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Virginia smiled, pleased that she had brought a small bit of joy to Ny. So many people mistook the Crypts for being a cruel and vile family, assuming that the macabre and the darkness were inherently sinister and cruel. It always struck her as mildly odd, especially since so many of the compliments paid by the upper members of society turned out to be veiled threats and insults. The light seemed a crueler place than the dark. She nodded in agreement as Ny lamented that it was a waste. "These poor creatures..." she said softly, referring to the horses and not the waste of human life. "I hope that their next adventure is kinder to them than this."

As she inspected the scene, it didn't take a huge deductive leap looking over the mess to figure out that it was a matter of the carriage breaking free. Of course, there was only about half of the carriage here - they'd need to find the rest of it, she imagined that whoever was actually riding in the carriage would be found with the other portion. It wasn't an expensive carriage, just a cheap one that could be hired. "From what I can tell, this was just a hired carriage - not one owned by a peer. There are likely more people involved in this of course, since we only have half of the carriage here." She paused for a moment, wondering if it would be worth it to divert their attention to go attend to the rest of this mess. They had come here to Gretna Green for a purpose and helping strangers, while noble, had not been it.

"Unless you disagree, I think we should go find the other half of this disaster," Virginia said.

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Maeve was mulling over the factors of Colette's story in her mind, unable to make heads or tails of it in regards to the truth. It was blatant that the Frenchwoman was holding something back, but it could have been because of difficulties in language. Even with her fluency in sign language, sometimes Maeve told her daughter white lies as it was just easier to communicate them and she wasn't certain of how to sign the words for a more complex idea. Of course, it could be that Colette might have been intentionally holding back information. Those who swam in the social circles that Maeve herself would likely never be a member of tended to use information as the preferred weapon of choice - while Maeve preferred her fists and scathing threats to send a message.

Just as Maeve had come to what conclusions she could, Colette then revealed that she hadn't been completely truthful. She was here after the wounded, feeble woman. Maeve found it astounding that a stranger would go to such lengths for her, as Colette owed Millicent nothing from what Maeve could tell. Why chase a woman across the country on a hunch that they were in trouble? Sure, Maeve could appreciate womanly camaraderie and togetherness as much as the next person, but in her experience that was just a fantasy. Of course, Colette's plea meant very little to Maeve personally - if they were going to assist her, that would be the Lady Kirkpatrick's call.

At least Veta was alright he consoled himself as he threw another final look at the dead German as the Grand Duchess send Vlad to go search for the church so she could perform her skill on holy ground. It was true that Vlad was the best after all, Constantin was instead going to do the maybe even more important task for guarding Veta with his life! Now that he was here, he felt a new source of vigor and zeal. He was going to attack anything that had malice towards her in mind with immense abhorence. He noted the certain lack of tiger and the people Veta had vanished with. A question was filling his mind as he pondered if they had met their deaths or worse, but didn't ask it quite yet.

His attention was naturally also attracted to Rutherford who was acting quite forcibily with Millicent who didn't seem to struggle against it. Constantin didn't like it on two separate sides. For once he felt like Rutherford was arrogant pick and Constantin really hated arrogance. Second he didn't quite like that the woman wasn't struggling, but he did seem defeated somewhat. What could someone hold over another to break all desire to struggle for one's self? Constantin froze midthought as he knew what would be in his case... He threw a look at the Grand Duchess instead." Мы позволяем им уйти так?" He asked as his eyes trailed back to Rutherford and Millicent. He wouldn't mind beating him if Veta said to. His eyes were narrowing."Разве ты не рисковал своей жизнью, чтобы найти ее? Должен ли я просто справиться с этим?"

He didn't like it. This woman was the reason Veta put herself through so much danger and frankly Constantin didn't even know why she took the risk after all. What was about that woman that would make the Grand Duchess risk her life? He trusted her of course so he wasn't going to act without her approval on this. Unless Rutherford tried to start something with them at which point nothing would save that man.

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Whoever this Ludwig had been in life, he was apparently worthy of attention from the Duchess, even in death. If nothing else, her ordering of one of the newcomers confirmed that she did hold some power over them, and the 'Bazhooli', whatever that meant, leapt onto his horse, his exit just as extravagant as his clothing. However he did not leave, William noticed, before giving Rutherford a hard-edged look.

Speaking of the Lord, the man was clearly keen to seize upon the momentary lapse of the protection the Duchess had been giving Millicent, grabbing his fiances arm and all but dragging her away from the group. Millicent didn't put up a fight, letting herself be led away by Rutherford, and William suddenly realised he couldn't simply stand and watch any longer. For starters, it was the promise of payment from Rutherford that had seen him begin this journey in the first place. That being said, the Russians promised adventure, even if it was an increasingly confusing one, and William was surprised to see the Duchess let her apparent charge be taken away so roughly.

But if the Duchess minded, she showed no signs of it, despite her two new companions looking obviously troubled by it. It was above William's pay-grade to concern himself with the reasons behind her sudden change of demeanor, and he quickly moved after William and Millicent. He had been hired to do a job, and he planned to do it. And if it came to it, he would at least still be close at hand, in case Millicent really did need help. He was glad he had taken the time to gather his things from the remains of the carriage. He held the wooden case in one hand, and he could feel the violin inside almost humming, hungry for the chance to play once more.

Kirkpatrick House: The Lady Kirkpatrick listened and glanced over towards Maeve, there seemed to be a look there but she nodded towards the girl. Almost as if to say that it was alright and she had an idea. "I see, well that does change matters. It seems that this man as a particular proclivity for problems. I know where they were going," she starts before motioning towards Maeve. "She will escort you to them. Miss O'Connor, do have the butler ready the carriage and give him the letter to be mailed," she said as looked back towards Maeve. There was the barest hint of a smile on the womans lips. Maeve could take the girl to Gretna Green and keep an eye on her plus see what Rutherford and perhaps others were up to. While she didn't know Maeve well she did know one thing, the woman would think twice before betraying her due to certain things being in place.

Gretna Green: Veta nodded towards Vlad. She needed holy ground for this since she didn't have her relic. Hearing Constantin she sighed and turned her head towards him. "Кто такая великая княгиня? Это ты? Нет, это я. Я не сказал следовать. Мы имеем дело с этим. Сначала спаси душу, потом разберись с другими." Her voice was firm as she spoke. She didn't have time for this. They had limited time for her to make sure that Ludwig's soul was safe. She was the Grand Duchess. Heir. While she looked to Vlad as an uncle and Constantin as a friend, at the end of the day her word was law and some times she had to remind people it was her place to make the decision, not them.

Vlad would have no problem finding a church. And Ny was right behind Virginia. Ahh the rolls were nice about this. As Vlad spots a church, he sees a pale lady passing right by it. Ny's brow raises. "The Circus is in town?" he says under his breath as he points towards Vlad. Oh happy day, about fucking time the groups started coming together LOL. YAY! Nat 20! Go say hello as Vlad and Virginia are going to see each other.

Rutherford and Millicent keep heading towards the southern end of town. Rutherford seems to know where he is going. Millicent glances over her shoulder and spots William following. She looks a tad surprised but she smiles slightly towards him before looking forward again. Had Rutherford already paid him for his service? Was that why he was staying with them? If he hadn't she wondered why he was trying to stay with them now. Granted the others that were around did seem off and there was a dead body. Maybe he figured it was better to be around two that were alive than one that was dead.

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Colette glanced over towards the other woman, more as a way to gauge how she would take the news. Colette wasn’t opposed to having someone with her, especially if they knew the way. After all, she had traveled with Fyror. However, she was used to being alone now and she didn’t know what the other woman was like. If she was only there as a guide, that would be fine, she supposed. She wouldn’t know how to explain her appearance to Lord Rutherford if she were to maintain her ruse. Either way, a carriage was appreciated. She enjoyed horse riding, but doing so for a long period of time was exhausting.

”Thank you Lady Kirkpatrick. I appreciate it.” She curtsied her appreciation also before turning to face Maeve. ”And I appreciate your help as well, mademoiselle.” For she truly did, even if it was the request of the Lady Kirkpatrick. Colette would allow Maeve to lead. After all, this was not her house and she had no idea where everything was. She didn’t want to take charge after so much hospitality was shown to her.

She wondered how Millicent was coping. Hopefully, she would be there soon to provide aid if needed. For all she knew, Millicent was doing much better than the last time she saw her, but she had a feeling Lord Rutherford would change that.

Constantin felt a mixture of feelings inside him. Sometimes he really felt incredible anger at Veta and yet he couldn't bring himself to be too angry. Right now he also understood her point and yet felt anger about the fact she had taken risks for a task that she didn't seem to be dealing with now that it was so close at hand. There was also the conflict about how they were left behind while she went ahead. Finally he just bowed at her words." Of course, Grand Duchess, as you command." Was what he said as he went ahead to take a position nearby to her at an appropriate distance for protection should hte need arises and to keep with status.

Still no matter how much the situation was tugging on his nerves overall, he felt a lot of relief that she was fine. Admittedly he wasn't feeling the same about the fact that a certain tiger was missing along with the supposed companions that Veta had taken with her on the journey. There were two different options here... either they fell or they had gotten separated somewhere along the way.

Finally he decided to ask, as to know what to expect." Grand Duchess... Vhat transpired vith Myshka?" He asked softly and a little solemnly. Even if it wasn't his tiger and he didn't always see eye to eye with the beast, he still respected the creature. It was a proud and mighty beast, he couldn't see another reason it wasn't around right now. Constantin didn't believe should it have been alive, it would leave Veta's side.

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The quest that Vladimir was placed upon was admittedly not as glamorous as the one he had just finished. The last one took him over land; roads, fields and forest. It took him over sea; a great body of water he had not the privilege of crossing over until that very moment. He had met interesting and exciting people; a noble French lady who disappeared into her own mission, a strange scarred fellow who up and vanished, a Mr. Nigel Ownerand (Proprietor of this Inn) with sideburns and eyebrows that might have scared away Soulless, and a Captain of a La Canela ship that he might have wanted to associate with much greater intimacy. Vladimir had witnessed the accidental shooting death of his guide from London, looted his corpse, and stood ready to give the swag over as wedding presents. He had vomited upon the main deck of a ship in such a way as to inspire epic poetry, as everything he did was with the utmost of panache, and he had broken his nose not once, not twice, but THRICE in the same hour.

Vladimir Dmitrievich Alexandrov, heir to the Baron Alexandrov and the one and only reigning Great Bazhooli had experienced all of these things for the sole purpose of helping three very important women crash a wedding. His life was AWESOME.

In comparison, this order to find a church just didn't measure up. Or at least he thought it wouldn't. Oh, it was short-lived, as he just had to go into town a ways and point in a general direction and BAM, there it was. Vlad was just about to turn back to tell his corpsified, canvas-covered ally that they had located the place wherein his remains might be sanctified, when he realized that he was pointing not only at a piece of holy ground, but the very image of The Lady Virginia Crypt, Mistress of Wenwynith. It stood to reason, she was another of the three that left together. But why were they apart now? Well, these were questions for after he made a scene.

"HA!" he exclaimed, and not for the first time today. "AH, HAHAAA!" Okay, that one was new. Vladimir again flipped from the back of his grand, ebon horse, rising with arms outstratched. He began to stride confidently toward the pale woman, shouting, "For yes! Most elegant and beauti..." He stopped for just a second to look back at his horse, ordering him with a blurt of пятка, Толстой!", prompting the horse to follow at his heels as he continued, without missing a beat, ...ful Lady Crypt, stoic and intense, dangerous young volf ov alabaster skin and eyes like sword-iron under cloudy vinter sky." He stopped within a pace of Virginia, sweeping his hat off and taking a knee to bow in a grand gesture, next to the open road, in clear view of any and everyone nearby. "Am still, and alvays, villing to make servicing for Lady Crypt."

Vladimir rose, "But just for the now, my mausoleum flower, must place fallen comrade upon holy ground, on order of Grand Duchess Elizaveta and return. Please forgive."

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As Virginia was heading in the direction she saw the horses coming from, she stopped for a moment as Ny made a comment about the circus being in town. How had the Russian Circus managed to travel this distance to Gretna Green and arrive what felt like moments after them? Had they experienced some sort of anomaly as well? Her mind was racing as she spotted Vlad, trying to understand what could have happened. It seemed that he had spotted them as well, from the larger than life personality's shouts and exclamations directed at them. As he called her a wolf, however, Virginia's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Was it just a coincidence or could... could Bazhooli have been behind the wolf carcass sent to threaten her brother?

Her expression softened, hearing that one of the Circus' people had died. "Great Bazhooli... I regret to tell you this, but your comrade is not the only one who went to begin the next adventure. I am so sorry for your loss," she said softly. "Dame Mary Hale perished fighting the Soulless along the way... and I must ask... Is the Grand Duchess well? Last I saw her, she had been spirited away by some creature and... Well, it seemed that she was likely dead." Virginia studied Bazhooli for a moment. She felt her was telling the truth about Elizaveta, though she wanted to make sure that the Grand Duchess was alright. So much had happened to their initial trio that she felt it was her duty to make sure.

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Maeve nodded, standing from where she had been seated. "Aye, m'lady," she told her. She hadn't been able to pick up any flaws in Colette's logic or what she had been outwardly saying, so it seemed that perhaps she was being genuine. If Colette really was just a naive and innocent, sheltered daughter of a peer, then her job would be all the more easier. She didn't doubt though that there could be something more sinister hiding behind that pretty face. She gave a nod to Colette as her thanks, Maeve's hand running along the brim of the letter for a moment.

"I'll be back in a moment an' once de carriage is ready, we can depart, miss," she told Colette, before she headed off to track down the butler. Once she found him, she asked for him to prepare the carriage for departure immediately, as well as handing off the letter for him to mail - she stressed that it was important too. She didn't want to have the letter get lost by the post or forgotten about by the butler, since Lady Kirkpatrick had a personal stake in how events would turn out. "Thank ye," she said, having finished telling the butler what exactly she needed.

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William had to move quickly to keep up with Rutherford, the other man clearly knowing where he was going, and determined to not waste any more time. The slight smile that Millicent cast back towards him had more of an effect on William than he had expected it to. Something linked him to the woman, it had been scratching at the back of William's head since he had first seen her across the crowded inn, but every time he tried to put his finger on it, it darted away. The storyteller in him wanted to call it fate, and maybe it was. All that William really knew is that he had stumbled into the midst of something, and for now, that meant he was the rogue piece, the piece that didn't fit in these grand plans because he couldn't have been accounted for in them. And that gave him an advantage. Picking up his pace slightly, so that he was only a few paces behind the couple, William glanced at Rutherford.

Maybe it was his recent revelation, but something granted William a rare moment of clarity, and he finally had a better idea of what he was up against. A dagger in the Lord's belt, and a pistol in his jacket. William had known Rutherford was armed, and now that he could tell with what, he could start to plan. If it came to it, then Rutherford held one advantage over William, range. With that pistol in play, then William would need to close any distance between the two men quickly. Once he was close, then William would be able to use his short swords, and if it came to it, he could make use of his training in Kadlin. Some part of William still hoped that it wouldn't come to violence, but if it did...

Something else caught William's eye, and as he looked over towards Millicent, he saw a flash of metal. It was only for an instant, and for a moment, William questioned he had even seen it at all. But some part of him knew that he had. He had learnt a long time ago not to judge people by appearances, and it appeared that he had found another example in Millicent. The meek and slight woman was armed; the cat had claws so to speak. Frowning slightly, half-expecting every new turn to reveal some new detail, William continued after the increasingly unusual pair.

Kirkpatrick House: Lady Kirkpatrick had trust in Maeve for this, if only because she knew she had a stake in things that were happening now. It wasn't that the woman enjoying having leverage over people but she found much of the time that having leverage was one of the few ways to ensure loyalty until true loyalty could be established. The Butler had the carriage ready in short order. It was normally just a single horse drawn carriage but they had managed to set it up for a second. That way they could bring Colette's mare as well and if Colette went off on her own neither woman would be stuck without transportation. It was the best he could make of the situation.

"Of course, please keep me informed as you can," The Lady Kirkpatrick said before getting up. Moving to where Maeve was at this point she slipped off a ring from her finger and handed it over to Maeve. It was her family crest ring. "Seal any correspondence with this, I will know," she said as she handed it over. It may come in more use than that later one. Having the woman's name to drop could prove useful in the future. Lady Kirkpatrick stopped for a moment and rubbed her eyes, this was odd. Was she finally starting to croak? Everything had a haze to it. "Go, quickly now." Something was happening and she didn't like it.

Gretna Green: Virginia is pretty sure that Vlad wouldn't have sent a wolf to her, while the Circus had wolves, it hadn't been the same type of wolf as she had seen during her visit and the exposition that the Circus had put on. Similar yes but not the same and after seeing the way that the Circus was with their animals, it was doubtful that it would have been possible for them. That wolf seemed, stronger. It is hard to put into words but something in her tells her it was to lead her to the circus, not that it was from the circus.

Veta looked over at Constantin and shook her head. "I knov not vhere my dear Myshka is..." she said in a saddened voice. The last she had seen her tiger was whens he had been taken up into the air. She had not seen him since but she feared the worst. When an animal is bonded, they can feel each other. It isn't like a homing signal but like when a twin knows something is wrong with another twin. This is how it felt for her. As if he just wasn't there anymore and it saddened her. Myshka was the closest thing to a child she had. Stopping she looked around slowly. "Vhat in vorld?" she asked as looked around. Something was wrong, a lot of things were wrong of course but this was the most recent wrong that was going on. Everything was glassy.

Rutherford stopped in his tracks and rubbed his eyes, as did Millicent. Slowly he looked over towards Millicent and his face distorted. It looked like half of it melted away and then shifted back into place. This caused Millicent to take a hurried step back from him. He tried to keep his grip on her arm but she twisted and jumped back as she screamed. It was horrific what she had seen, even if it had only been for a split second. It was like half his face had been shot off. And now everything around her looked glassy. "Stay back!" she yelled as she reached into the folds of her dress at the back and pulled out a Lamga set.

Constantin listened to Veta's reply about the tiger and he grew silent. While the woman didn't say it was dead, the firewalker feared the worst non the less. He knew Myshka, the tiger wouldn't leave Veta alone for long, beside it wasn't a human, it had great senses, it should have been able to track her should they had gotten separated. He just smiled in a sad manner as he nodded." I see." It would be great if the tiger showed up again, but as situation was, Constantin couldn't bring himself to harbor much hopes about it. Instead he made a silent vow to protect Veta with even more zeal this time around!

Then as he was making his mental vows something happened. Well... Something wrong happened. By the sound of Veta it seemed she was experiencing it too. Everything felt wrong... weirdly wrong and hazy." Damn it all to hell..." He cursed as he realized something supernaturally bad was abound to happen again or rather it was already happenign again. With the amount of stuff going on as of the time they arrived in this accrused country, he wouldn't be surprised if a giant monster showed up or something. In a hurry he moved as close as possible to Veta preparing to defend her from anything that might try to bring her harm." Ve should be careful! Evil vinds earlier nov maybe evil haze!" He stated. The haze was like looking through a bit of fog. If it turned into lot's of fog, he would know what to blame, for now they had to see more to uncover the reason.

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Colette nodded understanding as the lady maid, she assumed, went off to fetch the butler to prepare the carriage. She had to admit she was happy to be able to travel vi carriage to Gretna Greens as opposed to riding again. And surely Lady Kirkpatrick had a fine carriage too. One that would hopefully get them there soon. She was tired of traveling so, even for just causes. As Maeve left, she was alone with Lady Kirkpatrick. ”I will do my best, my Lady. I will see this to the end. I owe it to Lady Millicent to at least try.” After some time, the carriage was prepared. Before she could walk, her vision began to blur and haze around her. She rubbed her eyes but the effect did not go away. It seemed Lady Kirkpatrick was feeling the same.

”What is this? Could a Soulless do this?” She had not known such a monster that could render a victim like this, but she also did not know of a monster that lurked in the waters and she had recently been greeted by one. She did her best to follow outside. She could still see somewhat.

She made her way outside to the best of her ability and found the carriage ready. She stepped inside and awaited Maeve. She tried to wipe her eyes again. Hopefully, this would pass soon. It was quite annoying.

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"Is much sadness in news you share, Lady Crypt." Vladimir's voice was slightly subdued, giving what amounted to appropriate honors for someone not of the blood or bound by the Circus. He placed his finger to his chin thoughtfully, continuing, "I like-ed her. Truly vith the liking. Father took great liking to Scary Catholic Girl - made vith giving of advice for young leader - advising most only for next Barons in line or Bazhoolis hopeful of the Greatness." Vlad bowed his head for a moment, quietly speaking a prayer for fallen Mary. "Strong girl of fiery hair and Godly stabbings! I give many respects. Da. Many."

"Am also vith regretting, lovely Lady Crypt. Man upon my horse is not comrade of Mother Russia. Is vith profoundness, da, and sadness most forthcoming I tell you: Here is earthly leaving of Master Zimmer, Eccentric German Man and ally of Circus. He vas taken from us by dark vind, just outside of Green of Gretna. Am bringing him to holy place that Grand Duchess may purify, in vays of our people. I am having sorry, Lady."

The Great Bazhooli took care not to overload the woman with too much, too fast, yet seeing as she was the one to bring up the subject of Veta first, he might as well lay this out for all to see as well. "Have just come from Grand Duchess. Is for literal just up this road, or vas minutes ago. Also, with the Lady Millicent and untrusted Lord Rudderfarg. Rootherfunt? Runtherfork? Da, the Lord Rublefant. Umm... Asshole. I do not know vhat plan it from here to next, but... I am knowing she vill vant to see you. If you vish to go now, go. If you vish to help and then ve take Tolstoy(!) together, is fine too. Perhaps after ve are doing this, you can help vith the explaining as to vhy whole town is looking hazy in midday and is like, ah... хрустальное стекло, ah... crystally glass. Is trick? Or is thing vhat needs the stabbing, in time honored tradition of Impalement Artisans, eh?" Seemingly from nowhere, knives flourished in his hands. He stood ready to meet a new threat, if indeed this was a threat, or even to (if need be) perish in an explosion of Bazhooli-ness from which everything in their immediate vicinity might be splashed and sodden with drama and panache of proportions most epic.

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Virginia calmed ever so slightly, as logic kicked in and deductive reasoning told her that the Circus wouldn't have sent her that wolf. It hadn't been the exact same sort as the ones they had used during their shows - and the Circus adored animals. They wouldn't have done something so horrific as to flay one. Her instincts were telling her that the wolf was meant to lead her to the Circus, rather than being sent by them. Yet with the implicit threat it made on her brother's life, she was still worried... The Circus would protect James, she knew it. But now, she was beginning to wonder if whomever made the threat had wanted James to go there.

Her vision clouded for a moment and Virginia blinked slightly, assuming that it was just from all of the heightened emotions and that her body was ready for a good cry. "She is walking her new adventure now," she said softly, a sad smile on her face. She missed Mary dearly, yet she had no doubt that Mary was enjoying an afterlife filled with excitement and riches at the moment. However, the smile faded from her face as Bazhooli told her who he was in mourning for - Ludwig. She had not known him very long, but she had felt a kinship with the man. They could have become great friends one day. She nodded slightly. "... Thank you for telling me," she said softly. "I did not know him very long, but... He will be dearly missed. The Dark Mother will watch over him, I am sure."

Hearing that Millicent was so close by, Virginia was tempted to abandon everything and pursue her. But Millicent was with Elizaveta. She would be fine for now. Ludwig, however, needed this ritual to be performed. "I would be honored to assist you, Great Bazhooli," she told him. She then turned her attention to Ny, wondering how he was taking this news.

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Maeve nodded, taking the ring from Lady Kirkpatrick. If they were going to send any correspondence back to her, either Colette would need to write it or they would need to find someone who could take a dictation from Maeve's words. She didn't really care for either option, as she imagined that the information would most likely be sensitive to Lady Kirkpatrick's interests. Of course, with either option she could send a message with a bit of coded and veiled information to it. Maeve's mind finally decided on that being the best option. A haze then appeared in front of Maeve's eyes and for a moment, she was worried she was about to go blind. It would end communicate between her and her daughter if that was the case.

"Aye, m'lady," Maeve confirmed, giving a slight curtsy to Lady Kirkpatrick. However, then Colette asked if a Soulless had done something - and given that Lady Kirkpatrick had rubbed her eyes, Maeve's sight was hazy, and now Colette was experiencing something as well? Her intuition told her that it was something terrible on the horizon. Though even knowing that - Lady Kirkpatrick wasn't dumb - she had told them to go and so they would. She headed outside and got into the carriage, letting the driver know to take them to Gretna Green as fast as possible. She then settled in and looked at Colette for a moment, before giving her a slight smile. "What is next for yer, if I may be so buld?" Maeve inquired.

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William's pace faltered as his vision started to blur. The world seemed to shift and move, glassy and distorted. Almost losing his balance, William had to stop himself from stumbling, one hand firmly grasping the handle of his dirk as he glanced around, searching for some clue as to what was going on. The wind that had tore apart the carriage had sprung from nowhere, and now this? He didn't know of any Soulless that could affect the world like this, but he wasn't going to be caught unawares. With the back of his hand, he wiped his eyes, but it did nothing to lessen the effect.

Realising that he had looked away from Rutherford and Millicent, he turned in time to see Millicent pulling away from her fiance, horror written across her face as she broke free of his grip on her arm. William hesitated, glancing across at Rutherford, but he couldn't see anything that would have caused such a reaction, he was simply watching her. For an instant he could have sworn that he saw the Lord's face twist and change, but everything seemed to look strange, and William couldn't be sure of anything he was seeing.

When he saw Millicent pull a weapon from within her dress, and call out for Rutherford to keep his distance, William realised that this was more than an argument, and he started forwards. He wasn't sure what he intended to do when he reached the pair, but something drove him forwards anyway. Or at least it tried to. As William's vision shifted again, he faltered. If he tried to run, he'd likely end up sprawled on the ground, so he slowed down, still reaching to pull his Dirk free, as he called.

"What in the blazes is going on?"

Kirkpatrick House (Heading out): The Lady Kirkpatrick didn't know what was going on and whether or not a Soulless could do this she did not know. The only thing she did know is that she didn't know everything that was out there, so it was always a possibility. There was an urgency though, the women needed to go. Do what you could for those you could when you could, then perhaps you will find other answers. The biggest thing was to remain on the current path and stay focused. The carriage pulled out of the yard and headed as quickly as the driver dared considering what was going on. As they passed the town, it was obvious that they were not the only ones having this issue. This was everyone and many were worried, some were panicking, others were just figuring they needed to give up drinking. Hopefully it wouldn't take long for them to get to Gretna Green, normally it would be a quick trip but all things considered, who knew at this point. (They will just get passed the edge of Annan this round, slow going dodging people panicking in the streets.)

Gretna Green: Things are not going much better over in Gretna Green. People are starting to panic, most of them are trying to get out of the streets and back to their homes as quickly as possible. Doors are slamming and locking quickly. Veta glances around and sighs deeply. This is not what they need right now but the Church is the main focus. "Ve keep moving Constantin, let's find Vlad and get to holy ground," she said as she took his hand and started pulling him to his horse. Her other hand falling to the hilt of her sword just in case. Waiting for him to climb into the saddle she held her hand out for him to help her up, it would be easy to ride through these crowds than walk.

"Millicent, what?" Rutherford asked, confused but Millicent wasn't having any of this. Taking another step back from the man. Then it happened again but this time the face didn't go away. It looked like half his face had been blown off and yet healed. He could feel the air hitting his teeth and he reached up. "Milli, it's okay, I won't hurt you," he said in a voice much kinder than he normally spoke.

"Demon!" she yelled as her eyes widened and she rushed back, trying to fight against the panicking people in teh streets. The haze was making them run one way, Rutherfords half gone face was now making them run in another. Looking around she spotted William, she barely knew the man but at least through the haze it didn't look like his face was being taken away. Rushing as best she could, she was trying to get away from Rutherford as quickly as she could, fear etched in her eyes.

This was just getting absurd now, what manner of forces were at work in this place? Constantin could recall already a number of weird events that weren't easy to explain if at all since the attack on that Almack's place? Was it Almack? He shrugged, even if it was called differently, it should be pretty close as far as he was concerned. Between the misty controling ice bugger from the lake, the opening wall, the ship they were on somehow ending up somewhere they didn't expect, evil winds and now this and those were just the ones he had witnessed! He pondered if there were other crazyness going outside of his perception?

He was startled when Veta took his hand to lead him to his horse. That he didn't expect, but he didn't try to resist and walked fast as her heading for good old brivaldi horse." Yes, yes. Ve should get to a better location fast." The firewalker agreed and got onto the horse without wasting any time. These were good strong horse, they shouldn't have any trouble making their way through a crowd. People would probably make way for the horse by themselves, no one would want to get trampled should they fall...

He then looked down at Veta and reached, taking her hand to help her onto the horse. Riding with the Grand Duchess, now that was not something that happened every day. Still he was glad they could work together again, as much as she was annoying at times, he wouldn't allow anything bad to reach her if she was in his sights." So to tovn center ve go and from there ve search for the Great Bazhooli?" He asked now that Veta was on the horse and he started to move teh animal forward.

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Once safely situated aboard the carriage, Colette let herself finally relax. She hadn’t realized how tightly wound she was with nervous energy. After all, she had been lying to get here and was now able to finally tell the truth as to what she was hoping to accomplish. It was a small weight off her shoulders, but a weight none the less. Soon, they were off to their destination. Her eyes were a bit foggy still, but hopefully that would come to pass shortly.

The lady’s maid, Maeve, began to talk to her and Colette was thankful for the conversation. Especially if it was outside of her reasons for traveling to find Millicent. ”I do not know, which is both exciting and terrifying. I suppose I shall travel back to London and await word on my future husband. If all goes well, he will no longer desire to marry me and I can proceed at my leisure. Maybe tour the world, if possible. So many sights I have not seen out there.” It would be on her own, but she looked forward to it. Maybe she would go see her brother at university. See how the school life was like.

”And what about you? How long have you worked for Lady Kirkpatrick? Do you enjoy it?” She didn’t know the girl’s story, but was willing to listen, at least.

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It was a sad, sad reminder that day. Vladimir looked around to the suddenly hazy, lightly obscured environment, and realized that there were perhaps some problems that could not be solved by the liberal application of stabbing. That being barred, he could not be insistent nor attempt to be charismatic and have the issue get resolved, nor could he take to a rousing speech in heavily inflected English. This simply was, whatever it was, and that was that. The problem was that there had been a couple of atmospheric disturbances lately that has signaled something awful was about to occur; the fog that blanketed The Regent's Park, the freak storm with red lightning on the water, the wind that had just taken Ludwig, and this haze just seemed very suspicious. Vladimir was not happy about this, but nothing from his repertoire of Bazhooli-ness could do anything about it. Hence, he could only continue with the mission. With only the slightest amount of regret, Vlad put his knives away.

"Da. Vill dearly me missed. Good man. Good, strange man. Much loss today." He gestured his arms out to his sides, as if contemplating a hug but thinking the wiser of it. The open and often physical expression of emotion from the Circus was simply not the custom here. "Am thanking you for help, Lady Crypt. For please, get rope on that end and push. I get exprire-ed man on shoulders. Then if you vould, please go ahead of me and make nice vith church people. Vould not do for tall, powerful foreign man to enter house of God vith body making reqvests. You are having Britishness! Are speaking langvige! I might offend." Naturally, as the only requirement he was given was to get him to holy ground, Vlad was tempted to hurl his corpse on the other side of the fence and hope no one noticed until they could retrieve the Grand Duchess. But... that might be a tiny bit disrespectful. So no dice.

While walking around to the side of his noble stallion, Tolstoy(!), Vladimir quietly asked of Virginia, "Psst... Who is friend?" jerking his head back in the direction of the as of yet silent man accompanying her.

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Whatever was causing the world to shift and distort, it wasn't going away. William was struggling to focus through the haze, jostled by the flow of people suddenly moving past him. He heard Millicent cry out again, even above the simmering panic, and as he looked towards her, they locked eyes for a moment. There was fear in her eyes, a sheer horror that William had only seen a handful of times before. Something was very wrong here, and it wasn't just his shifting vision that was making him feel sick anymore.

William finally pulled his Dirk free. He couldn't fight the haze that had seemed to descended over the world, but some base instinct told him that he would need the blade. It had never failed him, and it seemed to hum in the air. William's connection to his violin was instinct, it was natural, but his connection to his shortswords came from countless hours of training. That was not to say his connection was any less, the Dirk felt like an extension of his arm, and it seemed to sharpen his mind as Millicent fought her way through the crowd towards him.

The flow of people suddenly seemed to shift, pushing back against William where it had once been moving past, and he had to plant himself to not be swept away. He looked past Millicent, looking for Rutherford, and saw him. In an instant, William's blood ran cold. His face was wrong. Even through the haze, it made William's stomach turn, the nightmarish vision of Rutherford, or rather whatever foul creature had been calling itself Rutherford.

Pushing through the crowd as best he could, the adrenaline pumping through his veins driving his motions, William moved towards Millicent, shouting to be heard above the crowd as an idea fought it's way through the haze.

"The church! We need to get to the church!"

It wasn't just the thought of divine protection that was fuelling William. He knew that the Russians were looking for holy ground, and William was suddenly very keen to see the Duchess again. Or at least her sword.