Dark Whispers
Story Emits
Stories are being told of something wicked that came to House Valardin, bringing dark dreams. Supposedly Lady Charlaine recognized the odd nature of everyone's nightmares and was gathering support to find the cause, which lead to an alleged imp showing its face. As the story goes, wearing the mask of a shav child that the Valardin knights had rescued from being burned, an imp tricked Princess Alis, Prince Valerion, Dame Alexis, Marquis Marius and some guards into thinking it was harmless. It played with dolls and told creepy bedtime stories, perhaps to get close to the princess to commit some foul deed. Lady Charlaine, Prince Fiachra, Lady Eirlys and Princess Sasha were on the scene and recognized it was not a normal child. They acted quickly to stop it. Lady Charlaine ran to get holy water to remove the illusion from those that saw the imp as a child. Lady Eirlys gathered the guards to retrieve the Sword of Sanctum's Oathbinder, a sword known to dispatch demons. Prince Fiachra stayed to protect his wife and Princess Sasha tried to distract the imp.
Lady Charlaine returned with water in hand, giving some to Prince Fiarcha to clear the illusion from Princess Alis' eyes. Prince Valerion was also assisted by Lady Charlaine. However, the imp saw what Lady Charlaine was doing and jumped to attack Princess Alis. Creature swiped the princess with his black claws wounding her. Prince Fiachra, Prince Fiachra, Prince Valerion, and Dame Alexis joined Princess Alis in fighting the beast. Prince Fiachra, Prince Valerion and Dame Alexis found their weapons did no damage, but Princess Alis and Lady Eirlys was able to trade a few wounding blows. Then Prince Fiachra had the clever idea to dip his arrows in holy water and shoot the imp. His arrow flew and hit true. Just as Dame Alexis stepped in to stop at devastating blow to Princess Alis, Prince Fiachra shot a second arrow that flew with Gloria's grace making a critical strike that went straight through the imp's eye. The demon was killed instantly. But it was not done with its mischief. When it fell and hit the ground, it instantly turned to ash and the remnants of his body burned Dame Alexis who stood in front of Princess Alis. Even in death the dark creature tried to hurt the princess.
It's hardly full dark when the cry goes up from the Ward of the Lyceum. An Inquisitor - Prince Laric Grayson - there to visit with Lady Juliet Fidante raises an alarm, and through the wails of witnesses it filters out into the ward, and then the city:
Someone has met a horrible end in that chamber, and those witnesses speak of a horrific scene. There have always been two portraits of the lady hanging up, and these have been removed and set up in a kind of triptych with a third. A new painting, also of Lady Juliet, but those horrified whispers claim this new picture is done in the worst kind of mixed media. "They painted her WITH her," someone gasps. "I seen it! There was blood and skin and hair and things I don't even know, right on the canvas!"
Someone else chimes in, "Canvas? It was skin! I swear I heard it was skin. Do you think she did it? Or do you think she's the one ON it?"
It's too soon to tell, and the family guards and Confessors are quick to move to keep gawkers away, but no blockade moves faster than rumor.
((OOC: feel free to story request or ask questions about this if you like, but as it's so late I'll be handling that stuff starting tomorrow. Sorry!))