The child allows himself to be lead out of the room. You watch as he precariously tries to step around the pool of blood but he stumbles only to have Lililinda support him with all her strength. He continues moving and you see he is moving with a considerable limp almost dragging his little leg along.
Both Lililinda and Innis are correct in their assessment the woman is dead and nothing less than divine intervention would bring her back and with all you have witnessed the city of Cassomir you feel that things are about to get worse.
Setting up your supplies you hear a gasp as the woman from before – the child's aunt – rushes over to him in a flurry. She stops and looks at all of you searching for answers about her other family members.
Putting your hands on the boy's leg to clean the wounds you can feel he is burning up. Staring at the wound you see what looks like a bite mark by his right ankle. Before your own eyes you watch the child's eyes turn pink and his skin takes on a pale pallor.
The woman does her best to be strong in light of her family dying. She mouths thank you to you Kirzon and holds the child tightly slowly rocking him and you watch as tears begin to stream down her cheeks. You get up Kirzon and give her and her nephew some time as you tell Innis that to get the supplies she requires will mean that she needs to head to the Dog's Teeth district of the city.
Not known for the most upstanding individuals travelling by herself with that much money may not be necessarily the safest thing to do.
To injured to be of any more help just now Cassandra found a place to sit where she could keep a surreptitious eye on the child. If the boy turned she wasn't taking chance and he was within reach of her glaive. With little else to do she pulled out a whetstone and worked on a nick she'd picked up in the blade from one of those zombies while she tried to catch her breath. When it was mentioned that Innis was going to go try and find supplies to help heal their injuries the warrior woman pulled out a pouch and looked at Innis, "Here, use what you need for the supplies." She pulled a few coins from it and then held the pouch speculatively as if weighing it before pocketing the coins as she tossed the pouch at the changeling, a pouch that was actually quit heavy.
"Shopping?" Lililinda perks up, "I'll come with you!" and finally be usefull she thinks.
"Here, let me get us cleaned up a bit..." She goes over their clothing with her mending and prestidigitation magic. It only takes a minute or two, and everyone looks almost as good as new.
Lililinda casts her spells and before you know it you've been scrubbed, washed and mended. The fashionista gives you all one last lookover. Perfect. Except for the fact that your faces are pale, your eyes are pink and you constantly are coughing. You look at each other unsure what to do next.
The woman still holding her nephew overhears your desire to head to the Dog's Teeth. "I..I..think I can help. But first I need you to accompany me home. The streets aren't safe for me and the child to get to my house and he can't stay here." she nudges her chin I'm the direction of the dead bodies littering the house.
"If you're willing to help us, then we should be able to accompany you and the boy home..but quickly! We are wasting time standing here doing nothing. We really need to avoid more confrontation, and get some rest, if we are to truly survive this day I think."
Merelda looks at Innis for confirmation.
Innis nods "It best be close..."
Gathering your stuff as well as some other perishable items you head through the streets. It is about high sun now (i.e. lunch time) yet the streets feel extremely empty. The people you do see moving about are one always in groups and give each other quite the berth. Even as they pass by clear on the other side of the road they are always mindful to look back in your direction.
The travel takes about just over a third of an hour before you reach the woman's small house. Her nephew is now sleeping but you hear her comment on how hot he feels. Opening the door the house is relatively clean and consists of four rooms – a kitchen, a foyer/sitting area and two bedrooms.
"My da lives with me" she is quiet for a moment after saying that but continues on. "Thank you please for bringing me here safely. The city...I just don't know...what is happening?" Shaking her head she carries the child to one of the rooms and closes the door behind. "Do you know what is going on in this city?" she asks you rather bluntly "The creatures you fought looked like men and women I would have passed by on the street or spoken to in the market?"
There is a sickness about and we... ~gestures to the motley crew assembled~ ...are searching for a cure. Any help you can provide will be much appreciated. My team also needs a safe place to regather their strength while I go out to gather what resources I can around the city.
"Does that mean my nephew is sick?! You have to help him! Promise you will save him? You need somewhere to rest? I can help you with that. Close to hear there is a small inn run by a friend of mine. She can help you. Give her this letter and tell her Rebekah Osdroph sent you. The inn is called The Tilted Hovel. My friend's name is Fara Barrowes. Tell her I'm still waiting for my pecan cobbler." She begins to write down directions to the inn and also letter to the proprietor of the inn, but before she gives you the letter she looks and says "Promise to me you'll be back to help Anver when you find the cure. Promise me now."
Impatience on her face, Merelda snaps her fingers several times in frustration.
"Let's go then. We have goals to complete, rest to find, and enemies to eviscerate."
Rebekah nods and thanks Kirzon and the rest of you for all your help. As you leave you can see the pain she is feeling with all that has occurred and with the current condition of her nephew weighing heavily on her.
Once back on the streets Merelda and Innis are quick to push the group along regardless of how worn down you are feeling. Luckily enough Kirzon's knowledge of the city takes you to the Tilted Hovel even quicker than Rebekah had indicated.
The establishment is a two story building painted in a beautiful combination of purple, gold and green. A wooden sign hangs over the door that has a smiling chubby face of a woman you take to be the owner carved into it along with the name 'The Tilted Hovel' underneath her.
You also see that the structure has partially sunk into soft soil that is synonymous with the part of town. It has sunk so much that the building is actually leaning against the neighbouring building. Facing the street on the ground level are three shuttered windows closed to block any prying eyes from looking in. There are also windows up top but they are also shuttered and closed.
The streets are eerily still and no sound comes from inside the inn that you can hear.
"Crap. Can this day get any worse?"
Merelda will walk up to the Inn's door, try it, and if locked, pound loudly on it.
Merelda pounds on the door while Kirzon tries to inside to the seemingly empty inn. Nothing happens and Merelda continues pounding on the door. Just then you see a slot open up about 3 feet from the ground. "Git back from da door! We are closed! Don't ye see the windows are closed! I don't care if Rebekah gave birth to ye herself."
Innis stares angrily a the slot "Rebekah is still waiting for her pecan cobbler!" she demands.
You hear a loud curse from inside as the slot closes. Then you hear a whisper through the door. "Go around the back. I can't let ye in here. You'll find a door to the root cellar. Careful going down there it gets flooded sometimes. I'll let ye in from there."
Innis has a well earned self satisfied smile as she turns to the rest of the group. "Well, shall we?" she says more statement than question.
Lililinda looks the building up and down. "Aptly named isn't it?" Then to Innis: "Yes, we shall." She turns left, heading around the dilapidated structure.
You make your way to the back of the building having to squeeze down the tight alley that leads to the back of the inn. Finally finding your way to the back you see the closed cellar door. With a tug you open the door are greeted with smell of rotting vegetation, mixed with salty sea water. The light from outside shows a ladder leading from the top and ending in a pool of water below.
"Let me go first. My eyesight and ears will work better to see if there are any problems. Cassie can move to help me quickly enough if I encounter trouble, and she can use that polearm to help pull me out if I get stuck somehow."
Merelda will draw her rapier again, and slowly enter the water below.
Innis scoffs "Recovered!? A breeze could knock that woman down."
Merelda climbs down the ladder and steps into a room flooded with a foot deep of cool, musty smelling water. The room is full of shelves lined with glass jars and several tables pushed together that hold some sacks and some vegetables. You also notice several casks resting on large twp-feet high stands – probably built as a precaution to keep the contents from being damaged in case of flooding. You do see a crate or two bobbing up and down in the water.
Merelda will pull out her Ioun torch and let it circle her head for light, and then keeps moving forward with Kirzon.
Cassandra was in terrible shape but managed to limp along. Fortunately for her the glaive she carried could double as a walking staff, albeit a big and dangerous one, and she made great use of that fact to help her move. They dropped the woman and her nephew off at her home and then continued on their way. The reception they got when they arrived at the inn wasn't pleasant, but at least they were going to be let inside. She'd been quiet the whole time, keeping an eye open for trouble, and it wasn't until Kirzon spoke and suggested that she go second that Cassandra laughed painfully, "Kirzon," she said, "a stiff breeze will likely kill me right now. I can stay back and screen the others but those in better shape need to go first right now. I will be able to help if something happens, just don't count on much from me for now."
Sloshing through the water you begin to look for he door that Fara indicated was here when you hear a hiss. That hiss is soon followed by another hiss coming from another part of the chamber. Yet you cannot see what is making it.
Upon hearing some unseeable threat Innis will be on high alert and summon a mirage copycat as she looks to identify the direction of the danger.