Crimes Against Humanity

                                                       “She was ritualistically beaten”

Ariel Manx

The words just hung there as images of my mother and a lost year of time ran through my mind’s eye.  The home I had sacrificed so much for now rippled with haunts and half-hearted efforts to hold back the tide of evil by those that lived there every day.

“She was ritualistically beaten”

I woke up, eyes wide in stark terror, my last memories a failed attempt at saving her.  As I sat there in the dark I realized that I was as haunted as my city was. I had sacrificed a year and Talona had won while the locals claimed that Mystra was lost to us.  That little girl represented a lot to me but more importantly I now realized that those sick torturers that did such a thing to a child probably had more victims, other children not yet saved or under Verith’s protection. My only suspects were the faithful of Talona, a group called The Strangers, as well as the Iron Clergy the last two of which I only knew of because they were mentioned in a recently discovered message from Sabine Lafleur.  My suspects were wonderfully named but woefully unknown, I knew of no location to begin my search and my anger at their crimes was simmering.

“She was ritualistically beaten”

Anna Pimm

I had given Verith 30 gold towards the young girl’s upbringing and had spoken with Anna Pimm who was kindly teaching her to meditate.  Anna explained that the girl had some unique arcane talent and my heart immediately sank.  The enemy was hunting and they knew what to look for.  I feared that the talent she had is what made her a target.  I did not care that the locals claimed Mystra was gone, I prayed to my goddess.