Hairlissa had watched the whole spectacle of the hanging, the preaching, all of it with an impassive face. She was a visitor to the town, but she did not intend to stay any longer, she had found what she had come to find out. Eshowdow had the town under his control, that was clear, and the weak creatures that inhabited the town were too spineless to withstand him. She actually felt a bit sorrier for towns like Twiddledale, towns that had stood up to him and been eliminated for it. At least they stood for something. Loudwater keeled over and died, or might as well have.

She spun on her heel and left town, heading back towards the sea. She had seen all she needed to here, now she needed to keep on the trail of Eshowdow's real priests. The woman, the one who had overseen the hanging, was a devout servant. Hairlissa had seen the divine aura around the woman. The rest of the priests were nothing...fanatics with no real power or threat. The enforcers were slaves, their shadows bound to Eshowdow's will, and they too had no real power though they were stronger, faster, and far more powerful than they were when they were free. Two of them had tried to stop her as she left town. Hairlissa smirked at the memory as she strode confidently down the road. The two who had tried to stop her were dead, their bodies snapped in half like a twig, and stuffed in an alley. 

Free of the town the woman stopped and shed her clothes, clothes she had stolen from the town. With an effort of will she shifted to her preferred “human” form...a tall woman of over six feet, muscled and toned, naked and hairless. Her amber eyes shifted to a mad orange color and she grinned mercilessly. With a nary a backward glance she took to the road, running with grace and ease of a predator on a cross country hunt.

She had learned much, about where the shadow god had been, and what he was doing, but not a way to stop him. Except...except for children. He seemed to ignore children. There must be some way she could use that. She would meditate as she ran, commune with her own god to share what she had learned. And she would hunt...she still had three priests to run down. 

****

Kief disembarked the ship at Baulder's Gate, his eyes studying this port town with intense interest. This was his first trip to this land, despite that Fort Belurian and Baulder's Gate were sister cities and trading partners. He had never left his own land, now an exile he had no real place to go. So he would try and prove that he was right, that his theory was right. It was hard to be a priest of Ubtao, he had never mastered it. Not truly. Maybe that was why he could see the shadow gods plan and the others could not. Or maybe it was his own nature. Whatever it was it was frustrating, none believed him. After all how often do you notice what your own shadow is doing. 

He had tracked Eshowdow's priests to this land, followed in their footsteps. Now he just had to find them. He stood alone in the swirl of activity among Baulder's Gate's docks. People stared at him, dark skinned and dark haired, he looked like a wild man. But they only stared a second or two, then went about their business. Oddities were common enough, as long as he kept away from them they would avoid the stranger on principle. 

Shouldering his satchel he strode off into the...well the locals called it a city. Kief thought it looked like nothing so much as an unsophisticated backwater burg. This was where the three priests had been dropped off, the ship captain had told him that, and so here was where his hunt would begin.

****

The strange man finished his speech, seeing that Argurios was no longer focused he shrugged. He had done what he could. But he sensed that the young orc-blood and his mageling companion were drawing too much attention to themselves. Yes they had found allies, but also enemies. And it was the enemies that concerned him now. . 

“Go” he said abruptly to Argurios. “You have to get out of town. Wait till everyone is distracted then head to the river. It will take you where you need to be.” With that the man turned on his heel and vanished between two buildings. Literally vanished. He had some skill with enchantments and illusions, and while he couldn't match the shadow priest, he could at least provide some distraction. In the children he had seen what the priestess and her cohorts hadn't and he was willing to take the gamble. 

****

Dreknor had been content to follow the three children. He didn't consider them dangerous per se, but it was good to keep the locals separated from the visitors. The town needed visitors and outside money to survive, that didn't mean they had to socialize with them. He had been about to step up and direct the strangers to leave the local elf boy alone, when he caught sight of two of his comrades sleeping in an alley. 

Not sleeping. He forgot, the chosen warriors didn't need sleep. So what were they doing. He slipped into the alley and suddenly felt confused. The two men there were wearing broken bodies, snapped in half, but they were alive of course. They couldn't die. Not now. But they didn't seem to be able to speak or move either. Their eyes, solid black orbs like his own, stared at him with a void expression and Dreknor didn't know what to do. 

So he did the first thing he could think of, he went to find the priestess. 

***

Brisa glanced over her shoulder, trying to figure out what Aiden was looking at. There was nothing there. No one following them, no one watching them. She frowned and ran anyway though to her mind running would draw more notice than walking. And she was right. No fewer than three enforcers saw her run by, but they paid the children no mind. Children were unimportant after all. Their black eyes watched them but didn't linger, focusing instead on the adult townsfolk traveling back to their jobs. 

When they slowed as Jatan led them towards the merchant section Brisa breathed a little easier. 

“Brisa” she said by way of introduction. She didn't want to introduce herself, but it would have been rude not to. Politeness won out. 

“Look” she said finally when they halted in the merchant row “What is...”

She stopped talking abruptly, very nearly swallowing her tongue, as one of the lesser priest she had seen from earlier, and one of the townsfolk with the black eyes, rounded a corner. 

Behind them she spotted Argurios exiting one of the shops, their eyes met for a fraction of a second before Brisa looked down. Shuffling her feet she turned trying to look as innocuous as possible. It might have worked except for bad luck and bad timing.

A soundless roar filled the air. While it made no noise it thundered in the skulls and bones of all in town, filling the all the people with a nameless dread. Brisa felt in in her mind, a fear clawing at her thoughts, and she shivered as he legs locked in terror. The fear washed over the children in a wave, the spell working to root itself in their minds. 

The priest and the enforcer felt it too, but it affected them differently. It filled them with a righteous indignation, adrenaline, and a will to serve their god. Their eyes, human and no-longer-human, fell on Argurios. 

“Halt Orc” the priest spat out, disgust plain in his words when he said “orc.” That Argurios was not fully orcish made no difference. He was a stranger, he was different, and that made him a target. They rushed at the boy, eager to capture him for their god. All across the city of Loudwater the same thing was happening to others, to newcomers and outcasts alike. Enforcers and lesser priests, filled with zeal, eager to please, attacked.