Ulric: It is not difficult to squeeze tales and rumours from the mouths of the locals, and travelers too are generally willing to share their news as well. A foreign merchant, who claims to come from the city of Jym'dul, in the desert region far to the east, spins strange tales of walking dead and ravenous monsters, and of frequent tremors which shift and stir the sands unnaturally, supposedly revealing old ruins and preserved corpses. Another man, a local farmer, speaks of "bad water" from his well lately, and of an unusually bloated, but bitter and unwholesome, crop the past season. Sickness seems to have been somewhat more common in the region this past year than is normal, and supposedly the man wasn't the only one to have had an unusual harvest...<br/>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br/><br/>An observant eye might notice several men, walking briskly from out of an alleyway and shifting through the small crowd which still remained, moving to the patio of a nearby tavern. There is a faint, deathly reek on the air as they pass.<br/><br/>[To anyone who makes any attempt to watch them and makes a DC 10 Spot check]:<br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body">The three figures have a strange, hunched posture, but move with great speed and fluidity. They wear large, hooded cloaks which conceal all detail, but for the dark leathers they seems to wear beneath. At the patio, a tavern keeper is diligently wiping down one of his tables, having few customers at the moment. The hunched figures approach him, one of them producing something from his cloak, and he looks up, quickly taking the object and pocketing it. The four of them seem to engage in hurried, hushed conversation for a moment, with the tavern keeper seeming to do most of the talking.<br/><br/>[It is a bit difficult to make out any individual conversations over the music and the general drone of the people around, but anyone making an effort to get closer and listen in can attempt a DC 15 listen check to eavesdrop on them.]</div></div>