As Irabeth is making her rounds, much later the same night the party arrives, she hears a stirring sound behind her. When she turns, she sees Jokum, the big man who came in with the party, emerging out of a shadowed corner.
"I was hoping to find a moment to speak to you, commander," he says, much more softly and lightly than his usual rumbling tones. "You see, I had come to Kenabres originally in the hopes of making contact with the Eagle Watch. I need your help. It was an honor and a privilege to bring your wife back to you, but I cannot stay here as I am. I need an exorcism, or an execution. Otherwise...everyone here may die." His golden eyes burn with the depth of his belief.
"Exorcism, execution? Do you believe yourself to be possessed?"
Jokum draws a deep, shuddering breath, and nods nervously. "I do." He begins to pace back and forth, hand working unconsciously, flexing his new claws. "When I was very young I was...subjected. To a ritual. Meant as a sacrifice. But I...survived. And the others died, I--I think I killed them. How old do I look, 30? I passed over fifty winters in the forests of Sarkoris! I'm closer to 75, but I've hardly aged. I've seen my father and my friends grow old...and all this time, I've had a voice in my head...thoughts...that do not belong to men. I can think of nothing but that the demon lives in me; or that I am it! I came to Kenabres to seek an end of things, and now look what's happened!" He holds a hand up in front of Irabeth's face, displaying the long nails. "These grew as we traveled through those polluted caves, and now--I can't get rid of them. I tried to trim them earlier; they're hard as iron and when I do cut them, they grow back."
His face is pale and sweaty as he leans in, staring into Irabeth's eyes. "I am becoming a monster. I will not be a danger to you, or my friends, or your wife. End this. Please."
The paladin listens to the man's frantic words carefully considering the implications. "There is far more to you than what you see. You fear you are possessed but I've only heard tales of your bravery and courage in the dark. You worry that what ever dark arts were preformed on you tainted you in some way, but I sense no evil within you. No malevolent force coerces you. Darkness surrounds us, yet you have chosen to offer yourself up as a sacrifice to try and stem its tide. There is not a doubt in my mind that you are a good person Jokum. We need you now more than ever. "
The disaster which had brought so many together in the heart of the Defender's Heart had turned some to charity and others to selfish swindling. Tess had naively handed over hundreds of shiny gold pieces to a man who promised to give her a highly-specialized version of her deity's favored weapon. The man had laughed, a bizarrely nasal sound, thrown a dark, staff-like stick at her, then swiftly left the tavern, bulging pockets jingling with each step into the darkness.
The weary girl had just watched, her exhausted mind numb and her weary eyes on the verge of tears. She hefted the staff experimentally, and something about its lightness registered in her clouded mind. How could I have been taken for a fool so easily?...
Loud, forceful conversation carried over the din of the rest of the traders: the preacher of Asmodeus was haggling with merchants over a wand while several crusaders were looking on warily, still seemingly unsure about his motivations. I should've been more forceful, too, the girl notes inwardly. She wipes her dirty cheek, catching the single tear that had escaped the rim of her eyes, and watches, submerging herself into the familiar (and blessedly emotionless) analytic mindset of a pupil.
What?! It can't be...but paladins are supposed to be able to.... Jokum's thoughts roll to a stop, no less confused. "But if I don't carry a demon...what are these? What am I?"
"There are many sources of such... power. Perhaps it is a divine gift to be used in such a dark time as we find ourselves in now."
Irabeth waived everyone else out of her office and motioned Jokum to take a seat. She sat on her chair and have him a level stare.
"You look like a man with a grave matter on his shoulders." She opened with.
Jokum sits across from Irabeth, a heavy frown on his face. "When I spoke to you about the ritual that I believed had corrupted me earlier, you told me that you detected no such spirit in me. I took your word for it at the time, though I was not satisfied. But now...something else has happened that I cannot explain." Holding out his claws, he says quietly, "When we found ourselves in the Blackwing library, and that paladin was about to sacrifice Silya's fellows...I lost control, seeing him spill their blood. It was as though the voices I spoke to you about took complete control of me. I tried to rip the man apart with these claws. I did not even think to reach for my weapon."
He leans close to the paladin, golden eyes narrow and intense. "I know nothing of these matters, but...I think I changed, too, myself. My body. You should have seen the look on Tess's face..." he shudders. "I need to know--could I have been cursed? If not by a demon, by something? Do you have the power to remove...this?" He gestures angrily at his golden eyes, his claws, everything.
Shaking his head, he leans back in the chair, exhausted. "I will not cease to be a man..."
Irabeth frowned as she inspected Jokum's claws.
"Hm. I can see why you might be concerned. They certainly seem like lycanthrope claws to me."
She leaned back again.
"At present there are no one here at Defenders Heart capable of Detecting or otherwise dealing with Curses at all.
"But... I cannot help but reiterate; There is no trace of Evil in you. It seems to me unlikely that would be the case if you were Cursed."
She considered Jokums description of the fight.
"Tell me. When you tried to tear the man apart with your claws; did you attack the weakest and most vulnerable present? Did you attack your comrades?"
"I...." Jokum pauses, lost for thought. "No. I...that crusader killed one of the librarians in cold blood, while we were trying to negotiate with them, and when that happened, I...lost control. I attacked him, and fought him until my mind returned..." He shudders slightly. "But it was terrifying."
Irabeth mulled over what Jokum was fretting about.
"I think these things are more encouraging than you think. But. If you think it prudent, warn your companions. Make sure they have a chance to restrain you if I happen to be wrong and you need it.
"But I have other people to see now; and you need rest for tomorrows mission."
She cocked an eye in Jokum's direction.
"Unless there is anything else?"
Jokum sighs slightly. It begins again.
"No, commander. Nothing else to discuss."