Palathadric

"If I'm not too presumptuous, my lady," I say as diplomatically as I can. "Why are you acting as if we ruined this city. All we've tried to do was help people."

I stop in my tracks, thinking I recognized something of the woman's clothing style from pictures in the hall, even if her hair looked quite different. "Oh...um...how do you do? Er...did you grow all of these white roots that have spread across this garden?"

"Then we escape through the window? Or...? Clearly if we are to be ambushed here, our patrons would need to be involved, which means they must not see us leave."

"Just...what are we actually expecting to find?"

"Is it the fact that they left out Room 4?" I whisper. "I noticed that. But not frequenting inns much, I don't know if certain ones omit numbers. Still odd, don't you think?"

"Cpt. Mumbasa? Bloody hell, that name is familiar. A were-lion for sure, but one of the paladins? Why can't I remember? No, no. He took us to Goetia, I think that was it. He was a good sort, and likely still friendly, but would he write such an article? Seems doubtful. Amelia Cainwright also sounds like a name I might have heard around the hall before, but I can't be sure. Are any of the names familiar to you?"

Hoples words cause me to look on him with an expression of sadness. I turn to the others. "You know, a while back we were wondering about whether Heroica he has been doing its job here in Eubric. In some cases, I think we haven't. Perhaps we haven't opposed the houses as strongly as we should have or sided with them so readily as some did, but when you see such gratitude from someone due to his past experiences with Heroica...it is quite touching. Before, I would never have thought of Warlock as the kind of man to do something like that either."

"I just think that all of these problems might be linked and since we can't get to the bottom of one, perhaps getting to the bottom of another will help to shed light on the first."

"Torald, Ezeran, I don't know if it has anything to do with our investigation, but it seems that 'Wally' has gone missing as well. He was supposed to see Annabelle almost an hour ago and, uncharacteristically, hasn't shown up. Strange?"

"I don't know, but something is not right about the whole thing, and his absence is worrying. Somebody is trying to prevent our looking into the problems."

"Oh...congratulations!" I say, albeit with a slightly worried expression on my face. I look around to see if Germ is somewhere close. I lean forward and whisper, "Has he mentioned anything about the return of the Founders? I hope the Town Watch hasn't been giving him problems."

"Oh, Ezeran? I'm sorry, his mind is so preoccupied. There seems to be something very strange afoot. They discovered some sort of odd roots growing under this whole place. And we fear that it may not be very good. Waldorf is late? Is that like him? If not..."

I checked the wiki, but only looked under Day of the Triffid and there were no pictures there. So sorry! Noticing Ezeran being busy, I approach Annabelle. "Hi, Annabelle! How are you doing? I hope Waldorf is alright? Is he here too?"

"I wouldn't want you wasting your ether on my account."

I hate to ask such stupid questions, but is this Phoebe? I can't remember how she looked, there's no picture on the wiki, and Sandy's pictures aren't working.

I look around for any signs of fresh-growing flowers.

"Precisely!" "I know...but that wasn't really my point. I myself would like nothing better than to determine whether these founders are the genuine articles. Who knows but perhaps the Town Watch and Bonapartes really are throwing off corruption at long last. Knowing humankind, I doubt this is the case, but it is possible. "But what I was trying to say was simply that if we cannot speak diplomatically now, in a language that doesn't give us away as being heroes, then we will drive an arrow through our knees, in a manner of speaking. Now is simply not the time to argue about how good or bad Heroica is with a man like that who seemed to already have his mind made up. We do not need the Watch on our tail anymore than we already have them."

I nod to Rook, as if in apology for the disturbance we caused him and then turn on my way. "Karie, you thought I was challenging you? Of all things! I was challenging him to provide evidence, which he clearly didn't have. If you two hadn't gone all forceful on the "we're the good guys, the founders are the bad guys" talk, we may have actually been able to change his mind. I apologize if you felt that I was undermining your authority, that was not at all my intention, but when we're dealing with potentially troublesome people who nevertheless could be persuaded about the error of their ways, then it's always best to pretend that the mistake is on our part. Pretend that we must be ignorant about the 'horrible atrocities' committed by Heroica, because we only know heroes to have done good things. Then give him the opportunity to provide evidence to the contrary. If we cannot think coolly at this time, then I am afraid we won't last long."

I stare aghast at the others. "My dear girl. Just because you idolize Heroica doesn't mean that everyone in this city does. You may have had positive experiences just as the kind mister has had, but others may not have and it seems that he desires to speak for those others. I do not know whether it's true or not that Heroica was engaged in corrupt practices with the houses, but if Mr Rook here, having had positive experiences with Heroica, still believes that they have, then he must have good evidence for such a claim." I turn to Rook as if trying to garner his support in my argument against Karie.

"Magic Compass, where can we find a GPS?" "Do you think they might be holding the Oracle at the Paladin's place?" Thank you, WBD! It did work for me. I am tickled, because I had issues accessing the Wiki at all before.

"Isn't there some botanical gardens or something in Eubric or am I wrong? We should probably go after the Oracle first, though this seems pretty important. After, all, the flowers could be a clue as to what we're up against." Sorry guys, the map isn't loading for me right now. Any ideas for where the flowers could come from?

"Yep, faction wars...it's what it all boils down to, ain't it? It's a shame really! Seeds of corruption always end up in problems."

"Well, the forest we came from didn't seem too effected by the cold, maybe he got it from there?"

"While we're at it, I'm intrigued to know, have you had dealings with Heroica before? Would you say that they have generally had a positive or negative effect on the city's population?" I hand the orc the 30 gold.

Zepher?