Rumours about a Sorceress

[Pankoki]

[INDENT]A small group of sailors and locals sit drinking in the Leringard Arms, enjoying a pint of ale one night. Pieces of their conversation are overheard.

... no really, she did! Paid me good money too.

Yer daft. No one sails to anywhere on Alibor except Stort, let alone there. Let alone a pretty woman all on her own!

*The bald, eastern-looking sailor burps loudly and thumps himself on the chest* Say what ya like, it's the truth. Lady Doom strike me down if it ain't! Prettiest lass I ever saw. Hair like a raven's wing and eyes like emeralds.

*A passing tradesman looks curiously at the fellow next to him at the bar* She give a name?

Don't rightly know if I ever asked ...

Well what was she like?

Lovely as a fresh sea breeze. Elfin, with them pointy ears ... odd lass, a bit, but polite enough and paid hard true.

*A local fish seller pipes up* Sounds a bit like Jaelle.

What, the sea witch? *He makes a warding sign, half in jest* Mist protect us from that one!

*He frowns at the merchant* Eh now! None of that ... she's a sweet lass, keeps to herself ... heard her sing once, voice like a siren ...

*He mutters* Sirens lure sailors onto rocks and kill them, you realize, right?

Coulda been her ... *He picks something out of his beard and examines it nonchalantly*

Well, what happened to her? I haven't seen her in here lately, nor around. Not in over a year, come to that!

*He murmurs under his breath* For which we should thank the Lady ...

*He shrugs and flicks whatever it was away and takes another long draw of ale* Who knows? She paid me sit there for a week or two, never came back ... so I left. She's prolly some pygmy meal now, or rotting in the River of Death.

I dunno ... ye might be wrong bout that. I saw a woman like that in Arnax, when last I was through there ... but that was nigh on three quarters of a year ago.

*The sailor, who seems a little smitten with the mystery woman, beams with hope* There ya go then! She's probably fine. The lass knows how to take care of herself ... though a year is a bit much, even for her ... *He frowns a little*

*The figure that has remained hooded whispers darkly* I wouldna count on that... *He then takes a long pull of his ale*

And why's that now?

*After a long pause* Cause when I saw her, she was being led like a lamb to slaughter by a dark spirit. *He makes a warding sign of his own*

A "dark spirit"? *He frowns more* What are you talking about?

*He nods gravely* Didna believe in him 'till that very day. Thought he was just a legend ... local folklore. Dark spirit, death himself, a demon, I dinna know which... only one thing's certain. If he took her for his own, she'd be better off rotting next to the River of Death on Alibor.

What do you mean, a demon's got her? *His voice raising dangerously* What's he going to do with her?

*His tone becomes deadly serious* I dinna know, lad. An' I'm sorry for yer lass's fate, whatever it may be. Eat out her heart, twist her mind, consume her soul ... all I know is that none who go with Him come back ... or if they do, it's broken and babbling and twisted.

*There is a long silence in the tavern before someone finally breaks it with a whisper*

Poor girl ...[/INDENT]

[Pankoki]

[INDENT]A tattered poster, weatherbeaten and weeks old, blows through the streets of the city and perhaps comes to rest on your foot. The top bears a detailed sketch of a lovely elven woman with fine features. Colored shading indicates the woman's hair is black and her eyes are green.
[/INDENT]

Missing! Sorceress

Missing: Tower Academy instructor, Jaelle Thornwood.

This sorceress was last seen early in the previous year. Knowledge of her current whereabouts is presently unknown but greatly desired.

If any person possesses knowledge of either Ms. Thornwood's safe whereabouts or her tragic demise, her student Eli Frenkle asks that they contact ...

...
...

         

[INDENT]The rest of the poster has been torn and waterstained and is rather illegible. A man beside you reaches over and picks up the paper and stares thoughtfully at it for a moment. "Shame," he murmurs, before tossing it back down. "Pretty girl."

If one were to inquire about, one would find that Mr. Frenkle is indeed a young wizard who was a student of Jaelle's, and that he was quite enamored of his instructor and started a small poster campaign when she went missing.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like he received many leads.[/INDENT]

[Script Wrecked]

[INDENT]A small group of sailors and locals sit drinking in the Leringard Arms, enjoying a pint of ale one night. Pieces of their conversation are overheard.

...

Poor girl ...[/INDENT]

A dwarven lass sits in a corner of the Leringard Arms enjoying an ale or two, keeping to herself for the main.

Her ears perk up at the mention of a familiar name, Jaelle. She focuses her attention on the group of sailors, watching them, listening closely to their conversation(1).

As the tale draws to a close, she steps up to the group, particularly in proximity to the hooded sailor, making a brief acknowledging nod.

She asks pointedly, "What darrk zpirit?"



(1) perhaps even employing the aid of a small crystal

[LordCove]

Trouble sits on the table in a local Inn, bouncing a rubber ball off the far wall and catching it on its return as he lazily sips off from some of his green coloured ale.

Eventually, his throwing and catching slows, as he tilts his head, hearing the rumours of the missing sorceress. His brow furrows as he strains to listen, until their conversation turns to other things, and he resumes his ball bouncing off the wall.

After a few minutes, he finnaly questions the wall.

" Well... how many good points ya think I'd get for rescuing the elven damsel in distress huh? "

Whether the wall replied vocally or not, Trouble hops off the table and downs his ale before walking out the Inn, leaving only a meagre tip on the table.

[Pankoki]

*The skittish hooded figure glances over to Argali and for a moment he is shocked by the presence of a female dwarf. When he snaps out of it he murmurs a reply* Aye... There be a story down in those places, of the Nightmare man...

He takes you at night, o' course... Then he be takin' yer eyes and tongue... So ye can only see what he sees and cannae say peep 'bout it. Then he be showin' ye his nightmares and ye aint heard o' ever again. They say he be carryin' a belt full of knucklebones, he takes em from his victims, ye see... Is how ye know he be coming from ye. Watch fer the bones! That's what they say...

*He nods a few times* That's just one o' many stories... Though... I swear I could hear the rattles... *He shudders now and makes a warding sign before going back to his ale*

[Carillon]

Rumors trickle in slowly, from a number of different sources perhaps, but all lead to the same slow conclusion: a certain sorceress has been seen walking the lands again.

The cause of her prolonged disappearance remains a point of mystery, but she is home.

[Script Wrecked]

*The skittish hooded figure glances over to Argali and for a moment he is shocked by the presence of a female dwarf. When he snaps out of it he murmurs a reply* Aye... There be a story down in those places, of the Nightmare man...

...

*He shudders now and makes a warding sign before going back to his ale*

Argali allows the hooded sailor a moment to get over his shock. She listens closely to his tale. When he is done, she smiles and thanks him for his time, and buys him another ale, something dwarvish.