Ambush at the Temple of the Red Knight

[Plotter]

Rumours quickly spread throughout Suzail and beyond that priestess Raillia Redtide of the Temple of the Red Knight was ambushed just as she stepped out of the temple. A "slaad ink explosion" war wizards concluded, judging from the chaotic magic that lingered in the street, warping the door into plum pudding, and temporarily reversing the gravity on a few cobble stones. Raillia Redtide survived the attack, but has been paralyzed from the neck down, her tongue has swollen and turned gray, and she now only speaks the strange tongue of the slaadi. In reverse. War Wizards has reassured that it should be possible to dispel the fins on her arms and the fused together fingers, and in time she will fully recover…

"Never mix slaad ink with other ink or it'll go all slaad on the page", a war wizard explains for a curious onlooker. "We had an incident in the tower a while ago. Had to scrub the whole library for days, by hand, spells just made it worse."

Another War Wizard nods in agreement. "You don't mix slaad ink. Slaad ink mixes you."

Witnesses say they saw a robed man running from the scene and then vanishing with a spell. A street urchin and adventurers identified the man as War Wizard Mauris Barrowfog.

"Former war wizard." A War Wizard corrects as he reaches for a cobblestone floating in the air. "He was stressed out. Lost his wife in a fire, maybe lost his child too? He's not one of us anymore, poor sod."

As night falls, the chaotic magic has been been successfully dispelled, cobblestones scrubbed clean and returned to the ground, and the plum pudding door distributed to the poor at the House of Healing. Raillia Redtide was carried to the War Wizard's tower for examination, dispelling and healing, and is not to be disturbed. "She might be contagious. You never know with slaad ink."

[Warlord]

Gjurd makes his presence known to Ragnild during the young evening as the two congregated just outside the temple near a tree. They spoke in a whisper - quietly. The tall northman morphed out of the shadows with his not-pushover talent of the stealth arts. Neither of them inclined to enter the temple today. Gjurd kept to his usual carefree and lazied expression while Ragnhild expressed with those critical orbs: an additional look of sarcasm were in the eyes while the pair spoke in Illuskan.

"They were calculative enough to plan the assault while all four of us were gone. Annoying, if rare higher thinking. Helga in Espar, Quake in Tyrluk, myself in Marsember, and you were just arriving from Sembia. It's rare any 1 of us is not in Suzail, but today marks the 3rd time this year. We are half a year in ... I am changing those statistics next year."

Gjurd nodded to the words. "The Slaad substance discussed were material goods a group of mine gathered not too long ago. Perhaps not immediately related to our batch, but maybe a surplus of need has been requested for it?"

"Joram was with Raillia at the temple yesterday."

"Joram? What did he go on about?"

"Something about an artifact, failing wizards, and entrusting Raillia with a job. Whatever they aspired for wasn't going to work: this is that net result."

"If I'm 'hearing' you correctly, you had a chance to prevent this and .. just, no? Nothing hm? You seem sure..."

"Of course I sensed a better approach. I tried conveying thoughts...engaging...neither of them soaked it in the way I expect. In a faith where competition could come in many forms, as better planners are brought to the horizon, why would I bend-over-backwards? The idea in my mind was concocted and thus offered to the Red Knight as a better plan, and it isn't held against me any to not relay. Not that I seek to replace Raillia anyway."

Gjurd stared at Ragnhild for a long while, "You're as icy as a beloved traveling companion, Snowflake. Golly..."

"Whatever. Listen learned, for Raillia."

"So mean..." Gjurd inhaled a moment as he pondered the situation, "Joram's activity yesterday, and this incident, may tie into the blade I turned in. It's a shame you weren't in the lands sooner or this could have been avoided had I handed it to you."

"We will plan the next steps in private. I will talk some details to Shea now. Begone and be watchful in the shadows."