Shoe Thief

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Kathryn Pyke Human, Fighter (Rune Knight), Level 05 HP: 49 / 49 Armor Class: 19 Conditions: Exhaustion (x2) Location: Coach House Taproom Action: N/A Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

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Kathryn rather enjoyed being a bit buzzed. It numbed the aches and pains caused from a long night of hard labor, boosted her confidence, and she honestly liked the taste of alcohol to probably an unhealthy degree. Yes, she would have to moderate, and yes she was very bad at it, but she was working on it! And this was a winter vacation! Turning more and more into a series of potential problems... Problems which could and should be totally dulled by alcohol! Kathryn being as relaxed as she was, enjoying her snacks and fine wines, didn't take full note of what Victoria was saying at first. But when the thinking gears began to turn! The old thinker soon kicked into full power! "For once, I think this makes me the smart one of the group." Kathryn said with an ever so confident grin on her face as she picked up one of the daggers. Kathryn's air of confidence was soon wore down with the words she was beginning to dread. "Lesser, Restoration." Suddenly Kathryn felt much more aware of her surroundings, and all the aches and pains she was trying to dull returned. "What the fuck dude..." Kathryn mumbled to her friend in a weak defeated tone. "I ain't throwing people out windows yet, that seemed so unnecessary!" Sure, maybe that thin line Kosara was talking about was hard for Kathryn to recognize when she was drinking. But dayum. "We don't even get a morning! I am going to bed soon!" Kathryn said the exhaustion trying to fight back. Alas, the tiefling woman had robbed Kathryn of her ignorant bliss and the erosion of her social filter. Maybe if she drank fast while Kosara was cooking she could hide the tipsy-ness? Only time would tell.

"Where was I..." Kathryn said taking another bite of morty trying to think again. "The short and sweet version? These here are some old, and a rather high commodity. Giving out to nobles for gifts sort of thing. Skilled smiths could maaaaaaybe replicate it in the right conditions? But it takes years of training, practice, specific steel and iron qualities, and is overall considered a rather dated process to make blades. Still doable, but they're also not locally made. At least by anyone native to the region. Along those lines, it can probably all be traced back to the southern deserts. Even then, if you're not upper class, chances are you won't ever lay your hands on something like this. Unless you can throw a lot of money at your problems." Kathryn said with an air of confidence normally only seen when she is either extremely buzzed, or violently removing the head of some poor bloke with a blunt weapon. "What makes these blades even more strange? They're made of Yasmin steel. Probably related to the otherwise out of date metal working skills here." Kathryn said pondering the dagger over. A vicious blade, one that would absolutely be hung up in a library or in a private room. Taking a few sips of her brandy, looking over her shoulder to make sure Kosara wouldn't stop her, Kathryn continued. "These are the sort of weapons people obtain to be flashy. Not only because they look pretty, but they are expensive, and are so well made they get their own myths and legends about them." So what the fuck were 5 undead dudes doing with them. Only to explode and lose them. Same for the clothes. Are they gifts? Traps? Curses? Apart of Kathryn did want to pull a prank, touch one of the blades and pretend to lose her mind. But she was tired, and so was everyone else. Also she didn't want to get blasted in the back with some sort of magic beam.

As Kathryn listened in to what Blackberry had to say about updates, Kathryn sighed with defeat again. This vacation was turning out more and more weird as it went on. Finishing the brandy in the waterskin Kathryn sighed again. She'd drink to sleep tonight, but fuck she'd kill for a hot meal. If her bones didn't ache so much it felt like the muscles would slide off any moment she would go make something. But alas, she was hurting, she was tired, and the alcohol she used to numb her aches and pains also made her tired. There was simply no winning in the life of a noble half giant. "Sending it back could be hard... If Victoria or Kosara didn't find more instructions... I suppose we wait..." Looking over to Lizbeth, she wondered if she should mention the need to ask Cecily. There was something weird going on here, and maybe she knew, or maybe she didn't. While Lizbeth was so... stressed out seemed the best word, Kathryn wouldn't risk bringing that sort of burden on the small bean.

When Blackberry and Victoria brought up the sheer self importance of whoever sent these... creatures. Kathryn couldn't help but bring up her long lost past. "When I was little. Like, half of Lizbeth's age. Maybe a tad older..." Kathryn stopped to ponder, took a sip of the sweet red she grabbed, and set the bottle back down. "My parents took me to this huge ball in the capital. When I say huge, I mean my parents had a new dress made for me, and my mother got her best dress out of storage for this event. The big reason for the ball was basically a massive consolidation of power by the king. Rewarding loyalist, making sure the right houses got the new lands, and making sure everyone had the allies they needed to hold onto new claims. To do that, lots of us tikes were to be married off to one another. A mix of tightening our new holdings, and to help prevent too much infighting while everything was sorted out." Kathryn paused a moment, trying to consider how to word the next part. "My dress was nice, but I was little, and had a tendency to play in the dirt a lot. My mother's dress? I swore that night she was the most beautiful woman in all the world that night. Both of us were dressed in all of our best silks. Hell's I think my father and brother were as well. The point being, us, a noble house that wasn't huge, but by no means was small, all got to wear some rather fine and nice silks. A lot of them." She couldn't remember if any of her other siblings wore silks... or if they were even there...

Then Kathryn pointed sharply to the piles of silks that Victoria had cleaned off and brought in. "That right there is more silken garbs than my family had mustered up for potentially one of the most influential weekends of our house's span. And it is being used on undead envoys. With some of the most expensive short blades I have ever seen. This is someone who wants the world to know they have money to burn." And if you play your cards right, some of it may even be yours. She figured the others understood that part. But someone who had this sort of wealth to just burn, also had the means to take so much more. When that realization hit Kathryn, she was definitely unsettled. The plus side about being tipsy again, it was a lot easier to hide the fear.

As Blackberry went over to check in on Lizbeth, Kathryn worried she may have added way too much stress and hardship to the small bean, already struggling enough. Kosara had soon announced the need for assistance with carrying out the platters, Kathryn would take this chance to walk into the kitchen to help Kosara bring out plate after plate. Thinking of ways to help the small bean as she did so. And hiding the fact that she had already gotten herself a bit drunk again from Kosara. When an idea hit her! "Hey Lizbeth, you know we got a lot of silks here. Maybe we can see about getting it sized into some fine garbs? I own a dress but it's nothing fancy, and I am pretty sure its just a fancier version of those dresses tavern woman wear to get better tips." Kathryn jested trying to help cheer up Lizbeth. "I know nothing about sizing up clothing, but I am sure we could figure something out yeah?" Kathryn asked optimistically. "Not tonight though... Tonight... or today I guess, We all could use a nap. Or a short term coma. But when we are all feeling rested up, we can all work on some fines clothes together, and maybe Blackberry can tell us how big his eggs will be when he lays them!" Kathryn said full of joy and excitement, though the last comment seemed less like a jest than the one before. Taking another sip of the sweet wine, it appeared that was also gone. Maaaaaybe she also got carried away with that too.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Kathryn Pyke Human, Fighter (Rune Knight), Level 05 HP: 49 / 49 Armor Class: 19 Conditions: Exhaustion (x2) Location: Coach House Courtyard --> Coach House Taproom Action: N/A Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

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With the bits and pieces all set aside inside of the barrel, Kathryn felt assured that soon this whole mess would be behind them. Surely no more dead people would come to be creepy when Kathryn and Kosara burned them all to bits. That is at least the logic Kathryn's have burnt out mind could muster. Kathryn made no attempt to stop Kosara from digging through the corpse pieces. She would however, try her best to not be sick as she watched Kosara. On the plus side, Kosara seemed to have a better idea of what was going on with the dead people than Kathryn did. Though she still seemed inconclusive. Shame, but at least Kosara had better ideas than Kathryn. "Whatever be the cause its still weird. I don't trust them one bit." But alas, Kathryn was ready to torch the bits and be done with it.

That was until a sharp tone Kathryn hadn't heard before spoke up. Kathryn already had her dagger in her hand before the bird could finish its challenged sentence. Eyes wide, clearly a little jumpy, Kathryn locked eyes with the dagger prepped to launch. Seeing Victoria's bird and waiting for it to speak, Kathryn slowly lowered the dagger, and soon sank it back into her boot. Tired, confused, and attempting to process the situation, Kathryn sighed. There would be no barrel burnings yet. "I guess hot tea sounds rather nice..." Kathryn spoke exhausted and defeated. But hot tea did sound nice... Maybe something to nibble on too. A night of hard work without treats and snacks was difficult. Kosara and Victoria had won. Despite Kathryn's aversion to ransacking the dead, they both had a point. They may have clues, evidence, and other important bits of information. Or in Kosara's case, more loot. The bodies would have to wait.

"Yeah lets deal with the bodies later..." Kosara did bring up a good point on removing the bits from public eye just in case. So barrel by barrel Kathryn moved the bits back to the workers quarters. Only to trip up on the last barrel as she set it down inside the windowless room. Though she was able to save the barrel from tipping and spilling, she collapsed to a knee to have her cheek land on the bits on the top of the barrel. Reacting quick, Kathryn jumped up, ran out of the room into the court yard and began hacking and gagging reflexively as she gained distance. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck no no nu uh." She mumbled as she calmed herself. Thankfully nothing came up, but she was still shaken. "[color=roleplayerguild.com/topics/186855-avo… just get inside...[/color]" Kathryn mumbled to Kosara as a couple small frozen specs were still stuck to her cheek.

In her half tired state, Kathryn hadn't adjusted herself to the doorway, and in retaliation for the wooden frame hitting her in the head as she entered she sharply replied with a fist hitting the frame, backed up with the words. "Dick Fucker." She spoke as she continued walking in, and seemed to relax rubbing the sore spot on her head and grabbing a cup of tea. "Did we miss anything interesting?" Kathryn asked tired and defeated. To accompany this feeling, Kathryn went over to the barrel of brandy that had been recovered a bit ago, and poured herself a pint before setting it on the counter, looking at it, and decided what would go great with it, is a bottle of sweet red. Thankfully, she had one of those opened from a previous evening. A few sips from the red to get started, a plate full of some left over Morty bits, and a mug of brandy, and Kathryn was ready to take on the day!

Then she saw it, the sweet biscuits. "Ooooooh... those look good." She said with a lot more energy than she had previously held. Nothing could stop Kathryn from getting her hands on treats. Shy of maybe someone rather sternly telling her no. "Hey BB is it cool if I have some of those?" Kathryn tried to ask in her best sweet innocent lass tone. And to her excitement, the dragonborn said yes! "THANKS!" Kathryn spoke up and took 3 long steps to get to the tray, shoved one in her mouth, chewed twice, and shoved another in her mouth. The biggest grin on her face, comparable to a child in a candy store being told she was allowed free reign of the sweets. With a third treat in hand, and the first two barely chewed, she stopped, looked around rather shamefully, and sat herself down. Slowing her excited chewing pace she finished until she swallowed and meekly spoke up. "...sorry..." She said the shyness winning over. To wash down her shame she began drinking down the brandy. Nothing cured awkwardness and guilt more than booze!

Kathryn with her array of drinks, Morty bits she snacked on, and buzzed enough to be ready to nap Kathryn spoke up again. "By chance, do we have any easy to make food still left? Soup? Stew?" Kathryn figured that making drinking when she was tired after a long night of work with no food in her system outside of Morty was a bit of a risk. To prevent more trouble like previously, she figured she should address that. "Also, Victoria, were you able to translate that letter at all? Anything we gotta worry about from the Barrel Brigade?" Kathryn spoke with a toothy smile as if she had delivered the best joke.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Kathryn Pyke Human, Fighter (Rune Knight), Level 05 HP: 49 / 49 Armor Class: 19 Conditions: Exhaustion (x2) Location: Coach House Action: N/A Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

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Kathryn prepared herself for a combat situation. A situation which she was most skilled. As she gained experienced her training and strength would soon make her unmatched against any other humanoid. A force to be reckoned with. So opening the door to find out that this problem was not one to be settled with blades and fists, but brooms and dustpans, Kathryn was a little disappointed. She had never done well with traditionally woman's chores. She couldn't clean that well, she was barely passable with a broom, and the only dishes she ever learned how to clean were camping supplies. Its not to say that she was useless, or that she thought herself above such work. But it was work she was ill suited for, and it was work that she rather didn't enjoy. Fighting was fun, clean up? Less so. Growing up kitchen work was sort of fun, but she also had a crush on one of the serving girls in her parents kitchen. Before she really understood why she had feelings for a woman she only spoke too a few times. Kathryn figured she had a stronger attraction to woman then men, but not an exclusive attraction. But also, Daisy gave her cookies. A lot. And for a woman who focused more on her work than on her ability to be beautiful, she was rather attractive. But, she was 9, and she learned later that Daisy was in fact, married. Probably best considering that her father rather harshly exclaimed that she was not only forbidden from marrying a commoner, but needed to marry someone who could give her an heir someday. And, she was way too young to be attempting to find spouses.

All of this did not change the fact that Kathryn loathed the kind of work that didn't come from camping, and from fighting. "yeah we're definitely gonna need a spade and a broom." Kathryn said as she dragged a barrel over, grabbing a shovel from behind it. "I've seen whole bodies explode a couple times before. But it required a lot of force... from a man far larger, stronger, and a lot more violent than myself." Albeit, Kathryn was rather violent herself when fighting. But her uncle was something... more. The assassins who had come for her while she pleaded her case? One had been... exploded. Had been lifted by his leg, and slapped against a stone tower with enough force that all that was left was his leg. The other was probably not an assassin, but someone who decided he wanted a ton of praise from his lords. When Kathryn's case had gone sour, and things were clearly turning against her, a band of soldiers without their marked crests had stopped her and her uncle. Harsh words were spoken, and the officer clearly intended to capture Kathryn and her uncle. That officer who was leading this band of soldiers with hidden allegiances drew his weapon, and clearly intended for his men to do the same. Kathryn's uncle made an example of the man by growing to his full height, and pulling the officer in half with his bare hands. The others backed off after that, but it became another hurdle to work over while Kathryn pleaded her case. A battle that at the age of 10 she stood no real chance of winning. "But that explosion, was nothing like this. They were stiff when we loaded them, but not... not like glass. Like... well... corpses." Kathryn said puzzled as she set up the barrel to be filled with undead people bits.

As Kathryn began to sweep poorly, and shovel marginally better the bits of undead people pieces, she turned to Kosara to speak up. "I suppose if you really want some of this clothing you should grab it before it fills the barrel with the... the bits." Kathryn said rather uncomfortable. She really didn't like the idea of taking clothes off the dead. Even less so since these corpses seemed rather cursed. Sure, the clothes were nice, sure, maaaaaaybe she could try and fashion a half decent dress that could fit her and look nice. Hell, with the right pins, knots, and pieces, she could make a rather attractive dress that could compliment her figure rather well. But corpse clothes, silk wasn't very protective, she had little understanding of fabrics and how to use them, and she worried that she may come across as rather indecent should she begin wearing clothes like that around the lands. Plus, there were no special events here going on that would warrant such apparel. And there was no one here she was trying to woo over.

Should Kosara dig through the bits of... bits. Kathryn would let her. But she wanted to get this job done asap before her legs failed her. She wanted nothing more than to drink, sit down, and pretend everything would be okay from here. And maybe devour some tasty food... breaded chicken? A real sandwich? Steak? Gods she would kill for some steaks and mashed potatoes. Or even some good tomato soup for something easy and warm to down. A nice cheese sandwich to go with it... FOCUS! Whatever Kosara didn't pick out, Kathryn had shoveled into a barrel and dragged it into the yard. "Kosara, when you're ready, we got a barrel of dead people chunks to burn." Kathryn sang songed. And wondered for a brief moment if the exhaustion was starting to wear on her sanity as they prepared the bonfire of corpse dust. "I wonder if they froze and exploded because they weren't outside or in sunlight anymore.... seemed weird though... why explode into pieces now..." Kathryn pondered looking at the barrel.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Kathryn Pyke Human, Fighter (Rune Knight), Level 05 HP: 49 / 49 Armor Class: 19 Conditions: Exhaustion (x2) Location: Fields near Estate House --> Coach House Action: N/A Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

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How long were the creepy dead people standing still in the ice and snow? Way too damn long. Kathryn was exhausted, mildly buzzed, and cold as hell frozen over. And several of the dead dudes who she loaded up into the wagon, were frozen to the ground. At one point a shoe almost coming off, leaving Kat in a weird position of does she touch the dead mans shoe to put it back on? Or does she leave the half removed shoe to eventually fall? Opting to not lose the shoe she pushed it back on, and hoped that what she heard wasn't the sound of something cracking and breaking. What she could feel through the clothes made her rather uncomfortable too. Despite someone who was really, really good at killing people, she had a weird aversion to dead bodies. The cracking and and other noises that came from the wagon as old boy pulled them made Kathryn want to puke. Again, despite her doing much and worse to foes she fought, the idea of a corpse making so much noise and being messed with so much really bugged her. Thankfully loading them back up wasn't too much trouble. Barricaded into the workers quarters if they turned hostile, they would get a short heads up. So they had that going for them.

On the plus side, Kosara seemed to be hanging in there alright. "Well, they can be unsettling in that glorified closet of a bedroom. Until we know what is going on with them we should leave them be and " When the shattering crack, or boom, came from the now barricaded room, Kathryn sighed. She was really hoping that they would have more answers before things turned sour. With BB now inside, it was up to Kosara and Kathryn to handle things. SO handle she did. "I didn't see anything." Kathryn said matter of factly as she began to dismantle the barricade. Pulling the silvered knife from her boot Kathryn put one hand on the lever that opened the door, and turned to Kosara. "If they fight back, I will force the first one back into the others, see if I can get them to stumble up and create confusion. Then we hit them with whatever we can quick and fast. Then back the hell out. If they are getting feisty, they may want to come out. After the first push we let them and pick them off where I have room to fight them, and you will have a better line of sight. Alright? And make sure you stand back for the first bit. If they want out, they may try something similar to push me." Not that she thought any of them were strong enough, but they were dead, so their rules were different. Dagger drawn, Kathryn opened the door and prepared to shoulder check the first fucker who could be in the room, with a dagger in hand.

When the half giant met no resistance, she had almost fallen over. Not from losing balance, she was careful and wanted to keep her options open. But she tripped. She almost tripped on... Glass? Bones? "What the fuck nugget..." Kathryn mumbled confused. She supposed this could be a trap to counter her actions she just took, but this seemed so... wrong. Looking about the room at the jagged remains of their guests, their clothes, and the distinct lack of... well guests that seem to remain. Kathryn just seemed more confused than anything. Before backing out of the door way, dagger in hand, though not presently in a fighting grip. Just holding it in one hand to carry it. "They... exploded. They exploded Kosara." Kathryn said as if she were still trying to process this herself.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Kathryn Pyke Human, Fighter (Rune Knight), Level 05 HP: 49 / 49 Armor Class: 19 Conditions: Exhaustion (x2) Location: Fields near Estate House --> Coach House Action: N/A Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

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Communication was going nowhere. Well, verbal wasn't. She was however hoping that Victoria's studies back at the couch house could get them some decent results. It was more magic Kathryn didn't understand, but if Victoria could get some answers all the better. She hated how little she felt she could assist. Most of her skills were physical, and right now the most physical thing she could do was to be in the way incase shit kicked off. Kathryn did however tense up as Victoria stepped around her, but with the new ball of bacon acting as a shield for Victoria, Kathryn held steady. Ready to react, but leaving room for the bard to work her skills and magic. "Victoria, what are you doing?" Kathryn asked a little unsettled as V began to strip the undead dude. A thought did cross her mind. These were not the first undead they have met on the property, and they were here and present, and standing. The corpses from the cellar were determined to be like them just... not awake. As Victoria cleaned off the bit of cloth with magic, Kathryn thought of bringing up the idea of snapping the neck of one of the undead so that way they could communicate with it again using her magic. Opening her mouth to speak, she stopped herself. Victoria could hear and see through her companions, what is to day that whoever gave orders to this lot couldn't do the same? Sure Kat wasn't sure on all the rules, but bringing up snapping a dude's neck in front of them right before doing so never seemed to work out. So she held her tongue, and took a swig from her waterskin to help calm herself down. The brandy was still as good as ever, though when drinking she realized that over the course of the night she had emptied the liquid container. "son of a cock fucker..." Kathryn mumbled as she put the water skin away. As Victoria left Kathryn felt realized she should have asked the bard if they were puppets like what she employed. Creatures she could listen through and control, or just give orders too. Victoria would know far better than she would in that matter. When the group all met up again Kathryn made it a point to make sure she asked.

Kathryn watched with hope, then disappointment as Blackberry's attempts at communication had failed. She should have expected as much, but hopefully when Victoria translated the note they would be able to learn something useful. Maybe even set up proper communications! "We tried, we gotta keep trying though." Kathryn spoke up to Blackberry. "You're right though. We can't leave them here. It looks... suspicious as all hells." Kathryn said concerned. She was terrified of causing a panic. She was also worried of a fight breaking out. Sure she could muster up the strength if she needed, but she wasn't so sure that if she laid down on the snow and mud that she would be able to get back up before taking a power nap. When Blackberry went off to get old boy and the wagon, Kathryn stayed behind to make sure that someone was watching over the dead dudes, and that it wasn't Kosara. She had gotten pretty spooked, and Kathryn didn't want to leave her alone with the beings that spooked her. "Are you doing okay?" Kathryn asked the small tiefling woman while keeping herself between the small woman and the dead people.

When Blackberry had returned with the wagon, Kathryn sighed with relief. They were soooo close to done. SO damn close. Once the wagon came up, Kathryn found herself unsure how to proceed. Did she toss them in like cargo? Or did she set them in carefully as if they were passengers? She opted for something in between. Laying each dead man down one at a time trying her best not to have them lay on each other too much. Lift, set, lift, set. Though they overlapped a little she figured it was better than tossing them like a sack of potatoes all on top of each other. It was when she set down the last one that something had clicked. They were familiar. They were familiar to a concerning degree. That sort when you see someone or something in passing, but didn't really know what it meant. These people were different from her dream, but their attire wasn't too far off. They were damn fucking close to her dream. Only these figures weren't military. They were civilian. Or some government officials. But for a group of people she had never met before... how did she dream of something so real? Something that was real before seeing it before?! Maybe she had when she was little, learning kingdoms and noble houses, but why would that come up now of all times?! And right before these fuckers came up.

Kathryn hadn't realized she had been standing still and staring until she noticed the wagon returning to the coach house. she picked up her pace again, but she was currently slower than a pack mule tugging a full wagon of cargo. What she also found odd about them, is that they were practically skin and bones. All the bulk they could see was likely just clothing padded on layer by layer. Was this done to hide stuff in their clothes? To hide how skinny they actually were? To make them look bigger than they actually were? She couldn't be so sure. Once returned to the coach house Kathryn spoke up to Blackberry "Be right back. I need something..." She spoke up before running into the tap room, grabbing some more of the brandy, and waving to Victoria and Lizbeth. "We're putting out guests in the workers room. Then we gotta talk." She said in a hurry as she ran back to the wagon and unloaded the dead dudes into the workers quarters outside the former inn. Taking more than a couple sips from the brandy, she looked at the final dead guy inside the wagon as they were unloaded. The biggest one. "Want some?" She said pouring her reused bottle a bit down his open mouth before taking another swig herself, and closing the bottle. Then tossing the big guy in with his room mates before closing off the doorway with any debris she could find to seal the doorway.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Kathryn Pyke Human, Fighter (Rune Knight), Level 05 HP: 49 / 49 Armor Class: 19 Conditions: Exhaustion (x2) Location: Fields near Estate House Action: N/A Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

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Kathryn continued to feel uneasy. As she approached the hill that the others were interacting with the group on the hill, she took a moment to look back only to notice that Lizbeth was gone. Maybe she went to get help? Maybe she got spooked? She couldn't be sure. When this was over Kathryn would have to check on her. She hoped beyond hope that she was going to be okay though. Turning back to the others, Kosara and Blackberry were sorting out the note between them. Attempting to figure out what it could mean, and what the reasoning for this odd group of very likely dead individuals was doing here. Apart of her really worried this would turn into a fight. The uneasyness of the situation left Kathryn feeling like they were one bad move away from things turning ugly.

Then, it smiled. The smile was comparable to what Kathryn pictured someone getting their mouth forcibly stretched wide with hooks as a form of torture. But in some twisted way they enjoyed the torture. Apart of Kathryn wanted to scream, apart of her wanted to puke, apart of her wanted to nope right out of this and leave. Go to bed, enjoy a warm drink and meal, get shit faced drunk on the floor, or any combination of those options! Oh what she would do for that instead of this weird shite. As the others relaxed, Kathryn couldn't be sure if she was to relax too, or be worried that they were gearing up for something. God dammit how she wished she was better at determining these sort of things, but she wasn't even sure if the rules still applied to dead people the way it applied to the living. So those skills may not even come in handy in that regard either.

Kathryn let out a soft sigh when Kosara mentioned not wanting to get into a fight, but was still talking as if she could loot their clothes off their person. Just... What did Kosara thing looting clothes off dead people meant? These dead people seemed like they would put up at least a small fight for the clothes on their back. When the big one locked eyes with Kosara, Kathryn hadn't realized how tense she was. By instinct she had reached for her boot where the dagger sat sheathed ready to retaliate to any potential attack! The second her finger tapped the hilt she stopped seeing as how the person had not only stopped at locking eyes with Kosara, but Kosara seemed ever so determined to lock eyes with it as well. In this moment, Kathryn wondered if Kosara was ignorant, brace, or somewhere between. But gods be damned the woman was standing her ground. "Kosara?" Kathryn spoke up softly as the smaller woman continued to hold her gaze. The bad feelings lingered, so Kathryn continued to close the distance. Gods be damned she was still slow. If things turned into a brawl would she be able to hold her own in a fight? Maybe. Adrenaline could do wonders for a person. On top of that she was pretty kinda sure she had one more use of her magic. How long she could hold it she was unsure. But she was also still armed, and armored. Not good armor, and her family sword really needed some work, but if push came to shove, Kathryn was bigger still.

By instinct, when Kathryn heard the yelp from Kosara the half giant of a woman booked it, giving it whatever speed she could muster as Kosara jumped behind V to hide. Her tiefling friend was scared, Blackberry was ready to jump into action, and Victoria was now in the mist of it all. This could not be allowed to pass. Kathryn stopped herself just infront of Victoria, her boots leaving streaks in the snow and dirt as she put her body between Victoria and the big one. The big one however, was only big compared to the rest of the party. Kathryn had nearly half a head on him, and the dude looked rather lean compared to Kathryn. In terms of physical might, Kathryn was pretty sure she had all the advantages here. But the dude was dead, and there was no telling what sort of tricks he had up his sleeve. Though still spooky, he was far less intimidating when Kathryn got up close to him.

"Blackberry, you said they write in draconic? Do you think they speak it? Or another language?" He brought up the idea of talking to them, but Kathryn found herself already on that note. Though she didn't know draconic, she knew an assortment of other languages. "Hello, my name is Kathryn, do you speak common?" With no response, she cleared her throat to try again. "Helo, fy enw i yw Kathryn, wyt ti'n siarad Elvis?" Kathryn waited, but there was no response. She was getting even more uneasy. Elvish was an old language, and she had really hoped that would work. Time to start going down the list she guessed. "Hail, mine name is Kathryn, dost thou speak halfling?" Very close to common, but she figured why not try it? Maybe they could only respond to some languages anyways? But her list was running out.

Kathryn took a deep breath, her use of old tongue was rather rough. But it was understandable to most. She hoped... "Hallo, mein Name ist Kathryn. Sprichst du die alte Sprache?" At first, there was nothing. Kathryn stood there not relaxed, but her hands were far from her weapons at this point. The list of people who spoke old tongue was rather limited, but damn she was low on options. Then, she froze. She swore to the gods she saw a reaction?! Maybe she imagined it? With a blink the figure may not have moved at all, locking eyes with it now she couldn't be sure what she saw was real or just her fear playing with her. Telling her she was unsafe and she needed to act. The shock held on her eyes for several moments before she realized, the figure still hadn't moved. "Gods dammit..." She let fear get the best of her. She had to stop doing that or else she would begin to lose her mind. "That's all I got Blackberry, wanna try draconic?" She asked far less tense now, and with a hint of defeat in her tone.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Kathryn Pyke Human, Fighter (Rune Knight), Level 05 HP: 49 / 49 Armor Class: 19 Conditions: Exhaustion (x2) Location: Fields near Estate House Action: N/A Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

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The figures on the hill left Kathryn unsettled. Falling behind she failed to get a good look at them as the rest of the party approached, but she had the aching feeling that something was about to go down. And she wouldn't be there to help. She would lag behind, and her people were going to get hurt. And there was nothing that she could do about it. She should have paced herself better the night before, but she had failed and now her party was walking into potential danger while she lagged behind. Stopping a moment to catch her breath, she noticed Lizbeth off to the side. And she looked... unwell. Maybe the exhaustion was getting to her too? Stepping over to the young woman she seemed to immediately get better. Almost as if the daylight itself had woken her up! "You doing alright dude?" Kathryn asked the small bean. After she confirmed that she was infact Fine Kathryn wasn't sure if she was trying to be strong or was simply trying to stay awake like the rest of them. Though she seemed to be far more awake and energized than everyone else. Oh what it would be like to be young again. At the ripe age of 22, Kathryn was already aging out of the best age to get married and have kids in. Let alone have the energy to stay up all night and still keep toting about.

Seeing the concern on Lizbeth's face Kathryn figured giving the girl something to do could help her out. "Hey Lizbeth, if anything weird happens while we are up there, mind running and letting some folks know? I'm sure we can handle it, but if they end up being rowdy drunks I think it may be a good idea to let some people know so we can help them out properly yeah?" Kathryn said short of breath, but in her best reassuring tone. Trying to downplay her concern, and trying to let the girl feel helpful and useful. Plus, if things turned south, letting the others on the property know what was going on to either help or evacuate would be best. After her request though, Kathryn struggled her best to catch up to the others. The moment to rest and talk to Lizbeth had given her a second to catch her breath, but she still felt like she would collapse into a coma if she were to fall over. And gods be damned did her legs want to give out. She wanted nothing more than a hot meal, an even hotter bath, something alcoholic to numb her pain, and a comfy spot to let her body collapse onto. But the work wasn't done. Not even close.

Getting up close, she could finally see what the others were looking at. Despite getting there last of the group, she could still see the confusion on their faces. But these people... they seemed like they were infact dead. The big one that Kosara took the note from seemed like he could throw people about. And if this turned into a brawl it would be four on five. Kathryn was pretty sure she could take them to an extent despite her conditions at the moment. But she lacked a magical weapon if that would be needed. She supposed if hacking and slashing wouldn't do the trick, she could always attempt to go big again and rip them in half. Far from the ideal way to fight people, but if she didn't have options she would have to make due. "Draconic? That seems weird as hell. If they wanted to give us a letter, why would they want to give us a letter we were not in a position to read?" She could think of a couple reasons. AN ego complex, their lack of understanding of common or elvish, to stall and waste the party's time while they went to find a way to translate it. She wouldn't say that out loud though. Not in the presence of the messengers. Though she did find it funny that they had one of the few people in the land who could read draconic. Even if the dialect in this case didn't work with him.

Kathryn listened to her party in horror as they talked about taking the silks from the dead people in front of them. The idea of wearing clothes from dead people was unsettling to Kathryn. Sure, maybe the material was decent quality, but these were corpses! Not just corpses, living corpses! That have been walking about in mud, sweating, rotting, rubbing their garbs up against every open sore and wound on their body! Sure, maybe it could be cleaned, but what the fuck... "Even if we could get those garbs, is it really worth taking? I don't think we should fight them if we don't have too. And if we do... They are corpses." Kathryn said in mild horror as she tried to hide how unsettled she was by the idea.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Kathryn Pyke Human, Fighter (Rune Knight), Level 05 HP: 49 / 49 Armor Class: 19 Conditions: Exhaustion (x2) Location: Fields near Estate House Action: N/A Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

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The night was long and full of terrors. But with help from the party, coordination from the L'Rose family members, labor efforts provided by seasonal staff and those who had arrived from one of the nearby towns or villages. Kathryn couldn't be too sure where these people came from or how they got the plea for help, but they had arrived. Their combined efforts seemed to be enough to save the crop. It seemed to be enough to save the day! Even Master Urmdrus arrived with tea to help make the night just a little more bearable. When Kathryn had finally taken a moment to drink said tea she spoke up to the master smith with a warm tone and a smile to match. "Thank you, really needed something like this." She said trying her best to hide how tired she was getting. Doing her best to hide how sore her body was, or how out of breath she really was. She had a water skin back at the coach house, but she couldn't be sure if it was wine or water in it at this moment. Truth be told at this moment she didn't care. Anything liquid was a blessing. The weird hot tea also helped with the cool night air. Was that... Mushrooms? It was a weird taste, and if Kathryn had known what the tea was made from prior to drinking it she may have hesitated. But alas, it was good, and a welcome treat in this night of hard work.

As dawn came Kathryn felt ready to collapse. Maybe she over exerted herself in the night, or maybe she wasn't as familiar with manual labor as she thought she was. Her bones felt like they were floating in jello as her muscles wanted to do nothing more than to collapse under her weight. Thank fuck she hadn't been wearing her full heavy armor. She may have just collapsed the moment she felt she wasn't needed anymore. "Oh look, the sun." Kathryn attempted to say in a cheerful tone, but coming out a little sarcastic as she tried to catch her breath. Today would be a drinking day until she found herself face first into a comfortable pillow. "I think I am with you Victoria. Food, booze, and sleep." She'd set a really good fire tonight. She wasn't sure what strength she had to do so, but she wanted to fall asleep relaxed, stuffed with good food, dizzy with booze, and under a heavy blanket while the fire kept the room warm. What else could a girl want for a night like this? Well, except maybe having the night be the night and not the ass crack of dawn.

Kathryn looked about a moment, only to notice that the ground felt so soft under her boots. She was more than used too sleeping on the ground during her travels. But damn did that muddy frozen dirt seem rather pleasant in this moment. Sure, she could crawl her way back to the coach house, but it was all the way over there. So much soft ground between her and the bed. Seeing Lizbeth still beaming with energy, Kathryn for a moment selfishly wondered if she could tell Lizbeth that her next training exercise was to drag Kat to bed. After all, part of a squire's duty was taking care of their Knight's needs. No... that would be too selfish. Lizbeth was learning from Kat how to fight for herself. And she wasn't a squire, not in the traditional sense. Plus Kathryn was at least four times the small girl's size. That would be cruel. Though the idea was tempting. Oh so tempting.

Things took a turn that then began to ring every bell in Kathryn's head. She didn't notice the figures at first, but when Blackberry pointed out the beings on the hillside, just out of sight of the vineyards where they had been working, and Kosara confirming that it wasn't just Kathryn hallucinating, the uneasy feeling told her to be ready. Something about how quiet they were, unmoving, how the big one seemed to be an absolute commander to the others. It reminded her of thralls and their master. She didn't like it. But when seeing Kosara and Blackberry move towards them, she couldn't leave them to go at it alone. "Come on Victoria, let's make sure the others don't cause us too much trouble yeah?" She said in a joking tone, and for an excuse that wasn't personal paranoia driving her instincts. Kosara's mention of tree goblins and were rats made Kat uneasy. But this didn't seem to fit the bill? But she didn't have a good look from here. It wasn't until she saw how far Blackberry and Kosara were ahead of her that she understood how beat she was. Her feet dragged, leaving streaks in the dirt and grass across the mostly frozen ground. Making a controlled and concentrated effort she made sure each step lifted, doing her best to hide just how tired she was getting. But alas, she was still far far slower than the more energetic people in her party.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Kathryn Pyke Human, Fighter (Rune Knight), Level 05 HP: 49 / 49 Armor Class: 19 Conditions: Giant's Might Location: Fields near Estate House Action: N/A Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

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Despite the delay, Kathryn was able to make up some of the lost time by loading the brassieres on the wagons in bulk, and unloading them in bulk. The work was difficult, but Kathryn was well rested. Other than some sword practice earlier in the day Kat hasn't done much to physically strain her. Other than this being a long night now she was feeling great! Ready to face off the world! Not working in her heavy armor helped too. No matter how exposed that made her feel. After many groups of the furnace like contraptions were loaded up Kathryn began her track back to the vineyard itself to help with the placements. Wondering if maybe she could continue to move them in bulk so that those setting them up wouldn't have to carry them so far, and could focus more on lighting and fueling. And once the bulk were set up she could go back and get more braziers. Simple plan but seemed good enough!

Kosara having lit herself up to act as a beacon of where efforts were being focused Kathryn prepared to unload the wagon when a sharp pain crossed over her shoulder, and down her torso, and soon down her leg. Kathryn let out a soft sound that could be comparable to a soft but pained squeak as she seemed to flinch for a moment. Then with a deep exhale she slowly began to return to her normal height. Her breathing was strained for a moment before her body seemed to relax. The rune on her belt seemed to flicker and flair like lantern fuel that had suddenly been lit, and burned itself out. She didn't know how long it was, but it appeared the rune could only run for so long before it quit on her. And when she let it burn out like that, it fucking hurt. Like her whole body was attempting to contort as it tried to tear itself apart. Then she bent over and puked out the boiled wine she had just nursed with Victoria. She knew some of the workers were watching her, so with a smile on her face, she stood upright again and wiped her mouth with her sleeve. "No more drinking on the job for me. Let's wrap this up." She said in a cheerful tone, rushing over to the wagons before someone could ask her if she was okay. She needed to be strong. She couldn't afford to be weak. People were depending on her. She refused to let them down.

With a deep breath, and bracing herself for the rune to try and quit out on her if trying to start it again caused a repeat of the pain that just happened. The rune on her belt began to glow, sparks began to fly as the rune seemed to glow even brighter than the last time she activated the rune. Soon she returned to her maximum height again, nearly 14 feet tall and seemed ready to take on the world! Loading up the braziers in her arms, she walked a ways passed the ones being currently set up, and began laying out the mobile furnace like contraptions as close as possible to their spots, leaving them ready to set up. When Kathryn used up the braziers in her arms, she returned to the wagons as fast as she could to continue doing the manual moving of the braziers. Hopefully making better time than everyone else who could move them, and giving them more time to light them up and keep them fueled up. She hoped so much that she was doing enough to help. She also wondered how much time had passed. Was her timer about to go again? She wondered if she let the rune run until it burnt out again if it would hurt like that again, or worse... Or if it had a shorter time span since she just expended a use? Questions for another night. She had people depending on her.

Kathryn then heard Blackberry singing. She found herself listening, and wanting to sing along as they worked. She didn't know the words to this tune, but she hummed along, and kept the pace up. Bringing the braziers to their locations as fast as she could, and for a moment found herself ready for whatever came next. She did wonder if they had enough fuel to keep the fires going.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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

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Kathryn always tried her best to make the people around her feel as good as they could in themselves. She also always wanted to see the best that each individual had to offer this plane of existence. She also couldn't be sure when she was pushing boundaries, or making things worse. With the bell going off for the fire, Kathryn didn't really get a good chance to decipher if she had been able to help Victoria at all, or at least reassure the woman that things would be okay and that she was accepted. With the fire alert going on, Kathryn would probably never know unless Victoria said something later on. Kathryn figured pushing after the fact would make do quite the opposite of what she wanted. In that moment, she mostly wanted to help her friend. Though she couldn't be sure Victoria saw the two of them as friends. Still, they were team members, and Kat wanted her team to do well.

Arriving at the site of the flames, things seemed to be nowhere near as devastating as she had feared. Instead of an out of control fire blazing through the vineyard, it appeared that this recent temperature drop was killing the crops, and the staff were busy trying to keep the plants warm enough to survive the nightly freeze. "What magic I do possess can't really help here, but let me see what I can do to help here!" Kathryn could technically summon flaming chains, but they needed something to target and restrain. And they were rather difficult to control on top of that. If something was done out of step, or used incorrectly, the flames were just as likely to torch the crop as they were the target. She'd keep the option open if they were desperate, but she didn't want to rely on this option unless she had too.

Kathryn did find it odd when Victoria had little to offer in the way of magical assistance, but she also didn't really know the full extent or limitations of Victoria's magic. For all Kathryn knew Victoria could fly and shoot beams of energy from her eyes. But she had no way to be sure unless she convinced Victoria to sit down someday and show Kathryn all her abilities. That... may not be a bad idea someday. Same with Kosara and Blackberry. It would be good for the whole group to know what each other could do. Especially for planning purposes! But that would have to come later.

Blackberry was thankfully ready with some ideas to get things going! With a nice motivational speech to boot! And Kathryn had to admit, his plan was simple, strait forward, and seemed rather effective. All the things a good plan needed to be. The more complicated it was the more that could go wrong. But all the tools would be present to get the job done, and hopefully done well! When Blackberry gave Kathryn her part to play, she nodded and spoke firmly. "Aye Aye Captain." A little in jest, but she was impressed with his quick thinking. Quickly she turned on her heels and booked it off to the utility shed that held the needed equipment to assist with keeping the harvest alive. She figured others were already there, so she began looking about for them, and in her haste to get there she had noticed she had completely passed the structure and the staff getting the supplies ready to load up. The moment she put it together, she turned back and saw the workers unloading the shed. "Mother Shit Fucker!" Kathryn called out before catching up to the utility shed. "Oi! We got some more wagons coming to help carry the lot of stuff over. Anything we can set up outside to load up to save time once the wagons are here is time we can save. Otherwise send off whatever we can." Yes they were pretty much doing just that, but she felt the need to reassure that more was being done and they just had to tough it out a bit more.

Running inside to the storage shed Kathryn would pile up several brassieres into a bundle, and lift them outside setting them up to be loaded onto wagons in a rather quick fashion. Once wagons were present to load up Kathryn took a step back, took a deep breath, and the rune on her belt began to flicker and glow. At one point presenting sparks before Kathryn began to grow in height and size. Once she was at her height of about 14 feet, she grabbed the edged of the pile she carefully constructed and set it bit by bit into the wagons as they came in. Her current size meant she couldn't help unload the shed unless it had a larger door she missed, but she could single-handedly load the wagons faster than the rest of the crew combined. Leaving them to continue to pour out supplies and equipment.