The Descent

[MonkeyWrench]

Gregorius enters camp and gently lays the body of the woman on the ground, crossing her arms and having her lay straight. He murmurs a small prayer for the soul of the girl, in hope that whatever evil that had infected her can be cleansed ad her soul be sent to a place of goodness.

With that done he too sits down on whatever is available, even the ground, and simply rests. He speaks loud enough for the others to hear but he speaks more to himself than anyone else, "The trials that we face shall continue to test our mental and emotional boundaries... But I believe that it is a worthy test for those that seek to undo the chaos that evil sows..."

[wolfpack]

Roland walks over and sees the bady after Greg lasy it down.

You see his eyes grow wide and jaw drop.

rafelia he whispers.

[MonkeyWrench]

Gregorius stands up and faces Roland, giving the man a stern look, "Who is she?"

[wolfpack]

She lives in town.

She is and entertainer, she travels from town to town for festivals doing puppet shows and fireworks.

She arrived in town about 2 years ago.

He looks at the party.

was she kidnapped? Did you find her killed by the demons?

[GreyWolfVT]

Joven perks up hearing Roland knows the woman then has a dour look wash over him. "Roland I am afraid we are the ones to have felled her but she had a magical guise of a demon when this happened. I assure you we did not know it was a human woman that we faced, until after she was felled."

[wolfpack]

I don't understand, are you saying she is a demon?

[Rukellian]

"There was a book of illusions in her cave dwelling. One of the spells was to change one's self into something else. She may have been using it as deceptive cover, taking on the form of a demon to accomplish something. What, I do not know.... Most do it out of fun and good jest back at home, but for humans to use such magics, I think the purpose is much more darker here."

Ruken looks up from the fire, his eyes filled with seriousness. "Remind me again Roland, when did your town's problem start, around the same time this woman appeared?" The gnome looks up towards the sky and thinks something over quickly, then nods to himself with closed eyes. He picks himself up and digs into one of his pouches, producing a handful of shiny valuables. He hobbles over to Roland and shows the boy a portion of what they found. "I have a lot more of this in my pack, and I intend to give most of it to your town to help it regain its footing, however, it would do us all much good to know how all of this began, these troubles. If we can find the source, these shiny trinkets won't go to waste, and we can be certain that your town gets the help that it needs without much in interference. Human greed is a terrible thing and can be found almost anywhere. I have a feeling that it may be part of the problems going on, a suspicion. Though you could not combat the evils directly like us, you can help us even more I think, back in town."

Ruken ends on that note, turning to face the others nodding his head to see if they are with him on this.

[GreyWolfVT]

Joven apparently of like mind with the gnome he has come to call a friend stands there nodding his agreement with Ruk.

[wolfpack]

Roland sits back and thinks for several minutes.

Rafiela arrived in town during the equinox celebration 2 years ago.

She came in her wagon and performed shows and set off fireworks. After the festival was over she settled down into town and had a small home built.

It was on the equinox of the next year when the traditional tribute was being brought to the cave that the demon appeared and demanded riches.

Once a month she travels on business, she is very active in the community and talks with everyone. Some people like my father don't like her however, they get a bad feeling around her.

[GreyWolfVT]

Joven looks to the others to see if they show signs of thinking what he is thinking while listening to Roland.

[MonkeyWrench]

Gregorius speaks up in a troubled but stern voice, "Who did she speak to the most, who did she see. Are any of her "friends" still in the village? What about the ones she arrived with, the caravan?

[wolfpack]

She arrived alone a single traveling entertainer.
She was closest with Tames the acolyte to Friar Dane. The Friar and Tames went to confront the demon. Friar Dane was found dead the next morning, tames body was never recovered.

[MonkeyWrench]

Gregorius nods, "Likely a sacrifice to the evil spawn she associated with or an accomplice, needed for other tasks elsewhere..." He looks back to Roland, "Who else? Think man!"

[GreyWolfVT]

Joven "As I was suspecting this thing might go deeper into a conspiracy to rip off the town anyone from her group of entertainers could be apart of this thing."

[ravenn4544]

"Rip of the town - or devour and enslave.."

[Rukellian]

"Now lets not jump to terms like devour here. Yes, I have no doubt that she was up to know good, considering how we first met her in that cave, but I don't think cannibalism is involved here!" Ruken says with widened eyes. "If what the boy says is true, then I have reason to believe that she was trying to exploit the town of all of its valuables, taking on the visage of a demon using her illusionary magics. The real demons we fought was probably gathered by her to do a lot of her dirty work. Human greed can drive a person to do many a terrible things, and with magic at one's disposal, fantasies of the mind can start to take shape and become reality."

The gnome stares back the fire, straightening out his thoughts even further, looking back upon their past experiences for any clues. The flickering of the flames connects to a horrible memory of the burning house. Something clicks. "The burning house, evil lady, fireworks.... turning the town on us as we are close to rooting her evil deeds out. Why not? It makes sense, doesn't it?" You can tell that Ruken is getting excited again, his mind flowing with wild fantasies, and possibly some truths mixed in. His fatigue vanishes slowly yet steadily and before you all know it, he is on his feet again.

[GreyWolfVT]

Joven "I'm not keep of the laws but I suspect there is more to this and we have not entirely ended this. After all where did all of the things stolen from the town go to? We found all those goods and then when we returned they were all gone. Someone else is moving all of the things taken here. Which leads me to believe the plot only thickens my friends."

[MonkeyWrench]

Gregorius, "The darkness is like a rats den, where one falls ten rise up to take it's place..." He then turns to Roland, "I need you to think very hard son, who might be an accomplice of hers, we need leads in order to root out the evil claiming hold of your town."

[wolfpack]

I really know not anything further.

Rafiela seemed to speak to everyone, always knew all the gossip. Some people got a strange feeling and avoided her, others seemed to tolerate her. Tames was her only fiend.

[GreyWolfVT]

Joven "Let us head into town and seek this Tames person."