Chapter #1a: In Need of a Sanctuary (Liseth, Kerr)
Father Zantus’ careworn face grew more and more concerned as Liseth talked. “Poor Habe,” the prelate said, shaking his head. “The man is far from religious, but his heart has always seemed to be in the right place. He really does seem to care about the mentally ill, even if his social skills can be someone lacking.”
“By Desna!” He exclaimed as Liseth went on. “You were paralyzed? By a patient who turned into a ghoul? I’d heard reports of the man, but I never thought . . . yes, yes,” Father Zantus looked even more worried than before. “Ghoul fever it what it is called. And it is a real concern if you’ve been bitten.” He turned, beckoning them towards one of the Cathedral’s healing rooms. “Come. We will need to take a look at it.”
The healing room was small and spare, but fit three people comfortably. Two small chairs sat in the corner, facing a medium-sized, cloth-draped table and a row of closed cabinets lining the back wall. Father Zantus led Liseth to sit on the table while motioning Kerr to take a seat.
“Where were you bitten, Liseth?” The young acolyte pulled down the neck of her garment to reveal the fading marks of Grayst’s teeth on her shoulder. Both Kerr and Father Zantus experienced an involuntary intake of breath—the injury was gone, but the area where the teeth had punctured her was now an angry mishmash of purplish-green discoloration.
“I think you were right to come to me exactly when you did, child,” Father Zantus moved back to the cabinets, opened one, and extracted a small vial. “You have been infected. But,” he held up a hand at Liseth’s frightened look, “do not worry.” He patted her arm paternally. “We caught it early enough that it should not be any problem at all.”
“Here,” he proferred her the vial, “take this. It should remove all traces of the disease from your system. But,” the cleric looked from her to Kerr, “how was this man infected? Ghoul fever is generally passed on by ghouls. He must have been attacked by a ghoul, then. But where? And how many of them are there?” His brow furrowed. “I would very much like to see these notes you found. It sounds as if we might be in the midst of an outbreak. And I don’t have to tell you how bad it would be if we are.”