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From WikiWatch

The Curse of the Ruby Necklace

By Ysandre

Ysandre sat before the fire in hers and Malise's well appointed home in Neriak. She sipped at her wine thoughtfully and was unusually quiet.

"What's on your mind knight?" Malise looked over from her desk where she was catching up on some long overdue correspondence.

The words brought Ysandre out of her reverie "Huh? Oh... I was thinking about the curse on Biannca from Truewatch."

"Ha!" Malise snorted "A foolish rat. Love is its own curse; she should simply not marry Buce. They would only breed and a few less Ratonga in this world is no bad thing."

Ysandre smiled but remained thoughtful "It's an interesting puzzle though don't you think? I had an idea or two, but... Oh I don't know, you know I'm not the scholarly type."

Malise put down her pen and looked over at the young Teir' Dal "Ok fine. I know you won't let this go. Tell me your idea." Ysandre stood up and walked over to one of the many bookshelves in the study. She picked up a few volumes and brought them to Malise.

"Remember these? We picked them up in Nektropos castle. They spoke of the Everling family and its curse. This one is quite pertinent I think. Look here..." She opened the book and searched for the right page. "He speaks of cursed trinkets and of lost loves. It made me wonder if any of those trinkets could have been left behind in the castle. I bet Briarthorn has been there, most adventurers do in search of the Everling fortune. What if she found something?"

Malise nodded slowly, her interest piquing "Hmmm, possibly. Halflings are as much pack rats as the Ratonga. She probably doesn't even know she has it. They like picking up pretty things. Remember that fool who tried to rob me of my bracelet?"

Ysandre laughed "He won't be trying that again in a hurry."

"Quite." Malise flicked through the book while Ysandre continued her theory "Now, we know that Rikantus the original master of the castle was trying to get to Ethernere to save his daughters, but I think here..." She picked up another book. "He writes it was somewhere else, with horned demons. I think he went to the void. You know, where those strange shadow men come from. We have seen those sorts of demons."

"Possible... possible" Malise nodded her head. "I think I see where you are going with this. Those walls we saw in the Obelisk. Describing how the shadowmen use their hosts"

"Yes!" Ysandre interjected "Precisely."

"So you think Biannca might be a shadowed man?" Malise looked unsure.

"No... No I don't think so." Ysandre shook her head... "Wait... Look at this" she passed over a book of rhyme "It mentions a Halfling."

Malise laughed "It's a children's book Ysandre. I doubt it refers to Biannca!"

Ysandre smiled "Maybe not, but I wonder... If Biannca picked up a trinket that perhaps Rikantus was wearing when he made his journey to the void, perhaps it made some sort of link somehow? I mean, the shadowmen need to know how to locate their hosts right? Perhaps there is someway through, oh I don't know blood or being close to someone so they can track them. So if Biannca had this trinket, perhaps she has made herself and her family visible to those in the void."

Malise nodded "You are doing an awful lot of supposition here knight but so far I would say it's at least possible."

Ysandre continued "Sooo, the shadowmen wouldn't want to lose that link, but I bet they would love to use it to get further host bodies. By that I mean they wouldn't want to destroy Biannca or any of her family but it would be a perfect way to ensnare others 'through' them." She thought for a moment "I suppose husbands and wives are a good target. They would often be with the family member and could be infected at night while the link slept unaware, or perhaps even taken back into the void to provide food for the beasts who reside there!"

Ysandre stood up triumphantly "The family member would wake in the morning and find their partner disappeared! It fits!!" She began to pace the room excitedly and spouted off more possible theories related to the void and the shadowed men.

"Stop right there." The commanding voice of the inquisitor made Ysandre stop dead and look up. Her eyes were feverish with excitement.

Malise poured herself a glass of wine before continuing "If... and it's a big if you are right, or even partially right, how would the family break the curse?"

This question made Ysandre's shoulders slump "I... I don't know. That is, evening finding the trinket and destroying it might not help as the link is across the family, the shadowmen may already have the scent and now the item isn't needed any more. We need more information. Rikantus Everling resides in the Commonlands still yes? Perhaps the scholars of Truewatch could question him. It might at least see if my theory holds water."

The knight sat at Malise's desk and picked up her inks and fresh paper. She began to write her theory down. She looked up after a few moments at the cleric who was stood next to her with a hint of a smile on her face “You really are a sucker for a sob story Ysandre.”

She smiled and finished her letter, marking the envelope for Uxians attention. As she sealed it she looked up at Malise “I wouldn’t want to be the poor soul looking through a halflings collection of trinkets for this one. It could take months!”