Al-Samara dashed around to interpose himself between Arensha and the assassin.  "Let me take care of this," he said, just as much out of a desire to protect her as wounded pride and vengeance for being caught in such a compromising position.<br/><br/>With an extended finger he pointed to the now-entangled warrior, and a windstorm of ice and hail shot forth.<br/><br/>Were the assassin not encumbered by Arensha's work, he would've been able to dodge out of the way. (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=70835)<br/><br/>The wintry assault was deathly cold, sending a painful shiver down Arensha's spine even though she was safely out of reach. (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=70836)  By the time the spell dissipated, all that was left were the frozen remains of the assassin, looking like a life-like ice sculpture.  The walls and floors around and behind the would-be killer were coated in a thick sheet of frost as well.<br/><br/>Al-Samara looked on in disgust at the corpses of the assassins, and scanned the room and their bodies for any other treacherous workings.<br/><br/>Several eunuch guards burst through the doors, all armed to the teeth with weapons and a few with coursing spell energy.  "Master, are you okay?"<br/><br/>"I'm fine," he responded.  "These assassins attacked me and Arensha-" at this point he turned around to the catgirl, his eyes widening in horror at the cauterized wound running across her stomach.  "Oh Arensha!" he cried out, running over to hold her in his arms before kneeling to examine her wound.  "I'm so sorry you had to get involved in this!"<br/><br/>Immediately he ran over to one of his cabinets.  Retrieving a stoppered glass vial full of clear, bubbly liquid, he popped open the top, gently laid her down on the bed, and poured the contents over her belly.  The throbbing pain from the cut subsided as the healing potion soaked into her flesh and regrew lost skin. (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=70837)<br/><br/>"Are you feeling better?" he asked, a look of sadness and concern growing across his usually-happy face.<br/><br/>Once he heard her answer, almost immediately he turned back to the eunuchs.  "Guards!" he shouted.  "These two assassins had to exploit a weakness in our security to get into the palace!  I want this estate on lockdown until we can find our weak link; all servants and staff are to be questioned as to their whereabouts at this time of night.  And Arensha is to be escorted to Garetz to check for any trace of poison from her recently healed wound.  Do I make myself clear?"<br/><br/>"Yes, Sultan al-Samara!" they exclaimed in unison.<br/><br/>The Sultan put back on his clothes, and helped Arensha back into her own.  "I'm going to have to be up for the rest of the night, my dear," he said.  "Don't worry about me, I've fought worse folk, but this brazen attack can't be ignored."<br/><br/>The last Arensha saw of him that night was a face which, behind a false veneer of confidence, betrayed a hint of worry.<br/><br/><em>Arensha receives 3,000 experience points for not only defeating the assassins, but ensuring that al-Samar remains unharmed.</em><br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: andale mono;">Eighth Day in the Gilded Cage</span></span></div><br/>There was indeed a hint of poison in Arensha's body, known as the Desiccating Ember for its lethality against beings of elemental water.  Fortunately, beings composed equally of all four elements (like catgirls such as Arensha) were largely immune to its effects.  "You'll probably suffer from dry skin and feel parched, but nothing severe," Garetz said.  "I hope this doesn't come off wrong, but it's fortunate it hit you instead of the Sultan.  Otherwise he probably wouldn't have survived the night."<br/><br/>Bakr the alchemist was present as well.  He had his hands in his pockets, shifting back and forth on his feet uncomfortably.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Sense Motive DC 12</div><div class="spoiler_body">Arensha figures that Bakr wants to ask Garetz something, but feels that the time is not opportune.</div></div><br/>"One of the assassins was quite peculiar," he said.  "Did you notice anything odd about either of them, Arensha?"<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Alchemy or Knowledge Arcana DC 15</div><div class="spoiler_body">Come to think of it, one of their eyes had a strange yellow gleam to it, the one killed by al-Samara's <em>cone of cold...</em><br/><br/>"Yes, his body was possessed," Bark mused.  "When a possessed victim dies, the host spirit exits, leaving traces of ethereal residue in the arteries and veins, making the blood a rather grayish color."<br/><br/>"Cowards!" Garetz snorted in disgust.  "Manipulating the body of another to carry out their heinous deeds!"</div></div><br/>"One more question, if you don't mind Arensha," Garetz asked after he measured Arensha's heart-rate with a stethoscope (healthy blood-pressure).  "From what I heard from al-Samara, you took down one of the guards yourself.  That was quite impressive; not just anybody can take down a trained assassin.  How did you know what to do?"<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">If Arensha tells the truth</div><div class="spoiler_body">"Memories?  Yes, that makes sense, certain skills and talents can come flooding back in times of great stress.  It's unfortunate that it had to be under those circumstances."</div></div><br/>If Arensha tries to lie, she must succeed at a DC 21 Bluff check.  On a failure, Garetz will demand she be honest with him; "we can't have secrets about this," he cautions.  "There's too much at stake here." (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=70840)<br/><br/>After the visit, Bakr immediately closes the door.  A muffled conversation could be heard.<em>If Arensha wishes to listen in, she must succeed at a DC 18 Perception check.</em><br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Perception DC 18</div><div class="spoiler_body">"I don't think it's wise to keep her in the dark any longer," Bakr says.  "That catgirl Sultan al-Samara just purchased is no mere slave-girl.  Do we even know of her prior life?"<br/><br/>"No," Garetz replies.  "But it's lucky that her memories awoke just in time to save him."<br/><br/>"But not all them."<br/><br/>There is a brief bit of silence.<br/><br/>"I wish to administer a stronger serum to jog out some more of her memories."<br/><br/>A sigh can be heard.<br/><br/>"I understand your decision," Garetz says.  "But we can't do it right now; the palace guard has enough on their plate already.  There's no telling what will happen."<br/><br/>"She might be an expert warrior from her homeland, and her love for the Sultan is real.  We can have an ally on our hands-"<br/><br/>"Or you might awaken things prematurely.  Or things which might have good reason to be buried.  Your occupation and mine have lots of crossover, Bakr Bousaid, but we shouldn't take any risks right now, and for the time being Arensha is more than capable of defending herself and the Sultan if the need arises.  Let's stick with the hand we've been dealt with instead of going for a risky bet."<br/><br/>At this point a passing eunuch casts a long shadow over the crouching Arensha.  "And what might you be doing, Arensha?" he asks suspiciously.<br/><br/>Regardless of her answer, he hustles her away.</div></div><br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;">Common Room</span></div><br/>A line of cooks, butlers and maids, and other palace servants are lined up by an archway.  Beyond its doors can be heard the crumbling steps of Ahriman, the golem chief of security.  After a few minutes one of them exits, only to be replaced by another.<br/><br/>"This has been going on all night," Alfreldi tells Arensha in a tired voice.  She and the other girls heard the news, and at Roshul's insistence none of them bothered Arensha over last night's incident.  But still the pall of dread hung over the room; the assassins were vanquished and gone, but the mask of safety was shattered.<br/><br/>Hanifa, or Silent Girl, looked worried in particular.  Her eyes darted over to Arensha, and then over points in the room, searching for something, possibly other hidden dangers.<br/><br/><em>This is bad,</em>she thought.<em>Curse me for not being there when Menya needed me most!  I can't leave her side again!  Maybe I should tell her the whole truth now.  No, that would come off as too suspicious, especially after the assassination.  I'll need to keep watch over her from now on, even if it means sneaking away from Roshul's gaze...</em><br/><br/>Eventually Arensha is called in.  Ahriman is an impressively built construct, (http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130527102442/ravens-talon/images/e/e8/StoneGolem.jpg) easily double the height of the eunuchs (who themselves easily stood a foot and a half over Arensha).  It would not be remiss to imagine al-Samara's head of security taking on a small army with only minimal injuries.<br/><br/>His voice was both emotionless and deep.  "Arensha," he said slowly.  "You were with the Sultan last night, is this correct?  I know this may be difficult, but you must retell your experience to me.  Any information you can provide is vital to ensuring that the people behind this cowardly attack are brought to justice, and to better prevent such a tragedy from happening again."<br/><br/>Ahriman remained standing throughout the interrogation, his stony visage not betraying any hint of worry, much less any emotional state at all.<br/><br/>Lying or withholding details from Ahriman requires a DC 17 Bluff check.  Additionally, Arensha and everyone within the room is under the effect of a Zone of Truth, so Arensha will need to succeed on a DC 25 Spellcraft check to expose the weaknesses in the spell and lie through it.  Zone of Truth does not detect lies by omission, only deliberate falsehoods. (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=70843)<br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;">Sneaking Around</span></div><br/>While out in the palace courtyard with Alfreldi, Arensha notices movement near the opposite wall.  Roshul and a small crowd of eunuchs and concubines are crossing the ledge.  One of the people in back slips away and climbs down the pillar before ducking behind a nearby hedge.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">DC 21 Perception</div><div class="spoiler_body">The person in question is Hanifa. (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=70842)</div></div><br/>Arensha does not seem to notice at first.  "What are you looking at, Arensha?" she asks.  "Oh, there's Roshul up there.  She's pretty high-strung about the attack, too."<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Tell her you spotted a suspicious figure</div><div class="spoiler_body">"Oh, that's can't be good!" she says with concern.  "Maybe we should go take a look..."</div></div>