[quote="Kerrick Helmsworth "] Kerrick sits, but does not eat. (Not out of paranoia, but because Lord Mallory is not, and that would be rude.) "I will answer what questions for you I can, Lord. I am Kerrick Helmsworth, and my companions and I are here to help. We were not sent here; however, Vasan raiders were spotted moving about the river, and the watch-fires were not lit. This immediately let us know that something was wrong here. Fearing the worst, we arranged passage and arrayed ourselves for battle, in case raiders had destroyed Orlean entirely." "Having arrived, we found that happily your fair township has not been destroyed, but there does seem to be something causing problems. We came to present ourselves to you in hopes that you could tell us more about what is going on here." [/quote]
Lord Mallory frowns at your words, "Vasan raiders, eh? That's unusual this early in the year. We're not long past the winter storms..." he looks to an expensive window, small pieces of glass in a lead frame, overlooking a slightly overgrown garden, "Alas, I have not had the men to man the watch-fires."
He smiles ruefully at you, "If things continue this way, I won't have the men for putting food on the table!"
Sighing again, he leans back in his chair, and suddenly looks well beyond his years, "I said to you that Orlean is dying. That much I know. But what I cannot tell you is why this is so."
"Papa...who's dying?" asks the littlest girl at the table.
"Hush, child!" Lord Mallory says, gently. Lady Mallory rises and collects the two young girls, quickly ushering them out of the room. Once they have left, Lord Mallory continues, "People have been disappearing. I am not certain when it began, as people do come and go. When I noticed something strange was perhaps a year ago. Word of a family that just...vanished. Their home and belongings untouched. These were not wealthy people, but fishermen. They had no means to easily start life anew elsewhere. They were the first I was aware of, but by no means the last. Stranger still were several who went missing, but then returned. Unharmed. Yet...different. Changed in a way I could not define."
"I soon asked my constable, Thorsdun, to look into things, quietly. Not a clever man, to be sure, but reliable. Steady. It was shortly thereafter that his militia repelled a Vasan landing. That was late in the fall. While the Vasans were repulsed, our militia was all but wiped out. The last survivors succumbed to their injuries, in spite of the Temple's..." you would swear a sneer passes across the Baron's face, "...best efforts. Thorsdun has had his hands full since then. We have needed more help for some time, and your arrival is...fortunate. I can only assume the timing so close to the Fool's Day feast is no coincidence?"
The Baron offers you a wan smile, "I remember my own feast. It seems an age ago, now..." he pauses, his mind seeming to wander, until one of his sons speaks, "Father...?"
"Yes, yes..." the Baron says, waving his son to reseat himself, "Things have become worse since Thorsdun has been unable to manage. There was the attack at the Frog's Rest over the winter, where perhaps a dozen were killed - we didn't find them all - with none having seen what happened. Fewer ships have come, no doubt as rumours of our trouble begin to spread. And the fishing has been poor this spring. Praise be to Solis that last year's harvest was good enough to carry us through!"
Lord Mallory looks hard at the party, "We set out on our Fool's Day sojourns to find our fortune. Perhaps that is why you've come. My demesne is not large, but we have been prosperous, and I can reward those who would help me. That would mean rooting out whatever blight has taken hold here. But you must be wary, as there are some I believe can no longer be trusted..."