Korlan

”He.... he attacked us! He thinks we’re working for some sort of snake masters.” As I watch him starting to bleed out. “Quill, you need to cure him!” I rush over and grab his crossbow to get it away from the old man. I look over at Demoiselle to see if she’s doing ok after taking a bolt. 

Quill gulps.

"I,I can, but not with magic..." he says, rushing over to the caretaker. Recalling his basic medical knowledge from old textbooks, Quill rips off the left sleeve of his own shirt to use as a bandage, and tries to stabilize the old man, praying to Usoara for help.

Medicine: 23

Demoiselle: The boy pushes away from you and runs hard so as not to slow you down.  "It's this way, past the well, not far!"  He's panting from the strain and stress of fear and running combined.  "My Ma warned that big goliath, but he said he could help.  My Da's been sick for months now.  We even tried  dippin' him secretly in that temple pool a couple months ago, but that just made him... worse." The kid slows down to push through some brush crowding the trail in the darkness.  Then he looks at Demoiselle as if admitting something horrible.  "He's... I don't know if that's still my Da anymore.  A'fore he was just reglar sick.  Now he's... somethin' else."  As you break through into a clearing, you see an old cabin ahead, no light in the windows.  The front door hanging open as if the hinges were hung wrong.  The  boy, no more than eight years old at most, gulps and points, unwilling to go closer.  "They're in there."

Quill and Korlan: Fassil grunts in pain as Quill ties the bandage around the old man's middle.  Then he sighs in defeat.  "Guess I fergot I ain't as young as I was when I was a young buck in the Eloth army." Then he catches himself and pushes Quill away. "Helping me ain't gonna get you no favors. And you can quit fakin' prayers to the goddess."

Korlan 

“we're genuine clerics you old jerk! We were only trying to help. We were from the Second Sun Temple until it closed. We taken in at the Lichfield Basilica, but something is going on there. Our Dawnlord never arrived there and the Highlord went missing. We have been coming across a lot of mentions of yaun-ti. Sounds to me like you know more than we do!”

Quill glares.

"Faking?" he growls, face contorting for a second before Quill takes a deep breath, calming himself down with visible effort.

"None of us are fakes, but I admit that you have no way of knowing that our claim is true. You'll just have to trust us."

Esvaris

I was distracted by a cool bug I saw in the temple. I just now emerge and get caught up.

 Korlan: At your words the old man's head jerks up in shock.  "The High Lord is missin'?  That can't be!  He's the only one who..." stopping mid-sentence he looks at Quill.

Quill:  He looks at you skeptically.  "If ye're really clerics than why'd I catch ye all snooping into the secret room above?"  His suspicion is obvious.  "That first one what came months ago claimed she was sent by the basilica, too, but she weren't.  Emeritus, himself, told me she used that pool fer vile acts, to change herself inta somethin'... unnatural." He frowns, remembering.  "Said he was investigatin'." He lowers his voice. "By rights, he's the only one what should know about that room, him bein' the High Lord and all."

Esvaris emerges just in time to see Demoiselle and the boy disappear fully into the woods, his darksight allowing him to see her and the boy clearly, though to the others they are already lost in the darkness under the trees. They are following a somewhat overgrown path.

Esvaris

I follow them.

Korlan

”who came here a few months ago? And what did she do in the pool to change herself? And into what? And what is that room for anyways?” my questions just ramble on. 

Quill stays quiet, also wanting to know the answer to Korlan's question.

Fassil spits in disgust. "Turned herself inta one of them snake people. High Lord Emeritus called 'em...Wan Tee or somethin' like that." A look of revulsion crosses his face and he shudders, remembering. "She filled the whole pool with snakes, hunnerds of 'em. After she left, the snakes all went too, like she was commandin' 'em. I wrote a letter to the High Lord. He came and magicked the water. He said it still had some of the evil in it."

Then he points a shaky, blood-stained hand towards the direction Demoiselle and Esvaris went. "I dunno fer sure, but I think that boy's Pa snuck in there before it was safe, hopin' the water could heal him. Mayhap it twisted him, too."

Korlan 

I look back at Quill in a worried look. What if that boy’s father has turned.....

Quill smiles reassuringly at Korlan.

"I'm sure Demoiselle and Esvaris can take care of that," he tells Korlan and Fassil.

"But this seems like the most probable cause of the snake attacks lately. Is there anything you know about who this lady was?" Quill asks Fassil.

Quill:  The old man shakes his head and starts to stand back up, leaning on the pillar behind him heavily.  "I only know the lies she told me.  Said she was a cleric of Usoara and that the High Lord sent her." He grimaces in pain for a moment, clutching his side again.  "Course I believed her, cause she knew about the secret room. She didn't try to take the book, neither.  But she said she had to perform some religious what-not in the temple and only she and the fancy fellow she brought with her could stay inside."  His embarrassment at being fooled is plain in his voice.

Esvaris is easily able to follow Demoiselle and the boy along the path.  He arrives behind them as they are standing at the edge of the trees looking at the dark cabin in the clearing.

Korlan

I butt in. “Who did the woman bring? This fancy man you speak of. And what’s so special about that book?” So... many..... questions......

Demoiselle walks in, looking for the person in need of her help.

Esvaris

I continue following Demoiselle, she seems like she knows where she goes. This book is getting heavy. I put it in my bag.

Korlan: Fassil holds his hand out to you, waiting for you to hand his crossbow back to him.  "Dunno. She just called him 'My Lord' and acted like he was somethin' special.  Blonde fellow, actin' all superior."  His face flames a bit. "I thought he was odd, but she was so durn sweet that I let it slide.  Cute little thing, she was. Now if yer done interrogatin' me, I'm goin' to follow that lad.  If whatevers happened to his Da is my fault, somehow, for lettin' that evil inta the temple, then I aim to fix it... or die tryin'."

Demoiselle and Esvaris: As you reach the front entrance, you can see now that the wooden door has been damaged and the hinges are barely hanging on to the frame.  Demoiselle slowly pushes the door inward and steps inside.  By the low flickering light of a fireplace in the corner to your right your eyes scan the L-shaped room. Esvaris is looking over Demoiselle's shoulder, but still just outside the door.  The main room has been destroyed.  Table overturned, chairs smashed, dishes and food shattered and splattered everywhere.  The door to the bedroom on the left has been completely ripped off and lies on the floor a few feet from where it once hung.  Blood is smeared across the floor in several places.  There is a small storage closet to the right of the bedroom.  The hinges on the front door squeaked just a bit as Demoiselle pushed it open, piercing the unnatural silence.  At the sound, the closet door across from you opens out just a little. The firelight shines through the crack and you can see the young mother crouched, clutching her younger son and the baby close to her, tear streaked face pinched with terror.

Esvaris: As you stand there, just outside the door, a large hand reaches down and grabs your right shoulder.  Blood runs down onto your chest in a thin stream. (Make a perception check)

Esvaris

Perception: 18

Korlan

Ill hand the crossbow back to Fassil. “Best we get going than, the sooner the better I reckon.”