It had been a while since Victoria made an appearance without her trusty not-quite-living sidekick, Morty. Ever since the harmony and cadence of the Weave brought this secret to her, as revealed in teachings that most Bards simply wouldn't have had the ability to master, she had been traveling with some version of a lesser creature gifted with animation. For the first time in a while, Victoria was going to be in a location with allies present and their belongings nearby. Not on the road, not by herself.

Something about that was troubling.

But seeing as the hayloft was empty of people and the last time she spied any of her group they were headed into the Public House, Victoria thought to enter. She didn't exactly need more wine (that was NEED, but such necessity was open to interpretation and argument), though a plate of something hot and filling might do her some good. It wasn't the most pleasant night out what with the fog and chilly weather. In truth, though her urgings to visit the Honey Barn and see what festivities were a palpable force, getting something to eat and some rest to regain her fuller abilities sounded really good right then. Her more impulsive nature brought her to the pragmatic decision, which was a rarity to those who were aware of her personal history.

Victoria wasn't but two steps toward the Public House when two of the patrons within burst through the front door like their pants were ablaze, one of the yelling something about ...sprinkles? Yes, that was the word. Somehow, impossibly, the orchid-clad Bard was certain this was the fault of someone in her party. A sigh and a head shake later, Victoria resumed her steps toward the pub's main door. Her posture shifted from the slight weariness she felt to something more confident, her stride showing equal hints of sensuality and control. Every movement displayed coordinated dexterity and decisiveness. Her very jaunty, feathered, bardy hat nestled atop her red-auburn hair at an angle just rakish enough to be fashionable without trying too hard. She was to meet a new public for the first time, and the event simply had to be memorable.

A collection of drunken reprobates threatened to upset the carefully crafted persona Victoria had adopted for herself. Two moved to block the doorway while others flanked her; not immediately being hostile more than they were half-drunk and hoping to assert alphamale-esque displays for the pretty, exotic, young Half-Elf with crystal blue eyes, just as much as assure each other that they were "men among men", unafraiid to go after what they wanted. The problem was, so many times situations like this would turn into something much, much worse. "Woah, hold on there, m'lady," slurred one, puffing his chest out like a mighty pigeon, "There are dangerous people in there. You should stay with us."

"Yeah," said another, a sloppy grin on his face, "We're a lot nicer then those assholes in there. What's your name?" General murmurs of agreement and stifled chuckles followed. This was not a situation Victoria wished to be in.

A polite refusal was in order, until it needed to be impolite. She slipped her very floppy hat off of her head and looked up to the Human men on three sides of her. "Sorry boys. I have business on the inside, so if you'll please excuse me?" She reached past one of the ones in front of her and swung open the door, but they did not budge.

"Why ain't you gonna give us you name, pretty little girl? You gotta give us something, or you won't get by. What's it gonna be?" This coming from the one directly in front of her. One to her side reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder. "This's a nice coat. You some kind of rich girl, huh? Rich girl gone slummin'?"

Enough was enough. Victoria's smile was still there physically, but her mind was already judging things like distance and time, and quickly running at what magical ability she could muster that wasn't immediately fatal. With a voice that was honey-sweet yet streaked with authority, she stated, "Again, sorry boys. I'm not interested and you need to let me by - "

She was immediately cut off by another to her front who drunkenly blurted, "Give us a kiss, then. I'll let you by. Can't account for my mates, though." This was backed up by laughter from the others, and the press of bodies crowing a little closer around Victoria. "Yeah, me next," came a supporting opinion to her side.

"...hells with this..." she thought to herself. Men were disgusting sometimes, a sentiment which carried far more irony coming from her than any of these plebeians would be able to understand. She closed her eyes and lowered her head with a sigh, seemingly in defeat. "Okay," she finally said, her tone hollow.

When she raised her head again and opened her eyes, they had taken on the hue of an inky, corrupted blackness, like gelatinous coal coated with a film of ebon oil. The effect was disturbing, paired with the marks on her face from the funeral service which she had not removed yet. Her smile returned, this time menacingly enchanting, giving off the impression of a snake eyeing down a field mouse. "Mmmmmm," she purred, raising a hand to her silver, raven skull brooch before reaching as if to cup the cheek of the larger Human in front of her. Victoria's nails were black, and her palm appeared to drip heavy with energy birthed of necrosis. "Yes, give us a kiss. The Queen demands her count of flesh, and of souls. You are but a snack for the ravenous, but with your friends..." A devious laugh escaped her lips and she took a single, confident step to place her so close to the men in front of her as to feel the heat radiating from their bodies.

Trembling, the first man lost control of his bladder, darkening the front of his pants. The one next to him screamed, "Oh gods! Don't let her touch you! Don't let her touch you!" as he scrambled away, falling into the open doorway and then picking himself up, hurrying to escape in any direction he could. The others scattered like fish in a pond disturbed by a hurled rock, most running for the main thoroughfare to the west, but a couple of the others trying their luck in different directions. But the first one who demanded a kiss of her, the one with the damp trousers, fainted dead away and fell back into Neil & Bob's Public House.

When the commotion began to die down and the collective, drunken shouting of the men who thought they had the upper hand faded into the distance, Victoria dropped her prestidigitations with a disarming giggle, covering her mouth with a hand. She re-affixed her bardiest of hats to her head, and stepped over the mess of a Human to enter the Pub proper. Scanning the crowd (most of which was staring in her direction with a mix of emotions across their faces), she finally saw Kathryn and, giving a friendly wave, strode purposefully up to her. As a courtesy, she kicked the unconscious man's leg out of the way of the door so that it could swing closed on her way to the bar.

With a warm and personable voice, she greeted her adventuring associate with, "Dame Kathryn! Hi. Where is everyone else?" Victoria was acting as if nothing had just transpired. It probably wasn't the best approach at keeping a low profile, certainly, but maybe if she ignored it the problem would just go away. Right? "Oh, I promised you a drink, didn't I?" Cheerily, she attempted to signal the bartender.

Rickard had noted the suspicious look the barkeep took gave him before getting a flagon of the Zinnoberrot for Kathryn and her table. He ignored the look for the time being, but made a mental note that he may want to find another place to board after tonight. Kathryn had started to take off after the man who had so loudly stated that he needed to make sprinkles. When the man had cleared the door with his other companions in tow she stopped and came back to sit at the bar. She set the ale down in front of Rickard and started to explain that she was not a local, but recently hired to help the locals. Goblins were currently an issue and she suspected that they may have a connection to the disappearances. The face that she had also introduced herself as Lady, or Ser had perked his curiosity more now. He had not initially suspected that she was a knight, or a noble. That was more so from the way she carried herself and presented the image of a sword for hire.

"I am Ser Rickard Barriden. Brother to Lady Trisstainia Barriden of the Silver Woods. Pleased to make your acquaintance Kathryn. You may call me Rickard." He took a sip of his wine. "I am looking for someone yes. An old friend of mine asked me to check in on his son who owns a woodworking shop here. He would have made the trip himself but age had taken it's toll on him. I will say I had not considered the threat of goblins being a potential reason for him going missing. Though it seems that at several others have gone missing as well." A frown crossed his face as he thought about goblins sneaking into the town to abduct people in the middle of the night. He started to wonder if his children, and grandchildren for that matter, had issues with goblins raiding the estate or the nearby small town. He would have to write his eldest daughter to make sure that she and the others were fairing well. Maybe also mention that they should ensure that both the town and the estate was well guarded.

He took a long drink of his wine while he pondered the matter. It was interrupted however by a man fainting in the doorway and the sound of men retreating and shouting. The display had caused him, and several others in the pub, to turn their attention to the doorway. A young half-elven woman had passed through the door, and kicking the man's leg out of the way so the door could close. She had then made her way to the bar directly to Kathryn and asked after others. This person did not carry herself like a soldier, nor even looking like one who was hired to go pursuing goblins. She looked like a performer who had just gotten done with a show. The elven man sat back in his chair and started to try to figure out what kind of a group he had just stumbled across. A performer may have traveled with a knight for protection on the road, but it seemed at though the pair were part of a larger group. There may be more to this performer than Rickard knew.

He drained the cup of wine and set it on the bar and eyed the mug of ale. It might not be the best thing at this time as the last time he ate was nearer to mid-day, so it remained where Kathryn had set it. "I will tell you what I know, though I haven't been in town that long. If you are able to help me find him I'll see to it that you are compensated for your help. While I do not have much on my person I am sure I have sufficient funds available at my home to compensate you. I do not forget those who help me and will do what I can to help them in return."

Kosara’s merry skipping back to The Hayloft, with capital T and H cause it was their temporary hideout now, was interrupted just near the place. In fact it was right outside where she spotted the purple clad member of her party! V, the bard of purple fame and thunderous skill, was outside the tavern nearby, seemingly chatting with some drunk people. Now it had to mentioned Kosara grew in a desert oasis caravan rest stop. Naturally it was an inn and tavern, coupled with a brothel and everything else needed. She grew up around people getting drunk. So she surmised it was drunken shenanigans being done here, but before she could get closer and join the fun in whatever it turned out to be, there were spooky things being done!

The tiefling didn’t quite hear everything being told, but she saw V’s spooky getup suddenly appear and the dancer had her eyes go open wide. How!? Magic?!’ Ohh… I gotta learn!’ She exclaimed in her head! The ability to magic her makeover as needed would be grand and invaluable. All manner if useful ways you could apply suck as skill. Kosara quickly did a turn away from the hayloft and towards the Neil&Bob’s place after V. She knew that Kathryn and Marita may still be there too! It was a good chance to divulge what info she had and inform them she was heading out to check the Municipal building… or the Honey Barn. Whichever struck her fancy at the moment, but as she reached the door, her gaze lingered on the man unconscious on the ground. It was cold outside! He could get sick!

“Excuse me, anybody got any water or something to wake him up with!? Please?” She called out to the folk around, but all in all NOBODY seemed interested in helping! How sad! She gave them all a pouting expression staring like an angry kitten around before looking down at the man again… She could use her own waterskin, but it was drinking water.” Hmmm….” She mumbled, crouching by the man, looking at him. She could shout at him… Then recalled her home and how they usually woke up drunks and people after a bar brawl. It was either bucket of dishwater or… “Wake up! It’s cold, you gonna get sick!” She shouted as she delivered two rapid slaps on the man’s cheeks with her right hand. First one going right to left, hitting him on one side of the face and the second with the return motion left to right! If that didn't help... she was gonna have to get more forceful!

Kathryn listened to Rickard Barriden as he spoke. "It's nice to meet you Rickard. And yeah.. The goblins are a bit of a problem here." Kathryn wanted to tell the man more, but she wasn't sure how much to disclose to him. At least not without the rest of the party's consent. "Where I do appreciate the offer of compensation it's not needed. We're here to help where we can. And, we're already being paid for our time here. But maybe we can help each other out? Pool our combined knowledge and see what we can get out of it? Maybe some of our pieces can fit your puzzles and vice versa." Who knew, maybe the man could speak and read goblin? That would solve their letter issue. Plus maybe Rickard had some pieces that Kathryn and the rest of the party could help piece together. She'd get input from the others and see what she could take from it.

A body fell through the door to the public house. In a moment of instinct caused by rigorous training through Kathryn's life she stood up and turned to face the door axe drawn in her hand. She prepared to hold the doorway using nothing but throwing axes and the mass of her aging armor only to be stunned by her mini half elf friend standing in the doorway giggling with her hand covering a portion of her face. As if what she did was just any other cute little joke. Slowly sliding her axe back into it's loop Kathryn watched the bardling step over the out cold man and walk up to the bar. Kathryn watched Victoria speak while she seemed to ignore everything that just happened and started to wonder if this was something that happened a lot to the woman. "Uh... around... Marita is working with locals. And I thought Kosara and Hugh went off with you?" Kathryn paused when Victoria offered her a drink. "Ya know... I've had a few drinks already. I'll take ya up on that offer some other time..." Still trying to process what happened to the man on the floor. In a moment of clarity Kathryn turned to notice Rickard and her train of thought returned to her. "Oh, Victoria! This is Ser Rickard Barriden. And he may have some information on our goblin problems. Figured we could help each other out with them and all."

It didn't take much for Kathryn to hear Kosara come in with her attempts to assist the downed man. Kathryn considered offering up some of her remaining alcohol, but decided against it. If Victoria had knocked out the man there was probably a reason. That didn't change her thoughts on wondering what exactly the bard had done to the man. Kosara had then resorted to slapping the man silly until he awoke. So far, no progress, and Kathryn was beginning to worry what the man's face would look like post beating from their tiefling friend. "Kosara, it may just be time to let the man sleep. Facial reconstruction wont help his night much either." Kathryn said in a mildly concerned tone. She also didn't want to risk the man being someone dangerous and having to risk flattening him again. The only question then would be who does it?

Weather: Remains cold, just above freezing. Occasional light winds.

Time: It is now toward the later hours of the night.

Ambience: The fog is still thick, like puffy clouds clinging tightly to the earth. The large, one-phase-away-from-being-full moon diffused its light through with some effort. Places of illumination within the Township became even more infrequent as businesses which catered to the late night crowd closed up shop. The darkness is made more complete by the oppressive fog, preventing even darkvision from penetrating very far into the night.

Outside of Town: The roar of the flames almost drowns out the screams of the dying as the Lich King's forces push through, their unspeaking, undead forms bringing torture and demise to merchant and festival-goer alike.

Now that I've got your attention, take a breath. (Ahem) The camp and brazier fires around the temporary dwellings have dulled mostly to red-orange coals. Most of these people have turned in for the evening, anxious to return to the Harvest Festival the next day with a night of good rest and a clear head. A slim minority of them, however, have decided to stay up and drink some more.



Robert gave Marita a long look before shrugging nonchalantly. "No." It was flat and direct. "If you're done taking tips, that's fine by me. I'm sure Lea won't mind getting her tables back." Counting tips, Marita managed to secure for herself five silver coins of the realm, most of which was in copper coins. It was a generous haul for turning over four tables in a neighborhood watering hole, especially for someone without much experience tending tables.

As for Lea, she took a moment to stop by her temporary helper for the night (that would be Marita) and give a warm, generous thanks. "I really appreciate the help during the rush tonight, Miss Marita. Here," she says, pressing a few coins (3 silver) into her palm while making what appeared to merely be a friendly gesture. A little quieter, Lea suggested, "Have a glass of something nice on me, maybe?" before moving on to her duties around the taproom.

The taproom itself has taken on more of a subdued tone, with people finishing up their meals for the most part and many settling up. Finding an extra seat isn't an issue anymore for the alert for one. Those remaining seem to fall into two main camps: Regulars who stayed out a little later than they intended to, and others (local and otherwise) who have overindulged in drink. Scattered examples of other options remained, but they were not the norm.

A series of drinks were poured and set up in front of Kathryn. Her ale, of course, and Curly's ale, in addition to the refill of the pitcher asked about earlier. Lawrence's insistence on getting Kat "the best stuff in the house" was taken to heart. As it had not been poured yet, Robert took the opportunity to fill a carafe with the heady, vermilion-colored wine that the party had rescued earlier that very day from aggressive Goblin-folk, and plunked four glasses onto the bar around it.

The center table still housed Maurice, who glanced every so often to the door, expecting his friends to show up any at moment. He had been one of the first to notice the hubbub at the front door, and seemed glued to the area now to see what happened next.

As for the guy who passed out at the doorway - he appeared to be easy enough to rouse. Eyes fluttered briefly as his brain tried to process everything and his eyes focused on the nearest thing to him, Kosara, before quietly but urgently asking, "Where... where am I?" Fear laced his words, as palpable as anything else in the room.

Well that made things simple. In hindsight, Bob clearly would prefer she rather not be around, and giving her a new task would probably compel him to actually give her some sort of actual wage for the night rather than simply letting the tips act as compensation. Well it was no skin off her bones, she wasn't in it for whatever meager pay a job like this would provide her.

Marita was about to turn away and do something else when Lea came up and gave her 3 silver. Marita wanted to tell her she couldn't take it and didn't need the money, but her brief coworker was gone before she could protest. Well, if she could, Marita would find a way to make the coins return to her. If nothing else, at least she had some smaller coins to deal in while she was here. Paying with gold would likely attract unwanted attention so she could avoid it if possible. Get something nice for yourself. The temptation to turn around and get herself some Zinoberrot was there, especially after the night she'd had, but getting tipsy when she was still investigating would be in poor form. Perhaps if the rest of the festival's merriment was still ongoing when she left the public house she could find something less impairing to treat herself with.

Speaking of investigation, she had received some pretty good information, but how exactly was she going to follow that up? She had a feeling that asking Robert was the most direct method to getting answers, but he also was not the type to talk easily, and she wasn't sure how she's get him to open up especially without revealing too much of her hand about the mission and/or where she learned about him.

It was then that Marita heard the commotion up front and what was very clearly Kosara's voice above the ambient chatter.

"Blinding light, guide me." Marita wearily muttered under her breath as she turned towards the entrance to see what was happening. As she made her way forward she noticed Victoria was here (not a good sign) and most of the customers were keeping an eye on her (even worse). Why was Victoria here and Kosara outside? Did they not come together? Then was Hugh with Kosara? She certainly hoped he was. Her first instinct was to ask Victoria, but a second thought told her it was a good idea not to leave the tiefling unsupervised during a public incident.

To her chagrin, upon opening the door she did not find Hugh, but Kosara and a passed out man, red in the face from both too much liquor and from the tiefling's percussive medicine. He awoke, fear in his eyes as he asked where he was.

"You're passed out in front of Bob's Public House. Can you stand? You're making a scene." The Cleric diverted her attention to Kosara. "What's going on out here?"

He was mildly surprised at Kathryn's refusal of payment. True she was already being paid for dealing with goblins in the area, but aiding him in his investigation? Most folk he had worked with in prior years would not have given a second thought to getting paid for helping him. Perhaps times have changed more in the last several decades than he anticipated. Well at least in the matter in which pay was offered outright. It was possible that the disappearance of Samuel and the dressmaker's daughter could be related to the goblin issue Kathryn and her group were hired for. Rickard was unsure of the little he knew about either disappearance would help them track down goblins. Maybe there was more to the disappearances, or even to this group that Kathryn was a part of.

As Kathryn introduced the recently arrived purple clad woman, Rickard gave a curt nod. "Greetings Victoria. I was discussing with Kathryn a person I had come into the town to visit. His father had not heard from him in sometime and asked me to make sure nothing happened to him. Unfortunately it seems he is missing and no one here has really noticed until recently."

His attention shifted back towards the doors as someone called out that the man next to the door was in need of help. The person in question looked to be a tiefling, and also appeared to most likely be from an area with warmer climate. She had slapped the unconscious man twice in an attempt to wake him. To her credit he did seem to wake up some. Kathryn called out to the tiefling, naming her Kosara, telling her to leave the man alone. Shortly after the commotion started, another woman approached the two and said something that Rickard could not hear from his position as the bar. From what little he could see she did not seem to pleased by the matter at hand.

"I presume the you know her?" The question was Kathryn but Rickard had not turned to face her. The scene that was unfolding in the doorway had his attention, as it did for other patrons. He mentally started to ready himself to intervene should the situation escalate, though he was not sure it would. Reasonably the most he could do right now was watch and wait.

The fact that Kathryn did not want another drink gave Victoria a touch of surprise, owing to memories of the last time they all sat down for supper and drinks. Not that she recalled the massively proportioned Knight lady being prone to keg stands, nor challenging people to feats of strength for free booze (none to which she had borne witness, anyway), but it just seemed off color for her. Maybe Kathryn was taking the investigation more seriously than herself. It made sense, Victoria had to admit. When she was part of another group of adventuring types, she mostly went along with the plans of more headstrong types and relied on her natural proclivities toward social interaction to get her through. And if Kat was the kind that took on a more professional demeanor when on-site, especially as compared to her, then this was probably a good thing.

Yet, despite the refusal of drinks, Victoria could not help but notice a fair amount of alcoholic beverages being assembled in front of the woman. She eyed it with some suspicion but said nothing, preferring a cocked eyebrow and slight head tilt to direct confrontation. Maybe a little smirk. Definitely a little smirk.

What did give Victoria a mote of concern was the assumption that Kosara and Hugh had followed. Were they not accounted for now? She had gone off with the L'Rose survivors only, to the best of her knowledge. This news was a little disconcerting. Almost as disconcerting that Marita was "working with the locals", even if those Cleric-y types leaned toward getting in good with the people. But to more serious affairs, Victoria hadn't seen Hugh since she left, and Kosara... A glance back in the direction of the door gave her a twinge of relief. The Tiefling woman had just arrived. And was administering aid to the person who had tried to (with his friends) solicit very non-consensual affection from her. Concern went to annoyance. This annoyance was followed up with a dismissive shake of her head when Marita got involved. For all Victoria cared, the man could be drug outside and piss himself, hopefully with the end result being that his own urine froze him to the wooden planking of the front porch and his dangling unmentionables got claimed by frostbite in the night. That thought brought a smile to the young Half-Elf's face.

Introductions were afoot, and so Victoria was bound by the guidelines of public engagement to respond accordingly. As the conversation began with words in the Common tongue of Humans, she answered in kind, "Well met, Sir Rickard Barriden," extending a hand to greet with a more formal air. Her way of speaking his honorific of Sir, much like her address of Kathryn earlier as Dame, was indicative of the area of her own upbringing. Victoria recalled mentioning her family's place of origin around the rest of the party earlier that day, admittedly being an easy thing to forget. In any case, her words shifted effortlessly to the tongue of the High Elves, her words flowing melodically from her with flawless pitch and accent, "It pleases and surprises me to see one of your lineage this far into Human lands. And I would be remiss, Knight of the Sylvan Realms, to miss an opportunity to converse in the speech of my ancestors." She giggled a little and reached for the decanter of wine and a glass upon the bar in front of them. If Kathryn was finished drinking for the evening, the Bard was certain that she wouldn't miss a glass of ...very fine wine... she realized, inhaling the vapors therein through her perky, slightly upturned nose. And if someone did happen to miss this wine, she had silver to compensate them.

A small sip and a satisfied smile later, Victoria continued speaking in Elven, "I lack, I notice, the fundamentals of manners when addressing a new acquaintance and beg your forgiveness. To repair; I am called Victoria Belmont, of the Ashhaven Belmont Clan, student of the Bardic College of the Grey Requiem. It is a pleasure, of course, to meet you." One thing to note from the presentation of her full name was that it was Human of origin, as was the city from which she claimed to hail, for those who had cause to travel to such places. Mixed ancestry could easily explain this, but it occasionally took people by surprise, for whatever reason.

Another smile, warm and cheerful. Another sip of wine, cool and sweet. Her crystal blue eyes studied this Elf as she attempted to puzzle out the coincidence of their meeting and attempt to ascertain whether this was a fortuitous event, or an obvious, bald-faced trap. In the end, Victoria shrugged. It was what it was, and the end result would reveal itself sooner or later. Victoria switched back to Common, saying, "I am sorry about your friend, Sir Barriden. The understanding is given that there are a few disappearances here as of late." She looked back to Kathryn with her glass of wine raised, declaring, "This is really good. Oh, don't mind that man on the floor. He deserves worse." Her smile returned, this time just as menacing as it was amused.

“Oh hey, Marita!” Kosara greeted the cleric just in time to hear the man waking up and moving about.” HE LIVES!” The tiefling jumped up standing what could probably come as being startled. She started at him for a few moments and then at the woman who answered his question and pouted a bit. “Well… He and his friends…? Yeah friends were very very drunk and accosting V! She gave them the scare and he went out cold like a candle in the draft!” She explained, eyes looking at the man before Kosara spun into action, one step back, two steps forward and as Grandpa taught her, leg backwards, bringing it forward with great momentum and right between the still dazed guy’s legs.” HAYEEEA!” She knew where and what she was targeting and she did it so with proper intent! One kick well delivered and Kosara looked very bright and chipper.

“That’s for being bad! Being a mean accosting bully when drunk’s not good!” She berated the man that probably currently had nothing of his attention on her, considering how kicks at the family jewels hurt. Having said her piece, she turned to Marita.” I woke him up cause leaving him to catch a cold or freeze in the night’s chill isn’t nice, BUT I will not stand for his act. So let this be a lesson! If we were home, we’d bury him in the sand or toss him in with the animals until he sobers up to make the point stick!” With that she turned around and more or less with bouncing gait and happy expression skipped deeper into the tavern.

“V, Kathryn!” She excitedly called as she dashed in their direction once she locked eyes on their location within the tavern.” How are you doing? Had any adventures tonight? I had a looooooooot of fun! Got so many interesting things to tell you all! Like, I went to the market and saw the talent show they were displaying there! I saw incredibly useful talents! Also made a friend and had mulled wine!” She told them with a huge grin on her face as she moved over, before seemingly spotting that they were not alone just now.” Ohh Who’s this fancy looking swordsman? Kathryn, you making friends!” She explained happily, reaching out at the man to shake hands.

“Hello Sir, I’m Kosara, dancer by trade and explorer by heart! Nice to meet you mister fancy swordsman!” She greeted him and introduced herself.” Let’s be friends!”

Kosara and Marita were first to tend to the man Victoria had walked in over. As he woke up and was checked over, Victoria vaguely explained the man was due much worse punishment then whatever she had done to the recently comatose man. Kosara replied in kind with a kick that made even Kathryn wince. "Aye, she's a friend." She paused a moment being briefly reminded of the conversation about her friendship with Kosara and gave a bit of a drunken chuckle. "You could say, really good friends." She said with a smirk on her face before returning to her many, many drinks. That is when Kathryn realized she had definitely put herself in a weird situation for drinks tonight. It was to the point where even Victoria had taken a bit of her wine likely under the assumption that Kathryn was done drinking tonight. "'Ey, not done. Just.... Not getting more at the moment." She spoke with a joking tone to assure she didn't really care if Victoria enjoyed herself a drink. "But alas, it seems I have a few to spare. Though that'd be the expensive stuffs." To emphasis her point, Kathryn grabbed the decanter and debated downing some of it as if it was a mug of beer, and decided against it realizing she still had beer to finish. Putting the wine back she grabbed herself one of her now many beers and ales, and brought it up for a drink, and rather then sip it she continued to drink from the mug until it was empty to the bottom.

Kathryn greeted Kosara with a smile and slide her some ale before speaking up. "Welcome back Kosara. I've personally had a pretty crazy night. Got a few dead ends on the job, made some friends, put one in a coma, he came out worried about sprinkles, and drank waaaaaaay too much. Whatever you do, don't follow my example. And, made some friends with the locals." She spoke as if she was having the night of her life. "And! Met a mate who may be able to help us with our goblin problem. The one with the missing peoples." She grabbed Rickard's shoulder and shook it briefly to emphasis the elf she was talking about.

It seemed Victoria and Rickard were getting along rather well to add to tonight's lovely events. She took note of Victoria speaking and struggled to process the words at first, only to realize part way in that she was speaking Elvish. Most of Kathryn's speakings with Elvish were when she was a little girl and still lived at home. But it had come in handy from time to time with clients that Ser Lucas had to interact with. The poor old knight didn't know a word in Elvish. Kathryn didn't acknowledge the exchange outside of a brief "Look at you Ms. Fancy Pants with all the prestigious words." To Victoria's comment on the wine itself? Kathryn simply replied "Aye" which sounded a bit off as her dialect in common didn't always translate well in Elvish. Kathryn gave Victoria a bit of a knowing smile before lifting her drink as if to give cheers.

Kathryn then noticed the lone Maurice who after his friends had left had found himself alone in the center of the table. "Hey uh... I'll be right back." she spoke to the group as a whole. Not wanting to leave the man abandoned and alone for the night Kathryn grabbed what would have been Curly's ale and stood up walk over to the man, stopping briefly to catch herself as she lost balance for the briefest of moments. Continuing once she was stable she walked over to the table and gave Maurice the ale. "Sorry for how the night went mate. You think Lawrence's sprinkles will be okay?" She spoke clearly trying to contain a giggle or two. Jokes aside, she was worried a bit for the man. She panicked earlier and fled to the bar and hadn't returned until after the man she accidentally beat down woke up and fled like his house was on fire. "We should meet up again at some point before the festive end, have a real night of celebration with a bit less assault on out hands." She spoke shyly.

Weather: Remains cold, just above freezing. Occasional light winds, picking up a little.

Time: Late.

Ambience: The fog is still thick, like puffy clouds clinging tightly to the earth. The large, one-phase-away-from-being-full moon diffused its light through with some effort. The town is in its last stages of closing down for the night, respectable and less respectable businesses, both, with lamps being extinguished except in the last of holdouts. The darkness is made more complete by the oppressive fog, preventing even darkvision from penetrating very far into the night.

Outside of Town: Most campfires are low and dark, reduced to coals which might be revived the next morning for breakfast cookery. It is quiet out there, in the fields around the Township, with the vast majority of people down for the evening. A few are still awake in differing stages of drunken torpor.



The Public House appears to be clearing out now. The exodus is helped in part this night by two of the most attractive and potentially disturbing women that this Township had witnessed thusfar. From both displays just inside of the front door, a possible broad opinion was that one of them was potentially demonic (and the other was a Tiefling). For better or for worse, the group will make the Avonshire rumormill come morning. But let's get to the details of the mess we're mired within.

Conversation is much easier to have now that people are clearing out. Tables are readily available, too. The bar area is now about halfway emptied, allowing for any number of social folks to amble up and take a seat; likewise the stage area is completely cleared. Perhaps this is why the whole place went silent when the incident occurred.

The attention paid to the semi-conscious man by Marita was taken as a kindness, with the poor guy beginning to reach a hand up to take whatever assistance he might from the benevolent and kindhearted Cleric. The start of a relieved smile crossed his face as he came to realize that, despite his very recent scare and trauma, someone was going to look out for him, soggy pants and all. This idea was thoroughly trounced when Kosara took a couple of steps back, using it as room to pick up speed before a grape-bursting pain, as sharp and invasive as a glass pinecone suppository, exploded from his nethers. The Human sat bolt upright, cross-eyed, screaming at the top of his lungs in an octave that was better suited to a childrens' choir singing about kittens; halfway through it began to gargle, soon to spew a projectile of boozeish liquid and once-semi-foodish chunks, which itself was cut off in a dramatic and toothy manner just prior to collapsing back to the wooden planks of the bar's flooring just inside of the door.

Lea stood, shocked and unspeaking. Robert looked utterly pissed off. The latter said nothing about the assault upon the prone man, but did growl out, "LAST CALL. Food's getting put up in five minutes. Booze is cut off in fifteen. Everyone out in a half hour who doesn't work here or have a bed."

As if on cue, Lawrence and Curly arrived back in the doorway to see a much less occupied establishment, an unconscious man with a damp crotch and a line of vomit leading back to him, partly clutching himself in his unconsciousness, a shocked bar staff, and a couple of unfamiliar faces. Also somehow beyond the capacity to verbally express a coherent thought, it was Maurice who piped up, "You missed all the fun, boys. C'mon, it's last call!"

"...good sprinkles..." finally mumbled Curly. The two of them stepped inside and returned to their table. Lawrence agreed. The two of them, like Maurice, were showing the effects of their evening celebrations.

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well Victoria of the Ashhaven Belmont clan. It is a good wine" He replied in elvish. There was initial surprise at how clearly she spoke the high elvish dialect followed by understanding. A traveling performer would likely know elvish he supposed, though Victoria's declaration of heritage and study at the Grey Requiem peaked his curiosity. Kathryn replying in elvish as well also drew his attention some. Both things would likely have to be a conversation for later as the tiefling named Kosara bounded over to the bar.

Her quick questions and summary of what she had seen at the market while directed at the other two, had not been missed by Rickard. It reminded him of how excited children could get over learning new things or hearing interesting new stories. It was good to see that trait didn't fade from everyone. Before he had time to react she had noticed him and asked Kathryn if she had been making friends. Her quick introduction followed by stating that they should be friends caught Rickard of guard slightly. It was rare that he had come across someone this quick to make friends. He shook her offered hand. Pleasure to meet you Kosara. I am Rickard Barriden, knight by trade, hero by heart. Least I was several decades ago anyway. Trying to earn that by helping an old friend and others how I can. I'm sure my children think it a bit foolhardy, but I've been feeling the need to get out and start helping people again."

Rickard half turned as Robert called out that the business was closing in thirty minutes. Had it really gotten that late? He could feel the wine going to his head some. That and possible the lack of progress from earlier investigating had drawn more from him than he thought. It may be that tomorrow morning may prove to be a better time to coordinate with Kathryn and her group."It seems that the proprietor is closing up soon. I presume you all have a place to stay for the evening? I could pay for the beds if you need. If not we may be better off meeting up in the morning unless there is a matter that in your investigation that I can aide you with now."

Well, Victoria did say that the guy on the floor deserved worse. Part of her felt that this might have been too much. This part was quiet within her as other, less forgiving elements of her psyche narrowed her eyes and brought a dark smile to her face. It was small; it was subtle. But the mirth at the man's suffering was apparent to one watching closely. The young Half-Elf had to stop herself from swaying her hand back and forth, as if conducting an invisible orchestra playing the man's tortured screams. Victoria did not believe the assault was necessary, having already done her part to traumatize the ruffian for his transgressions against her, but was not going to protest this with any real conviction.

Somewhere, in the back of her mind, Victoria gave a shade of thought to the far-flung possibility of the man slipping into the Great Hereafter from the shock to his body, and if his body might be claimed in a lawful manner (owing to her promise to the Cleric) for her own curiosities. They even had access to a very nice, richly appointed coffin This thought was shaken off quickly, however. As much of a villian as he had played this night, he very likely had a family that would want better for his earthly remains. Maybe she could even perform the ceremony...

Present reality summoned Victoria's attention. This was most likely a good thing. It was Kosara, positively gushing about her evening. At first, the Bard cleared her mind and readied to take in any information that Kosara might have picked up in the course of her investigation so far this evening. V soon discovered that, instead of trying to find leads, she had gotten herself into a bit of fun. The Half-Elf kept her face neutral, carefully taking another small sip of her wine. Responding to her question, Victoria carefully explained, "Adventures, no. Not really. I interred Monsieur L'Rose in accordance with his wishes. Or, his family's." That last addition was because, not knowing the man, he had to trust what his daughter-in-law and granddaughter had told her. "It doesn't sound like I had as much fun as you did. But it was rewarding." She kept the odd feeling of being watched on her way back to town out of the conversation, at least for now. "Several bottles of local vintages were donated on behalf of the bereaved." If nothing else, they would be flush on wine for a while. The extreme openness with which Kosara initiated camaraderie with this Elf in front of them was a gamble, to Victoria's estimation. Time would see if it paid off.

But speaking to wine, Victoria looked on almost expectantly as Kathryn picked up the entire rest of the decanter of the very expensive wine, waiting quietly for the imminent glug-fest which was to occur. There was a tiny amount of disappointment about the sudden switch to ale, but that was probably a pragmatic decision, considering the potency difference. As the tall, powerful woman selected and motioned to her with her beverage of choice, Victoria smiled and raised her cup slightly in a silent toast before sipping once again herself. Draining a full glass was not her style. Polite imbibing in answer to a collective invitation to drink, however, was.

Victoria glanced about to make sure that she still had a line of sight to Marita, just to confirm that her adventuring group was fully present. Satisfied, she directed her attention back to their new acquaintance, Rickard. She still wasn't sure what to make of him, even if they had a similar reason to be in town. Some of this was a willingness to put up money for perfect strangers. Some of it was the way he carried and described himself. She might have labelled it as youthful exuberance except that he was much older than the rest of them, thanks to his heritage. Perhaps it was just exuberance. "I have a nice, warm spot to stay this evening, thank you," she said in response to Rickard's inquiry.

Looking around for the barmaid, she absently continued, "I could really go for a bowl of something warm, though..." She had neglected to find much at all to eat since that pear she purchased on the way into the Township initially.

Catching Lea's eye, Victoria blushed slightly and gave her a little wave. A demure smile crossed her lips when the Human lady approached her and V addressed her with a sweet, melodic voice, "Hi... The man said it was last call for food?" She paused, nodding, eyes falling upon hers. Her smile broadened into something more warm and welcoming, voice developing into nigh hypnotic tones, "I would absolutely love anything you could bring me, this late in the evening, please." The Bard gently took Lea's hand and placed the requisite coins into it, and carefully closed it back. "Thank you so much."

When the cheerful barmaid left to procure the stew, last batch of the evening, Victoria let out a short, frustrated sigh. It was quickly covered over by her practiced, cultured demeanor. "I think rest should be in order soon," she mused. It had been a day.

The cleric sneered in disgust as the man reached out to her and took a step back. She was not a holy woman of charity or forgiveness. She had no interest in playing the part of savior in whatever fantasy was playing through the man's head. If he had any sense and knew any better, he would have recognized that she was more liable to have him put in a holding cell over night so he could sober up in safety rather than offer any direct personal help. However, if Marita had had the foresight that Kosara would nonchalantly commit assault on a man who was half-cognizant at best, she would have. Not out of the kindness of her heart or sympathy for the drunkard, but simply that it wasn't the tiefling's place to take justice into her own hands. His immediate reaction to relieve himself of the night's festivities only hastened her retreat back into the public house.

Marita closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose upon hearing Robert's reaction to the entire affair. At this rate they would end up earning the ire of the entire township without even alerting everyone as to what their true job here really was. Well, might as well join up with the rest of the party here. Luckily she was close enough to the conversation to catch enough to not need Kathryn to repeat herself again.

Marita heard Victoria's request for food but before she could warn her that the only meal on the menu was stew, the money had already changed hands and Lea had vanished into the kitchen. Well, it couldn't be helped at this point.

"Kosara, you shouldn't just attack people like that, even if they deserve it. In a different situation that could have gotten you in trouble with the guards and I in good conscience wouldn't be able to help you." Her tone wasn't the same harsh edge she used normally, but closer to a weary mother explaining manners to her naive child. She turned her attention to the very tall elf. In her personal estimation, she wasn't sure if they could trust him. In her experience anyone who referred to himself as a hero was either a con or a fool, but he did not immediately appear as either. Furthermore in a situation like this a fellow outsider was more likely to be clean than someone who spent a lot of time in the Township. Besides, everyone else had already introduced themselves, so she was obliged to do so as well. She offered her hand to shake after the warlock.

"Rickard was it? Marita Bärbel, cleric of Pholtus. Your offer is noted, but we all have a place to stay for the night." Marita's tone returned to its normal status, namely that she sounded irritated (she was) and short of patience (also true). The cleric turned her attention back to her party members. "Speaking of which, unless one of you three have somewhere specific you want to go while we're all together, we should probably retire for the night. I've certainly had my fill of fun."

Kosara looked at Marita with a confused expression at first, one that later turned into a willful one.” No!” She rejected the cleric’s suggestion and request with a shake of her head.” Back home he’d been beaten up proper and buried to the neck in the sands until the morning when he sobers up! Accosting is bad! I know, I’ve lived it and so have my sisters!” She replied stubbornly, giving the cleric a kitten glare.” This was the RIGHT thing to do and to quote grandpa who was quoting some color confused wizard’ - ‘We must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy’. This WAS the right thing to do!” With her piece valiantly and stubbornly said, she turned her attention back to the rest of the group.” Besides… didn’t kick him THAT hard… probably.” She added with a vague afterthought.

Her attention was brought back to their new elven companion when he introduced herself properly. He shook her hand and (obviously to her at least) agreed to be friends! Kosara liked him already. People were meant to form friendships and groups!” Wow…. You got kids? You must be quite old!” Unexpected, but she knew of the elven long lifespans to a degree at least. He was gonna enjoy a long and slow aging life.

The tiefling looked at Kathryn intently and listened to every word as she made herself a comfortable seat on the chair nearby and was nodding at the statements.” Ohhh, don’t discount the sprinkles! They are very tasty and rare in the desert!” She chimed when she heard of the sprinkles incident. That said Kosara’s expression suddenly froze as she stared at Kathryn and then looked at Rickard with a mixture of something between awe and horror.” M.m….m...mate?” The tanned white tiefling asked, before looking between the elf and the (supposed) half giant again.” Congratulations…? When can we expect the kiddies? I will be the fun aunt!” She asked slowly and with some reluctance, before dead staring at Rickard.” You hurt her, I will make you hurt at places you didn’t even know existed! You got any idea how hard raising children alone is?” Her just earlier friendship vibes and expression melting away into a vicious almost devil worthy snarl. Kosara was very serious about this. She knew for absolute certainty she wasn't misunderstanding anything!

“Awww…” Kosara’s expression did a complete 180 as it returned to the friendly innocent lil tiefling as her attention turned to V who spoke of her own evening.” Understandable though.” She nodded as she leaned in close to V and looking about whispered in careful voice.” I got clues while exploring will tell later when we back at the hideout.” She had planned to see if she can go check out the municipal building tonight, but it might wait till tomorrow… Then again tomorrow was Honey Barn night. Hmm she had to check what everybody wanted to do later.

With Marita who returned and also expressed the virtue of retiring for the night Kosara just raised her bag.” But… I got all these munchies back at the market place to share with you all! We cannot retire just yet!”

Kathryn took note of Victoria's disappointment to Kathryn not chugging the wine. The half giant of a woman gave a slight chuckle and gave her a sly smile. She spoke in a hushed tone leaning in close to Victoria. "Get me another one of these once we finish this quest, we'll drink and party like you've never seen." At this moment though it was a fight to keep her words coherent and to walk without tripping over her own feet. But what better way to celebrate a quest well done shy of chugging wine?

After Kosara shattered the creep's balls she joined the group to have a nice conversation. Marita as well as Robert were less then pleased with the events that took place. Though Robert said nothing about it, Marita had a few words to say. Though the woman had very sound and very solid logic, Kathryn's ability to reason had taken a break for the night. "Though... Seems he did Deserve it nah?" A more sober Kathryn would have agreed with Marita. If the party was to dish out physical punishments it would have to be in self defense situations. If the party came across as aggressors now it would only cause them additional problems. "Ya should listen to Marita, Kosara. She is... very smart woman."

With Lawrence's and Curly's return the trio was back together as tipsy as ever. They seemed about readyt o wrap things up but as a whole the group seemed to be game for a later gathering. Maybe it could be tied into a future celebration? "So, what's with... Sprinkles?" Kathryn asked the trio still standing over the table passing Curly his pitty Ale with a look that said "Just take it." She held an apologetic look on her face as she pointed to her own forehead, then his, then the floor where he collided at full speed. "When I get me job here all wrapped up, we'll have ourselves a grand old time!" Last call for food reminded Kathryn she hadn't eaten any form of dinner yet today. She figured she could order something for the way out if need be, snack on it as she crashed for the night.

Kosara soon had her own thoughts to add about Kathryn's new Mate. It took Kathryn way too long to register what Kosara was saying, she was flabbergasted and had clearly mistook what Kathryn had meant to say. Kathryn was increasingly red in the face as Kosara went on to asked excitedly about when she was expecting, and then went on to set the tone with Rickard. "I... uh... uhm...." Kathryn struggled to comprehend where Kosara had jumped to. "...kiddies... kiddies..." She spoke confused as if she was couldn't make meaning of the word. She then looked downwards grabbing a large section of her chain mail that protected her stomach area with both hands. "Have I really gotten that big?" She had been worried about her weight for a bit. Though someone her size could eat close to whatever she wanted she had become quite a heavy drinker after the death of Ser Lucas, and she had noticed a bit of weight gain. But she didn't think it was a lot, just something to keep note of. But if Kosara was pointing it out? She let go of her chain mail face red, eyes wide, and doing her best to hide her embarrassment. Dinner could be skipped tonight.

The next few moments saw Victoria's psyche enter into a state of social self-defense, hoping that her natural charisma and senses of both performance and subtlety in appropriate doses allowed her to separate herself a little from the new fallout of the previous few moments. Admittedly, the first bit was her fault. Her flair for the dramatic and desire to remove the harassing obstacles from her path kicked this off, to be absolutely sure, to the point of making herself an object of suspicion moving forward. Nothing that couldn't be smoothed over by public interactions over the next day or two (she hoped); spinning a good tale about the event while making her assailants look foolish. She was marvelously good at this. But what followed, funny as it was, reminded Victoria that while she craved attention, the wrong kind of attention brought with it complications that might get someone like her run out of town or set ablaze, depending upon the overall mood of the community. This one seemed pretty laid back (mild paranoia because of disappearances notwithstanding), but she had already drawn attention to herself in a potentially very negative way. Be that as it may, it did give her an inward chuckle.

It was just about time to get herself low and quiet until morning.

When Kosara took it upon herself to explain the justification for her actions as well as launch into a tirade of misunderstandings concerning everything that was spoken aloud, Victoria's ordinarily cheery yet reserved visage began to fray at the edges, curious as to whether the Tiefling was playing some sort of joke on them or if this was truly the extent to her worldly experience. Victoria was not a font of great wisdom by anyone's stretch of their imagination, prone to acts mainstream society might deem foolish - even naive - but this line of suppositions and conclusions truly threatened to break her brain. The extroverted smile remained, but her eyes widened in disbelief and secondhand embarrassment as more and more verbiage came careening out of Kosara's mouth only to crash clumsily upon Victoria's ears. She thought to say something, anything really, but no piece of sage advice from history nor any of the teachings she could remember of the various deities of her study bore any sort of weight here.

Thankfully, this spell was broken by the expedient arrival of Victoria's order. One benefit of having an extremely limited, batch-produced menu was that minimal preparation was necessary. By extension, the wait time for her meal was also minimal. In this case, long enough to ladle it into a bowl and top it with a piece of coarse milled bread. A spoon might also have been involved, as the general consensus of the employees was that Victoria was a fancy lady, presumably of culture, who was probably accustomed to the cosmopolitan use of a spoon. To their credit, they weren't wrong. This wasn't the upscale sort of repast that the might have gone for in her home city, but an adult life spent on the road gave her some appreciation (read: tolerance) for varied qualities of cuisine, if this can be referred to candidly as cuisine. But it smelled good. A quick sampling unveiled that it tasted pretty good, too.

After that first taste, the lack of food she had consumed over the last several hours became apparent to her, evidenced to her by a sudden audible complaint from her stomach. She paused briefly to listen to Kathryn and her later plans for wine, and how this related to her money. This was the really expensive stuff, she realized. Well, it was only money. It's not like she couldn't find more. A silent shrug, that same smile but tinged with patience, and she nodded her assent. It was a brief agreement that, once made, allowed her to devote her attention to the bowl in front of her. The delicate young Half-Elf devoted the next few moments of time to destroying the contents therein, deftly using said spoon like a maestro conducting a meaty orchestra, its finale coming with gravy blotted away by rough bread and likewise consumed. When she finished, Victoria looked around to see if anyone had noticed her. An involuntary belch piped out of her, small and high-pitched, followed by a satisfied giggle.

Thusly ended Victoria's desire to remain within the walls of Neil & Bob's Public House. The budding conversation about potential pregnancy was not one she wished to be a spectator of, let alone take part. V was done. She drained the wine in her glass, gave a lingering look back in Lea's direction, then addressed her group (plus Rickard). "This has been just a lovely evening. Thank you all for being a part of it. But a lady needs her beauty rest and I have to feed Morty, so, I'm taking Marita's advice and retiring. Gentlemen, ladies; good evening." Victoria twirled her cloak about her shoulders, took up her oh-so-jaunty hat and placed it upon her head with a flourish, slung her violin case across her back like a seasoned professional, and made for the door with a confident gait.

Victoria stepped over the once-again unconscious lump of a Human on the floor, unwilling to give him more thought than it took to avoid tripping over his limbs, and exited the premises. A brief muddling of colder temperatures drifted in as the door opened and closed, leaving the Bard seemingly alone in the foggy night.

As Rickard shook the hand of cleric of Pholtus who had introduced herself as Marita. She seemed bothered by something though he was unsure of what it could be. After a few seconds it clicked, she was the other server that was working in the public house. With how busy it had been in the bar it was no surprise that she was irritated. Some of the patrons were likely more rambunctious than others.

"Please to meet you Marita. Hopefully you have a peaceful and restful night."

Before he could speak further in regards to Kosara's comment of his own age a children had went into another barage of statements and presumptions. She had mistaken Kathryn's comment of a mate for something else entirely. Rickard's initial reaction wide eyed and slack jawed disbelief. A flush of red crept up his face as well as his ears. "I... that just doesn't.. We just met this evening. How could you expect that the two of us would.. he stammered out before lowering his head and pinching the bridge of his nose with thumb and index finger. With a shake of his head he looked over at Kathryn who had just started to examine herself. Any hope of asking her if this was a ruse or if Kosara just has a strange sense of humor died as he realized she seemed just as confused.

Taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling he tried to calm himself and then looked back to Kosara. "I will be honest with you in that I have no idea where you drew these conclusions. She was referring to that I was an individual, possibly a potential friend, that could maybe help. Granted I interpreted it as such. I have no intentions with your friend aside from aiding her, really all four of you, with hunting goblins. In turn I was only expecting help with locating Samuel Brindleton. At the very least learning what happened to him. I am not seeking the kind of companionship that you have so dramatically presumed is between me and your friend." Doubt crossed his face as he wasn't sure that his reassurances would be heard.

This was now the second time this evening that someone had presumed something about him that was certainly not the case. Though the proprietor of the establishment may have just been taking a jibe at Rickard to be insulting. The timing of when he had asked Bob had not necessarily been the best. With the current matter however, it appeared that Kosara had simply just misunderstood what Kathryn had ment. At least Rickard hoped that it was the tiefling who had misunderstood and not him. After all they had just met within the last few hours. "By Tyr what have I gotten myself into," he muttered to himself. "I think I will retire for the evening as well. I can meet you all here in the morning. Perhaps then we can discuss the matters of goblin hunting and the missing persons. Without drastic conclusions of people." His gaze stayed on Kosara as he spoke the last line.

Weather: Almost freezing, but not quite.

Time: Quite late.

Ambience: The fog is still present, still limiting visibility as only a cold night next to a body of water following a mild day can. The almost-full moon diffused through it as best it could, but this is more of a suggestion of a pleasant moonlit night suitable for a stroll rather than the genuine article. The streets are dark and quiet. If one listens carefully, one might hear the muffled sounds of a local fellow scream-vomiting into a storm drain intake along the main thoroughfare. Good news, though! Someone appears to be checking on the guy, with the very clear phrasing of, "Mornin'! Nice day for fishin', ain't it? Huah huh!"



Curly gave a slightly unfocused look at his shiny new pity ale, gave a shrug, and horked it back like a seasoned professional drinker. A beer was a beer, and this was one was delivered directly in front of him. Having been bested twice by a woman didn't seem to bother him as it might other burly, masculine types. oh sure, it might have bothered him. But hey, BEER.

Lawrence and Maurice finished up their drinks in short order, paid their bill with swaying postures, belying their levels of intoxication, and staggered toward the door. The errant shout declaring the great time they had could be understood, as well as a promise to do some more partying later on with their new friend(s). But for now, it was time to go. Maurice gave a long, squinty look at the unconscious man near the door, stating, "Hey, I know this arsehat! Lives just up the way. C'mon fellas, let's drag him home."

Be it not the most comfortable method of transportation, he was moving nonetheless.

Robert was done with the evening. His voice sounded once more as he locked the booze away behind the bar, "It's time. Unless you have a bed here, GET OUT." It wasn't delivered with any particular venom, just a no-nonsense cadence loud enough to be heard by the few people which remained. The party comprised about half of those people, looking around. Steadily, feet shuffled out and away, giving their gratitudes and goodbyes where necessary. Lamps and candles, most of which were not needed now that things were closing down, were snuffed one by one as Daisy and Lea went about their work. A streak of vomit still lay by the door; nothing that a mop and bucket wouldn't make short work of.

On the outside of the Public House, things were quite settled aside from the last few people getting back home. The Hayloft stood quietly, diagonally and across the street from the Pub with its doors closed. For just a moment, a flicker of warm, orange light could be seen from a crack along the shutter of the loft's second floor, promptly righted by the shutter softly closing all the way from the inside. Across from this was the stable, quiet and shut down in the manner of an almost purely day-operating business.

Marita rubbed her temples. There were so many things going wrong here and she did not have the patience for any of it. Luckily, Robert was there to tell everyone to get out so at least she did not have to stick around in the Public House for any longer. When she stepped out of the building she was hit by the cold proper and shivered. It was fortunate that the ale stain had dried out by now, lest her rear end have quickly frozen into a block of ice. There wasn't much time to talk on the way back to the Hayloft so Marita had to choose her topics wisely. Of the issues to deal with on the way to the Hayloft, Marita decided to go for the one most likely to get them in more trouble while they were in town.

"Kosara, I know you think what you did was right, and drunken solicitation isn't good, but you have to understand that you are not home. The same rules don't apply. If I were to act in an official manner overseeing the situation you caused back there I would have found you Guilty and had to give you a proper punishment. What you did back there was commit assault unprovoked on someone who couldn't defend himself. There was no risk to you at all. You had all the power in that situation. It wasn't difficult for you to attack him, it was easy. And all that makes you is a bully. A pretty face won't protect you forever if you keep acting in such a naïve manner." Marita had to stop herself there. She felt herself shifting into preaching mode, she'd be at this for quite awhile if she let herself.

Once in the loft she noted Hugh's continued absence. She prayed he was still out in town doing... whatever it is he did or had fucked off to go act better than everyone he saw in private. She had a bad feeling that he was going to be yet another disappearance, but even he wouldn't be so stupid as to get himself caught on the first day of the job after she directly advised everyone not to travel alone, lest they end up at risk of this exact occurrence coming to pass, would he?

"Victoria," she called up to the second floor, "are you still awake? I'd like if we had a brief group meeting before bed. It would do us good to go over any evidence we might have gathered while it's fresh on the mind." The cleric quickly made her way over to her things and began to dig around. A change of clothes first of all, for hygiene and warmth's sake both; secondly the paper that she had requested from the Sheriff last night. Looking through her belongings she noted a distinct lack of parchment or anything to write on/with. She made a mental note to rectify that tomorrow if possible. A quick change of clothes (her mail and everything beneath stayed put) later she made her way back to the center of the hayloft to wait for everyone else.