Evan Recognizes Dhaz

The second roadside stop looked like another strange merchant problem until it recognized the party first. Sister Whiskers and Evan Pistachio offered cursed Krampus-tinged wares, the kind of road inventory that sits somewhere between joke, threat, and bad idea. The party had already dealt with Thorn's false acid-resistance pitch, so suspicion came easily. Then Evan saw Dhaz. Recognition changed the encounter. Evan did not react like a merchant spotting a customer. He reacted like someone seeing an old experiment walk out of a past he had been trying to outrun. Dhaz Pelosh was not only Dhaz to him. Dhaz was Lawful-linked, Stormcall-linked, tied to the old alchemy-school experiment class and whatever had happened to that group. Evan panicked. He tried to flee before the party could turn recognition into custody or questions. Morgan stopped him the way Morgan stops problems: badly for the person running. Evan was blinded, bolted anyway, and ran into a tree. The comedy of the impact did not erase the fear underneath it. Evan was altered, frightened, and desperate to avoid Lawful attention. Sister Whiskers escaped by Dimension Door, leaving behind more questions than answers, and Morgan kept Evan's electric staff. The road to Aleklot's Rest had found its first old Stormcall survivor thread.