Baronfjørd "Blackberry" Chedgusah Dragon Born, Monk (Astral self), Level 05 HP: 27 / 40 Armor Class: 16 Conditions: N/A Location: Coach House (Downstairs) Action: N/A Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A Ki: 2/5

BlackBerry blinked in surprise hearing that of all people Medician Floquet had opened the study. "I shall not enquire quite as to how she was able to." Common sense ruled the Medician didnt have a key, and reminded him they had bigger things at hand. So he settled for biting his cheek in clear disapproval. "Oh. Well I suppose that does remove one obstacle."

He listened to the others as they laid out their own worries, concerns and smattering of information to the table. Frustratingly it seemed that while Victoria seemed to landed upon his worry she, like Lady Kathryn, had either missed his point or were yet to voice it themselves.

'A cypher' That was exactly what the message had been! But to get the full meaning of a cypher you had to know how to read it. As they had already discussed there were very few in these lands who knew Abyssal and even fewer who knew Draconic. They were being targeted, he was certain of it. His fingers drummed frantically upon the table. The letter hadn't been addressed to anyone in particular but the bearers had clearly meant to give it to them. So how had the sender, Farid al Ramil, known they would have even been able to read it?

"The Post may yet surprise us." He commented dryly to Lady Kathryns question of contact. He momentarily wondered if his own letters had arrived at their destination yet?

In the time Young Lizbeth spent in the kitchen keeping herself busy and filling the air with the delightful aroma of a mellow meal, Lady Kathryn began to put a plan together while Kosara worked to fill in the gaps of knowledge of the L'Rose benefactor, which he nodded along to without anything further to add.

"A fine idea, Kosara. This situation may become something more than we can handle alone, nor is it one I feel should be hidden away." BlackBerry commented through a barely stifled yawn followed by a wince when something in his side protested at his stretch. "I am sorry to say, Lady Kathryn, I am unfamiliar with the nature of a Lich beyond stories and legends. But saying that, it does make some sense with what little we do know of the situation. No, I would say I would be most useful in any translation of any further communications from the possible prince in question, or even related articles that we may find in our investigation."

At the announcement that food was ready (Now the most important subject of the evening) he slapped the table. "My that does sound delightful and just what we need on an evening such as this. Do sit Young Lizbeth you have done more than enough work. Here, allow me to ser-" The sentence was then cut off by a pained squeak just as he was halfway up out of his seat; the wound in his side had reminded him of its presence. "On second thoughts, I believe I shall stay seated for now."

Victoria Belmont Half-Elf, Bard, Level 5 HP: 33 / 33 Armor Class: 16 Conditions: N/A Location: Coach House Action: N/A Bonus Action: Morty! Reaction: N/A

The injury situation with Baronfjord was suboptimal, certainly. But after having patched up the worst of his wounds earlier, Victoria had quite forgotten about it, her mind focusing on other things. Maybe it was a little self-centered of her; this was a failing that she demonstrated on occasion, but with the Dragonborn's offer to help stifled by the discomfort of tended to, but unhealed wounds, the Bard's awareness of the situation was reawakened. "I will help, Lizbeth," she said in friendly, melodic tones.

Victoria rose from her chair and took a step toward the girl, but paused mid-stride and faced back to the table. "Before I forget again," she mused aloud, reaching behind her and pulling a black-covered journal from the back of her belt. Closed within the book was a short length of carved black wood, approximately a foot or so in length with a faceted, oblong, glassy bead near the slenderer tip. There was a single sheet of loose parchment as well, folded in half and tucked in like a bookmark. Likewise, Victoria produced from a pocket a simple braided cord, upon which hung an ornately carved representation of a bunch of grapes, like a pendant. It was difficult to make out detail in the dim light of the taproom, but it looked like genuinely fine craftsmanship. "I haven't had the opportunity to inspect these yet. They came from the Study. The pendant was inside of a circle of graveyard soil and I believe there was an alternate form of Identification magic being practiced. Ritual magic."

As if she had not just dropped a ton of nuanced potential information on the rest of the group, Victoria turned back to Lizbeth with a smile and an encouraging voice, "That smells just heavenly. Thank you. I'll grab the other bowls." Her footfalls retreated into the kitchen where, true to her intention upon rising, the young Half-Elf assisted Lizbeth in bringing out the rest of a quick, hot, very late supper. With the journal and other items *just sitting there*, Victoria made sure to ask people individually and politely, "Oh, did you want some toast? I think there's some honey, as well." She made certain that there was an adequate serving for herself and sat back at the table after others had been served, including Lizbeth, and still apparently ignoring the loot from earlier. Victoria did take the moment to respond to a query about hunting information about the undead, temples, and the Medician. "I've been training in Southmoor all this time. It's a small town. The religious institutions there are even less developed than in the Township. A single building devoted to a handful of locally worshiped deities. Big names, but... very small town. I will be happy to speak with Madame Floquet tomorrow - or try to. She does not like talking about the war. And I don't think she fully trusts me. I can reference my books, if you like. I have a copy of 'The White Book' of Wee Jas, as well as a copy of 'The Lucky Ghost', a Jasidan text on common and obscure Undead. It's a little general, but maybe I've overlooked something or can put together a connection somewhere." As opposed to the last adventure they had recently finished, Victoria was almost giddy that she was more useful here. But if this was an occasion where she was particularly useful, that likely meant that something terrible was happening.

"My, but this stew is amazing, Mademoiselle L'Rose! Thank you again." Victoria set her spoon down and gave a quiet, polite session of clapping, with the fingers of one hand tapping softly into the palm of her other, like one who gives applause in a library or art show, expressing gratitude with out making a lot of noise. She then sipped from her tea cup, which she had made sure to refill with good, steaming liquid a few moments prior.

To its credit, Morty had taken up position in the corner of the room, safely out of the way but ever ready in the event that its Mistress needed assistance. Still, the animated porcine companion just stood there, no thoughts of any kind running through a literally empty, tusked skull.

Kosara Tiefling, Warlock (Celestial), Level 04, Barbarian, Level 01 HP: 34/ 34 Armor Class: 12(15 Mage Armor) Conditions: N/a Location: Coach House Action: Healing Light 2d6 = 11 hp healed Bonus Action: Unseen Servant( still unseenly hovering around) Reaction: N/a

As soon as Lizbeth asked for help with moving the food to the table, Kosara hopped up to offer help along with V in any way possible, even if it meant she’d just bring a single thing over. It was very important to be friendly and helpful when you could. Helping others was a good deed after all.

“These all do look marvelous!” Kosara agreed with the bard on the topic of the food. Still felt different and outlandish to her, but not in a bad way. She just still couldn’t quite get used to some of the food out here, but the food wasn’t bad. Just the opposite! It was great and the tiefling woman enjoyed it a lot. She just sometimes missed a taste of home, the closest she had gotten were the flat breads and the ankheg meat.” It tastes delicious too!” She then added after giving the food a taste. It felt very nice to have something warm in her stomach after the stay outside in the cold. Her new outfit was pretty and all, but really wasn’t made for the dead of winter and snowstorms.

“Mhm, we should at least warn the clergy so they aren’t caught unaware. If I was an evil person who wants to deal with undeath, I would make sure to neutralize any temples in the are even if they were of little power.” She dropped casually with a nod to Berry as she leaned over and touched him to unleash her Healing Light ability she had gotten from her Grandpa. Golden light focused on her hand that was now placed on Berry’s shoulder, celestial energies working to heal as much of his injuries as possible.” Here, this should take care of most of your injuries, I think. Should make you more comfortable for the moment and make it easier to rest tonight.” The white haired tiefling smiled at her monk friend.

Her attention shifted to V.” Even if it’s small temples, should they have divine spell casters with them, they could be either a target or an invaluable ally should the worst comes to pass… that and people often go to clergy for advice. If we get them on board with us, it may mess with whatever problems that Laurent might be plotting to cause us.” Kosara explained her reasoning to want any local clergy on her side. That and she was raised to think of good aligned temples as possible allies.

“Also, I think since Lizbeth, you made the dinner despite being as tired and having stayed out in the cold as us, I think it’s only fair I leave you to rest now and for me to prepare dessert. There’s more than enough supplies in stock to make something, and I’m getting ideas already!”

Kathryn Pyke Human, Fighter (Rune Knight), Level 05 HP: 49 / 49 Armor Class: 19 Conditions: N/A Location: Coach House Tap Room Action: N/A Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

Kathryn had to admit, whatever Lizbeth was cooking up in the other room was distracting. Yes, Kathryn was a battle hardened warrior who could go toe to toe with most foes and give them a run for their money, had die hard strength, and an unruly determination to strike down her foes. However, snacks were one of the many half giants weaknesses. Her focus was reestablished when Kosara began to share a treasure trove of knowledge on the situation at hand, or at least of their suspect. "I think you have a point on those temples. Between being a hub of information, and the fact that clergy knowledge would very much come in handy at the moment, if the roads are passable we should look." She wondered if it was more important to search the house first, or if they would have to split into two teams.

When Lizbeth called out what was for dinner, combined with an ask for help, Kathryn took two steps with enough force and determination one may have assumed she crossed half the room in those two strides, however despite that the young bean was assisted by those faster on their feet than Kathryn. "This is a simple meal for you Lizbeth? My gods I fear what you call a busy day." Kathryn chuckled out with a hint of glee, hoping it would ease the small one just a bit. Yes things were doom and gloom, but no reason to upset anyone any more than needed. Some... some upset would be needed.

"Can.... can the post do that?" Kathryn asked. Despite her years of travel, she never really had the need to send or receive post. Between her home being crushed, and her remaining family so far off they could hardly be called related, or missing presumed dead, who would she even send a post too? Her old king? Requesting a retrial? Without a lawyer or money to pay for one? And then wait for a reply be it more post or bounty hunters? No, no post for Kathryn. But it seemed that between BB and Kosara, the idea of a lich seemed possible. Albeit this overall group was a little ill-informed on the topic. Victoria as usual, was their expert on the matter. Well, Kosara was growing into that too. But Victoria knew how to use that knowledge, weaponize it. In ways Kathryn could never even come close. It was scary in a way. The limited temple usage was also a good point, population centers this small couldn't dedicate the same space to such beliefs as larger towns and cities. Hells, herself and Ser Lucas passed through several small villages where the sole shared temple wasn't even staffed, just cleaned and maintained by the locals when they had time, and the only clergy that ever held services there were traveling ones who were almost as poor as the local settlers. And their cost of business? Food and housing while they were in town, and donated coins for travel expenses.

Kathryn once everyone else was served grabbed herself a bowl, and enjoyed the wonderful meal that Lizbeth had prepared for them. "This is wonderful Lizbeth. At the rate you're going you'll be able to take care of these lands all by yourself with your home skills and fighting skills. I pity the poor bastard who crosses paths with you with anything but the up most respect." Kathryn said complimenting the cook. Kosara then piped up about dessert. One of Kathryn's other major weaknesses. Despite her best efforts, she was still rather impulsive. Sweets, were absolutely a weakness worth the struggle though.

Getting her thoughts back on track, she turned to the group getting the idea of sweet tasty treats out of her mind. "So house, clergy, post, and Madame Floquet. I do think investigating the house is the most important piece, however, we're against a clock. We don't know how much time is left. And after what happened to BB I have reservations on splitting up. However, if we are to split up, we should be prepared so that each group can protect themselves. And share what they learn using the sending stones. I have one upstairs, and BB has the other." The stone she should have had on her. "We're also not a big group. Splitting up is risky. So do we want to split up at all? Or knock out our tasks in the house or village first. I am rather in favor of investigating the house, and I think that is most important." Cecily not sharing the keys was... A problem. She didn't want to think the woman a suspect, but there was motive. And, there was potential for sabotage. How would she react when the party got into the study? What if they got back and it was locked?

Weather: No change in the weather. It remains cold, windy, and precipitating just oodles of snow. This is a storm, no doubt about it. Woe be to a person spending more than a few moments unprotected outside.

Time: It is in the middle of the night now. Darkness is a primary feature of the evening, right alongside snow drifts.

Ambience: The evening is not quiet, not by a fair sight. Indoors, there is a constant sound of the unseasonable weather howling about, but walls and fire have given enough of a buffer to prevent this from interrupting conversation. While it isn't the very spirit of luxury inside, it is enough, and a fair sight better than it might have been otherwise. Comfort is possible, even if its perfection seems to elude. The food and fire help tremendously for this purpose. It remains a bit dark inside, as lamps and candles both remain unlit. The hearth provides enough light to get around and a pleasant overall atmosphere, with the caveat that the same atmosphere might be used for ghost story ambience.

The kitchen door remains propped open from Lizbeth's little kitchen adventure with fresh onions. It gives a good vantage into the other room and puts a little more direct light around and behind the bar, upon which the barrels of "outside" potables remain, brandy and ale both. Lots and lots of wine remains in stock behind the bar, in varying degrees of quality (though nothing below moderate market caliber, of course).



"It's okay," Lizbeth said to Baronfjord, "You should sit and rest. You're still hurt." She accepted the offered help from their resident Bard and between the two of them, served the rest of the party. When everyone else was handled, she took a chair with the group and also served herself.

Lizbeth sat with her meal, grabbing a slice of toast for herself from the stack and staring thoughtfully into the bowl in front of her. She dipped her spoon into the amalgam of bacon and vegetables and took a bite, seemingly satisfied with the final product. Past this, the young lady turned to a sullen sort of quiet. The day had been both difficult and something of a revelation, and based upon the lack of answered questions, more revelations were in the offing. Cooking things appeared to be a distraction as much as anything. Now that the meat had been seared and squashes braised, the final product bowled and served, the weight of the day settling back.

Composing herself, finally, Lizbeth breathed a quick, "Thank you," to Victoria. With a bite halfway to her mouth, she paused and eyed the items that she had recovered from the Study. Pendant, stick, and journal, the latter especially as Baronfjord retrieved the item and gave it a quick perusal while he ate. With hesitation, Lizbeth moved the bite into her mouth and chewed deliberately, taking her eyes away from the book and back to the other two items near Victoria. When she felt like it was obvious that she was staring, the girl moved a conversation along different lines. "Those books you were talking about, Miss Belmont," she said with some formality, "The, ah, 'The White Book' and 'The Lucky Ghost,' I mean. When you're not referencing them, may I read them, please?" The last sentence broke a mote of eagerness into her speech. Almost as an apology, Lizbeth offered, "I ...like to read. And they sound interesting. May I? I'll be careful."

To Kosara, Lizbeth was a little more talkative. She spoke first to thank her for the appraisal of her food, but also took time to address one of the points the taller Tiefling made about clergy, "There's not a lot of folk who attend temple services regularly in Avonshire, I don't think. People keep to their worship kind of personally. I don't think we even have a real-life, full magic using Cleric in Southmoor regularly. I mean, every so often we get one that comes around the temple representing one or more gods, but mostly it's lay folk. Some have enough ability to perform ceremonies or rites, but full magic, Cleric or Wizard, is more difficult to come by around here. The most people I ever saw that can do magic in one place is ...here... in this room right now. The temple is just a spot where shrines to the gods are set up for whoever's passing by." She thought for a second, adding, "There is a Halfling that uses a hoe like a walking staff, who can do some magic, that comes around a couple times in the year. I heard he turned into a goat once!" A tinge of excitement was felt in her voice as she described the secondhand exploits of this mystery Halfling, which mellowed back after a second or two.

Lizbeth gave Kathryn a polite smile at the compliments to the food. "Yeah, simple. Just rendering some pork fat and cooking vegetables, adding liquids and seasoning. It's not so much. Thank you, though. I'm glad you like it." And to the question of the group splitting up or sticking together the next day, Lizbeth asked, "I know I'm not with you all, but if it's okay, do you mind if I stay here at the Coach House tomorrow? Or did you need me around you to help with something? If you do, I'm happy to help and if you don't, I'd just as soon practice and study, if it's all the same."

Mention of Kosara making dessert went over well with Lizbeth, who added, "That's very nice of you. While you're doing that, I will see what I can do with the upstairs fireplaces. It's going to be cold up there tonight."

Victoria Belmont Half-Elf, Bard, Level 5 HP: 33 / 33 Armor Class: 16 Conditions: N/A Location: Coach House Action: N/A Bonus Action: Morty Reaction: N/A

Victoria wasn't sure whether Kosara was being sarcastic about that farmer, Laurent. It was a sort of conversational whiplash as she was initially thinking about this "Prince Farid al Ramil Sabaj al Hazred", now to have a stunning sort of confusion hit that she has to take a second to puzzle out. "Oh," she finally said, the mental pieces falling into place. "I imagine that trouble from this man will depend upon how connected he is in this area and how well respected he is by the locals. His farm grows staple products. It likely employees and feeds a number of people in the area. The locals might listen." For Victoria, this brought with it a different sort of threat. If she was openly advertised as a Necromancer, the fact that obvious acts of Necromancy were afoot would paint her as the prime suspect. Then again, she did a fair amount of that, herself. Yes, she practiced Necromancy. She was also a Bard, which meant she tended toward showmanship that bordered of overt presentation. Her new(ish) Phantasmal Steed was an excellent example of this. So was her constant boar-of-burden companion, Morty. And the way that certain spells colored her face. These were things she could change if she so desired to, but no, elements of her own vanity kept this to the front. "It wouldn't be the first time I've talked my way out of an earnest meeting involving torches and pitchforks. Lucky for me, I'm a proficient public speaker." She smiled (though it didn't quite reach her eyes) and gestured in a faux dramatic manner.

Conversation went on for a bit without Victoria's input, mostly about the post, discussions of clergy, and plans for the next day. It was a fair assumption that they were going to have to give the events of the evening much more attention, and rightly so. Such things were fast on their way toward interfering with whatever level of tranquility the Bard was establishing for herself in these lovely environs, but Victoria kept conversation to herself. At least, until Lizbeth mentioned wanting to borrow her books. "Certainly, Lizbeth. If you are careful." The last part was spoken with emphasis. "Be aware that they are valuable and difficult to replace. Also, they are not a primer for moral guidance, rather a source of information. The Jasidan are ...harsh... in certain beliefs. But their academic and arcane research is top notch, even if they do pen from bias."

As to her personal contribution to the investigation, which was gearing up to take place in the morning, Victoria mentioned, "I'm curious to go back over the ritual work and lend a more polished arcane mind to the items we recovered. Maybe there's something to them that can help us. Or provide a better clue as to what we are dealing with here. If no one objects, when we're settling down for the evening I'm going to confirm whatever was being done with the graveyard soil and these items; pendant and stick." She wouldn't be in a good position to do much while she was training under Annick the next day, attempting conversation with the more knowledgeable woman aside. Still, she believed that more might be found in the former sanctum of the late Monsieur L'Rose. "I wouldn't mind another trip to that Study, when we're able." There had to be more there.

As she continued eating, Victoria's mind went back to the issue from just earlier. "If clergy is limited in this area and Laurent is poisoning public opinion against us, we might be completely on our own. The weather isn't our friend, either. We need to figure some things out before..." she glanced subtly in Lizbeth's direction, "...before this gets worse."

After finishing, the Bard began to pack away her things, what items there were present in the taproom. A quiet mental command brought her Morty to action, ready to carry the bulk of her nearby belongings back up to the chambers on the top floor. "If no one objects," she repeated, gathering up the items liberated from the Study. While Lizbeth planned to get the upstairs ready for rest, she would be setting up for Ritual magic. Victoria mentioned as much to the younger wine heiress, as she had taken in interest in discussions of magic. Maybe she might learn something in the process.

Kosara Tiefling, Warlock (Celestial), Level 04, Barbarian, Level 01 HP: 34/ 34 Armor Class: 12(15 Mage Armor) Conditions: N/a Location: Coach House Action: N/a Bonus Action: Unseen Servant( still unseenly hovering around) Reaction: N/a

Kosara listened to Lizbeth’s recount of the clergy situation in the local area. Now that was not something she had expected to quite hear. To lack any divine magic wielding clergy that’s station in the area was a major oversight as far as she could conclude. The simple fact that magic wielding clerics were the main source of fighting force against undead meant this whole region was lacking severely in that direction. Which given their situation with a Lich on the loose, meant they were very well screwed. That and it meant no local trusted person to align with them on the problems, meaning if the locals got very set against them it would very well turn bloody fast.” That… could be an issue… I think.” Kosara concluded in the end, making a thinking face while pondering how to proceed with this unexpected situation.

The tiefling looked at V.” Well… the method for dealing with this type of situation that grandpa taught me will not work...” Kosara quipped, thinking of her desire to kick him between the legs… or in the shins. Yes, her solution was to kick them somewhere where it hurt, but wasn’t exactly life endangering until they stopped being stupid. It was how she was taught to deal with perverts too, though to be fair, she wasn’t quite up there with understanding on what constituted a pervert. As far as she managed to figure it out, it was people who were trying to bed her and weren’t taking a no for an answer.” I think I will leave interacting with him to you then in the future.”

“I’m worried that even if we try to send a message out to seek further air, it might get intercepted. It’s probably fair to assume the necromancer or whomever is calling his shots if the one who send the mutilated Toombles, isn’t the leader, is capable of scrying our actions or otherwise keep us under observation.” The dancer said with unhappy expression.

She sighed and rubbed her face a bit, looking at the plate that was now empty before her.” I guess whatever happens will happen one way or another… I better head to make some things for dessert while the rest of you rest and prepare to settle in for the night.” The tiefling smiled and picked up her empty plates and headed for the kitchen, planning to pick the rest of the tableware once the others have finished completely with their meals. She headed to the kitchen to check the food stuffs there and down at the basement and the pantry.

There were more than enough supplies, preserved fruits and other ingredients that she could work with… Well it was mostly variations on preserved fruits… dried fruits, jams, compots and so on. Some other ingredients could be found too, but she doubted she had the time to bake something with flour and fruits… and honey. In any case between the fruits, honey, some spices and other ingredients she was getting some ideas. While she couldn’t bake something big, she was probably able to quickly bake some smaller flat breads to serve as base for some desserts. Preparing food was a very relaxing and calming task for her. Kosara was certainly learning to enjoy it a lot.

Baronfjørd "Blackberry" Chedgusah Dragon Born, Monk (Astral self), Level 05 HP: 38 / 40 Armor Class: 16 Conditions: N/A Location: Coach House (Downstairs) Action: Eating Bonus Action: Thinking Reaction: Worrying Ki: 2/5

BlackBerry set down the Little Black Book closed on the table and took up the spoon for his meal instead. It was delightful, simple but warming both from the freshness of it being made but also from the various spices and herbs Lizbeth had used. The girl clearly had a gift. Sadly the topics of the evening meant BlackBerry couldn't focus for long on the delightful meal. After taking a moment to thank Lizbeth for the food, and Kosara an extra bit of healing magic to ease his wounds, he returned to his meal. A slice of toast was then into the broth and he chewed thoughtfully with his eyes settling upon the Little Black Book while the conversation continued around him.

The Little Black Book, and even the folded paper within, had annoyingly yielded very little at first glance. All written in the Common tongue he had seen little more than wandering prose of a paranoid mind though some pages seemed more structured with actual paragraphs, words neatly crossed out and replaced, comments in margins, and rough diagrams with question marks next to them. Similarly, the piece of paper held several drawings he recognised to be runes also repeatedly crossed out and redrawn in places sometimes overlapping and across each other. It all meant something but he neither the patience nor energy at that moment to fully explore the idea.

"You are most welcome of course to stay with us, Young Lizbeth. I would imagine that you Aunt had such a thought as well." He assured her as bowls were being gathered. "I do believe for tomorrow it may be best you aid Lady Kathryn with the initial investigation. You are of course the heir of the Estate, so we shall need you expertise in the grounds both within and without the buildings. If we start in the Study, as has been agreed, we should then create a list of all that is found; Madame L'Rose has no key, and an old rumour of unknown peoples going where they should not does make one worry."

It was as he was pushing the Little Black Book back towards Victoria, that he added to Lady Kathryn. "Most unfortunately, our dear Prince did not in fact leave a return address. Even if he did the weather would greatly slow communications, and would likely cost a great sum as well." He added, clicking his tongue. "Even sending letters to the coast, at such a time of year as this, did not come cheap. Ah! Victoria, if you would allow me to bend your ear for a moment please?"

BlackBerry rose from the table with significant ease compared to when he had sat down earlier, and then with eyes dancing anxiously, asked only half-seriously. "Might I ask how you know the soil is from a Graveyard?"

Only half listening to whatever Victorias response may be, Blackberry watched for Lizbeth to exit the room and then, then looking up the ceiling, waited for the familiar creaking of floorboards above. When he heard them he let out a small sigh and then, pulling his gaze back to Victoria he whispered her his worries.

"My apologies for such manner, Victoria. However I must ask of you something which may unsettle Young Lizbeth if she were to over hear. Earlier this evening she mentioned hearing whispers, and on occasion, feeling nothing at all." Sounds from above drew his attention upwards fora moment before he continued on. "Perhaps such a comment could be attributed to a memory and a nightmare changing place but given more recent events....I fear it would be prudent to investigate further it what way we may. Which is to ask if you Victoria may keep an eye on Young Lizbeth for any strangeness in her sleep?"

Kathryn Pyke Human, Fighter (Rune Knight), Level 05 HP: 49 / 49 Armor Class: 19 Conditions: N/A Location: Coach House Tap Room Action: N/A Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

Kathryn gave a warm appreciative chuckle to the young woman who prepared their food. "By the gods, then you really know your stuff. It tastes wonderful too." Kathryn spoke up going through her food like someone who seemed partially convinced it could be her last meal. When BB brought up Lizbeth going with Kathryn tomorrow, the idea seemed sound to her. Kathryn wasn't the best when it came to clue catching. She could brute force only so much before things began to break that couldn't be fixed. Personal relations included. "Some help tomorrow would be wonderful. You may catch something I would miss. You are also far more knowledgeable in the history and context of the lands than myself. Between you and I, any bad guy with a passing thinker should be shaking in their boots at the thought of this team up." Kathryn spoke proudly. Plus, Lizbeth was becoming a very passable fighter. Though she never let the girl win, Kathryn was holding back less and less with their training.

When the topic of old land owner came up, Kathryn had to suppress a sigh. The temptation to humiliate him was in fact there, however, Kathryn needed money. And lots of it. "Though the tone of his voice makes him very unlikable, I would like to keep things in passable terms." Kathryn paused thinking on that a moment. "Kosara, Victoria, if he does however give you any problems let me know, I'll straiten him out." She said not successfully wooing him once tonight. She was sure that Victoria and Kosara could handle such a bloke, however she wanted them both to know that she had their back. And she wouldn't throw them under the wagon for a few gold coins. As for the local clergy issue. "Maybe we shall get lucky, and a traveling clergy man will be coming through who can... do clergy stuff." Well put. The expert of divine magic. "But we should be fast. The faster the better. Time is not our ally here."

"Don't push yourself too hard Lizbeth, you've worked a ton today and you should get some rest." Kathryn called out to the girl as she left. The small woman was very attentive. It was impressive, but she didn't want to make the girl feel like she was the party's unpaid labor. Kathryn did wonder what method Kosara had been taught, but she figured it was probably either trying to rip a head off, celestial blast, or making him see some sort of unholy images that would make her father question Kathryn's methods at making friends. Kosara did bring up a good point, they were probably being watched at all times. Or at least had the means too watch them at all times. "We should plan accordingly. We have 2 sending stones, one group should take one to the village tomorrow, and the other should remain here. Though it'll take time for someone to react, if something important comes up we may need too call out in a hurry." Like when Kathryn and Kosara were cornered by the former constable. If they could have taken the very next second to warn the rest of the party of their concerns maybe they could have acted faster. Or maybe Victoria and Marita could share their finds even faster and Kathryn and Kosara could have reacted? "I am open to whoever carries the stone. BB has one, and I can lend out mine to someone else. If something happens closer, we may need to find another way to reach out. We'll have to think of something for sure..." Another moment Kathryn wished she studied the arcana. Not that she was particularly skilled in it. However, it would have helped.

When BB began to ask Victoria about Lizbeth, Kathryn visibly tensed. Deciding now was a good time to down the remaining brandy she had on her person, stand up, grab some more, and down most of that. Did she speak up? Did she share what she knows? Did she keep quiet not only for the party's sake but Lizbeth's? Did Lizbeth even know? Maybe she knew something. Maybe she didn't. Was this the way for a child to learn? "She's under a lot of stress at the moment. Burying herself in work to hide it. I wouldn't be surprised if her body was having a physical reaction to it all. She honestly probably just needs a good break." Kathryn said in a calmer voice than she thought she could muster. "If we're that worried, I can talk to Cecily tomorrow, see if she has noticed anything, or knows anything." Kathryn said offering up her services for questions she already had the answer too.

Weather: The snow maintains its constant fall upon the ground, though now it seems to streak across the countryside with a little less fury. The worst is probably over, but by no means does this mean that everything is soft and calm outside.

Time: We are smack dab in the middle of the night. Maybe not midnight, proper, but it may as well be. It is quite late.

Ambience: The sounds of wind from the outside slow - not stop - in the progressing night. Not a touch of moonlight nor the twinkling of stars are visible through the cloud cover, giving an almost full darkness which may require more than simple darkvision to puncture, thanks to the precipitating snow. Luckily, the taproom of the Coach House has grown much warmer in the interim, if no better illuminated than earlier. It is comfortable within the walls, at the very least. The warm food in your stomachs is a tremendous help with this. Those partaking in the potables which exist in this place with abundance will find themselves awash in a sea of potential inebriation, though this may or may not be very useful considering that one must still ascend the icy stairs to reach the personal chambers on the next floor.



The actions of the young girl, Lizbeth, were one of practiced service. She had obviously committed to household labors before, and might make a fine tavern worker (or owner) should the whole "vineyard heiress" thing fall through. There was just a little stumbling block every now and again, as she insisted on buckling on her newly acquired weaponry and slinging her shield across her back as she went along with her more domestic chores, but she seemed to take great patience with completing these tasks around the bulkier gear. It looked like she was attempting to familiarize herself with every aspect of the weight and fit of her new profession's tool set, and she was taking it seriously.

Firstly, she went into storage and retrieved a few warming pans; enclosed metal dishes within wooden holders designed to bring a mattress or other sleeping area up in temperature, and walked to the hearth fire. She carefully scraped out at least half of the red coals from the fireplace and distributed them among the pans, then added another log to the fire to replace the heat-giving fuel.

Before leaving to tend to the beds upstairs, Lizbeth addressed the various words of encouragement she had received within the last couple of minutes, past the monosyllabic returns and generalities of body language. "Thank you so much for not objecting to my presence here. I know this is technically your home for the winter and I'm just so glad that I'm being given such a nice welcome. I want to learn as much as I can and I'm very happy to make your stay here as easy as I might in payment. It's no bother." She put a smile on her face that looked more tired than anything else, and retreated to the front door. The gust of wind which came from the only temporarily open portal to the courtyard was enough to douse the room with a solid, frigid blast. The comparison was substantial. Lizbeth closed the door as quickly as she was able and awkwardly made her way up the frozen exterior stairs.

Once inside, the girl set to her tasks with trembling hands, first to get fires lit and then to make sure that fresh water was available in the rooms. Warming pans went between mattresses and bedframes, notably the ones that the party had used the last time that she visited, plus one more for herself. She likewise chose the one she utilized the last time she was there overnight, owing to habit. Now that things were beginning to warm up to almost tolerable levels upstairs, Lizbeth located a stiff-bristled housekeeping broom and went back outside. It was cold; very cold for the young lady, especially having worked up a little perspiration with her efforts. As she took to the stairs to clear away the worst of the snow, thankfully not impacted with repeated footfalls, she began to shiver uncontrollably. The broom barely began to part the white covering in the dark, dark night, and more than once she felt like she might slip and involuntarily descend to the ground below. Though the evening had not been ideal in any sense, this was surely not the high point of it.

Then suddenly, Lizbeth ceased shivering. She began to move with directed intent, apparently able to function in the darkness and cold without perceivable difficulty. The wind obviously touched her form, blowing her hair about in a manner that might have annoyed or distracted but the girl remained on task. Her eyes seemed sunken and surrounded by darker skin, though her face seemed pallid, to an unhealthy margin. A breath left her lungs, condensing in the colder air around her, which was not followed by an inhalation.

She continued to work on the stairs until they were clear, unbothered by the storm around her. It was a fast but thorough job. She had a dessert she wished to return to and a book or two to read.

Victoria Belmont Half-Elf, Bard, Level 5 HP: 33 / 33 Armor Class: 16 Conditions: N/A Location: Coach House Action: Casting Prestidigitation, Ritual Casting Identify Bonus Action: Morty Reaction: N/A

The idea of a little dessert before turning in sounded satisfactory enough, but there were too many questions running around in Victoria's head to simply sit and wait for it. That, and a lack of appreciable skill in preparing anything but the most basic of foodstuffs for herself meant that she would not be able to assist, so, with a full belly and sense of purpose, she set out to solve what lesser mysteries she had the skill to accomplish. A quick mental command had her Morty trotting along at her heel, and the Bard took purposeful strides toward the door.

That was, until Baronfjord posed a question to her. "Graveyard soil? Quite, yes. It's a catch-all term for dirt taken from the resting place of a sentient, or place of memorial for the deceased. It's commonly used in necromantic rituals or as an alternate material component for some spellcraft. I've never had personal use for it, but I've seen it applied." She didn't quite get that the question was a bit of a ruse, and looked quizzically at the Dragonborn fellow when the conversation switched abruptly. "Lizbeth is a ...very special girl." She had not let on what she had observed personally about her yet, as the conversation simply hadn't some up yet and there seemed to be an element of trust which she did not feel like breaking. Not just yet. So she responded, "I will try to keep an eye on her, as I am able." The truth was, she was already keeping a proverbial eye on Lizbeth, based on her own observations. But if it made Baronfjord feel better to hear the words from her, it was an inexpensive gift to give.

Victoria kept her jaunt through the front door as brief as possible, not wishing to muddle the warmer inside air any more than she really needed to, and began to plod up the stairs after their host. Lizbeth's footprints made for excellent places to set her own boots during the ascent, as the younger woman had not quite completed her own tasks in the private rooms just yet. Morty's movements were less careful and more jostling, but they both eventually made their way upstairs without major incident. The dark and cold were not her friends this evening and she was looking forward to getting back indoors as quickly as possible.

Within the upper floor, Victoria could hear Lizbeth working in the room which Kathryn had been occupying. It was not a good time to interrupt her while she was mid-duty, so she moved down the short hallway and into her own room that she shared with Kosara, and Lizbeth from that first evening. The fire was already going, be it a bit low. It was a new fire, young in its overnight lifespan, but at least the main logs were catching properly. The Bard settled near to it and took up an unlit oil lamp. The "unlit" portion of that description was quickly remedied by an effortless thread of magic, and its wick extended to increase the illumination it gave off. Now, with enough light to comfortably read and enough heat to not be entirely uncomfortable, Victoria wrapped her new black and gold pashmina about her and settled in for some minor Ritual work.

Unlike the inexpert work of who she assumed was Monsieur Arnaud L'Rose, Victoria was specifically versed in Arcana and Arcane Rituals. She needed no graveyard soil nor extensive buildup of power. Hers was not on par with a full Wizard, but she was nevertheless capable of reaching the same conclusions. She kept her Ritual Book open before her, along with a couple of centering materials that, while not thoroughly needed, were a minor comfort and motivating tool. Among them was her set of Diving Bones she had been collecting and augmenting since her time in Fort Darenby. There was an unspoken irony in their presence here, especially as it related to the task. The first item to be placed under her magical scrutiny was the pendant, worked to excellently resemble an ideal bunch of grapes. Smallish, carved of extremely hard, dark wood upon a simple cord. It was stained slightly reddish and smelled faintly of wine, as if it had been soaked in the stuff for so long that the wood absorbed some of its properties. After a few minutes of tracing sigils into the air and pouring just the right amount of arcane power into the item, Victoria stopped, looked at the pendant, and smiled. "That would be useful for this group," she mused aloud, then immediately moved on to the next item.

This one was a black shaft of what she assumed was wood, with a clear but not-quite-transparent crystal mounted within it near to the thinner end. She regarded it briefly, holding it by the slightly thicker end where it might logically fall was the proper handle and gave it a flick through the air. It was comfortable in her hand with this motion. The piece seemed solid. Old, too. But classic, even textbook in construction, as if it was an early example of whatever it might be. Her Ritual began anew, detection magic applied in almost the most standard of ways; detail altered just slightly owing to the fact that a Bard cast this, and not a true Wizard. Still, as before, the end result was the same. "Interesting..." Victoria smiled and tucked the items away. Neither specifically seemed made for her professions, neither Bard nor Necromancer, even if both were useful enough.

Victoria rose and extinguished the lantern. She retrieved two books from her traveling chest and placed one on Lizbeth's bed, the other on hers, and left. By this time, Lizbeth was working on the stairs with a thick broom, batting away the snow like a girl of determination. Victoria paused for a moment to regard Lizbeth. Something seemed off but for the life of her, she simply could not place it. Perhaps she was just tired. Instead, the Bard carefully made her way past the young lady and gave her a warm smile, even if nothing else about her was especially toasty. "Thank you for the fire and such upstairs," she began, trying to notice whatever she felt was different about Lizbeth but failing miserably in the darkness, even to the properties of vision granted her by her Sylvan heritage. "I left my copy of The White Book on your bed. You're welcome to borrow it for a time, but please be careful with it. It is difficult to find a copy in this part of the world." Her more serious nature drained back away, leaving an almost sisterly visage to the youthful Half-Elf. "Hey, don't be too long. I'm excited to see what Kosara has made for us. Aren't you?" A bright smile followed, and Victoria made her way back down the stairs (sans Morty) to return to the taproom.

Back inside, finally, Victoria strode over to the table whereupon the group had their evening's repast and, without ceremony or buildup to the grand event, lay down the grape bunch pendant. "Amulet of the Drunkard. Or a variation of it. This was created here. It requires no attunement to use. Whomever wears this may consume one alcoholic drink per day that will act as a minor healing potion. Again, and this is baffling to me, this was created here. And fairly recently."

Moving on, Victoria placed the stick upon the table next to the amulet. "Wand of Magic Detection. This does exactly what it sounds like it should, a few times a day. This was once a very common item and I recall seeing a picture of one of these in a textbook. I just had to confirm."

The arcane debriefing handled, Victoria gave a moment or two's worth of pause and shared, "I hold no specific desire for either of these and I'm willing to go along with whatever everyone decides. A lady might recommend seeing if the Mistress of the Estate has a claim to them if we wish to do more than borrow them for the meantime."

"...so... Whatever are we doing for dessert?"

Kosara Tiefling, Warlock (Celestial), Level 04, Barbarian, Level 01 HP: 34/ 34 Armor Class: 12(15 Mage Armor) Conditions: N/a Location: Coach House Action: Preparing Treats and more Unseen Servant Bonus Action: N/a Reaction: N/a

Kosara’s playing around in the kitchen and dancing between ingredients was a bit more involved and purposeful than one might initially suspect from the happy tiefling woman. The dancer had this general atmosphere of being a bit too childish most of the time to actually have any serious skills, but it wasn’t quite correct of course. People were rarely as simple as they appeared at first glance. In Kosara’s case, she was somewhat adept at cooking. She wasn’t a professional like the people in the kitchen back home, but she knew how to cook and her somewhat interesting point of view allowed her to improvise some interesting results as she did so. That and one of the skills her sisters back home drilled into her head was cooking. Apparently it was a crucial skill to posses, a thing to which Kosara wouldn’t be complaining about! In any case, at some point she had recast Unseen Servant to help her with the kitchen tasks.

“Alright this should do!” Kosara smiled as she was pulling flatbreads from the skillet. She had used a different recipe for the dough, making it almost liquid. Making for easier making of thinner breads, though she didn’t know if locals had similar things to be honest. Still the smaller skillet meant it was smaller flatbreads. The recipe wasn’t sweet, but made them more flexible so you could almost fold them. Back home they were used as desserts too, they weren’t sweet though. Somewhat salty to be honest, but it wasn’t bad and you could always make it sweet with jams, fruits or honey. In this case they had access to all tree! So Kosara had prepared a stack of the thin dessert flatbreads, making a note to ask if the locals had a name for them for easier reference in the future, and a bowl where she had mixed jam with some dried fruit pieces to spread on the breads. She also brought a jar of honey for people who would prefer that over the fruit jams.

“Dessert’s ready!” Kosara called as she opened the kitchen door, bring over a big plate with the thin pancake looking breads in one hand and a number of plates in the other. Behind her the Unseen Servant was carrying the bowl of jam and dried fruits, the jar of honey and a couple of spoons to spread the sweet goodness as needed.” Not sure if you have another name for it out here, but we just referred to it as Dessert Breads back home. Had to adapt the recipe a bit, but it worked out. Can eat them without anything if you want, they are a bit salty though. Alternatively you could put honey or jam. Havent had any in a while, but they also make marvelous breakfast!” She started to put the stuff on the table.

Baronfjørd "Blackberry" Chedgusah Dragon Born, Monk (Astral self), Level 05 HP: 38 / 40 Armor Class: 16 Conditions: N/A Location: Coach House (Downstairs) Action: N/A Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A Ki: 2/5

"Truly, Lady Kathryn. I do hope some rest will be all that Young Lizbeth does need. But with all the strangeness about I fear it unwise not to at least keep an eye on Young Lizbeth for any ailment whether it be Mundane or otherwise." He returned his focus back to Victoria and thanked her with at least some of his worry fading from his voice. "Thank you kindly Victoria, that is all I can ask for."

With that people started to break away for the time it would take for Kosara to put together their marvellous meal, and BlackBerry found himself at a little bit of a lose end and not sure what else to do. He settled then for taking care of the crockery from the just finished meal; carrying the bowls, plates, and cutlery into the kitchen in a few trips (dodging under a jar of something floating by). This was then followed by a much loathed dash outside to gather a bucket of water from the well which BlackBerry briefly wondered about the buckets Master Urmdrus had borrowed. Once again back in the kitchen he found a cloth and then found a corner next to the fire, then set to work cleaning and scrubbing the plates.

Kosara, either in spite of or because of her dancing around the kitchen, surprisingly managed to whip together their desert before BlackBerry even got half way through the washing up. But even being witness to the process, he wasn't too sure what it was Kosara had made but so far nothing she had made so far had been anything other than delightful.

Retaking his place at the table, Blackberry eyed the Wand and Amulet with suspicion.

"Heals Drunkards and Finds Magic." He said while pulling one of Kosaras pancake-bread-treats onto his own plate. "That is what the piece of paper in the book from the study had said, so that is one mystery solved in record time I am pleased to say. One would suppose the Amulet could be of some use if one is trying many a product in one day?" BlackBerry didn't sound that convinced by the suggestion himself but it was the only thing that came to him. He cut a small piece of the plain pancakey-bread on his plate using his fork, for now curiosity was outweighing Kosaras warning. The piece was carried up to his mouth but stopped just shy when another though came to BlackBerry. "But why would Master Arnaurd need to find Magic? Aside from the events of this evening, and some day prior, which I would argue for both to be disqualified from the conversation for now....I daresay the only place here which has seen some Arcane Influence would have to be the buried storeroom."

Kathryn Pyke Human, Fighter (Rune Knight), Level 05 HP: 49 / 49 Armor Class: 19 Conditions: N/A Location: Coach House Tap Room Action: N/A Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

Kathryn watched Lizbeth be the busy bee she was, and wished she could offer more to the girl. Kathryn knew how good she was at taking care of a home though, outside of the most basic cooking skills, Kathryn was so useless she would slow things down far more than helping. Most of her childhood had been spent learning how to be lady like with a side of her uncle teaching her how to swing a sword. And her teenage years spent learning how to fight for herself. When Lizbeth left to prepare their sleeping quarters Kathryn returned her attention to the party as Kosara made dessert, and BB and Victoria talked on Lizbeth and their mission. "Some kids are just strange. You should have seen the look on my betrothal's face when he realized he was about to get hitched to me instead of my sister. He looked so defeated." Kathryn joked trying to draw what attention she could from Lizbeth. Her chuckles and smiles were strained though, apart of her wanted to come clean about what she had learned of Lizbeth. But she also wasn't too sure on how the party would react given what they had gone through. She wasn't even sure how Lizbeth would react if she knew. That is what she should have asked Cecily. If Lizbeth knew.

The new magic items seemed rather interesting. "Amulet of the drunkard? I don't think anyone here could really be called a drunkard?" Kathryn said finding the whole idea of a magic item that turned an alcoholic into the healthiest person in the room. Right before taking a sip of the totally not cursed brandy. As for the wand... "So is it like the spell you cast on my hammer when we took it from the constable? Or is it like the opposite effect you mentioned when we discovered the hidden brewery? And if that is the case, do we wanna go back there and try the wand there? See if we can learn anything new?" Victoria did bring up a good point on maybe seeing if these belonged to the lady of the estate. Though, one was acting as Kathryn's squire, and the other was a suspect to Kathryn. BB did bring up a point that the amulet would be useful for someone who had to try and sample a lot throughout the day. "Or it could be useful for someone who gets hurt more often then they would want to admit to others. And needs a reliable way to recover without drawing too much attention." The store room again though... "So that makes our two hot spots the store room in the woods, and the basement study. Either way, we have our starting points. Another look at the store room could hopefully bring us some information."

When dessert came Kathryn was more than a little excited. Finishing her cup of brandy she set it down, looked over the flat bread like treats, grabbed a jar of jam, placed a couple on a plate, and poured enough jam on it to make a small child go "Isn't that a bit much?" Before taking a fork and attempting to cram as much of one of the flat breads into her mouth as she could. "These are so good Kosara! Thank you so much!" Kathryn said as her mood already began to improve. "These are so wonderful!" Finally, some good fucking news.

"I am going to make my way to bed, I do hope the rest of you sleep well, but after the chaos of tonight, I can hear the sheets calling to me." Kathryn said tired out. Finishing up her flat bread, scraping all the leftover jam off her plate, and setting it aside to be cleaned in the morning. "However we want to distribute the magic items or deal with them I am all for. Though it may be a good idea to hold off telling Cecily until we know a little more of whats going on around here. I doubt she would like the fact we've already broken into the study." Kathryn joked before heading outside, a new bottle of wine in her hand.

Seeing Lizbeth outside, Kathryn saw a girl who looked... no. She couldn't make that comparison. Not after what she learned. But she didn't look okay. "Hey Lizbeth, are you doing okay? Its freezing out here." Kathryn tried to say in an optimistic manner. She didn't look okay. Though she said she was, in that monotone way that someone would if they didn't want others to know if they weren't, or in the way where they stopped caring if they were or not. The smiles seemed more for Kathryn's sake than her own. "You know, we're probably all gonna be getting up at different hours for when we get into all of our tasks tomorrow. Since you and I will be working together tomorrow, and I wouldn't mind getting in a short training session before we start, want me to move your bed to my room? Its a bit less crowded? And then we can get moving as soon as we are both ready to take on the world!" Kathryn said loudly, confidently, and with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. This.. also served another purpose too buy herself time while she decided if the party should know about Lizbeth's condition.

With a confirmation from her small squire with a level of determination that made Kathryn a bit proud, Kathryn went to the room Lizbeth tended to share with Victoria and Kosara, picked up one of the beds, and carried it to her own room, placing it by the fire. Changing into her sleep wear and a coat, she rushed back out to Lizbeth. "Come on dude, let's get to be before it gets any colder. You've worked hard enough today." Kathryn said returning to her room, and climbing into bed. And... was the bed heated? Did Lizbeth warm her bed?! Holy shite... she really did go the extra mile.

Weather: The snow slows, which is good. But damage is done, and by damage I mean coverage. But more to that later. It is cold, which might not be so bad except for the wind, which has not let up but marginally. It is uncomfortable out of doors.

Time: Deep into the throes of nighttime.

Ambience: The howl of the winds outside quiet somewhat, if one is listening from inside the Coach House. If one is outside it is equally as apparent by the ability to communicate more effectively, but the wind is still biting enough to snake its way into imperfectly secured clothing. The evening is dark, effectively removed from even the bare light of the moon and stars thanks to oppressive cloud cover. The snow has began falling in larger, puffier flakes, though still much more diagonally than straight down.

The fires within the Coach House keep things nice and toasty, or near enough to it in comparison to the outside. Good food and camaraderie are always in vogue; most especially during nights like this. And with arrangements arranged and plans to settle settled, the worst moments of the day might be forgotten. At least temporarily, with a stout chair beneath the doorhandle and a sword near one's bed.



"I'm just fine, Lady Kathryn," related Lizbeth in a flat tone. Not quite monotone, but forced, like she was attempting to place inflection in accordance to her local manner of speech. "It is quite cold out. I'll be done in a couple more minutes." She continued with her task as quickly as she might, seemingly unbothered by the slicing wind.

The idea of bunking with Kathryn and getting an early start to training, even in possibly feet of snow, earned the tall knight a directed smile and tilt of Lizbeth's head. "Sure," she said evenly, eyed fixed onto her. "The bed is a bit big to move tonight. I will make due. First, I want to see what Mademoiselle Kosara has made for us, if that it alright." She was on the last couple of the steps at this time, now hurriedly knocking the accumulated white stuff off of them. It wasn't a perfect cleaning of the steps, but it was enough to have a better chance of securing footing for anyone else attempting to traverse them in the dark. "Just a moment, please." The unwavering calm in her voice in the midst of the weather might have been considered offputting by others.

Now done, Lizbeth strode to the ground level door to the Coach House and, after a moment of concentration, suddenly clutched herself as hard shivers wracked her body. The color returned to her face and she quickly made her way inside, pushing the door closed behind her. "So cold out there!" the girl mused, her voice now animated and bubbly in front of everyone assembled still. "Hey, I'm going to turn in really soon, but I had to see what Mademoiselle Kosara made for dessert first!" Lizbeth bounded toward the table, angling to put herself between the ubiquitous piece of furniture and the fireplace so that she could eat and warm up at the same time, and grabbed up two of the pancake-like delicacies for herself. The first she simply doled a bit of honey onto and inserted into her face with a joyous lack of refinement, but the other one was more properly dabbed with an adequate amount of fruit preserves. This one she folded in half and held in reserve. "Mmm, I adore crepes. I didn't know you had them ... where you're from," she spoke diplomatically to Kosara.

Her eyes fell to the items which Victoria had identified on the table. "You found those in Grandfather's study?" She seemed to ponder for a moment, then withdrew her new sword from her belt. It was wide, single edged, and had a sweep to the blade that promised to deliver a confident slash if used properly. Alternating layers of folded metal were visible, just like the daggers they had recovered earlier. In a much less animated voice, and intoned, "This is like 'adventuring loot', isn't it? Some of the stories say that Adventurers need this stuff to help against the bad guys." It could be rationally argued that the items from the study were property of the L'Rose Estate, but Lizbeth said something which was a little surprising, given that circumstance. "All of this belonged to my grandfather and I'm his only living heir. But if you need this to fix whatever's going on, you can at least use them. If anything was especially set aside by Grandpa L'Rose for me, then I'm keeping it regardless. We can talk about gifting them when we're all safe. Okay?" Though it was not stated out loud, the tone suggested that this was a down payment for adventurer's services to be rendered. There was a note of desperation present in her words.

All at once, she got bubbly again and removed herself from the taproom. The remaining, fruit preserve filled sweet bread went with her. Before she exited again, she almost blurted out, "Kathryn and I are going to train early in the snow tomorrow so I'm going to pull a mattress into her room! Oh, thanks for letting me borrow that book, Mademoiselle Belmont!"

Within the next few minutes, true to her intent, Lizbeth was laying near the fire atop a mattress with Victoria's copy of The White Book in front of her. The crepe had disappeared quickly and without drama, leaving the young wine heiress to pour over the book's contents with interested, transfixed eyes. Her gear had found its way next to her mattress, stacked neatly, along with a bowl of water which she had used to clean herself up quickly and modestly in preparation to settle in for the evening. "Wow. This lady is strict. She's nothing like Victoria. Looks like her some." Lizbeth turned to Kathryn, up on her bed, "Do you think Mademoiselle Belmont tries to look like her, or it's just a coincidence?" The girl held up the open book so that the tall Knight could get a better look. The pages were open to artwork depicting a flaming skull motif, illuminated images of deceased persons, the physical representations of certain magics to include runic circles, and one large image of a Human lady with fiery red hair wearing a near scandalous red dress affixed with jewels and possessing immaculately attractive features (except perhaps for the stern, authoritative expression, though this was a matter of preference). It was captioned in steady, clear letters: "The Ruby Sorceress, Death's Guardian, The Taker; Wee Jas."

In an almost singsong voice, Lizbeth read a poetic excerpt from the book aloud,

"By hook or by crook,
By bone or by book,
Each soul must die,
And by the Taker be took."

After giving it a moment, she asked, "What do you suppose that means, Kathryn?" A thought or two later, Lizbeth offered up a cheerful, "Well, goodnight!" and closed the book for now.

Victoria Belmont Half-Elf, Bard, Level 5 HP: 33 / 33 Armor Class: 16 Conditions: N/A Location: Coach House Action: Casting Prestidigitation Bonus Action: Morty Reaction: N/A

"Dessert breads," mused Victoria. "I do appreciate the nuance of the trade tongue of the continent; in this case the single letter of difference between 'dessert' and 'desert'. As a child, I confused the spelling of the two constantly until one of my tutors said, 'Desert has one S. Dessert has two, because it makes you fat in the middle.' It was silly - of course it was silly - but I never misspelled it again." Victoria took but one of the sweet, flat confections and placed it carefully in front of her with a bit of fruit. "This looks positively celestial, Kosara. Thank you. Only the one, though. Even with Elvish influence in my parentage, I fear I must take steps to maintain my girlish figure. This is lovely, without a doubt." With her fork carefully taking small parts of the foreign crepe and occasionally supplementing with preserved fruit, the purple and black clad Bard finished her morsel of dessert with apparent satisfaction.

Victoria left the identified Amulet and Wand upon the table and left the room, intent on washing and putting away her own dishes. Oddly, she left her personal teacup at her place at the table as well, as if she might have further purpose for it. This might give others opportunity to peruse and decide among themselves without her presence, which might have been for the best. What was surprising was that, among the talk of what they might do with the items, Lizbeth's voice joined the others. Hopefully, this meant that she was finally done with whatever she was doing in the rooms and on the stairs. Victoria could have sworn that there was something a little off about her, but quick inspection as she came back downstairs had revealed nothing. Add to this a more bubbly personality now that she had come back in, and it convinced the Bard that, aside from the hints which had been revealed about Lizbeth over the recent breadth of time, things were okay with her now. Relatively speaking, of course. When she returned to the Taproom, Victoria repeated for Lizbeth what she had learned about the items, adding, "Why, thank you. I appreciate that you have no problems with us utilizing the magic items, and I think, after some back-and-forth, that I might retain the wand for now." Given that her role had become something nearer to the Party Magic Lady than Utility and Support, it made sense for her to be able to detect the presence of magic - a spell which was not already in her repertoire of encantations and Bardic abilities.

When Lizbeth announced her plans to bunk with Kathryn, followed immediately by a quick thanks for the use of her book, Victoria gave an acknowledging, "It's no problem, of course. But do be careful, and get some rest, Miss L'Rose." A quick wave and Victoria herself prepared to return upstairs. It was getting late and the day had already been long. She had to at least try to make it into town the next day to train with her mentor, who explicitly stated that an undead uprising was not going to be a valid excuse to miss said training. Perhaps more light may even be shed upon the mysteries of the Vineyard for her efforts.

But first, a nightcap. Provided that she could make her sleeping accommodations as safe as possible, it was probably best to get as much sleep as she might. Her teacup found its way into her hand, then underneath the spigot attached to the barrel of brandy. A quick dram or two of the mature, sweet liquor was enough to warm her insides and hopefully hasten along decent rest. Past this, Victoria gathered up the Amulet in her hands and returned to the outside, closing the door behind her swiftly, as to prevent much heat from escaping the Taproom. She clutched her black and gold pashmina about her and ascended the stairs, now much clearer for Lizbeth's efforts (but still accumulating a bit of snow here and there from the relentless onslaught from above). Upon reaching the top floor, Victoria paused at Kathryn's room and knocked, eventually offering over the Amulet of the Drunkard with a practical, "This will probably be most useful with the lady who accepts punishment so that others will not have to. And coincidentally, does not have healing magic of her own." Victoria gave a warm smile and added, "Good night, Kathryn."

Down the hall and in her own room which she shared with Kosara and was, upon basic inspection, missing a mattress, Victoria finally settled in. She discarded her finer clothing to and used a series of Prestidigitation spells to launder them, which left her a little colder than she might have liked as she was clad in a modestly cut black silk chemise. She moved closer to the fire, whispering a quick thanks to Lizbeth for her efforts, and repeated the spellcasting upon the clothing she wore. This was not only for cleanliness, but to warm the attire so that she would have a pleasant transition to rest. "I really ought to invest in a pair of slippers," she mused aloud. The floor was a bit cold. Luckily, thanks to the attentions of their younger hostess, her bed was actually rather toasty.

Before she settled in fully, Victoria gave a quick mental command to her burlap wrapped porcine thrall, who in turn took to a quiet corner and stood in wait. It was time to try and get some rest.

Kosara Tiefling, Warlock (Celestial), Level 04, Barbarian, Level 01 HP: 34/ 34 Armor Class: 12(15 Mage Armor) Conditions: N/a Location: Coach House Action: Table Cleaning and Heading to Bed Bonus Action: N/a Reaction: N/a

“The recipe’s probably a bit different, but they are called crepes? Will remember then!” Kosara smiled to Lizbeth when the girl went ahead to try the dessert with liberal usage of condiments as was proper. She then turned to Kathryn and gave the big woman a huge happy grin. Yes, Kosara was a very happy tiefling right now. People were liking the dessert, so she herself picked one of the crepes, put a bit of jam on it and started nibbling on it with a happy expression. If she still had her tail, it would probably having been making happy swinging motions behind her. As the situation stood right now she lacked said tail, but her expression was still just as happy.

“Understandable, I myself will be eating only one now.” The white haired tiefling replied happily to V and her concerns over food and one’s overall size. Though also admittedly Kosara was one of the ladies present that didn’t watch her figure quite as much overall and not eating too many crepes and jam right now was less about her figure and more about sugar. Grandpa did made her to remember to not have too much sugar before bed lest it messes with her sleep. She also spend a lot of time active, running about, dancing and generally doing stuff so she was mostly good as long as she didn’t overindulge a bit too much.

After the appearance of the dessert, the group’s energy more or less tapered off as people gradually went ahead to return to bed. First were Liz and Kathryn, much to Kosara’s mild annoyance. She didn’t get to have massages or give massages to her big friend. Much sadness was had at that realization, but what can you do? Sadly V also left clearly tired so it was likely she wouldn’t want a massage either. The dancer briefly contemplated offering Berry a massage instead, since everybody else expertly avoided it knowing or unknowing, but on a second thought decided against it. People might question that decision, given her usual way of acting, but the reason was quite simple really… He was still recovering from his injuries. Even if magic healed most of them, it was best to let his body settle in first least she triggered something still lingering or opened a wound that hadn’t closed completely quite yet.

When only Berry and her were left, once berry had finished eating she gave him a smile.“ Berry, you go to bed now, I will clear the table and go to bed afterwards. You don’t need to help me with it. The Unseen servant still has a bit of time in it.” She reassured him.” That and you still aren’t completely healed! Go rest!” She then quickly settled in to move the dishes back to the kitchen area before the last of the Unseen Servant’s energy expired and it eventually fizzled out into nothingness once more.

Once everything was done and dealt with, she headed back to the room she shared with V and Lizbeth. Well there was only a single occupant waiting for her this time( Morty didn’t count). Kosara walked over to her bed, changed out of her clothing into what she usually used to sleep with around here. Yes she had learned to not sleep almost naked once winter proper arrived. She used a shirt and a set of trousers as sleepwear. It was the same ones she used for autumn’s usual day to day activities. She planned to clean the clothes she wore in the morning, felt a bit too tired right now. So she settled into her bed, curled up and warming quickly as the storm outside raged even if it had weakened some. Like a beast whose howls weakened with time and fatigue.

“Today was a tiring day...” She mumbled to herself, making herself comfortable as her eyes were closing and her awareness melting away.” I wonder what everybody back home is doing...” Would they believe her when she got the chance to tell them of her travels and experiences? Will they even be able to imagine a snowstorm and it’s howling? It wasn’t too dissimilar to a sandstorm… just deadly in different ways. Her mind also wandered to Toombles… that was sad, she concluded as she finally completely drifted of into slumber for the evening. Tomorrow was going to be another day filled with excitement, she decided.

Baronfjørd "Blackberry" Chedgusah Dragon Born, Monk (Astral self), Level 05 HP: 38 / 40 Armor Class: 16 Conditions: Sleepy Location: Coach House (Downstais) -> Bed Action: N/A Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A Ki: 2/5

BlackBerry was taken aback by the saltiness of the dessert bread, trying hard not to pull any faces, and quickly learned to take Kosaras advice when first offered. He put down the fork and reached out/asked to be handed the honey and jams so he could slather a generous helping of each across his serving. BlackBerry, weighed down by general exhaustion and the memory of now healed wounds, sat in silence happily eating his now palatable sweet meal as the conversation moved in a similar sleepy manner around him.

He had to admit that the salty bready desert stuff did work a lot better with something sweet slathered atop than on its own. "This is delightful, Kosara. You must simply teach me how to make these."

When Lady Kathryn offered to Lizbeth to stay in her room it gave him pause, but he quickly shut his mouth against any argument, and he only hoped she would be able to watch the girl for any strange behaviour. Despite Lady Kathryns attempt to reassure him earlier that Lizbeth may simply just be acting strange without any magical implications... BlackBerry couldn't quite shake the worry that something else was going on.

"It is not 'Adventuring Loot', Young Lizbeth. It is evidence for the investigation." A prideful part of BlackBerry tiredly pointed out. "By all means, once all things are settled or otherwise it is simply not longer pertinent to-to-to-" Blackberry buried his face into his elbow then promptly disappeared behind a flash of light with a 'A-CHOO!', and then another, and then a third just for luck, finally followed by a small sniffle. "Bless me. On the note of investigation I recommend we strike while the iron is hot. Which is to say we should ask around and check over the study first thing before all else. Perhaps before or after lunch, Young Lizbeth you could put your training to show and demonstrate all Lady Kathryn has taught you thus far?" He added the last part to hopefully not extinguish Lizbeths enthusiasm for her training (certain Lady Kathryn would disapprove of such a thing even by accident) but he was still worried that if they delayed too long then someone else might get into the Study before they had a chance.

In some way it was lucky as now everyone was starting to take their own leave for bed leaving only himself, Kosara, and the remaining dessert breads in the taproom.

"Gracious me." A yawn escaped him as he too felt the siren call of sleep, and at this point he wasn't going to argue. "Thank you again, Kosara, for such a delightful meal. Make sure you do not stay up too late, I do hope you have a restful sleep and I shall see you in the morning." He took a moment to grab a candle and lit it by one of the others.

BlackBerry scurried as fast as he could outside, hunching with his back to the wind to protect the flame, and then up the stairs to the safety of his room. As quickly as he could he washed his face (the water from the pitcher was freezing cold) and peeled the now dry but no less dirtied and bloodied robes making a metal note to wash the in the morning. His to-do list for tomorrow was growing rapidly. By candlelight he turned hi attention to the wounds on side and was reassured to see, aside from a few flakes of dried blood which he cleaned away, Victoria and Kosaras spell work had done a marvellous job closing up the injuries. He would have to see about learning such spell work himself sometime.

While the room itself was still cold the bed itself was thankfully warm and toasty thanks to the warming pan. After another round of sneezes, again each momentarily lighting up the room in flashes of blue, Blackberry blew out the candle and settled himself into bed. Under several layers of blankets and sheets, with the warming pan somewhere past his feet, BlackBerry wondered if he would even be able to sleep tonight after all the excite, plans, and questions the evening had revealed.

Barely a minute later he was soundly asleep and snoring away.

Kathryn Pyke Human, Fighter (Rune Knight), Level 05 HP: 49 / 49 Armor Class: 19 Conditions: N/A Location: Coach House Tap Room Action: N/A Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

At the mention of womanly figure, and going easy on sweets, Kathryn became rather self conscious as she had maybe more than one. Or two. And a rather passionate share of jam to go with it. Even taking a moment to prod her belly, feel disappointment in herself, and set down the last treat on her plate. Balanced meals were never Kathryn's strong suits. She enjoyed her drinks and sweets way too much. If she could live of cake, jerky, and whiskey, she absolutely would. "Where I am excited to accept such an item with permission of the lady of the lands, please do not feel like no one else can use it. I have a rather solid pain tolerance. If push comes to shove, I will be okay a bit sore for an evening." She said confidently, wanting to make sure others could get the help they needed if they needed it.

Back on the topic of sweet snacks, even Kosara was being careful! Kathryn was the weak link in the group when it came to sweets it seemed. However! Kathryn did resist the urge to devour the last jam smothered goodie on her plate that Kosara made. But that inner demon quickly justified her sins against her womanly figure. Its only one more treat. You'll work it off with a good workout in the morning. You're young, a treat wont hurt you. So what if you get a bit softer over time? You don't need to impress anyone but yourself! The inner demons won, before Kathryn knew it, the last jam soaked treat was gone. She had lost the battle. "I agree we need answers now before things either get out of hand, or the answers are buried before we can find them. Lizbeth and I will check out the house tomorrow after an unfortunately brief training session, starting with the study. Then we shall take things from there based on what we find." Kathryn said as confidently as she could. Kathryn did her best to hide she was up to something, but lying was never her strong suit. She felt guilty though, and she was sure it was on her face. But she wanted ever so much to protect Lizbeth, and wasn't sure the best way yet. With brief goodnights, farewells, and finishing the last sip of booze in her cup, she crawled off to bed.

The poem that Lizbeth read off to Kathryn was a little unsettling to hear. On one hand, it was kind of adorable watching Lizbeth read by the firelight while Kathryn got comfortable for the night. Laying out her assortment of weapons and gear on the floor by the dresser in a rather neat and organized fashion. But that poem... it was a little unsettling. But she was a smart girl, if Kathryn said nothing she would figure it out herself, or know that Kathryn was hiding something. That wasn't really something she wanted to do to the girl. "I can't say I know either way. If I had to guess Victoria takes inspiration from the woman for sure. That is her book right? Inspiration is a safe bet. Unless they're related, but that wouldn't exclude V trying to take inspiration either." Kathryn wondered if that was indeed the case did the bard knowingly take inspiration from the woman in the book Lizbeth was reading? Or was it subconscious? Seeing the picture in better light, Kathryn hesitated. "Well uh... wow." She said a little unsure of herself. Seeing how this sorceress was dressed, she was thinking it was something more akin to a coincidence. "Maybe not as much inspiration as I thought. Despite being a bard, I have never noticed V to wear anything so... scandalous." But that poem. That poem still bugged Kathryn. "I couldn't say specifically. However, it does ring a bit of a bell. Its a common poem to worship a goddess of death. To what extent I am a little unsure. It is not my sort of topic of study." Kathryn said trying to regain her confidence. She had though, noticed the coin of worship on Victoria in the past. Hadn't registered it until just now, but it clicked now. She guessed that meant this was the god that V directly worshiped. It made sense. Even if a little unsettling. "Good night dude, don't get too many wicked dreams. Tomorrow, we got work to do." Kathryn said confidently. Training would be short tomorrow. Maybe some arming practice. Something so that if Lizbeth had to defend herself tomorrow and Kathryn couldn't step in the young bean would have some way to defend herself.

Weather: It is cold, for certain, but after a while it looks like the worst of the storm is over. A few gentle flakes still descend, but this is the quiet passing of a great, atmospheric beast leaving the land silent in its wake.

Time: We discuss the passing of the night and the eventual return of the dawn.

Ambience: The soft crackle of controlled fire consuming wood issues from the individual hearths within the Coach House, comprising the ambient sounds of the night and coming morning, accented with the slow, rhythmic breathing of most of the inhabitants within. Winds from outside calm significantly, barely notable against the walls and roof, especially as compared to earlier in the evening. The rooms are scented with seasoned, aromatic firewood and the occasional note of fine potables, as is most of the building due to decades of familiar fermentations. It is a night whose relaxed feel now belies the violence of the hours prior; even the creak of the building under the stresses of wind and weight of snow seems to satisfy the senses now that warm blankets and peace are involved.

Outside, snow piles deep and drifts slant against the windward side of buildings. This is not the light and playful snowfall of early to mid-winter, but a near to unprecedented piece of weather in a place generally considered ideal for the growing of fine wine grapes. Still, the coverage looks rather peaceful, especially now that the moon breaches the cover of high clouds, giving irregular and bare amounts of pale light to reflect from the smooth landscape of white hills below.



The impotent moans of the dying reach Kathryn's ears across a field of slaughter. Troops under her command have already fanned out, ready to put the unwilling or incapable to the spear; if they will not serve in life, then their corpses shall serve instead. This needs only happen a few times before the rest of what passes for survivors get the point, yet even still a few remain which refuse to bow. There was bravado from some, even potentially genuine bravery, but none could stand against Kathryn's might as she applied a great and powerful sword to those she was pointed toward.

Just a few scattered towns in this area, certainly nothing of great note, but one item of business stymied their complete annexation of this part of the realm to the Empire: There were none of noble, let alone royal blood from whom she might wrest a crown. Peasants and mercenaries, all, and none who might surrender or be slaughtered that she might claim another's territory. This damned Oath deprived her of a total victory and claim to a land of her own, once the Empire expanded past the mountains and into these moors, and then into the fertile lands beyond. All she could do now was wait. "The Prince will be here soon. Make sure everything is ready. And show me to this 'Headman.'

The center of this burned-out town held the survivors - common folk, non-combatants, fodder - who might be useful in ways which did not involve picking up a spear, if they were made to understand the truth of their situation. Otherwise, they would belong to their Prince. There were no words exchanged while the town Headman was lashed to a barrel. None were necessary. The old fellow was strong still. Defiant. How Kathryn wished she could have fought him in his prime. There was even temptation to let him loose and give him a sword, just to allow this Headman the honor of dying like a warrior. But this wasn't about honor, such as it was. The sword was placed to the side in lieu of a large, intimidating maul. She swung it once over her head and brought it down upon the back of the man's skull, bringing him to expiration in such a way as his brains stained the townsfolk closest to them.

"Kneel." One simple word which brought about an immediate result.

Elsewhere, the soldiers both living and dead moved like a swarm of bees around buildings and yards, snatching up who they could and putting troublemakers to the blade. Kathryn looked back over her shoulder, past the rolling hills dotted with multicolored wildflowers and a few copses of trees, back to the mountains in the distance. Home was on the other side, but no chance of proving one's self. But this? Another frontier town no one had ever heard of, in a place no one would ever want to hold for strategic positioning. Orders from superiors kept her here, and then just barely.

A sudden separation of consciousness came over Kathryn, as the actual woman was able to break free of the mental narrative present, but still irrevocably trapped within this unfamiliar body in this almost familiar place. The actual owner of the body laughed internally, delighting in the torture of spirit as slowly Kathryn felt herself unravel, her sanity a thread from a sweater hung upon a thorn, removing itself as its wearer ran for dear life. When the last of her sense of self was about to break...

"Lady Kathryn?" came a voice from the floor, the silhouette of Lizbeth partially blocking the fireplace. Her voice was eerily calm, impossibly even. "Lady Kathryn, I think you were having a nightmare." Lizbeth shifted slightly in the gloom so that the yellow-orange light of the hearth could show her features. She stared at Kathryn with black, lifeless eyes, and bloodless white skin. No breath entered nor left her body. Lizbeth's head suddenly jerked to one side in what would have looked like a concerned gesture were it a smooth, human motion. Her lips grew into a smile. "Are you okay now?"


Victoria strode back from the ritual circle, burns evident across her hands. The spellwork had gone farther than she wanted it to, but the Lich-Emperor wanted results. She waved over a nearby soldier and, smiling, caressed his face with tender strokes and quiet promises of pain before clutching his throat and intoning words laced with bitter blackness. Crackling energy tore a portion of the man's life from him, leaving her handprint across his throat but mending the burns on her own body instantly. "You will live to serve for another day. You will die to serve for others. Get back to scavenging. You know what we're looking for." Another town down in this forsaken, too-cold countryside that no one cared about. Another one yet to go. And again. And again. And again. The war wasn't even out this way, yet she was bound by the will of the Lich-Emperor to come to this place, at this time, and follow commands as they were given. Strength in life, strength in death.

Once Victoria received word that the bodies, at least the mostly intact ones, were piled up in one central area, she knew that she had to be there. Robes of black silk trailed behind her, flapping dramatically in the gusting wind. Common folk were here as well; locals who surrendered or were not harmed to a point which that were not useful. "I do not trade in slaves," she said to a nearby officer. "I am not a Quartermaster and I have not time for them. If there are any willing who possess a useful skill, have them brought to me. Otherwise put them elsewhere, or bleed them and throw them on the pile."

The officer stammered out an uncertain, "Y-yes, my Prince," and ran to make certain the orders were carried out posthaste.

In front of the assembled soldiers and conquered peasants, Victoria stalked back and forth, from one end of the wall of corpses to another. She mused aloud, "What to do, what to do? The Knight did an amazing job here. Too good, I should say. Why, I haven't room for all of these people in my entourage. Hmm..." She placed a finger to her lips as to pantomime deep thought, "I know! Volunteers with abilities I can use will gain the privilege of food, warm clothing, maybe even someplace dry to sleep so long as they please me. Otherwise, we make a new pile of friends and loved ones. You understand, yes? ...excellent. And now, as I have no desire to haul around a town full of Zombies and I've simply not enough onyx for Shadows..." Victoria raised her hands and began chanting runes of horrifying, unnatural origin, delighting in the noises of fear from her prisoners. The fresh corpses began to move of their own accord, but sluggish, even for animated dead.

A wretched fury of tearing sounds erupted from the corpses as they began frantically removing the flesh from themselves and those around them - scraping fingers literally to the bone and peeling away muscle, manually disemboweling themselves and each other, shaking heads about and bashing them on harder surfaces until brains began to leak out of various cranial holes. Victoria had raised a small army of skeletons from inside the corpses of the freshly dead, and they were trying to rid themselves of the actual, literal dead weight. People froze in horror. Some tried to run. Others just sank to their knees and covered their ears. When the horrible cacophony was finally over, Victoria spoke to the crowd, "Your first task: Clean these up for me. Or join their ranks. Please understand, I don't need you to be dead to animate your skeleton. Work fast." As they got to work, crying and blubbering in fear, revulsion, disgust, whatever, Victoria slid a long-necked instrument not unlike a lute from her back and began playing. Those carcasses that were 'finished' responded to the music readily.

It was a long time, longer then expected when Victoria emerged from her amazingly appointed tent and screamed out, "ORDERS. We dig. On this spot. We dig, and we wait. Burn it all down." Her expression was cold, angry, merciless.


Morning came, a bright and happy sort of mood having infected Lizbeth. She had risen early; far earlier than the others underneath this roof, and decided to get to work. Nothing fancy at all, just a little cooking. In this case, it was a decent pot of oat porridge with crushed walnuts and a kettle for strong, black tea. She had risen well before dawn and quietly got herself ready, dressed for warmth and equipped for either training with Kathryn, or an all-out battle. It was difficult to say.

Long, thick skirts fell over woolen hose and stout boots, the green, chitinous Ankheg cuirass buckled securely over her wool and linen garments, sleeves cut down to her wrists of a muted, dark orange color, terminating with brown cloth and leather bracers to hold the sleeves in place for warmth. A decorative but functional apron hung from her belt which was, embroidered aspects aside, the same purple-grey color as her hooded split cape. A shield hung strapped to her back; the very one which resembled grape leaves accented with silver, made from more of the tough, green chitin. The sweepingly curved sword recovered from her grandfather's study was secure to her swordbelt, the opposite side featuring the Constable's whip, now appearing to be in pristine, new condition, and one of the long knives recovered from the undead entourage.

It all seemed out of place with the rosy checked, cherubic girl, who seemed quite happily content to set up a warm, simple breakfast for everyone.

Elsewhere, the sounds of swearing and effort could be clearly heard over the subdued elements of the very new dawn. It took a lot to get that blasted door open, and there was so much work to be done, but the bald, tattooed Dwarf was going to do it, and damnit that first step was exiting his home/workshop. It took effort to make the necessary egress, and even longer to get to a spot where he might begin walking without having to push through snow as deep as he was tall, but eventually Urmdrus found himself along more or less even ground, unsteady in the snow but determined to reach his first destination, a sack of goodies slung over his back like an errant and underpaid deliveryperson on a vital mission. Oh, he was going to get there, all right. Then everyone would see what he had for them. Two of them in particular.

It wasn't too far past dawn when Urmdrus arrived, pounding on the door like a man aggrieved until he was finally allowed entrance. He muttered something about "Things to do," but did stick around long enough for a fast cup of tea, a faster shot of brandy, and a helping of oat porridge which he took with him, bowl and all. Prior to this, however, Urmdrus tilted out the contents of his sack, containing a lovely laurel circlet of light armor quality which resembled layered leaves for Lizbeth, and two artfully styled scabbard, suitable for shortswords. As an aside, there as a vectored emblem of an ankheg, set to hook or pin upon clothing as a brooch, either as decoration or to hold together a cloak. "Blue guy will sort these. Circlet for you. Matches shield. Early birthday." He then grunted dismissively, waving the still full bowl as a thanks, and left back into the frigid dawn.