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Gabi wants to finish earning her first rogue level!
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It looks like Dia is going to be insufferable for a long time, as it looks like there is another wave of riots (just as Dia predicted)!  Maybe even worse than the riots after the Four Day War (not that she would know, as she wasn't allowed out on the streets during that time)!  Gabi should probably be making her way back to the monastery through the secret entrance, but if they've closed off the main entrance the tenants won't know how to get in through the secret entrance (or even where it is, it is some distance from the crematorium), so they will need someone to help them get in.  Or if she sees another female delegate she could guide them to safety in the monastery!  Is it worth more Good to save a stranger than a tenant?  And they'll defintely vote for Thea's ideas if they are saved by one of her students!  And she can pitch them on tenancy!  It's an adventure and opportunity to finally use her memorized sales pitch!

So she's on the lookout for her monastery's tenants or any delegate in need of saving.  She can probably only do this once, because once she's back in the monastery she'll be ordered to stay put to stay 'safe'.

She's dressed as an urchin, but she has a symbol of Irori on her person she can show as proof of her associations if needed.

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Silvia has been spending her nights in ramshackle apartments and back alleys. She dresses like any other farmer from her village, and people come to Westcrown enough that she doesn't stand out. The Convention is as much talking to people as she can handle in a day, and more. When the Select talks about the right ways to be Good, she worries this is how she'll be needed here. Nobody asks, though. She stays in her seat, quiet and unobtrusive. When the sun sets, and people start talking about killing nobles themselves... well, she understands the idea, but nobody needs her for this, so she's staying out of it.

When they start forming into mobs, taking up stones and torches, and crowding towards homes defended with magic and spikes and cruelty, she decides this is a convenient time to stay outcast from the group. She takes her stake, grabs her pot, and finds the nearest alley in which she can stay out of sight.

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Gabi is moving from narrow alley to narrow alley as much as possible.  If the alleys are narrow enough for one person at a time, she could probably hold a mob back, she's pretty sure she could take a commoner in a fight!  She see Silvia.  Probably not a delegate, but helping people is Good, and she really wants to at least use her tenancy pitch.

"Hey, do you have somewhere safe to go, I know a safe place!"  She flashes her symbol of Irori to signal her lawfulness and trustworthiness!

Gabi is 13 years old and dressed like a street urchin.  She is smiling stiffly (she has a tendency to smile under pressure in the (lately) rare moments she isn't actually feeling happy).

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"...not exactly, no. Who are you and how do you know me?" She's never met this... poor farmer's young daughter? No, this is a city, she's just someone on the streets. Why would she know Silvia enough to offer her a safe place? Well. 'Safe.' Silvia is well aware of one thing that might mean.

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"I am a monk at an Irorian Abbey not too far from here.  This is his holy symbol."  She waves the image of a palm print. "I am dressed as a street urchin to practice the art of urban stealth.  Our main entrance should be sealed up already, but I know a secret entrance!  I am helping you, even though you are a random vagrant, for the Good.  Irori's perfectly lawful neutral but at the Abbey we figure its best to overshoot on the Good-Evil axis than undershoot!"

Revealing the secret entrance to save someone is probably okay, it was sorta in their plans?  (Dia wanted to plan more for this and is going to make them go through sooo many contingencies and plans now).  Oh wait, this vagrant might be scared of them.

"Thea is trying to make neutral so she has hosted vagrants at our monastery before, for no charge even!"

Well that ruins her chances of making her sales pitch if this person isn't a vagrant but pretends to be, but oh well.

 

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Ah! She needs to help vagrants so she can be less Evil. Is that real? ...Maybe that's real, she hasn't exactly had a strong theological education. Silvia isn't exactly going to tell this 'monk' she shouldn't help her. (What's a monk? Not the point.)

"I don't know who Irorian is, or Thea. But if you have a safe place for no charge I'll take it." She'll keep an eye out, though. No need to mention everything she can do. And she has her stake up her sleeve.

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Gabi thinks she spots a weapon up this person's sleeve.  Nice, this person can cover her flank... assuming she isn't planning a backstab?  She looks trustworthy enough?

"Okay, so my plan is we wait for mobs to pass the open areas, then go from narrow alley to narrow alley, I've already got a route planned of narrow alleys.  I figure if a mob can only squeeze through one at a time they are less likely to follow that way and we can hold'em off if we have to."

And a mob is passing by their alley as they talk  Gabi presses herself to the wall and lowers her voice.

"We'll wait for that group to pass, then cross the street for an alley a short sprint away.  While we're waiting... Irori is a lawful neutral God that ascended without cheating with the starstone through sheer discipline and self perfection.  Thea is our Abbess and a cleric of Irori."

Gabi is enthusiastic about this chance to evangelize for her perfect God!  Her smile shifts from strained to genuine when she starts talking about Irori and Thea.

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"Going between the alleys sounds good if you have a route."

Silvia glances out and sees the mob. ...they have a torch, and their cover right now is just shadows. "Monk," she whispers, "get back. ...Ten feet should do it." She ducks back herself a bit, tugging on Gabi's sleeve. "Talk once they've passed." Iroran Irori might be interesting, but not dying here is more important.

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This person is pretty good at stealth themselves!  They gauged that torchlight distance perfectly!

"We should check its clear then run once they've finished passing."

And then she can focus on not dying!  She would have spotted that torch herself in another moment.

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"Yes. But people are joining in, there will be stragglers." Silvia closes her eyes for a moment. "A minute after they pass for the followers to be gone, and then we go. In five minutes, whoever stays here might be coming out. ...Lives here. And then—"

She shakes her head. "Wait. Are we going that way," she gestures towards the mob, "or that way", towards where the mob is going, "to get to the next alley? If we follow them, go just as they pass, we will not be noticed. Against, we need the minute or they will see."

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"We're going in the direction of the mob.  So yeah that could work.  Say when and I'll lead the way like we are part of their group straggling behind."

This person is better than Gabi, maybe better than Dia or any of the other stealth-trained monks (not that there are many left).  Their training has been lagging behind since the Sisterhood abandoned them.  Gabi should recruit her as a teacher!

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Silvia nods and waits. They're back enough that the torchlight will be dim, and as long as they're still they shouldn't be seen. ...Perhaps the monk doesn't know that. "Stay still," she mutters, and then holds herself motionless. Arbat whipped her for disturbing him with her breathing, some of the bad weeks. She has practice.

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Gabi can in fact stay perfectly still!  And with a moment to calm herself she makes her breathing nearly silent as well.

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Then the body of the mob will pass without incident, and the street they fill will become usable again. Once the stragglers are only twice as dense as they were during the day, Silvia nods. "Good. Lead us. ...I am Silvia, if you need to call me."

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"I'm Gaavia, I mean Gabi."  Ugh, she should be able to avoid repeating her old name out loud by now.

She matches the pace and gait of the stragglers reasonably well, leading them for half a minute, then pauses for a moment, seemingly to rest, before crossing into an alley so narrow Silvia's shoulders will brush up against it even angling her body.

"It's through the alley, we need to watch for a mob on the other side as well."

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Silvia approves of the rest! This Gabi seems to know what she is doing. As they squeeze into the alley, she points behind them. "You can see the light on the wall back there? It is flickering, and there is a slight shadow cast, right... there." She traces her hand along the wall, where the light fades just slightly.

"This is a sign of a Light from around the corner, if you are watchful. ...A torch, that is." The flicker is new, but the brightness is almost the same as the lights she's used to. "I will be slow to come out, next time. You are small, it will be best for you to check. Fifteen feet from the street if they have a torch, twenty if it is near the side. ...It is not easy to see the difference. Twenty, to be safe. If they do not, looking should not be a risk."

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She watches for torchlight and waits for the torch to pass, then crosses to the other end of the alley and peaks out.  It looks clear, but  she waits half a minute, holding perfectly still as she waits.

"Okay it's been clear for half a minute, next alley?"

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Silvia nods. ...when Gabi doesn't react, she remembers it's dark, and Gabi can't see in the dark. "Yes, it seems safe."

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Then she'll poke her head out, wait until Silvia is right behind her, and then sprint to the next alley.  It's close enough that it is under 10 seconds of sprinting and this street is almost empty at the moment.  Silvia looked healthy, so she figures Silvia can keep up.

"One more alley after this!"

Gabi's voice sounds excited even when she is being quiet.

 

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When they reach it, Silvia is keeping up, but is definitely more tired than Gabi was expecting. She catches her breath for a moment before responding.

"We are close? Good. The people out here will not see us entering?"

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"Yeah, it's a secret entrance in the next alley... I should have sworn you to secrecy sooner.  Can you swear not to reveal the entrance or even the specific alley I'm about to show you to anyone, nor to otherwise reveal it." 

She had an exact wording to swearing someone to secrecy she was supposed to use if it every came up, but she's forgotten it.  She supposes writing the exact wording hundreds or even thousands of times will get added to her punishment for this adventure.  She'd almost rather take a beating as long it didn't include any hits to the face!

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Swearing was a stronger commitment than Silvia thought she was making! But she doesn't have many other options, and this doesn't... sound like a problem? Still, she closes her eyes and thinks. (She doesn't move while thinking. Cheliax makes sure of that.)

"Yes, I will so swear. And yes, you probably should have."

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Opps!  That will go on the failures for tonight, on top of the disobedience to the obvious order she didn't have but could have predicted if she thought about it of not returning to the monastery as soon as it looked like there would be unrest.

"Sorry!"

She checks for torchlight, then moves to the end of the alley to look down the next street.  This alley is overall wider, but the other end of it will be a close squeeze for Silvia.

"Next street looks clear.  Do you think we should try to walk normally or go for another run to get to your last alley?  It's about 20 seconds sprinting... maybe a minute walking like everything is normal?"

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"Twenty seconds is fine. Squeezing in will look strange, though. It might be better not to catch eyes by sprinting." Silvia checks the street is empty, and starts walking in the indicated direction.

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If they are listening they can hear a mob the next block over... which Gabi knows is worryingly close to the abbey's main entrance, but they make it to the last alley without incident.  It's entrance is narrow, but the alley widens a bit towards the middle.  Gabi stops over a cobblestone that is much wider and flatter than the others around it and starts feeling around the edges, before giving up and pounding on it.

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The stone is lifted from underneath by an older teenager (maybe 16).

"Come on, quickly."

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"I brought someone!"

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"Sure, hurry up.  It's a short drop down to the start of this tunnel, you'll need to hunch as you get in.  This part of the tunnel isn't lit.  Gabi, lead her."

She leaves the stone set aside, and goes back down to make way for Gabi and this person to climb down.

With the stone lifted, if Silvia can see in the dark, she can see there is a hole leading to a downward sloping tunnel.  The tunnel requires a hunch at the start by the hole, but opens up to comfortable person height.

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Silvia cannot see in the dark! This would be a strange time to betray her, though. She hops down, hunches over to walk in, and follows Gabi's guidance. ...She does try to straighten too quickly, and bumps her head, but her hiss of pain is quiet and she gets back to moving along without an issue.

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Gabi guides her swiftly and efficiently through the darkness, it seems these tunnels twist and turn on themselves some, perhaps to throw off intruders?  But soon enough they get to a long curving hallway dimly lit by distantly spaced continual flames set deeply in sconces on the wall.  After another half a minute moving through this hallway (and ignoring several other places the hallway splits off) there is light up ahead, like that from a clear bright day.

At least Bàrbara has held off on lecturing her so far!

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Bàrbara waits to speak until they can see the brighter light up ahead.

"So are you like, a delegate or something?"

Hopefully Gabi didn't just decide to rescue a random vagrant.  It's technically not against her instructions to have done so.  They should have planned for this better.  At least after this incident, Bàrbara will have clearer instructions about what to do.  Although it will mean Dia being so smug about having predicted this event.

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"Why? Do I look so out of place in Westcrown? But yes." Silvia sighs. "I suppose I should find new clothing. The prices are not too bad, and I do have the silver now."

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Bàrbara thinks the woman's clothing kind of looks like a commoner's or even a peasant's from outside the city or even a more nicely dressed beggar's. Bàrbara only assumed delegate because was hoping Gabi wouldn't bring in a random person as opposed to a delegate.  She'll take credit for having a keen eye for people though and nods at Silvia's words.

"Our Abbess is a delegate, along with a few of our tenants.  Our Abbess will probably want to talk to you at some point about the convention."

And she is content to lead on in silence as they reach the brightly lit area.  It is a large, seemingly open, chamber, with a permanent illusion of bright blue sky above them.  Standing around and laying on mats near the hallway they came out of are 15 girls and teenagers (ages 5 to 16).  Some of the teenagers are armed with short swords, longbows, and more unusual weapons.  Three people dressed like beggars are laying off to the side.  Another two people dressed as commoners are sitting next to each other.  A woman dressed like a wizard is talking to a woman in a dress with a starry night pattern.

Bàrbara addresses Silvia again.  "We are waiting around here to go back up the secret entrance we came from if our main entrance is breached."

One of the girls comes up to Bàrbara.  Bàrbara only says one word "Delegate."

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She'll handle this.  She makes a normal person face (somewhat scared of the rioting outside but putting on a brave face).

"Go to Thea at the main entrance."  she says to Bàrbara.

And then turning to Silvia. "Hi, I'm Dia.  Welcome to our Abbey!"

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"Hello. I am Silvia. I am told this is a safe place from everyone with their torches and pitchforks, and will not charge me for the night?"

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"Of course we won't charge for protecting someone!  Our normal rate is only a silver a day anyway.  We should be safe here yes, our main entrance door is concealed and quiet durable, and in the worse case our Abbess could hold the entrance hallway while we retreat out the secret entrance you came in from.  I trust you will keep it a secret?"

Dia's voice is calm with her last question and implies it won't be an issue.

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"I swore her to secrecy!  And she's really good at being stealthy and sneaky so I bet she's good at secrecy also!"

She's already in trouble so probably Dia won't be any extra mad at her chiming in.

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"I swore to keep the entrance secret, yes. Not to reveal the entrance or even the specific alley Gabi showed me, specifically." She doesn't comment on her ability to keep secrets.

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Suddenly words are heard by everyone, from a woman's voice, as if she was right next to all of them.

Stop rioting. Go home immediately. The primary temple of Abadar offers sanctuary for the night, for anyone injured or caught outside.

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Excellent!  She got her adventure in before everything stopped!

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"Did everyone hear that?"  Nods and affirmations go around.

"It was a Mage's Decree, so some higher circle wizards are solving things!"  She announces to everyone.

"We were planning on sleeping by this hallway for the option of a fast escape, but if the trouble is clearing I can show you to a room...  actually I'll wait for our Abbess to decide if we need to be ready to evacuate."

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"A Mage's Decree? Ah, a wizard spell, this makes sense. Good, people are dangerous in groups."

"A room sounds good. At a silver a day, I should be able to stay here in the future, as well." They need Silvia to keep their secret, so she shouldn't make it hard for them to check.

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"The silver includes more than just a room to yourself... Gabi, do you want to give the pitch?  Gabi's memorized our pitch and has been looking for the chance to give it..."

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Is Dia not mad at her?  And she finally gets to make the pitch!

"Tenancy is only available to women, girls, and boys under the age of 11 with a mother or other female adult custodian.  The rooms are in an underground monastery, it's well lit by continual flames.  The price for one person, one room, is a silver per day.  Adding another person to share a room is an additional 5 coppers.   This prices includes decent stew for dinner, tolerable porridge for breakfast, plenty of clean water, laundry once a week at a set time by our resident wizard, optional participation in morning and evening stretches and warm-up exercises.  Optional add-ons sold by the day include 3 additional coppers for a light lunch, 15 silvers for a cure light wounds given a day's notice, and with 50 silvers collateral (or equivalent value), access to our library for a day for 1 copper.   The Abbess will announce price or rules changes at least 5 days in advance."

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"And to add to that... we'll probably be closing our main entrance at a set time each day from now on.  Our Abbess might show everyone the secret entrance so they have another way to get inside in the event of another riot.  I'll leave that decision to her though.  But I guess you already know it."

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"I do. A closed door, a secret entrance, and breakfast and dinner sounds good after today. A library... I will think on it. I should meet the Abbess?"

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Thea is actually entering the main chamber now.  She decided with the Mass Sending that the rioters will be unlikely to try the crematorium again, so she's left Bàrbara to guard the main entrance, she'll assign Sofia to relieve her halfway through the night.  She announces to everyone.

"I've decided the risk of needing to evacuate is low enough you can sleep in your rooms tonight.  Still, if you hear shouting in the middle of the night, report to this main chamber for evacuation."  People begin to leave the main chamber and head down various hallways.

She notices Silvia and walks up to her.

"Hello, I'm Thea Iroria, monk and cleric of Irori, Abbess of this monastery, and delegate of the faith of Irori to the Constitutional Convention."

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Silvia inclines her head, hesitates, and straightens up.

"Hello. I am Silvia Noguera, of Parafita. Elected delegate to the Constitutional Convention. ...You were on the Diabolism committee with the Select today? Is Irori a god of Good, then?"

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She's happy to discuss her faith in detail!

"Irori is Lawful Neutral, but I believe he has many Good virtues to learn from.  I'm happy to answer any questions about his faith you have!  And I wasn't on the excising diabolism committee, I was merely reporting on an Evil cult I knew a lot about."

Her expression darkens.

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"But apparently some pamphlet full of misinformation is claiming that I am an active member of the very cult I was reporting about."

She want to say more, but can see Dia signaling with some slight shifts in body language to move the topic on.  She is going to work harder at following Dia's advice after today.

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"I hear you." Silvia speaks formally, clearly a ritual wording. An unusual one, perhaps just from her village? Thea hasn't heard it before. She pauses before continuing.

"The Select called for the overthrowing of the evil nobles, but also said the innocent should not fear. This," she gestures back towards the entrance she came from, "does not seem to keep the innocent safe. Do you know what changed? Was it the committee, or more pamphlets, or something else?"

"And I would learn of Irori if we have the time, but what is happening now seems urgent."

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"I got the same message from the Select's words that you did, but wiser people than me noticed there was more than one way of interpreting it."

She nods at Dia.

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"The commoners heard from the Select's message there was an easy way to be Good, and they don't want hellfire, and all they had to do was fall into lawlessness to make Good.  The Select had to choose her words carefully with the Archmage's rules, but everyone knew she was doing that, so they interpreted some to get at her meaning.  As to whether the Select meant for this to happen... someone should check if Iomedae is still empowering Select Wain tomorrow, I think Gods can probably stretch alignments some, but if this was on purpose and not just careless idiocy, this should lose Wain her Law and maybe her Good as well if enough innocents died."

No way Dia believes this was an accident, but she has to be careful about throwing accusations at the cleric of a God favored by the Queen.  Also, Dia doesn't actually believe Iomedae would drop her cleric if she didn't have to.  Killing diabolists is probably fine with Iomedae even with a high bystander causality rate.  But maybe Pharasma's rules means Ioimedae has to drop Valia Wain is she goes too far?  

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Silvia pauses, thinking of the group she led to kill Arbat. She... didn't say anything about Good, or hellfire... so maybe that wasn't a risk? Perhaps she should be more careful next time And it won't happen again, so she doesn't need to worry about it.

"I heard the talk of Good, yes, and that cruel nobles should fear them. I heard nothing about rioting being Good? Is that how Good works? And what would break her Law? The President did not oppose her speech, and I heard the Asmodean speech laws were ended. ...Oh, yes, there was that pamphlet. Was this, ah, 'incitement to the murder of their fellow citizens', then?"

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“An ‘incitement to the murder of their fellow citizens’ is the particular letter of the law.  And I’m pretty sure deliberately inciting a riot counts as chaotic, even if you find a way to do it within the letter of the law.  And I’d hope the rioters carefully target proper unrepentant diabolists and thereby at least make neutral in their killings.  But I wouldn’t expect it.  They weren’t quite so careful after the Four Day War when there was more true diabolists to chose from and they weren’t so careful when they believed the pamphlet accusing me of currently worshipping Eiseth (I heard a mob near our main entrance).  So there will probably be many dead innocents, or at least non-Diabolists not warranting death tomorrow morning.  And the mobs will be more surely damned than if they simply stayed home.”

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"I hear this. But you say inciting riots is chaotic even if within the letter of the law?" Silvia looks momentarily abashed. "...Perhaps I should believe less what we were told by Asmodean priests. If Irori is a Lawful god, he should know? What is the Law? ...And yes, many will die, if they walk into traps or charge those gates or simply stumble. The death of innocents is Evil, then? And their souls will still be damned?" She scowls. "Would not killing them be the ending of evil, and then good? ...It matters not. We are safe either way, and cannot change what has happened."

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“I’m still trying to understand the exact delineation of law and chaos and good and evil myself.  Irori’s holy text is riddles and aphorisms mixed with techniques for diet, meditation, and exercise.  Very useful for strengthening and perfecting body, mind, soul and skill… less immediately useful for trying to get your alignment clear of damnation. The Acts of Iomedae is more clear on the matter of Goodness.  Killing people, unless done in very necessary contexts with appropriate consideration is almost always Evil.  And both Iomedae’s and Abadar’s holy texts suggest Law includes orderly cooperation with society as a whole which a riot simply is not.”

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"Killing I understand." Sounds like she's at least a bit Evil, then, and Leafswirl was too? Well, fey. Fey are different.

"Cooperation, though, not so much. Out there they cooperate well! All of them toward the same goal, forgetting their differences, side by side with their rivals to a greater goal. Not orderly, maybe? But definitely cooperation with society. Nothing else is close." Silvia knows well how a common enemy can get cooperation out of families which have been feuding for years, with no way to settle it the priests would let stay. Asking him to settle things never worked. Using him, on the other hand, meant she hasn't heard of a single intentional fight in Perafita in the last year! That seems cooperative to her?

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Killing an actual Asmodean cleric probably comes up at least Neutral as far as Thea knows, but she isn’t a mind reader or even that good with reading faces, so she doesn’t comment on Silvia’s thoughts.

”I suppose mobs are cooperating within themselves?  But not with the rest of society.  Many people, even poorer ones, will be hiding in their homes.  And the mobs will damage a lot of communal property.  And they certainly aren’t doing things in an orderly way.  A court and judge, a non-evil one that is, or at the very least non-Asmodean one, could consider the evidence and the people involved and a proportionate punishment.  The mobs are killing anyone they can get a hold of that looks rich or noble or had some lies written about them in a pamphlet.”

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And Silvia doesn't know the difference between defending yourself from an ongoing threat and simple premeditated murder, so she will continue not to realize this.

"So they are cooperating with not enough people to be Lawful? The leaders sound orderly, at least. They describe who needs to die, they say why, and people agree. They join in, they go to hunt. They say, ah, 'he deserves death', and people agree. Is that not considering the evidence and choosing a punishment? ...Well, Irori is lawful, you are his cleric, you would know better. Is there anything you need of me for now?"

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Thea doesn’t want to get into her own conceptions of what makes a kill orderly and disciplined.

“Sorry I got caught up talking theology.  Let me show you to your room.  I don’t need anything for now.  Tonight is free, you know our rate if you want to stay additional days.”

”Gabi, go to bed now, and write up a full report first thing in the morning.”

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“Right, will do.”

She had been waiting to point it out at a timely moment, but she’ll just have to say it now.

“Silvia is really great at stealth!”  

Thea she realize the obvious possibility from that.

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It seems a little too quick to pitch Silvia on being a teacher, so instead Thea nods and leads the way down a hallway.

“Have you joined any committees at the convention?”

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Silvia follows Thea. "Perhaps we will further discuss Irori in the morning, then. I have not joined any committees, no. Did you find them worthwile?"

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"Virtuous Churches has several good ideas one of which might stabilize the monastery's finances.  Education... is having some difficulty striking a compromise but I think we will get there.  Our Chair there is Korva Tallandria, the sortition delegate who made the speech on the first day, and she is just as capable of oration in person.  Excising Diabolism... I've only been to one meeting, and they spent the first half of the meeting interrogating what appeared to be a thirteen year old over her usage of a spell to make her alignment unreadable.  Then I gave them information on the Sisterhood of Eiseth, Eiseth, and three other hellish demigod, but they seemed more interested in interrogating me than the information I had to provide.  Eventually the use of a truth spell convinced them to trust me enough.  But even with that they didn't seem to want to listen to me.  At the time I was hopeful they would put the information I gave them to good use, even with their suspicion, but given the pamphlet about the meeting I think I was foolish to try to cooperate with them.  And given the riots now I'm wondering if Iomedae ever intended for Valia to be anything more than a foot soldier with positive channels."

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"Well, I have known no virtuous churches unless the fey count. And I would no more join the committee on excising diabolism than I would the large groups intent on it." She nods to the doorway.

"I did go through education, though. It could surely be improved. ...But whether I will join or not depends on when next the Convention meets. If this was caused by the speech, perhaps it will be some time before speeches again happen. Does it still have space?"

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"Do you know much about Fey?  The virtuous churches committee was unsure how to handle the worship of Fey."

"As to joining a committee the current rules for adding members involve a 2/3s majority of the committee itself.  In the case of Education I think you should ask Delegate Tallandria how to navigate joining, the room was divided along several questions, so you would have to present yourself in a way that simultaneously shows disapproval of torturous punishments, opposition to schools reopening, and yet some form of favorability to education and reading in order to get a 2/3s vote."

They come to a room.  It is well lit by two continual flames in wall sconces, with coverings that can be placed over them to partially or completely darken the room. Decorating the wall is imagery of snakes, dragonflies, ravens, and panthers, but the imagery has been defaced, with palms of Irori craved over them.  The room has a bed with plain sheets.

"There will be a bell in the morning for food.  Water is down the hall.  I can send someone in the morning to show you to the mess hall."

She waits in case Silvia has additional questions or wants to talk more about the convention.

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"I have known two fey, and one is dead. They were better than the priest our village had. The dead one helped us kill him. But they were two, and the forest holds many, and I am told every fey is different."

"The committee on education sounds difficult. Already you are so split on these counts? Well, they say an untrained hand is but a slave to the farmer, but they are Asmodean, and now we are no longer. Perhaps this has changed."

Silvia stiffens slightly at the defaced art, but seems to figure something out and relaxes. She goes to the bed and sits down.

"We shall meet once more in the morning, then."

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“Good night.”

And she leaves.