"What?", Ted and Phil breathed out in disbelief.

Ted quickly and nervously tagged on before Bob could continue. "I've known her my whole life! Haha, there's absolutely no way that Karen's a necromancer."

Bob held up his blackened and decayed hands and looked him straight in the eye. "This is the result of necrotic mana coming into contact with living flesh. If I had held onto it for more than that brief moment, I would've permanently lost the use of my arms!"

Bob circulated life energy through his limbs. He was lucky that he had the aspect of life and fire. He could heal the damage that the necrotic mana had done without too much difficulty. Even though the life aspect was not his primary aspect, he was still decently proficient with it. 

"Uh, it's a little complicated, and I'd love to explain it…" Ted nervously jabbered.

Bob crossed his arms and stared at him. "Well, I'd love to hear it."

There were very few times that Ted was speechless in his life. Once was when he had his first kiss with Suzy Lu as a young aspiring bard. And, again, when he had a tragic accident that involved, a spoon, a party trick, and a pretty girl. The accident had nearly lost him the use of his tongue. 

He had to wait for his tongue to heal for a week. It was the worst week ever. For him. The rest of their small town, however, had enjoyed the brief silence. 

Yet, now he had found himself, once more, inexplicably speechless. He didn't know what to say at all. It was incredibly frustrating and even a little flabbergasting. He opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a bit of a strangled-

-"Uh…"

Bob rolled his eyes at Ted and turned to Phil. "Well... Do you have anything to say in her defense?"

Phil stood from his seat and towered over Bob. 

"Oh wow. He's a lot taller than I remember… I wonder how long it took him to get his arms that big. Oh gods, I hope he doesn't decide that I need to be silenced."

Phil leaned in real close and simply, and very slowly, stated. "Karen. Is. Not. A. Necromancer."

Bob intensely studied the ground. "C-close! Too close!"

"A-alright." He whispered. "I'll believe you."

"Good."

"But, um, I'm still going to have to report this to the church. I mean, her mana reserve is filled with necrotic mana. It's not… safe." Bob swallowed hard. "For her or for anyone really. Necromancy is incredibly dangerous. I can't help her. But the church... um, might be able to help her."

"That is… if they even try to help her. They might just kill her instead. Or, the mana might kill her instead. It's a miracle that she's even still alive with that inside of her." Bob thought to himself.

Phil sighed and leaned back, "Do what you have to do."

"Hey! Nuh-uh, no way!", Ted quickly interjected. He held up his fists, ready to fight for Karen's sake. "They'll send out an inquisition! We'll all be… be… well... it won't be good that's certain!"

Ted nodded aggressively and firmly. He definitely nailed their position on the matter. He could totally convince Bob to keep quiet about everything.

"Listen, if the necrotic mana persists inside of her, Karen will die. Probably sooner rather than later." Bob sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Honestly I don't even know how she is still alive if it truly isn't her aspect." Bob began to plead desperately. "Please, let me tell the church. They can help. I'll beg them to help. I don't want her death to be on my conscience."

Ted slowly lowered his fists. He could hear the conviction in Bob's voice. Bob truly only wanted to help her. Yet, the church was incredibly ruthless to necromancers. And, Ted simply didn't know if they would, or could, help her. 

Phil made the decision for them. He nodded in affirmation, "Tell them."

Bob let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank the gods, I was worried that you might kill me to keep this secret."

Phil raised an eyebrow. "Thought about it. Wouldn't end well."

"W-well, I promise that I'll do everything that I can to protect all of you. I'll get help. We'll save her!" Bob nervously and emphatically stated.

Phil nodded again and let Bob exit the room, "We trust you."

"I'll be back as soon as I can." Bob promised once again. He looked into Phil's eyes for a moment. He wanted to get lost in them. There was just something inexplicably attractive about them.

Bob forcefully pulled himself away. And, ran down the stairs, out the tavern, into the street, and off to the temple.

Ted watched Bob leave and punched Phil in the arm. "I hope you know what you're doing. The church might kill Karen."

Phil moved past Ted and began to throw their things into their various bags. 

"I know. We couldn't stop him. We'll have to be quick. We're going to run."

"W-what? But, can we even-"

"I'll carry Karen. We'll split the stuff between us. Head home. The people know us. The church may help us there."

"Woah, what? That's still like a week's journey from here. You heard Bob, she might not make it that long-"

"You want to stay here?" Phil raised an eyebrow. It wasn't a question.

"Well… no."

"Then, we'll have to be quick. It'll be dangerous. Less dangerous than here."

"What about Zephyra? We still don't know where she is."

"If we're lucky. The church will find her instead of us." Phil thought. He held his breath for a moment and answered carefully. "We'll get out now. Find her later."

"I don't know, Phil. It's all just happening so fast. And, I don't really feel comfortable leaving her alone-"

Phil impatiently tossed a half packed bag to Ted. "Pack now. Question later. Make no mistake, Karen is in danger."

Ted gaped like a beached fish for a minute. He reluctantly began to move and pack up their things. The urgency with which Phil worked and moved was contagious, and soon they had packed all of their belongings. 

As promised, Phil carefully and gently lifted Karen into his arms. Ted carried most of the bags. They had just managed to leave the Inn and Tavern by sunset. 

They hoped that it was soon enough.