[color=DarkOrange]"Margaret, you wound me. How could I not arrive in your city's time of need. I too have a great deal to lose should this madness continue."[/color]

It was true. Eresa had spent a small fortune investing in Ebb's various civic projects. Money, like any other drug, tended to addict those who enjoyed it. She knew there were plenty of officials who liked to skim a little off the top and oh how agreeable they became one there was any hint that their fix might be lost. Do things no moral person would consider. Greed truly was a marvelous thing to behold.

She would have continued to reminisce, but Aron's display was alarming to say the least. With each crunch she only imagine what it would be like if the man turned his hunger on her. It was a rare feeling these days, feeling threatened. 

---

As Eresa was trapped in a little bit of existential horror, Ghurst focused in on the task before them. As Levi arrived he absently motioned for her to come and join them as Ash recounted his efforts. Though Rhastulah disliked the man's theatrics, he could not argue with the results. He was even a little envious in fact.

Grabbing a small portion of the collected work, he set aside Ash's conjecture and instead focused on the the few facts they had.

[color=SteelBlue]"Who is in charge of the plumbing in Ebb? I see mention of some dwarves, but not much beyond that. I do have a theory and a proposition, however. My theory is based on something I've seen in the field a few times, the points where magic and the mundane meet are usually the weakest points in a mystery of this nature. Whatever is at work here is too consistently vague to not have some help in its progress or obscurity. If we can find a trace of mortal element, then we might have a way to peal the layers of this mystery."

"I believe that the weak point might be those dwarves I mentioned earlier. In interacting with the water, but not disappearing with it the pipes themselves represent that edge where we can find a weakness. At the very least a clue."

"This brings me to my proposal. We form two sub-teams. One follows the plan and delves into the depths below. I already volunteer for that. The other half remains up here to chase leads and eliminate lingering red herrings. I have a strong suspicion that the Ankou are a red herring. But I feel as if I can't be certain. There is also a bit of prudence in this plan as well. Should we suffer the fate of the last expidition, then we still have a few people capable of succeeding where we failed."[/color]