Journal of Rollo Lavius 2

Entry #394 - Piergeiron's Palace

(G394 07/09/2019 via Roll20 - AP(GM), JF) LR9

DAY 455 (1st Kythorn)(June) cont ...

It was good to see my brother again, and we swapped our stories. He told me that his girlfriend (I don't like to say, but is Gharlie even a girl? How would be know if she wasn't? I mean, 'she' is a doppleganger after all!) had gone missing when she had gone off to find this Midpoint Island.

In addition to that, things were odd in Waterdeep. Well 'odder' maybe, with people disappearing - frequently and inexplicably. But since they were usually homeless or outsiders it was not being investigated as well as it might.
He'd also heard rumours of a 'Blue Contagion' and that the Clerics of Mystra were somehow involved. I shuddered and clutched my right hand - Mystra was no friend of mine.

While we were talking, two tramps came into the tavern, shoved a women in the face and stole her bag. We went after them.

They were pretty light on their feet for old fellows and I had to turn into a cheetah to catch the shorter one. As I did so though I saw a man slumped in a nearby doorway glowing blue. This startled me, as you may well imagine, and I went to check him over.

He was dead, he looked as if he'd been infected with something nasty. He had burns on his body and blood around his mouth. His hair was patchy and there was a hole in his chest. He was dressed in an average fashion, like a workman or labourer.

When Corum caught up with me he told me that he recognised the corpse as one of his dungsweepers. He went to touch the body, but I slapped his hand away,  warning about how the blue glow was infectious by touch.

Corum called for more watchman and it was not long before Corum's boss's boss turned up - a chap called Captain Rulathon. In an hour or so we ended up at Piergeiron's Palace in some sort of fancy meeting chamber.

We had to wait a further hour, they had laid on food and drink for us, but I was already getting rather annoyed when the Captain turned up with that well known villain Meleghost Starseer.

Now, you may remember that Starseer is the high priest of Mystra and one  of the main men of the Waterdavian Inquisition. Among other things he had had Fenrir's uncle burned at the stake.
He was also one of the people behind the 'Sweeping of the Sick' that caused the unnecessary suffering of thousands - suffering that me and my friends at Hova Farm had to deal with for months.
I shivered to remember the death that I saw there, the weak and dying of the Spittal Huts and the mass graves dug into the cold winter soil.

I was in no mood for this be-buggered fellow, but I told my story none-the-less when it was asked for. Starsteer asked if I had seen any blue crystals. I had not, but made a mental note
to keep my eyes open for them from now on.
He went on to tell us about how awful this new Magical Plague was - what a threat it was to Faerune etc etc.
It was all I could do to keep my mouth shut - although he must have surely have seen how angry I was - after all - Where was he when thousands of Sword Coast folks were dying at Hova Farm? Where was he when citizens of Waterdeep were dying of the Blue Death in the streets?
Now that there is a disease that strikes at him though - magic, that is - he is all about meeting the malady with all the resources he can lay his hands on.
As far as I can see - whatever disease kills you - when you are dead you are dead. And this new disease is at least only transmitted by touch! With the Blue Death at first no one had any idea of how it was getting about.
Most people thought initially it was 'bad air'. It was that Snow fellow that worked out it was spread by dirty water.
Now tell me - which is easier 'Don't touch glowing blue things?' or 'Elevate your city out of the midden enough that people are not forced to drink contaminated water?' Uh!! I'm ranting now, sorry. There is nothing more annoying to me than one of those rarified, preening Priests of Mystra!

Well, the Captain told us to keep all the goings-on to ourselves and off we went, back to the pub.

I scryed Molly again and saw her getting ready to sleep in her little cupboard. I could see the sea through the small port-hole above her.

Corum and I talked for a while and we thought that it might be worth contacting  the Unseen since Gharlie was one of them. Corum perhaps had misjudged then though as the 'whatever-it-was' shapeshifter we met at the Dripping Dagger was of no use at all. We decided not to waste any further time with them.

I'll go to New Olamn in the morning, those bards are usually pretty 'in-the-know.'

DAY 456 (2nd Kythorn)(June)

I went to New Olamn in the morning in the persona of 'Randy Condor' a young man who was looking for his lost sister. I used my Hat of Disguise.

The only extra information I learned was that Waterdeep and Neverwinter both now had fleets of navy ships watching Midpoint Island - and watching each other.

They were also able to put an X on a map for me. On my return to meet the others at the OJB I told them that I could probably get there in about 5 to 7 hours depending on the wind direction.

I decided to fly out their straight away, by myself, to take a look.