-----The Dread Pirate sighs and looks wistfully after the passing dragon as his dreams of untold riches pass away with it, "Well, I'm very disappointed in all of you, but it may be fer the best after all. I don't know, but dragons might not take kindly to having their lairs looted. I guess we should go to Redmarsh then."
-----"Well I hope that's the same dragon," Kazel muses as she starts her horse off towards the south again. "But if one dragon is overkill then one more wouldn't really matter..."
-----Brandel responds to Seth's question with a worried glance and a simple nod. A smile escapes him as he listens to the Dread Pirate's comments. Brandel then looks over at Krord who has remained silent throughout the entire ordeal.
-----The big guard lifts his head toward the sky and then looks at Brandel. The young mercenary motions to Krord to move out and they both begin following the trio of rogues. Marast takes the lead once again, but the elf constantly jerks his head this way and that, watchful for anything that moves above the woods.
-----"Don' know, Cap'n," Runik speaks up, "I be feelin' we ain't done wit' that draggin'. 'Specially if'n it's a' been attackin' the town."
-----Marast shoots Runik an angry look and for once the dwarf does not harass the elf but simply falls quiet. Runik grabs his warhammer tighter as his eyes look upward from beneath his bushy eyebrows.
-----In a few minutes, the trail road emerges from the small woods and here the party slows while Marast dismounts. The elf creeps among the trunks of the last few trees peering out into the open plains beyond. After seeing no sign of immediate danger, the elf mounts up and without a word urges everyone on.
-----Carefully the rogues and mercenaries ride lest any galloping sound might encourage doom and destruction down on everyone's heads. As they pull farther away from the small woods, the pace begins to pick up though most in the party keep their eyes toward the cloudy gray sky.
-----As the procession continues toward the southwest, Runik motions for everyone to look to the southeast. The dwarf points out a large swampy area just south of the woods they had just ventured through. Everything remains as still as the air and curiously the sky is devoid of birds.
-----As the riders gain another mile, they pass a hill to their south and come within sight of the town walls of Redmarsh. The town itself looks just as impressive, or unimpressive, as the town they had left in Oakwood. Of course, here the town is surrounded by flat plains instead of the forest trees.
-----As they draw nearer, it becomes obvious that somehow this town is different in other ways. The large walls and gate appear empty of guards except for one man posted above the gate opening to the approaching trail road. He looks down at the trio and their bodyguards and after coughing, he speaks down to them in a raspy voice. "Ho, there! (Cough, cough!) State yer business!"
-----Brandel immediately replies, "I used to be with a troop which patrolled the region in the area of Grute. My employers and I wish to speak with Sir Zantar!"
-----The guard looks down with an agitated look but before he can protest, his body shakes with a wracking cough. Finally the guard motions the riders to come through the gate while he sinks below the parapet still overcome by his aliment.
-----There is no resistance as Kazel, Seth, the Dread Pirate and the mercenaries ride through the gate. No guard is present to take their money but what lies beyond causes them not to dwell on this fact.
-----The gray sky overhead seems to echo the dreariness of the streets of Redmarsh. Few people are out on the thoroughfares. Close by the gate are scattered ragged forms huddled here and there. The riders pass one man laid out on his stomach, which is hard to tell if he is living or passed on.
-----A group of haggard men wearing little more than rags limp and crawl toward the riders with their arms extending asking for aims. Many of these men reveal gaping and oozing open sores on their exposed skin.
-----"By the gods!" Brandel exclaims, "What has happened here?"
-----Marast with a grim look draws his sword as if to hold off the oncoming beggars.
-----Seth eyes the people and unconsciously begins to scratch behind his ears. "Perhaps it would be better if we made camp in the forest and had Sir Zantar come to us!"
-----"We would be back in the wild with the dragon," Brandel says with a disapproving tone. He backs his horse somewhat from the beggars and looks around. To the right where the rogues entered through the gate, everyone sees buildings containing shops and homes clustered into the first of many blocks that line a street running straight west.
-----To their left, a large market square is situated although many of the stalls and stands are empty. A few rats scurry from an overturned cart of rotting vegetables. The few merchants that do remain have their wares displayed away from the deserted infested stands. Just beyond the market square, the town keep rises over the other buildings.
-----Krord growls at the beggars and raises his beefy arm causing some of the diseased ones to recoil.