Case steps forward, and bows from the waist, “Greetings Warlord. My name is Case. I have been sent by the kingdom to assist. Others have also come to answer your call. We met upon the road. The goblin is called Stitch and can only say three words. The tiny dragon is named Péiste Mór and is easily offended. The dragon rides upon Jax’s shoulders. The warrior is named Drago.”  He glances about the group trying to figure out if he missed anyone. “Oh yes. That is Robin. They have all declared that they are here to assist with the blight. I believe you are about to be faced with many questions from us to help us attempt to solve the problem.”

     Péiste Mór raises his head and blinks twice.  That was actually a fair and accurate introduction.  The dragon snorts once, twin puffs of smoke raising up, then lowered his head and allowed his eyes to half close once more.

     "hmmmm, cannot guarantee help, no no...," the dragon adds because they can never be totally quiet. "but try, certainly... yes, try..."

Well... That... hmmm, sums it up nicely I guess." Robin says with a frown to Case. She glances to the warlord and gives a curtsy. "I am Robin Holdcrest, and, yes, I have come to see what is going on with this blight you are suffering." She straightens up and smiles at the warlord, her emerald eyes on his own. "What can you tell us about the situation?"

"I am more than shoulders," Jax says, more to himself than the others, and less grumbly than observational.

"Ah yes, Case, we were expecting you," Warlord Karlach confirms with a nod. "The situation is simple, if dire. The blight first appeared in our northeastern fields approximately a month ago. It's progressed quickly, both in spread and damage. It takes approximately a week from first signs of sickness to the plant's death. A few days ago, the blight first appeared in southwestern fields, so our entire future food supply is officially in danger. If this is not addressed, and rapidly, we will lose our fields completely."

"Is there anyone who would gain by doing this to you?" Robin asks the obvious question. "We met with some summoned undead outside of town, who attempted to keep us from reaching the town, so I am concerned some outside agency is at work here."

"So we must go attack the crops in the northeast then," Jax says, happy to have solved the problem.

Cases head cranks to the right and he stares at Jax for a few moments. His mouth is slightly open as he stands motionless just looking. Then his head cranks slowly back to the front. “Has anyone carefully examined the areas where the blight began yet? Have the clergy done any investigation?”

     Péiste Mór would search it's memory for any piece of history or arcana which may remind them of what causes such blight other than an excess or Maraban energies... And/or if there are other signs of the gathering or such energies that could be looked for.  ((Arcana / History: 17 - same bad modifier for either.))

     "yes, yes... what has been done to find the cause?" the dragon asks languidly. "other than the bullying of random seekers upon the streets?  has anything constructive been tried?"

During all of the blah blah going on, something shiny near the entrance catches his attention and he attempts to make his way over to it quietly to get a better look. 

stealth: 18

Drego perception to spot Stitch wandering off 18

The ranger stood listening to the conversation.  He found listening yield exponentially more information than talking.  

As Stitch wanders off, Drego's hand shoots out and grabs the young gobbo by the scruff of the neck pulling him back under the shelter of his arm.  'Stay here, don't go making trouble.  Sounds like we've got plenty of trouble readily available.'

Stitch looks back at Drego and then towards the shiny object that has caught his interest. And back to Drego, “I am stitch.” He states quite plainly stating his intention was only to get a closer look at the fascinating object. Then slumps down next to Drego’s weather worn boots and starts pouting. 

Stitch wanders towards a medal hanging on the wall before being stopped by Drego.

A knock sounds from the front door, and Lyrik rises quietly, slipping out of the office to answer it.

Karlach drums his fingers lightly on the desk. "There are plenty of groups who would benefit from one of Karrnath's towns losing its food source. The Order of the Emerald Claw, the other nations, the warlords who oppose Kaius's rule, to name a few. Particularly if the Seekers are blamed. I don't think it's their fault, but I can't control every single member of the populace--not without resorting to methods that would strip me of any right to lead them. They are frightened and angry, and while that doesn't excuse their actions, it does explain them. At the beginning of the blight, the Seekers did what they could to help, examining the fields and trying the purification spells they knew, but it didn't work. The crown's delicate relationship with the Blood of Vol further complicates things--I can't officially ask the Seekers to help more than I already have, not without inflaming tensions to a point that creates an irreparable rift in the town. Last time we had a blight, the Seekers were able to act with far more resources than they have now, and they solved the problem--and I believe they may be able to help again, if only given a way to." He steeples his fingers. "As you can see, the situation is quite complicated and messy, and made even more so by the king's recent, extremely public, rejection--although some would call it betrayal--of the Blood of Vol. Which is where you all come in. Since you aren't constrained by the same political conflicts that I am, you would be able to get the Seekers help without it ripping Teryk in half."

PM:

Case nods, "We will attempt to work around these political restraints on your behalf and bring the Blood of Vol to bear on this problem, in addition to our own efforts. Have any people gone missing recently? Besides blight, have there been any other mysterious or unusual criminal occurrences in the area?" 

Karlach shakes his head. "We haven't had anyone go missing, although we've had our share of skeleton attacks as well, and the creatures tend to try and drag bodies away when they can." Anger flashes across his face. "Likely so their creator can animate them, too. As for unusual occurrences..." He shrugs. "Not particularly. Other than, again, skeletons showing up every now and then and attacking the town."

     "this acreage of blight though...  it's unlikely to be caused by a few Mabaran dead wandering around, no?" Péiste Mór more asks lazily.  "likely would need much more to create the energy needed for something this sized, yes?  so that has me wondering, where would one hide a small army around these parts?  you know, hundreds or more of undead that could really get the energies gathering and such?  anything like that around?"

Karlach drums his fingers lightly on the surface of the desk. "You would need somewhere relatively isolated and far from town to keep a large number of undead without anyone knowing they were there. There are a few places I could think of, an abandoned military outpost or two, some old garrisons, and of course the Shadowmount offers dozens of hiding places. But I'm afraid I simply don't know much about what you need to create and maintain large quantities of undead--that's somewhere the Seekers will be far more valuable."

"Where do the skeletons try to drag the bodies off to? Do they leave dragging trails behind?" Jax says, scratching his bald head.

At the mention of body trails, Drego raise's an eyebrow towards Jax, surprised by the brute's insight. Speaking up for the first time since entering the Warlord's home, the ranger says 'Could you point us to where one of these attacks may have happened?'

     “yes, hmmm… the most recent would be best, no?”