• PM To Join • [Skywatch Keep] Interrogation

[Vivian Shiryu]

53rd of Ymiden, 722

Many might have thought it a bit strange to see an Inspector of the Lightning Knights carrying an empty bucket through Skywatch Keep, but the rank and file of the knights knew that Vivian had her reasons for whatever she was doing, and so didn't question it. Indeed, Vivian did have a reason for the bucket, as well as the cup and bowl she carried in it, and that reason was waiting on the second floor of the keep in an office that had been converted into an impromptu holding cell and interrogation room. Following the disfiguring of the Witch Doctor, Vivian had ordered her removed from her cell and placed under guard in Skywatch Keep itself, the move being done in secret so as to keep her identity a secret. There were never less than four knights watching her now, two inside the room with her and two guarding the door from the outside, and these were knights with proven track records showing level heads and no sign of corruption or criminal ties.

These knights had strict orders, and they questioned Vivian to ensure that she was, in fact, who she claimed to be and not a Syroan shapeshifter trying to get past them. This was done via the Whisperwill ring awarded to Inquistiors of Constable or higher, though Vivian had pulled strings to ensure the guards each had one for this assignment. Vivian was wearing her own, and asked her own questions, ensuring that no one else had been allowed in to see their prisoner. Once all the checks were completed, Vivian entered the room, which was now sparse except for a table and a pair of chairs, in one of which was sitting the Witch Doctor, now treated following her disfiguring though clearly the worse for wear.

Vivian set the bucket, the bowl, and the cup on the table and sat across from her, her own Whisperwill Ring clearly visible, so that the Witch Doctor would hopefully know better than to try lying to her. "Well, this has not been a good sign of our hospitality." she said, some annoyance clear in her voice, though not directly with the woman opposite her. "I assure you, what happened to you was not our intention. Criminal though you are, you were under our protection while in our custody, and we failed you in that." she said, giving a silent order to Fins, her Warden Diri. The little shark dog dove into the bucket and it started filling with Brightgleam water. "I don't know how familiar you are with the Wardens of the Lake, but his water will help. It won't regrow what you lost, but it heal your wounds faster, restore your strength, and ease your pain." she said, her tone calm as she filled the bowl and the cup with water from the bucket.

She set them both in front of the Witch Doctor, her body language more controlled than one might expect, given Vivian's primary reputation was that of a warrior and a battle commander, neither of which were particularly calm positions. "Put your arms in the water, yeah? And do you need help to drink?" she asked, her tone calm. If the Witch Doctor said she did, and would accept Vivian's help, then Vivian would help her drink. Otherwise, she'd continue. "Now, there are those who think that what happened to you was the result of an overzealous interrogation. I don't believe that, we wouldn't let anyone that stupid in a room with you. Even without the fact that torture is a poor way to get information, what was done to you is wholly counter-productive to the aim of getting information." she said, her tone calm.

"No, I believe that this was done to silence you, keep you from talking. And you and I both know that if that's the case, it won't be long before someone remembers that we have these." she said, taking a memory playback crystal out of her pocket and setting it on the table. The crystals could get information without words having to be exchanged, and they were more common than even the Whisperwill rings, being awarded to Investigators, one of the lower Inquisitor ranks. "Once that happens, they'll send someone to finish the job. Now, I can imagine that you have a hard time believing that we can protect your. I don't blame you, all things considered." she said, her tone calm. "However, at this point, your best shot of survival comes from me knowing who attacked you in the first place, and who they'd send after you next. Are they Syroan cultists? Regular members of the Shadow Quarter? Something else entirely? You would know." she said, before pushing the crystal towards the Witch Doctor. "And you can show me." she said, her tone calm.

[Pig Boy]

The cell that the Witch Doctor was kept in was well kept and appointed. The sort of space reserved for noble or privileged prisoners, who had status in society. She was given every comfort there, cushioned chairs, a feather bed, wine and food. Every need a living being could ask for was met, besides freedom to leave. So when Vivian arrived with a bucket, the Witch Doctor, though she was still in deal of pain from her ordeal the night before, lifted an eyebrow at the modest bowl and cup and bucket. However, when Vivian explained what they were about, she nodded, and accepted the help of a drink.

Yet, Vivian, through what investigative skill she had, was able to discern a note of caution and almost fear as she beheld the face of Vivian. The Witch Doctor's eyes never left the gaze of Vivian as she took the water, and drank it as it eased her wounds and pain.

Finally, they came to the crux of the matter, the memory crystal. While some secrets of the Lightning Knights were better kept than others, Ilaren saw no reason to hide the fact that their soldiers, their inquisitors could recover memories intact and fully from willing witnesses, and publicized it widely among all Quarters. The Shadow Quarter knew better than most this fact, as many a witness had been utilized in this way to bring their members to justice.

The Witch Doctor thought it odd that she should be one of those 'victims' now, and have her memory of the attack laid bare for the Sleuth before her.

Nevertheless, she cooperated, and took the memory crystal, filling it with the memory of the attack. Vivian would note the pain on Witch Doctor's face as the memory played into the crystal, in its fullness. When at last she was done, she set the stone on the table, and stared at Vivian, waiting for her to take a look.

Should Vivian play the memory, she would see the following:

The Witch Doctor was in the bloodworks of the Lightning Dome, searching for something. A way out. But she couldn't find it. Her portals failed her. She searched and searched, going farther into the Bloodworks than ever a person could, for this was a dream, and the reality and fidelity to the true nature of the Lightning Dome was fuzzy, at best.

She opened a portal, finally, having escaped the radius of whatever was sapping her rupturing magics. But when she opened the portal, someone came out the other side, and the portal pushed her back. From the portal, a feminine figure emerged. Clad in the armor of a high-ranking Lightning Knight, and bearing a sword that was all too familiar to Vivian. When the WItch Doctor's eyes fell upon the face of her assailant, Vivian would perhaps be shocked to find it was herself that appeared. Wielding Shiryu against the Witch Doctor.

In an instant, upon her being pushed back from the portal, the Witch Doctor was made lucid in the dream. Then, the false Vivian took her sword, and carved the tongue out of the Witch Doctor. The Witch Doctor then awoke, coughing shadowy blood and nearly choking on it. The rest of the memory was just the pain of suffering the attack, and confusion of what had happened.

The Witch Doctor stared at hate with Vivian, though she understood Vivian had not been the one to attack her in the dream, she remembered who it was that had taken her one and only defense against this assailant from her. The Delana Stone had been destroyed by Vivian, after all. Now there was nowhere that the Witch Doctor could hide from the one who hunted her.

[Vivian Shiryu]

Vivian helped the Witch Doctor drink like she had offered, being careful not to hurt her any more than needed. She had never liked torture, and the one time she'd come close to the practice, she'd made herself sick. She knew, clinically, that it was theoretically about getting information or making a point, but the reality was that it was nothing more than a cruel flaunting of power. She wouldn't have wished this on anyone, even a criminal she'd put in jail herself. She didn't feel guilty about having arrested the Witch Doctor, mind, as the woman in front of her had earned a jail sentence. It was that the knights had failed to protect someone under their care that bothered her, even if that someone was probably up for a death sentence after her eventual trial.

She supposed that a cynical person might call her feelings on the matter selfish, a reaction to having the power of the Lightning Knights challenged rather than actual care for the people in their jails. There probably were knights who thought like that, in all honesty, but she was not one of them. She didn't say any of this, though, as she really rather doubted that the Witch Doctor was particularly interested in hearing Vivian go on a tangent about the morality of jailers vs that of torturers. Instead, she waited as the other woman poured a memory into the crystal, an act that was clearly painful as she recalled the memory. When she was done, Vivian picked up the crystal and bore witness to the Witch Doctor's mutilation.

When it was done, she opened her eyes and looked down at the crystal. "A dreamwalker, then. That's annoying, we'll have to work a different means of protection for you." she said, her tone calm before she looked up at the Witch Doctor and met her gaze. She could tell that the Witch Doctor was angry with her, though not likely for the dream attack. Arresting her and breaking the Delana Stone was the more likely culprit. "Do you expect me to feel bad? For helping to catch you, for breaking your magic rock? We both know I don't, not any more than you feel bad for attacking the tournament and poisoning a man." she said, her tone remarkably blunt. "I don't like torture, and I do feel bad that we couldn't stop this from happening to you. But that's as far as my guilt goes." she said, before shaking her head. "That said, neither of us benefit from being at each others throat over what's already happened. Right now, we need to figure how to keep you from being attacked in your dreams again." she said, before looking at one of the guards still in the room.

"Pass the word that I need a knight with an expertise in Dreamwalking. One with a clean record and no indication of vengeful tendencies if at all possible." she said, her tone a direct statement. To many outside the knights, the qualifications might seem odd, but part of the job of the Inquisitors was to protect people from knights that went rogue, even themselves if necessary. On top of that, the Witch Doctor was a criminal, and there would be otherwise good, sturdy, honest knights that wouldn't be particularly keen to lift a finger in her defense just on that fact alone. It made work like this tricky sometimes. For now, however, Vivian turned back to the Witch Doctor. "Is there anything else you can show me that could help keep you safe, or to catch the person who attacked you? And do you want more to drink?" she asked, her tone calm.

[Pig Boy]

When asked if she thought Vivian should feel bad about imprisoning her, or destroying the Delana Gem, the Witch Doctor’s mouth twitched in amusement, her eyes lighting up. Then she shrugged, and began writing on the parchment and writing utensils they’d provided her. It took a few trills for her to write it, but then she showed Vivian,

The Delana Gem? Concerned more so.

I didn’t poison anyone. That was Sarah Glazebrook.

I was there to free Uglyman from the brig. But he turned on us once things started going south upstairs. And then, my magic failed.

The Witch Doctor for a moment seemed content to leave it at that, but then her writing instrument hovered over the parchment a trill or two longer. After another moment’s hesitation, she began writing again.

There are ways of securing protection from Dreamwalkers. Don’t involve dreamwalkers that are sent as sacrificial lambs to slaughter. You have no lightning knights that are decent enough dreamwalkers for this foe. I know.

She stared at Vivian a few moments, and then looked down to write on the parchment once more.

I don’t need anything new right now. I’ve had far better hospitality here than in some of Rharne’s ‘finest’ Inns.

She smirked at that, before looking up at Vivian.

Then without looking away from Vivian, she wrote the solution to their problem on the paper. Nightmare Well.

She wanted one, apparently. Although whether Vivian and the Lightning Knights had that resource, or could contact someone who did, was another matter.

The messenger she’d sent out to find someone who could dreamwalk came back presently. “Commander Shiryu, we’ve a few Lightning Knights that say they’re experts at Dreamwalking. All with good records of mission success. Shall we send for them?”

The messenger would stay on a moment longer, then carry out Shiryu’s orders whatever they were.

[Vivian Shiryu]

Vivian read what the Witch Doctor wrote, then looked up and nodded. "I see." she said, in response to the Witch Doctor's clarification on what happened at the tournament. "Were the Syroan Cultists that attacked the tournament while we were all engaged in the Bloodworks part of the plan? And was Uglyman the Sessfiend that we faced?" she asked, her tone calm. They would have to change the Witch Doctor's charges slightly, but it was worth getting those last two details, should the Witch Doctor be willing to share. Especially if the intervention of the remnants of Syroa's followers had not been part of the original plan, as that meant that the Shadow Quarter and the Cultists weren't entirely in alignment.

Then the Witch Doctor wrote out a response to offer of Dreamwalking protection. Her assessment of the abilities of their Dreamwalking Knights was not encouraging, and Vivian admitted to herself that she didn't know enough about Dreamwalking to know if she was telling the truth. Vivian didn't immediately respond, beyond a quick amused huff when the Witch Doctor compared her current cell to Rharne's inns. Her next words caught her attention, and she pondered the implications of what a Nightmare Well could be. She knew Wells were powerful, she'd used them before and had even created one that was, as far as she knew, currently unique. However, she wasn't an expert on that subject either. However, she would have to make a judgement call here, and the arrival of a messenger meant that she would need to make it quickly.

Fortunately, she was good at making decisions quickly and nodded to herself. "Inform those knights that they might be called to duty for a special assignment. I'll have more details if it's something we go ahead with. In addition, I need an expert on Wells, one who meets the same qualifications as the other knights and knows what Wells we have access too." she said, her tone a direct command. Once the messenger left, Vivian tilted her head to the side slightly. "If this Nightmare Well can't protect you, we'll take more direct action. However, while we wait to see what we have access to, it would help if you could explain how this Well is supposed to keep you from getting attacked in such a manner again." she said, her tone calm.

[Pig Boy]

Not mine. The Witch Doctor wrote to Vivian, regarding whether the Syroan cultists were part of 'The Plan'. My only interest there was to gather information, and as far as I knew, Sarah Glazebrook was about the same task. But then, you know the rest. Faith got a bee in her bonnet and started snooping where she shouldn't.

If the Witch Doctor was aware of how close Vivian was to Faith, she certainly didn't mind denigrating her involvement in the Tournament. The attack was a surprise to me, as was the Sessfiend. Freeing Uglyman was an act of extreme desperation. To Vivian's mind, something wouldn't track. There were dozens of murderous Syroan cultists in those stands. How did they know that the 'Uglyman' would be freed? Let alone know the situation would be ripe for an attack? Especially when the Witch Doctor herself was barely prepared for dealing with one such as Faith Augustin.

The messengers left them for a while, a break at least. Through which they had to simply wait. But they did know an expert they could consult on the nature of wells. As for Lightning Knights, or their own stockpile of wells, there were few enough and none that fit the description of a Nightmare Well. It was exceedingly rare, and Rharne had never been a nation rich in Fractive anomalys. Not to the level of places such as Scalvoris, Yaralon, and the Hotlands. Minor ones opened up from time to time, but apart from that... All of this information was related to Vivian through the Lightning Knights.

The Witch Doctor meanwhile coolly regarded her and all she heard. It was enlightening to her that Vivian was willing to share this much intelligence with a woman who by all accounts was able to make contact (albeit hostile contact) with the outside world through Dreamwalking.

But then, she was not long for the world, right? Someone was out to kill her. Ostensibly.

She smiled at Vivian.

Just a break or so later, Lag Mauverin from Ilaren's Anvil & Foundry entered the room. He looked very flustered to have been summoned at short notice but dutifully reported to Vivian, nonetheless.

"I'm afraid, Commander, unless you can locate a major fracture in the near term, you won't find any Nightmare Wells in any of my caches. Such wells are rare, and only found in the Hearts of these Fractures." Lag furrowed his brown haired brow, and then looked from the WItch Doctor to Vivian, "But! Perhaps you have other allies that have Umberdytes? Didn't Professor Augustin have a cache of wells for her war against Ellasin? Did you happen to plunder any others while fighting her necromantic creations?"

The Witch Doctor wrote down some more words, and if Vivian read them, she'd see, The Nightmare Well is the only way to prevent dreamwalkers from using their powers in the vicinity. She wrote, and then appeared to have a thought, and added, If they don't have any, Maybe the direct approach then.

[Vivian Shiryu]

Vivian frowned slightly when the Witch Doctor said that the cultist attack hadn't been part of her plan. The comment about Faith only got a mildly amused huff, though. Criminals always liked to go on about how people were "getting involved where they didn't belong" and other such similar idiocy, as if law enforcement were infringing on their rights to prey upon the innocent. It would have been insulting, if the whole thing wasn't a blatant and pathetic attempt to make themselves feel better about their lifestyle. Still, things weren't adding up about the Witch Doctor's statements now. Vivian hadn't given away anything particularly important as of yet, beyond that they had Dreamwalking knights, and the possibility of Nightmare wells, but if this was an attempt to gain information, that bit about whether they had Nightmare Wells could be important.

However, her Whisperwind ring wasn't going off yet, which meant that the Witch Doctor hadn't directly tried to deceive her. And she'd seen the memory, as well. But there was a moment of hesitation and then Vivian realized something. She'd defaulted to treating the Witch Doctor as a victim, but she had been a criminal first. Moreover, she knew that Syroa's cultists had shapeshifting powers, and there were magics capable of healing. This could have all been a trick, to get information by making the Witch Doctor look the victim, then extract her and repair her injuries. However, she was least not directly lying, which did make the connection between the Witch Doctor and the Syroan's tenuous at best.

Then the Witch Doctor smiled at her and Vivian was all but certain. Even if she had been genuinely attacked, the woman across from her was still playing games. Vivian could almost admire the stubbornness, but she shouldn't have overplayed her hand. "Earlier you said that your goal was to free the Uglyman." she said, pointing at the sentence the Witch Doctor had written about it. "If freeing him was an act of desperation, what pushed you to it? I wouldn't have thought we were pressuring you that hard. And the Syroan cultists knew the exact moment they needed to strike, to make the most use of what you and Glazebrook were doing. On top of all that, your Delana Gem marks that you were prepared for a fight with someone like Faith, with all the resources she can bring to bear." she said, her tone calm. She had to force the Witch Doctor into a corner, where she would either have to tell the truth or lie to her outright. Mixing up her statements about the Uglyman could help.

When an expert on Wells walked in, Vivian nodded at his comments. "Ellasin's Well cache was repurposed during the War, it's where we got Prison Wells." she said, her tone calm. If the Witch Doctor wanted to play with half-truths, Vivian could do. Only one Well had ever been so repurposed, and that had been done by Vivian's own hand, though others had been put to the allied cause as well. The others would still be in the hands of the Zuuda, and Vivian was relatively certain she could ask a favor of Faith and get any Nightmare Wells they had loaned to them in short order. "Stay in the building, I may need to speak with you again when I'm done here." she said to Mauverin. Once he was gone, Vivian looked at the Witch Doctor's response and nodded slightly. "Possibly, though you seem convinced we can't. The safer option is likely to cut you off from Emea. Dreamwalkers need to travers the realm of dreams to attack you, so if we separate you from Emea, you'd be safe from such attacks." she said, her tone thoughtful. This was more of a gamble, since she had no idea if that was even possible, but it tracked to her that it was, given that they'd all lost connection to Emea a few arcs back, and if the Witch Doctor was relying on an Emean connection for her games, it could put her onto the back foot.

[Pig Boy]

The WItch Doctor was writing as soon as she heard of the 'Prison Well'. Eventually she stopped writing and slid the note over.

A prison well? I know of all manner of wells, great and small, but I've never heard of such a thing. Perhaps it is a layman's term. Do you mean a soul gem? The Witch Doctor couldn't suppress a pained chuckle, That's a pedestrian term for the uninitiated, any well large enough can safely hold one soul. The greatest of wells can hold many. Is that what you're referring to? I'd have thought the great Faith Augustin would've disposed of any souls so imprisoned.

The Witch Doctor was thinking behind her written words of course, and didn't let on that she caught that it may not be a soul that was imprisoned in this Well that Vivian referred to. In any event, she was not directly deceiving her still in anything she'd said yet.

When Vivian asserted that the Delana Gem was any protection from the likes of Faith, she coughed back laughter. Then she wrote down another statement, "She had a trinket, or someone did, maybe it was Ilaren? That disabled all magic in the Bloodworks. The Uglyman got off through my portal, before I was able to escape into it myself. Unfortunately, the magic that disabled my rupturing also stifled that within the Delana Gem. So Ilaren was able to corner me."

She began writing more, this time a quite lengthy explanation by the time that passed between transmission, The Syroans weren't working in concert with me. But in the moment, the distraction was useful to both I and Glazebrook. Not that I was working with her either. We were about our own business there. The Uglyman had information that I wanted to extract, about the remnants of a certain trinket, but he slipped through the portal I made for the prisoner that had ravaged the Angler. And before I could make my own passage through that portal... The magic went out.

Still no sense of direct deception. There seemed to be things she wasn't being entirely forthright about. But unless the trinket Vivian was using could give her mind-reading abilities, she wouldn't be able to tell what she was leaving out. The Well-crafter nodded to Vivian, as he excused himself, but remained within earshot should they need his expertise. He was very loyal to Ilaren and her knights, and thus was happy to oblige.

The Witch Doctor nodded her head at Vivian's assertions, however, she had little left to write about, as Vivian hadn't asked her a direct question just yet.

[Pig Boy]

Vivian Shiryu

Feedback

Well, Vivian is quite accomplished to have interrogated a Kingpin! She's clever too, and seems to have answers to all the problems posed by this very high value captive.

Check the consequences there, and don't be afraid to involve other players in this plot, or the Witch Doctor may die of her illness by 725 Rebirth.

Thanks for the thread!

Rewards

• Renown: 15
• XP: 15

Knowledges

• Investigation: x3
• Psychology: x3
• Detection: x3
• Discipline: x3

Consequences

• Although this interrogation didn't afford you the answers you sought, the Witch Doctor remains in custody, although in increasingly bad health. If she isn't interrogated again, many of the doctors who've checked on her speculate that she may die of her mysterious illness by Rebirth of 725.
  
  However, Vivian does secure her dreams, even so, and she is safe from dream killers so far.