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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Carnifex" data-source="post: 754962" data-attributes="member: 227">The mining-town alehouse was somber, but after this much hard travel (directed by the severe and ascetic Wolf) Melisande and Wyshira both had come to appreciate such small comforts as a table to eat at. They were content enough for that. Wyshira, as was her custom, sat sipping a glass of cool mountain water from the fresh streams of the Sarokeans; Melisande, whose palms burned with gold pieces since the destruction of the slavers' cult, had ordered a pitcher of expensive wine and was quite doing it justice. Though much had been exchanged on the road, Wyshira still had questions about what led the other party of unlikely mercenaries this far; and her first concern was for Sandslipper. Mel paused with the wine glass halfway to her midnight-flushed lips at mention of the earth genasi. "The more I think about it the more I worry. The priests at the temple of Naskha were friendly enough, but they simply would not let me in to see her!" "Why not, do you suppose? What happened to her anyway, before you arrived in Tarravus? She didn't seem well." "As it turns out, according to the healers, she'd been sick for a long time. At first they thought she'd picked up a nasty bug here in the north, but they discovered before long that it was some sort of desert disease she probably had since she left Myrmecia." Wyshira shuddered slightly and took a long drink from her glass at Melisande's mention of the desert. "What brought her North? I understand that she carried a package for Lord Ecurius. Was that why you came also?" "Oh, the package. At first I thought that was what was making her sick. She was strange about it, and then there were the scorpion-assassins we ran into in Corvus with their mind-bending attacks. She got the brunt of that. But no, I had nothing to do with the package, luckily enough. I was just defecting from Carthagia." Wyshira's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Scorpion-assassins? How terrible! It sounds like you had a rough time getting to Tarravus." She said nothing for the moment about Mel 'defecting' from Carthagia. That seemed understandable enough. "And that's not all! What we went through... You remember what I told you about the gnolls and the fleshtearer? That was only the first time I got gutted. And that was only the first time I caught wind of this weird Shadow thing." Mel leaned forward, speaking in low tones, more for effect than for discretion. "After I was wounded I went to sleep in the druid's glade, and a Shadow demon visited me in my sleep. It gave me some useful things but it also gave me a pendant with a strange symbol--an eye on a pyramid--and after I put it on I couldn't take it off again! It was scrying on me." Wyshira looked for a sign of the pendant. "Where is it now? How did you get it off?" "Eventually, a Cerulean priest of Naskha dispelled the charm. Ebri has it now." Mel shrugged, forgetting how worrisome the pendant had been. "And then, as if that wasn't enough, we all got caught in the middle of a war and were driven into some kobold-infested caverns. There were tombs bearing the same eye symbol in the caverns--and these I found out were connected with some sort of 'angels of death'--the Azrael--who shepherd souls into the spheres of the dead.”Wyshira was reminded of Burl, oddly enough. Melisande went on, barely pausing for breath. "They in turn led to the cult of the Great Prophet, whose symbol the eye on the pyramid turns out to be. And the mimir told me about a sect that might have been associated with the Great Prophet--the Nephians, they're called, and they're legendary assassins. "What the connection is--and the connection with me of all people--is beyond me." "A Shadow Demon! No wonder you've been asking so many questions about Shushurek and the Nephians." "All I've been able to learn about Shushurek is that he may have been involved in the war that put an end to the Elder Gods. That's why these cults give me the creeps. If the Great Prophet has some connection with me, then what do I have to do with cults of the Elder Gods? It's all very creepy. Oh, heavens, I just realized Ak'mun'tep mentioned it too: Shadow." Mel shivered. She downed the rest of her wine in one gulp and poured another glass from the pewter decanter. "I don't mean to alarm you or anything," she smiled. "Strange things seem to be happening everywhere. Nothing so mysterious has happened to us," Wyshira glanced quickly at Burl, then went on. "I told you about our battle with Sahuagin pirates on the Azure Sea already. Then we met Burl in Iril. We had a little trouble with Toranites in Halstath, but we got away." Mel's expression darkened at mention of Toranites, but she did not interrupt. "We ran into a terrible coven of werewolves that took over a town on our way to Tarravus. We were trapped in the Temple and they surrounded us there. It was a horrible, bloody battle, but we finally managed to bring the Master Werewolf down. "That's were we met Cord. It was a long journey to Tarravus but we had few problems after that." "Are you sure you wouldn't like some wine? It's quite good," Mel offered. Wyshira made a face, but allowed Mel to pour a small amount of the heady liquor into her glass. Mel obliged, more than happy to share. In fact, she was feeling more than happy in a general way, after her third glass. "Cord says that he has been sensing some kind of 'corruption' in the land," Wyshira continued. After a couple of sips of wine she bent her head closer to Mel. "It was funny what Ak'mun'tep said about that..... " Wyshira looked thoughtful, remembering the jackal-headed seer. "He said that Burl was linked to the corruption, but only in a circumstantial way. I still wish I knew why the Toranites were after him...." "Burl?!" Mel glanced around at the necromancer and then lowered her voice. "What's he got to do with all this? Why would Toranites be after him? He's not Carthagian, is he?" "I- uh, no, I don't think so. He was raised in Cryosia." Wyshira suddenly realized that she may have said too much. She lowered her voice even more, hoping that no-one at the table was taking notice. "He was the one that the Toranites wanted though. And there's someone else after him too, I think. Some hooded assassins in Iril. I can't imagine why. But I really shouldn't have told you any of this." "More assassins?" Mel looked upset enough to drain another glass, which she promptly did. "Between the Nephians and the Scorpion-people in Corvus I had hoped we'd heard enough of that sort." "We haven't seen any sign of their like in a while though. I wonder.... could it have been Nephians who attacked Burl the first time? I remember something now.... Shortly after we escaped from the Toranites in Halstath, we heard these strange whispers in the night. It sounded to me like shadows whispering nonsense...." Mel shuddered. "And more shadows... I wonder if this whole thing is not a coincidence at all--including our meeting at Lord Ecurius' residence. Whether by the design of the Truth-Seekers or by someone else, our forces have been joined, and we don't know why or what our role is. I can't help get this feeling something is happening and we're in the middle of it..."</blockquote>

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