Chapter 2: One Bad Apple

Tzal raised his eyebrows in alarm, "Oh no! What have you done! Is it contagious? How do we get rid of this curse? How do we cure the smith?" He then turned to Lauretta, "We must return and destroy that coal. It was magical, and it has the potential to curse more people."

Walking over to the blue goblin's corpse, R3N-L3 took up a position besides it, before suddenly swinging his blade down cleanly through the goblin leader's forehead, before kneeling to inspect the gory mess of brain matter that came out of his split skull. "Bung does not seem to possess terribly abnormal brain growth compared to the average goblin. The solution is therefore simple. Bung purchased it from someone in the Shadow Market. We must simply go to the Shadow Market and procure a cure. Or kill the seller if you wish, once we find out there is none truly."

Tzal contemplated all the information and then eyed Lauretta, "What do you think? If we don't have a cure and if we can isolate Victor, maybe we can stop the spread? But will you dispose him? One life for the entirety of the village?"

"Either that, or we catch a faerie who might know the cure. But I am not suited to catching faeries. I am, however, suited to executing innocents." He glanced towards Lauretta, silently waiting for her response.

Lauretta stood in pensive silence as she listened to the goblin spill forth words from his mouth and urine from his bladder. Every bias she could have had for faeries was finding sudden reinforcement. An immediate ambush with intent to kill, fleeing like cowards after the death of their leader, begging for their lives, blaming their leader for their actions, and trying to wipe out a whole village of people with some kind of magical plague. Truly, these creatures are despicable.
Although initially bewildered by hearing about things that sounded reminiscent of children's stories, it was replaced by a fervent rage at the thought of this soul sickness claiming Two Forks. The disease being incurable was a notion that left her looking quite grim. Keeping her eyes away from the foul business the clockwork was up to, the priest stared back at Tzal with the urgency of being aware that time was quite limited for Victor and the rest.

"I think this piss-ant, untrustworthy as he is, is probably right. Even if we could get him to lead us to this damnable Shadow Market, he might just lead us around in circles until Two Forks is in ruins. We have to get back. I watched plague claim most of my own village as a young girl... Even if there are survivors, it's the kind of thing that tears folks apart. We have to make sure it doesn't spread any further. If there's no cure, then it's likely an awful choice that'll have to be made. It's not my village, so I can't make it. But if the people of Two Forks want to live, then the plague will have to be culled. If that means someone has to do it, then I'll volunteer so no one else has to do such an awful thing. I'll pray for the souls that got afflicted with this. At that point, praying is about all you can do..."

As the last words escaped her lips, Lauretta felt a terrible guilt consuming her from the inside. She turned away, looking up into the sky as she tried to hide the water dripping from her eye. Three decades later, she finally understood how her father felt. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that the Old Faith was a backwards religion, but sometimes all you could do was pray.

"I'm sorry, Pa..."

The words were a whispered mutter under her breath. Her head turned to look back at the trees as she wiped her face.

"Let's go. I say we take the goblin with us. As much as I loathe it, to kill it is a baser impulse. As far as I can tell, it told the truth. It should get to see the suffering its people wrought instead."

"The prospect of killing the innocent blacksmith seems to affect you more than expected. Are you certain you would not rather I dispatch him? I have no compunctions about killing any lifeform, no matter their maturity, criminal background, or moral fiber." R3N-L3 inquired politely.

Tzal nodded to Lauretta, "When we initially came, we heard Victor banging at the door. It is possible that he is in an advanced stage and likely lost all his sanity. Don't feel guilty about taking him down. He has lost himself to it; it will only be a mercy."

He then turned to R3N-L3, "Lets tie him up and return to Two Forks, immediately. Time is of the essence. Hopefully Victor is still locked up."

With a heavy sigh, Lauretta nods to the others.

"We can do it together, Renly. It does affect me deeply, but I feel it a moral obligation to be involved as a priest of the High One. And thanks for the reassurance, Tzal. Kind of you to try to lighten the burden."

Wolfram was about to offer to do the deed to Victor for he thought it might sit better with Lauretta than having the dispassionate clockwork do it, when the nasty yellow-toothed man emerged.

"What is it you wish in return?"

Tzal was probably right. They'd be doing the poor blacksmith a service by putting him out of what surely must be intense misery.

"I am not programmed to recognize suspicious behavior, but this entity is suspicious." R3N-L3 noted, tapping his metal fingers along his sword. "However, I believe I can leverage sufficient force to bypass suspicious activity of this severity. I presume this is now the part where the suspicious entity offers to cure Victor. Proposition: We get payment up front."

Tzal nodded at R3N-L3 and then turned to the suspicious newcomer, "Greetings...Mr. Lemon. You seem to be aware of our predicament, but what interests you regarding us? It would be interesting to know what you are seeking before we agree to your wish. May I humbly inquire what it is that you seek?" This is definitely a fey creature, Tzal thought to himself. We have to tread their bargain carefully.

As if Lauretta weren't bewildered enough by what the goblin had to say, the appearance of this 'Salty Lemon' had her gesture to forest around them in confusion. R3N-L3's statement would have amused her if she weren't so confused.

"Barely seen a damned faerie all my life and suddenly you all start crawling out of the woods all at once. Strangest day, I swear. Normally, I'd never consider bargaining with one of you, but you're probably aware we need the help. I echo the sentiment of my friends here. We want to know what you want and we want to make sure we're gonna get what we bargain for."

"Proposition: It benefits you if the village of humans remain human. Therefore, cure them first. Then we will provide you the jewel. You can always turn them back later if we go back on our word. Meanwhile, we have no recourse other than limb-ripping if you go back on yours."

"Proposition: The priest was not evil if he was buried in a temple. Therefore, you would be the malign entity in that story. What is the jewel usable for? After all, I could trip and fall and crush the gem." R3N-L3 intoned in his usual matter-of-fact voice, although a decidedly sneaky light had entered his eyes.