RP:Whispers of Wyverns
Summary: Kang seeks an audience with Lady Quintessa Blackwell, with the express intent of infiltrating The Wyverns of the Emerald Dais, a cult devoted to an as of yet undisclosed aspect of Cire.
Kang enters the area wearing the aforementioned Crimson Bowler. His current look is a foreboding dark reddish brown, imitating the skin and scales of the projected subset of draconian they planned to infiltrate. The lack of wings on his back is not a mistake, simply a genetic marker of this particular draconian bloodline. They had developed a more deadly venom at the cost of flight. He tips his bowler at the border guards, part in greeting, part in identification. He smirks at everyone he passes, knowing full well that the combination of chaos energies and layers of doppelganger skin will make verification of his true race nigh impossible. He approaches the woman who appears to be in charge. "Thank you for responding to my missive. I do hope I haven't caught you at a bad time."
Quintessa would be found in the center of camp, where the largest pavilion was. It was here Quintessa had set up a sort of meeting area where she regularly addressed the people living under her care and gave them details about the happenings outside of this camp. This large tent also served as a makeshift throne-room, where Quintessa usually found herself seated elevated above the rest of the room on a series of large fine silk pillows. Having found herself discussing matters of global politics for much of the morning, the changeling is relieved to see the gentlemen in the red bowler arrive, a welcome distraction. “You managed to catch me between bad times, it seems,” Quintessa says as she rises, descending the stairs leading up to her pillow-sofa to join the draconian, gesturing to a nearby table they could sit together. “Your letter intrigued me. Logical ambiguity? Reptilian worshippers of a transient dark deity? I’ve studied many cults but none quite like this one… What else can you tell me?”
Kang straightens his hat, then crosses his arms behind his back. “Ah, yes. It seems that the cult appears to worship what the uninformed would call a chaos god. I believe the popular name is Cire, though they seem to have another name that they don’t speak outside the inner circle. I hope to find out what exactly they know. I’m a scholar by nature.” By genetics, he means. “And wish to further my academic pursuits, no matter the risk. Though the risk in this case is a bit steeper. Neurotoxins and whatnot. Through trial and error, and many loss of life and limb, we’ve gotten a small window of opportunity.”
Quintessa smiles, nodding her head quickly. “Yes, Cire, the divine essence of chaos. So this group you’ve mentioned is some type of apostasy? It isn’t like most people utter prayers to Cire, none that are sane anyway, to learn that there is a cult out there calling Cire by a different name is unsurprising.” When Kang mentions that scholarly pursuits were worth risking your life for, she agrees wholeheartedly, another nod of affirmation offered in response. “Indeed… But what’s this mention of neurotoxin?” Quintessa motions to one of her handmaidens, whispering something in her ear- a request for a certain book, before returning her attention to her guest. “I can definitely help with that too but… What exactly is your plan? Just observe and record for now? This is indeed a subject that deserves more study. Few people are invested in the research of Cire and even fewer brave enough to stare in the face of chaos.” Quintessa grins, showing off her shark-like teeth. “Not me though. You’ve come to the right person.”
Kang says, "My goal is infiltration, intelligence-gathering, perhaps some petty larceny, should the occasion arise.” He unfolds his arms from behind himself and with a sweeping gesture draws attention to his current appearance. “This is an accurate representation of the family of draconians that are members of the cult. They are quite venomous. I did mention that many lives were lost. They excrete a delicious neurotoxin from a sac attached to a hollow fang. The goblins have been calling it blink poison, due to the time it takes to immobilize them. Fortunately, they are fast and resilient. They can usually sever the infected limb in time to prevent death.” Kang grins widely for the dark fae, his own fangs glistening in the light. “I believe my disguise is rather good, including a painstaking reconstruction of the venom.”
Quintessa watches as Kang shows off his current appearance, examining closely until her handmaiden returns with a large tome, the Compendium Toxicum, which Quintessa flips to the back and starts taking notes with a quill that manifests from the shadows. “Blink Poison,” she utters as she writes, taking down all the details Kang had mentioned about it. “A natural neurotoxin produced by some sort of gland… Draconians. I wonder what breed of saurian they descend from…” She finishes writing and looks back up, examining Kang’s appearance once more. “A reconstruction,” she ponders to herself, now desiring a live specimen for her own personal research. “I have my own methods of shape-changing but… I will need physical material for it. Perhaps during our infiltration we will be able to abduct one of them? That’ll make things much easier for me.”
Kang nods sagely. "One of the first tricks I learned. I can replicate anything that I can identify. The trick is in the identification. The draconians in question are derived from an offshoot of sand dragon that used to be native to deserts north of Gualon. After decades of chaos pollution in their bloodline, their natural venom was heightened.” He doesn’t mention that the sentient staff is the one doing the transformation and replication, but it’s all semantics. “We can certainly abduct one, but it might prove difficult. Doable, but tricky. One bite and we’re done, not just with the mission, but life itself. A goblin might have an eyeblink to take desperate measures, but few have their constitution.”
Quintessa instantly begins to resume her notes, writing down their point of origin and connection with chaos pollution that caused the mutations necessary to heighten their venom. “That explains why they revere the God of Chaos, or some version of them. Likely seen as the one that gave their society power… how interesting.” She sets her quill down again, “I have, in my years of studying poisons, concocted a universal anti-toxin but it is very expensive to produce and might still prove just as fatal as the draconian neuro-venom… Perhaps an illusion will suffice? I’ll need to speak to the Archmage about that…”
Kang replies, "I can’t verify the why or the how with any certainty at this point.” He returns his arms to behind his back, ready to answer more questions so that everyone is set to begin the infiltration. “As unlikely as it may be, I sincerely hope your anti-toxin works faster than this venom. It would need to be. As for using an illusion, in some cases that could work. However, there are several genetically locked doors in their compound. A rarity in this country, but not unheard of, I’m sure.” The preklek-turned-draconian watches Quintessa jot down notes. “I appreciate your attention to details. Once we have their books, we can potentially add to them.
Quintessa nods along again in concurrence that she was asking for details Kang simply didn’t have. “Of course, we’ll likely discover more details later and I’ll… record them.” Quintessa shrugs, unsure if her anti-toxin will be effective. “I mean, typically I have more time to experiment, and when I had the castle I had a regular supply of prisoners to experiment on. But no matter, I’ll fall back on my polymorph potion idea- we’ll just have to kill one of them.” Quintessa hesitates for a moment, wincing a bit. “You’re… not against that are you? I’m not sure how else I can bypass a genetic lock without fully replicating their form with magic. I’m open to ideas though.” When Kang compliments Quintessa on her attention to detail she finds her cheeks burning with a slight blush, one she does not draw attention to. “Why, thank you. I was classically trained to be a scribe at the Xalious Mage’s Tower. Second of my class in fact. The salutatorian.”
Kang tilts his head to the side, thinking about how her question would be the opposite if she realized he was a Preklek. Keeping any alive would be more out of character than killing one, if not all of them. “As long as the one dying is not me, I believe I’ll manage to reconcile myself to the loss of life. This mission is important. What must be done, will be.” He moves on to the next question, exhaling a waft of thin smoke. Not good. He’d have to time his breathing better to match the incineration of the toxins. “If we time it right, I can open most locks with my disguise, and we can step through before it closes. However, should anyone notice, then the illusion might not be enough. It’s all about where you want the risk to be. Risk abducting a cultist, or risk looking suspicious for not having the apropos key?” After a moment, he adds. “Congratulations on Salutatorian. I, myself, gained status in a test once.” Yes, the last Preklek standing. Survival of the fittest is a game worth winning, He only hopes this endeavor aids the fight and doesn’t end it.
Quintessa smiles. The lack of mortal tightrope walking she had to do was refreshing. “We should only need to kill one. That will provide me with plenty of genetic material for this entire mission. Killing more than that might make them suspicious and thus harder to infiltrate. A single disappearance might be seen as an ordinary tragedy. People go missing in the swamp all the time… Speaking of which, where does this cult operate? We can plan our next move accordingly.” Quintessa laughs softly when Kang congratulates her. It feels like a lifetime ago that she was an apprentice so being praised for it now felt odd to her. “Thanks. And congratulations to your status as well. Life is always about tests I believe. I fail many of them but I learn from those failures more than I do my successes.”
Kang scratches his chin idly, mostly to hide his nerves as he replies to her last question. “They have a hidden base in the Sea of Sand. There’s a venom lock on a rock face that opens for them to walk through. Paranoid doesn’t begin to describe them. My associates and I have been able to ascertain this much, but the obvious hazards have deterred us from venturing much farther. They have a kill and eat policy when it comes to strangers.” He looks down unhappily. “As you say, many people go missing in the swamps. We know one reason now.”
Quintessa ‘s expression grows grim as she lifts her quill to write ‘kill and eat policy’ underlined in her notes. “I’ll have to account for their paranoia, so I’ll partially construct my potion before we set out to infiltrate them. I’ll waylay one out on a patrol and I’ll use them to finish the polymorph spell. That way we can do this before they notice one has gone missing. It’ll give us apt time to gather information and any artifacts they might have laying around.”
Kang says, "So, I have your support, then?” He sighs in relief. “I know the risks are great, but the reward should be well worth the effort. Such knowledge, so many secrets to be unearthed. I know they have information to help solve a few mysteries.
Quintessa said to you, "Of course you have my support, I’m always willing to help a fellow scholar. The pursuit of knowledge is the most pure endeavor one can engage in."
Kang bows his head slightly in thanks. “Then, I believe we both have preparations to make before we next meet. I shall attend to my side and when you are ready, contact me. Most goblins know how to find me: The man with the Crimson Bowler.” He tips the namesake hat and turns to take his leave.