Did anyone else get bitten?
"I did," Stam says frantically flipping through his spell book, memorizing a new spell.
Want me to hit you with a frost bomb?
"Please!" Stam says bracing himself.
Spugnoir hits Stam, freezing him in place but the slugspawn is safe and warm between Stam's internal organs already. Moving onwards, it causes Stam to gag and then he gets a headache as his head becomes an overly crowded space.
Stam pulls out his dagger and looks to Grergof and Darius to help out.
Darius gets out a scroll of remove disease. "I guess you'd rather not wait until tomorrow to get rid of that, do you?"
"I don't want my head to blow up like theirs." Stam points at the dead men, panic in his voice
Darius casts the spell from the scroll and immediately the pressure in Stam's head disappears. "That is the worst case of worm infestation I've ever seen. Normal worms are a pest, but those getting out where there is no opening are far worse." Darius laughs.
"But I don't think you'd ended up like them. You have much more potential. Maybe another one of these huge black three legged monsters like under the sea?"
Darius..hush!
"Thank you Darius." Stam says once he has worked his magic. Reading the note over Stam hands it around "We have been to that house already have we not?"
There is nothing else found here and nothing magic.
So off to the old house I guess. Spugnoir looks around. I think the town is pretty much empty.
Stam nods, looking in the pool quickly first.
The pool looks very deep, surreal even.
I guess we should see what we can do to help those who got their brains taken.
Darius opens the door and takes a peek into the next room. The chamber is decorated floor to ceiling with disturbing carvings of devilfish, krakens, octopuses, squid, and other bizarre sea life, as well as unsettling depictions of human women mating with strange fish-men from the sea. At the far end of the room, a semicircular pool of water stands before a large bloodstained altar. On the wall above the altar, a carving of a giant, unwinking octopoid eye gazes over the room, surrounded by sinister twisting runes. From this side of the wall it is clear that the wall is foldable and will open this hidden part to the congregation.
As no one is here, Darius moves on to the next door and opens that too. A simple wooden bench stands against the far wall of this small chamber, next to a pool of dark water. A young Illmarsh couple, waits in this room. They are startled by and afraid of the stranger.
"I found two people here who are no cultists. At least no front line cultists. Come and have a look." Darius calls back to his companions.
Who are you people? Spugnoir asks.
"Good day, can we help you?" Stam asks the couple.
Just for the record: Grergof Retrieves his flail.
Grergof peers at the couple and tries to make his voice gentle:
Fear not to speak the truth, what was done here was due to extreme crimes against the townsfolk. We normally do not harm others.
"We're just waiting for the vicar to come back." the man tells.
Huh. Well just why are you waiting? Hmm? Spugnoir looks suspicious.
"The vicar took our daughter to bring her to the neighbors. Now we wait for him to come back." the man tells.
"How old was your daughter? What Neighbors?" Stam asks
How long has the Vicar been gone?
"Our daughter is three month old. The neighbors down bay." the man replies. "The vicar is gone three or four days, I'm not sure."
Ahhh... Baby girl.
The good news is she was safe last time we saw her.
But before I explain more, can you tell us more about these neighbors? Is there anything special about them?
Stam looks at his companions and motions to leave the room.
"Seems like a long time to take a baby to a Neighbour, is there a reason you were having him take her there?" Stam asks before they leave.
Spugnoir gets a sinking feeling
"Well, all second and third daughters are given to the neighbors, for raising and marrying. I've never seen one, but they help us to be safe and have plenty of fish all the time." the man explains.
Do the daughters ever come back when they are older?
Grergof asks, dreading the answer.
"No, they are living with the neighbors forever. It's a happy life. They wouldn't want to come back."
Ohhhh boy
"I believe that the children you give up are sacrificed to Dagon. He is a Demon who people worship, we have found a place underground under the lake that his a slaughter house for people from this town." Stam says
Stam, I really don't think there is any good way to say that.
The couple is aghast. Open mouthed and with wide eyes they stare at Stam. "That, ... that ... can't be true." Tears well up the woman's eyes.
'We found a baby up at the old Manor, some men were going to give it to a beast from the Dark Tapestry." Stam says
The couple is stunned and doesn't know what to say.
"We have a babe though, she is safe, I can get her tomorrow and if it is your babe, I would say take her and move away from this town and don't look back." Stam offers.
The couple looks confused. "What... why...?"
Well it seems all the authorities are no longer alive.
Mr. Truthfinder, that may not be the best path. I think we need to bring the baby back, as well as the grown woman to show the town what they have cost, then maybe let the town hold a meeting to decide a new direction.
If the Vicars have been deceiving the people all these years, they deserve to know the whole truth. Hopefully if they know they will choose a new direction and expel any of those who perpetrated this deception.
Grergof turns to the couple:
As outsiders the town won't trust us, but we can give you the evidence, and accompany any town leaders who wish to see the truth for themselves. Then you all can decide for yourselves what path you want the town to follow.
He looks up to the ceiling.
The Dawnbringer teaches that no matter what happened in the past, if a person truly wishes to choose a new path, they should be given that chance. That applies to a town as well as a lost soul.
You see the question marks in the eyes of the two but they keep silent.
I can try to help the Mayor...get back to being his old self as it were. It will take a visit to The Schloss.
"I can get you there no problem." Stam says
Grergof looks back at the couple.
You've been lied to.
Much of what we are going to tell you is pretty horrifying. Do you want to hear it now, or would you rather have some solid people you can trust near you to support you when you hear this?
The tale is one that I wouldn't have believed myself if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, and it also involves the people who have been disappearing from town over time.
But the important thing to remember is your girl is safe and you will see her tomorrow. Also know those responsible will not be lying to the town any more, so you have a chance to decide to go a different way.
"I can teleport you to Lepidstadt if you would like." Stam tells the couple
"Will the vicar come back?" the couple asks. As that is negated they ask "Can we go home then?"