Wylsen was inside the shop, behind the counter gathering up what he would need to preserve the claws until the rest of the ingredients were gathered as well as to get the blood from the beast. He looked up as the bell above his door dinged and motioned for them to come on in. “Yes, that would be good,” Wylsen as he stepped out from behind the counter and laid out a thick cloth on the floor. “Once I get the blood we can take care of harvesting anything else you think may be of use,” Wylsen said as he sat down on the floor near the cloth. “Can you set him down here on the sheet for me? Then we can begin.”

Lob stalked in with the limp body and laid it down upon the clean cloth, he reached for a piece of flint and steel for making fires and set the steel to the side. What happened next was rather uncharacteristic for the brute: he was smooth and dexterous as he took some rope and strung up the dog by its ankles to let its head hand down to the sheet. He set a bucket under the hanging head with napped flint between his fingers, he almost seemed to just draw away the flesh as an inch deep cut split open the throat to let gravity drain out the carotid and jugular. Much of the blood had been lost in the fight, probably about half, but with a professional to assist the sage he was about to get a powerful education.

Wylsen leaned back and popped a cork into the forth bottle of blood he had been able to drain from the Hell Hound, thanks to Lobs help and smiled to himself. Picking up a rag he cleaned his hands off somewhat and patted the half-orc on the shoulder. "Good job, I think that will let me make something very useful for you and your group by morning. What else did you want to get from the creature?"

"All. Use all. Skin, bone, meat. Use all."

Unless he was stopped, he would bring the exsanguinated beast back down after setting the buckets of blood to the side. First he made a cut around the anus so that it moves freely from the rest of the carcass. Then a cut is made from that incision to the breast plate to allow the stomach and intestines to be carefully removed. Now the anus can be removed by pulling it down and this whole sack of entrails would be set to the side.

He patted the bladder and stomach. "Wineskin." he touched on the intestine with messy hands then patted the muscles he was carefully pealing from bone and pointing to any hanging herbs. "Food." He touched the lungs that had some strange growth attached to them. "It make fire, we make fire." The bones he laid out one by one and explained them. "Club, shield, arrow, baby food." The last one was accentuated with a breaking motion and a gesture of shaking something out.

Next, the windpipe is cut and all of the upper organs like the heart and liver are removed. lastly he took the skin and folded it with reverence to the side. "Sew holes, make armor. Armor no fire."

Hugh found himself looking in another direction, feigning gullibility, to hear a signature giggling every time he turned his head, only to look back to his place and notice something missing. The ritual brought a smile to his face, as he would look down to the culprit, devouring her spoils greedily.

After awhile of this, and Hugh losing food, the little one was satisfied, and set herself to making faces towards Hugh. He would do his best face attempts back at her, usually ending up looking very much the same.

This activity ceased when Sana rejoined them, setting one of Hugh's bags down next to him on the table, and posing several questions to the little one. Hugh mostly smiled and nodded, before he got a tender kiss from his beloved, letting his eyes close at breathing her in just a little. He sighed as the kiss was broken, a small smile breaking across his face.

He looked to his bag, after Sana had spoke of it containing his pipe and tobacco. He smiled towards her, as she disappeared, the little one in tow. Hugh snatched a light from a lamp hanging from a pillar using a long stick with a burned out tip, before the nun began to introduce herself to him.

Before he took the hand she offered, he lit his pipe with the tobacco crushed in it. With the pipe clenched between his teeth at the corner of his mouth, he smiled took her hand, then clapping his other hand on the back of her hand to make a two handed hand shake, and giving her a tender squeeze with his hands. "Yes, Hugh. Charmed to make your acquaintance. I did wonder whom it was that healed my wounds twice." He said with a smile, and a shake of her hand. After that, he released her hand, and seated himself at the table. He lifted one hand to the pipe and began puffing away, enjoying the pleasant smoke from the leaf.

The Apothecary Shop

Wylsen nodded at Lob and gave the half-orc a smile. They had been able to utilize a lot of the beast but there was some damage. When the heart was pierced by the sword it caused a chain reaction within the beasts body that rendered the lungs, what was growing on them and the heart useless. On top of that due to the blow that the orc had given the hell hound at the beginning of the fight and what Fionas two subsequent blows did nearly half of the bones in the beast were shattered. There was nothing they could do but at least there was some that could be used.

“Any meat I don’t think I would recommend eating, just because of the nature of the animal, at least not for humans to consume but you may be okay. The skin and fur will do you some good. Contraireo popular belief they are not fireproof but like the potions that I will brew overnight, it will provide a chance to be unharmed by fire but at best it will be a 50/50 chance. So still be careful,” Wylsen warned. “But it should still provide a very nice additional to your armor and help you a lot,” he added as he rose and wiped his hands off, taking the bottles of blood he had collected and set them in the back of the shop. Coming back out, he looked over at Lob and gave a nod.

“Well once you finish taking what you want, could you please just wrap up the rest and either place it in the burial fire to the south of town or bury it out that way. Whichever is fitting for you,” he said as stepped over to the half orc and shook his hand. “Thank you for all your help, both with this and defending the village. If you ever need anything, please feel free to ask. For now I am going to get to work on those potions for your group, I hope they are finished by morning,” he said before turning and disappearing behind the curtain that separated the main part of the shop and the back area where he brewed all the concoctions that he sold in the shop.

The Inn – Main Room

“Well that has to be the kindest greeting I have gotten in sometime,” Sister Agnes said as she shook Hughs hand before resting back in his seat and watching him for a moment. Glancing towards the stairs for a moment before turning her attention back over to him she smiled slightly as she watched the gentleman sitting across from her.

“You two seem to have a way with that little girl,” Sister Agnes stated. “And in battle. You two are rather…. Protective of each other,” she added as she sat there remembering what had first occurred in the day when Sana was grabbed by one of the slavers and then Hugh got injured. “I will admit at first what happened made my stomach turn and my heart worry that perhaps I had gotten a group of people that was perhaps not the best choice for such a task but after learning a little bit more about you two, mostly from observation, I can only conclude that your actions were driven by worry instead of evil. I hope my conclusions are right,” the sister said in a kind voice.

It was obvious with the expression on her face and the tone of her voice that she was not judging the couple just voicing a concern that seemed to have been cleared up by the end of the day. “As far as healing you goes, it is what I do and I am glad to have helped in some small way though it seems from the look of things that perhaps my healing is not needed. It seems that Sana is fully capable of taking care of such things after what I witnessed during the last battle. She truly is a gifted bard though I wouldn’t have labeled her as one when I first met her,” Sister Agnes admitted as she watched Hugh puff away on his pipe.

The Inn – Sana and Hughs Room

When Sana and Ariana entered the room they were met with the pleasant aroma of rose water and a bath that had been drawn, a layer of bubbles floating across the top of the waters surface. Sana nodded approvingly as she looked down towards Ariana. Ariana giggled in glee and ran over to it. Sana tried to stop her from jumping in clothes and all but it was too late and the water went sloshing every which way, some of it spilling out onto the floor. Sana sighed slightly but instead of yelling she just grabbed a linen that had been provided for them to dry off with and mopped up the mess from the floor.

“Okay, let’s get you out of those dirty clothes,” Sana said as she knelt down next to the bath. Ariana nodded and let Sana help her undress. Handing her a wash cloth, Ariana went to scrubbing herself down after Sana helped to wash her hair. The child was cleaned up in no time but she let her play around in the bath water while she retrieved some items from her bag and got to work. The child couldn’t wear what she had been in to bed so something had to be done about that. Pulling up a chair next to Ariana while she played in the water and got to work; it wasn’t long before she had taken some older clothing, cut it up and restitched it into something the little one could wear.

Once she had finished she helped Ariana out of the bath and got her dried off before helping her into the clothing Sana had made for her and running a comb through her hair. Picking her up she set her down on the bed and decided it was time to get out of her own bloodied and burned clothing. She washed up quickly, glad to get rid of the days worth of fighting and into something clean. Ariana sat there playing with the laces on her top as Sana got cleaned up and dressed and smiled over at Sana when she stepped over to her.

“We match!” Ariana exclaimed. Sana laughed and nodded slightly. Sana had taken one of her extra shirts and leggings and refashioned them, cutting away the excess to fit the little one. They were still a bit big but it didn’t matter. The child had clean clothing for the night and Sana figured she could get the child more in the morning when the general store opened.

“Come on, we need to let Hugh know he can get cleaned up now and then it is off to bed with you little one, you have had a long day,” Sana said picking the child up and setting her down on the ground. Ariana yawned a little but shook her head no. The child was fighting sleep with everything she could but Sana knew the wee one would drift off to sleep in no time once she was in a bed. Taking her hand she led her out the door, both of them in the bare feet and back down the stairs.

Sana smiled over to Hugh and Sister Agnes as they came over to them. It was funny, now that they were both cleaned up and in clothing that didn’t look like they had seen better days the two looked remarkably similar. Ariana hair and bone structure was almost identical to Sanas, even their eyes were the same rich chocolate with amber flecks in it. Sister Agnes looked at each of them in turn and let out a slightly surprised smile. The child looked as if Sana was actually her mother. Sister Agnes looked over to Hugh and smiled as she rose from her place.

“Well I will leave you with your family then, it was a pleasure to finally meet you properly Hugh,” she said in a light hearted voice before turning towards Sana. “I have her set up in the room next to yours for tonight, I will be sharing it with her just so she is not alone. The room is open and has a small cot set up for her,” the sister added before taking her leave of them and making her way out of the inn to check on what was going on with Wylsen and Lob in the Apothecary shop before turning in for the night herself. Sana looked at the woman slightly confused by her words but she passed them off on fatigue. Something it seemed everyone was dealing with.

“Well, in that case, I guess I will get Ariana into bed,” Sana said as she turned her attention back over to Hugh. “Why don’t get you cleaned up and I’ll be to bed shortly,” she said as she hoisted Ariana up onto her hip and leaned over to kiss his cheek softly. Ariana tugged on Sanas shirt for a moment.

“Me too, me too!” Ariana exclaimed. Sana looked at her perplexed but her confusion was quickly put to rest as Ariana leaned over, grasping onto Sana shirt as she did so, and gave a sweet little kiss to Hughs other cheek. “Night night,” she said in an innocent voice. Sana smiled at the little one and at Hugh as Ariana righted herself and wrapped her arms around Sanas neck.

“Okay, to bed with you,” Sana said in a gentle voice as she carried the little on up the stairs and to the room that Sister Agnes had told her about. Opening the door she looked around and there was the cot that was set up for Ariana. Sana was much happier with the idea that the child would be close for the night and in a room that she didn’t have to share with any of the other that had been freed that night. Ariana did not need any reminders of what had occurred sleeping next to her that evening. Resting her down in the bed, she pulled the covers up for Ariana and took a seat next to her.

“Sing,” Ariana demanded as she curled up in bed. Sana chuckled softly but she obliged. Leaving the door slightly cracked when they came in so she would not have to let it squeak when she left Sana got comfortable and ran her fingers through Arianas hair as she began to sing a soft lullaby.

Hugh nodded, a smile plastered across his face as she referenced how he was the only one to give her such a kind greeting. He listened intently to the woman, still puffing on his pipe while mulling over everything she would say. He ended up raising an eyebrow when she spoke of how Sana was a bard. He knew well of her musical talent, but it hadn't struck him that she was a bard.

He simply nodded the notion off, and continued listening. When Sana and Arianna came down, he looked to them to see to his surprise their similarities they shared. An eyebrow rose as he looked the both of them up and down, first taking a quick glance at Arianna to note her features, and then taking a long time to look Sana up and down, before looking back to Arianna and then back to the nun.

The nun had made the note regarding them as his 'family'. He couldn't help but smile at the comment as she left their presence. He gave a little wave as she wandered off, and turned to meet Sana's gaze.

"Yes, I'll geet right to that." He said, before feeling the kiss on his cheek, and falling into his boyish habit of swimming in thoughts of her. He quickly righted himself, before he was struck by the sweet little kiss of one of the tiniest human beings on the planet.

He was stunned with happiness, as he rubbed his cheek and looked to the two of them as they ascended the staircase.

Hugh shook his head for a moment, the pipe and smile still distinct features of his face. He took a few more puffs of the pipe, before snuffing it, tucking it away in his bag, and heading upstairs, with the bag in hand.

He walked slowly up the stairs, deep in thoughts that made him smile from ear to ear. His fantasies were now more along the lines of thinking of his future. The image of a little cottage and Sana and he living a quiet life with maybe the little one to raise as their own.

Hugh slowly opened the door to his and Sana's room, revealing the presence of a bath. It wasn't fresh, but nonetheless, it was a bath. Without further adieu, he shut the door behind him and threw the bag at the head of the bed. He proceeded to throw his clothes into a pile on top of the bag. Now completely naked, he stepped into the water, lowering himself in, and just relaxing. The water was now lukewarm, but sufficient, as Hugh was more used to bathing in ice cold running water.

He leaned back against the wall of the tub, his feet propped up at the other end of the tub. He just sat back and relaxed, scrubbing his body little by little, and just enjoying the bath. He almost felt like sleeping in it, but he preferred the warmth of a bed, and his beloved to hold over becoming a pink raisin.

Sana sung a sweet lullaby to the little one, it was not magic in nature but it soon lulled the little one to sleep; her eyes drifting close as she lay there in bed. Sana continued singing as she rose, kissing Ariana on the forehead before walking out of the and closing it softly behind her. Letting out a sigh of relief that the child was safe for the evening she wandered into the room she shared with Hugh and smirked as she saw him lounging in the bath.

Closing the door behind her she shook her head and wandered over to the bed, removing his stuff from it and placing it out of the way on the floor. "Enjoying yourself?" she asked as the smirk still played on her lips. Stepping over him she knelt down behind him and rested her hands on his shoulders. "I'm going to get some rest," she whispered against his ear before reaching over and turning his head as her fingers rested against his cheek; kissing him softly for a moment.

Rising from her place she meandered over to the bed and crawled underneath the sheets, a soft moan escaping her lips as her head rested down on the pillow. She was exhausted from the day and knew sleep would capture her quickly that night. Resting there she thought about Ariana and how Hugh had acted with her. The sisters words echoing in her mind about them being a family and then how the sister had thought Hugh to be her husband.

It was an interesting thought and not one she hadn't pondered before but we're they truly at that point in their relationship? Neither of them had even said the "L" word to the other and until today after Hugh had nearly bled out they had never spoken of children together or her wearing one of those silly dresses. Sighing slightly Sana pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind. It wasn't something she was going to bring up. Sana was exactly one for tradition but there were still something's she felt should be left to Hugh if he wanted to move things forward anymore than they were.

Closing her eyes she at least found some solace in the fact that something she had purchased when she left her troop may one day be utilized. It was the one thing she had not told Hugh about, not wanting to color his decisions when it came to them as a couple. Sleep came quickly as she cleared her mind of the many thoughts marching through it. She wanted to just sleep and curl up in Hughs arms. Sleep she had and even though he had not come to bed yet she knew he would pull her close once he came to bed, he always did.

Hugh perked up the moment he saw Sana enter the room. He gave a cheerful smile towards her, as she came over to him, "Why yes, I am."

He just soaked in her touch and her kiss, drifting off into his head as fantasies began to take over his thoughts. He just continued to scrub himself, taking a peek as she went to bed, before his eyes drifted over to the water, and he finished up scrubbing.

He took a moment to relax again, before picking himself up from the water. It all seeped off him, he feeling thoroughly soaked to the bone and cleaner than he had felt in a long time. Stepping out of the tub, he dried himself off, and put on his pair of black shorts.

Leaving the towel at the toe of the tub, he walked over to the side of the bed he had claimed, and lifted the covers, crawling under them and making himself cozy. Soon, he wrapped his arms around the woman he was sharing the bed with, bringing her close to his own body.

He put his nose against her head, giving a slight kiss to her before he drifted off to slumber. It was about time, as no doubt all of the party was thoroughly exhausted from the rough day.

The golden eyed stranger pressed his back against the wooden pole, his thick plated armor scratching against it as he did. He kept one palm on the pommel of his ashen sword and the other wrapped around the reigns of his stallion friend.

Although sleep taunted him, he did not answer, but rather stood diligently, eager to see the rays of dawn and the night clear of danger.

His eyes flickered to the left, and where his horse stood he saw the rotting face of a woman. Her eyes were sunken and a hollow yell echoed from her cut throat. The stranger blinked, and the vision was replaced with his horse happily scraping the road with a hoof.

The stranger let his eyes turn right and he looked at the apothecary for a while. He could hear the roars of flames and smell the acrid stench of cooking flesh. The man’s ears perked at the sounds of helpless bellows and low moans of hopelessness. He shook his head, and the sounds were replaced with the soft trill of the night time song birds and the relaxing song of the lazy crickets.

He sighed, and on his exhale he could taste the salt of blood on his tongue. The stranger frowned at the taste, and it quickly was replaced with the strong taste of lavender that polluted his helmet. His nose crinkled at the familiar smell and he bit his lip, eager more to keep his head where his body is.

"Think nothing of it. I'm only doing the right thing." Vaeri told Sana as she passed. What kind of cleric would she be if she sat by as slavers and the pinnacle of an unholy man attacked the town and threatened the lives of innocent people and children? Not to mention being able to engage in battle was just delicious icing. It had been several months since she had fought last and it was beginning to itch at the back of her mind.

Vaeri sat in the dim light, reading her book as if the lack of lighting didn't even register to her. As she nibbled at the end of a plain wafer, she noticed the stranger try to read what she was reading over her shoulder. He quickly gave it up and went to stand guard.

"I'm not surprised you couldn't read it. Most humans can't even speak elvish, let alone read it." Vaeri turned another page in her little book. "It's an examination of gods specific to certain races and a dissertation for this phenomena written by High Priest Glorfindel. It focuses mostly on Corellon Larethian but talks about a couple of other gods like Garl Glittergold and Moradin. I find the book interesting, but Glorfindel's arguments are flawed and poorly thought out."

The golden eyed stranger turned his head to the woman with the book. He listened carefully before smiling a hidden smile politely behind his helmet, “if I am to be honest with you, I have no idea who any of those people are.”

He paused in thought before adding in, “but I can see why it might be interesting. It’s always good to know.”

A part of him wanted to add in that not only has he never heard these names before, but he wasn’t too sure what ‘elvish’ was, however he quietly decided he had shown enough of his ignorance to this land for now and ended his part with a curt nod, as if punctuating his words.

Vaeri's long ears perked up at his words. She didn't expect him to know the gods she mentioned, since he was human, and they tended to avoid learning about anything they didn't have to directly interact with, but his words opened up an avenue for her to start talking about theology without sounding like she was proselytizing anyone.

"Corellon Larethian is the elvish god of arts and magic. Glorfindel is a high priest under him. Garl Glittergold is the gnome god of Trickery, and Moradin is the dwarf god of creation. Glorfindel's argument is that these gods establish a dedicated following in these groups so that they have a guaranteed base of worshipers in exchange for protecting them over other groups, which is why they're set up like this. However, does the fact that gods have domains already give them an established set of followers from each of those domains? Glorfindel also shows that he has not put much effort into researching many deities outside of his own. Understandable, but it hurts his credibility the few times he ventures out from speaking about Corellon." Vaeri paused to look at Derrix to make sure he wasn't too lost. She could feel that she was about to launch into a tirade and the number of people she knew that would be interested could be counted on a single hand.

“I wonder,” The stranger said thoughtfully, “If perhaps this priest was confused, thinking perhaps that the mundane gave power to the divine. Perhaps he has forgotten what it was to be faithful. Those who identify with the god will go to him out of familiarity, but they cannot forget that it is not they who gave the god formation, but vice versa.”

“Should the divines be so worried about lack of followers, then perhaps they are as mundane as us and not truly divine,” the stranger nodded at his words, “or perhaps as I said, the priest simply forgot his faith somewhere in the pool of mundane philosophy.”

"If the gods did not require our worship," Vaeri replied, the book now sitting in her lap, neglected,"they would not ask us to serve them. I do not presume to know their will beyond what I have been told by my lady, but I presume that they need us to act in their stead in the material world. Our worship allows us to better spread their influence throughout the world. Oftentimes, some of the more niche gods are questioned, or ignored as if they do not matter, so their followers believe it is important to be able to rationally defend their faith against those who would belittle them. This is a text by a mortal for other mortals."

"I do not believe Glorfindel has forgotten that the divines are the ones who give us power. For those in my line of work must ask them daily to lend us power so we can spread their will. When we cast spells, we can feel their grace flow through our bodies, and for others to come and those that tell someone that that feeling is less legitimate because of whom they worship are the people that drive these clergymen to write dissertations such as these. At least, that's how I see it."

The stranger studied the woman carefully. He slid his helmet off, and taking in a gulp of fresh air. He let his sun beamed eyes flicker across her face in observation for a little before nodding, not to anything in particular.

“Just ponder, do they require worship, or do they just want it,” He paused, “or perhaps there is a third and fourth option. Perhaps we need it.”

His lips formed a line and he blinked a few times, a soft glow cutting the darkness around his face as he thought in silence.

"An unanswerable question, but one worth asking. We have a symbiotic relationship with the gods, for if we were useless to them, surely we would not be here in the first place. The whys and hows are not important in the great scheme of things. But by asking, perhaps we get closer to enlightenment." Vaeri bites one of her wafers in two, crunching loudly, almost breaking the atmosphere. This stranger's golden eyes were quite the oddity. She had not seen them on anyone before, and the way they seemed to glow almost suggested divine influence. Perhaps he was a cleric like her. However, his lack of knowledge on religion seemed to suggest otherwise. Blinking, she disregards the thoughts as irrelevant.

The stranger stood silently for a while, until finally he exhaled. He lifted a gauntlet and rubbed his chin with the metal finger.

"I think," he began, letting his gauntlet drop back to his side, "that the answers are rather quite simple, and that only through our own mortal folly have we managed to make a straight line curved."

A New Day Begins

Sana only stirred slightly as Hugh climbed into bed next to her, feeling his arms wrap around her and pulling her close. She sighed gently in her sleep, curling up close to him before she drifted back into deep slumber. The night went peacefully enough but Sana was plagued with a nightmare reliving her father dying in her arms and sometime in the dark hours as the moon hung high in the sky she awoke with a startle and sat straight up in bed; breathing heaving from the dream as she looked around and took a moment to see that she was not at the slaver camp but in facet still in bed. Rubbing her face she slid out of bed and got a drink of water, her hands shaking somewhat.

She was about to turn and crawl back in bed when she heard a soft knock at the door. Perking a brow she wondered who could be disturbing her and Hugh in the middle of the night as she stepped over to the door and listened. It was quiet on the other side, shrugging to herself she opened the door and glanced around. Seeing nothing she about turned back to shut the door and then felt a tug on her shirt. Looking down there was Ariana standing there, Sister Agnes quickly coming up behind her.

“I am so sorry, she must have snuck out,” Sister Agnes whispered. Sana waved her off and picked the little one up, resting her against her hip.

“It’s okay, she can stay with us for the night,” Sana said quietly. Sister Agnes smiled and nodded before heading to her own room. Sana looked at Ariana and placed a finger to her lips. “Shh, we don’t want to wake up Hugh,” Sana whispered gently before closing the door and making her way back to bed. Ariana nodded with a sleepy smile on her lips as Sana sat down on the edge of the bed and slid them both under the covers. Resting down Sana pressed her back against Hugh as the little one curled up in her arms and tucked her head under Sanas chin. It did not take long for both of them to fall back to sleep and Sana was very grateful that the nightmare did not return for another visit.

The sun rose slowly but the town was even slower to rise that morning, many had been up late helping to clean up the town or to take care of the refugees from the slaver camp. The old Apothecary still had not seen his bed as morning came through the windows, trying to finish up new batches of potions he hoped would help the group on their travels. With the money they had donated to the village he would be able to restock his supplies quickly so he didn’t hold back creating things he thought would be of use.

Sana did not wake as the sun rose and even the call of the village rooster did not bring her out of the deep sleep she was in. It did however bring the little one to wakeness, who sat up slowly and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. The smell of breakfast was wafting up from the kitchen below as the inn keeper prepared a large buffet of sorts for all the guests of the inn and anyone else in the village that came for breakfast that morning. Ariana breathed deeply and licked her lips but remained in bed, playing with the rings Sana have given her to keep safe. The gentle cling of metal ringing out every so often as she played with them, sliding them back and forth on the chain that hung around her neck.

Sister Agnes woke early and made her way down to the main room of the inn, getting something to eat and resting down at a table. She hoped today would be calm and that the group could head out. They had the first item they needed but there was still so much more to collect and the children over at the orphanage would need it as quickly as the group could manage to gather them.

Tobias had the running dream again that night. He was in the city again, sprinting through alleyways, across rooftops, the fastest thing in the world. Nobody could have caught him. Nobody could have stopped him. He was free.

But there was something dark just behind him - not a person, not a creature, but a cloud - like the world itself was turning black. It was moving, too - and try as he might, Tobias was always moving just a little... bit... slower.

The thief awoke with a start, sunlight dappling directly onto his face. Hell, whoever'd put that window there had really not been considering late-risers. Where am I who am I what is happening?

The previous day's events crashed back to Tobias all at once. The attack, the death, the murder, the second attack, the hell-hound... Fiona sending him off to bed like an infant... all of it played across his mind in an instant. There weren't supposed to be days after days like that. Everything was supposed to be very quiet, and serious. You weren't supposed to have to wake up, get dressed, go to the bathroom, eat breakfast.

Tobias's stomach had evidently not been informed of that, as it grumbled nonetheless. He readied himself quickly and proceeded down the stairs to where a massive breakfast awaited him. The thief put his head down, did his level best not to be noticed (something he was good at, when he wanted to be), piled a plate with eggs, sausage, and two or three cut up red apples, and moved to an empty table to eat.

As Mortosh had correctly Guessed. He had finished removing the bodies and moving them to the pyre, before sunrise however due to not knowing any fire spells he could not relight the pyre and thanks to his dark-vision he had no need for a torch so perhaps he could get someone to light it before they left the village. but his job was done for now so he proceeded to head back to the inn.

when he arrived back the inn the took notice of a quite the pleasant odder wafting the air and saw Tobias sitting at the table, dinning on a variety of different meals so took a seat next to the thief while he couldn't eat himself he felt that it was necessary to get know those he would be traveling with. so he tried to start talking to the thief well that was until he saw something familiar fall from the ceiling and land in the cream filled center of an innocent sweet roll. "And Good Morning To You Zam" Said Mortosh as grabbed a napkin to wipe of bits the filling off that splattered on his chest plate

Fiona slept comfortably and undisturbed through the night, even the noises of the others who had turned in later than she failing to wake her. Her fatigue had swiftly caught up with her after her fight with the hell hound, and soreness became quickly apparent when she woke in the morning, her muscles somewhat stiff with an ache. It wasn't too bad, though, and she took it as a sign that she was getting stronger.

Having taken the time to thoroughly wash before sleeping the night before, Fiona merely splashed her face with some water to shake off what vestiges of sleep she could, pushing her disorganized mass of red hair off to one side to get it out of the way. She could tell by the general lack of noise below her that she was one of the earlier risers, and figured there would be some time before they set out for the day, to make sure everyone was well-fed and prepared. Leaving her armor and weapons in the room, she slid into some comfortable leggings and laced up a light tunic, rolling the sleeves to her elbows. She pondered a moment going barefoot, but in the end threw on some socks and quickly laced up her boots, heading out the door and down the stairs.

Fiona noted that breakfast had already been prepared for them, and soon noticed with some surprise that Tobias was already down. She'd half expected him to hibernate until she had to drag him out, after his ordeal yesterday. The... skeletal guy, Mortosh she thought she'd heard, had chosen to sit across from him. Fiona considered for a moment trying to rescue him, but figured he could handle himself. Instead she collected a breakfast for herself, eggs and some fruit, and took a seat across from Sister Agnes, who had also arrived before her.

"Good morning, Sister," she greeted, taking a moment to tie her hair back loosely and keep it away from her food. "I hope you at least got some sleep last night?" There had been a lot of work to do, preparing things for the group, which Fiona regretted she didn't have the skill to assist with. "How are the others? The ones we brought back from the camp. Everyone pulling through?"

Vaeri stayed up the rest of the night chatting with Derrix and reading through her book. About an hour before dusk, she heard some clinking of metal inside of the inn. She enjoyed reading, but the night had been long and she could only sit still for so long before she had to begin moving. The innkeeper was probably preparing breakfast, given the number of mouths he'd need to feed, he would probably need some help.

She waved farewell to the stranger (if he was still awake), and stood up to go into the inn. To her surprise, she was almost immediately turned down, the innkeeper citing that she was covered in blood and didn't want any of that getting into the food. Vaeri had completely forgotten. Well it was good thing she'd already purchased a room that she could use to clean up in.

The inn contained far more in the way of ingredients and tools than she carried on her person which allowed her an easier time especially compared with trying to keep meat clean in the middle of a forest. While she was no expert, Vaeri did enjoy cooking and had a decent knowledge of recipes that she was mostly confident in making. However, since she was cooking for a large group, she opted on easy things that could be left together on a plate. She found most of her time being devoted to cooking eggs. Lots and lots of eggs. She had to whisk so much that it made her battle-hardened arms feel like limp noodles.

Shortly after Fiona came down to eat, Vaeri walked into the dining room for the first time since visitors started coming out to eat carrying a plate of bread rolls. She wore no cloak or armor and her hair was tied back in a ponytail. She had on a tan long-sleeve shirt tucked into a pair of loose-fitting brown pants. The sleeves rolled up to her elbows, showing her scarred arms in all their glory. She wore no shoes, revealing that even her feet were as scarred as the rest of her body. Even dressed as informally as Vaeri was her necklace was still worn for all to see, a thin chain supporting a pendant of a red disk encircled by a serpent.

"These are sweet rolls that my mother would make when I was a youngling. I would appreciate it if you tried one." There were about two dozen bread rolls in all, set down next to a plate of pork sausages.