As all amusing things, the brawl ends way too soon. As it turns out, I don't really need to do much more beyond swinging the hammer. Maybe setting a thing or two on fire as well. Hysterical Jenkins aside, the whole group of cadets performs quite well, keeping their distance, using fire and occasional earth to corral the ghouls in and exterminate them one by one. A few particularly aggressive specimens did manage to get close but were cut down by the sword-wielders before they could do anything more than snarl. I am rather enthused to see they have no compunctions about hamstringing the ghouls. That's nice, I was somewhat worried the more "noble" of them would balk at "dishonest" fighting. Now to deal with Jenkins.

I am thankfully preempted by Malachi conjuring a stream of water to hose the unfortunate bugger off. Unlike me, Jenkins does not seem to be up for pushing the filth off with magic. Actually, he does not seem to be up to anything at all. Wonder why... Oh, if his hysterical gibbering is of any indication, he is under impression that contact with "heartblood" will definitely ghoulify him. After he is rinsed off and shocked by the coldness of water into silence, I am finally able to clue him in.

"Blood is not infectious. Not unless you drink it by the glass or manage to somehow pour a good deal of it into your own veins. And even then, the most likely outcome would be just a long bout of fever. In order to cause ghoulification, a piece of the headgrowth is required, and you have to have it shoved down your throat too. Or into a wound, I suppose." - I explain - "The whole thing is remarkably independent of magic, it's just nature going the wrong way. Or the right way. Depending on where you are headed."

Jenkins does not seem to be entirely persuaded. In the end, Malachi sends off two cadets to escort Jenkins to Parsee post-haste. I offered to teleport him, but for some reason, Leeroy had gone into panic once again and had to be reassured that no more intervention from my side would be given.

"...So then, how do they propagate in such numbers? This whole situation seems rather suspicious." - Malachi muses.

"In such, they should not be." - I agree with him - "As far as I can tell, the way things usually shake out makes them pack hunters. A group of five-eight ghouls roams together and upon seeing something of suitable size, they dogpile on it, wrestle it down and one of them shoves a piece of headgrowth into the victim's mouth."

Malachi's lips thin as he mulls this over. "Damnation. It seems that someone got their hands on something they should not have." - he mutters - "Blast it all, I thought we burned all the Wessker's manuscripts decades ago!"

"...Who's manuscripts?" - I echo, struck with very unpleasant premonition.

"Albrecht Wessker. He was before my time, but his manuscripts still crop up every now and then." - Malachi mutters grimly - "We do not know if the man was the reason ghouls exist or simply fascinated by them, but he is well known for his obsession with the creatures and attempts to make them controllable. Thankfully, Inquisition did put a firm stop to his experiments when he began to abduct villagers to turn them. Still, he managed to create a large number of ghoul deer and ghoul dogs, and despite our best efforts, we've yet to exterminate this plague entirely."

He looks around, gesturing towards the cadets who are using a mix of magic, sticks and protective clothing to haul all the ghoul bodies into the center of the glade, presumably to burn. "And these things happening do NOT improve our situation in the slightest." - he grouses - "Because every now and then, some particularly foolhardy moron would stumble upon a copy of that foul man's notes, make their own or two and then go forth and infect a whole lot of creatures or people in a bid to finish the damn work. It is as if the words themselves are cursed to make the people reading them into monstrous cretins bent on spreading this foulness."

"So... Who's the likely suspect for this outbreak?" - I query. The name dropped was very alarming, but given the timescale, I can tentatively believe the man is really dead. If it was more recent, though... Yeah, well. I'd be gone hunting for the bastard, then. Him or his grave, whichever. Malachi harrumphs and instead of answering, orders everyone to gather up.

"Corpses are all piled? Yes? Good. You lot, fetch the firewood. The rest of you, doublecheck the area and clean everything up. Once we are done burning this, we are going back to Parsee." - he orders. Then he turns to me and continues in a lower voice - "I already have people in place watching the man. We suspected foul play from the very beginning, which is why I'm here with a throng of cadets instead of sending in experienced knights. But our initial assumption was that he was simply negligent and failed to report the appearance of ghouls until things got that bad. What we've seen here suggests there might be more at play than simple negligence. I would really prefer you do not involve yourself in the situation further, the man in question is one of your vocal critics and he will become alarmed if you crop up all of a sudden. I'd rather arrest him in his own house, rather than give chase or siege him out of whatever hideout he had surely prepared."

"Fair enough." - I agree. It is really not my problem, now is it? I'm sure Malachi will contact me if it so happens my assistance is required after all. I dismiss the armor and the hammer and shrink down to my usual humane appearance, reverting the clothes to dress in the process - "Well then, I'll just ask for your advice as I said initially and I'll be on my way afterward. What can you tell me about an alchemist who goes by the moniker of "Tremper"? I am already aware they sell poisons and are not really concerned about the legalities of using what they sell."

Malachi rubs his face tiredly. "Tremper?" - he repeats - "Yeah, I know about that one. Her real name is Elsa Magrit and she can be usually found in Verdan. Not affiliated with any specific patron, as far as I can tell, just an unscrupulous alchemist for hire. I do believe she has connections to the criminals in Verdan and whereabouts, but she is cautious enough to never do anything actually illegal in front of witnesses."

"I see. So if she made the poison someone tried to slip to my maid, then it's simply because someone paid her for it, not because there is someone else pulling the strings?" - I inquire.

"What? Oh dear. Is your maid alright?" - he asked with clear worry - "Tremper's poisons are generally known to be nasty."

"Ah." - I chuckle - "I should clarify. Someone thought I'm bedding Bridgit by force and therefore she would be a willing accomplice to poison me. It goes without saying she reported the whole thing right back to me. Unfortunately, the fellow who gave her the thing managed to disappear before I could chase him down for some poignant questions, so all I have is what he said to Bridgit. And it is a sob story about revenge for a village I have supposedly burned on a whim. While I was eight years old, even."

Malachi snorts - "Yes, I remember that story. Your father was livid about the whole thing. Still, I have thought that the villagers in question had been properly remonstrated back then? And duly impressed with the mercy shown, considering your father was well within his rights to put the whole village to the sword for such an offense."

I shrug. "I guess someone didn't get the full story. Or elected to believe differently. People tend to believe all manner of weird things, I have found out." - I agree - "Well, unless you do have some idea who might have introduced our hapless avenger to Tremper, I guess this is the end of this investigation."

Malachi purses his lips. "Hard to say." - he then offers - "Tremper is known of by many people, from gutters to manors, so... No real way to narrow it down if someone recommended her and if so, who."

___

The investigation, such as it was, being wrapped up to my satisfaction, I retreat to the estate to spend the evening with my harem. Orrr, rather, I begin by breaking the beds down and reassembling them into one big lair much reminiscent of what I built in the Academy and flump on it gracelessly as soon as it is done. And this is how Roxolane finds me, face-down on the bed.

"Alyssa?... Eeep!" - she shakes my shoulder and yelps as I turn around, grab her in a hug and roll back on the bed, now holding her.

"Tiiiired." - I murmur, and she giggles.

"I should get everyone if you're in a lazy mood." - she proffers. I respond by hugging her tighter for a few moments, then let go with a grumble. A few minutes later, all of my wives are within arm's reach. Lily-Anne is still a little under weather but objected vociferously when I suggested she should stay in a separate bed and rest. According to her, hugs are the best cure. And so, I am hugging them all now.

"Is everyone in favor of staying in bed until tomorrow?" - I venture lazily after a while, feeling satisfied. Since Lily-Anne was unwell and Bridgit had a bad shock, they end up being shuffled next to me on both sides, with Roxolane and Moon-Unit spooning them, respectively. I surreptitiously stretch my arms to be long enough to hug them all at once, of course. They notice and riff me about it. It is nice. Low-key relaxing nice. Sometimes, you just have to take some time off for cuddles.