant leadership. She was doing her level best to make up for her lack of education in leadership through sheer charisma. In front of this audience, one already predisposed to like her, she was probably doing a good job, despite her nervousness.

"We still must plan for Faust's execution," Dria said, her face growing serious. "What are the plans for that? Is there a day that we can set?"

Althaia sighed and leaned back. "Should we put on a trial? Such a trial would tax me dearly, for it would be a sham. The outcome is already predetermined, of course, unless you are all willing to allow him a fair chance to plead his case, and a genuine stay of execution should he win it. Is it better therefore to not even put on the appearance of such a court, since a brutal truth is better than an easy lie? But not putting him on trial also sets a terrible precedent, for how can we be trusted to rule should we begin our government with injustice? For every sapient being, whether man or demon, deserves the full protection of the law. And that includes an impartial trial by their peers.

"So, it seems that we cannot put him on trial, but neither can we not. It seems that justice cannot be satisfied, for both options are abominably unjust. But there remains to us one option: Faust's confession. If he will confess to his crimes, of his own will, neither forced, threatened, nor compelled, a trial will not be necessary under the law, for a guilty plea requires only a sentence, not deliberation. Thus, I propose that I secure a full confession from him, and offer in exchange that we kill him simply: a beheading in the courtyard, limited to those who have the most compelling reasons to be there. It will not do to make a spectacle of his defeat, to rub his shame in the eyes of all. For Faust was once a good, just man, despite what he became. Even if he lost his mind, we must pay our respects to what he was, not just what he is. I will further allow him to name the date of the execution, to give him time to compose himself for death. Mercy demands no less, and justice no more." Given that many of those here were not aware of the plans to reincarnate Faust, Althaia carefully left that out of her little speech. Instead, she decided on a hard sell.

Funnily enough, the more she talked, the more comfortable she slipped into her role. By the end of it, her words were given with the authority of a ruler. Paladins really were natural leaders, even if they tended to be infuriatingly Lawful Good.

The gathered group quietly listened to Althaia. By the end of her speech, they were all nodding in agreement. The Paladin's words made sense, and despite her insistence that she was young and inexperienced, the nymph was doing a good job at acting far more restrained than one of her species might be expected to.

Dria was the one to respond. "I speak for all of us when I say that your plan to get Faust to confess is a good one. I agree; having a trail for him would be nothing better than a sham, since we all know that he must be put to death for his own sake as well as ours."

"Talk to him today, and perhaps tonight we might have good news. We're talking about having another feast, but I'm afraid that might have to be postponed until after the execution." Artur said. He looked to the rest of the gathering, and saw approval in the expressions. "So I was thinking that we wait, and then feast to celebrate our final victory and to see Caleldir off with the drow. We'll have more time to plan and decorate in that case." He grinned at the people present, who generally seemed amused at the old troop leader. "And this time, we won't get attacked." The group chuckled at this.

"Works for me." Ashyr said with a shrug. "Though, if you ask me, we'd be feasting every day. I love a good party. With lots of booze."

"We would eat up Port Afron' food store." Zarag told her.

"Right." Ashyr said with a sigh.

Althaia noticeably relaxed. She had not expected such ready assent. "Then I will waste no time. I will go to his prison immediately. It is early yet, perhaps this will all be behind us by tomorrow." She sighed. "An unpleasant business," she said gloomily. Then, she shot off a radiant smile to all assembled as she stood. She did not bow this time, her manners had changed from courtier to queen. "We will have a funeral for the old Port Afron, and a feast for the new. When I see you next, we will know what we need to do." Gesturing at Ashyr, she strode away.

Passing by the drow, she whispered to her in broken Undercommon. "If you would follow me with the..." she struggled for the word, and then just gestured. "You know." She changed to Common. "I will need you too, Selene." And that orcish necromancer.

Ashyr blinked. Someone had been paying attention to their speech. "Talk to you later handsome," Ashyr said to Zarag as she patted him on the shoulder. He grunted at her, but made no other reply. Urag looked amused, however. The ranger didn't have time to observe the exchange of glances. Instead, she was following Althaia away from the group.

Selene had the same thought as Althaia; they would need the orcish necromancer. So, after a quick and quiet exchange in the guttural tones of abyssal, Ungrai stood and followed the other three women away from the rest of the group. "My brother filled me in on everything." The orc-elf said in her strange voice. "I will lend my power."

"It would be up to a week before we really need you, Ungrai." Althaia replied. "All the same, I am glad that you are willing to help, and you cooperation with the planning will be extremely helpful." Althaia was not really that fond of Ungrai, since the woman was very clearly giving off that aura of evil, but she could still be useful. At any rate, it was not as if she was noticeably worse than Selene had once been. "If nothing else, I think that Caleldir will be willing to make it worth your time. He is a living repository of forgotten arcane secrets, after all. He was the head librarian of a cursed archive for twelve centuries."

"Oh. Alright," Ungrai said. "It is good to know that you need me. I can begin my research." It was unclear what he motives for helping the party were, but for the time it seemed that she was more than willing to lend her assistance. Just as she was glad to have an excuse to get out of the party she had been a part of on the lawn. "Let me know when you need me." With that, she wandered back towards the castle.

"So how are we going to do this?" Ashyr asked. "He's safe inside the dimension, but once we pull him out his father's going to try to take control again. Not a problem for getting a confession out of him... but a public execution?"

Althaia thought on Ashyr's question, and then shrugged. "I thought that R.I.S.A. had cast that divine-level Protection From Evil on him? He should be highly, highly resistant, if not outright immune, to possession. At least for a little while. Long enough for our purposes."

"She cast it on him?" Ashyr asked. "Well, that makes sense then. Thought she cast it on herself, for some reason. I wasn't really paying attention." She admitted. It wouldn't be the first time she zoned everything out when they were doing magic things. Unlike her cousins, she had absolutely no skill in that area. The couple of healing spells she had didn't count.

"R.I.S.A. cast the spell both on the area itself, and everyone in it. We are all under its effect right now. You just have not noticed because no evil outsiders are attempting to grab or possess you, neither are you the target of any enchantment spells. Ungrai may be evil, but is not an outsider, and so will not be affected by the spell unless she tries to attack us. She can even enter the warded area without harm, but cannot use undead there. Her alignment would probably make R.I.S.A.'s dimension very uncomfortable, though. Normally, Protection from Evil and Circle against Evil are both very low level spells, but R.I.S.A.'s version was potent enough to burn her out for days. Although, perhaps we should just ask her the specific details?"

"So perhaps my alignment hasn't-" Selene began to say, then she shook her head. "No. I didn't so much as feel a twinge of discomfort." She sighed.

Althaia decided to not comment on Selene's wishful(?) thinking. She pursed her lips, continuing the conversation on Faust specifically. "Alternately, we do not have to have him leave R.I.S.A. at all. Instead, we record his voice using illusion magic, and then broadcast an illusion of both the public confession and execution. The confession would still be his own but the execution would be pure illusion. Instead, we will end his current life inside R.I.S.A. Having Ungrai kill him by means of Soul Drain or some other necromancer ability might make our little reincarnation project easier. We will just need to make the illusion as potent as possible, so that no one but those within our immediate circle will be able to see through it, regardless of luck. That may need all your combined arcane knowledge on its own."

The paladin sighed. "It is worth noting that we will have to wait for R.I.S.A. to recover for actual reincarnation since it will be her divine power that will allow us to make him an Aasimar. Normally outsider races - even native outsider races - cannot be created with Reincarnate magic. Without the four of us, it would be impossible." Frankly, Althaia did not know how it would work, only that it was possible. R.I.S.A. and Caleldir had that knowledge.

"Do you think that it would be easier if we had actual Aasimar blood? I'm sure that we could convince that Gailwen I mentioned to donate some," Ashyr asked.

"I'm sure it can't hurt. But, as I said, we'll have to wait for R.I.S.A." Althaia responded.

Ashyr sighed, then grinned. "I'm surprised she hasn't asked us to recharge her."

"Are we going to talk to Faust now? Or should we wait until we're closer to resurrecting him?" Selene asked, trying to stay on topic before Ashyr started planning another orgy.

"Right now, I think." Althaia said. "There is no need to reincarnate him immediately. Both Ungrai and I can preserve his body indefinitely. We can even keep his soul here; Caleldir can make him a ghost and cart him around until we are ready for the ritual. It would be better to get it over with now rather than later."

Ashyr nodded. She led the group to a more secluded place within the castle grounds, then activated R.I.S.A's figurine. The former lord still sat within his cell, where he had been quietly contemplating this life and the next throughout the previous night. He barely slept, barely touched his food, and barely made a noise beyond a low murmur when he spoke to himself aloud.

Althaia quietly approached Faust's cell and sat down just outside it. She, at least, found it completely impossible to be mad at anyone in so much obvious grief, no matter what their crimes had been. Especially since his crimes had been under the duress of diabolic possession.

After a moment's contemplation, Faust approached Althaia and sat down across from her on the other side of the invisible wall, his elbows resting on his knees.

"Lord Faust," the Paladin began gently. "It seems that I have been appointed the new interim ruler of Port Afron. But, I cannot do this on my own. I will need you by my side, guiding me. Who knows, with time you may even be able to becomes Lord of Port Afron again. But you cannot do that in this form." She sighed. "I have told the council that I will not allow your execution unless you are found guilty in a trial, and said trial has to be absolutely fair. But, such a trial is impossible. The only other option is for you to confess. Either in public, or when we have an illusionist to record your confession so that we can fake you in public. Your execution will be quick, clean, and mostly painless. Do not think of it as a death. You may spend a few days as a ghost, but when we return you to life you will be more than ever before, and completely free of your father. You will finally be your own man. I think that we all want to close this chapter soon, so if you will cooperate with us, we would like to get the unpleasantries over with either today or early tomorrow."

He studied her in silence as she spoke, and when she was done he looked to the ground between them. His brilliant golden eyes weren't actually seeing the ground, of course. Rather, they looked inward.

She then gave him a smile. "Speaking of which, your current name is that of a famous diabolist. I think that it will not suit your next life. I am partial to the name Phanuel, after the angel of Repentance and Hope, but if you have a different preference, I am open to it."

"I know of my name's origin." He told his voice so deep one could feel it rumble in their own chest. "It is the name given to me by my mother, for reasons that should be obvious. Perhaps I no longer want to be associated with demons and death in my next life. But I will take Phanuel into consideration."

"Your mother appears to have a rather biting sense of the dramatic, apparently," Althaia noted. "My own mother named me after a... well, actually I am named after another nymph." She sighed.

He took a deep breath, not addressing the first part of the paladin's words on purpose. Death did seem like the logical conclusion to all this. But it didn't change the fact that seeing his demise in the near future was absolutely terrifying. And what had he done to deserve it? Be born? No. No, what he had done was far worse; he tried to rise above his heritage, and succeeded just in time for his father to take his place and abuse that success. He should have known better.