nerdytenor's The Missing Warlock

[nerdytenor]

Karis hands over the stone to Mardrick. "Sure. But Mardrick... I think Elloen... She went willingly. She wasn't blighted. You'd do better to forget her."

Mardrick's face fills with shock, then anger. "What possible reason could she have to take up with these... these lunatics? No, I cannot believe that. Whatever she said is suspect, if she is under some dark influence."

[sblock=Joshua]
You can sense some echoes of magic in the stone. The blood is/was most certainly a trigger for the stored up magic. You are also quite convinced that the expended magic was some kind of teleportation spell. You cannot tell where she was transported to, but someone with an even greater mastery of matters arcane might be able to divine the destination, or at least a general direction.
[/sblock]

"Give me that stone!" Mardrick snatches it somewhat rudely out of Joshua's hands. "Hmm... Interesting. No magic left in it, wouldn't you agree?" he says, addressing Joshua. "Ah. Whoever made this was very skilled indeed, certainly more skilled than I." Mardrick's academic curiosity is evident once more, even in the face of his wife's disappearance.

"Joshua, do you have any experience with something like this?"

 

[covaithe]

Karis scowls, and throws the crushed vial of flower paste at Mardrick's feet. "I hit her with the goop. Risked my own neck to do it, too. She said herself that it was the cure, that she wasn't blighted, that she was leaving you for this Baradur chap of her own free will. She just doesn't love you. You think you're the first person that's ever lost a lover? Deal with it!"

 

[The Digger]

Joshua lits his hand as if to strike Mardrick but then lowers it. Clearly reining in his temper he attempts to talk civilly to Mardrick.

"There is no need for rudeness, sir. We have put our lives at risk to save you from your captors and in the attempt to 'rescue' your wife. At the very least we should be able to expect a little graciousness."

"Now, As to this stone. It is obvious that the blood was the trigger for a powerful teleportation spell. The destination however is another matter all together. I'm afraid it would take someone of greater skill than myself to establish that."

 

[nerdytenor]

Karis scowls, and throws the crushed vial of flower paste at Mardrick's feet. "I hit her with the goop. Risked my own neck to do it, too. She said herself that it was the cure, that she wasn't blighted, that she was leaving you for this Baradur chap of her own free will. She just doesn't love you. You think you're the first person that's ever lost a lover? Deal with it!"

Mardrick's face betrays so many different emotions at once that it's hard to tell if he is going to scream or cry. After a moment spent collecting himself, he speaks.

"She may not have the blight, but the woman you describe is not my wife. I will 'deal with it' in the only way I know how - I will get her back or die trying."

 

[nerdytenor]

"There is no need for rudeness, sir. We have put our lives at risk to save you from your captors and in the attempt to 'rescue' your wife. At the very least we should be able to expect a little graciousness."

"I have been through much these few days, but nevertheless, I am sorry."

"Now, As to this stone. It is obvious that the blood was the trigger for a powerful teleportation spell. The destination however is another matter all together. I'm afraid it would take someone of greater skill than myself to establish that."

Mardrick appears disappointed, but not particularly surprised. "My tutor in the dark arts will no doubt be able to divine the location Elloen was transported to - she is highly skilled in matters arcane. She comes to see me once a month on the way to buy supplies - I'll have to check my calendar, but if I'm not mistaken, she should be passing through in a day or two. Perhaps she can tell us something about this Baradur as well."

 

[covaithe]

Karis strikes an exaggerated pose of deep thought. "I'm going to venture a wild guess that the location is a cave, at the mouth of the Prism River, near the Swamps of Sending."

"I believe there is a matter of payment to be dealt with. We have recovered Mardrick and secured a cure for the blight, as we were hired to do. I believe our business here is concluded... unless you wish to hire us for some other task?" Karis lets her eyes drift meaningfully to the unconscious captive.

 

[BlueLotus]

"Plenty of people do ill-advised things of their own free will Mardrick. She may have been seduced with promises of power, money, or false salvation. You are right not to give up on your wife without knowing what is really in her heart. I am willing to help, but as Karis said we do require payment. Erathis expects us to live and function in her civilization the same as any other. That requires gold in return for our services."

[sblock=Later, in private]Moreen finds a quiet place away from the others and strips her armor off and dons her clerical robes. She quietly begs Erathis's forgiveness for her sins in prayer with a simple rosary. "What I do is in your name, and for your cause. Forgive me for what I have done this day that has not brought a smile to your radiant lips."[/sblock]

 

[nerdytenor]

"Payment?" Mardrick says. "Ah, Dardus offered you a reward for my rescue, did he?" Mardrick smiles slightly. "How much did he offer? On second thought, don't tell me - I don't really want to know. At any rate, you'll have to take that up with him in the morning." Mardrick conspicuosly fails to address Moreen's point.

Mardrick yawns. "Seems I could be using a bit of rest. Feels like I've been awake my whole life. Why don't we meet at Dardus's tomorrow morning at sunlight? We have much to discuss - your reward, the plant, Elloen, the stones..."

Mardrick walks with you to his house, and opens the door. "My Gods!!!" The place is a mess, with what little furnishings there are strewn about the room. A blood stain, presumably from Dardus, stains a corner of the floor. "Seems I have a bit of cleanup to do. You lot can stay at the Burgerin's old house - they moved out a year ago and I don't think they'll mind. Come, I'll show you the way."

You walk for about five minutes and come upon something that could only charitably be called a house. "If you need anything," Mardrick says, out of politeness, and then corrects himself. "Well, if you need anything, I'm unlikely to have it. But I wish you a good rest at any rate. You certainly deserve it."

 

[covaithe]

"Five will get you ten he spends the whole night pricking his wrists and bleeding on that stone," predicts Karis.

She eyes the sagging walls and moldy floorboards with distaste. "Well, this place sure is cozy. Spare no expense for the town's heroes, eh? Maybe I'll take the first watch. And possibly the second as well. I wonder if anyone in this benighted hellhole has a crossbow worth stealing?"

 

[The Digger]

Joshua swore as Mardrick walked away. "If they don't pay us then we'll damn well take it out of their poxy village. These people are all the same. They sit, fat and well-fed at their well stocked fires, supping good ale and eating good food whilst the likes of us risk life, limb and sanity to keep them in the manner they'd like to become accustomed to. I spit on them and on their pig-stye of a village."

He hawked up a gob of spittle which he spat on the ground at Dardus's feet.

"So where is this payment then? And I think something to eat and drink wouldn't go amiss either."