Ashley assists Marion over the railing, nodding with her assessment.  "So, follow Malachi's mysterious note?  On the case it is!" she claims, trying to lift her spirits after the craziness of the arena.

"Lead the way," grunts Joren, clearly in need of a rest and still in a bit of pain, though significantly better after Ashley's healing.  Flakes of frost from the giant ice toad's cold aura fall from his splint armor as he stows his greatsword behind his back.

"I am thanking you for the help, my friends.  I was expecting neither the three other beasts, nor the bound up arena workers.  I am hoping you do not all disapprove of my gambit to use the platform that being an arena combatant was providing me to spread the truth about the danger this city is in."

Remembering something else, Joren turns to the arena workers if they are still nearby.  "Unlike the other beasts, the yeti Grishnak still lives.  I did not slay it, having only knocked it unconscious.  It will be waking and wreaking more havoc in an hour or two if you are not properly restraining it."

He focuses and maintains his echo, moving it up from the arena floor up alongside himself in the stands.

Vilus about to prepare another Eldritch Blast watches as the scorpion collapses, he instead continues running toward the council members box as they collect their things, calling over his shoulder, "I read their lips!" 

As soon as he gets to the box the group can see him still on his human guise talking to the council members as a whole. As he leaves he runs back to the group "where we off to, Lou's or Marigold? If the guard are apprehending her now she'll kill them and then she'll be gone" 

"Damn it all. The timing is terrible, but perhaps we can use it to our advantage." Samir pulls his glasses off, rubbing the lenses on the cloth of his shirt, squinting all the while. "Someone should hurry to Jean Lou with all possible haste and inform him of what is happening. Maybe there is something he can do to help. The rest of us move towards Marigold and see if there is any way we can prevent a tragedy there."

Malachi brushes a stray lock of hair away from his eyes and hesitates “Shouldn't we stay together?"  He looks at the others with a little more conviction "Marigold, we should go to Marigold first. We have to stop her from escaping.  We can go to Jean-Lou after.  Just my thoughts.”  He looks over to Vilus “Do we know where Marigold is right now?” 

Ashley looks to Mal, "How urgent did that note sound?  I don't like the idea of splitting up, but if he's expecting us, I don't want to lose a valid ally."

Malachi looks at Ashley and shrugs, pulling out the note and showing it to the others again. “It just says ‘Everyone, my office after the fight’.  That’s it.  It appears genuine based on the other notes he has given us.” He looks over at Vilus. “If they are confronting Marigold in her office, maybe we can knock out two birds with one stone so to speak.  In any case, we can search her office."

Vilus stops, he listens to the questions that his friends have and he closes his eyes for a moment, mentally leaving the space and taking a breath. Coming back to reality he swears in giant, before shouting out, "she's out at sea, we go to the councilman's" 

As he begins running toward the exit he checks his book of Shadows and swears yet again in giant this time very much louder before putting it away.

Still trying to shake the cold damage from the giant ice toad's aura out of his bones, Joren (who understands Giant, having fought both against and with plenty of goliaths far to the east) is taken aback both by Vilus' swearing and his shout.

"Out at sea... not being a westerner expression, is it?  Marigold is actually sailing or swimming somewhere in the western ocean?"

Grimacing, Joren lumbers after him, nearly cursing himself as he has used up nearly all his reserves during the fight against multiple unexpected creatures while protecting the arena workers.  If Ashley had not healed him, he would be bleeding all over his new armor to boot.  And if Marion and the others had not joined the fight, then he would be lying face-down upon the arena sand.  He had meant to protect them, but they had protected him.

Malachi passes a surprised look between Vilus and Joren before glancing to the others. “The invasion fleet.  She is going to meet with them, they must be closer than we thought then.”  Malachi turns to follow Vilus, trotting to keep up.

As Mal trots up and asks, Vilus divulges extra info for him. "I just got report back from the spies, the captured cultists said that they're close to their goal, 'the martyrs are prepared for hellfire within, whilst the rest await Rasmus without' does that mean anything to you?, because it sounds like humanoid bombs throughout the city to me."

As the conversation rapid fires between her friends, Ashley tries to comprehend what they are saying, while running along.  

"So, Marigold has already escaped?  What happened to your spy friends?"  She thinks on what Vilus asked, and in a smaller voice, "I sure hope not."  But continues to run towards the councilman's office.

Samir does his level best to keep up with the others, thankful for his time doing field experiments and journeying with his companions of late, rather than having spent all of his time in a lab or library. 

"Martyrs... it is not unheard of for zealots and the like to employ some manner of suicide attackers." The half-orc huffs a bit with the exertion, steadying his glasses with one hand. "Such tactics could cause massive amounts of damage, if one considers their own death a foregone conclusion."

Getting out of the arena stands, the group has to slow down to squeeze past a crowd of onlookers. But curiously enough, they are not looking at the arena. Rather, they are pointing and gawking at the skyline to the southwest.

Heavy black smoke is starting to clog the air in the direction of the docks. Numerous billowing plumes are rising up.

"Could be referring to exploding martyrs, aye, or could be something from deep below ground, like the deep fiery chasm where we were seeing the giant gloazworm nest.  Or both.  The cultists seem to be using all means at their disposal."

Joren pauses, stretching to stave off stiffness in his injured body parts.  "Visiting Jean-Lou as asked, then?  Or heading towards the fires at the docks?"

“Why, we gotta help right?”  She looks to her friends to see if anyone is ready to argue, she really doesn’t want to split now with talk of martyrs and all.  “I mean, that’s what we do!  Head to the fires!”

Ashley:

Joren grimaces and looks one way, then another.  He sends his echo to the rooftops once more, preparing to march.

"It is making sense.  The fire is where the emergency is seeming to be and we should provide assistance, just as we were doing in Tensmith with the uncontrollable magic everywhere.  Being injured and spent, I may be of less use protecting the group, perhaps I can go alone at a normal pace to visit Jean-Lou while you are all rushing to the docks?  That will let me rest, while also making it so if the note was a trap, I am the only one being caught."

"I am with Ashley on this." Samir huffs to a stop next to the others, craning his head towards the plumes of smoke. "If there is some way we can help there, I feel we must at least give the attempt. Go find Jean-Lou. If he doesn't know this is the cult's doing, he needs to be told!"

Malachi hesitates, glancing between the columns of smoke rising from the docks and the path to the Councilor’s chambers.  Surprisingly, it is the memory of aiding the townspeople of Tensmith following the surge of magic that Joren reminds him of that makes his decision. He nods to Ashley and Samir “Right then, I will join you at the docks.  We must save who we can.”  He turns back to Joren “Be careful, and get Jean-Lou to send help. Contact us with the sending stone with any news.”