Have You Seen This Man?

Reva walks into the Fernwood and skakes off the cold. She unwraps a scarf and stuffs it into her pack, and a set of heavy gloves follows. Then she takes a look around the Fernwood to see what may be going on.

It is a bit early yet in the day for the heavy crowds, since most of the artisans and crafters are only now closing up shop for the day, their families settling in for supper. There are a few here and there, hints of the evening revelers to come. At the bar sits Seldan, his cloak hanging by the door, chatting idly with the barkeep over a half-full mug of ale, his Myrrish-tinted voice floating across the room. "Yes, I have been seeking a fellow by the name of Dylan Hunt, whether he yet lives and whether he resides here in Alexandria, or if one might have once known him and he ventured elsewhere."

Reva makes her way over to the bar as well, and will order stew and an ale. "An early supper for me, landlord," she says. Whether or not the barman owns the bar. Where she came from, it was generally the case. "I've work tonight." She will nod to Seldan, who she's coincidentally sat close to at the bar.

"Never heard of him," the keep says, "but it seems common enough that one would think I would have met someone by that name before." When Reva walks up, the keep, an older man with an overgrown bush for a mustache, nods to her politely and fetches an ale, sliding it across the counter to her before taking himself to the door to the back. "A stew, Melna, if you please," he calls through the open portal before returning to where the two of them sit, and his task. "Why are you looking for him, if I might ask?"

Seldan looks over at Reva, and nods back politely, but turns his attention back to the barkeep quickly enough. "If my information is correct, he is the son of the man responsible for creating the plague that afflicts Alexandria."

Reva sips her ale and takes a moment to think quietly, glancing to Seldan at the mention of looking for someone. Then when it's explained who is being sought, she nods slowly. "I hope you catch up with him," she says. "That plague is an evil thing. If I can help in taking him down, let me know." Not that she's got any talent at plagues, but stabbing people, she can do.

The barkeep starts at the explanation, frowning immediately. "Yes, that's important. If I should hear anything, I'll make sure to let you know." He goes back to cleaning the bartop with a rag, shuddering a little.

Seldan nods, with a small smile. "Should you hear anything that you wish to pass on, and you find the time, seek the Temple of the Dreamer, and there ask after Seldan Padaryn. You will have my thanks. If not, I will come by as my duties permit." He takes another drink of his ale, and looks over at Reva. "I would not slay the man, I think him likely to be innocent. It is not the fault of a man if his father was mad. He might have inherited his father's research, however, and it is my hope that those notes might offer a path to a cure - and what became of him and his wife."

Reva ohs at hearing the son may not be complicit with events, and she agrees, "If he has done no wrong, then he should not be dealt with harshly. But if he can help and has not done so after so much time, then I would question his alleged good intentions. But if the notes can lead to a cure, then it is for the best. Something has happened to the plague's creator, himself," she wonders.

"It is a tricky thing," Seldan answers, leaning elbows on the bar's top and turning his light-eyed gaze on Reva. "The wizard responsible lived over a thousand years ago, but is known to have had the power to send his tower across space and time alike. He began research to save his wife from a plague, and in the process turned to undeath to achieve his aims. He has since been destroyed, but the tower that he left behind seems to be the plague's source. It is occupied today by an unknown force, known only as the Mistress, and her vampire lackey, and it is they who use the plague to an unknown end."

"This much we know - the plague activates in the presence of magic, and appears to feed from it. The stronger the magic it experiences, the stronger it becomes. What became of this Dylan Hunt is unknown, but living so long ago, we cannot say if he yet lives or resides in this time, or if this Hunt could even be the vampire lackey that some in Alexandria have encountered."

Reva listens and nods as it's explained. "I see," she says. "I had heard that mostly magical people have been affected, but had not heard the details of why. It seems ironic that the research originally intended to cure a plague has been used to start one." She takes another sip of her ale. "The vampire will have to be stopped in any event, so hopefully things will reolve with that."

As Reva speaks, two things happen. First, a steaming bowl rich and redolent with chicken and herbal flavors is brought out by a plump, middle-aged woman with raven hair in a bun, and set on the bar top. "One stew," she says querulously before taking herself back into the kitchen. The barkeep looks after her, shakes his head, and sets the stew down in front of Reva. "There you are."

The second is the echo of an evening chime across the city. Seldan starts at the chime, and immediately fishes coin for his ale from his belt pouch, leaving it on the bar top. "Forgive me, that is the chime for evensong, I am tardy. Be well." Hastily, he slides from the stool, grabs his cloak, and strides quickly out into the night.