Salvation Outpost - Chapter 2

Peldan had opted not to go and party with the others. Much of his career had been much of that as the innkeep of his own establishment. He was trying to be an adventurer these days and felt that Armat's efforts this night were more in line with that objective. But...he also didn't feel like the man, an experienced adventurer and soldier, would want one such as him following him around. Instead, he opted to follow the man, though not making any huge effort to remain hidden.

He watched the man poor over some writings by candlelight and then inspect the rest of the hall. He then follows the man and watches as he climbs a ladder and disappears from sight. Peldan quickly climbs up after him. Once at the top, if he cannot see the man and his candlelight, Peldan will make his way (using his darkvision) in search of the man. He would not want an ally to be caught alone and in need of backup.

Pleased that the ghost had calmed somewhat, and confirmed his suspicions, Armat addressed the ghost respectfully.
"I see. I am Ser Armat Ir'Vallam, knight of Karrnath and indeed, a Seeker of the Divinity Within. When did this happen Vera? Was it during the war? Who were these necromancers affiliated with?"

Glancing over his shoulder, Armat beckoned for Peldan to keep his distance. The cook likely did not share his knowledge of the undead, and their dangers..

37 did not follow the others to their party. Feasting and drinking held no interest to him. However, the concerns about the undead below the church were understandable. To that end, when the others left and the Red Knight began looking over tomes and scrolls, 37 made his way to the door that descended into the caverns below.

He wondered how he would be received by the undead. He was not flesh and bone and blood, but he was alive... curiousity got the better of him and he descended to check the catacombs.

At Armat's gesturings, to remain where he was, Peldan did just that. Though, he watched on intently trying to learn as much as he could feom the encounter and Armat's handling of it.

37 will instead note what piece is missing, and begin searching the building for it.

The pieces fell into place, although Armat wondered how the Emerald Claw ended up all the way here, on the opposite end of Cyre.
"Yes, the war is over just a few years now. It lasted a century and ended in tragedy for all. But there is peace now, at least for the moment."
Armat did not wish to burden the ghost with the events of the Mourning, nor go into detail on how the peace is strained to this day. Instead he focused on what he hoped was positive for Vera.
"I know of those who wronged you. The Order of the Emerald Claw have been outlawed for decades by Karrnath. Once a knightly order, their misdeeds had them fall into the deepest of infamy when I was but a child. They are all but gone now. A few linger as terrorists, condemned by king and country."
Indeed, all knights were educated in the heraldry and history of every prominent order. The fall of an order was not unheard of, mostly due to losses in the war, a noble but tragic end. But the magnitude of the crimes of the Order of the Emerald Claw and their fall from grace were passed on as a lesson to all others.

With a sigh, Ser Armat looked at the chains that held Vera.
"I will attempt to free you. I wield the Divinity Within, I hope it will be enough to smite those chains. But what will you do once you are free?"

Armat was not naive. The process of embracing the false life of the undead and subsequent decades of imprisonment may have twisted Vera's nature. He did not wish to unleash a vengeful specter on the town..

Surely there must still be a way... then again, if my basement was full of undead perhaps I wouldn't want to open that door after all...

Cocking his head slightly to the side quizzically, 37's mind runs through possibilities. Looking to either side, he turns and makes his way to the salvage market to see if such a stone might have been sold there.

With any luck, it will have been purchased by the shop but they were unable to sell it. Although that seems doubtful. Maybe they at least know who it was sold to?

"No. They have earned their revelry, but I feel I have work to do. I am hunting for something missing, and was hoping the market may have at least seen it at some point," 37 replies, his attention fully on Irullan.

Armat paused to consider Vera's offer and her grim decision. To surrender to oblivion was almost anathema to a Seeker's mission but clearly this woman had suffered a lot and if to part with existence was her choice, then so be it. Still, Armat's face turned saddened as he heard her wishes. As for her desires for him, those were another challenge in itself..
"I will attempt what you ask, though I do not know where your body might be and much time has passed since it was taken from you. As for the passing on of your knowledge, I shall to those who would hear. Though my road is often perilous, I will strive to do so."

"I believe it to be a red stone, roughly yay in size," 37 says, holding his hands in a way that suggests the size he believes the stone to be based on the carved mouth it fit within. "It would have been scavenged from the church the Warforged were holed up in," he adds, in case the history of the item helps differentiate it from other similarly sized red stones.

"That said... I may be mistaken about the color. So if a stone of similar size that was also scavenged from the church, but is a different hue, was sold... I would be interested in that as well. I would hate to miss what I'm looking for just because I thought it would be red but it is instead blue, for example."