Holier Than Thou

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad nodded slowly, only half hearing her. Her rationality was the only thing stopping him from running back out across the sands right now, so he put some effort into the conversation. "Something is wrong with the birds. I'm almost certain. They're not feeding. Something must be holding them here. The Arken man I interrogated mentioned a wizard among his crew, but I see no healer involved with the relief. Have you seen him?"

[Emora Deen]

Espha frowned. "If he is among he crew then he is most likely in my father's house. All the higher-ranking Arken's are there. He may be keeping a low profile or resigning himself to the library. Have you checked there?" Espha twiddled her thumbs.

[Soran Nightblade]

"No. I will, first thing," Vlad muttered, remembering the building he'd noticed earlier that day. He hadn't thought to explore such a place. He reached for some rags that were stored on the wall and got them down. Pulling his black-saturated shirt over his head for the hundredth time that day, he rubbed the soot from his skin almost brutally. "Your father still lives. He is a good influence on Arken's men, for now."

[Emora Deen]

Espha admired Vlad as he wiped the soot from his body. "That is good. Hopefully we will find a cure before..." The young girl shook her head, growing very quiet. The silence became unnerving to her. "Your wife, is she pretty? I've heard she's pretty. I admire her. My father would never let me learn to wield a sword. He makes me study instead."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad paused, staring at the walls like his wife might be on the other side. His throat swallowed tightly. "Beyond words," he said quietly. "She is well learned as well. You can not learn the sword without wits. Your father is wise to make you study first."

[Emora Deen]

Espha smirked. "I suppose so. He is wise." She curled on her side, drawing Atul's cloak over her arms. "I'm going to sleep." She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad walked to the cot she had laid for him and sat down on it slowly. He stretched his hand out in front of him and stared at the gold ring on his finger. He clenched his teeth until they ached, and watched the candlelight play off the bright metal. Anxiety wasn't natural to him, but it was all he knew that night. When the sun rose the next day, he was still left staring, and his thoughts had turned darker than his skin. "I'm going out. Stay inside, if possible," he murmured."

[Emora Deen]

Espha looked up to him. "Be careful," she told him.

* * *

"We've been riding all night," Talon muttered to Atul. "She needs rest."

"She's sleeping," Atul told him, glancing down at Tenele sitting in the saddle in front of him. Her head lolled back against his shoulder as the horse lurched forward. "We'll be there by this evening if we keep moving."

"We still don't know why the birds left the capitol," Talon muttered.

"We know one thing," Atul told him. "We burned those Arkens in their ships. Whatever cursed my city was either one of those Arkens or on that boat. That's a good start. I plan on killing every single one of them in Ida until I find the right one." The rage still glowed like blue fire in his eyes. He glanced down to Tenele's bandaged hand dangling at her side. "We need to pick up the pace."

He nudged the Queen's Maiden gently. "Wake."

"I'm awake," Tenele groaned.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad postponed his morning relief rounds to do some exploring. He found his way to the library building and teleported in. The effort left his vision blurry. He rolled his eyes at the annoying side effect and continued on, moving stealthily through the corridor until he reached the chamber of books. He'd never seen an outerlands library. The architecture and design left him momentarily intrigued as he walked through the room in silence. He almost didn't notice as he walked across a large runic circle on the floor. He stepped over the half-burnt candles sitting at the center of the rune and walked faster as he heard the sound of an incantation. He ran for the source of the sound and teleported through a wall into a narrow storage room. There, a man clad in dark robes sat cross-legged, praying over a hunk of obsidian, an idol of Verin.

"Enjoying the local culture?" Vlad inquired, jerking the man from his thoughts.

The sorcerer nearly jumped from his skin. ".....Lord Dracul?" he muttered, realizing who was in front of him despite the filthy appearance.

"Flattered!" Vlad smirked, grabbing him by the scruff of his cloak and dragging him to his feet. "I'd love to have a little talk."

[Emora Deen]

Espha stared out the window of the gatehouse at the empty streets that were usually so lively with people. She turned her eyes up to the black birds swirling in the sky. Circling the dead and never having a taste. The fires were starting on the edge of the city, burning the dead. The sight of the smoke billowing into the sky brought tears to her eyes.

[Soran Nightblade]

The door to the storage hut swung open. A livid Vladimir stepped in, with a half-naked and bloody-faced sorcerer in his grips. "Over there. Move," he ordered coldly, shoving the man toward the corner. He pursued without hesitation, firing a sidekick into the man's chest. Ribs cracked audibly as the man slammed against the shelving on the wall and crumpled to the ground.

[Emora Deen]

Espha jumped at Vlad's sudden violent entrance. She backed up into the window and quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. "What's this? Is he the sorcerer?" she asked quickly, stepping to his side. She blinked at the man's appearance. "Did you... Did you torture him?"

[Soran Nightblade]

"I beat him," Vlad snarled. "Now I'm going to torture him."

[Emora Deen]

Espha stuck her hand out. "Will that really do any good?" She placed the hand on Vlad's shoulder. "I mean... Will that help us? If you torture him will he make the plague go away?" It was clear by the expression on her face that the idea terrified her. "Should I leave?" So full of questions, and Espha felt she could not find the answers.

[Soran Nightblade]

"He'll tell me how he did it, and how to stop it," Vlad glared into the sorcerer's wincing face. "Or I can rip his dick off." His hand wrapped around the man's throat and clenched down hard. "Go ahead and let me know when you're ready," he said, placing a threatening hand over the man's family jewels.