“Mmm… yes. Survival works too.” Kosara nodded to Marita very logical suggestion that meshed really well with the hunker down and survive the night point she too had made just earlier. Only question was as of where they should stay and defend tonight. Marita had also made a point of protecting their new friends and Kosara very much agreed with that, though she had no idea where the L’Rose’s were right now and had the feeling none of them really knew that bit of information either. Unless somebody did and they were keeping quiet that is.

“I’m not sure if there’s a place we know that we can really use to make our defense that’s going to be of better use than this building… or the hayloft.” Kosara quipped from the side.” At least we’ve not been anywhere, well maybe Mr Silversmith, but I don’t think he will want to house us… maybe we should try a temple? Are there any temples? Temples will probably want to help against an infestation of ratmen, right? Cause temples are from stone… probably and the hayloft and the public house have a lot of flammable wood. If it resumes raining, it might be safer.” She asked, blinking at her friends. ” As for the L’Rose’s, does anybody know where we can find them?”

She just peered at Berry in confusion when he didn’t like the idea of burning out the nest. Well yes, getting other buildings on fire might be a problem, but as far as she could remember the Municipal building was well enough separated with a wall and everything… unless she was mistaken, which was also possible. In any case, burning that out, especially if it was the base of the ratmen, would mean they both take away a base of em and make them panicked. Both good things. He did bring the point about a way in.” The main entrance’s mostly open… I mean there were gates, but we did drop barrels by the gates, so they must be able to be opened to get stuff inside, if we want to go in, we just do it the same way. A door cannot handle too much Celestial Blasts before shattering, probably.”

“They probably have easy time navigating buildings… Earlier they were ambushing us from inside those houses too.” Kosara pointed out.” We cannot fight on the streets because it’s likely to end the same way. I’m not even sure how they ended inside, we never tried to get into those buildings ourselves afterwards.” The tiefling grumbled, starting to recall the rat they left behind. Was he alive? He was alive… why didn’t they kill him again? Ohh yes, Kathryn. She owed her some talking sternly to her about it later!” Well… I blast them with a lot of magic next time and hopefully this time they don’t dance as much. I’m up to do anything the rest of you all decide in the end. I don’t need much resting to recover! Not sure if splitting up is a good idea though, what if constable rat arrives again and catches us split up?” She pipped up in the end.

In the end she took on a thoughtful look. She then bolted to the nearest fireplace and sat by it on her knees focusing real hard.’ Grandpa, grandpa! There are evil ratmen here and they are hurting people and tore up my coat that was a gift! We think it might be best to send word to another town where there’s a sheriff! What do I do, can you help? Or advise? Please?’ She began thinking ‘REALLY LOUDLY’…. Probably. Her Grandpa was her pact patron. Even if she never referred to him as anything aside Grandpa and his name. Sometimes she felt he always watched over her, other times he would keep silent. This was the first time she really needed his wisdom and advising so far away from home. Could he even hear her all the way here? Was her ‘thinking loudly’ even really something that reached him? All the other times she often needed him, she’d just run to his cave, but now his cave was months of traveling away.

Twice now, the incident right in front of the Public House's doorway was brought back up. Victoria gave half a moment's worth of time to mentally address the event in question, her feelings on it, and a quick ponder as to what she might have done differently. It wasn't the first time that a group of drunken locals prevented her from going somewhere and insisted upon getting certain physical attentions before maybe letting her by. Maybe she should have called for help from her associates inside, if they might have heard her. Perhaps she should have run away. Victoria was fairly spry. But no, she opted to dip into her lesser magics and play up a connection to necrotic powers to frighten the reprobates into leaving her alone. Did she go too far? To Victoria's mind, debatable. Considering the lower profile for which they might have opted, this turned into a solid maybe. But she refused to give any reaction, positive or negative, to either of the two who had brought this up except to give a tiny, sarcastic upturn to the corner of her mouth, followed by a sip of her tea. Arguing seemed counterproductive. Curiously, she tried to put herself in the shoes of either of these other two women, wondering how they might have handled it. Probably with something that played to their strengths.

Now, the idea of planning did seem like a decent way to use their time of rest, so long as it didn't get too animated or involved. A bit of downtime would do her less good than it would some of the others, owing to the particulars of her spellcasting, but one was foolish to not take advantage of a quiet moment when the opportunity presented itself. The particulars of the plan, embryo stage though it was, did not ultimately set to her tastes. Not a great strategist by any stretch of her fertile imagination, she did nevertheless have a thing or two to input. "Remind me again," she said after a time, "who first brought up setting the Municipal Building aflame? I mean, we could, but what else is in there?" Be it profit or innocents on her mind, she didn't reveal. "And what if it spreads? Last resort, then?" Victoria did not wish to openly discredit the idea and trample on anyone's participation, yet at the same time thought the idea needed to be shelved, and fast.

"Nor am I against setting a trap; less chance of getting hurt than a frontal assault." Victoria then sighed. As a Bard, it was her duty to bolster and raise morale, but her mind kept finding the possible negative consequences of the potential plan. "I should imagine that our enemy possesses advantage with both numbers and home territory. Laying a trap (though I must admit that the bait is sterling) runs a risk of being reversed, it seems to me. But I like this better than arson. For now."

Victoria leaned back in her chair and picked up a more or less respectable piece of fruit. "And here's the harder part - for me anyway: This Township is a gem among the rural places of the world, truly it is. And Cavendish must answer for his misdeeds. So if we are going to do something about it, whatever course of action we choose, we must be committed. As far as our contract with the Sheriff is concerned, we have already fulfilled its terms. There is no dishonor in returning with this knowledge, collecting our pay, and moving on." The Bard glanced around the room, really observing everyone within her field of vision before continuing, "I have reasons for wanting to stay. Personal reasons that revealed themselves to me just last night. But I cannot do much on my own, and I fear that something bigger than Wererats growing their numbers is happening." She shrugged, shaking her head to display a functional lack of knowledge and some exasperation at this realization.

The thought crossed her mind, fleeting though it was, that if she were more powerful in her craft she could use the cemetery outside of town to quell the problem readily enough.

As an afterthought, Victoria did address a question left by Kosara: "Oh, the L'Roses are in a Bed & Breakfast a few doors down from the Silversmith, near the bridge over the river." She settled into a sort of knowing smile at the statement. "Lovely people, the L'Roses." One hand strayed to a pouch on her belt, lightly rattling the contents within. "I suggest that we escort them away from this place when it is safer to travel."

Marita stepped away and sat herself at the table with the others. If nothing else, the hug seemed to work well enough. It also made finding the right words a lot easier, counterintuitively enough. Briefly she considered potentially adding it to her social toolbox for use in the future, but quickly discarded the idea. Doing it the one time in this dire a situation required her to muster up a lot of energy and swallow her pride enough to lower her guard, it would be almost unthinkable to do such a thing in a more casual situation. The fact that she even considered it in the first was somewhat suspect. Perhaps like a mindflayer's psychic attacks, Kosara emitted an aura that altered the subconscious of those around her. Terrifying. Still, it felt... nice. Unfortunately, that was all the time she could spare on sentimentality; it was time to get back to business.

"Hmm? You mean when I made him drop his hammer? It's more or less the same as any of the other miracles I perform. I thought I explained this before, but maybe it wasn't detailed enough. My training and faith allow me to channel divine authority through my voice. Usually I use keyed phrases, gestures, material components or some combination thereof to guide it into the form similar to what others call spells, but I can also do it 'raw' so to speak. Essentially I can speak with the power of Order itself behind my words, which makes it much harder to disobey. Simply put, all I did was tell him to stop and he had to listen." Even if she had explained before, Blackberry wasn't there at the time, so it wouldn't hurt for him to know what he was dealing with. She just hoped that her explanation would be adequate. The mechanics of the arcane and divine were often lost on those not already in the know and it could be an ordeal and a half to get them to understand.

"As for planning our course of actions. After our break, I'd like to get my mace back from Mallard. His store is an already defensible place, but I doubt he'd be willing to have us plus guests holed up for the night. I think we could probably leave him where he is and he'll be fine. I would like at least one other person with me for this so that there's nobody traveling alone." She thought for a bit before leaning forward, resting her elbows on the table.

"I think it would be best to spend the night at camp. I don't think it's a known location, so if we're lucky, we might be able to spend the entire night undetected. We're short on manpower so I don't think we'd be capable of reasonably taking any meaningful action tonight without putting ourselves at risk. Trying to accomplish two tasks simultaneously often leads to failing at both when you could have succeeded at one. To that end, I'd like to perhaps get ahead of myself and propose what we should be focusing on tomorrow." The cleric held up three fingers.

"Assuming none of these questions are answered for us ahead of time: first, who's really been pulling the strings of this whole fiasco. Second, what is it that they want out of this. And lastly, what are the resources at their disposal. Right now we're working with too many unknown variables to come up with a reasonable strategy for offense. If we can discover the answer for even two-thirds of these questions, we'll be in much better shape to do something about this situation."

A short while had passed with the group doing nothing more strenuous than discussion, grabbing a bite to eat, and resting. The couple of beds pulled into the taproom served well for the purpose of the latter, while the more commercial of furniture (chairs and benches) around the tables were good enough for a weary investigator to take a load off. It did not have the full amenities of the group's home away from home, but it did suffice for the hour.

Speaking of which, within this hour of time the weather outside had taken a turn for the cooler. One risking a look outside would note a lack of wind blowing things about. The rain, a mostly constant feature of the day, had retreated to parts unknown and colder air came directly on its heels. The overall result was a late afternoon/early evening which promised cold and fog, not unlike the previous evening. Mists arose from the leftover dampness of the rainstorm and the very nearby river. It wasn't quite at "pea soup" levels of thickness, though it was a safe bet that this very fate was a likely one to behold in this autumn evening in Avonshire.

Inside of Neil & Bob's Public House, Lea busied herself with small bits of maintenance; cleaning and stocking small things like nonperishable condiments, marrying compatible wine bottles, and tending the fire. She did so mechanically, a series of tasks which came to her naturally. Her profession, one might say; and they would be accurate. But to this last task, tending the fire - Lea had taken up the last two pieces of decent wood left and tossed them on. It was easier to keep a place at temperature than to raise if from a dead cold. She sat heavily in front of the fire for a moment or two, blew out a heavy sigh, and rose to her feet. "Better get it done before nightfall," was all she had said for the last long piece of time, staring at the iron grate near the fire which served as a wood box. She moved silently into the kitchen, pausing just long enough to remove the note left by the Halfling cook, Daisy, from her apron and place it on the bar. Her cup of high-end libation sat next to it, about halfway drained.

Regrettably, mental supplication to one's grandfatherly contract holder did not seem to bear fruit upon this occasion. If listening, said hypothetical power did not provide a clear and interpretable message in return. Not that this was an unexpected result of the attempt and it never hurts to try.

The hour of rest had come to a mutually agreeable end for the members of the party. There stood precious little time before sundown proper, and what rest could be had in this time was achieved. An aura of tension hung over the whole of the Township; a deep and collective breath taken in and held in anticipation of something potentially catastrophic coming to pass.

BlackBerry frowned, and grumbled. “Good point. Good point.” He could almost see the Cheese on the table laying waste to the Apple, making their valiant last stand against the onslaught. He opened his mouth to continue but noticed that Kosara had bolted from her seat to the fire. It took him a moment to find his thoughts again. “Presumably not all the buildings in this town have rooftop windows from which to shoot from.”

BlackBerry scowled at the notion of just leaving Avonshire, leaving the innocent people of this place to fend for themselves while thugs and ruffians turned their home into a nightmare. His opinion of Victoria soured slightly, but he caged a comment behind clenched teeth. He had to remind himself that this party was working for Sheriff Gregory Arbalest with a specific goal in mind and with that goal met, according to Victoria, there really wasn’t much reason for them to stick around and risk their lives. It left a sour taste in his mouth and he began to wonder what his own next move would be should they choose to leave; stay and fight? Or follow after his current trail for help?

He shot a glance backwards Lea hoping she either hadn’t heard or hadn’t been listening to that part of the conversion.

At the very least some semblance of a plan was coming together to tackle the Constable and his cohorts head on, if not tonight then sometime tomorrow once the group had had some time to finish tying up any loose ends. Absently he chewed a knuckle in thought and with worry about how much time it would take, and all the while their enemy was no doubt doing the same, building themselves back up and devising their own schemes.

“Well.” A momentary breath to calm himself, setting his emotions aside for the moment. “I suppose that would just leave attacking the municipal building directly. Regardless I do think we need to get a move on and at least try to lend a hand were we can.” Casting his mind back into his memories of books, bookshelves and many meandering lessons he recalled some snippet of information, and couldn’t hold back a worried grimace. “If these rodent-thropes are anything like lycanthropes then these next few nights will be…difficult. Stories and tales suggest having consecutive full moons tend to make such beings more active.”

Listening to Maritas explanation of her own powers was a fairly informative, and confirmation of her being a woman of faith answered his question about the amulet she wore proudly on her chest; a symbol of the god she followed. But it was an entirely different symbol than the symbol of Tyr he had expected, the Balanced scales resting on a warhammer were missing. He made a note to ask later.

“Agreed, staying at the camp would be safest. Moving on though, I do worry how much time we actually have to find the answers to those questions like ‘who's really been pulling the strings’” He repeated with his attention focused on Marita, but did flutter towards Kosara still kneeling in front of the fire for his next words. “It could perhaps somebody who taught him magic? But anyway, let us not forget the enemy will be doing the same thing were are; licking their wounds and gathering their forces so time could well be of the essence. If the Sheriff could lend a hand that could give us the edge we need to fight.”
He nodded towards Lady Kathryn having heard her suggestion to send someone with word outside of the Town for help. Even if any attack they attempted were to fail then at least the troubles in Avonshire could be revealed to someone else with more power than themselves to do some.

Kathryn listened to Marita with the curiosity of a small child as she explained in detail how her magic worked and what she did to Cavendish. She almost looked like a giddy child if it wasn't for the fact she was an adult woman, tall enough to make easy eye contact with standing people while sitting. But magic fascinated her to such an extreme degree. It's something she had never practiced before, and likely never would outside of some magical items and artifacts. But it was still some of the coolest things to learn and hear about! Maybe when she gets old she could retire and become a wizard? Many of them gain magical abilities through nothing but their raw ability to learn and think alone! And when Kathryn got too old to fight with blade and board, maybe she could protect a homestead with radiance and flame! Though this wasn't helped by the fact that magic was even more uncommon back in Arcanaple. Sure, those with money could get magic items and weapons from time to time. And some people had abilities here and there. But there weren't a ton to speak up. Mostly old clan magic and some light ritual casting. "That is so cool! I'm excited to see what other amazing tricks you have up your sleeves!" Kathryn exclaimed.

It seemed going on the attack and torching the place wasn't on the table. Kathryn couldn't say she was surprised, but she was a little disappointed. She worried the longer this went on the worse it would get. But if they were too rash, and got themselves killed before things could be fixed, then a raging fire in the middle of town would help no one. Though Kathryn did like the way Blackberry claimed "TO GLORY!" It made Kathryn want to cheer it, though she figured this wasn't the time to cheer out. "What if we didn't confront them when we lured them away? But instead diverted them to somewhere away from the municipal building? That could buy us time to get in, look around, and maybe even gather some useful information. I'd feel a lot more confident taking on the leftovers than whoever Cavendish takes with him to confront us." Though if the home base was important enough she figured he may leave some of his more elite fighters there. But either way, they would be fewer in numbers if they wanted to get in. Blackberry did put together a decent plan if they were able to corner those who gave chase. Kathryn still held her own worries. "Though I think we could give them a run for their money, there are too few of us who can take them on. Unless we wanted to throw them into a pit somewhere it would take some time for them to get out, we'd need to be sure we could win the fight. And if he gives chase with 20 well armed lads, we're in a bit of a pickle." If he only had the guards who were with him before, they stood a decent chance. They were down manpower, and Cavendish no longer held his hammer.

It did seem that everyone agreed hunkering down for the night was the best course of action. "The L'Rose's are still at the bed and breakfast last I checked. I think wherever we hold out we should take them with us. At least for tonight. Though you bring up a good point about burning the places down... I think our best chance to last the night would be to not get caught at all though. A temple could work, but not all are made of stone. And there aren't a ton of temples here that we're familiar with. We'll need somewhere familiar, somewhere secure, and somewhere we can still tend to our needs through the night." Victoria brought up a string of good points, but she was definitely one of the bigger advocates against the arsoning of the town. And the bait and trap issues could easily go wrong. "We could just go back and get our pay, but we also seem to be the only ones in town who have any real chance of fixing things. That makes it our responsibility to do what we can. I'm with you Victoria, we're staying." Her talk about bigger problems concerned her. The were rats were already pretty bad. With most of Kathryn's encounters in her life being sell swords and goblins, it seemed every hour something new and far out of her experience came into play to remind Kathryn that she was still very new to this lifestyle. "I do worry about splitting up. With the L'Rose's being so close to Mallards, I think we should be deciding which place we're stopping at first rather than splitting up. Cavendish still has at least three well armed goons. We can go toe to toe with him with those odds as a full party, but at half strength it'll be a slug fest at best. And at worst, we'd lose people. And that is assuming he only has three goons under his command."

"We know our camp pretty well, and it's pretty defensible should worst comes to worse. As well, it won't draw a lot of attention to itself should things get rough tonight." Marita brought up planning for tomorrow, and Kathryn was all for that. The moment the sun broke Kathryn wanted to be out the door and working on damage control, and bringing this whole thing down. "On top of your points, I think we need to send that message the moment daybreak comes. We can decide who either tonight once we bunker down, or dawn once we have a little more information on just how bad things are. But I think the garrison at the fort should know what's going on. And if someone can make it there early enough, they may be able to have help arrive before nightfall again." Kathryn finished up the last of her food and began loading up her weapons and gear again. Making her way to the door she peaked outside to see the fog, and to feel the colder temperatures. She didn't like this, not one bit. Closing the door again she stepped back towards everyone. "If we're going to leave, we should do so soon. The fog outside may not clear before night, and it'll be impossible to tell how fast things will happen once night does hit us."

Kosara was thinking hard and possibly trying to reach mental connection that may or may not be there, but eventually as it was really just her overworking her little brain, gazing into the fire and thinking happy thoughts, that fire danced in a really pretty way. So pretty way that in fact Kosara halfway gave in to the great snooze and somewhat drifted into sleepy thoughts still sitting by the warm and cozy fire. She did not fall asleep completely, but it was all a rather haze of sounds and words that made their way through the nice dreamy haze, making her let out soft snoozing sounds. She liked napping as much as she liked dancing and being active. Kosara liked a lot of things… happy thoughts and dreams of endless golden dunes, women in veil clothes dancing across sandstone floors, music and the noise of life at a tavern, the gentle silver light of the moon… golden scales that gleamed in the sun and moon lights…

Days and nights spend around a fire much like this one, talking with her grandfather as he taught her magic and what’s right and wrong. The origins of stars and world… and what powers might one day be at her disposal. Suddenly a cold current briefly made its way inside the building, causing the currently almost topless Kosara’s skin to shiver in a way akin to the ways it did when one went too unclothed into the late night desert when the temperatures dropped and her sleepy eyes suddenly snapped open as she bolted upright like a snake had snuck into her lap. All memories, dreams and hazy mind once more forming into coherent whole.” HE’S LIKE ME!” She exclaimed in realization, blinking and looking around.” Cloverwish… Cavendish, he’s probably like me! A warlock as grandpa called me!”

Suddenly realizing that Kathryn was standing, others looked serious and she was just confused for a moment.” Hmmm… what did I miss? Is it time to go?” She asked, merrily and hopped into her seat once more, buttoning up her shirt and putting on her nice gifted coat once more.” I tried to see if I can reach Grandpa and ask him for advice or to see if he can help with reaching a message to the Sheriff, but I couldn’t… anyhow I remembered! If Constable badguy wasn’t an overly magical originally and now wields magic, he’s probably a warlock! Like me…. Well not exactly like me, he’s probably a bad warlock! He vanished earlier, right? There are spells that can do that, Grandpa had suggested them to me, but I wanted to learn to heal instead.”

"I didn't take that into account," Marita replied to Kathryn, scratching her chin. "I'd assumed that at least for the time being that Cavendish would be busy preparing for whatever it is they're doing tonight, but it's entirely possible that he could still be gunning for us. It would probably be better to stick together and try to get all our business done quickly, even if splitting up would be more time efficient. The Bed and Breakfast is relatively close by, yes? Whichever's closer we should go to first, then the other." Marita got out of the chair and had a quick stretch.

"Either way, there isn't much time before sun down. If everyone is ready to depart, we should do so posthaste." It would be easy to lose track of time discussing and planning, but the truth of the matter was they didn't have the luxury of trivialities anymore. As such she didn't pay heed to things like Kosara's late realization that Cavendish was a warlock or alternate plans for assaulting the municipal building. They needed to get a move on. Although, there was one thing that needed to be checked before they left, but it wasn't with the party.

"Lea," the cleric called out. "We're about to leave, although we'll likely be back in the area before heading to camp. Would you like to come with us? I can't imagine sitting alone in this pub would do anything but compound on your nerves." Honestly, at this point she wasn't entirely sure what the barmaid's answer would be, but she hoped Lea would accept. Right now it felt like the only way to be sure of someone's safety is if you had them in your sight.

It was just the five of them now, sitting alone in what looked to be an abandoned Inn, except for the telltale candlelight. And Morty, though in any traditional sense one really couldn't count her preserved, porcine companion. Pure semantics, Victoria told herself, giving an ounce of concentration to the words of her fellows as they decided what to do. Time was running very short, and unless a practical idea was about to enter collective implementation, the Bard wasn't sure what course she was going to take. But is was going to be something, and soon.

The words of their more recent Dragonborn associate piqued her interest first. She wasn't fully aware of what he meant by consecutive full moons but figured it was a colloquial way of addressing the evenings of that moon phase. It made sense under that context. And he was right; those evenings did seem to agitate the lycanthropes, at least from the stories she had been exposed to. Her concentration began to drift as he queried where the Constable might have learned magic. So far as she was concerned, they could dig up Cavendish's corpse and ask him then, provided she had acquired the magic to do so. It was only a matter of time.

Kathryn's words which stunningly agreed almost in lockstep with her own did much to draw her attention, however. And she spoke with words that hinted at a plan. Not quite with as much flash and fanfare as she might have gone for herself, but a plan nonetheless that sounded like it had actual merit. Victoria had her worries. Holing up for the night meant that the first evening of the full moon would involuntarily transform everyone who had been affected and send them on a potential rampage, either under the sway of others or running about in utter chaos remaining to be seen, and they would be leaving the Township to whatever fate was to befall it without their assistance. It was folly to charge out with nothing else going for them, in the defense of this plan, but it did seem like a idea designed to save themselves in the meantime. Conceptually, Victoria had no problems whatsoever with this last part.

As they all shared their hopes and opinions, Victoria rose from her seat and finished the last, room-temperature drops of her tea. She crossed over to her charcoal grey, purple-lined cloak and arranged it around for bit, testing its level of dryness from its time in front of the fire. Satisfied, she slung it over the back of the chair that she had been sitting in and, after a brief moment to admire the new alterations to her weapon, buckled on her swordbelt. Her stylish but utilitarian dagger found its sheath next to her sword, and with a distinct flourish, Victoria's very jaunty, plumed, epically brimmed hat (which screamed BARD with many voices in unison) was lain atop her head in such a way that allowed her perfect, red-auburn hair to compliment it. These were the actions of a showperson readying with determination. And panache.

Another odd quality to her demeanor as she buckled and donned was a curious humming coming from her lips. The situation had reminded her of a tune she learned ages ago. After a few seconds, deathly quiet words spilled from her with effortless, graceful melody:

"...out of fear, we kept running;
Tried to hide away.
Can you hear? War is coming;
Beckoning our fate..."

She trailed off into a dulcet series of non-syllabic notes again, humming and trailing off. Motivation of self, likely, or some other reason as yet undisclosed to anyone else.

This was soon interrupted by the explosion from Kosara as she leapt from her seat in revelry of the realization of the probable nature of Cavendish's abilities to harness magic. Victoria's eyes swept across the room and over to the sparsely clad Tiefling and, upon taking the sight in, averted her eyes with the tiniest amount of blush to her cheeks. Ever the consummate performer, she could readily suppress this and did so. A spot of luck put it that the pretty barmaid was nowhere around as she had invoked a similar response earlier, and silently she chided herself for becoming unfocused at a crucial time. There had to have been something wrong with her. "Absolutely correct, yes." At least she figured.

But speaking of the young barmaid, Lea had left the room and had not returned yet. Victoria focused on this and scanned around, hopefully distracting her long enough to continue her train of thought and subsequently following actions. Centering herself, in a way. It was helpful enough. The Bard slung her violin case over her shoulder and moved it to her side opposite of her sword and deftly slipped her cloak over her stylish, reinforced leather armor and slim, purple jacket.

"Not long now," she said in a clear, even voice while walking towards the door to the town outside. She lay a hand on the pommel of her sword, continuing, "...until we see what shall happen." Her hand lay her hand on the portal and unlatched it, peering outside through a crack. "The Bed & Breakfast is nearer to the river. Let us get your mace back, Marita." She pushed the door fully open and strode out into the deepening fog.

The stone-still, burlap-wrapped form of Morty shuffled once, as if to reassert its animation. The clicking noises of hooves upon wood sounded as the beast trotted to catch up to its mistress.

More warlocks. A field Kathryn struggled in as well. Honestly most fields that didn't involve heavy lifting or removing a foe off this plane of existence was outside of her realm of understanding. Though she was learning, she was the weakest link when it came to understanding anything with significant magical properties. And the bulk of what she did know she gathered from stories, fairy tales, fables, and travelers stories. Ser Lucas wasn't well versed either, so she didn't learn a ton from him either. But at the very least in this case, Cavendish seemed susceptible to blunt force trauma from his own hammer. That was a start, and it meant at least once the fighting began she could hold her own there. And maybe this time not spend half the battle crawling away and trying to not get stabbed. Kathryn pondered what Marita said about Cavendish though. "he may very well be licking his wounds and preparing for tonight. Much like we are. And since we have to pass by both, it may be better to pick up our gear first, and move in to help the L'Rose's afterwards." And whoever else they could. She didn't like the idea of hunkering down for the night if things were going to kick off, but they were dealing with a threat they could not face head on. If every person who had gone missing was turning into one of these creatures, then that could be dozens, or gods forbid worst case and hundreds... They had no way of knowing. They would also have to deal with Cavendish and his goons. Kathryn told herself if they had a reasonable chance to act tonight she would take it. Something she could do to help out if the chance came. But she had to remind herself that as of this moment, they were the only ones prepared to bring this whole thing down come daylight. Though there was honor in sacrificing one's self for the greater good, doing so at the expense of saving so many more would be foolish.

The plan at this point seemed pretty strait forward. Get stuff, save people, cower and hide for the night. She didn't love the plan, and she wished she had gotten done more with the time they had prior to now. Maybe if they had confronted Cavendish sooner, or maybe if they had figured more out ahead of time? She wasn't so sure... But she wished she had done more before they had to lock up for the coming storm. Kathryn listened with much interest to the poem Victoria uttered. It was short, or incomplete, Kathryn couldn't be sure in this moment. Kathryn listened closely but broke her attention away as Victoria quieted. In the break, she heard Marita offering Lea to come with them. Much like the offer she gave to Mallard, and the one they were going to give to the L'Rose's. None of them knew how rough tonight would be, and they knew they couldn't protect everyone. What they did know was that they needed to keep whoever they could safe, starting with their friends and allies, and working outward from there. But they were too few to do that in mass. Bringing those they met to somewhere they could protect in the night seemed like the best course of action.

Kathryn took a final look to her party before they would depart. She had some concerns for the night, but if anyone could save this town it would be them. Between all of their mixed skills they could be prepared for any situation. Looking around though, she caught very briefly Victoria's face going red, and covering up her face rather rapidly. Looking over at what she saw, was a nearly topless Kosara enjoying the warmer temperatures of the public house. Kathryn let out a small grin, not saying anything. She thought it was adorable in a way, a young crush. She remember some of her own younger crushes when she was a wee lass. Then she paused, and realized Victoria is likely older than her. Not only that, likely a lot older. She was a elf right? Then she realized she may also be one of the youngest members of the party. She had fallen for the same trick many others have gotten to with her, and that her sheer size made her seem much older than she was in many cases. And she still mistakenly takes those smaller than her as younger. She supposed as long as she didn't do anything silly like treat her fellow party members as small children that this was an easy thing to correct. That didn't change the fact that Kathryn found the way Victoria shied away rather adorable. A little positivity to help brighten up the chaos of things to come.

Kathryn finished wrapping up her gear. Loading up weapons, armor, and her pack and cape. Not completely removing her armor shortened the process, but it did feel nice to not have to carry so much steel across her body for a short time. Though she felt safe and comfortable in her armor, enough poor quality steel began to weigh on a person after a while. The worse it was, the more you needed to be effective. Though at this stage she would continue the quest, reward or not, she was thankful that there was a new set of armor at the end of things. That was a huge part why much of Kathryn's gear had been rusted out though. Many times she found herself trying to help people who wouldn't be able to afford to pay for professional services. Especially of her nature. Most of what she had she had purchased during the few jobs that paid well, or gear she had reluctantly pulled off the corpses of others at Ser Lucas's insistence. It would be nice to have something that was not only her own, but new. Or even not worn and nearly ruined.

Making her way to the door with the others, so far pretty simple. The Silver Smith's, then the L'Rose's. And whoever else they could save along the way. It would be a long night for sure though. Kathryn made her way to the front door, following Victoria into the foggy street. "So, we're in agreement? Mallard's, then our friends? Then shelter?" She asked Victoria and anyone else who had made it outside so far. Kathryn stood at attention as best as she could. Her helmet resting latched on her head, she shield strapped to her right arm firmly and ready to take a beating, and her new hammer resting on her belt ready to be drawn if action were to start. Or a free hand should she need one.

Having said his piece BlackBerry let the party discuss the finer points of the plan, as he slunk into the background as quietly as he could. While normally he would have been more inclined to do some meditation somewhere a bit more private, he had thrown a glance towards the door to the backroom that been pointed out to them all earlier in the evening, but he wanted to stay near to the fire as much as he could where it was warm and dry. Standing around and talking had given him some time to relax after the fight, and the warmth, food, and conversion about sandwiches had done it’s work to rejuvenate him giving weight to the phrase ‘Food for the Soul’.

He settled towards the southern corner of the building out of the way, and where he had enough room to at least do a few movements. He could feel the conversation around him drawing to a close as the others finished up their own meals so decided against doing a full routine, he didn’t feel like he need to to at this point anyway, and instead chose a few quick ones he run though without much effort.

Closing his eyes he settled into a simple standing pose as he began his movements. Others at home found their centre through prayer, humming tunes, or otherwise sitting still for a period of time, BlackBerry found his ‘centre’ through slow and controlled movements following forms and positions he had seen in old texts or taught by passing travellers. He begun by tilting forward from the hips, reaching down to his toes and feel a good, warm ache start in his lower back and ham strings. He liked Lady Kathryn's idea of instead luring out the ruffians on a wild goose chase. And her kindness extending to offering the L’Roses a place to stay impressed him further, it seemed whoever these folk were had left a lasting impact on the other members of the party.

He continued through the movements; back up to standing, down into a plank, a low lunge, and then up into a warriors pose pushing his arm high up to the ceiling and titling back a little bit to get a good stretch across his stomach. After a few breathes he switched to lunge through his opposite leg. He could feel it now, the energy that moved across the world as part of it’s endless journey, constantly ebbing and flowing as steady as the tide. His eyes stayed closed so he could focus on letting in that energy, pulling it into his core to replenish his reserves. Another movement brought him back up to standing and then to a simple Tree pose balanced on his right leg. Still listening in on the others, he begrudgingly nodded in agreement to the idea of laying low for the evening and holing up at their ‘camp’.

BlackBerry’s concentration was shattered then, smashed to smithereens by Kosara shouting, and he toppled out of the pose and to the floor.

“And we are all happier for it.” BlackBerry grumbled to her comment on learning to heal and pulling himself back up by the tables edge. “Bluntly put, Kosara, I shudder to think of the damage you could cause if you leaned into more…violent schools of magic.” The very thought cast an image of burning ruins into his mind, and Kosara dancing gleefully at the centre as she spun a wicked web of destruction around her, blasting beams of solid light from between her horns. He banished the nightmare with a shake of his head.

“Right well, It does appear that we’re making out move at the very least. Should we take any food with us at all for later?” He eyed what remaining food was left on the table and wondered what of it could be taken with them.

BlackBerry dusted himself off and straightened out his robes, glad that relatively thin fabric now that it had mostly dried off again. While he tried to not practise vanity of any sort he did like to think the warm colours of the burning red and warm orange, crisscrossed by small patches of varying similar shades and tracks of stitching from years old repairs, complimented nicely with his blue scales. He gave a few of the fastenings and knots testing tugs to make sure they were all still secure. Then he secured the short sword he had back onto his hip, sitting it upon a chair to be at roughly the right height and then secured the buckle with practised grace with his one hand. Lastly, with his back strapped to his back he was ready.

“Pardon me, Miss Lea?” BlackBerry called towards the bar as he spent a moment stacking some of the cutlery, bowls, empty plates and cups into a neat pile. He wasn’t sure where the Bar maid had disappeared to. “We’re about to head off now. Will you be all right by yourself?”

What rest could be had in this relatively shorter time was had for those who took the time to do so. Admittedly, it helped some more than others, but any time to collect one's self and suck in slow-moving oxygen in peace was a good thing. Add some local fare to warm one's stomach and a fire to bring life back into weary limbs, a person might feel truly refreshed regardless of more tangible recoveries procured by others.

Outside, the moon stood in the misty blue sky, barely visible through the haze of fog and the time of day, as it was still day for a little bit yet. The nearby celestial body was wide and round, seemingly peering down upon its terrestrial cousin with quiet, noble contemplation, unaware of what havoc to which it might be unwillingly a party. A sort of disembodied anticipation had bceome commonplace in the Township of Avonshire, now set to tension rivaling the tautest of harp strings.

Inside of the Public House, all was quiet except for the motions and words of the eclectic, stalwart adventurers present. It was warm and illuminated by soft candles and hearthfire, with the smell of good food, tea, and wine still lingering, if only slightly. The unused tables were clear, as was the bar with the exception of the note from the Halfling cook. This silence of word and deed was pervasive, as Bob excused himself to his home for the evening, Daisy had yet to be accounted for, and Lea had stepped into the kitchen some time earlier. Even when her name was called upon, she did not answer, let alone make her way back into the taproom.

Twilight was fast approaching; following this was the inevitable night. With this came radiance and clarity of the full moon, with every implication that meant in this cursed place.

“Hmm? Alright.” Kosara stated and nodded energetically her white haired head as she was finishing putting on her outer clothing and then her bags on, resuming her earlier state of somewhat energetic traveler. Adventuring was dangerous business and she was glad she had people to adventure with. Now if said people wanted to adventure in this case was a question not asked for they weren’t given much of a choice. There was evil, there were ratmen and they were now involved in this madness even if they didn’t want to. Chances are escape wasn’t possible, fighting out in the darkness in the wild would probably be harder, but likely way much more heroic.

Without much fanfare, but not without eagerness and energy, she hopped after her bardly friend out of the barn right after Berry and Kathryn.” Makes sense… mr silversmith and our friends means that ratmen would likely come after us anyways. So… maybe our holing up would serve as a bait for them to focus on us rather than causing too much chaos?” Kosara suggested at the warrior’s words as they made their way outside of the nice and cozy warm inn. Back into the humid, dark and chilly outside. She shuddered visibly just walking out despite her warm coat. She had gotten rather comfortable by the fireplace after all.

“But… I can fire golden lights? And fire? Holy fire?” She had blinked at Berry.” I mean, grandpa asked if I wanted to also learn to fire lightning from my fingertips, but I declined at the time. I instead learned to summon an unseen servant to help me with the chores back home at the oasis and around grandpa’s cave, allowing me to spend more time on truly productive tasks!” She explained, her reason behind learned said spell over the alternative destructive one. Kosara was many things, but she didn’t really consciously mean anybody harm. Except evil of course. That and well… the logic behind her priorities was something that likely only she understood at times and at others, it was a logic so simple and to the point that it was notable in it’s own way.

“Hey night’s fast approaching, want me to create some light? I can make 3 sources of light, though one will drop if a fight happens for I must then cast other spells.” She asked as she was hopping behind her friends and fellow adventurers, jumping from one leg to the other in the movement forward, though she did try to avoid puddles.

Victoria didn't notice that she was alone outside at first. There was Morty, but with the exception of actions taken by predetermined command in response to specific situations, all he was going to do was follow along dutifully. Not exactly what one called company. So those determined steps walking from the Public House to Mr. Mallard's place slowed somewhat, a quick glance payed in the direction from where she had just traveled confirmed that indeed, she was the only one out there at first. It was a little eerie, being the only one in sight during what was supposed to be one of the big regional festivals, made moreso by the absence of the others in her party. Luckily she didn't have to pause her forward momentum for very long as the familiar forms of Kosara and Kathryn appeared in the doorway; the former before the latter.

The brief overview of the plan as of yet from Kathryn gave Victoria a momentary point of indecision. "That is the plan. I have my misgivings, but when it comes down to hard reality, we can only protect a small number of people. A few is better than none." A shrug and a smile both issued from the purpley Bard; a piece of forced nonchalance while walking headlong into a situation that practically begged for something unfortunate to happen. As it was, even if they were able to pack their established (hopefully) safe area full of townsfolk and even moreso, if they were able to keep them all free of harm, there would still be a disaster to deal with on the outside. Safety, neither theirs nor the people around them, was guaranteed. Nor likely. Bad things were going to begin very shortly.

Kosara's suggestion of providing some magical light now that night was coming sounded helpful. To Victoria, it sounded just as helpful to whomever might be after them as well as themselves. "It sounds like an excellent way to stand out. Though, Lady Kathryn might have a harder time of it when night does fall." Of course, Victoria mentioned Kathryn because she was right there with them, but it got her thinking about Marita. She was also a Human. And the Dragonborn - could they perceive things in fog and darkness? Was she being a little self-centered in automatically assuming that the offered light would be a hindrance more than benefit?

Victoria gathered her wits about her and mentally reined Morty back to a heel. She casually lay a hand atop the hilt of her sword and drew it from its sheath, giving a note of admiration to the work of the reclusive silversmith. They were out there for a reason, and it was best it have it done rather than stand about talking on the matter. "Whatever you wish to to. Let us just do it with haste." Now that there was more than just her out in the fog, Victoria felt a little bolstered - enough so that she returned to her original action of moving in as direct a path as possible to the silversmith's shop.

Lea's lack of response to her question was a bit concerning. No response even when Blackberry had chimed in as well. Maybe she hadn't heard? Unlikely considering how quiet it had been in the Public House otherwise. Part of her worried something had happened back in the kitchen, but if there had, there almost certainly would have been some noise that would have clued them in. She wanted to go check in on the barmaid, but the unfortunate fact of the matter was that they did not have any time to lose before nightfall. She would simply have to settle for checking in on their way back and hoping for the best.

Marita jogged outside to catch up with the others and noted the fog suffocating the town. It was probably merely the result of the weather, but she couldn't help but feel it was an omen of things to come during the night. The impediment to visibility was bad enough trying to get around town, but it would be even worse during nighttime trying to scout out potential dangers coming for them.

"I would quite appreciate having a light source, Kosara." While it was true that it might make them easier to spot for unsavory types, she would much rather take that chance than not knowing where she was going. Worst case scenario they ended up lost or split up due to the poor visibility. They didn't know the roads of the town well enough where she felt confident traversing it half-blind, so it was really helpful that Kosara offered that up. Unfortunately Marita didn't have her things so she couldn't provide the light source herself, and it would be rather embarrassing to admit that the sun god worshipper did not know a dedicated light spell, even though she had pretty firmly established that that aspect of Pholtus was not her specialty. Regardless, she would focus on following behind the least visually impaired of the group (Victoria) and hope that nothing had/would fall apart during the brief time spent traveling.

Without any apparent word from Lea Blackberry assumed she had either not heard him or otherwise busy at the moment in the kitchen. Part of him wanted to go in and check, he bounced back and forth on his feet as his thoughts wrangled with each other, just to make sure the woman was okay and that she knew they had head off but with everyone else leaving he felt it would be best to follow after.

Lea would realise they had left whenever she came back into the room. Probably. Hopefully.

The door ‘clunked’ close behind him, and the cold air hit him like a brick wall snatching the breath from his lungs. The horrid chill would have brought up a rash of goose-bumps if he were a creature of skin instead of scales. He sucked on his teeth and let out a chattering ”ooh” and his breath, turned to vapour, joined the darkening fog.

“Gods above!” He unravelled his scarf a turn attempting to cover his shoulders and arm. “I swear, the weather worsen by the hour.”

He trotted along with the party. His eyes turned this way and that over the eerily empty streets decked in garland and streamers hanging forlornly in the still air. The whole place seemed a world away from the town in the middle of it’s celebrations he had enjoyed the previous days, and more like one abandoned and left to rot. He narrowed his eyes at a nearby shadow his mind tried to turn into a monster.

“It may make us stand out but a touch of light would do wonders just now. If it is no trouble, of course. I must admit that I can’t dark.” Piping up, he did a quick spin mid step to again see no one else about. “It has become rather lonesome out here all of a sudden, hasn’t it?”

The discussion of the plan still rattled in his skull; while they had all settled on an idea of what to do for now there was still the question of what to do after. Or perhaps he had missed it? Regardless, BlackBerry had noticed the discussions earlier bouncing rapidly between the two main sticking points; to lure the ratmen out OR to go straight to them.

“Pardon me if it had been decided earlier, I may have missed it. But was there a plan for tomorrow?” BlackBerry lamented, rubbing his brow. “If we had yet to decided then perhaps a vote, later? Best not discuss details in the open but I simply wished to double check.”

Weather: The temperature had officially slipped from cool to cold as the sun set, the beams of light cast from the fiery if muted orb being the principle reprieve from the season's general lack of warmth. Without this small mercy, the unseasonable drop in temperature became quite noticeable. If it continues, then the evening will readily mirror the previous one.

Time: It is frighteningly close to dusk. Were it not for the last bit of the day's light illuminating the fog above the rooftops, one could easily assume that night was upon them.

Ambience: The rain had been gone for some time, yet dampness remained in the relative still of the coming evening. It could be seen in the puddles upon the streets and alleyways of the Township, the occasional drip-drip-drip from slick, wet rooftops, but most especially in the return of the oppressive fog which had made its way back to this locale. The retreating orange and purple hues of the evening gave a deceptively soft, peaceful trace of color to the mists rising above the buildings. While one still cannot see townsfolk milling about during what was supposed to be a big festival of Harvestide plenty, one might detect noises coming from a few of the buildings they were passing by. Generally, they did not sound celebratory.

One can still pick out motes of smoke and porkfat wafting from elsewhere within the walls of the settlement. The apparent determination of these people was as admirable as it was foolhardy.



The walk back in the direction of the silversmith's shop was not overly eventful, except for the notable rustle of movement coming from the less illuminated parts of their path. It was occasional at first, growing to frequent as one's steps took them further and further away from the perceived safety of camp and public house, both. The source of the sounds never come into anything which resembles a clear view or open space, making identification difficult at best. Very soon the subdued motes of movement become an almost constant companion to those outside, begging a question or two.

The fog does not allow for a lot of distance vision, which is perhaps as much a blessing as a curse. After some doing and only one or two missed turns, the exterior side of Mr. Mallard's shop came into view. The overall feel of the location has some differences from the last time it was viewed by the party, mostly due to the darker lighting and fact that there isn't a living soul around to be seen. The dull orange illumination from the small pot forge which could be seen around the cracks is still present and glowing within, even easier to see now that the ambient brightness of the land was fading. Tiny trails of smoke continue from the chimney, and if it weren't for the oppressive nature of the evening it might even seem homey, in its own way.

In the distance, beyond what can be readily viewed, the river runs smoothly, casting up the burble of water flowing. Even this does not fully quiet down the movement that maintains distance just beyond that of visual perception. It may be noted that around this building, it sounds quieter and farther off. The moon is clearly visible now, round and heavy, waiting for the last rays of its brighter sibling to depart. It did not have very long left.

With no response from Lea, the party moved on. They would return to check on her for sure before getting back to camp. But the night was coming up close, and they didn't have long to go before the dark would come to get them. Rapidly it was getting colder. Rapidly visibility was dropping. The light glow from the hammer helped, but not enough to do much. "The lights would be helpful Kosara... I'm afraid I can't see too well in this." Again, the dim glow from the hammer helped. But not a ton. Maybe a torch? Though that may be redundant when compared to Kosara's magic. Another impressive feat that Kathryn wish she understood more of. She told herself that when this was over she was going to learn whatever she could of magic. Though she had no natural magical abilities, and wasn't the smartest, she was sure there were magical options for people like her! Those who could mostly use brute force to solve all of their problems, and flounder every social encounter they came across. Maybe only some light magic... Fancy lights and cool tricks? She was hopeful. And Kosara's spell about an unseen servant also seemed nice. Had she gone the route of Knighthood despite her father's protests she'd have a squire by now who would be able to tend to many of her needs, and assist her in various tasks. Maybe even help her get in and out of her armor a little faster... Though she supposed there wasn't anyone she would really trust to that extent at the moment. But that is what the fancy magic spells would be for no?

"I would like to protect as many as we can tonight. But the fact of the matter is we are too few. We'll have to hope that those who haven't been turned can hold up for tonight, barricade their homes, and wait until morning for help. If we find others who we can help along the way I would love too, but I don't think there are enough people equipped to handle the situation. We need to make it through tonight." She hated the plan. But without an army equipped with weapons that could hurt the wererats then their options were to save who they could, hope everyone else could hold up, and deal with the threat when they were better prepared. When Blackberry commented about the night and how quite it was, she noticed it too. "Maybe everyone is already taking shelter? Maybe today's events spooked them enough to shelter and lock up their homes. Or get as far away as possible? But it is eerie." The rustling around them didn't help. She wondered if they were their foes. Those who they would have to face. She supposed the sun was pretty low at this point. The shadows at present were as close to night as one could get while the sun was still about. She worried about the time they had left, and picked up her pace. She wouldn't be quiet, but now it was more important to be fast than quiet. "We'll hammer out the plan later. When we are somewhere more secure. We can vote, or we can argue it. But not out here. Too many eyes..." She said looking back into the fog. She kept one hand on wrapped up in her shield, and the other resting on the hammer head ready to draw it in case action started. She could hear the rustlings though. Sometimes from the fog, sometimes people inside. She hoped whatever preparations they had for the night would last. The common folk and themselves.

Arriving at Mallard's Kathryn wanted to get inside, make sure Mallard was safe, grab their gear, and get to the L'Roses as quickly as possible. Seeing the full moon rise, Kathryn worried they would either have to hold up somewhere other than the public house, or they would have too fight their way back. But Kathryn refused to leave them behind. If they had to spend the night defending the bed and breakfast she would do that. Though the place wasn't built like a fort. Less so than the public house which as far as she could tell only had one or two ways in. Or the barn, which was isolated and had elevated positions. Kathryn unleashed a pounding that could only be done by someone who is a little jumpy and has the strength to make it sound like her knocks were attempts to beat the door down. "Mallard, we're back but we need to be fast. We're almost out of time." She toned down the knocking when she realized the force she was putting into it, and stepped back to take a look around. Staying on guard and preparing for anything to jump out of that fog and fight them.

“Alright! I’m going to make some light!” Kosara happily quipped at the human part of the party’s agreement with the benefits of artificial light to illuminate the darkness that was Avonshire after sunset. She saw rather well in the darkness herself, but Martina and Kathryn were humans so they wouldn’t. She wasn’t completely sure about V and Berry though. Still everybody would see better with lights and rats probably saw well in darkness. Light maybe bad for them? She could hope. So she focused on making the one object she was holding that would make for a fine light source… her scimitar! Sure it was a magical scimitar, but it made it only better! It would probably break the cantrip if she dismissed the pact weapon, but as long as she kept it present, the spell should hold. So with a bit of focus, some gestures, happy thoughts and other spell secrets that she was not probably allowed to mention, but she would if anybody asked, golden light began shining from the sword, bathing those present.” See, I can make light like this. Any one of you wants to also carry a light source? I can probably maintain one more easily enough and I can always transfer this one to one of you too if 2 of you want to have the light sources instead.” She explained happily, now that they had a source of proper light in this place that was rapidly getting darker and more depressing. There was evil lurking behind every corner!

“We can hope, Kathryn. Ratmen are probably scary thing.” Kosara nodded sagely at the warrior woman’s theory that people may have decided to hunker down for the night and lock themselves in tight just in case. It was probably the only and best course of action most would have. Kosara much doubted they left, not in this weather, well maybe some did, but it didn’t seem possible the entire town did? As she understood it, towns had way more people than simple villages and even villages sometimes had a lot of people. Also there were forest goblins lurking in the outskirts of the city. They killed some, but who knew if there were more out there. She could only hope people would be save tonight and that they manage to deal with whatever it was that’s going down before it could get worse. Before long they arrived before the glorious smithy of mr silversmith – Mallard. She blinked as Kathryn went on to do some serious beating on the door. She didn’t participate this time though, she just looked around and at the rest of the party.” So any takers to carry magical lights?”

BlackBerry nodded along to Lady Kathryns assessment, and possible wishful thinking. He sent a few silent prayers out towards the unseen folk of the down wishing for their safety for the evening, and beyond hopefully. He was glad to hear however that there was an intention to ‘hammer out the plan later’.

“We can only wish for their safety at least.”

Following after the party, again Blackberry felt something stir at the back of his neck, a feeling he assumed to be like hairs rising on end. He kept stopping every few steps trying to pinpoint the noise of scuttling feet, or claws, or what have you, cocking his head to the side in a futile attempt to hear better, he glared down the side passages and at the shadows trying to pick out anything from the abyss. But frustratingly, worryingly, each time he tried to listen to the noises, or pull apart the shadows with his eyes they all stopped. It was like trying to hold sand between his fingers so that each time he thought with triumph, or horror, he had seen something only for his eyes to then adjust and reveal that it had simply been a rag or piece of litter. He sneered at his latest imagines monster, a collection of stray cobbles, and then hastened after the party again. He had only fallen a few paces behind but anxiety made him hurry to stay within sight of them all.

While he arrived in time for Lady Kathryn to begin banging feverishly upon the Silversmiths door, looking as stoic as ever and leaking an orange glow from the cracks, it was Kosara’s casting of magic that held his attention. He hadn’t had the chance to witness properly earlier, in the midst of the skirmish, to notice her gestures she weaved in the air.

“Ah how wonderful. Thank you, Kosara.” Blinking away the spots in his eyes, he had been looking at the sword when light had burst from it. “I could take charge of one, if that is agreeable? Perhaps using my own sword as a light source as well? If it cannot cause harm to others, then it may as well bring light to us.”

Looking to Lady Kathryn confirmed he wasn’t the only one on edge. The circle of light he huddled in with the others provided some meagre sense of safety for him.

“Has anyone else the notion they are being watched?” BlackBerry again turned to look down the way they had come.