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[h2][color=darkorchid][i][b]Victoria Belmont[/b][/i][/color][/h2][i][b][color=9932cc]Half-Elf, Bard, Level 5[/color][/b][/i]
[color=9932cc][i][b]HP:[/b][/i][/color] 33 / 33	[color=9932cc][i][b]Armor Class:[/b][/i][/color] 16	[color=9932cc][i][b]Conditions:[/b][/i][/color] N/A
[color=9932cc][i][b]Location:[/b][/i][/color] Rose River Vineyard (Main Thoroughfare)
[color=9932cc][i][b]Action:[/b][/i][/color] Casting [i](Speak With Dead)[/i], Skill Check [i]([s]Arcana[/s])[/i]
[color=9932cc][i][b]Bonus Action:[/b][/i][/color] [i][color=dimgray]Familiar Stuff[/color][/i]
[color=9932cc][i][b]Reaction:[/b][/i][/color] N/A
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[right][img]https://i.ibb.co/84xS62pB/Victoria-Alt-7-ss.png[/img][/right]
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	And Victoria thought that [i]she[/i] had a flair for the dramatic. Commanding an Unseen Servant to retrieve the head, thus giving the poor bastard's corpse the even ghastlier appearance of a floating, detached skull, just in time for the Lady of the Estate and her teenage niece to arrive, was a touch of drama from Kosara that Victoria herself might have stopped prior to. The thought occurred that, all things being equal, it was likely as not that her more Infernal/Celestial associate didn't want to lay hands upon the not-quite-sanitary and particularly defiled remains of Master of the Harvest Toombes. This made as much sense as Kosara acting [i]extra[/i]. Still, it was a good idea to reassure Cecily and Lizbeth that this display was not a continuation of whatever had concluded earlier, whatever that was precisely. [color=9932cc]"That was a good idea, Kosara, levitating the skull. Quite inventive! And it's not like we knew to bring aprons."[/color] The Bard made a show of gesturing at their new, more luxurious articles of clothing. 

	And naturally, it just wouldn't be an interaction with Lizbeth unless questions were raised. In this instance, Victoria's formal study of Arcana again did not bear the fruit she might have preferred as she looked upon the girl with curiosity and concern. Something was a little off about Lizbeth, even if she appeared to be doing her best in a bad situation. Victoria filed away whatever suspicion she might have had away for the time being, as much more pressing issues were at hand. 

	Speaking to those issues, there was this floating skull that demanded her attention. Keeping to Baronfjord's suggestion to bend her abilities toward the remains, the Bard was reminded of the first words she said after emerging from the Hayloft back in the Township, [color=9932cc][i]"I can speak to the dead."[/i][/color] And while this was true, it was the most taxing spell she could personally manifest, and there were a number of caveats present. Now aloud, she addressed the Monk: [color=9932cc]"I shall attempt to ask Mr. Toombes. But this isn't a quaint conversation over tea. I have five questions I can ask, only over the next few minutes. I cannot bring the soul of the deceased back; this is a barely animating force that divines knowledge held by the former occupant of the remains. He cannot learn new things. He cannot come to conclusions about things that he did not come to before death. And he will not know anything that happened since the point of his death - including the time spent in undeath. It is beyond the scope of this magic. And finally, once I do this, I cannot attempt with this corpse again for ten days."[/color]

	Victoria took in a lungful of chill air and blew it out, then spoke, [color=9932cc]"Let us begin."[/color] The skull now had the young Half-Elf's attention as she drew two halves of a flute made of bone - possibly humanoid from the look of it - from a pouch on her belt near where she ordinarily hung her sword. She inserted one piece where it narrowed into the other, and twisted it until it made a soft clicking sound. Now armed with a simple but effective musical instrument through which to channel her magic instead of the usually required material components of the spell, Victoria put it to her lips and blew four clear notes. One could hear them repeated on the wind, seeming to echo into the ether around them. Victoria's eyes darkened, her face taking on coloration resembling black tears running down her cheeks in delta-like rivulets. She was certainly channeling Necromancy, and while she might have been able to suppress this outward expression, there was no logical point in doing so. Everyone here knew what she was. 

	To begin with, nothing happened. Not for the first second or two. Then suddenly, the corpse stirred slightly and the skull came to some semblance of life. Tiny pits of energy glowed with only the intensity of a bioluminescent insect or single phosphorescent fungus, and its mandible moved slightly - just enough to give the base appearance of speech. Victoria wasted no time, immediately asking questions they had given some consideration to earlier. [color=9932cc]"Do you know anything about the supernatural powers over the land, Mr. Toombes?"[/color]  

	[color=dimgray][i]"...stories from childhood told to make us behave, make us stick together on the moors..."[/i][/color] His voice, if indeed this was the voice of the departed, was echo-y and far away. It sounded like he was half shouting, half whispering from a distance, though the words were clear enough for everyone present as if the wind had no hold on the utterances of the dead. [color=dimgray][i]"...everyone sees things in the fog... ...people go missing sometimes... I don't know why, not really."[/i][/color]

	Undaunted and amazingly happy that this worked, Victoria pressed her next question with a smile forming upon her face, gleaming through the necrotic coloration of tears, [color=9932cc]"Do you know who the dark magic figure who helps 'necromance' the land is?"[/color] The fact that she was having a conversation, even if it wasn't particularly useful so far, with an actual dead person, made her positively giddy. To her credit, she kept her professionalism intact.  

	[color=dimgray][i]"...no..."[/i][/color] It was simple enough, and simply put. 

	It was a vexing answer, and felt like a waste of a question. Spiritoombes was a lot more open about stories from his youth, passed down to make him go to bed or eat his vegetables, than the specific and rather pointed question. She felt that maybe, if the question were presented differently, she might have gotten a better answer. Or at least a more entertaining one. [color=9932cc]"No matter. Toombes, this is an important one: What killed you?"[/color]

	[color=dimgray][i]"...a shorter sword... ...foreign... ...I could not see a face... ...cold hands around my neck... ...a voice... ...a voice in the dark and my skin opening... ...nothingness... "[/i][/color]

	This was moving swiftly back into the macabre, as if the situation wasn't already plunged into a sea of the macabre. Victoria apoke again, but not to Spiritoombes. Lifting her head to the others, her own voice lost the powerful quality of magic in progress as she stated, [color=9932cc]"I cannot ask a question, I do not believe, that shall not count as one for Master Toombes. I have two such questions left. Let me know what you want me to say. This spell is only active for a few minutes."[/color] Victoria glanced about at all present, out in the cold wind and now driving snow, then turned her eyes back to the speaking skull. This was marvelous. It is a shame that someone their hosts knew had to die for it, but it was still marvelous in Victoria's eyes. The possibilities for this spell flashed across her mind in creative bursts. Oh, she could do many useful things with this.