Distant shores: Chapter 1 - The voyage North

[dplax]

Armus Jallak

Armus nearly laughed out loud at Aneuhl description, but was able to limit himself to a quiet chuckle.

"Can't take your liquor, eh?" - he asked teasingly.

Just then, the innkeep returned.

"We have some oranges and a few pineapples young master." - he said turning to Aneuhl. "If you want I can have juice squashed from one of them for you."

[dplax]

For Rastheme Chombra

"Once all of those who are to go on this mission are reunited, all shall be explained." - Pieter Horsfeld said, deciding to remain cryptic for the moment.

"Those three who have already been accepted have..."

Jorge shot a sidewards glance at Horsfeld and blurted out: "Together with Armus there are four of them."

Horsfeld returned the glance and held Jorge's gaze for several seconds.

"There remain only three together with Armus." - he said, his voice measured and almost cold. It was clear that inter-council power games were also at stake here.

"Enough!" - cut in the old man from the edge of the semi-circle. "Now is not the time for your petty squables, Pieter and Jorge. What has happened is unfortunate, but Pieter speaks the truth. One of those we saw today has indeed been made 'unavailable' for this mission."

Only after the mage's speech, did Horsfeld break eye contact with Jorge.

"As I was saying, those three who are already accepted have gone off to a tavern to have some food. I shall ask the guard to escort you there, so that you can get to know them."

Horsfeld rose to open the door, then turned back to Rastheme.

"When you see Armus, tell him to come tonight shortly before sunset to the agreed meeting place, with you and the other two."

Horsfeld opened the door and explained to the guard that he wanted him to escort Rastheme to the tavern where the other two already there. Just as the door closed, Rastheme heard Horsfeld's voice.

"Jorge, you..." Anger could clearly be felt in the voice, but the door closed, shutting off the rest of the conversation.

"Come with me, master dwarf." - the guard said in a pleasant voice, as he set off towards an exit.

[Calaethis Dragonsbane]

Aneuhl nodded gratefully to the innkeeper, not trusting his own voice right then. His face was completely flushed, and he seemed to sink further into his seat, retreating into the corner. Muttering to Armus, he added, "I was all but fifteen at the time..."

[dplax]

An untimely end

Anon took his time in going to the tavern, walking slowly and enjoying the midday bustle of the city. He did not notice the man following him until it was too late.

"Anon, old friend! It's been ages!" - the man exclaimed from behind him.

"I'm not sure I recognize you." - Anon said, turning back to watch the man.

"Galna valley, fifteen years ago. We hunted orcs together. Remember now? Come, let's have a drink for old time's sake."

"I have to..."

"Don't be a spoilsport, Anon, just a drink." - the man said with a grin, and putting an arm around Anon's shoulder led him to the closest tavern.

In the darkened interior he nodded to the barkeep as though he knew him, then took the corner table.

The barkeep came over and the man ordered two drinks. They arrived promptly.

"So, who are..."

"Come, let's drink first, then I'll help you refresh your memory."

He lifted his glass in a toast, and downed his drink in one long swallow. Anon followed suit. The drink tasted strange, a tinge of almond on it, it seemed to Anon, but it was refreshing and he was looking forward to asking the man...

Anon's head fell forward, and struck the table as though it were dead weight.

The man searched through his pockets and took all of his valuables, handing 40% to the barkeep for the poison and for disposing of the body.

[Kazilan]

Machaon

"Dancing with topless ladies on tables?" Machaon face took a serious cast, his eyes intent on Aneuhl. "Where, if you can remember, where exactly was this.... establishment?" His fingers tapped rapidly on the table for a moment, then just as quickly they froze and his gaze turned to Armus. Machoan's face reddened as he stammered, "I'm curious, because, you see, whenever I drink, I tend to get the opposite reaction from ladies. They have a tendency to smack, punch, kick, or otherwise bludgeon me until I leave them alone."

Machaon let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair. "Aneuhl, if my first experience drinking had been similar to yours, I'd probably never have finished my first year at university."

[Calaethis Dragonsbane]

"They were friends of mine," Aneuhl replied softly to Machaon, "Not women from the place." he sighed sadly, "I miss them both, but that's life for you. Can't hang around at home forever. Besides, one got married and the other..." he shook his head, "Well, let's not talk about the past."

He grinned, "I guess not everyone can be 'lucky' when it comes to drink and girls. Since then, I won't touch the stuff." he glanced around, "There are no girls in here right?" He paused, tempted to actually try a drink, "But... it'd probably be worse without them." He laughed, "And besides, we have to eat. Can't get thrown out of Armus's favourite place, now can we?"

[Morgeruat]

Rastheme Chombra

Rastheme knew better than to try and eavesdrop on his employers business, he would find out what they wanted him to know later after the meal, and he would deduce what they weren't telling him as he went, perhaps he could do so to an extent by piecing together what each member of the group knew. He nodded at the guardsman and followed him, keeping silent as he pondered his actions in the interview chamber... He'd definitely been too eager he thought, and it would most likely come back to bite him in the rear.

[dplax]

Armus Jallak

"That wouldn't do at all!" - Armus said, feighning mock outrage, but he cheerfully clapped Aneuhl on the shoulder at the same time. Shortly afterwards very pleasant smells of cooking started drifting in from the kitchen. Rich scents of roasting poultry mingled with the seasonings used on them, and there was even a faint smell of the cooking potatoes, lacing the air with their aromas.

It was just as the innkeep brought out the dishes that a guard stepped in the door, and motioned to Armus. Armus started standing up, but then saw that the guard was coming towards him, with a dwarf following close by. He sat back down, and took a bite of his turkey before greeting the guard.

"Armus, this here is Rastheme, a dwarf from the East. He has also been chosen." - the guard said. He then excused himself, as he had other duties to return to, and after briefly greeting the innkeep left.

"Welcome. Welcome. Take a seat!" - Armus said drawing up a chair for Rastheme to sit on. "John! Another plate and a flagon of ale for our dwarven friend here!" - he shouted, then introduced himself and the two others. "I'm Armus, once a freelance mercenary and these two young rascals here are Aneuhl and Machaon, who follow more scholarly ways of life."

They did not talk much during the meal, savouring every single delicious bite instead. Once food was done Armus stood up, and had a quiet word with the innkeep. Had any of them been watching after that they would have noticed that newly arriving guests were seated in the other half of the inn and the four of them were largely left undisturbed, as finally Armus briefed them in on what he knew.

"It is a long story, and I see no better place to start than the beginning. As I already told you previously I was a mercenary available for hire. Close to seven months ago, I was hired by a trader, to scout out a part of the inner areas of the jungle north of here. Normally I would not have taken on this job, but the pay was extremely good, and the conditions very favorable, so I was hired. This merchant accompanied us, documenting much of what we found. It seemed to me that he was looking for commodities he could export from the jungle, like fruit, plants, or wood."

Armus ordered another round of drinks, and after he soothed his dry throat, continued.

"We were surprised to find small villages we had never heard about in the middle of the jungle. We had never heard of people living in there. We did not go close however, because we had heard the stories of no expedition ever returning alive from the jungle and wanted to minimise the risks. One day however, when we unfortunately ran out of drinking water, we had to enter one of these settlements. We were shocked at what we found. Of the close to two hundred inhabitants, only seven were still alive, the rest had succombed to a strange illness. Their skin was covered in bright red rashes and lesions, and most of them seemed to have died under extremely horrible circumstances."

"Village after village, settlement after settlement we found the same thing. We slowly found survivors, one by one, sometimes in small groups. Most of the time they were also in the critical phases of this illness. They told us that in normal times our passage would have been stopped in the jungle and we would not have been allowed to continue, but none of them were capable of hindering us now. The sickness seemed to be overpowering them. They told us that the first cases came to be known far to the north, and the illness had spread rapidly southwards. Our medical supplies seemed to help them, and they told us that if they had had them they might have been able to resist better."

As he started getting closer to the more and more horrible parts of his story, Armus ordered another drink. A stiff dwarven-make of whiskey this time.

"One day, one of the other mercenaries fell ill. Barely three hours after the symptoms had showed on him, he was dead. The illness was brutally fast. It was the first time I had seen it accomplish its deadly work, and I could not help to be impressed. I realised then that if such an illness were unleashed in one of the large cities on the coast, it would sweep through cities faster than it could be contained, and medical help would not reach most of the people fast enough."

"Within two days only three of us remained untouched of the expedition. We fled southwards, but were ambushed by a tribe of the wild men, who were yet untouched by the illness. Only I managed to escape and make it south. Lands, where earlier we had seen intact villages during our trip northwards were already devastated by the sickness, and it seemed to even be affecting the plants. I feared it would reach the human lands, before I myself did, but in the end I got here first."

"On the last leg of my journey, I nearly died from fatigue, and it was because of this, that I had to be kept in medical care for close to two weeks after returning."

Armus drained the last drops of his whiskey, but did not order another drink this time. It was too early to get drunk.

"I realise that you must be wondering why is there all of this secrecy, why not tell the people about the danger approaching? The reason the council must have given you, of not wanting to cause general panic, is pretty lame, if you ask me. The real reason is much more frightening."

"You must have met the old mage, during your interview. He is wizened, old, has a hard time moving, and everything else that comes with age, but his minds is as sharp as ever, and he was the one, who tried determining the cause of this illness. What he found is the reason, that we have been chosen. I was chosen because I am the one, who is aware of the place where the disease was coming from, and the three of you were chosen for your specific areas of knowledge, I guess."

"I shall not let your curiosity stay unsatisfied for long, but that old man can explain to you much better what he found than I can. While we return to the Council building, I shall satisfy your curiosity, if I did not explain a certain part well enough."

Armus took a pouch from his pocket and left several silver coins on the table, enough to pay for all four meals.

[Calaethis Dragonsbane]

Aneuhl listened in silence for the longest time, and finally spoke, his tone careful "It would seem to me that this is perhaps one of the biggest threats of our time. Wars have been started over less than this but... that is not my question," Aneuhl paused and took a moment to phrase his words, "Without meaning offence in any way, I would ask... how did you survive this illness, and what garentees do you have that the rest of us will not catch it? I don't know medical science, but... what would happen if we carry this illness ourselves and bring it back here and spread it unintentionally..."

Anuehl paused again, "There is more than what you are telling us... why would you have a mage work on this unless... the illness itself was born of magical origin?" Anuehl had kept his tone calm and composed throughout all of this, but his eyes were slightly wide. After all, it was not every day that he heard such a tale - especially one that was true. To his credit, he did not ask about the dangers to himself or the reward for this, but his concern was to his fellow man.

"I just... would not wish to be the unintentional cause of bringing such a disease home, before you think less of me. I firmly believe, after hearing this, that we should do all in our power to help save potential lives - and the lives of those who are already touched by it."

[dplax]

Armus Jallak

Armus nodded at Aneuhl's concerns. He himself had had the same concerns.

"You are a bright lad, Aneuhl. It took me much longer to come up with those same questions. Some I myself have answers to, others even the mage does not."

Armus paused.

"Not even the mage knows why I was spared by the illness. My guess is it was pure luck. The only guarantee we shall have of not catching it is an enchantment, which shall be cast by the old man, which is supposed to protect us from the illness. And I wouldn't worry about bringing the illness back. With the speed with which it kills, there is no danger of any of us reaching the city once we are infected."

Armus paused, hesitating whether to reveal the answer to Aneuhl's other question, but then decided that the mage would be better suited for that.

"As to your other question. I prefer it if the one, who explains is not me."