| Cold stone forgotten for the moment, the group of adventurers run up
to the figure in the gateway, who pulls back her hood and looks at the
group of adventurers in amazement. Synizn almost starts to shout in sheer
joy as he recognizes who stands in the doorway, but throttles the shout
of joy for fear of revealing too much of his hidden relationship with her
and his true nature.
Fred and the others get nearer and notice that the figure isn't running.
In addition to that, Astra and Will notice inanely that while THEY are
sweating bullets in this heat.....the were-folks aren't even panting (something
to do with their magical nature that allowed them to stand wider range
of temperatures than what is the human norm comfortably.....but at the
expense of wearing more conventional clothing). Anything more than loincloths
canceled the benefit of their lycanthropic nature and invited overheating
in this weather.
"Lord Frederigo?" the rather plain looking woman says in wonder. "How
in the name of Tiamat's flame did you and your friends get HERE?!"
Fred and the other adventurers draw up short, puzzled. Willian looks
back and forth from the woman and back to Fred....who's ears are perked
forward in a look of confusion.
"Pardon me, madam," Will says before Fred could say anything. "But do
we know you?"
The woman stops gawking, and then laughs at herself.
"Oh, pardon my bad manners," she says. "I know you through my brief
contacts with a mutual friend of ours. A wolf known as Carradene told me
about you and your friends."
The form of the woman shifts, and the adventurers look up....and up
at the dragonness that stands before them.
"My name is Malachi," she says in a gentle voice. "And I would have
paid you guys a visit or called.....if whatever is interfering with magical
calls would allow it."
She shifts back, and sighs at the surprised looks of the adventurers
(and inwardly grins at Synizn's acting). The were-bear was just acting
a touch TOO surprised. Luckily, nobody else was really looking at him.
"I'd invite you in for coffee and tea," the rogue dragonness says. "But
I have some patients to attend to. We can talk while I work."
*****************************************************************
Alicia looks around in wonder at the makeshift hospital ward that this....dragonness
has set up. She had thought that this dragonness had only offered to help
with the Pack only to spite Minestus. But now.....
"So, you say that there's been no sign of my family?" she found herself
asking.
The dragonnes pauses as she changes the bindings on the Arabic looking
woman who was moaning softly in her cot. A look of real human looking pity
creases her face.
"I....wish I had better news, Alicia." Malachi murmurs quietly so as
to not disturb the fitful rest of her charges. "Rumor has it that the majority
of the royal family had survived the Phage and was relocating by way of
trader caravan to Gilgil to better manage things in this crisis when....something
the people call the wrath of God.....struck down them and a good chunk
of real estate around there. I've been entirely too busy trying to keep
things together here to go and investigate in person. I've been able to
save some lives....and ease the pain of others as the die.
"What ever it is is not the Phage," the dragonness shudders as they
leave the room. "The symptoms of nausea, hair loss, and such is of a different
nature. Some people's bodies....appeared to be consuming themselves for
want of a better description....was really hard to take. I THINK that it
has something to do with a type of poison I detected awhile ago, but funny
thing is that this....poison has reduced by half and half again every few
days until.....it's down to safe levels."
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