Realms of Dread, Chapter Four

[Ken of Ghastria]

the Warehouse District

Blaise answers Jamethon, "I can sense arcane emanations or active spells, though not specific people. I've been looking for that since we got here, and I'll keep doing so. I can't rule out the possibility that they're using some magical concealment."

_______________
OOC: Blaise continues using his at-will detect magic ability at every corner.

[ewancummins]

Warehouse District-

As the party moves through the streets and canal sides, looking for signs of a possible break in or any suspicious activity, Blaise becomes aware of something odd about a nearby canal...

[ewancummins]

Alain and Shana-



With Alain in the lead, the duo walks the nighttime cityscape, weaving in and out of alleys, down long silent boulevards, and over narrow wooden canal-bridges. They encounter no one. This part of the city is asleep, or dead, it seems.

At last, after what must have been two or more hours' searching, Alain finds a familiar street lined with ageing buildings, all peeling plaster and water-logged old timbers.

Amid the general squalor is a certain small shack that Alain may recognize. The board on the door hung just so when last he saw the place and that patch of weeds was on the right side of the doorway. The filmy rag nailed over the single street-facing window is a square of yellow light.

A soft voice calls out from within the hovel, a young woman's voice. The words are indistinct, but the voice sounds as if it might be singing. A shadow moves across the bright panel of the window, passing very quickly out of view. The front door board quivers as if tapped or jostled from the inner side.

[BigBadQDaddy]

Alain turns and smiles to Shana, "Well, this is it." He then turns again to face the hovel. Once he reaches the door he knocks, calling out to Mara.

[ewancummins]

Mara's little house


The rickety door creaks as it swings partly open, just a few inches.

Alain gets a glimpse of a human face, and then the door swings open all the way to reveal young Mara, barefoot and wearing the same much-repaired dress that she wore when last Alain saw her. A candle burns on a low table behind the pretty teenage girl.

''Oh, it's you! ''

[Ken of Ghastria]

Warehouse district:

Blaise says, "Excuse me a moment..." He begins walking toward the waterway, a curious and worried look on his face. He studies the current for a minute, almost as though he's looking for a particular fish or a lost shoe. "No, that isn't good..." he mutters. "That can't be good at all."

Turning away, he says to the other investigators, "I don't know what it means... but there's a necromantic taint to the water. Fairly powerful, from what I can sense. Yet it seems to be the result of something that has already happened, as opposed to something that's going on right now. Some sort of ritual, perhaps?"

He looks back at the waterway with disgust. "Well, for the rest of my time in this damn city, I'm sticking to wine. Imported wine."

[ewancummins]

Warehouse District


''Marsember has no underground sewers. I wouldn't recommend touching that water, Blaise, much less drinking it. ''

Indeed, the water does have an unpleasant odor.

Jamethon walks over to join Blaise near the embankment.
He leans forward just a bit, craning his head to peer down into the green and murky water. He takes a tiny swatch of rag from his pocket and tosses this into the canal. The shred of cloth floats away to to the left.

''It's moving seaward, so there must be an ebb tide....these canals all connect to the bay, in the end. Hmmm...This taint, you say it's in the water? Is it carried by the water? Can you tell that sort of thing? ''

[VAN]

Inovidil goes closer and looks at the river.

"Do we need to headback and inform the city? People maybe fishing and kids for sure play by the river. Is very important and dangerous what Blaise find out. So we proceed or go back?"

[ewancummins]

Inovidil goes closer and looks at the river.

"Do we need to headback and inform the city? People maybe fishing and kids for sure play by the river. Is very important and dangerous what Blaise find out. So we proceed or go back?"

'' You are right, Ino, this is important. It will definitely be mentioned in the report. However, we know very little about this phenomenon- certainly not its cause or its possible effects on the people of the town. We'd better investigate further before stirring up a panic. . The question now is: does this necromantic pollution have anything to do with the undead monsters we suspect may be behind the kidnappings? ''

[VAN]

"I think yes. There is necromancy after all. Maybe a ritual is casted and they threw the rests in the river."

Inovidil gets pale for a second when thinks a possible ritual.

"You know, I do hope we are not late and the children are still alive. I'm not able to cast necromantic spells but I'm pretty sure that in many ritual need people alive and maybe sacrifice them...Of course I'm not sure. But the kidnap and the ritual were too close to be 2 separate facts for me. I have teleportation spell so we can head to town in a few seconds. So maybe is better keep going."

After a small pause she says:

"Has anyone an empty vial? I can use a spell and get some water without touch it myself. Will use the mage hand spell, the one Breana was making fun of!"

[ewancummins]

Jamethon removes a tin flask from his coat. He sloshes it about as if to check how full it is. Opening it, he drains the contents in one gulp.
Tossing the empty flask to Ino, he remarks-

''You can keep it.''

[Lord Skybolt]

"Hey, what was in that flask ? " Threan asks .

[ewancummins]

''Tea.''

[Lord Skybolt]

"Sure it was ." Threan says with a twinkle in his eye .

[ewancummins]

''Heh.''
Jamethon allows himself a brief smile, and then grows serious once more.