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[sub][color=8E939E]✧     Location: Soft Haven Cemetery     ✧     Purse: 12 copper     ✧     [@Mcmolly] [@Scribe of Thoth]     ✧[/color][/sub][/center]
What little glimmer of hope Kyreth had that this was all just a disturbing misunderstanding was dashed when Lilann confirmed that the marks were not her doing. While she didn’t seem nearly as unsettled as he thought she should have been, to no surprise she did share his fear of being blamed. Every Tainted had an instinct like that; wherever they tread, accidents and misfortunes magically became their doing. 

[color=skyblue]“Bounty House, then? Before someone shows up with flowers for their nan and sees what's become of the place.”[/color]

[color=8E939E]“Y-yeah,”[/color] Kyreth nodded anxiously, peeling his eyes off the marks on the ground long enough to make sure he hadn’t left anything behind. He tried to smooth over one of the gouges with his foot as Lilann got her things together, but it was no use – the marks were too deep to be hidden by well-placed grass. He shuddered to think of how much work it would take to fill the gaps, and even then it would probably take weeks for the ground to settle properly. And that was to say nothing of the insult to the dead. Placing his hand over his pendant, Kyreth offered a near-silent prayer of apology to Selene for attracting the damage; she may not have been quite the right god to pray to on behalf of the dead, but the other gods probably wouldn’t accept a prayer from him anyway. 

He was jarred from his prayer by the sound of footsteps coming from the forest, although the culprit made no effort to hide his presence. Instead, Kyreth's heart jumped into his throat as the shieldbearing stranger pointed a well-loved-looking sword in their direction and leveled the same accusations Kyreth was afraid of – albeit in an unexpected way.

[color=8E939E]“Su—? N-no!”[/color] Kyreth quickly stammered, taking a reflexive step back. Summon— like, summon a demon? Kyreth knew the Tainted were associated with the unholy, but the idea that someone would think they’d called on unholy forces to vandalize hadn’t crossed his mind. He thought they’d assume they desecrated the graveyard by hand – not that that was much better, but at least it wasn’t as serious as communing with demons right outside the town walls!

[color=8E939E]“These were here when we woke up,”[/color] he insisted hurriedly, trying his best to keep the wavering pitch of his voice in check. [color=8E939E]“I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened but I’m sure I can— I don’t have much money, but I can probably…”[/color] 

Despite his efforts, Kyreth’s words got quieter until his voice died completely, the sentence hanging awkwardly in the air as he realized how hopeless the situation was turning out to be. He highly doubted this guard – or ranger, or whatever he was, touting a shield around like that – would believe him, and he was sure Soft Haven would rather hang him from the wall and leave the graveyard in shambles than allow him to repair the damage. His panic was replaced with sour regret as his pupil-less eyes fell to the ruined ground, Kyreth cursing himself and whatever foul curse of bad providence hung over him. Dammit! The bruises he got in Straithmoor hadn’t even fully healed yet, and already his chance at a new start was gone! Had he really sinned so badly that he was [i]still[/i] being punished?