Chapter One: Outbreak

The guards led you through the spartan interior of the prison and you all soon became disorientated by the endless maze of doors and staircases. Eventually, a wooden door was pulled open to reveal a long hall area, with a raised platform and dias at one end of it. Behind the dias was three, almost regal cushioned chairs.

The cushions themselves were a deep scarlet, while they appeared to be trimmed with gold. Behind them roared a large fire, the was currently nothing more than dying embers. Along the sides of the room were wooden stadiums, where witnesses to the court could stand. Finally, in the centre of the room there was another speaking dias but from this particular dias hung heavy chains and manacles, rusted with age.

There was no one else in the room, except for a cloaked figure that stood in the witness gallery, closest to the judge's platform. She removed her hood to reveal fine features, strawberry blonde hair and clear piercing blue eyes, which regarded you all with an intensity that belied a simple hearing.

As you stood there taking in the room before you, you suddenly felt very cold despite the warmth of the fire. The hair on your arms stood up and it was so bad that your teeth began to chatter. A sudden wave of fatigue washed over you and you collapsed into a chair in the sitting gallery. Your vision swam, and you struggled to focus on the concerned voices of the guards around you. You saw Elendin collapse into the chair and there was a sudden pounding in the back of your head. You almost let out a groan as the splitting headache came out of nowhere. Out of nowhere, you wanted nothing more than to sleep. You struggled to breathe and doubled over and began coughing, deep hacking coughs and with each cough, thick green phlegm covered your clothes. Sitting there as the conversation went back and forward, you found yourself unable to concentrate and began shaking uncontrollably. You stood, taking your drink and made your way over to the fire in an attempt to warm yourself but it accomplished little. The smells of the tavern's food, which had been enticing a moment before, now turned your stomach violently. The sounds of the men drew closer as you lay under the cot, readying your spell. Laying there though, stomach cramps overcame you and you had to bite your tongue to stop yourself from making any noise. The pains were intense and it was a sharp, stabbing sensation. Sweat beaded on your skin, despite the coolness of the stones you were laying on and you began to shiver.

As Elendin collapses, Margaret rushes to her side. "Hey!" she shouts at the mysterious woman. "What are you doing to them? This is supposed to be a courtroom, you can't attack people!"

The head of the guard rushed over to Elendin, as did the woman in the hood. As Margret inspected her, you could tell that she was suffering from an unnaturally high fever, she would need blankets to be kept warm. As you did your best to comfort Elendin, the guards made their way from the room. Within moments, two women and a man in official robes, swept into the room. The man made his way over to the woman in the hood. While this continued, Wynn continued to cough almost uncontrollably.

"Nareem," he barked,"What is this? What is going on?"

"If you give me a moment Tarlos, I will see what I can find out."

Nareem made her way across to Elendin first and knelt beside her. She took out a number of green leaves and placed them in a small stone bowl, before lighting them on fire. As the smoke drifted up she began chanting and instructed Elendin to breathe in the smoke which she did. When she exhaled the smoke had taken on a green tinge. She repeated the process with Wynn, who also exhaled a green smoke. After exhaling the smoke, she handed Wynn a vial and instructed him to drink. After doing so, he felt the coughing ease but the shivering continued unabated. As she worked, you saw a necklace with a small pendant drop from her neck.

"Whatever this is Tarlos, it isn't natural." she said.

With that Tarlos and his two companions looked uneasily between each other before Tarlos turned back to Nareem.

"What do you suggest?" he asked her much more gently and you could hear the fear in his voice.

"We'll need time to look into it and see what can be uncovered. Whoever is behind this, they have to be known to the order." she responded.

When she said that, Tarlos ran a hand through his brown hair and across his stubble as he thought. His brown eyes took in the scene before him and he closed his eyes for a moment, breathing deeply, calming himself.

"So the rumours are true then, magic has returned to the world."

As the chaos of the room ensues, you notice Nareem's golden pendant has the symbol of a key pressed into it. As Tarlos runs his hands through his hair, you see he has a golden ring on one of his fingers with the same symbol pressed into it. Nareem and Tarlos continued to debate back and forward, as the other two judges and the guards watched on. Eventually, the guards including the captain were dismissed.

"From the captain's description there is clearly those with arcane talent among this group. The captain did his duty by bringing them here but I suggest they be released into my care." Nareem said to the three judges, Tarlos in particular.

"But do they danger pose to the city?" Tarlos responded.

"No more than I do, after all, they helped with the fire. Besides that, that one has a touch of the divine about him." she stated gesturing towards Hallion.

The three judges seemed to take pause and that and each of them scrutinised the Aasimar in turn.

"We have been right all this time, there are more things in heaven and earth than we had dreamt of."

"Does that mean...?"

"Yes with the good will come the ill and who knows what will crawl out from the shadows. They will be needed and perhaps sooner than we think, especially if this is not a natural illness or it spreads."

With that statement, the judges moved to a corner and began conferring with one another, no doubt about the fate of the group. "I have done nothing to your friend," Elisabeth said sharply ignoring your display and standing to inspect Balara. As she did so, you noticed one of her golden bangles was inscribed with the symbol of a key. After a brief inspection, she turned back to Ventrue.

"Friends of mine will want to know of your arrival to the city though and no doubt meet you both, given your natures. They will have a much better idea of what ails her than I."

Without waiting for an answer she stood, holstering her pistol and walking to the door of the establishment. She paused briefly to pull on a cloak to shield her from the wind and stepped out into the street.