The smell of burnt earth and spicy incense chokes the air of the cramped, mud-tracked shop. Bunches of dried herbs hang from the ceiling, along with dangling pots, presses, alchemical apparatuses, and glassware of more arcane purposes. Pouches of rare plants, jars of colored glass, and all manner of dried, preserved, and jellied animal parts fill high shelves and tables doing double duty as displays and workspaces. In the shop’s rear, the rail-thin woman with hair pulled back tightly busies herself between an over packed rack of herbs, a table covered in stray powders and measuring equipment, and a pot loudly bubbling over with thick gray froth.

Over the din of her work and without looking up, Laurel impatiently shouts, “And what’s your problem?”
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:22, Mon 14 Nov 2022.

"Us? We're here to help," Karok replied. "YOUR problem is that your pot's bubbling over!"

He began untying the bag of infection stones from around his belt.

"Curses!"

At the sound of hissing steam, Laurel moves quickly to take a pot from fire, spilling some of the liquid.

"Ahhh, you! You're with Bhae-- Jhaelin." she says, wincing at the heat from the pot as it moves through the cloth to her hand. Finally, she looks up to see Karok, Brett, and Jhaelin who is amusing himself with some of the more disturbing looking things in clear glass jars.

Laurel turns to the one she believes spoke to her, the dwarf.

"What are-- You are still here in Hollow then?"

Brett follows the others into the shop and practically faints from bombardment on his senses. He reels for a bit, wrinkling his nose and coughing, covering it with his free hand, his other held the staff clutched tightly.

He can understand the burnt incenses and earth, but the other things. And he shakes his head.

Messy, messy. He thought. But I guess that's the price one pays for the healing arts.

He looks to Karok who spoke then to Jhaelin an inquiring sort of expression on his face.

"Aye, still here," Karok agreed. "Jhaelin brought us in to help, so that's what we're doin'. We'll be looking for those reagents that might help you make a cure to the Blackscour, and we've also been to Brookman's Well where we found something."

He put the sack down on one of the few bare spaces on a counter, and spread the lips out to reveal the two diseased-looking stones. "The others let Ordil and me down into the well," he said. "The inside was covered with hairy fungus growths from the water line on down. These rocks were on the bottom of the pool. Not like any other rock anywhere nearby. Brought in from somewhere else, is our theory. To create the sickness hereabouts."

Laurel purses her lips in thought. The trait must run in the family, as Jhaelin has been seen doing it on more than one occasion.

"Purposely? Who would do such a thing?" she asks absently, peering at the discolored rocks. "I have never seen rocks that look like this."

Jhaelin walks up and shrugs.

"We were thinking that perhaps you needed the fungus on them Laurel. To research or something. If not, throw them away or burn them."

"Aye, no problem," Karok took up. "I enjoyed my swim in the well!"

"Here, look at these marks," his finger did not quite touch the chunks of geology. "The bite of pick and shovel. These rocks were relatively freshly mined. They came from somewhere for a particular purpose."

"As to who would do such a thing, the question might be: who'd benefit from a lot of folks around here being sick and things not working so well?"

"Me, I just got here today, so I don't know much but I have heard a couple of unkind things said about the people who own the lumber business. It would be stupid to risk your work force, though."

Laurel's eyebrows shot up and the mention of the dwarf swimming in the well. For goodness sake, she wondered at he dwarf's reasoning. Risking your very life for a few coins? She suddenly develops a new appreciation for the dwarf.

"You risked a lot for these." she says, looking at the rocks. "And certainly know a thing or two about stone. I wonder where they come from. There are no mines around here."

Laurel pulls the string on the sac tight, closing the lip. She puts the rocks on a shelf nearby.

"I will take these to sheriff Deldrin in the morning and tell him your words. Perhaps he has heard something of mining in the mountains. The poor soul. Every since the fire at Elara's orphanage, he has not been himself. Those kids--" Her eyes land to Jhaelin. It is an oddly polarizing glare that takes his breath from him. "--and now this."

She pushes away whatever thoughts were there and turns back to Karok.

"You should drink this. It is a brew of local herbs that will help fortify you against infection."

She offers the dwarf a jar filled with a brownish, unappealing brown liquid inside it with small herbal flakes floating on top.

"As for who might be doing this... I have no proof. I did hear something from a local in the line outside my door today that I found interesting, though not surprising."

"Kabron Bloodeye."

"Ahh, I can see you do not know of him. Well, if you meet him, he is not one you will likely forget soon. Kabron runs the parlor house, The Rouge Lady. If what I heard today is true, anyone has a beef with Gavel Kreed, its Kabron. Gavel's the one ordered his nose taken off for criminal activities here in the Hollow."

It is Jhaelin's turn to be surprised.

"The magistrate, Vamros Harg of the Hin is bought and paid for then? Too bad. I always liked him."

"Kabron Bloodeye, now who was that?" Brett muttered in question. He thought about that, The Rouge Lady. Nice place. He Then turned to glance at Bhaener.

No... Jhaelin.

"So, what do you say we go visit this Kabron Bloodeye? He may have answers as well to these troubles?"

As the conversation went on, Karok nodded his thanks to the herbalist, then made a little toasting motion and slugged the concoction down.

Not what you'd call recreational, but he'd drank worse.

"I would suggest you get to finding those reagents." Laurel replies to Brett's suggestion. "Tomorrow is a new day and more will die or become ill."

The herbalist takes back the phial from Karok.

"Let the sheriff figure out who and why. Kabron's a nasty gent whose penchant for flaying his enemies alive in the basement of his pleasure establishment is well known. You will find yourself there if you cross him."

She regards Jhaelin with a stern, warning look.

"Stay away from Kabron. Now... if you don't mind, and have no further questions, I have much work to do before morning. Please close the door on your way out."

"Suits me," Karok remarked. "G'Night, Laurie. Thanks for the drink."

He started for the door, saying, "Maybe we can go pick up the others at the church and all come back together."

Brett shrugs at the warning from Laurel, though to be frank he is now very curious about this guy, but he decides it's better to wait.

He inclines his head to her politely, "Very well, I shall abide by your cautious remark to first seek out these regeants before any other innocents are killed." He said but he didn't loosen the grip on his staff.

He looks at the others, "Are we ready to leave here?"

"Already out," Karok called from beyond the door. "Going to the church, to pick up the others and escort them back. Join me, if you like."

Jhaelin gives Brett a shrug, then follows close on the heels of the dwarf. He idly wonders how the dwarf knew where to go, but then remembers the church steeple could be seen in daylight and no doubt the dwarf had marked its location to memory. Even so... Jhaelin knows every back alley in town and knows how to get from spot to spot quickly.

As Jhaelin steps from the shop doorway, he calls to Karok, "This way. It's shorter through here."

Jhaelin drops to the left of the shop and follows its wall into an alley, startling something rooting among some old crates. Whatever it was, it skitters away underneath the shop.

The alley opens up to another road leading, more or less, toward the church.

"This road's Worship Way."

As Jhaelin leads Karok and Brett from the alley onto the street they see four men exit a larger building ahead. Two men pull at one, tugging him along and a third follows.

"You can't do this." the one being tugged at calls out. "Where are you taking me?"

"Shut up and get movin'," the third man says.

As the trio of thugs notices you, they halt, staring at the three of you. Sizing you up. The one mumbles at the other two, "Keep goin."

The two thugs begin pulling at the man again down the street toward an alley while keeping a wary eye behind them.

"Hey... HEY! Help me. Don't let them take me."

The man continues to watch you, though moving slowly in the direction of the other two's travel.

"Not your business friends," he mutters just loud enough you can hear him.

"I don't think we're going to be friends!" Karok roars as he charges the group, sword drawn, shield up.

(I'll wait for instruction before I go from here).

Brett's head jerks up and toward the sound of struggle. He notices Karok charging in, and waits a bit, his staff held in hand, just in case he might get attacked. He has no idea why they are doing that, and even what was the point of Karok charging in.

Instead, he casts the spell Armor for protection.