The Meeting

LEGATE AVRAMO

Yesterday evening, after supper, we received a troubling message from Mandatar Petrilla Cerniu, who is Dileniu’s Delegate to the town council of Cosutanu which lies some 300 km to the Southwest along the Prulme, on the border with Bulostioi.

She reports of an outbreak of Black Rot, which has infected numerous individuals, and is now spreading among their small population. She claims - though this I greatly doubt - that the disease is caused by a ghost which apparently attacked and killed a prominent citizen several nights ago.

TREASURER GOLIGU

Prominent citizen indeed. The young woman murdered by this ghost was Gavriela Nectria, eldest daughter of the prominent Nectria family, long of Cosutanu. The poor domnisoara had been working at the Bank in Bulostioi these past few years, having recently returned to her home village to take over administration of the offices there. Terrible tragedy.

LEGATE AVRAMO

May our Mother Vehira watch over her soul.

LEGATE AVRAMO (cont’d)

Alas, hers is not the only soul we are concerned about here, as the Mandatar’s message goes on to report that seven individuals in four different families are now known to be infected. All are currently quarantined into their homes, but the efforts of our Disciple there have been insufficient to cure the disease. Should any of the infected succumb and become ghouls, the problems there will escalate rapidly. Major?

MAJOR BRAELU

We have ordered the roads, the bridge, and the docks in the village closed. No one is to leave or enter. With the village quarantined, our hope is that even if the infection spreads, it will be contained to the village itself for the immediate future.

LEGATE AVRAMO

With these preliminary steps taken to contain the disease, the next step is to cure it, and to eliminate any lingering threat. That is why you have all been summoned. You are to depart immediately by horseback for Cosutanu. Upon arrival, you will meet with the town council, assess the situation, cure the sick, and purge the environment of disease. You will investigate the ghost, and if it - or any other undead may be present to transmit Black Rot, you must hunt them down and eliminate them.

MAJOR BRAELU

Horses have been prepared and equipped along with additional potions and scrolls to aid in your work. We will expect you to ride 60 km each day - which will be strenuous. Along the route, you will pass through Mirel, Brokewheel, Dumalc, and Garagalo. Messages will be waiting for you at each of these villages with updates, and we have arranged for fresh horses to be made available for you at the halfway mark, in Dumalc. If you leave now, and you can keep the pace, you should arrive at Cosutanu by nightfall on 22 Trowel.

LEGATE AVRAMO

Now, there remain several additional, but lesser, considerations relevant to the organizations represented here, so unless you have questions, I suggest we break up to discuss those specifics as quickly as possible.

MAJOR BRAELU

Cosutanu’s town guard is provided by contract with the Order of the Flaming Sword in Bulostioi. They are a complement of a Corporal, three Lancers, and six Soldati. Additionally, because Cosutanu lies on the border with Bulostioi, there is a customs post there, operated by the Steel Key Company. Their contingent of five have been seconded to the town guard by order of the council. Even so, such a small complement could be overtaken if the Black Rot transforms too many into ghouls.

By the Grace of Vehira, a group of seven Order Soldati are currently only a day’s ride from Cosutanu, en route to Bulostioi. We have dispatched a message ordering them to head for Cosutanu immediately to reinforce the guard there. Assuming they receive their orders, they should arrive in Cosutanu tomorrow.

When you reach the village you will need to get a full security briefing from the Corporal, Caliban Nectria, who I understand is the brother of Gavriela Nectria, the victim taken by the ghost. While you nominally hold the same rank as he, the town guard will remain under his command. Your mission is to cure the Black Rot and eliminate the undead, his is to maintain the quarantine until you are done. You are not to commandeer his troops away from this duty.

MAGISTER ARFILI

I haven’t much to add, I’m afraid. It was determined that the group recommended for this mission would benefit from magical support. I felt that given your expertise and availability, you were an excellent option. You are to assist with the curing of the disease, the elimination of any undead, and with any investigation into this matter with the ghost.

TREASURER GOLIGU

It is great pleasure to meet you Onorobilu. I have worked with your father on a number of matters over the years, and have heard you are following well in his footsteps. This is a blessing for the Grain Bank.

Now, as I said, Gavriela Nectria, the woman slain by this ghost, was a member of our organization - something of a rising star in fact. Her death is a sad blow, and it is important that you present yourself and your condolences, as well as those of the Grain Bank of Bulostioi itself to her family.

But there is more. Given her rank in the organization, there was a compensatory policy in place on her life. Awkwardly, the paperwork for this policy had not yet been completed at the time of her death - technically voiding it. My superiors have wisely decided to pay this policy regardless - in furtherance of the goodwill. You are to deliver this news, and to have the family agree to receive the sum in this context by signing and sealing some papers, at which point you may hand over the financial instrument. Understood?

TREASURER GOLIGU

There is one other task the Bank has for you in Cosutanu. Prior to naming the poor Nectria woman into the position as Assessor in Cosutanu, the Bank was also considering Iordan Mitriu as a candidate for the position. Iordan is son to the quite respectable Mitriu family also of Cosutanu - indeed his mother Daciana who is member to the Council there has been very active in promoting him for the role. With the tragic loss, Iordan is now the most obvious, or at least expedient, candidate for her replacement. Thus, after you have concluded our business with the Nectria family, we would need you to go to speak with Iordan, gain a sense for his continued interest and capacities, and report back. We would not be looking to reach a conclusion at this time - it is an exploratory conversation only for now - unless of course you feel after speaking with him that we should expedite matters. You will let us know about this. Yes?