The next time Ciara woke the throbbing in her head had receded, and she was ready to carry on. They packed up camp and continued east. Trudging silently with Ciara a few paces ahead to keep a lookout for any traps that may be randomly situated on the beach. They were nearing the evening when Ciara tripped over something in the beach. She reestablished her balanced and looked down to see a severed hand grabbing toward her leg.

"Silphid!" She jumped back and grabbed the dagger from her leg. Another hand appeared, and suddenly the party was swarmed by severed limbs. Ciara tried stabbing at them with her dagger as she watched Silphid and Ariana having an easier go of it with his great sword and her scimitar.

"Slice, Ciara, don't stab!" Silphid advised. She started taking fingers off until Silphid freed himself to help and the limbs lay dormant on the ground.

"Should we burn them?" Ciara looked to the others for advice not particularly liking another go around with the things, especially after it left gashes on her leg from their fingernails.

Ariana started gathering supplies for a fire, it seemed the best plan for her and she didn't feel the need to stand and debate it. They watched the remains burned to the bone, and decided that it was as good of a place as any to set up camp.

"Perhaps we should cut through the jungle on the marrow." Ciara suggested. After literally being tangled up by zombies she was hoping for any other route.

"These jungles are known for harrowing perils the deeper one travels." Ariana warned.

"We will stay on the fringes and keep the beach in our vision. There should be more opportunities to hunt, and hopefully less zombies attacking."

"Might as well try it for a day." Silphid commented chewing on whatever type of rodent that Ariana and Eboni had found to snack on.

"How does one even become a zombie?" Ciara questioned, still upset by the notion of the dead coming to life and attacking the living.

"Necromancers have used dark magic for ages to reanimate corpses to do their bidding." Ariana answered.

"Does that mean there is a necromancer out here? Do we believe that is what brought down the ship?" Ciara proposed. Ever since Ariana had mentioned the unnatural cold, they questioned the circumstances in which the ship had sunk.

"Do you recall seeing anything on the deck?" Silphid asked the girl. Both Silphid and Ariana were in their cabin during the ship wreck, Ciara voiced going up to the lower deck, but the memory of crash itself was gone.

"I know not, perhaps it was the concussion, but no. I recall feeling my stomach flip and believing the fresh air could help. I attempted to traverse the halls as the ship rocked back and forth, made my way up the ladder and caught myself before making a fatal plunge, and thinking that perhaps I should have stayed under…"

"I recommended that it would be wise." Ariana threw in.

"After that, I recall waking up on the beach." Ciara ignored the commentary. "How about you?"

"I was laying on my bed feeling a bit woozy from the combination of ale and waves listening to the crone in the bunk above me was heaving into a pail. There was a loud crash that sent me tumbling into the wall and then towards the floor as the crone's body was thrown from her bunk with a long gash upon her brow. I was checking on her when I heard cries from the hall that the ship was sinking. When I went to investigate the boat was split in half with the other side falling into the ocean depths, I did what I could to wake those in the cabins around me and swam to safety. I must have passed out from exhaustion, because I too remember waking up on the beach." Silphid explained and pondered the circumstances. "I wish I had ale now."

Ariana was in the cabin sleeping during the crash which woke her. Both she and Eboni were injured seeking safety, and she would have died at sea had her wolf not swam out to retrieve her.

"What would cause that kind of damage?" Ciara questioned. She knew the waters were rough, but to split a perfectly solid vessel in half had to be caused by a force greater than that of water.

"I know not." Ariana answered as the others looked to her. They looked to her for questions of nature, although her experience living in the depths of the jungle gave little answers to what horrors were held in the ocean floor.

"Perhaps that too is the work of a necromancer." Ciara postulated and chuckled. "A zombified whale or such?"

"Or a dragon." Silphid assumed.

"If it was a dragon with the capability of doing that, one would have to assume we would all be charred remains by now." Ciara commented.

"Perhaps." Silphid replied and then muttered under himself. "But they are the root of all evil."

The comment earned a glare from the druid. "Not all evil. There are good dragons as well as bad."

"No, there's not!" He exclaimed and stormed off.

"There are." Ariana stated ignoring the fact that the person she was trying to convince had just walked away, instead she turned her explanation to Ciara. "Yes, the chromatic dragons are foul in nature. Some even take pleasure in destroying human civilizations in order to accumulate their own treasure, but some of the metallic dragons are acolytes of good that have been of great benefit to traveling adventurers."

"I understand." Ciara responded to the passionate speech. "It's just, Silphid lost his village and his family to an evil dragon. That is his vision of what a dragon is, as a bull is a bull and a dove is a dove."

"But dragon's are just as individual as we are."

"I know that, you know that. It may take some time before he understands that." Ciara had enough interaction with the male to get an idea of the way he thought. In no way was he simpleton, but there much he had yet to experience, and at times he struggled with deep comprehension. He was stubborn, and hard to sway once an opinion was formed. "He does not mean to offend you."

Ariana nodded. "Amongst these travels, I have met many that kill for sport. Silphid is not that, I know this."

"Do you think they are all dead?" Ciara reverted questioning back to the crash. Her thoughts going to the crew members and passengers that she gotten to know during their journey out. Fortunately, Dela, Ysabel, and Morganna had landed safely in Lantan. "There could have been others that survived the crash and drifted west, or picked up by another ship."

"I have not seen another ship pass." The pragmatic druid replied.

Tears started to well in the girls' eyes. She fought them down to keep up appearances. "I… um… your watch is starting soon. I should try to get some sleep."

"Quel esta, Ciara." Ariana wished her well in her native tongue, before she adjusted her view to catch as much of the horizon as she could.

"Diola lle." Ciara thanked her back.

Silphid wondered back shortly after. He didn't say much before lying down, but it seemed that he let out whatever aggression he needed in a pursuit for more firewood. Eboni snuggled into closely to the druid. Ariana scratched behind her ears as the wolf nodded off with her head in her lap. She made sure the fire burned hot, listening to the crackle of the flame and the crash of the waves colliding with the shore. It was amongst the sights, sounds, scents of the elements where she felt most comfortable.

Her father was a natures warden. A proud elven guardian of the jungle with his tiger companion, Kahn, ever at his side. He, along with her mother, taught her to appreciate the world around her. He taught her to respect nature and serve the goddess Chauntea, and the Great Mother would return the favor with a plentiful harvest. She was taught of duty and honor, and of these were the same lessons her twin brother learned as well. Walben, her brother, was well on his way to following in his fathers footsteps. It was only days after her brothers' nuptials that she left the community.

The male she was meant to marry, was a kindly elf named Kevril of the Gentleharp family in Thindal. Ariana met Kevril several times growing up, they appreciated each others company. Kevril taught her some of the finer points of using a bow and helped teach her to hunt. She cared about him as a friend, and she knew him to have romantic feelings for another. Her decision to leave was her own, there was a world to explore, but that fact made it easier to go. She wondered what would happen when she found her way back. Her parents were strict, but caring. The act would be viewed as disobedience, but she would be welcomed back, she had to. There was this shipwreck and zombie issue to deal with first, for certain, but then she would go back to her community and her father and apologize for her insubordination.

Her watch flew by with no sign of peril. She shifted from her seat waking the wolf as she did, and she shook the half-elf to consciousness from what appeared to be a dream-like state.

"Ciara?"

"Huh?" She woke up to a wolf snout in her face. Ciara reached up to pet and greet the companion before sitting up to begin her watch. "Gi suilon, Eboni."

Both hers and Silphids watch went without mishap, they awoke and after an hour of cleaning up camp, refilling water skins, and gathering food for the road they ventured towards the jungle. As discussed they stuck to the outer edge for their travels with the beach and sky well in view, traveling hours without sign of misadventure.

"I am in need of a breather behind that tree over there." Ciara informed them about the time they were about ready to break for midday meal. As the scout she felt it necessary to inform the group of plans to abandon the trail.

"Go." Silphid excused her from the group. "We will wait here."

Ciara sauntered deeper into the vines just out of view from the others when she caught the sound of two small child like voices crying out from deeper within the forest. "Ari, Silphid, come here!"

The other two ran towards her, fearing the young girl had located peril. "What is it?" Silphid asked her.

"Do you hear that?" Ciara questioned the faded cries still present in amongst the ambient noise of the jungle.

"Over here." Ariana ventured in the direction of the cry. They followed the very perceptive druid as the cries got louder and louder until the spotted two wispy winged humanoid type creatures with pale skin and long thin ears standing approximately 6 inches tall. One a female with long white hair down to her waist and milky eyes, and the other stood just a bit taller with spiked red hair and turquoise eyes, both encircled in what appeared to be a mushroom patch.

Ciara recognized the cries as cries for help in the Sylvan language. She questioned their ability to speak the common tongue.

"We can." The female with the milky eyes replied.

"Greetings, I am…" Ciara started to introduce herself.

"We know who you are."

"That's creepy." Siphid commented and put his hand on his holster. "Unfortunately, we do not know who you are."

"I am Meera, and this is my brother Geera. We have traveled far and through great peril in search for you."

"Why would you be seeking us?" Ciara asked them.

"Your assistance is required." The brother answered.

"There is a great storm approaching. One that will destroy this world and conceivably many others unless you can stop it."

"Whoa, what?" Ciara questioned. "Us? How?"

"That I have not seen." Meera explained. "My visions are obscure at best, and since our powers were lost I have not had the opportunity to clarify what I had previously seen."

"How were your powers lost?" Silphid asked, relaxing a bit as it appeared these beings did not mean to do harm.

"A counsel of elders in our community convicted us of crimes against our race and have been left with the bare minimum of our powers. We have escaped our captivity to deliver the warning. You must prevent the brewing storm."

There were so many questions that the newly formed party had for the creatures including who they were and where they came from. Ariana helped identify the creatures as Sprites, a fey racial type. It was explained that it was an act of treason against the Fey to deliver the message to the material plane of its impending doom. They were found, convicted, and stripped of their powers for attempting such. There was sure to be punishment for their flight from imprisonment; however, Meera cryptically explained that there was still some time until they were to be dealt with. The self-proclaimed oracle could not give particulars about the raging storm itself, however, believed that the shipwreck was only the beginning of the threat to come.

Ciara, Silphid, and Ariana stood in a circle dumbfounded by the revelation feeling severely ill prepared for an undertaking of that magnitude.

"It is not as if we can allow this plane to be destroyed." Silphid spoke up first.

"I will assist in any way I am able." Ariana agreed.

"Would you care to accompany us in this mission? It seems we could use all the help we can get." Ciara voiced her acceptance to the cause. She did wish to embark on an epic adventure only she never expected it to come this soon.

"We will come as far as we are able." Meera responded.

They flew from the circle, Geera seemingly guiding his sister who admitted to having trouble seeing at a distance beyond the immediate area. Although the idea of traveling to a city or Port terrified the diminutive creatures, they agreed that it would be the best source of information in locating the source of the storm. It was another two and a half days before stumbling upon the port city of Nyranzaru.

"I require ale." Silphid commented as they happened upon the first tavern through the gates.

"And I require a bath." Ciara pointed to a neighboring inn. They had washed in the stream along the way, but that was hardly comparable to a nice warm bath in a bathing house. "Shall we settle in first? I promise we'll stop in the pub this evening."

"Very well." Silphid trudged behind the others into the Belladonna Inn.

The party was greeted by the jovial middle-aged halfling behind the service counter. "Welcome to the safest inn this side of town. How many rooms will you be needing?" Bandobras Heathertoe asked them.

"May we have a double, and three baths?" Ciara requested. The sprites assured the girl prior that they would not require one, and Eboni had soaked most comfortably in the stream that morning.

"Sure thing, that will be…"

"What do you mean by the safest inn?" Silphid interrupted the innkeeper.

"Masterwork locks on all door and a trapped security system on both entrances that are fully operational after hours. We have workers here at all hours, surely, to allow access to registered guests, but if the undead do decide to venture this far in town they won't be getting in here, I can assure you that."

"There are zombies in town?" Ciara asked them.

"We have heard of a few instances on the outer fridges of town, rumors at this point. I never meant to worry anyone. I assure you it is safe here."

"That is not our concern." Silphid replied.

"He only means if there is anything we can do to alleviate the threat for everyone we would be interested in knowing how." Ciara explained.

"I know no more than this." Bandobras replied.

"Very well, how much for the services?"

"Surely, that will be 2 gold and 18 copper." Ciara dug through her pouch to pull of the fare and registered their names at the counter. Bandobras handed her the key to room 16A and the bathing house. "That is on the first floor, just down the western hall. The bathing house is through that door and will be ready for use on the quarter hour. You may return the key to this desk when you have finished."

The party went to the room as the older halfling ordered a younger female halfling to prepare the bathing house for use. Ciara put down her bag and started to disrobe from her armor. She held no illusion of modesty, although, Silphid felt it his gentlemanly duty to at least pretend to turn away. Ariana still felt a bit uncomfortable changing in the company of others, and typically used a cloak to hide behind.

"We should have asked more about the attacks." Silphid commented as he took off his breastplate.

"He said that was all he knew." Ariana commented.

"He also said there were rumors." Silphid replied.

"Right." Ciara stated pulling off her top exposing her flawless golden tan skin. "And where is the best place to dig out rumors?"

"The town guard." Silphid answered at the same time Ariana commented. "The clergy?"

Ciara chuckled. Both were great sources of information, but not rumor garnering. "The tavern." She answered instead. "We will hit that tonight so we know what to ask those other sources on the morrow."

"I do not know what that means." Ariana responded.

"It means to talk to people, ask some question, maybe flirt a little, you know, get some information."

"I am not sure I could do that." The druid looked uncomfortable with the prospect of having social conversation with strangers.

"That is fine. You took care of us out there, allow me to take the lead here." Ciara offered before leaving in nothing but a bathrobe down the hall for her bath. The young halfling was finishing off filling the heated pool.

"Would you care for violet or cherry blossom scent?" She asked.

"Which do you prefer?" Ciara asked the girl.

She snickered. "Since I am named Violet you would assume my preference would be towards that, but I love the way the sweet cherry blossom scent fills up the room. 'Tis like you are walking through a Lantan field."

"Have you been there?"

"No, my father has, you met him at the counter. He owns this inn. 'Tis been in our family for almost six generations now, once my father hands it down to my brother. 'Twas named after my great, great, great, great grandmother Belladonna." Violet yammered as she poured the oils into the bath.

"Will it ever be yours?"

"As the fifth child, not likely. 'Tis fine, I am more apt at crafting and installing locks and traps. My sister and I just equipped the whole building with the latest models. My father was holding off, afraid that it would scare customers away, but when the first zombie was spotted in the market district he figured it was time. Now he is boasting about its features."

"Isn't that the way of it?"

"Typically." Violet agreed. "Well, I shall leave you to your bath. There is a spread of shampoos to choose from."

"Thank you." Ciara offered taking off her robe as the halfling closed the door behind her.

She slowly descended into the warm pool, sitting by the ledge next to the spread of soaps and shampoos. She grabbed a bar of soap and lathered her leg before using a razor blade to shave off stubble of hair she had acquired since leaving the brothel. After fully shaving, bathing, and soaking she figured the others would be waiting anxiously for her return. Silphid and Ari both took approximately ten minutes each before drying off and getting redressed for dinner and drinks.

Meera and Geera offered to stay back and guard the supplies, although it was also probably an excuse to avoid being pressed into a small building with a large number of giant beings from their perspective. They had nuts and berries from the jungle to munch on, and it didn't take much to fill their stomachs. There was some discussion as to whether or not they should leave Eboni behind, but Ariana didn't feel comfortable with the idea and the sprites were still fearful of the wolf.

No one commented as the wolf stepped into the tavern, instead the party shared a table for dinner. While Ciara flirted at a distance with some of the males in the room, Ariana listened the neighboring table in attempts to overhear the local gossip. There was a group of chatty crafters complaining about the growing number of zombies being spotted in the area and wondering what the seemingly reclusive mayor was planning on doing about it.

As the plates cleared a top shelf wine was delivered to Ciara. The bar maiden pointed to a table to where two men sat. The younger of the two, who she would have guessed to be in his late 20s, gestured for her to join them as she looked over. Ciara excused herself from the party and accepted the invitation. Tegan, the younger man, introduced himself and his comrade, Quentin.

"I hope I wasn't interrupting anything." Tegan stated. Unsure if there was anything going on between Ciara and the man she was seated next to. However, with the eye contact she was making with him and a few other attractive men in the tavern, he wasn't convinced.

"Nothing except the internal debate over whether or not to order dessert." Ciara replied and picked up the goblet. "This will do, though, thank you."

"Only the best for a beautiful lady." He responded back. "Besides, Quentin here encouraged me to move quickly before I missed my opportunity."

Ciara smiled and started denying her previous flirtations. "I um… didn't…. wasn't…."

"You know exactly what you were doing." Tegan called her out on it and put his arm around the girl that scooted in closer. "Not that I mind. A young, sultry, adventurer trying to gain information in a new town…?"

"That obvious?"

"Well, it's either that or trying to find someone to take you home this evening, but considering who you walked in with I find that highly unlikely."

"Does this mean you have information, then?" She asked of the wine in her hand. "Or did you hope to convince me of the latter?"

"We're actually relatively new to the area ourselves, left a poor situation." He answered vaguely.

"Was there a particular reason you found yourself here?"

"First town we happened upon. Although reports of zombies is quite unsettling. Yet to see one myself, but heard of an altercation in the docks district last night, no casualties with that barring the widower that had been turned."

There was something about the way he answered her previous question that had her wondering if he was giving her the whole truth. She let the feeling go in order to inquire about the attack. "Do you know anything about the widower?"

Tegan shook his head no. "I've only heard drunken murmurs myself, although it seems the first sighting was over two weeks prior and the new mayor has yet to make a public statement about what he plans to do about it."

"The new mayor?"

"Yes, it sounds there was a relatively new change in power. Locals are tight lipped about what happened to the previous leadership, or they simply do not know, but the capital city of Mezro appointed this guy within the past moon. No one that I have heard from has even seen the guy."

"Do they know that he actually exists?"

"Apparently he takes private appointments suggesting he is flesh and blood. Unfortunately, though, that is all I know. How about you? There must be a reason that these matters have peaked your interest?"

"I was bound for Thindar when a storm caused the ship to sink. I am among three that survived the wreck." She indicated that her fellow travelers were the other two. "Our first night camping out on the beach we were stalked by a zombie, and attacked by a few more on our way into town. We just today made it here only to hear rumors of attacks within the town limits. I am not sure how these events are connected, but I find it hard to believe that it wouldn't be."

"And it's your plan to stop it?"

"It's my plan to try." She answered taking her last sip. "May I get either of you anything from the bar?"

"I'm good." Quentin declined. Content to listen but stay out of the conversation.

"You choose." Tegan responded leaving it up to her.

Ciara slipped out of the seat and found Silphid standing at the bar waiting for the tender to take his order. As soon as she sauntered next to the man the barkeep turned to her.

"What can I get you, sweetheart?"

Ciara smirked as Silphid shook his head in annoyance. "Two spiced rum, and a…?" She looked to Silphid before reaching down to grab the payment. She felt her hip, and noticed her coin pouch was missing. In a panic she looked over to the table she came from. Quentin and Tegan were talking, but there was no indication that they had pulled anything from her person. She scanned further a saw a half-orc with a detached pouch the same color as hers in front of him pulling out coins to pay the bar maiden that was waiting on him.

"Ale." He answered. "Full tankard."

"He did it!" She accused pulling Silphid's attention from bar. "He stole my pouch, do something!"

Silphid pointed at the half-orc. "You there. You stole from my friend, here. I suggest you return her belongings!"

The half-orc stood from his seat. "Do you accuse Brakaglar the Bold of being a thief?"

"As the lady says." Silphid refused to back down and slammed his fist on the bar in an attempt to intimidate the half-orc. "Return her belongings now, and no harm will come to you."

"You should be more concerned about harm coming to you." He replied and stepped toward the man throwing a near empty glass in his direction missing Silphid but hitting the next customer over. A fight broke out at the counter, and soon it seemed much of the tavern erupted in a brawl.

Ciara studied the neglected coin pouch, realizing too late it wasn't hers only to see the door of the tavern begin to close as a small figure appeared to escape through. Ciara ran out herself and thought she saw the figure turn down an alley down the block from the tavern. She ran as fast as she could to catch up in minimal moon light. She got to the end of the alley that was blocked off by an eight foot tall fence. There was an overturned barrel on the ground and a her coin pouch next to it. She opened the pouch to find it empty barring a card with the image of a raven on it.

"Dammit!" Ciara yelled, more upset by the fact that someone got the grab on her than the fact itself that the money was gone.

She went back to the tavern in order to apologize to the half-orc for her baseless accusation. When she returned most of the tavern emptied out and Silphid and Brakaglar were seated at a table. Both with a tankard of ale in hand laughing as if old friends. Ciara approached the table and handed the half-orc his pouch that she had forgotten to drop upon her exit.

"I am so sorry." She noted the bruises on both men.

"Worry not. I had not had a good fight like that in a long time. You are a worthy opponent." He told the fighter.

"As are you, Buddy." Silphid nodded the guys shoulder, also seemingly unaffected by her blunder. Who easily rectified the situation by purchasing a round of ale once it was clear that he had no part in the robbery. "Were you able to locate the culprit?"

"No, whomever it was got away, but left a message. Would you know anything about a raven?" She asked the half-orc.

He shook his head no. "'Tis a bird?"

She pulled out the card to show him, earning another shrug of his shoulders. "Very well, whenever you are done here I am ready to call it a night."

With Tegan gone, Ciara joined Ariana, who with Eboni, were still seated at their initial table to quietly discuss what information they had received from their inquiries. When asked about what she had seen, Ari stated that she had not seen the robbery herself and did not get a good look at the culprit. She did, however, notice how fights seemed to break out throughout the tavern over a couple of well placed random misunderstandings.