Lorzub throws on the shirt, smiling his best orc smile at the compliment, and struts his stuff all the way out with the group.
Luke looks Adalieh square in the eyes. "My dear, surely it's this world that's mad, not you. But that's why the gods put us here - to test if we can keep our resolve in a world of madness. Stay strong, and think of the beauty we bring to this desolate place; think of the faces of Olya's parents when we bring her back, safe and sound. Yes, the shadows are fierce - but the light of goodness is fiercer, and until our light is extinguished, we'll continue to burn the shadows away wherever we go."
"Come now, let's restore some color to those downstairs." Luke smiles brightly and takes Adalieh's hand in his.
Smiling with Luke, Adalieh squeezes Luke's hand as she nods. "You're right. Now is not the time to worry. Lead the way."
As they head back downstairs, Adalieh's smile falters slightly. When she spots the bodies, she lets go of Luke and hurries over to examine them.
"All right, I will do this thoroughly," she says, looking at her companions. "Give me some time." Going over the process meticulously, she strips them to the bare flesh to make sure she knows every little detail.
Besides some minor burns from the wax and being unconscious, the three people seem unharmed.
"Healthy," she says after the examination. "Minor burns, nothing severe."
She fills her hand with healing light and gently removes the burns.
"We should take them outside," she nods towards the others, rising from the floor. "But first... You were stung pretty badly by the invisible one. Are there any after-effects?"
She wanders over to her companions and examines them as well.
"I also think I require some healing of the magical type. I can still feel the wound that Ilquis inflicted on me, taking some of my strength. I don't know if it's something that you can help me with though..."
The burns on the townsfolk disappear but all of them remain unconscious.
"Poison," Adalieh mutters quietly, examining Lorzub's wounds. "It is subsided, but I cannot heal the damage it has done. Time will take care of it. Or the Gods," she adds, looking at Luke.
"We should leave this place now, unless there is something left to be done."
Lorzub nods to Adalieh. "Thank you, you've already done plenty so hopefully this will heal itself. I agree that we should leave. It's not like me to run from something, but I think we need to learn more before we go further."
"I would say we should take these people to a temple, but considering the temples around these parts, I don't think that would be fortuitous... Let's see what we can do with what we have on hand."
Luke pulls out a potion and pours it down the throat of the weathered old man.
Luke confers discreetly with his compatriots, dropping his voice low so that Fane and Oana can't overhear. "Judging from what we've heard so far, the 'good' baron may be behind this plague in the first place. I suggest we see what these captives have to say before we proceed. If only I had the energies to wake them up... but you're right, the apothecary could be of assistance."
"Lets get moving then, and try to sort their condition as quickly as possible"
Lorzub nods in agreement with the chosen course of actions.
While you make up your mind, the potion that Luke dribbled down one of the townspeople's throat comes into effect and the man gasps back to life. "What happened?!" he exclaims, trying to get his bearings on the dim lit room. "Where am I?"
"We found you here, encased in wax, at the whim of a fey creature named Ilquis." Luke puts his hand to one of the coins on his amulet. "We are friends, and we will bring you back to your home, but if you could tell us everything you can about the last thing you remember, it will help us figure out who your captor was, and what he was doing."
"Ilq...", the farmer-type looks puzzled. "No, it was Catalina who brought me here." His forehead wrinkles. "But wait... yes, there was this strange butterfly-y... thing. He told me to climb into one of these vats to get vax... vacky... whatever. Seemed like a decent fellow and a good idea, so I did." He stops for a second to think. "That's the last thing I remember.
Please do take me home, I really feel like I need to get some sleep."
"Was Catalina working with the butterfly creature? Why did she say she was bringing you here?" Luke notices the weariness on the man's face. "But yes, let's continue this conversation on your way home."
Luke looks at his fellow adventurers. "Perhaps this man's house is in the same direction as the apothecary. Let's wrap the unconscious in some warm clothes and carry them with us until we can reawaken them."
"I dunno..." The man obviously fumbles for words. "Maybe. She said, she'd need a hand with something and that it could help with the troubles. That's all I know."
The man looks at Corso with a puzzled face: "I don't remember the fancy words he used. Something with wax and about not catching the plague. Sorry, I don't know anything else."
"He perhaps means vaccinated..? The process of assigning someone immunity from a specific ailment, by getting him or her in contact with the agent for such affection, so as to develop a resistance to it...?" - Medraut whispers to Corso.
Luke begins to wrap the unconscious youths in warm blankets, in order to bring them to the apothecary.
"I'll carry the the boy, can someone else pick up the girl?"
Lorzub steps up, "I will carry her." He reaches down and scoops her up on his shoulder.
"Now let's get something to wake them up. With any luck they even remember something."
With that, Luke begins to carry the unconscious boy to the apothecary, wrapped in a blanket.