I.J. Answers Where Nick Does Not

The party finally turned the Nick Kremp mystery into a road they could follow. They decided to investigate the claim that Nick was alive and farming with I.J. and P.B. The important test came through magic. Elmyra's Message to Nick had produced strange interference, something like a dial-up signal or transaction noise instead of a clean answer. Jonah's Sending to I.J. worked normally. That difference mattered. I.J. said she and Nick were not home yet, but they would be there soon. She gave directions: past Root Barrel Farm, before the necromancer's hut, near a lake. The farm lead stopped being rumor and became a route with landmarks. Nick's status remained unresolved. But the pattern grew stranger. Magic aimed at Nick failed in a way that felt processed or interrupted. Magic aimed at I.J. landed cleanly. Whatever was wrong might not be around the whole farm, the whole group, or even the whole story. It might be specifically wrapped around Nick. The party had a path now. They also had a better reason to worry about what waited at the end of it.