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"Interesting ..." he states, watching the girls reaction (or lack thereof) to his treatment. He studies her patiently for a moment longer before standing back up and turning back to the woman.

Deciding to gamble, he states:

"Listen carefully now ... and this is very important; as your answer could mean the difference in this girl's survival. I believe I can help, but if you lie to me, and I proceed based on a false answer, then the consequences for this child will be lethal. Do you understand?"

Waiting for the woman's acknowledgement, he studies her reaction carefully while asking "Did the child touch the orb?"

- Jeremy/Darl

The woman, with a confused look on her face, says "I'm not sure what 'orb' you're speaking of, but as far as I know she has done no such thing."

Glancing over at the other woman, Darl notices that the other woman is having a mental argument with herself before she finally speaks. Her tone is small and sheepish and she looks at the first woman as she says. "John had something round in his pack. He never took it out, but I could tell by the shape of the pack that it was something odd. When I asked him about it he told me it wasn't any of my business." Turning to Darl she says with a little bit more confidence "Do you think he did something to her?"

"John had something round in his pack. He never took it out, but I could tell by the shape of the pack that it was something odd. When I asked him about it he told me it wasn't any of my business." Turning to Darl she says with a little bit more confidence "Do you think he did something to her?"

Darl nods slightly ... but it is more a nod of thanks for her honesty than an answer to her question.

"I'm not suggesting that he might have done anything to her intentionally ... but if this is indeed what I fear, then the curse will intensify if she is kept away from John and the orb for too long."

"I can attempt to reverse the spell ... but doing so requires the orb's presence, and could risk triggering the curse again if the girl wasn't already under it's influence."

Darl takes a long, hard look at the young child. "I've bought her some time ... but the symptoms will worsen the longer she is away from it. Do you expect John back anytime soon?"

The woman looks very troubled now and only her strong will is keeping her from crying. The tip of the sword she was brandishing now rests on the ground. "I...I don't anything about this orb. I never saw it."

The other woman speaks when the first woman's voice trails off. "I don't think they're coming back. I heard them whispering that we were slowing them down too much."

The more Darl talks to the women, the more they seem to start trusting him. Helping the girl seems to have made a big difference in their trust.

Darl turns his head towards the other woman. "Hmmm ... that sounds a bit worrisome. Perhaps the orb is already affecting them more than I expected, if they were willing to leave you behind, unprotected, alone with a sick child. I assume that you know these men well ... forgive the question, but would you say that this behaviour is, well ... out of character?"

After hearing their response, he continues to probe for more information. "So, if we don't think they are coming back, then perhaps I can catch up to them ... if you happen to know where they were headed. Did they say where they were going? How long ago did they leave?"

Darl takes a break from his queries for a moment to try and comfort the first woman. "Don't be afraid," he consoles ... "It may take a bit of work, but we can help her. I'll do everything in my power to make sure of that."

He continues to talk to the women for a short period of time, in an attempt to gain more information about the men ... names, physical descriptions, any potential pictures or identifying features, and any aliases or nicknames they might go by. He also fishes for information on anything they might have said which would provide a hint about their destination, and what it was that they were doing which would drive them to the extreme measure of abandoning the women and children and continue on alone. To help console them, he'll play off the suggestion that the men would not have done this on their own, and their poor judgement is due to their proximity to the orb itself; assuring them that they should not feel abandoned or otherwise fault the men for their actions ... as things will be back to 'normal' once he helps to sort things out.

Once he has discovered all that he feels he is going to, he'll suggest to the women that they should perhaps return to the road and continue on towards the city, as it would be much safer than staying out here alone. "I have some friends passing by this way about a day behind me ... A man on a horse, a unusually attractive female, an Apok, and a somewhat aggresive individual with a loud mouth which is a little quick to insult ... Gerard, Anastasia, Jordan, and Daniel are their names. Despite their somewhat rough look, they have good hearts ... if they catch up to you on the road, they can be trusted. Tell them that I went ahead to track down the orb so that we can heal this child, and that they should provide an escort to make sure you safely reach town."

"Once I have tracked down your companions, I will meet you there, so that I can attempt ot reverse the orb's effects and help restore your child to her former self."

Darl turns his head towards the other woman. "Hmmm ... that sounds a bit worrisome. Perhaps the orb is already affecting them more than I expected, if they were willing to leave you behind, unprotected, alone with a sick child. I assume that you know these men well ... forgive the question, but would you say that this behaviour is, well ... out of character?"

"We knew them, not well, but we saw John all the time working at the church and he was always nice enough. When he offered to help us get to Chisel Town I thought my prayers had been answered." The woman responds. "The only thing unusual about his behavior was his insistence that we leave in the morning two days ago. He said to be ready before dawn and he would come by and get us. I tried to tell him that was very early for the children, but he insisted."

Darl continues to question the women. "So, if we don't think they are coming back, then perhaps I can catch up to them ... if you happen to know where they were headed. Did they say where they were going? How long ago did they leave?"

"They left while we were asleep." The other woman chimes in helpfully as she comes closer to the wagon. "I don't know exactly when, but the sun had not yet started to lighten the sky."

Darl takes a break from his queries for a moment to try and comfort the first woman. "Don't be afraid," he consoles ... "It may take a bit of work, but we can help her. I'll do everything in my power to make sure of that."

"Thank you." The woman says, somewhat relieved that help is possibly on the way.

Darl probes the pair for more information and finds that the description pretty well matches the one that Gerard gave. John is tall, skinny man and was last seen wearing a worn brown cloak with a singed sleeve. His hands are permanently ink stained from whatever work he did at the church. Some sort of scribe.

The other man, Harvey, is shorter and a bit heavy. The pair of women don't really know much about Harvey other than he's John's friend. Harvey typically worked in the kitchen at the church as well as other menial tasks. He is shy and seems almost a little slow witted.

When Darl presses them farther, they deny having any knowledge about where the two men might have been headed. As far as the women know, the men were headed for Chisel Town as well.

Now that he has discovered all that he feels he is going to, Darl suggests to the women that they should perhaps return to the road and continue on towards the city, as it would be much safer than staying out here alone. "I have some friends passing by this way about a day behind me ... A man on a horse, a unusually attractive female, an Apok, and a somewhat aggresive individual with a loud mouth which is a little quick to insult ... Gerard, Anastasia, Jordan, and Daniel are their names. Despite their somewhat rough look, they have good hearts ... if they catch up to you on the road, they can be trusted. Tell them that I went ahead to track down the orb so that we can heal this child, and that they should provide an escort to make sure you safely reach town."

"Once I have tracked down your companions, I will meet you there, so that I can attempt ot reverse the orb's effects and help restore your child to her former self."

"Thank you very much."

"Yes, thank you. If you can help my daughter we are forever in your debt."

Preparing to leave, Darl stops to ask one last question. "You said they left while you were asleep ... can you help narrow down when that might have been? When did you turn in for the night ... was it long after dark, or early in the evening?"

Getting his response, and knowing he is probably somewhere between two and twelve hours behind the men he is seeking, he heads back towards the road ... opting to cut diagonally cross-country instead of returning directly via the wagon tracks, to try and shave just a few extra minutes off of the men's lead. Upon reaching the road again, he will continue on his way to town with a renewed vigor; knowing now that he is on the right track.

Preparing to leave, Darl stops to ask one last question. "You said they left while you were asleep ... can you help narrow down when that might have been? When did you turn in for the night ... was it long after dark, or early in the evening?"

The two women look at each other and consult briefly before they respond. "It must have been sometime between past mid night but before dawn. That's the last time either of us got up to check on the children."

Getting his response, and knowing he is probably somewhere between two and twelve hours behind the men he is seeking, he heads back towards the road ... opting to cut diagonally cross-country instead of returning directly via the wagon tracks, to try and shave just a few extra minutes off of the men's lead. Upon reaching the road again, he continues on his way to town with a renewed vigor; knowing now that he is on the right track.

Darl can no longer be sure if the his two quarry stayed to the path or chose a different route since any footsteps they may have left blend in with the dozens or hundreds of fleeing townsfolk that have also come this way.

It is mid day and the sun is bright and warm once again and even with his above average physical endurance, the grueling pace he has set and the many miles he's traveled since he last rested are beginning to take their toll. Darl can feel the muscles of his legs just beginning to grow weary.

Darl sits for just a moment, rubbing his legs as he takes a small break from the march.

"Well, on the plus side," he states to himself, "If you're tired, then you know that they are as well."

Laying back on his backpack, he looks up at the bright sun above. Studying it a moment, this gives him the motivation he needs to press on. "After all ... if the shade knows who has the orb, you know it'll be travelling this way as well. And since it's not likely to enjoy the light, every step you take in the sunshine puts you one more step closer in the race."

In his heart, he knows it's a race ... From what he saw in his visions, there was no chance that two humans would be able to stand up to the power that shade demonstrated. If he could only manage to find them in the next 6 hours or so, before night fell ... then he might have a chance to recover the orb before it was too late.

Standing back up, and secretly hoping that his quarry would take time for a multi-hour lunch break, he presses on ... but now, keeping a much sharper eye out for any 'food' which he might happen across; as well as the opportunity to borrow a horse or grab a ride with a passing vehicle.

It appears that the hours of head start that John and Harvey had may be too much for even Darl to overcome. As he nears Chisel Town he starts encountering people on the road heading in or out; going about there business. Most are on foot, but the occasional ATV or horse (either type occasionally pulling some sort of wagon) cross his path as well. Evening is quickly approaching and Darl estimates that he has another three or four hours before he reaches Chisel Town. The roads to this point have been uninteresting. Darl gains on and passes the occasional refugee group leaving Newhome and heading for Chisel Town. None match the description of John and Harvey although he does come upon one group that saw them a few hours before. Darl is definitely gaining on them, but their determination will likely see them into Chisel Town tonight. They are possibly already there.