Arising Tensions

From the temple of Mystra, we decided to go our separate ways around sunset to accomplish our individual goals for the evening. However, as Grum and I left Archie at his place to go to the dwarf’s home, Teynos continued to trot along with us. As we did not want to seem rude, we accepted his company for the time being.
After a whole day in the city without any major incidents, the inevitable happened: Only a few streets further in, Grum spotted one of the enormous fiendish rats in a back alley, accompanied by a few slightly smaller mutated rodents and clusters of regular sewer rats, dining on what looked like two unmoving bodies. Some might say that we would have had the option to just silently back away and convince ourselves that it was already too late for the unfortunate victims. But of course, we could not just let the animals defile the bodies like that and there was the faint bit of hope that they were not beyond saving. Hence, Grum took a step in their direction, focussed, and summoned an array of sprouting thorns from between the cobblestones, ‘ere he yelled at the rodents to come try a piece of dwarf.
Following this provocation, dozens of tiny and the few larger heads turned in our direction and they began their charge. The first few rats were running straight into the set trap and satisfactorily seemed to have a hard time with countless tiny needles penetrating their feet. However, the second wave had learned from their forerunners. They were climbing up the walls enclosing the alley, not stopping in their assault on us. In the hopes of creating some confusion amongst the animals and potentially keeping the thorned rats in their predicament, I attempted to channel the sinister energy I had felt in the maw of the crocodile in a less devastating way. Upon hissing a phrase in the damned tongue, a sphere of pure black filled the passage between us and the rats, impeccable even to my eyes that usually have no problem with darkness. The problem with this plan however was that now we too were unable to see the creatures.
Along the surrounding walls from the black void in front of us emerged swarms of rodents, intent to continue their feast and out of nowhere the supposed leader appeared amongst us, venom dripping from its fangs, snapping for Teynos and me. The half-orc’s fists flew in a blaze, raining punches on our foe as he cried out for Archie who should still be within hearing distance. Grum casted a beam of silverish light at the rat and veered into his bear shape. Whilst we were doing our best to fend off the onslaught, Archie, who must have heard Teynos’ shouting came sprinting down the main street, already preparing Ori for battle. Much to our surprise though, Kyla and Nysqwen came running up not too far behind him.
In the ensuing short, ruthless battle, Teynos, Nysqwen and bear-Grum as usual dealt heavy blows in close combat while Archie and Ori incinerated rats by the score. Kyla sent forth her spiritual mace to join the fray and more than once reinvigorated those of us that received grave wounds – which, likely due to his bold fighting style was mainly Teynos, who was repeatedly bitten as he was forced to get into very close quarters with the rodents. Grum also was assaulted continuously but as soon as he was forced to revert to his humanoid shape his still active moon beam managed to slay the rat’s swarm leader who faded from existence without leaving so much as a hair behind. I would hazard a guess that it re-joined its kin in the nine hells, and it would not have been the last we will see of it. The remaining animals did not put up much more of a fight and were quickly dealt with afterwards.
 
The motionless bodies further down the alley were covered in bitemarks. Small chunks of flesh had already been chewed off before we arrived. Kyla rushed over but was unable to do much more than close their eyes, fold their hands over their chests and sent a silent prayer to the Raven Queen to grant their souls save passage. Nysqwen explained that they had been unable to find master Zashier Khalid, as he apparently was at some discussion in the Neverwinter Palace with a group of politicians, including the Lord Protector himself. She wondered what a man of his position was doing at such an assembly but there would be no way to reach out to him this evening. In the meantime, Archie had fetched a group of city guards to whom we explained what had transpired. They thanked us for our service although we pointed out that we had been too late and promised to take care of the bodies. Visibly tired, Archie headed home afterwards.
For the rest of us, an awkward pause developed, as Grum and I were keen to have some words under four eyes while Nysqwen, Kyla and Teynos first wanted to join in for some drinks at Grum’s place. They seemed to understand our admittedly not very subtle hints that it was a small place and there would certainly be better food at Anataea’s and somewhat begrudgingly parted ways with us. Splitting a group like this always comes with a strange aftertaste… But some things require a certain familiarity that does not come easily. I am still not certain as to how strong the bond and how deep the trust in this new group is.
 
As we arrived at my old friend’s house, Grum presented me with an evening gown he had commissioned for me. It was of a colour almost matching my skin, very soft fabric and only slightly too small. Gladly I accepted this very kind gift and with a sigh of relief I finally was able to drop all illusions. We poured some good wine, filled our pipes, and sat in high-backed chairs in front of his fireplace, discussing the events of the last few days. I used this opportunity to apologise for my loss of control over myself in the harrowing first night in the swamp, admitting that in the blind madness that had gripped me, I had almost swung against the dwarf had the final will-o’-wisp not caught my attention at the right moment. With a smile, he said there was no need for an apology, that this was rather further incentive to find a solution to this curse. He just hoped it would no be an anchor point for some sort of control the fiends emerging in the city could have over me. I had not given this possibility much thought before but of course he was right. That would be a devastating discovery. However, thus far their encounters with me did not seem accompanied by any such threat, assuming that if that was a possibility, they would know about it and use it against us. In hindsight, I am now wondering if there might even be some benefit to this, if this devilkin would be inclined to believe I was closer to working with them than against them… What were Anataea’s words? Use every trick up your sleeve if you are facing something that threatens to overwhelm you. Regardless how desperate it may seem.
Grum told me, he was worrying about Quercus. He had not been to the forest in a while and so far, our adventuring had not brought him any closer to a cure. Last time he saw his friend, he was still standing firm, but his strength was visibly dwindling. He probably should go and seek him out once more to see how things stand. If these damn rats were not a gigantic issue at the moment, finding a proper cure would be our main concern, closely followed by finding out by what had happened to Nysqwen’s brother. Thus, we debated for a while about what possible steps might be taken to find said cure, what he had not tried up to this point, until sleep took us.
 
After a hearty breakfast and Archie coming over, we took course towards Anataea’s the next morning to meet up with the rest of our friends. Along our way, a large group of people crossed our path, heading towards the southern gate. Usually at this time of day that would not be an uncommon sight but with the current shutdown of the city and the dangers lurking in its shadows it now was rather surprising and had a troublesome flavour to it. We stopped one man to ask what was going on and he explained agitatedly that they would not be kept down by the authorities. The higher society would just be securing their riches while the poorer population were left to dying anyway and on top of that were forbidden to leave their homes. Any attempts to reason that the city guard were already doing their best and that staying indoors for most of the time were mere measures to protect the population while trained fighters did their best to deal with the threat were falling upon deaf ears, the man just continued on with his peers to take a stance against the authorities. To be fair, there was undeniably a cleft between rich and poor and the last years with the emergence of the rift and the arrival of the orcs had done their part to worsen this. But through all this chaos, most of the time the city guard was doing their job in protecting the citizens and running around the streets with no clue what was really going on was a disaster bound to happen. For now though, there was nothing we could do about that and thus continued towards our friends.
 
We arrived while they were just having breakfast with some of the kids and were happy to join for that. Nysqwen and Kyla had this impish gleam in their eyes as the former asked us how our date had been. Not quite understanding what she was referring to, we just dug into the food. She got up to get some more food but to our surprise saw that the stocks were running somewhat empty. As I looked up however, the mischievous expression on Kyla’s face had yielded to one of wide-eyed shock and confusion. She awkwardly got up and said I would have something unhealthy looking on my face, I should join her in her room so she might have a look at it. With that, she left the room and heavy footfalls made their way up the stairs. I knew that look. That cursed look. As none of the other people around the table displayed similar feelings, I assumed that only she had seen behind the illusions. I got up and followed her.
As I left the room, Irakin stood in the hallway, awaiting me. He handed me ten gold pieces and with one of his sly grins replied to my question if my friends had provided that money that that was not particularly the case. I asked him about the low food supplies and with a more serious face he explained that in the current lockdown everything was getting more expensive but that Anataea had not yet deemed circumstances too dire. It might however be only a matter of time before we would have to look for the shadier ways of supply. With a knowing nod we headed off in our respective directions.
In Kyla’s room, I once more dropped all facades, facing the still wide-eyed woman. I ensured her that there was nothing more wrong than usual, that I just had on good authority that revealing this sight to everyone never ended well as most ordinary people would freak out, misinterpreting what they were seeing. And that I had had enough unfortunate experiences that made me very cautious about how others were able to perceive me. She said she was sorry that I felt the need to hide my true visage even amongst friends as we had grown to be and truthfully, I replied that it was very difficult to break with old habits and let go deeply engrained fears. Yet I did not mention what other cursed gifts my specific heritage brough with it, that was a discussion I still did not feel ready for. She said it broke her heart to see me hiding like this. With slumped shoulders she agreed to not tell anyone else for now and made her way back to breakfast. With sweaty palms and shivering knees, I collapsed against the next wall.
 
When I re-joined my friends in the kitchen, they were still eating. To Nysqwen’s question if I was feeling better, I replied that this was indeed the case and how glad I was for Kyla’s healing capabilities and her friendship. Always accompany a lie with at least two truth. Kyla and Nysqwen noticed that each were missing about 25 gold pieces that definitely were there last night when they went to bed. They were somewhat disappointed in our hosts, blaming them for the vanishing coin. I showed them what Irakin had given me earlier, explaining that I doubted that there was any theft from our hosts, they were quite good in looking after themselves. Well, at least one truth… But if the money was gone, we perhaps should make investigations for someone must have snuck into the house last night and take the money. Well, Irakin, I am sure you knew what you were doing, and that the donation is for a good cause. The children have to be fed after all.
Now the conversation once more turned to Kyla trying to explain to Teynos that defence sometimes was not best achieved by a wild offence. Begrudgingly, the half-orc seemed to accept the argument that Kyla felt responsible for all our health and that she had brought him back from the brink more than once. That was taxing for one, and there would eventually be a situation where she would not be around to save him. For demonstration on how easy it was to hit someone if they were not expecting it to come, she punched Teynos softly in the face, whereupon the young half-orc Sven stood up to his full height and told her that if she was fighting Teynos, he was there to protect him. None of us could hide the smile but the boy definitely proved that he had taken the lessons to heart. Never let someone threaten your friends if you can do something about it! On that note, she asked, if I could give him perhaps the platinum ring, she had made me a while ago, that allowed for her to protect me from some of the wounds I received, albeit at the cost of those being transferred to her. With Teynos being far more in the front line, this was a very obvious choice, although I am not certain in how far the timing just coincided with our earlier talk or if there was some tension building up somewhere. I can only pray that this is not the case and that I find a way to remove any potential strains on our friendship as soon as possible.
 
Finishing our breakfast, we all set out towards the Protector’s Enclave to speak to the Lords’ Alliance as well as the Harpers to offer our knowledge about what was going on. Unimpeded, we managed to reach the Winged Wyvern bridge where we once again stumbled into the mob we had encountered earlier, only it had grown significantly within the last two hours. A man was spearheading this assemblage, delivering a plain but passionate speech in which he blamed the authorities for hoarding all the city’s valuables and turning their backs on the common people. According to him, amongst the more common sewer illnesses first cases of the Gilbe and Zorgan pox had been found and were currently treated in the temple of Lathander. He proclaimed to be fed up with being suppressed by higher powers and goaded his keen audience more and more against the ruling bodies of the city. In the last two days the rats apparently had seized to attack during the day but rather came in the night to steal any remaining food stocks, attack people in their sleep and contaminate what they could not take. He finished his tirade by calling his followers to march towards the palace and demand their voices being heard by Dagult Neverember himself. Accordingly, the angry crowd marched further into the Enclave. However, Kyla noticed four men that strayed from the general course, their overall demeanour oozing trouble. Hence, we decided to follow them.
They hurried further northwest, eventually turning into a smaller alley next to what we recognised as the temple of the Morninglord where one of them tampered with the lock of a side entrance. We revealed ourselves, demanding to know what they were doing here. Coating my next words with a bit of magical force, I suggested to the tamperer he better answer whatever Kyla wanted to know of him, as she could get rather unpleasant otherwise. With such a catalyst, he was rather forthcoming in revealing that they had come to, as was their interpretation, safe Neverwinter from the terrible diseases that were currently treated inside the temple by killing every infected person. Somewhat daunted by our numbers and at least Nysqwen’s rather intimidating form, they agreed to turn away and abstain from their hideous plans. Still, they seemed to be convinced to be completely in the right and just doing the world a great service. When they tried to push past us out of the alley, their leader brushed unnecessarily close to Kyla. Her nerves taut anyway, a small flash emanated from the pendant around her neck and the man collapsed where he stood. Another soft word at least returned his breathing. Horrified his accomplices carried him home, reassuring us more pleadingly now that they would not return to finish what they had come for.
Still quite worried in face of the radical ideas these men had entertained, we thought it best to notify the temple of what had happened. Kyla knocked at the front gate, which was opened just far enough for a priest’s head to poke through a few moments later. Cautiously he inquired after our wishes, stating that currently they would not provide anymore healing. His face turned pale as Kyla told him of the four individuals and he thanked us for dealing with this. They would take measures to ensure the safety of their charges. Just what had gotten in these people to assume killing potentially dozens of sick people, risking even infecting themselves in the process was a sound solution to a pandemic? Where had decency gone in these last few days?
 
As the last place we knew master Khalid to be was the Palace, we headed there only to find its gates locked shut, the chanting mob outside demanding entry and an end to their torments. There was no way of gaining the attention of the politicians on the inside, let alone entrance. Thus, we continued on towards the Lords’ Alliance once more. Entering their impressive foyer, we were asked to take a seat in a waiting area while only Nysqwen would be allowed to meet with master Khalid. She implored that it might be prudent to let Kyla join her as she would understand much more of healing and magic, both things she wanted to see the master about. And after the guard returned from asking for permission, both of them were asked to come in.
Now it is waiting for what they may learn from Nysqwen’s contact. It hopefully will aid either them in their pursuit of the source of the plague or us in uncovering it ourselves. It might be most visible with Archie, but there is a nervousness in all of us as to what all this might lead to. Yet, a solution must be found. And quick, ‘ere more chaos will consume what bit of civilisation remains in Neverwinter.