-----Sol takes a breath and looks eagerly at Sir Zantar, "Sir, just like our prey asked ye fer ye leave, I beg th' same of ye. We need t'get back on our mission, lest they slip further from our grasp. Especially since we've made so much time on them recently."
-----"Yes, we do have our magic," Rinda replies quietly to Sarah, "but none I fear that can cure this. I take it the priests of Redmarsh, if they still live, can do little to stop this . . . plague."
-----The Knight of Redmarsh ignores the daughter of the Lord Wizard as she interjects her own thoughts as he speaks.
-----When the young warrior mentions the dead dragon, Sir Zantar's face expresses shock. A stunned silence passes among the haggard citizens and then a cheer erupts among them. "The dragon is dead!" they begin chanting with some of the unfortunates starting to move to the front gate.
-----Sir Zantar commands them to halt, saying, "None of the citizens shall leave the town until the death of the dragon can be verified!" The people quickly quiet down but grumbles as well as gleeful words are heard.
-----As the Gorian speaks of Krondor, he draws a similar look from Sir Zantar as before. The Knight curiously mumbles the word, "Nox" in an interested fashion.
-----Regaining his composure, Sir Zantar then looks at Sol and simply says, "Aye, you have my leave!"
-----Sol nods at Sir Zantar and wheels Thunder around and says to his companions, "Alright friends, we can serve Redmarsh best by doing what we need t'do quickly. An' right now, we need t'deal with our other 'companions'. Raven, can ye pick up their trail again, considering they left east from here again?"
-----Sarah nods to Sol to show she is more than willing to track down the thieves, although part of her wishes are for a full night's sleep so she could use her new spells.
-----Raven says to Sir Zantar, "Aye, we killed a black dragon. We kept a few of its scales if you want proof. I am sorry for the death and feel sorrow for what your town has experienced. If there is someway we could help, we'll do it. I would ask if the thieves come back here, could you place them under arrest or at least hold them? They are horse thieves and tried to frame Sol here for their crimes. Simply, they are scum."
-----Raven pauses as if he wants to say more about the thieves, but instead Raven says, "Thank you, Sir Zantar, for your information. You've been most helpful."
-----Raven puts an arm around Rinda's shoulders and comforts her as they walk back to their horses. Raven turns to Rinda, "The hunt continues, our prey is close. Keep your eyes open my love for any sign of a trap." With that Raven mounts up and is ready to continue the hunt.
-----Sarah, being rather sensitive to Sol's feelings coaxes Marlexana to Thunder's side. Once there, she reaches out and squeezes Sol's hands reassuringly and graces the warrior with her sweetest smile. "Something you want to talk about later?" She asks him gently.
-----Sir Zantar nods to Raven and then orders his troop to clear the mob of sickened people away from the town gate.
-----As the adventurers exit through the gate, they see the two roads, which lead to the town. The one on the left is the one they rode in on. Down that road at a distance of about four miles lies the dead carcass of the black dragon the adventurers slew. The road on the right leads off toward the southeast possibly toward the village of Nox. At a distance of about a mile and a half down this road, everyone can see a large structure much like a castle.
-----Directly ahead lies a low hill that separates the two roads. Just beyond it a few miles, south of where the small woods must be, the ground looks swampy with trees that are tall and slender. The land around them appears dreary as the unrelenting cloud cover hides the sun.
-----Sarah waits for Raven to do his thing, and then is ready to follow him wherever he leads.
-----"Honestly, no." Sol answers Sarah with a smile. It begins to fade as he adds, "At least not yet. Give it a day or two." Like Sarah, Sol waits for Raven to scour the area.
-----Sarah gives Sol a worried look. "Let me know." She says quietly, squeezing his hand once more.
-----Raven starts looking for the trail on the southeast road.
-----While Raven searches the southeast trail, Sol calls back to the guard at the gate, "Friend! Did ye by chance see which way th' halfling's group left? They said they would head east, but we're not sure if they left by trail or rode overland."
-----The guard looks down with bleary eyes at the riders before his gate. He gives Sol an odd look as he says, "I been seein' no one leavin' by this gate this day 'cept you. 'Course there are three ot'er gates out o' the town." The man then seems to have a sudden coughing fit.