---

The battle won, Mark paused for a moment to analyse the damage he had taken. He supposed that's what he got for being a braggart - the zombie had hit him with surprising force. Normally, this is when Nikita would berate him for taking such vital damage, and he'd receive repairs that would take a great deal of time before being sent out once more. Fortunately for both of them, Nikita hadn't expected Mark to remain unscathed during the journey made to search for his daughter, and had modified several of his internal components to repair through more conventional means. Things such as healing magic and potions were able to reinforce and replace broken parts, meaning that he wouldn't be put out of commission for months on end due to a lucky blow. Of course, Mark held enough knowledge to figure out how to repair himself manually, although this was usually something that was still very time consuming. Hopefully, he'd be able to have the chance to sit down once he figured out what was going on. Nothing set off the automaton quite like preventable issues did. He was already rather irritated at the idea of having to find Nikita's useless daughter, and having to "protect" the town that he had just entered added more fuel to the fire.

Mark whirred back to life as he turned to face the others. At least he hadn't been alone in his plight. It's a good thing that the town had some competent fighters already The first chance he got, he was going to find out how much he was going to get paid for this. Looking around, he saw that the villagers who the group had been able to herd back into their homes were now slowly coming out. A part of him wanted to get them back into their houses, and he considered shooing them away once more. The mechanical fighter saw no purpose of them coming out on such a preemptive note, especially so quickly after an attack by whoever had done this in the first place. Mourning could wait until after the streets were cleared, and the danger was removed from the situation. More importantly, though, he had several questions about what was going on at the moment. Questions that, perhaps, could do without the interference of the victims of the assault. Turning to the woman who had sprinted off in a mad dash after the bird that caused all of this chaos, his eyes dimmed a bit as he looked down at her, a bit less than impressed at how the town's natural line of defense had handled this situation.

"A bit 'f an understatement, lass," Mark quietly grunted, his voice conveying the frown his face was incapable of producing. He had no desire to get mixed up in whatever internal affairs were plaguing this town - he just needed to find Marina and return home. In spite of that, though, he also knew that he couldn't say, in good faith, that he had searched this town, and thus couldn't turn tail and leave the very first stone unturned. "Ya've got some explainin' ta do. First, though..." he thrust a thumb first to himself, and then to the other fighters who had been injured in the fight. "Might be best to get everyone who needs it fixed up, yeah?" Mark said. He was in no danger of death himself, at the moment, but he also wasn't going to discuss any sort of business as long as the damage to his systems persisted.

While he didn't know about the smoke turning citizens into zombies Milo did know that he had no choice but to stay and help the people of Sveto as it was clear the The Whiteheath Witch was more than they could handle. As the no doubt important blonde haired woman thanked them for their actions the cleric did something he knew was technically wrong, but justified it to himself with the fact that he would need the supplies to help the survivors, and began searching the bodies of the zombies for anything valuable.

when the woman mentioned owing them Milo felt that that was right, they had messed up with their punishing the wrong person but he felt it was an understandable mistake and besides arguing about it wouldn't help so he stayed quiet. One of his companions, apparently wearing very heavy armor, did feel the need to speak up about it though, he also mentioned that it would be smart to get everyone patched up. "Well I do have a healing spell I can cast, but since I'll only be able to use it once I think a good night's rest would be more effective."

---

"Holy fff-mackerel." Vlad said to himself as he writhed in the pain of his eye being pulverized by the undead. Without the adrenaline of a fight keeping the pain at bay, Vlad used all of his willpower to keep himself from screaming at the top of his lungs. As his one good eye saw the people retuning to the streets, he decided to try to put his attention to something else in order to cope with the pain. He got out his bed roll and opened it up, placing it over one of the nearest corpses. He wasn't looking forward to sleeping in it again but he wanted to do his best to make things easier on the community.

"I second the good night's rest. As for owein' us, I'm more than fine with just some medical support and some grub." Vlad said in response to the group's conversation as he sauntered over, still holding his eye wound.

Morgan was having second thoughts on her original plans. The zombies the group had been fighting, despite their lack of tactics in the battle, weren't weak, and she doubted that she would have been able to deal with one of them under similar circumstances. These people knew how to fight, in comparison to her, a spellcaster with no real combat capability beyond the few tricks she had been taught with a staff and a few other weapons.

How am I supposed to do this...

As the last of the undead fell, Verdan let out a sigh and shook his head as he walked from the gallows down to where the corpses lay. He would never rest from his work,even after such an attack. The doctor turned to Lilith as she approached the group "Yes,yes such things are all well and good but rewards can wait until the route of this problem has been purged. Would you allow me to see the bodies of the undead? I wish to examine them so I may attempt to locate what the gas did to these poor souls." Verdan asked somewhat distantly as he examined the remains of the zombies from a distance.

Joseph stepped down the walkway for the gallows toward the others who had participated in the dispatching of the zombies. "Coin is a good start, maybe a meal and a skin of wine."

He slide the bow back into its place on his back and look to see which of his arrows were still going to be useable.

Lillith nodded as the warriors gave their various opinions. "Alright, food and rest can be provided," she said. "There's an inn close to the palisade called the Laughing Knave. The bounty I promised was 200 gold pieces, which should cover everything you'll need there and a lot besides."

The Laughing Knave was the same tavern that Vlad had been staying at, as well as possibly other members of the group. Of the two in town, it was the more pleasant, and the more expensive, but ultimately it was mediocre in both regards. The other, the Vagrant's Flagon, simply had both low prices and poor quality, even by the standards of this unhopeful world. Of course, the warriors could make their own choice as to where to stay, this was simply the choice Lillith would have made in their place.

It was at this point that Verdan requested to examine the bodies of those affected by the blackbird's gas. While Lillith realised that their could be positive repercussions of letting him do so, principle prevented her. "I'm sorry," she told him "as I understand that your intentions are benevolent, but the dead ought to be left to rest. They've suffered enough, haven't they?" Lillith asked, before noticing the dwarf searching those same corpses. "The same principles apply to looting. Leave them be." Lillith strode over to Milo and put a firm hand on his shoulder, clearly indicating for him to move away. As such, he had no good chance to search them for valuables.

"Now," the wizard began, addressing the entire group. "I'll get together your bounty, which you can collect either later this afternoon or tomorrow morning. Additionally, we should discuss further work for you then, if that's your interest. The danger has only paused; it will not end until the death of the Whiteheath Witch. Kill her, and I can promise a significantly larger reward."

As Morgan stared at the corpses, she continued having second thoughts. and third thoughts. and fourth.

She changed her mind. Messing with these people would be dangerous, and she didn't like her chances of success. As such, she was thankful for the conversation she had overheard, even if she only got the end. The witch (Court Wizard) was still holding on to the ring, and would pay the group later that day, or the next. That meant, at some point, she would be in a position where Morgan would be able to (discretely) procure the ring.

Now she just had to wait. Again.

Verdan let out a sigh at the declined request before muttering as she walked away "Don't blame me if the bodies start rising again..."

After Lilith had dealt with the rest of those present and gave them her offer he stroked the beak of his elongated mask thoughtfully. A witch was no sentient undead, would his dear patron allow him to deviate from her commands? With some uncertainty Verdan responded "Finding out how that gas was produced could provide an interesting insight....and I could use the gold. I will assist in eliminating this witch."
Immediately after speaking he eyed his raven assistant (who had presumably returned to sit on his shoulder now the coast was clear) to see if it warranted any response from it.

While he wasn't happy about it Milo didn't argue with Lilith about his looting and silently stepped away from the corpse while showing his open hands to indicate he hadn't taken anything. He listened to her advice about staying in the Laughing Knave and decided he would spend the night there. Of course he also listened to the job offering for taking down the Whiteheath Witch. "I can tell you right here and now I'm in, not only does she need to be punished, if left alone she might become a threat for the monastery. Davor isn't THAT far after all" He didn't mention that while his points were all true and enough for him to join on their own the reward alone would have gotten him to join just as readily.

---

Vlad nodded along as the woman explained the situation to party of adventurers. He wasn't very excited to go out on a literal Witch hunt as he had been enjoying his time staying in the town but he wouldn't be able to quell his conscience if he just ignored the call for help. That and whatever patron out there that was looking over him likely wouldn't take to kindly to it either though Vlad was unsure just who said patron was, identity and value wise.

"Thank you miss. Staying at the Knave has defiantly been the best part of this town. I'm looking forward to staying the night" Vlad imparted as he turned back around and headed towards and into the Laughing Knave to get himself a drink and wait for the rest of the party.

"Give me something strong please." Vlad asked the bartender as he sat down.

---

Once the woman had finished speaking, Mark crossed his arms. "A witch, aye? Can't say I've ever stood toe-ta-toe with one before... Per'aps this might be a good learnin' experience. Right then, count me in. B'fer I go out an' put myself on the line, though, I've gotta quick question." Although Mark wasn't too sure that this woman would be able to answer his question, he would have to start somewhere. Marina was, above all other things, his main objective. Nikita had mentioned that it should be done with the utmost haste. "A dwarven lass might 'ave come by this town at some point - Marina Stormhammer. You or any of your lot seen her? Weak one, she is - 'bout useless to have 'round." Marina, although quite lazy and arrogant, was a good girl at heart according to Nikita. Mark doubted this sentiment sincerely. All of his interactions with her had been, in one way or another, negative. Whether it was her messing about in her father's laboratory as Mark was resting, or her stealing gold from her father to spend on her own idiotic whims, Mark had yet to see her do one good thing for her family. She never helped defend their land, and on several counts she had even brought some vagabonds home with her and forced Mark to ward them off by force...

Yet, this would make no difference. Marina was, after all, the daughter of Mark's creator. Mark definitely understood the concern his creator held, as much of a burden as she was, and knew that he owed this much to him. "She's gone missin' since a few days ago, an' it's important that she goes back to 'er family," Mark explained in a somewhat low whisper.

---

Emil didn't bother to mourn for the dead, instead seeing it all as a mess caused by those who relied on dark sorceries. Silently condemning the ones responsible for such a cruel act- despite himself being a product of black magic- Emil began to look through the field, working on retrieving his bolts. Some of them were well beyond repair, but some of the others still looked like they were salvageable, just requiring a bit of heavy cleaning. Of course, setting your crossbow bolts on fire with a blood curse isn't the best way to maintain them, but Emil has learned to work with whatever he has, especially when he's out in the wilderness on hunts for days on end. After retrieving what he could from his expended ammunition, Emil turned back to the others who had helped him fight off the dead, giving them a curt nod, before turning to the woman who had given them this assignment.

"If you're working on sorting a bounty for us, how about you just give me that ring? Don't care too much about getting paid, myself, but that ring could help me track down the witch responsible for this shitfest. You already know what a Krusczek could do, and you've just seen me in action. I feel like that ring is proper insurance for a job well done..."

"As long as you pay out consider this witch dead. I'll be waiting at the Laughing Knave should you require me sooner."

With that Joseph made his way towards the tavern while making a mental list of things he would need for this venture. Arrows and food were a certain necessity. He would have to inventory the rest of his gear to see what else he might need.

Lillith raised an eyebrow at Verdan's ominous comment. She didn't know for certain, of course, but she was intelligent, and could see no reason why the bodies should rise again without further exposure to the gas, and even then they might not - she had no way of being sure. Either way, she no longer regarded them as a threat, considering the terrible state they were left in; and if the mercenaries left, there would be no one for the guards to hand off their jobs to, so they might actually do them. All in all, the concept didn't frighten her.

She simply inclined her head in a slight nod in response to Vlad, Milo, and Joseph, accompanied with the singular word "Good." Her speech was straight to the point, without wasting time, as usual.

The raven on Verdan's shoulder cawed softly, as if in acknowledgement. It was difficult to judge the tone of a bird, but it certainly didn't seem antagonistic or critical. It simply seemed to understand its situation and have nothing more to say on the matter.

Lillith listened to Mark attentively before speaking. Then, after a moment's consideration, she said "My apologies. I don't recognise the name, and I doubt I'd recognise the girl either - I'm afraid I don't get out much except when on assignments from Reave Bosko. There are a few dwarves in town, though. It might be worth asking around."

It was only a few seconds later when Emil returned from retrieving his arrows. Lillith listened to his request. It made perfect sense - an enchantment this narrowly focused would hardly be worth much, anyway, and if it was true that this Krusczek could track the witch with it, this would improve his chances of success. No feat of persuasion was necessary for her to reach that conclusion. However, she also wanted a chance to study it, and perhaps try to replicate the enchantment, maybe with her own adjustments. Some time with it might prove useful. So she gave Emil her offer: "If you would like the ring in place of payment, that is acceptable. However, I would like to take some time to perform some research on it first. Would it suit you if I gave you it either later today, or tomorrow, when I provide the reward for the others as well, so that I have at least a few hours with it?"

---

The Laughing Knave was the largest building near the palisade, the ten-foot wall of logs sharped to points that ran around the town. Less than fifty feet from the gate, this two-storey building was the home to most of the travelers that might arrive in Sveto. Its owner and barman was the halfling Barric Strindle, a middle-aged fellow with short, ginger hair and impressive mutton chops. He always seemed to be cheerful, disconcertingly so, a trait which may have resulted from stupidity, or it may have been an intentional act in order to make his customers enjoy themselves more at his inn.

The inn was mostly empty at this time of day, and Barric had little to do, but the moment Vlad had walked in, he picked himself up and stepped onto the board which was nailed to the back of the bar so that he could see over. "Somethin' strong you say, sir?" he asked enthusiastically. "Right away!" Barric immediately reached for a bottle of cheap whiskey and began pouring Vlad a glass. "Oh, I say, sir!," he continued as he did so "Whatever happened t'your eye?"

---

"Nothin' good, I'll tell ya that. One of those poor souls that got turned in the middle at the Witch's trial damn near took the thing out!" Vlad explained pointing intensely to his eye. "I don't blame him though. That Witch's magic is strong stuff and I don't believe he had much say in his actions or any of those people for that matter." Vlad took a swig of the whiskey, recoiling slightly from the burn in his throat.

'Why do I always order this cursed stuff?' Vlad thought to himself as he took another drink from his glass.

Vlad leaned forward slightly, resting his arms on the bar as he toyed with his drinking glass a little like a cat with a mouse. He was torn up inside about putting that man out of his misery even if it was the right thing to do. He wished more than anything to go back to his relatively more blissful life at home but he knew full well going back wasn't in the cards right now or any time soon. He gave a small sigh before finishing off his drink.

"Another drink please."

---

The mechanical warrior grunted, a little less than satisfied with the answer given to him by the woman. He didn't quite expect anything useful from the woman when it came to an answer, but at least Mark knew that Marina was probably staying out of trouble. He'd have to investigate the disappearance himself, it looked like. Maybe he could try hitting up someplace where a young dwarf like Marina might have drifted into, such as the Laughing Knave. If she had been here, it was possible that she had stayed there during her travels. The way he saw it, the best case scenario was that she was still there. Worst case scenario, she wasn't there and she hadn't been there to begin with. Looking to the Laughing Knave, he considered staying there himself for the time being. Unlike at home, he couldn't just rest anywhere he desired. That would definitely be a swift way to get most of his belongings stolen, not to mention it would probably prove to be a bother to the denizens of the town. He felt something twinge on the inside, remembering the battle. Had those men and women truly deserved to die? He supposed not... Yet what was done was done. Mark had learned long ago to distance himself from his work - no plea of mercy was worth what those who attacked his home brought. He'd do best to simply avoid the mourning. They had no interest in conversing with him, and he had absolutely no interest or desire in communicating with them. Returning to the present, he decided to take his mind off things by ordering a room. A quiet bastion for him to dwell on his next move, and maybe think about how they were supposed to deal with the Witch. A real battle against a real magic user was on the horizon, an experience that would definitely be new to the ex-guardian of the Stormhammer family.

What a chore this search was turning out to be.

Evaluating the damage done to himself, he supposed now might be a good time to take a break to repair himself. For him, repairs were a good way to refresh himself on both a mental and literal level. It typically took an hour at the very least, and typically gave the mechanical man some alone time to dwell upon situations at hand: in this case, Marina's disappearance. He didn't have any immediate business in the town anyways. Taking a quick second to memorize the faces of Lilith and the other warriors - he could presumably make an ally of some, if not all of them - he turned to face the Knave, looking back upon them. "Right then," Mark said, "I suppose next time we meet, it'll be ta put an' end ta this witch, yeah? 'Til then." His rather dismissal separation of the group over, Mark quietly wandered into the Laughing Knave.

Still somewhat annoyed that he failed to make some extra money from the corpses Milo followed the others to the Laughing Knave, sure he would have preferred to save his money but the better accommodations probably and the promised reward more than made for the costs. He arrived just as the annoyingly barman poured the half orc a glass of whiskey and sat down next to him. "Whiskey heh? Not my drink but strong enough to be respectable." He turned to the halfling behind the bar and tossed him one of his fifteen gold coins. "As much of your cheapest non watered down ale as this buys."

Verdan entered the Laughing Knave and sat at the bar without a word before waving the barkeeper over to him and asking "Excuse me sir but what is the..strongest alcohol you have? And do you also have a waterskin of some kind I would be able to purchase off of you to put it in?"

As he spoke, the doctor removed the heavy tome he was carrying from his side bag and began to leaf through for an entry he had been reading earlier on a rather interesting affliction. He also offered his gloved hand up to his companion raven to move the bird down onto the table and added "Oh, and if you have anything for the bird that would be marvelous."without bothering to look back up as he rifled through the pages.

Barric nodded solemnly. "Aye, well I certainly thank ye, for yer help there, sir. Bad at it was, it could've been much worse were it not for you and yer companions." In response to Vlad's request for another drink, he responded "Of course, sir. And since you did make sure it t'were not, as I said, much worse, it'll be on me. Same goes for any of the others, should they be inclined to pay us a visit as well."

It was at this point that Mark, Verdan, and Milo entered. "Speakin' o' which!" he said enthusiastically as they arrived. "Welcome, noble sirs! What can I get you?" Barric asked while sliding another glass of whiskey towards Vlad with a grin. He listened to the requests, paling somewhat when he heard Milo's, though he did catch the coin. He clearly took a moment to think carefully, before deciding to stick to his word. "This is yours, sir," he said, throwing the coin back "on the house! Though I must say, that's a lot of ale. Four- no, five gallons. Are ye sure?" He seemed to be regretting his promise of serving the heroes for free. Though he was grateful, very much so, he was worried that this would be very expensive.

Regardless, if Milo were to reaffirm that he did want five gallons of ale, then five gallons of ale would be served. If Milo were to change his order based on the new information about the inn's prices then that, too, would be served.

In the meantime, Barric was serving Verdan. "Strongest? Vodka it is, then. And ravens eat meat, right? I can bring ye some dried meat, if that's 'is fancy, but I honestly cannot say I've ever served a raven before."