Last Stand of the Dorinthians (Final Chapter)

[Deuce Traveler]

Caramip, Dartis, and Silas
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Nefius gives Caramip a twisted smile and says, "And why not? Just by being here and interacting with the city at least one of your friends are most likely already infected with the disease. So either they will convert or die, and either way they are not likely to be a threat to the Trinity. No. You've been truly splendid guests and should not be harmed. No fighting. Intelligent conversation is a blessed rarity these days, and I'd really rather not sully our time by spilt blood. You can walk out that door whenever you want and I will not have you impeded. Or you can remain as a guest if you want until the day comes and you then go as you will. Of course, I admit that I hope I can take you back to my new Chapel of Festios where your Rider's holy place once stood and we can start converting you into this great faith."
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Barok
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There are no traps, and the lock of the case is undone by you within only a couple of minutes of careful work. No alarm sounds as you remove the pieces of the sword and place them in your pack. There are still rooms to the west and to the east on this second level, but this room looks to have little portable objects of value except an unopened bottle of forty year-old wine on a far table and several expensive suits that might fetch a fair price but would take up some room in your pack.
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[Nephtys]

Barok breaks open the bottle of wine and sits down in a soft deep chair. He had a lot to think about, but really preferred not to. Drinking the wine directly from the bottle (If its still good) he takes a moment to relax.
Putting down the half-empty bottle down, he goes to take a second look at those suits. Sometimes it could pay to look presentable. He rolls up the finest looking suit and stuffs it in his pack before heading out in search of more loot, bringing the bottle with him.

 

[Fenris]

"We shall consider your kind offer with due diligence. It is a weighty decision after all. You have made a powerful argument however Counselor. For now I think it best we take our leave. The god have indeed linked out fates somehow and I am sure we shall meet again, with similar pleasant results. I hope we are welcome to come and enjoy further conversation with you." and with a look to his companions Dartis stands and bows to Nefius and turns and leaves. He quickly remounts and heads out of town.

Out of earshot of Nefius or his familiar, he says to Silas "Is there some magical way to contact Barok and tell him to get the hell out of town?"


Once out of town Dartis stops Silas and Caramip and dismounts before vomiting on to the ground both to get rid of the vile sense of contamination and to rid his mouth of the kind words he was forced to speak to the nefarious Nefius.

"I am torn. My heart says to spare this city of Dorinthia, but my head says it should be burned to the ground like any other plague ridden village, walking dead, and Nefius included. My friends, you are far more knowledgeable than I, what shall we do? I think we need to alert Dorinthia and Silverwood. But what to do about this city and even the Tallione. I care not that their worship of foul gods has come to roost, but I worry that this plague will spread."

 

[GlassEye]

"Sending such a message to Barok is beyond my capabilities." He looks over at Caramip. "Caramip? Is it within your power? Your magics are quite different from mine..."

"There is nothing of Dorinthia left in that city. I'm afraid it has all been consumed by Nefius' dark god. Burning it would likely be a mercy to those tainted by that..." Silas waves his hand in the direction of the city and appears at a loss of words to describe the foulness they encountered. "You know I have no love for the Tallione, and I confess that I feel that the Tallione are only getting what they deserve. But as a worshipper of the Mother, this sickens me. Somehow, we must prevent this rot from overtaking what remains of Dorinth." Silas pauses and looks uncertain, even a little fearful. "I don't trust Nefius, but what if he spoke the truth when he said one of us was already affected by this taint. Returning to our city may just spread the infection."

 

[Bloodweaver1]

Caramip Ashhearth

[sblock=OOC]And no she does not have any way of contacting Barok. She use to have speak with animals and that could have helped but... [/sblock]
After slowly dismounting from her stead she silently wonders away from the group. After walking only a few yards away she slightly turns her head back towards her friends and says, “I don’t know if I ever told any of you of this but my village wasn’t just comprised of Gnomes you know. Many humans, half-elfs, dwarfs and even some half-orcs lived amongst us. Our village wasn’t very big but we prided our selves on our ability to get along despite what our historians might have said.” There is a pause as she looks back towards the horizon. She fiddles with her hands for a bit before continuing.

“The invaders came during the night and sweep through our village like the desert wind. They rounded us up in separate groups and started making demands towards our village leaders. When their demands weren’t met to their satisfaction, they gathered up all of children, dwarf, human, gnome, half-elf and half-orc and they…..” Her words get choked up and its almost as if she is about to fall down into tears. But somehow she able to regain her composure and with in only a few moments her voice is able to be heard once again.

“…they killed them. All of them. Right in front of us…..” She says before another wave of tears assaults her. “Sometimes when I am all alone, I swear I can still hear their screams….” She says as if speaking to no one in particular and within moments she able to quickly battle away the tears.

Slowly she turns back to face her friends. “Some how I was able to free myself from my bonds and when the guards weren’t looking I quickly escaped into the woods. I haven’t seen anyone from my village since. But I swore to myself and to all of the Gods who cared, that I would never let another innocent child die as long as I had the means to prevent it. No matter what race or what nation…” She says. And in those last few words there is a tone that leaves no doubt to anyone that she is very, very serious.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Caramip, Silas, and Dartis
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Nefius seems disappointed that you wish to leave, but he nods and says "Aye, until next time." His minions watch as you go and look towards him, but he shakes his head and they open a path for you to leave although you feel almost a sense of anger directed from these somewhat mindless things and towards Nefius, as if they are not in agreement with his decision.

When you safely reach your camp you feel it may be time to discuss your options, and perhaps wait for Barok to return.
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Barok
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It's ironic, but the last room you search on the second level seems to have been the only room that showed signs of life... well, or at least signs of recent death. You find the corpse of an older man inside the butler's room, his hands grasping a dagger to the heart that seems as if it may have been suicide. Drinking some more from your bottle, you examine the body but find nothing of worth. However, instead you find a small sack of collected Dorinthian coins (12pp, 123gp, and 62sp). Also you find a small diary that has an entry that is only a few weeks old, which you also pocket. Finding nothing else in the house and feeling a bit numb and tired from the alcohol, you head out of the building and decide to walk back to camp...
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Caramip, Dartis, and Silas do not have long to wait. Barok seems surprised to see the group there. Like the trio, the rogue seems little worse from wear, although he smells slightly of alcohol and is carrying a conspicuous bottle.

 

[Nephtys]

"I would give you a report, your lordship, but it scheems you may know more than I. Living zombies, mad priests, little worth looting, it's all pretty self-explanatory. If this is all that's left of Dorinthia there's not much left to fight for..." He drops the empty bottle, feeling suddenly a bit melancholic.

 

[Fenris]

"I would give you a report, your lordship, but it scheems you may know more than I. Living zombies, mad priests, little worth looting, it's all pretty self-explanatory. If this is all that's left of Dorinthia there's not much left to fight for..." He drops the empty bottle, feeling suddenly a bit melancholic.

Dartis listens silently to Caramip. As she finishes he places his hand on her shoulder and says gently "We will do what we can for the children, all the children Caramip."

Dartis looks up as Barok stumbles into the camp. "Damn I wish Nikolos was here. We need a priest, a healer. Well Barok I see you found some wine. Unfortunately I fear you have may have found more than that. We are still fighting for Dorinthia, and this is unfortunately the newest battleground. " Dartis sits in silence for a while.

"I think this is beyond us. Yes, we can torch the city, and that will stop the spread here. But for how long? This thing destroyed an entire legion. It requires no camps, no food wagons, no horses, no water. We mat slow it here, but I fear if Tallone falls, it will spread north again. " Dartis laughs "I doubt even Land's Death could stop this new plague and would look like a kitten next to the destruction of Festios."

"We need to alert Silverwood and New Dorinthia, the gnomes too, put them all on a plague watch and ask the stupid arrogant elves for help and advice. We'll sober up Barok and ride to find Silas and Kel. The question is do we burn the place first? I think we need to wait. See if the elves can find any clues or samples there first. I would dearly love to put it to the torch, but we must follow the rot to the heart if we wish to put an end to this. Also I think Barok needs to be seen by someone" adds Dartis conspiratorially to Caramip and Silas.

 

[Bloodweaver1]

Caramip Ashhearth

Caramip simply nods her head in agreement and moves to take care of her stead.

 

[Nephtys]

"Plague? So you're saying this is a disease, and that I already got it?" Barok sobers up noticeably. "How long does it take for it to break out anyway?"That man in the manor, dead by his own hand... If he had thought he could reach help in time to be cured he would at least have tried. But what other option do I have? Anything is better than being turned into one of those freaks.