“!!!” Kosara let out a gasp of surprise and horror, staring wide eyed at her tall friend before her eyes turning to glare at the elf with extreme intensity! So it was THAT far already!? Ohh, he was so getting buried to his neck in the sands for a day or two to teach him responsibility and loyalty! She glared at Rickard a bit more, pondering the many possible ways she could apply the punishments she learned back home. Or maybe she should just tie him behind their mule and drag him about the place? She heard it was a punishment used sometimes…

“Bye, V, see ya in a bit.” Kosara called, waving to the bard, turning to her with a smile as the woman excused herself. Sadly she did not partake in the foodstuff munchies. There was something to be said about heading to rest tonight though. A long day of traveling didn’t really leave you with much energy to spare. She could go to the Honey Barn, but she wasn’t really at her best right now and it was kinda late what with spending time at the market. Kosara also noted she had to tell what she heard of the municipal building to the group. Or at least to V who was likely to relay it to the others.

Her eyes turned to the elf again. Scowling at him in innocent kitten fury.” I will confirm or deny with Kathryn later when she’s sober!” She finally stated, looking at him.” I know the meaning of the word mate. Animals have mates…. But I suppose meaning around these lands might be different…” She drawled slowly, staring at Kathryn and Rickard who too seemed to want to escape this situation.” I will apologize properly if Kathryn confirms your story.” She finally firmly stated.

By the way of things they were being politely in tavern and inn speak to go home since the place was closing for the evening!” Alright, sir! Thank you for looking after my friends!” Kosara chirped as she waved at the man and quicklly hoped up from the chair she was sitting on.” Come on Kathryn, let’s go!” The tiefling called and quickly jogged outside and heading to the hayloft, where to her surprise she was being very calmly and somewhat kindly admonished for her acts. Kosara blinked at Marita, sort of nodding, but still somewhat confused about the whole thing.” Alright… I will try not to if they are blackout drunk...” She carefully replied, planning to ask her grandpa about it later whenever she saw him the next time…. Also ask V… and maybe Kathryn on how they would have approached the problem.

Back into the hayloft, Kosara quickly smiled and ran about the place to where she left her sleeping things like the blanket earlier. She then proceeded to seek out if there was a source of water present in the hayloft.” Hey, anybody knows if one of those barrels over there has water?” She asked the others as she put her stuff on top of her bedroll before darting over to Marita.” Yeah, let’s make theories and deductions! I too discovered some things tonight while I was at the marketplace I think it might be of some importance and... ohh did you know they have somebody here that can make music with water?” She lack of attention struck once again as she recalled the rather impressive display with the water containers and music made through the use of them.

The party made their way out one by one, Victoria leaving first of their group. Rickard and Kosara going at it for a while over their supposed pregnancy. Once sobered up Kathryn would need to clear this up with the poor tiefling, at the moment she wasn't sure she could get her words across as needed without making things worse. "Good night Victoria, be seeing ya in da morning." Rickard soon gave his intentions to to rest as well, timed rather well with last call to get the hell out. "Take care lads." Kathryn spoke, giving them a wave as they left taking with them Kosara's victim. "We'll meet up again once we get this all sorted out." Curly seemed to at least like the pity beer. So that helped Kathryn to be assured there were no hard feelings. Kathryn gave a good night wave to Rickard, giving him a sympathetic wave as the poor man had to deal with the brunt of Kosara's verbal punishment while Kathryn attempted to wrap her head around the whole situation with minimal success.

With the departure of Marita that left Kosara and Kathryn the last of their party to remain within the public house. "Yeah let's go." Kathryn spoke to Kosara as the small tiefling ran off, Kathryn walking behind her. "You should really go easier on Rickard. He's a nice enough lad. As well, he may know a thing or two about our current job." Kathryn spoke in a dull tone before making her way entering the hayloft with Kosara. Waiting for them, Marita. Kathryn expected to be called out for her rather aggressive drunkesness, as well as her minimal progress on the job. So far, all she had was Rickard as a possible lead, and that Robert was less then cooperative with helping. Starting points that she had failed to follow up on. No matter how it went, no more drinking until the job was done. "Don't suppose you have had better luck then myself?" Kathryn asked Marita, hoping that maybe the cleric had obtained something while working with the staff.

Victoria gave a moment to herself to check as far as she might be able to perceive, up one side of the street and back down the other one. The feeling of being observed hadn't fully gone away since the walk back from the graveyard, and she was quite alone outside of the Public House. Her group was back in the bar behind her; stalwart yet unthinking undead companion in the loft in front of her. It was quite possible that the magic which animated the formerly living, woodsmoked beast had worn off, as she had not updated it in a while and this was required regularly. In any case, Victoria wanted the day to come to an end so the hayloft was the best option for her.

The weather was not favorable to Victoria but not unexpected by any means. Autumn had a funny way of having days which started out comfortable enough, before turning into frigid nightmares (in comparison) as soon as the sun departed. What little wind there was seemed to push the dampness of the surrounding fog into any gaps in her clothing, adding to the discomfort she felt. Getting back indoors was a priority for her just then. The door to the hayloft swung open easily enough, though she only parted it from its closed position just enough to slip inside and shut it firmly back behind her.

Victoria was not stupid. Flighty sometimes, foolhardy at others, but not stupid. As soon as she entered, she placed her back to the door and drew her slim bladed sword, giving herself the seconds necessary for her darkvision to acclimate fully to the darker interior of the structure. While Victoria waited, she extended her thoughts to the area around her. A simple mental command for her unassuming thrall to approach, which was left blankly unanswered. So Morty had un-re-animated in her absence. She made a mental note to keep better track of these things once she had the ability to weave together the more powerful, standard application of animating undead minions to have at her disposal, as that process came with an additional caveat that would make life more interesting than she really wanted, provided that she did not. Satisfied that she was alone in the loft, Victoria resheathed her sword, climbed the ladder, and made her way over to the lump of preserved meat that used to be Morty.

First things first - bring her assistant back to activity. She closed her eyes briefly, allowing a single, humming note of necrotic energy to coalesce from the ether around her and permeate the eviscerated, still body of the tusked hog before her. It came to something resembling life and jerkily (jerky-ly?) stood.

Second things second - there was a brazier and wood for burning nearby, as Cecily had pointed out earlier that day. She took a moment or two to make a simple arrangement of fuel in the brazier and called upon another of her lesser (but amazingly useful) magics to bring it ablaze. The thought passed through her mind that she really should practice more with her mundane firestarting tools which, for reasons still unknown to her, she still carried in her backpack.

As an afterthought, she used the same cantrip to remove the cosmetics from her face, including the death/tears motif she had meticulously applied earlier, and cleaned herself up a bit. Taking a couple of minutes to use Prestidigitation for personal cleanliness was useful, Victoria noted, but it was not the same sort of luxurious experience that a hot water bath could provide. Well, she could experience these little comforts at a later time, she supposed. This would have to do for now.

It wasn't very much longer that she heard the door open below on the ground floor. Cautiously, she began to edge toward the end of the loft floor overlooking the ground. A tiny giggle escaped her when she heard that it was no midnight boogeyman but Marita, returning from the Pub. Victoria straightened and made stepped into view above. "Still awake," she called down, a little smile plainly in view. "I'd much rather be getting my rest, but yes, it's probably best we talk about today." The last half of that sentence came out with tones much darker, but no less flowery of delivery. Morty emerged from the shadows to stand next to its mistress, silently and mindlessly staring straight ahead with burlap-wrapped eyes.

The others arrived, and with them came trivial, mundane questions one might associate with a simple day trip. To Kosara's inquiry, she offered, "Cecily mentioned that fresh water was stocked in those barrels over there," motioning to the bound, wooden casks to the side. "Other amenities too, like a reserved privy in the back. If we acquire some throw pillows and perhaps a staffed kitchen - maybe a nice, clawfoot tub, I might just want to establish a summer home here." Her voice was colored with dry sarcasm, but the immediately following expression of optimistic consideration gave the impression that she really didn't mind the setup here. "At least we have some privacy. So please, let us talk plainly."

After the group had bid him good night Rickard went towards the bed he had purchased for another night. He opened the chest that came with his bed and checked his mail and weapons to make sure they were still clean of rust. With that inspection he also looked for notches, cracks, or other damage on any of his gear. A small split had started to form on the toe of his left boot. With a quiet murmur and a brush of the lodestones, he used his magic to mend the split. It was a temporary fix as the magic didn't just create more of the material. He would need to buy a new pair of boots before to long. Once his gear was checked and cleaned, Rickard stored it carefully back in the chest and locked it.

He climbed into the bed while still processing the days events. The lack of leads was the most concerning thing at the moment. People typically just didn't disappear with no reason. Those that did it often came about that they had fled their home in the dead of night. Their reasoning for such varied from they just wanted to leave their home looking for adventure to people wanting to escape a bad living situation. He wasn't sure that was the case for Samuel. Tomorrow he would have to talk with the dress maker and maybe try getting into the silversmiths shop. Those two leads could have some more information. At least if they were related in some way to Samuel's disappearance. It certainly did seem that there was more to the matter than he had expected.

Then there was the Kosara and her ridiculous assumption involving Lady Kathryn. At least that matter should be resolved by tomorrow. He hoped that Kosara would listen to Kathryn anyway. Perhaps it was a cultural norm where the tiefling was from. If she didn't listen and persisted on the assumption however, he was not sure that tomorrow would be as productive of a day as he wanted. Lynda what have I gotten myself into. I don't remember our ventures being this odd. Nor do I remember our traveling companions being as diverse in origin as these folk I've met. Perhaps tomorrow will clear up the questions of the missing town folk.

Rickard settled down under the covers of the bed, which provided comfort enough for the night. He pushed off the thoughts of the investigation and the wild assumptions of the pale tiefling to welcome the dreams of years long since passed.

Weather: Juuuuust a hair away from freezing.

Time: Quite late. All the decent folk are already asleep, the rest of you reprobates who are still up and about are probably guilty of something.

Ambience: The fog remains outside, doing what it does best. Pale light from the nearly full moon diffuses through, giving barely enough light to determine where the street ends and the buildings begin (to normal sight). In some places, where the dim light catches just right, one can see silvery crystals of frost forming in the dense fog, only to disappear in the light, mercurial wind.

The interior of the L'Rose Hayloft is as it was prior; a much darker now, obviously, with what light presently available coming from the brazier in the raised area. The light coming from it is secondary to its use as a cooking area and source of radiant heat, which is mostly kept to the top area. There are several bales of packed hay here, still clean and fresh-smelling, a presently unused lamp, a few barrels, a small cart to one corner, and of course, the block and tackle lift for moving cargo from the ground to the upper level. For those up top, the belongings of Hugh the Monk are still present, as is the strategic sleeping place he set up for himself. No sign of him, however.

Down below, the light is not the best in the world, the ambient red-orange glow being the equivalent of dim lighting (being generous). One can still see well enough to navigate. Reading might pose difficulties for now. Luckily for those inside, voices which are readily discernible inside, thanks to decent acoustics. On the other hand, noise from the outside seems to be muffled. One may assume that this barrier to sound works both ways.

For now, those in the Hayloft have as much safety and privacy as one might be able to in this town. This sentence could be followed by the suffixes of "you think" or even "you hope", but such bits of heightened awareness must be tempered with the relatively sequestered nature of your little hidey-hole here in Avonshire, and the amount of alcohol some of you have consumed.


The common sleeping room of Neil & Bob's Public House is much like one would expect. Most of the beds, straw-stuffed mattresses upon simple wooden frames, are taken by locals and/or more then moderately inebriated folk. There are two small candle lamps here on opposite ends of the room, alight but burning low, as if the proprietors only use candles which burn for a short time intentionally. Chests are at the foot of each of the beds for personal belongings though it doesn't look like many of the people here are using them. If you want a decent lock for them, you'll have to bring your own.

Three beds are not in use. We will assume that Rickard got a bed early and thusly had pick of which one is his. The other two are toward the center of the room, which no one particularly wanted for reasons obvious or unobvious reasons. Somewhere in the dim, an offputting, baritone sputter erupted from one of the beds on the other side of the room. Nothing else happened at first. A couple of long, quiet seconds ticked by, followed by various groans and the throwing of nonlethal, disposable materials at the source of the offending noise. It's only a short matter of time before the invisible miasma wafts across the room and does things most foul. Be warned. Be wary. Be Prepared.

“We don’t need a staffed kitchen when we can cook ourselves!” Kosara mentioned happily at V’s comment.” We can probably get pillows from around town and a tub too!” The happy tiefling added as she locked her eyes on the barrels that V pointed out.” Thank you, V!” She quipped and quickly pulled a satchel from her bad and a bundle from within that. It was a cloth wrapped around a rectangular object. Finally with that she moved over to the barrels.” If anyone wants something to eat, in my bag there are the foodstuffs I picked from the market earlier for you all! We can keep them for breakfast too if you so prefer!” Kosara informed them all as she opened the barrel and nodded at the water inside.

With that done she quickly took of her sparkling new coat and the shirt, leaving herself in only her chest wraps and the pants, before unwrapping the piece of cloth, getting it wet with the water in the barrel and then proceeding to begin wiping herself carefully. It was not a bath, but it will do the job for the time being. What was left afterwards would be done with her magic as much as she could. Nothing beat proper cleaning though. It felt real good to get rid of the sweat though. It was a bit cold since the brazier wasn’t quite enough to warm up the place completely, but once done, she was going to get dressed again and curl into her bedroll and blanket.

“Ohh yeah… I was saying about my adventures and discoveries.” Kosara released as she was cleaning her neck and shoulders with the cool wet piece of fabric.” The municipal building is suspicious.” She said in carefully weaker tone, looking about in the darkness, but it was darkness and they were inside, not seeing outside. Still she felt the urge to be theatrical about it.” The locals say nobody’s allowed in anymore out of sudden. So Mr. Grumpy Constable is hiding something there.” She added, shivering a little at the freezing chill in the night’s air. She hurried to finish cleaning her upper torso, before starting to warp herself back up in the layers of clothing she wore and headed to her bedroll deciding that it was too cold to continue with full body wash using a towel in this cold. It was nice to get rid of some of the sweat though. Still she hurried to get wrapped into the bedroll for warmth." Hey, where's Mr Fancy Sneaky monk? I last saw him heading after you, V."

A proper bath would be very much welcome for Marita. It was a shame that she hadn't been able to go to a bathhouse within the past few weeks or so, even with the impropriety that such establishments invited. Especially given the impending winter freeze, a hot bath would do much to rejuvenate the body and relax the spirit. A flash of bitterness, regret and anger muddled together in the back of her mind as often happened when she thought too much about a comfort she used to take for granted before her excommunication. She shook such thoughts out of her head as she made her way up to the top level of the Hayloft. Sure she could have continued speaking up, but even if they couldn't necessarily be heard from outside, she'd rather not take the chance. Besides, it would be quite bothersome and she could see much better up here.

"I don't think any of us have seen Hugh since this evening, although he may yet return. I hope he didn't do anything stupid that would endanger us or the mission." Loathe as she would to mention it, but having him around would be quite useful if their immediate future involved having to infiltrate a place such as the Municipal building unnoticed. If he didn't show up by morning then they would simply need to adjust and assume he's captured, fled or dead. Marita sat on a bale of hay and got herself as comfortable as she could manage.

"On my end, first I'd like to share the evidence that in hindsight I should have before we entered the township." Marita presented the paper she hand been handed that morning and opened it up, angling it towards the brazier so she could read it aloud as best as she could in the poorly lit Hayloft. How useful it would have been to learn the Light cantrip. "As far as our employer goes, this is everyone who has been confirmed missing along with their last known location:

• Falry Glenfellow - Halfling farmer, male - disappeared after evening meal
• Youelle Brightcobble - Halfling dressmaker's daughter, female - running errands after hours
• Andre Dufour - Human farmhand, male - last seen leaving tavern drunk
• Gerard Porter - Human orphan child, male - didn't show for breakfast at group home
• Audrey Blanc - Human barmaid, female - disappeared walking home after work

Notably, the Audrey we heard about earlier is on the list. I asked the staff of the Public House about her, and she's been missing for about a week. She had been feeling paranoid, like someone was always watching her, and this was disruptive enough for Robert and her to argue about it. He told her she was acting silly and to get over it. Right after she did she vanished. Between Hugh's disappearance, and the fact that every disappearance seems to be happening at night, I'm making it a mandate. Before we have dealt with this issue, no one is to travel alone, especially at night." Perhaps it was a bit overly dramatic to nearly utilize her Voice of Law on that sentence, but she felt it justified. Marita folded the paper back and crossed her legs.

"Furthermore, if any one of us gets a similar feeling of being watched, she should let the others know so we can try to protect her. The rest of the information I accrued may or may not actually factor into the case, but apparently Robert didn't used to be as gruff as he is now. In fact he had taken a shine to a halfling boy, Samthe Rentman who one day learned how to use Hedge Magic before running off to adventure with a Svirfneblin named Carl. He even provided equipment to them. I think he might have been a former adventurer, but that's wandering into the territory of pure conjecture. Aside from that I don't think I have anything else to add." Based on Kathryn's comment earlier she hadn't had any luck, and Victoria was likely busy with the funeral so she wasn't expecting much more to be added, but maybe they'd surprise her. Or the information she gave would present a new revelation.

Kathryn wrapped her arms around herself for warmth. Though the barn was warmer than the outdoors and gave protection from the wind, outside had to be just a few hairs shy of freezing. Any warmth she could get was appreciated. Victoria and Marita seemed keen on sharing what information they could share, which left Kathryn a little left out as the most helpful bit of information she had snagged was from Rickard. Victoria did add a comment or two about what would make this place a rather nice place to live. "I mean yes, we could cook out own food Kosara, but I have little idea how to cook much better than..." She paused, trying to think of the best thing she could cook. "Mashed potatoes and eggs really... Maybe bacon? So a fully staffed kitchen would be wonderful." What Kosara had to add about the municipal building was interesting. Strict in and out traffic? Could be worth investigating. Maybe they know more then they are letting on? "Something decent to note for sure, maybe something we can check out on the 'morrow? As well, whatever is causing the disappearances doesn't appear to be a class thing. Rickard mentioned the person he was tracking was a business owners son. And unless Audrey was also of an upper class of some kind whatever is taking them doesn't seem to care. It's hard to tell without extremes to compare, nobles, lords, government aids. Things like that, but it's worth some follow up looking." She may have been a bit shit faced, but her thinker was still intact.

Marita read off the list of those who went missing so far. Mostly working class of some kind, and a couple from the owning class. "The paranoid feeling is good to know." She wondered if Hugh was feeling paranoid before he went missing? The man seemed to be cautious none the less. "Is it safe to say that a lot of these people knew, or at least suspected something was going to happen? Maybe they all saw something they weren't supposed to see? And whatever they saw is trying to clean up loose ends?" She thought more on her class theory, remembering many nobles considering even many in the owning class to be on the same level as those working. Maybe it wasn't the best base to work from. "We could try investigating the streets after hours, paired up so we can see what we can find. Maybe follow Audrey's route home and see if there is somewhere that seems... off." She briefly wondered if it was worth setting a trap, but that would require bait. Bait being either one of the party members, or some unsuspecting local. Both lines she wasn't comfortable crossing. She'd be open for using herself as bait, but fully armored and armed, Kathryn was an imposing threat.

Victoria tried to smile at what she felt was misguided optimism on Kosara's part. Perhaps the Bard's sarcastic inflection which marked her earlier words did not present sharply enough, as to communicate the appropriate nuance. She debated taking the wiser course of action; that being keeping quiet and giving some sort of mysterious, half contemplative smile, but in the end just couldn't help herself. "In just a moment's reconsideration, I have no desire to spend half or more of my money on furnishings for a place that we're not going to be in for very long, and, you know - isn't ours." Maybe it was the wine from earlier loosening her tongue. Or just irritation at the evening's events. Likely it was a combination of both.

She sighed, forcing her voice to soften as she responded to the Tiefling's expression of gratitude, "Sorry. And you're welcome." Victoria began to question her original assessment of how much wine she had consumed so far this evening. Maybe in hindsight, she could stand to have another glass before calling it a night, just to loosen up. But that did remind her that she had an announcement for the whole group, "The locals were..." She paused, trying to figure out the most appropriate phrasing, "...kind enough to donate multiple bottles of wine to the ceremony. The bereaved were not interested in keeping them." For emphasis, Victoria stepped back to her small errand cart and nudged it with a foot. The bottles jostled just enough to give a short symphony of clinks and hollow ringing sounds audible from the ground level of the loft before falling back to silence.

By the time Victoria stepped back to the edge, overlooking the level below, Kosara was in mid-disrobe. The Half-Elf froze, her face flushing slightly despite her features refusing to show a difference of expression. When Victoria realized that she was beginning to stare, she quickly averted her gaze with a whisper of, _{"...different lifetime..."} and reacted to what was being said. "Municipal, um, Municipal Building. In my home city, it's used for matters of law, keeping records, taxes, and is a meeting place for city officials. Governing persons of the city. And for the Sheriff, town guard, so forth, to keep office. This is a small place and it's surrounded by farms, but, is the Constable the only person of authority here, that he personally can shut everything else down? If - what was his name - Cavendish? If he's responsible for something, I doubt it's just him." Without proof, anything she said was going to be supposition. Conjecture at best. But it got her fairly agile mind working on something aside from its previous train of thought.

Thinking about things, she piped up, "And no, I haven't seen Hugh at all since I left for the funeral. If he isn't back by morning, I recommend we split up his gear and sell what we don't want for pocket money." Victoria's mind flashed back to their post-battle conversation much earlier that day, with the condescending vitriol he refused to let go. She didn't consider herself vindictive, though she might be wrong about that. Introspection wasn't how she made her living.

But to actual business, Victoria gave a listen to what Kathryn and Marita had to say. She gave a wry smile at the fact that the Cleric had withheld the paper she did until this point. She was glad to have the information, granted, but she couldn't help thinking that if it were her with this information and she held it back, it would be for the purpose of holding an advantage of some kind. Marita didn't seem like she was as ethically flexible as Victoria, herself, though the smile suggested that the thought was being entertained at the very least. She was ready to address the points raised by her colleagues, but first felt the need to say, "Might we please stop talking about the non-existent kitchen?" She looked around, honestly amazed that her act of sarcasm was a point of serious conversation. "So, I agree that the victims seem to come from different social strata. And those are just the ones that disappeared and didn't come back. In any case, I really didn't learn anything of great value, I don't believe." She bobbed her head from side to side, mulling over her evening prior to coming to the Public House, and mentioned, "Cecily and Lizbeth have taken up in a boarding house near the Silversmith's place. Um, I'm not particularly fond of this fog, either. And one more thing, so long as it was brought up - When I was coming back from the cemetery, I did feel like I was being watched. I said nothing for fear of upsetting Mrs. L'Rose or Lizbeth, but it happened."

The sound that echoed through the room drew Rickard from the lucid state of near sleep. Once the smell reached him he started to mutter a curse in elvish at whomever had released the foul smell. In an attempt to rid the smell from his presence, Rickard started to use part of the blanket as a fan. He shifted in the bed to get comfortable again and return to his dreams.

His dreams led him to the first time he had met Lynda. The mid summer day was warmer than most and Ricard's father had taken him to their liege lord's hold. He wasn't told that who it was that he was to squire for just that it was a knight within Lord Cauldburry's house. The excitement of finally being deemed worthy enough to be a squire left him sleepless during the trip. It had been painful to watch other boys Rickard's age start squiring years before. When he had asked his father about the why he was not able to do so, he was told that he was not ready for it yet.

The day finally arrived as they passed through the town gates and made way up the winding street to the keep. The traveling group was made welcome and given rooms to stay for the next few days. Towards the evening Rickard was introduced to the knight he would squire for during the welcoming feast. She was a good six inches taller than him, and as muscular as many of the men present in the hall. At first Rickard thought it was a joke. An attempt by his father to cause him to give up his dream of knighthood. If it was he would prove him wrong.

When Lord Cauldburry divulged that the knight was his daughter, it was a puzzle to Rickard. It was some time before learned that it was not some ploy to dissuade him. This knight he now squired for was formidable as well as intelligent. She was able to weave magic into her blade, summoning it from anywhere to her hand. Most of his time was spent cleaning her armor, honing the blades she used, or running messages for her. When not preforming these tasks he trained with blade, axe, lance, and bow. He began learning the secrets of magic, summoning magical darts to hit a target from yards away. Or creating magical barrier to ward of what may have been a wounding blow.

After his time as a squire the ventured to towns leagues away searching for tournaments to participate in. Here and there they even helped villagers fend of bandits. Even after their marriage the traveled as often as they could. They did cease travel while their children were little, and resumed traveling once their children were old enough. Most of the trips were short, visits to parents mostly with occasional ventures to tournaments.

As time went on aging her faster than he, Rickard reflected back on Lord Cauldburry's words. His father in law knew that this would happen, and even then Rickard knew it as well. In his youthful arrogance he did not think that watching her age while he barely did would pain him as it did. Her black hair faded to silver then white, and vibrant green eyes dimmed. When she finally passed more realization came. This would be a pain he would have to endure many many more times before the end of his natural life. As these recollections passed through his dream state, Rickard stirred in his sleep muttering to nothing and no one.

Weather: Around 34^oF, 1^oC.

Time: Quite later.

Ambience: Deep fog. Tiny ice crystals form and dissipate in the fog; which is doing an excellent job of making sight fuzzy. What little light is present this night comes from the nearly full moon poking through the terrestrial cloud cover, which is simply not remarkable of intensity.

To give a brief description of the interior of the Hayloft - This is a tidy and well maintained building, be it sparsely appointed. Items of note:

• Several bales of new hay
• a presently unused lamp
• a few barrels (at least one containing fresh, clean water)
• a small cart
• the block and tackle lift for moving cargo between levels
• a ladder leading to the upper floor

The personal belongings of the party are present, what was not taken with them. Additionally, so are Hugh's items, which I should probably list here.

Backpack, containing:

• Bedroll
• Blanket
• Case, Map or Scroll
• Cook's Utensils
• Crowbar
• Ink (1 oz. bottle)
• Ink Pen
• Mess Kit
• Parchment (x5)
• Playing Card Set
• Rations (x15)
• Rope, Hemp (50 ft)
• Shortbow
• Thieves' Tools
• Tinderbox
• Torch
• Waterskin

Quiver (x2), containing

• Arrows (30)

There is still no sign of the errant Monk.

Also, recall that items were left in the wagon, which is presently across the street in the Farrier's/Stable; now closed up for the evening.

Moving on, the hayloft is mostly bathed in a dim, red-orange light, thanks to the brazier on the top level. There is just enough light to see by, barely. It is easier to catch details on the top level, where the source of the light rests. It is still not ideal. One can still see well enough to navigate, though again, reading might pose difficulties for now. There are large, double doors on either side of the hayloft on the ground floor, which for now are closed soundly and barred. Likewise, there are two doors on the upper level, these no less snug in their frames than their larger, vehicle-intended brethren below.






The common sleeping room of Neil & Bob's Public House has not changed in the last few minutes. The rows of beds lay as they had, occupied by the forms of sleeping individuals making the various noises that a predominately Human crowd might. The horrifying colonic winds which had wafted silently (beyond its emergence into the open air, anyway) across the room did its best to make life perious, and eventually faded into the background. Whether this is an effect of honest dispersal or simply nose blindness is up for debate.

The candle-lights on either end of the room have burned out, allowing for darkvision to be utilized with majority of effectiveness. There are two other beds in this room toward the center which are empty, their basic coverings set neatly atop the foot of those beds.

---

Alright, folks! Let the continuing continue!

Kosara listened to Marita’s briefing about her discoveries and gatherings of information in general about the purpose of their lil adventuring party here. She nodded and finished getting into her bedroll on the upper floor of the hayloft. The bales certainly gave the place a very different feel to the place she’s been before.” Mmmm… but if I want to go perform out tomorrow night, I would have to have somebody come along… I suppose it’s prudent, it would just be a bit of inconvenience at times.”

“Well there must be a common reason to abduct those people… if not common between them then it’s a reason for their captor. Maybe if they just needed random people then the woman wouldn’t have felt stalked.” The tiefling pipped up from her bedroll from which only her head right now showed up.” Investigation at night could lead to results, but we need to start from somewhere not just randomly walk about least they blame us for some underhanded ploy.” She smiled at Kathryn, who still had the blush of alcohol. The pale tiefling wondered if the huge woman would be with hangover tomorrow. Hangovers were fun! Well not for the people having them of course. But if you were drunk enough to get hangover, chances were out cold once asleep. Then well… on people that deeply asleep, it’s possible to play pranks on them with little difficulty.

V’s comments about the municipal building and the constable pulled Kosara’s attention as she had listened intently and nodding.” Wait… Cavendish? I thought it was Cravenfish…” She blinked, tilting her head, finding herself unable to recall it properly in the way the bard had spoken it. Was she paying that little attention when they had met the man?” Well… Crav…. Ahmm Cavendish.. yeah… ahm… yeah… if something’s going on with him in the municipal building, I think we can be sure that it involves his underlings too, so we can expect city guard problems?” She theorized. It would also make sense, seeing that somehow nobody ever saw anything and knew anything of when the people went missing except that it was at night. Didn’t they have night watch or something?

What the dancer didn’t expect was V’s admittance that she felt like she was being watched.” Ohh no! We should be careful and protect you then, V! If the evil enemy plotter tries something with you, we need to be ready to get the jump on them.” Kosara stated with a serious voice. Suddenly the tiefling displayed a confused expression as she tilted her head, her face gradually morphing into a thinking scowl.” By the by… anyone noticing this rather weird person that’s constantly greeting and mentioning fine day for fishing and ‘Huah huh’?” She asked, recalling the man she met earlier in the market.” I’m pretty sure we met him when arriving into town and I met him earlier in the market again. Any of you had chance meeting with him too?”

Marita contemplated Victoria's words for a moment. Now she was in the position Robert was a fortnight prior and damned if she was going to end up failing like him, but the question came is how significant should the anti-abduction countermeasures go? Too little and they lose a third party member since forming up just a day prior, too much and it's time and energy wasted that could be better spent elsewhere. Having made a decision the cleric spoke up once again.

"In light of this news, I think for tonight it might be good to set up watches, as if we were camping out in the wilderness. Given the situation we're in it's not much different in terms of danger. Perhaps in the future we'll be able to make this hayloft more secure at night so we don't have to worry about this every day."

"Kosara, Kathryn, if there's a watch you would rather not have, I'll take it. Fair's fair. Victoria, if you're so inclined you can take the extra sleep or stay up one of the watches for an extra set of eyes. Ideally if you are indeed a target we'd be able to kill two stirges with one stone by intercepting the would-be kidnapping and learning about the identity of the culprit. Even if nothing happens and Victoria simply has had a brief stint of paranoia, I'd much rather be safe than sorry." Marita was the one to bring up additional responsibilities so it was only right that she accept the additional burden of the least favorable job.

"As far as commonalities between the victims go, I haven't been able to find any. Although, the cemetery does pique my interest now. Maybe it's the hidden link between everyone. I'm thinking tomorrow morning I could ask Leah about it, or if she could remember if Audrey had any business there recently before her disappearance." The other peoples and locations brought up by the others were at least worthy of poking around briefly, not to mention the obvious leads provided by The List. This was the only unique point of interest she could think of at that very moment.

"And for nocturnal inquisitions, perhaps if we can get this hayloft more secure on future nights we could, but definitely not tonight and I would rather avoid it if there's no obvious reason to do so. The last thing this mission needs are a bunch of sleep deprived investigators who can't properly think through their plan of action." Not mentioned was how Marita followed a god of Light so she was naturally biased against skulking around in the dark of night.

Kathryn listened as Victoria explained about her evening. The more the half talked the more Kathryn found herself concerned. Though the part of wine seemed nice, Kathryn was done drinking until the job was over. What got her attention was still no sign on Hugh, and then there was Victoria's feeling of being watched. Combined with Cecily and Lizbeth staying in a place near the suspicious silver smith. It was all too many coincidences. It made Kathryn uneasy. "Do you think Cecily and Lizbeth had that same feeling leaving?" Kathryn wondered if they could also be targets. "Between Victoria having the feeling and something being off about the Silver Smith's building it has to be something to consider. I think we need to check on the two as soon as possible, and figure out what's goin' on with that storefront. Something strange none the less."

Kosara brought up the idea that maybe the correlation isn't between those taken, but rather the one doing the kidnapping has a specific reason unrelated to those they take, but that idea got immediately pulled with the idea that the stalking feeling likely wouldn't have stuck as hard. "I haven't noticed any such strange person, but I can keep an eye out and see if I notice them from here." More weird things going on with no explanations. What a strange mission this is turning out to be. The municipal building is still something to keep note of but at this time, maybe not high on their priority list. She wondered if their good friend Constable Cavendish knew more then he was letting on. He seemed to actively work against the Sheriff, and it seemed like including him now could only hinder the party. Even if he didn't know something he was a liability. So was Robert from the public house too. Both people who may know more, but wont fork over the information easily.

Marita proposed setting watches, Kathryn figured that was as good idea as any. Between something odd going on in town, and Victoria concerned with being watched, and the fact that they weren't in the most secure of places, she figured a watch was perfect. "I'll take whichever. I'm not too tired, mostly just need a moment to sober up a bit. Then I pity the bastard who tries to break in here." Plus, Kathryn didn't do anything over exerting today, she could likely get away on a shorter night of sleep and still be fine by morning if need be. Marita held some good points on not going out tonight. Half the party was intoxicated, and the other half was struggle with sleep deprivation to some degree. "The cemetry seems like a good place to look at as well. I'd love to see if Audry's path home took her past there or the silver smith's. Same with the others who went missing." Plus, Kathryn couldn't see in the dark. Sure, it would take something pretty big to take her down, but she'd rather not risk that unless she had too.

Victoria gave a listen to what the rest of her party had to say. More than that, she took the occasion to really give consideration toward these people she had met just the day before yesterday. These were the ones that stuck around, after all was said and done thusfar, and looked like they would be the ones with which she would have to put some parcel of trust. Probably not all at once, though. Knightly type, godly type, spellcaster. Well, she'd associated with less reputable people before. Even so, and despite their newness as an investigative group, Victoria believed that she would always be something of an outsider among them, for reasons both obvious and hidden.

But to the topic at hand, which she addressed after she gathered up her bedroll and blanket and placed them on conveniently arranged hay bales to form a sort of rustic twin bed near a wall, her backpack and errant cart forming a partially sectioned off area which gave a suggestion of personal space. To verbalize her thoughts, she mentioned, "My concern, for what it's worth, is not with the people who are still missing. I am curious as to the ones who vanished and then returned. It is unfortunate that we do not know who those people are."

She gave a lightly amused smile, recounting the events from earlier involving the crowd of drunken reprobates outside of the Public House. Wryly, Victoria commented, "I doubt that I will be able to be as effective an investigator in this small town, due to my flagrant display of magic earlier. I might even be suspect, at least until I have time to spin the incident to the public." In her estimation, it was a mistake to imply servitude to some eldritch horror when accosted by the locals, when loud and cutting remarks designed to draw attention to herself might have accomplished the same outcome, more or less. An addendum to that thought immediately followed, with some importance; only because the nature of their work contained subterfuge. Otherwise, the full brunt of her ability to inspire fear was fully appropriate.

This thought flowed over into another point made by Kosara, about her safety, "No, you should not 'protect me' to the exclusion of our reason to be here. I have proven that I can handle myself. And I have a Morty!" The last sentence was punctuated by a sudden upbeat tone as she recalled a detail from the previous day that, in the hustle of the day, she had forgotten. Victoria's dexterous hands lifted the lid of her traveling chest. From this elegant box she produced a bundle of cloth and a signalling bell, which she had purchased in Darenby the previous day. "Marita, it's only fair that I take a turn at watch." A devious look crossed her features as she knelt in front of her carefully wrapped, animated swine and placed the handle of the bell into its mouth. A brief expression of concentration followed, and Morty, bell clasped firmly, stepped near to the edge of the loft floor. From this vantage, one could see the doors at either side of the structure readily. "But I simply must get my rest. You understand."

Feeling very pleased with herself, Victoria returned to her pallet with the bundle of cloth and turned back around, waving her hands in front of her as if wiping condensation away from a window. Instead of making vision clearer, the motion left behind it the growing image of a privacy screen, five feet wide and just tall enough for her to see over. Satisfied, the perky Half-Elf shuffled off her working gear and clothing, applying minor magics for the sake of cleanliness all the while. She regarded her own lithe, svelte form for a moment, then sighed softly, nodded, and pulled on a set of black silk garments which were stylish, functional, and displayed relative modesty, not unlike the set she had just removed and magically laundered.

A wave dismissed the privacy screen. Victoria set to adding an insulating layer of clothing atop her undergarments as it was still not an ideally comfortable temperature, even with the brazier burning nearby. To no one in particular, she mentioned, "The feeling which came over me, of being watched?" her head shook slowly, "Did not occur in the cemetery itself, nor on the walk to it. It was only while returning from the cemetery. Just to clarify." Then, the Bard changed the subject again, motioning to her pig, "So yes, if two sets of eyes are better than one, then there is my turn at watch. Morty is tasked with ringing that bell if he detects anything (aside from one of us) entering this building." Utilitarian uses for Necromancy was a stiff drawing point for Victoria, as she did like making herself useful most of the time. "Sleep tight, everyone. Oh, don't forget to feed the brazier when your watch comes up. It's quite chilly out there." She smiled and snuggled into her makeshift but still fairly comfortable bed, eyes staring at the soft, red-orange glow of their only active source of light and heat. While Victoria was still willing to entertain light conversation, she was most definitely settling in for the night.

Lynda stands over Rickard as he cleaning a sword. She drops a mail shirt down on the wooden floor in front of him "There is still rust in this mail Rickard. Grab the wire brush and start over."

"Why must I use the wire brush? I could clean this much faster with my magic." He was frustrated that he had to clean the mail again. It was the second time today he had to clean the mail, and the fourth time in the last three days. He was beginning to think that she was doing this just for her own amusement.

"This is true but you may not always have your magic. And some times it is better to clean your armor this way as it forces you to take your time. You may even learn patience and to not rush into things." A slight smile crossed her face. "Now when you are done with that meet me in the common hall. The inn keep is serving roast lamb with a mint sauce." She left the Rickard in the room to tend to the weapon and armor.

He muttered to himself as he finished cleaning the blade and ran the whet stone over the edge. "This is ridiculous, clean the armor with the wire brush. Slow down, be patient." He ran the stone down the length of the blade to quickly and slipped near the end of the edge and cut two of his fingers on his left hand. The blade and the stone fell from his hands and clattered to the floor. Rickard swore in elvish as he grabbed some cloth and pressed it to the wound. Fortunately it was a shallow cut and the blood stopped flowing shortly. Still he wrapped the cut with the clean cloth. Afterwards he started to clean the area where he had bled and resumed cleaning and oiling the blade. The armor took nearly a hour but at last the remaining bit of rust was finally gone. With a soft clean cloth he started to oil down the mail taking his time ensuring each link was well oiled.

After the gear was stored Rickard made his way to the common hall looking for Ser Lynda. She was seated near the hearth with a tall mug of ale in hand and the remains of her supper on the plate in front of her. "What happened to your hand?" She asked as he sat down at the table gesturing to his bandaged hand.

"The whet stone slipped while I was honing the edge of the blade. I was... going to quick."

She gave a slight nod and took a deep drink from the mug. "Not to serious is it? Let me see it." Her hand reached out and grabbed his before he could move. With a deft movement she removed the bandage and examined the cut. "You're lucky you didn't take your fingers off. We'll go see a healer to make sure that you didn't do to much damage."

Rickard nodded and stood with Lynda to leave the inn. In the physical realm his hand twitched some as if moving to hone a blade or scrubbed rust from mail. The night moves on around him as he continued to dream on.

Weather: Cold, but not freezing.

Time: Early! And it's about time, too.

Ambience: The fog is beginning to lift. It is still quite foggy, but this can be more readily seen through because of the cold, grey light of the early dawn. This weak light has enough illumination to highlight the sheen of frost that covers the cobblestone of the street and most other surfaces. The frost did not touch the inside of the hayloft, nor did it penetrate the sanctity of Neil & Bob's (though one can see the telltale frosted windowpanes were they to push a curtain back).

It is as comfortable as one might expect within the Public House, owing to the more insulated structure but not amazingly comfortable bedding. Comparatively, the Hayloft is more snug than one might have given it credit, particularly on its upper level. In short, all individuals are comfortable enough to have gotten the benefits of a long rest.

There isn't much movement in the Township right now. Perhaps in the outlying farms; not much closer in. For the most part, people are sticking to their homes. Lots to drink the night before thanks to the festival, and the fact that most of the businesses are catering to these people, means that things are slow to start this frosty morning. The fires in kitchens (including in the Public House) are being stoked by their caretakers, establishment employees, and the like.

---

Outside of Neil & Bob's Public House, on the other hand, a conversation is taking place:

"No, Constable. Wasn't no more ruckus that happens usually, this time of year."

"Don't lie to me, Robert. I received a report that you had some trouble here. Outsiders." The Constable rested his hand on the head of his very fine warhammer, which seemed to give off the faintest glow in the dim light of the morning.

"Yeah there was. And it wasn't anything more than what happens usually, this time of year. Like I just said, Cavendish."

"Watch that tone, Barkeep. I can drag you off for harboring criminals. Doesn't matter to me if my stuck-up cousin sent them. Now you're going to tell me what you found out about them, or, well... you know what happens next."

A spark of defiance never left Robert's speech as he replied, albeit just a hair deflated, "The womenfolk from out of town mostly just drank wine and asked customers about Goblins. One of them got approached by the door and embarrassed the man. Another one got in a scuffle. Nothing I'd draw attention to. Man didn't like being showed up by girls, his buddies lied for him. The others were fine with spending good silver, and I was fine with talking it."

"Mmm hmm. And they got beds here last night, right?" The Constable seemed very eager to get into the building in that moment.

"Back off, Cavendish. They aren't here. I don't know where they are. Or the L'Roses. But my actual guests are stirring."

This seemed to satisfy Cavendish, who nodded his head thoughtfully and asked directly, "How much you know about what's going on? The question was highly vague and out of place, to the point of being a non sequitur.

"Not a damn thing."

"Keep it that way," Cavendish responded with a condescending smile. "Unless I tell you otherwise." The man turned and walked back up the road from which he came.

---

The locals and temporary lodgers of the Public House are beginning to stir. A couple of them, anyway. The shuffling about of feet on the floor and coverings rustling quietly, altogether, make notable noise in the relative quiet of the very early morning. One might have a good idea as to the severity of alcohol's aftereffects based upon other quiet noises made in dismay, from those who were aware of their surroundings enough to do so.

Many of the gathered bodies in the common sleeping area let out more noticeable groans of displeasure as a loud thunk could be heard elsewhere in the building, as if a heavy weight had unintentionally landed on the floor. This was followed by what was probably swearing, based upon the abrupt nature of the vocal utterance, but this was a difficult fact to verify on account of the walls intervening. Those who could stayed exactly where they were in their early morning repose, while two sat on the edge of their straw beds, hoping their heads would clear a little more before rising and greeting the day was necessary.

“Yeah, I’d prefer to not take the last watch. I’d take first if possible.” Kosara piped up with a smile, pulling her journal from her bag.” I’ve got a lot of things to write that I hadn’t in the last few days due the general situation and happenings. I need to catch up on them.” She explained merrily. She had to write down the Pear inn, the meeting with the law and everything that transpired between then and their arrival here in the hayloft! Especially about their heroic defeat of the goblins that also had a coffin goblin that might well be a new tactic of the sneaky green menace. They had to document it!

“I agree, let’s go check up on them in the morning!” She stated with a smile, noting Kathryn concerns for their hosts. The two womenfolk that were left without their male family member were in a vulnerable position. Especially if there were evil ploys at play! The teifling was already planning all manners if mean vengeance for all evil doers in the town. Like burying them till their neck in the sand! Wait there wasn’t enough sand here… maybe by the river? Or she could just repeatedly kick them between the legs. Apparently that hurt a lot or so the experiments and first hand experience in kicking people there told her.” It is suspicious now that you mentioned it indeed.”

“Ohh no no, V, you misunderstood me! You can protect yourself well, I saw that in the forest. I meant that we should be well on guard and turn ANY attempted evil ploy onto the enemy! If they try to attack you, we should capture them with utmost prejudice and then make them tell us all the secrets of the secret conspiracy! Least even if you do know how to defend yourself if they employ underhanded evil means, nobody can say what will happen. So we display vigilance and be very mean when we get them!” Kosara stated with a huge grin.” I can’t quite use grandpa’s means to extort secrets, but he did say that if you keep stepping on their shins while they are down, eventually they will sing and also be unable to walk! He also was the one who advised kicks between the legs for people who accost women as an easy and effective means of punishment that do not pose danger to their lives. He was very specific that endangering lives was very grave thing to do and should be handled with care and caution.”

“Alright,V , have a good rest. I will make sure to keep the brazier going!” She told the bard who promptly went to get her beauty sleep. Kosara was much in agreement, but she was used to going a bit later to bed if she had to. In the oasis one had to work till well into the night. The nights were usually busier than the days anyways.

With that Kosara more or less turned her attention on writing her grand tales of adventure and exploring into her journal while occasionally drawing a sketch or two in her rather amateur way. She wasn’t a drawing artist, so her sketches were very rough and not always precise, but she always liked them. They were enough to imply what had happened or what she had seen. Like the bandit pear form that one sign. That one actually turned very true to the original for some reason. Totally not because of it’s simple shape or anything. So once she was done with writing she was left with little else to do, so she spend it trying to figure out how to get Kathryn out of her armor and see the muscles underneath. When brainstorming ideas about something you were passionate about time flowed quickly and eventually as the next person for the watch was in turn she left it to them to be wary and in the company of Morty while she cuddled inside her bedroll, her long white braid the only thing that mostly made it’s way out of her bedroll.

If a source of the feeling of paranoia was not the cemetery itself, perhaps it was still in the area. Or tied to the route that Victoria took from it. It would have been useful right then to have a map that she could cross-reference, but such a fortune was not bequeathed upon them. Regardless, the night was getting on and Marita felt that the end of any productive conversation had come.

"I'll be taking the last watch then. Chances are I'll wake before I need to, but in case I'm not, feel free to wake me up." With that said, the cleric made her way back to her stuff and properly set out trying to sleep. Much to her surprise, despite the circumstances and the environment in which she found herself, the lady of light found herself quickly and effortlessly falling asleep, and when she awoke naturally, she was brimming with energy, ready to take on the days. Even though she was accustomed to waking up early, it was rare to feel so good. Perhaps she had just worn herself out more than she had thought traveling, fighting and working.

Marita signaled to Kathryn that she could go to bed and performed her morning routine, with one notable change: while it was still dark, she performed some light exercises to warm her body and battle against the cold and to make sure she was still in top form. In fact it would be a waste not to take advantage of the excess energy she had. It was just after this impromptu training that Marita noticed some voices coming from outside: the Constable and Robert having a friendly discussion about present company.

Her immediate reaction was that the Constable was absolutely guilty and that he should be thoroughly interrogated as their next course of action. However, her judicial training told her not to come to a verdict before all the evidence had been gathered. He would definitely need to be investigated, but there was a question of how. Also, Robert notably did not sell them out even though he had a chance to. Leah did mention him having a soft spot for adventurers, inaccurate as that descriptor was. It was possible that despite his gruff attitude that he had taken a shine to the party. But that didn't exactly mean that they could trust him, nor that they should press their luck and attempt to rely on him. Something in the back of her head noted Robert explicitly pointing out the L'Roses. That feeling of dread omen returned. After everyone was awake, they should probably check on the family to make sure they're alright.

With that matter finished, Marita went back to her belongings to finish getting ready for the day and her dedicated Watch. She spent the rest of her watch reading and eating breakfast: leftover sausage from the morning before. Idly, she looked up at Morty as she munched and wondered that if that thing had thoughts, would it mind her eating one of its brothers right in front of it? Probably not. Pigs were not the type to be discerning eaters. Other than the one conversation, nothing happened as far as she could tell.

When the time had come, Marita went and woke up everyone who had not already come to. Time to get ready for business.

Victoria brought up a concerning point that Kathryn had overlooked, those who had returned. Though they lacked a proper list of those individuals. "We shouldn't need to find all of them, just a couple so we can get an idea of what's going on. Hell, maybe even ask them what happened and fact check them as best we can?" Sure it wasn't a detailed plan, but it was maybe something the party could spit ball with a little bit. Victoria had offered to do a share of the watch though, which seemed helpful until it seemed she meant her pet, the emergency snack. Though useful to have another set of eyes, Kathryn was hoping one who could talk, or reply to comments or questions. "Um... yeah... have a good rest..." Kathryn spoke as if trying to process everything still. Kosara taking first watch and Marita taking last watch meant Kathryn would still get a decent enough night of sleep taking second watch.

With a minor illusion cast from Victoria Kathryn was able to change into something to sleep in, though the illusion wasn't able to cover as much as she would have liked it did more then she likely could have done with hay bales. The casuals that sit under her armor, and wrapped up in her bedroll as if she was a walking burrito with nothing but her arm hanging out to carry her armor, all stacked together like a nice puzzle. From there, she went off to find a comfortable spot to sleep while Kosara kept watch. With that in mind, Kathryn once she found a spot to lay down did so with her armor to her back, and her shield over her body.

Once she was still the alcohol had caught up the now unarmored half giant, and she was out like a lantern that had run out of fuel. She was certain she dreamed, but not for long enough to remember anything. She was woken up by Kosara for her own watch in what seemed like moments, but she was rested. Once Kosara went off to her own bedroll Kathryn stood still wrapped in her own bedroll putting her helmet on, and leaving her shield wrapped against her back. Though she was sheltered, she felt unsafe outside of her armor, but she knew with some poor luck if she tried to get into it now she'd either wake up the rest of the party or be too tired to take it off once her watch was over. Kathryn sat by the brazier watching it as the flames reflected off her helmet. Though the night was quiet, this place was no fortress. Though she was among allies, she hardly knew these people. Though she trusted them to have her back in a fight, she had little understanding of their long term motives.

She shook her thoughts away from the direction they tried to steer her. She had no reason to suspect anyone here would ever turn on her. She had plenty of reason to suspect those who wronged her would. Tossing more fuel onto the fire the hayloft lit up briefly, illuminating a set of eyes and something metallic at hand. Kathryn fell back in surprise reaching for her hand axe, no longer present on her side. She calmed quickly once getting a focused look on Morty, and the bell sitting in his mouth. "...mother fucker..." Kathryn spoke under her breath. In her moment of tired laps of judgment, she had forgotten about her own watch partner. She stood up looking at the pig, dead still. Realizing she may not have been as aware of her surroundings as she needed to be, she took a moment to walk quietly around the lower floor of the hayloft. Shy of herself, nothing seemed to move. She got one more look at the undead pig. Though on her side, in her tired state the first thought that came to mind was a fun fact Ser Lucas told her growing up, how pigs will eat literally anything. She wondered briefly if the undead pig thought of the party the way she thinks of bacon like in some fucked up circle of life. It did remind her though that next time she takes watch, she should be armed. Had those eyes not belonged to Morty she would have nothing but her shield at hand to protect herself.

It wasn't long until Marita signaled that it was time for Kathryn to get some more rest. Kathryn took off her helmet and gave the holy woman a nod of acknowledgement, and a bit of thanks. She spooked herself early in her watch and it effected her mood the rest of her time awake. Though it took longer to get back to sleep, she was glad to be resting again. Nothing to help fix an uneasy mood like a nice comfortable sleep with a nice solid wooden an steel shield to act as a second blanket.