Jillian watched Gerald slouching back on the rock he sat on, a weak smile painted on his pale lips, but she knew it to be no sign of joy at all. On the contrary, he had just concluded that there most likely was no cure to the Withering – the very disease that ate away at his own soul every waking moment. She knew not how heavy a burden the plague truly was on him, but when their souls intertwined, she had caught a glimpse of it, and it had terrified her. She could understand the pain and frustration that this realization would put him through, and she felt pity for her fellow exile.

In response to the necromancer’s conclusion, Renold further stressed the importance of seeking this so-called expert – whomever that might be – to learn more about how they might contain the disease, if it was even possible. The alternative, as Crone mentioned, would be to find the demon responsible and defeat it. She certainly made it sounds like a simple affair when in truth it was anything but; yet, who was Jillian to argue, having already agreed to hunt down Kevalorn in the coming days?

Crone suspected that the Grand Master or one of his servants was behind this scheme, but Gerald thought otherwise. He claimed that the Crusaders invaded his home to steal his research, implying that they too were looking to put an end to the plague. Jillian wondered if they really were trying to cleanse the Withering, or if they were simply out to destroy Gerald’s progress instead. Either way, the elder Green surmised that only Himyth would remain as a possible culprit then, being that she was the only other demon who had crossed the divide and haunted Reniam. The witch knew only bits and pieces about this fiend – that she was a female creature who indulged in lust and excess, and that she was the mother of all demonspawn. That must include the strange fellow with the chains, back in Gariel Downs. Dead now, in all likelihood. A shame, for he could have been of help if they were indeed fated to look for his wicked progenitor one day.

Gerald turned his attention to Jillian once more, summarizing what she had already gathered from the discourse.

“I see. I guess our plans won’t change much for now regardless, right? We are still going to look for this ‘expert’ of yours, whomever that might be, and then we’ll deal with Kevalorn. Taking him out will also remove a suspect from our list, and maybe we can even get some information from the old geezer before we get rid of him. If he was after your research notes, then maybe he has a hunch whom we’re looking for and where to find them.”