Kathryn listened as Blackberry talked on about the former town guard. And, he was right on his points. "I keep trying to go for a peaceful way out there, but I worry that not dealing with those goons then and there is going to bite us, or some other innocent in the ass. I hope they either disappear forever, or someone catches them sooner rather then later." But she couldn't dwell on this too much now. If they turned up, she or the new law in town would deal with them. If they never turned up again? Well, no loss really. Then she remembered, she had folded one of them into a barrel in town... and now wasn't too sure if she had brought it up to the Sheriff... Another mistake of hers really. More things to account for. Blackberry on the other hand, had tasks to attend to now that someone else had returned. SO! Kathryn took over watching the mule. "So, how's it going?" She turned and spoke to the creature. Getting little more than a stare back from them. "Cool... Cool cool cool..." She trailed off looking around for anything else to hold her attention.

Thankfully, the rest of the trip was rather nice and relaxing. Kathryn spent most of it in the party's wagon, taking in the sights and enjoying every moment of it. For a while she began to walk about again, making sure her legs got plenty of exercise. But again would ride once the sun began to set Not dark, but she'd feel like a fool if she twisted her ankle in the dark. Deciding that she had been pretty active today. Tomorrow she would get a proper work out of some kind. Move some stones, split some logs, lift the wagon again, something. She did find herself rather excited seeing the sign stating they were getting close. The lands of the vineyard were something that Kathryn couldn't comprehend at first. To Kathryn, they reminded her of the more wealthy nobles from back home. Hell, if you removed the castle walls, made the lands appear more prosperous, and replaces the keep with a manor, this could have been her own home! Well, her home had a lot more mud. And there wasn't much open space inside the walls. Everything was pretty on top of one another. Looking at the lands in front of her, this seemed like something from the heartland of Arconaple, not the frontiers and fringes like her own home. Something you would see in the country side of major cities and ultra wealthy lords. And it felt so... homely. It was beautiful in ways Kathryn couldn't bring to words. "wow..." Kathryn mumbled as she gazed on the vineyard in amazement. Still trying to process everything.

Even approaching the big house of the land things felt like the keeps of old. The mass of servants and workers coming to quickly unload the wagons, and attend to the family's every need. Even in her Father's keep Kathryn didn't get this sort of attention. At least not immediately. Generally the keeps Castellan would have to muster up enough staff from other jobs to assist while key things were taken care of by his assistant and squire. This however? Was probably what lords of higher keeps experienced. Barons or Dukes maybe? Either way, it was shocking, and kind of exciting to be experiencing this sort of thing yet again. It was like reliving apart of her life that was long gone.

Kathryn listened closely about the talk of the remaining harvests. But had trouble imagining such a thing. Ice Grapes?! That was a thing? Insane to think about. AND! Another festival?! Kathryn would either have to exercise a lot more or really watch what she treated herself too. Veggies, proteins, and beer would allow her to keep working on her strength. Cake? Pies? Wine? Less so. Buuuuut.... for her first few months on her own? She was doing pretty good. Sure, there was the less than pretty few weeks after Ser Lucas passed. Where she almost drank herself into a coma and would have likely been robbed if not for the fact the only pick pocket daring enough to try it took a trip through a wall with her when he tried. Kathryn almost seemed giddy, but tried her best to seem like a mature adult when responding to Lizbeth. Though she struggled. "Oh? is that so? I guess I will have to try for myself and see now won't I?" Kathryn said humoring the small child. Though, she did actually really want to try this legendary wine. Honigblume Icewine. That had a nice zing to it.

Kathryn didn't know a ton on agriculture. She knew bits as it was apart of her responsibility as a lady of her father's lands, and she needed to have a fair understanding of many areas. Not that she did that well in her few years of education. But she knew an insane number of a yield when she heard one. "Ninty Five Percent?!" Kathryn asked in surprise. Clearly shocked at such a revelation. Clearly an exaggeration, but it was clear that the L'Rose family was very well off. Maybe that successful yield rate had something to do with it? She didn't know for sure, but holy shite if it was true, the family lucked out on some of the best lands in the realms. She thought at least. She tried to remember what the statistics of her Father's lands were... but she couldn't recall that. She realized, she was forgetting more and more of her homeland every day. She wondered when the day would come when it would be little more than a distant memory, comparable to lucid dreams.

They were going to have their own inn. A full inn to themselves full stocked and prepped shy of in house staff for them. This was a life Kathryn never figured she would live. She wondered if there were any beds big enough for her?! Most beds were too short, but a double bed or anything bigger she could make due rather comfortably. A proper comfortable bed... without any strangers in the whole inn... Maybe she could relax for a night? Get comfortable? And just... stop worrying for a night... or a whole winter? No traders passing through, no mercenaries, no scummy opportunists. She wondered if the place was big enough for her own room? For a whole winter. Having her own safe space. "This is... So much. Thank you so much Cecily! I don't think words can describe how thankful we are for such accommodations. While we're here, please do let us know if we can assist with anything. It feels weird to not have work or plans for the winter." Not that the L'Rose family had much use for a hired sword in the winter. But she could handle smithing tools rather well, and if needed she was strong enough that there wasn't much in terms of manual labor she wasn't able to excel at. Sure being here was thanks for their help, but this was so much more then that. And... A Bath. A real and true proper bath. Kathryn wasn't sure when the last time she had a decent bath was. She got extraordinarily uneasy near strangers, had a lingering fear of being attacked when she relaxed, and was extremely self conscious about her self. Be it worrying about her own looks, or some pervert barging in while she cleaned up. She had to rely a lot on buckets being dumped over her, and isolated rivers. But a nice and true bath... in what was the equivalent to her own home? She had no idea how she would ever return to the road life after this winter. "I can't wait to see the rest of this place Cecily. It's just... Something special." Kathryn said giddy with excitement. And a good brunch with it?! It was the high life. If loyalty could be bribed with food, booze, and housing, Kathryn could now consider herself a corrupt noble woman.

Kathryn was able to take pretty much all her gear. She did not own much of her own things. But she did thank the laborers for their efforts as they passed by. It was jarring in a way to receive so much attention, but it was also rather exciting! "I think we can definitely accommodate young Lizbeth is she wants to spend some time with us. We still gotta figure out sleeping arrangements, but I'd be surprised if we couldn't figure something out." Kathryn said with a big smile on her face. Lizbeth was like a little sister that Kathryn didn't have. Well... not anymore at least. Apart of Kathryn found herself rather excited to have Lizbeth around. In a way, it would be like a sleep over! Well... as far as she knew. She didn't really get to do sleepovers while she grew up. Her father forbade it with commoner families, and her family didn't venture enough for Kathryn to get to know other girls her age. And when she did travel, she'd get her own room, and then be cleared out the next day.

Kathryn took her gear and bags and set them in the hall upstairs. She didn't want to claim a room until the party had a chance to talk it over. Though she did take a moment to explore some of the rooms. She guessed they would have to decide if the party would bunk up together, or each get their own rooms. And if they did, where would Lizbeth sleep? What caught Kathryn's attention, was the fact that two of the rooms had beds that had to be at least double sized. The bed in the master room being considerably bigger. That was the bed she wanted... the fire place too? God what else could a woman want! But... it felt selfish to just claim the biggest and the best room. Though she did take a moment to change into more comfortable clothes. She felt... almost weightless without wearing her armor. Almost like she would float off any moment now... Not that she wasn't used to not wearing armor. But she wasn't used to being still active in her day. It was rare her armor ever came off outside of bed rest, and when she cleaned up. But things were finally... okay. It felt so good to not worry for once. She was... safe.

Still being a little paranoid, and self conscious about her own person, she wrapped herself in her sleeping bag, completely opened up so it more resembled a blanket then a sleeping bag, and carried down the new gambeson material she wanted to attach to the bag, and the belt that contained her family sword. She never felt safe leaving her sword about. It was a family heirloom that frankly needed a lot of love. Plus, it was supposed to be more of a ceremonial piece than a weapon of war. Used for events, and if things got dire, a weapon to defend one's home. Small for a great sword, big for a long sword, perfect decorative piece. Kathryn arrived into the main tap room to find Lizbeth piecing together their meals for the night. Something, Kathryn would never turn down. "Oh look at you? Lady of the kitchen aye?" Kathryn amused as she made her way over towards the bar to sit. Setting her family sword down on the counter and grabbing a plate. "You know, my first crush was the baker in my parent's kitchen? I thought they were the coolest person ever. My parents forbade such a relationship, but I thought she was cool." Kathryn chuckled at the memory. Then stopped, cold faced. "Not that I am attracted to you. You're not my type. You're uh... young..." She paused again, worried her damage control may have made things worse in other ways. "Not that you aren't a pretty young lady, but like... uh... please forgive me. My main source of a social life was a 160 year old halfing man and the rather nice ladies he met up with from time to time." She paused again, unsure if she made things better or worse. "I'm sorry I'm sober. I'll shut up now." Kathryn spoke up embarrassed as she reached over the counter, grabbed the first bottle of wine she could reach, yanked off the cork with her bare hands, and began downing it as if it were a lite beer.

“Wow! This place's huge! Like it feels bigger than the entire oasis back home!” Kosara exclaimed on the way o the Coach House. It had to be said, the white excitable tiefling was quite well shocked by the Vineyard of the L'Roses. Aside the towns they've been at, it seemed like this place was a village of it's own right or at least it felt like one. Back south she very rarely visited such places, well she had been to one huge estate or manor or whatever they wanted to call it. A nobleman had hired a bunch of dancers from all over for some grand celebration and she had went with her sisters. They had fun, danced a lot, got paid and got good food. All in all? GOOD TIMES! Though she did get forbidden from going to similar job visits afterwards from both Gramps and Grandpa Horny. A thing she never quite understood the reasons for.

She wasn't going to look at Cecily and Liz differently though. They were the same nice people who the party met on the way and helped as much as they were able to anyways.” Ohh that does look like a tavern!” She quipped in agreement when Cecily introduced their temporary place of residence. It was a nice building with walled yard that gave reasonable feeling of security and homey-ness.” I like it!” Kosara proclaimed finally her opinion of their future residence.

“I have no problem with Liz staying with us! More the merrier!” The tiefling exclaimed when the topic was brought up and gave the girl a huge grin, before suddenly she remembered something and almost jumped in place as she began rummaging through her now rather full travel bag.” Wait, I got gifts for everybody! Here this one is for you, Liz.” She handed the girl one of the flower engraved bracelets from Southmoor.” And this if for you, Cecily.” She moved over to the older woman with the bracelet's twin. Then she hopped over to Kathryn to give the Hammer shaped necklace with the interesting designs.” This one's for Kathryn ahh and this one is for you V!” She went to hand the bird motive bracelet to the bard before she grinned at Berry.” And of course I got one for you too! Here!” She grinned and handed him the necklace that had all the fishes engraved with their lil scales on it. Was that one especially male fitting? Not really, but good luck explaining to her the concept of gender appropriate decorations. She was after all, raised by a giant golden dragon horse and a caravan stop with all the people there.

Following Liz inside where the girl began plating food. The white haired tiefling was grinning widely and she looked at Kathryn who began trying to have a nice friendly chatter.” MMmm?” She made herself comfortable near Kathryn, listening to her past crush with big expecting eyes and a grin.” Ohh, so you had a crush a girl?” She asked from beside the tall warrior woman when she finished her story.” Having a crush, that's like really liking somebody, right? Like liking them enough for kissing? That's nice, my sisters had a lot of crushes on them then. I wasn't allowed to have crushes on and do that thing they do at the bedrooms that adults do. Everybody said they were wrestling back when I was young, I know better now though. They are just imitating what the camels do! Did they forbid that relationship because you were too young for the bedroom thing?” She asked Kathryn with tilted head and very curious expression of expectation.

The estate was impressive. No doubt about it. The lands around had the unmistakable feel of generational labor, capped off with generational profit. It was a grand enterprise from just a glance, seemingly separate from the rest of the region by orders of magnitude. If the soldiery of Fort Darenby had these kinds of resources, they would be a much more formidable force at arms than they were.

With this thought, Victoria's mind was left to wander back to the first morning she spent in the town surrounding the fort. Having visited the local cemetery and taken shelter in an open mausoleum overnight, her actions were noted, prompting a response from the constabulary. She then spent the next number of hours as a guest of Fort Darenby, eventually to be questioned by Sheriff Arbalest himself. On the upside, she was able to meet the man first and get in some impromptu negotiations before the actual meeting time. On the downside, Victoria was certain that the Sheriff's opinion of her had taken a sound hit.

But this was not a mausoleum, and this was not a holding cell in a country fort. This was a rustic but immensely comfortable set of circumstances for lodging, given to them over the worst parts of the year. Victoria had intended to make it to the coast before winter arrived proper; purchase passage on a ship headed north to more familiar ground. Maybe stop in on her home for a little while. Aside from her family's nigh luxuriously appointed home, there was a very comfortable suite in a highly respected Inn in Ashhaven where she used to reside, which may have been able to allocate for her a semi-permanent place to take some relaxing downtime with hot baths on the regular, excellent wine, and room service, so long as she helped fill the establishment regularly. Being here delayed her own plans, but to look at what she had available, Victoria didn't mind a bit. In fact, in an odd, rural way, it reminded her of home.

Victoria was happy to deal with room assignments after supper and their belongings were offloaded. She was specifically concerned with the spoils of their victory against the Ankhegs, and was delighted to note that they had a storage area, apart from the relative warmth of the main building. That last detail was going to be crucial in keeping their recently slaughtered giant bug meat as fresh as possible.

Be it a touch of defensiveness, Victoria waited until most everyones goods were offloaded before giving animation back to her loveable porcine companion, Morty. She wasn't certain how the concept of obvious necromancy would be taken by the laboring staff, and it was much easier to explain after the fact than to channel necrotic energies openly.

The question of the loot from the Goblin fight and other such skirmishes came to Victoria's mind, which was mostly weaponry at this point. It seemed like an opportunity was present, should Lizbeth take Kathryn's tutorials in the combative arts seriously. Mostly light weapons, couple of bows, arrows, and the like, but also a spear from another confrontation and one final item: a whip with minuscule silvery, metal barbs - the whip held by Constable Cavendish prior to his ugly demise. No one had claimed it. Maybe the budding warrior Lizbeth L'Rose could do something useful with the otherwise cruel device.

Within not too long a span of time, Victoria found herself in front of a table, laden down with what appeared to be a more than adequate if somewhat basic supper, and a few bottles of wine besides. The enigmatic Bard bid her Morty to a corner of the room, to stand motionless lest it draw undue attention. Briefly, Victoria considered draping a tablecloth or something similar over the salted and smoked beast, but eventually dismissed the idea.

Her great, black corvid, originally perched atop her forearm as she entered the main building, now fluttered it's wings in what amounted to a great, feathery hop over to a nearby table, away from the rest of the group. It's sharp eyes peered around until a higher perch was spotted along the mantle, whereupon it changed locations again. It cocked its head sideways, looking to its Mistress In Purple, who rewarded the ebon bird with a gentle laugh. "Yes. Right there is fine," she assured her Familiar.

The gift from Kosara fell definitively into the "thought that counts" category, yet the addition of local art (which is what Victoria assured herself it was) combined with the sense of joy she got from her Tiefling companion did bring a true and warm smile to her face. "Thank you very much, you dear, sweet girl. I regret that I had not the forethought to reciprocate." Victoria began fastening it loosely to her left wrist, declaring, "I shall wear it immediately."

There was a mote of disapproval from the Bard as Kathryn procured a bottle of wine for herself and took to it in a manner that was frowned upon by certain elements of polite society. She ignored the proverbial foot that the much more imposing lady was feasting upon, what with her less than perfect selection of words, instead to focus on the issue of the drink at hand.

"If you wish to down something quickly, Daughter of Arcanaple, there is a barrel of local ale procured for the occasion. Otherwise, if I may?" Victoria filled a glass with the wine paired to the meal, but only about a third of the way. She gave it a swirl, checked to see the cling against the glass, and inhaled the delicate vapors thereof. A small taste - no more than a few drops - followed by a short, abrupt intake of breath partially aerated the taste of wine, allowing Victoria to catch a more complete flavor profile. "Early season white. I cannot pick out the specific varietal, but this is the same grape as the icewine, or a blend, I'd bet. Oak aged or neutral barrels, one... and an interesting quality I can't quite put my finger on."

She paused for a second or two, her face showing a scrutinizing quality. "There is something else in here, too. It was in the Zinnoberrot, and the table wine at Neil & Bob's, which I believe was from here as well. This is early season, but there is an undertone of maturity. Like, noble rot or, or... fruit dessication from a young, healthy grape. It sharpens everything and the flavor is exquisite, don't get me wrong. One of a kind. But it seems so familiar..."

Victoria's thoughts, concerns, even train of thought took an odd turn as Kosara went into her discussion about the proclivities of people's bedroom antics and, oddly enough, camels. The Bard's scholarly visage dropped into something a bit more incredulous as she turned back to lock eyes with Kathryn. She wide-mouth downed the contents of her glass with a subsequent hard swallow and shake of her head. Looking at her tanky associate, Victoria gestured her free hand to punctuate the single word, "Nevermind."

So far Kathryn's time at the Couch House was everything she could dream of and more! Shy of some misgivings on her own part on not thinking before she spoke. Otherwise, this place was something special and AMAZING! Plenty to drink, plenty to do, and it felt so... homely. What else could a woman ask for? She was with people she respected, liked, and welcomed. People she was beginning to trust. For the winter at least, she felt at home. And considering Kathryn had no plan for winter a couple weeks ago other then drown her worries and sorrows in cheap tavern beer, she figured it was a pretty good start to her life on her own. Even if she drank some of the wine a little faster than she was supposed too. To help improve the evening, Kosara had even gotten her a gift! So she had received a gift from her friend, and they now had a set of matching friendship rings! Kathryn couldn't get much happier than she was right now.

Kathryn took her little hammer trinket in her free hand, while her other hand held closed the heavy bedding around herself. "Oh my gods Kosara! This is so thoughtful! Thank you so much!" Kathryn said excitedly before placing the necklace around her neck. Tucking it into the bedding she was wrapping up in so she wouldn't accidentally tug it off. Despite finally being comfortable enough to not wear her armor in a social environment, she still found herself wrapped up tightly with her sleeping bag turned makeshift robe. Not that it was a good robe, but it made her feel safer. "I love it so much Kosara! Thank you." Kathryn said with the warmest smile on her face.

With her hand free again, she turned it back to the bottle of wine. Which after another good few swigs found itself nearly empty. Something that V, did not seem to appreciate the taller woman doing. It almost through Kathryn off hearing herself being called Daughter of Arcanaple. It almost felt as if V was a lot more familiar with her past then she was letting on? Though, the bard did offer Kathryn some local Ale. "I may take you up on that V, but I am intrigued where you are going with this." Kathryn said leaning over her seat and watching Victoria closely. Kathryn listened closely as the bard listed off the extraordinary details of the wine. Details Kathryn herself never would have been able to guess, let alone discern from the taste alone. She was rather wide eyed in amazement listening to the smaller woman explain not only the likely ingredients, but the season it was made, even going to far as to determine what barrel it was aged in. "Wow. Uh... Wow." Kathryn said amazed listening to V talk. It sounded so familiar to her. She almost had to take a moment to decipher why. But a moment of thought, and it clicked. "Just then, right now, you sounded so much like my father. The way you were able to pull up those details and explain them? I swear if your voice was a few octaves deeper I would have mistaken you for him." Kathryn smiled thinking just how much more of a noble woman Victoria appeared to be than Kathryn herself was. "Are you sure you're not from nobility? You'd pass pretty well yeah?" She asked curiously.

Kathryn's face went red when Kosara started asking about the baker woman from her home she had a crush on. Even redder when Kosara began talking about how it related to her siblings, and details that led Kathryn to believe that Kosara's home had a little more going on than just a way point in the desert. Funny enough, had Ser Lucas decided to take a different way to flee Arcanaple, and took another one of his more extended stops, Kathryn wondered if she and Kosara would have met sooner than they did. As Kosara's home sounded very much like the sort of place that Ser Lucas would like to call home for a few jobs at a time. The awkward part, came when Kathryn was put on the spot by Kosara about the details of her crush on the baker woman, and the reasons it was forbade. She didn't want to outright refuse an answer, as Kosara had always been rather kind to her. But also she wasn't sure the best way to give the most appropriate answer with Lizbeth in the room, and with how Kosara seemed to be stuck in an even younger mindset, with Kosara in the room too. "Well uh... there were a lot of reasons." Kathryn eventually spoke up.

Looking at the remaining wine in the bottle, she gave V an apologetically look, before downing the rest. Needed the emotional strength to pick her next words carefully. "So yes, it was one of those... Kissing crushes. And being too young for those relationships was definitely one reason. Another reason being my parents were in charge of her. There's no way a relationship like that would be appropriate. But related to that, my family was a relatively young noble household. We could not afford to marry below our station, for fear of our noble name being lost to obscurity. And she was a common woman. On top of that, I was to be betrothed with someone I could one day produce an heir to. If not for my household, then for another that would form close ties to us. I was forbidden to even think of a relationship with another woman until that matter was settled. And she'd still have to be of equal or greater station than myself." Kathryn went to take another sip of the wine, realizing part of the motion in she had already finished the bottle. She would need more booze. Like now. "Not that it matters much now anyways huh? I went from heir to a frontier castle, with strong ties to the homeland, with the chance to have children with comparable ranks to Barons with the connections we made, to not having anything but the clothes on me back. In terms of home culture my homeland views me as less valuable than a sell sword knight." Kathryn chuckled, though there was a spiteful undertone to it. "On the plus side, means I can pretty much marry whoever I want now huh? Titles don't mean much when you don't have the funds or connections to back them up." Though Kathryn tensed for a moment, she quickly relaxed. Some of those emotions were more raw than she thought, likely having to face them for real since Ser Lucas passed. "Oh well, I get to travel the world and meet some of the coolest people yeah?!" Kathryn said excitedly as she looked upon her party and company.

She'd be lying if she said she didn't miss home. Which, made her want to drink more. Looking at the empty bottle she downed like a lite beer, she paused looking at the label. It was... vaguely familiar. She mumbled some elvish as she squinted looking at the label, even though it was printed in common. "I wonder..." Kathryn stood up in a hurry making her way around and behind the bar. "'Scuse me lizbeth. Gotta find something real fast." Kathryn began looking through some of the bottles of wine all about behind the bar. She paused when she pulled out a white wine from behind several other bottles. "No fucking way!" Kathryn exclaimed as she lifted the bottle. And again, she began speaking in elvish, despite the bottle being in common. Rather fluid elvish. "Traditional Mountain Elk Malvasia" Kathryn grinned like a child who had found their long lost toy. Quickly grabbing the bottle with the hand that was originally holding the blanket robe closed, and grabbing the sealed cork with her hand before ripping it off with her bare hand. She then took a few drinking glasses for herself, Victoria, and anyone else who wanted some, placing them in front of V. "I don't know if the label changes language in shipping or if it is originally printed in elvish, but by the time it makes it to Arcanaple, the print is in Elvish. Likely due to the number of high lords who are elvish. But my father would go out of his way to get a couple glasses of this whenever we visited a major city." She then began pouring the wine. Trying for the one third glass like V did, but getting closer to half.

"Father said he loved this wine, and he would sometimes let me have a sip. But that he could never justify the cost to have it shipped home. So we only had some when we visited port towns or major cities. And sometimes he would take some home with us when we were done with business." She didn't have a ton of great memories of her father. Much of her time with his was about the duty she had to fulfill as the eldest daughter. And much about being the tough parent to make sure she was ready to take on the world when her time came. She wished she listened more, and wished she had more time to learn. She wished she could remember more of the happier memories. "Come on, lets give it a try. The high ladies of the party." Kathryn said setting down the bottle and picking up her glass. She imagined she didn't look too classy dressed in a glorified blanket, a bit of helmet hair, and being so unnaturally tall that she always struggled with being lady like.

Kathryn then took a small sip, much like the one Victoria took moments ago, and repeated the intake of breath. She had to admit, it did taste far better like this. She guessed she could see why V was so disappointed in her for how she downed the last bottle. "Yeah it's definitely better like this." Kathryn smiled while sighing in defeat. She did take another sip in an attempt to try what V did, but the more she thought on it, the harder it became to describe. "I can tell you it's a white wine, and that it is mildly sweet. But not as much as other wines I have tasted." Kathryn said before shrugging her shoulders. "Otherwise, I got nothing." She chuckled, maybe beginning to feel tipsy. She'd have to find that beer though. Sometimes a large quantity of alcohol was what a girl needed to get comfortable.

BlackBerry guided the wagon ambling along behind the L’Rose wagon, accompanied by the comforting noise of the river babbling to itself. It was a rather fine afternoon and thankfully uneventful rest of the journey which suited BlackBerry who had only just begun to figure out the basics of wagon-driving and had no desire to see if he could drive it at speed or during any excitement. Once cresting the hill and entering the Vineyard grounds proper he had given a long, low whistle not just at the size but at the quality of the grounds as well; Madame L’Rose clearly knew how to run things, and he gave his own small words of approval alongside everyone else.

Similarly, once arriving at The Inn, the particulars of wine production as explained by Madame L’Rose sailed clear over his head as he happily hopped down from the wagon and handed the reigns to the waiting Hands to care care of The Old Boy.

“I assume that is not normal then?” He had asked when Lady Kathryn exclaimed in shock at the high rate of harvest, but he didn’t listen for any answer if given in favour for looking over the walls of their new abode at the vineyard and the structures scattered throughout. The discussion of tasting said wine however was absolutely caught with a polite smile in silent hopefulness.

He simply waved away Madame L’Roses’ apologies. “There is simply no need for such apologies, Madame L’Rose you are a most gracious host to even offer food let alone such a generous abode.” His voice hand gotten louder with excitement towards the end of the sentence as he gestured in a spin at The Inn building. Returning to usual loud speaking volume he then continued, after Lady Kathryn had offered her own piece, “That same goes for me also. I should not want to you to think of any of as anything less than grateful and willing to lend a hand as best we may.”

He had truly meant it and very much hoped that Madame L’Rose would call upon them soon to make good the promise. Following the rest of the party into the Inn only further strengthened this feeling as he came to find everything had been swept, cleaned, polished and set up just as Madame L’Rose had said. After he had taken some time to at least pop his head into all the room downstairs, and the cellar, he ascended the stairs to check out the bedrooms.

BlackBerry laid claim, at least for now, to one of the smaller bedroom to the north of the building. He would move easy enough and frankly he didn’t need a double bed but he did need somewhere for a moment to change and to splash some water on his face. Returning downstairs he had changed out of the faded shirt and back into his red tunic which peak out below the grey sleeveless vest he still wore. The swords and the rest of the robed fabric that had been tied around his waist had been left upstairs with the rest of his belongings, exposing the simple trousers he wore beneath. Of course he still wore his scarf around his neck, so the necklace Kosara had generously bought him had instead found a home tied around his left horn and where the little fish occasionally clinked against the horn happy to see the world. BlackBerry had spend a minute or two trying to figure out what they were meant to be, something between a Mackerel and a Haddock was his best guess but their weren't enough details to be sure. Carried under his arm was a roll of crimson fabric.

He arrived into the taproom just in time to hear Kosaras talk of Camels, wrestling, and bedrooms. He had no idea what a Camel was but the other two subjects he knew about and could guess as to the current topic of conversation. He did do a double take seeing Lady Kathryn downing an entire bottle of wine while wrapped up in a sleeping bag, which he could only mean she was feeling the cold a lot more than he was.

“Well, Kosra,” Trying to calm his astonished laughter as he placed the roll of fabric on the seat next to Kosara. “I think maybe discussing the particular of Camels and their bedroom habits is not suitable.” He pushed the words out through gritted teeth and a small tilt of the head towards Lizbeth. “For the dinner table.” Nor is it one, he figured, Madame L’Rose would appreciate to hear about from her niece after staying in their care for the evening. He certainly wouldn’t.

The table had been set and laid out with enough places for everyone, including Lizbeth was busying herself with the fire and generally setting about handling the dinner arrangements for them. While BlackBerry had no doubts the young girl could handle things, and probably knew where everything would be stored, he still offered to lend a hand plating any remaining food, getting glasses, or tending the fire. Once all had been taken care of he then gently steered Lizbeth by the shoulder to sit down at the table.

“Do sit down a moment Young Lizbeth. I doubt your Aunt would approve of us working you to the bone this evening.”
After grabbing his own serving of pheasant and pumpkin soup he sat down next to Kosara, offering the roll of fabric he had placed minutes before on the chair. “Here you are Kosara, you might find more use of this than myself. Think of it as thanks for the marvellous necklace.” He turned his head so she might see the little fish swinging happily from his horn. The fabric would unravel to the marvellous crimson scarf the halfling woman had given him last week.

The conversation continued to move around him as he tucked into his meal, but as Lady Kathryn continued to talk the meal less and less important until he set down his spoon to listen better. He instead focused on her words, focused on her eyes no longer seeing the world around her, focused on her shoulders tensing and making the patchwork fabric of her sleeping bag rise and fall like the swells of a large waves out at sea. BlackBerry had noticed that stories of her past and her home, Arcanaple, were never far from Lady Kathryns lips, and now taking the time to listen the hushed tones of loss in her voice were almost palpable.

The words from The Voice crashed into his mind. ‘The sizeable warrior fled responsibility of clan and community for the illusion of safety, leaving nefarious things to fill the vacuum left behind.’ Had she ran from home for Love? Or ran from it? Or maybe something completely different altogether?

“Indeed. One must look upon the silver lining of even the worst situations. ” He smiled as Lady Kathryn made to pull herself away from her memories. “Perhaps such travels could even tell us what a ‘Camel’ is?”

The arrival of the wine Lady Kathryn had found prompted him to pack away the thoughts, and the questions, and the worries for another day, and instead focus on the offered wine in front of him and raising it in a toast with the others. He copied the motions he had seen Victoria do before he drank; swirling the liquid, holding the glass to his eye, giving it a quick sniff and then swallowing a small sip.

“I would agree with you Lady Kathryn on that assessment. It is wine, it is white, it is sweet.” He smacked his lips and took another appreciative sip of the drink. “No doubt our expert though could give a more detailed discussion of it. Might I ask how you even do so Victoria? How did you learn such a skill? All that you can say from a sip, if I did not know any better I may have said you were having us all for a laugh.”

Weather: Clouds blanket most of the sky now. The temperature begins a steady drop from the mildly uncomfortable to the genuinely cold. Anyone outside might even catch the odd droplet of precipitation, hinting at possible rain before the night is through.

Time: Early evening. The sun has dipped low, but this is difficult to tell from within the stone walls of the ground floor of the Coach House.

Ambience: The initial impersonal chill of the Coach House slowly abated as the fireplace did its work admirably. Lamplight did the rest of the work for illumination in the form of what one may assume to be grapeseed oil, from the light scent of it burning upon thick wicks. The clink of dishes highlights the meal laid upon the table nearest the taproom's fireplace, which carries its own inviting aromas around the room.



Lizbeth took the odd string of words unceremoniously spilling from Kathryn with a grain of salt. Her tone was slightly amused as she looked to her wintertime mentor with an inflected, "Ew." She maintained a smile, however, and swiftly replaced the now empty bottle on the table with a fresh one from behind the bar. "It's okay, Dame Kathryn. I have my eye on the Tinker's boy, anyway. Or, I did, but Grandpa forbade it..." She seemed lost in thought for a moment, "I guess that doesn't matter anymore, does it?" The girl sniffled a little bit but quickly forced herself to recover.

The main door opened suddenly, admitting two of the vineyard's Human laborers in heavy coats. They were wheeling in the barrel of ale, moving wordlessly (though with a grunt or two) past the threshold and into the room proper. Further acts of leverage and strength of arm got the barrel onto the smooth, polished wood of the bar, whereupon they expertly hammered in a spigot and set it upright. _{"...enjoy your suds..."} said one in quiet, sarcastic tones. The second man took off his hat and slapped his companion's shoulder with it, motioning for him to return outside. As if the previous exchange did not occur, he addressed the party assembled. "We got any personal items from your wagon in the common room on the top floor, on account of us not knowing which rooms you wanted. Your um, armory? Is here at the bar, and those Ankheg parts are strung up off the floor with ropes in the outbuilding. Lemme tell you, when old Urmdrus heard you brought in intact Ankheg chitin, he got real serious. I guess that's how their kind shows excited. Expect a visit from that one, for sure." He shifted from one foot to another, "Unless there's anything else you'll need from me, Miss?" This last part was directed at Lizbeth.

"Yes please," she answered politely but firmly. "Do make sure that the drinking and washing water is fresh from the well. Take care to refill, do not top off. And please? Tell your friend to be nicer to these people if he wishes to come back for work next season. They are our guests. Aunt Cecily and I owe them our lives, besides." She fished out a silver coin and pressed it into the man's hand with a whisper of, "Thank you for helping us tonight. I know it's getting cold out there."

Lizbeth made the leap from bubbly teenage girl to Lady of the Manor very quickly, and returned equally as fast. She wandered over to the recovered weapons on the bar, taking stock of them. The daggers, she mostly passed over. She paused at the shortswords, one of which she was still wearing at her hip, and flexed a shortbow to test it. Then her eyes fell upon the spear and the whip. her fingers played across the haft of the first, but quickly moved on to the Constable's whip. She uncoiled it carefully and looked it up and down before carefully replacing it on the bartop. "I want to learn them all." she said aloud. No concern over who they had belonged to nor what they had been used for. By her tone, they were just the tools she needed to learn what she wanted. "And your sword, Miss Victoria! And the big hammer! I'm not so strong, but if I train really hard with you all... Well, we have a winter, if you'll help me." How to fight, how to think on her feet, strategize, put a weapon into something standing before her - these thoughts burned in her eyes just as much as the flicker of firelight. Some unknown quality was motivating her.

She broke out of it quickly, remembering her duties. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed. Lizbeth moved to fill water glasses and make sure soup was portioned. She garnished with a touch of fresh tarragon leaves and coarse salt, and poured glasses of wine all around. She giggled at Baronfjord's assessment of the wine on the table and nodded in agreement. It was indeed wine. It was white. And it was sweet. She also took Baronfjord's advice and set a place for herself at the table, complete with full settings and enough food to satisfy her fill. She only took a partial glass of wine, however, opting to mostly sip from a water glass."Aunt Ceecee doesn't want me having but a little, until I'm older," she confessed.

"Miss V is mostly right about the wine." Lizbeth announced, holding up a forkful of roasted pheasant. "It's the same sweet grape as our Honigblume, and it was early season, so it's a lot drier. No blend, though. We were experimenting with aging it in polished stone rather than oak barrels, so it's pretty neutral, and we added chestnut staves halfway through to mellow the flavors. It didn't catch on enough to warrant the expense. We still do some like that for just us." She shrugged, and dug into the food in front of her. With her mouth partly full, she added, "That other taste in the wine? Grandpa said it comes from the land. Like the ground flavors the grapes. He said it doesn't happen anywhere else like that. It's why our wine is special."

The laborer returned again, intoning that the water had been handled and that the containers had been wiped down with a stock wine prior to refilling, just in case. "Thank you!" Lizbeth said cheerily. The man departed, leaving the Coach House truly without presence aside from the party and their young host/guest. It seemed a little quieter within the taproom in the growing evening.

Completely off topic and a little late to the discussion, Lizbeth curiously inquired, "Yeah. What is a camel?"

“Amazing!” Was Kosara’s reaction to V’s impressive display of wine knowledge as she was deducing the contents of the bottle. For the pale tiefling, such displays weren’t really something she had experienced before. Sure they had wine at the Caravan stop, but nobody was doing impressive displays like V and she certainly didn’t know there were THAT many things to know about wine. All that the white haired woman knew about it was that it was rather tasty, had alcohol, went with meats and was apparently useful for dealing with certain substances in the adventuring business as some traveling adventurers when she was young who only drank the wine repeatedly told her it saved their lives. Mind you, she didn’t know HOW it saved their lives, but apparently wine was very important aspect of adventuring. And apparently of appreciators in the north.” You can tell all that just from tasting it? How!?” She asked in obvious awe at the purple clad bard. Who in Kosara’s opinion was rather fabulous.

She turned to Kathryn and blinked at her before looking back at V, pondering the possibility that maybe V was actually a noble lady in disguise who similarly to Kathryn had reasons to not be at her noble mansion. Maybe there was a story there worthy of a dramatic stage performance that had a romantic plot, tragedy, plot twists and some very pretty dresses? Now it had to be mentioned, Kosara had NOT actually seen any dramatic stage performances… only traveling troupes that stopped by the Caravan stop and those didn’t count. Mostly cause it was mainly things to entertain the masses with, more acrobats and the like, but they too were very entertaining! Like that one woman who swallowed swords! Or the long bearded old man who somehow put his beard on fire without it burning out! Or the guys dancing on embers! She always did wonder what became of those guys after they left the caravan stop.

Kosara then listened very intently at Kathryn’s retelling of the reasons behind the failed ‘crush’. She had a curious and focused expression. She did! When The warrior woman finished her retelling, Kosara nodded sagely in understanding.” I see.” She muttered and then looked at Kathryn with her big white eyes.” What does losing your name to obscurity mean? Your name is your name, how do you lose your name? Does somebody like removes your memory…?” She then asked in confusion. Alright, maybe she wasn’t as understanding as her initial reaction showed. The concepts of nobility outside her home and everything was already new to her, not like she could actually understand the intricacy of the rather convoluted plots and schemes of the foreign nobility right away.” So to put it short: you couldn’t like another woman until you had a child with a man first? So weird… and I thought noble folk from my homelands were weird.” She concluded.” Well you are an adventurer now, the most noble vocation, you get to travel, help people along the way, find treasure, meet new friends and write legends!” She exclaimed in a very cheerful and reassuring manner.

She turned to Berry who tried to tell her that the topic wasn’t proper for a table.” Why though? All that patrons back home at their tables were talking about bedroom topics all the time! So it means it should be perfectly normal topic for a dinner table!” The tiefling objected with her winning argument because of course whatever drunk and roudy adventurers were talking about during their evening escapeds in a tavern was obviously perfectly normal behavior. Well… if you were raised in said taverns or equivalents to taverns… it was normal for you.

When even Liz asked what a camel is, Kosara looked at everybody in confusion.” You really haven’t seen camels? They are everywhere back home, more so than horses. Horses are usually for the most rich or those who don’t need to venture far from the water spots. Let me show you, I've got a few pictures drawn.” She quipped and rummaged through her bag, carefully pulling out her first journal and opening it on one of the first pages, showing them a roughly drawn picture of a camel. It wasn’t perfect, but it showed it well enough.” It’s like a horse for the desert. They have these humps on their backs and they can go a long time without water so they are good when traveling the sands. They also can eat cacti! Without removing the pointy bits! This is a cactus!” She showed another drawing, this time for a cactus.” They have nice water inside them, taste rather good, well some of them do, and they have all this spikes on them. Anyhow, I traveled the desert on a camel to reach the port city where I took a ship to arrive in these lands. Camels are fun!”

Lizbeth seemed to get that Kathryn was in fact, not trying to imply anything between them. And seemed to understand Kathryn had a lapse of word choices. With a prompt "Ew" the worst of things had passed, and overall was patient with her while she got her words working right again. Kathryn needed to let out a very drunken giggle, soon erupting into laughter as Kathryn's brain caught up to her physical actions. "Ew indeed dude. You can do so much better." Kathryn spoke out when she finally got her giggling under control. She did however perk up an ear at the mention of Lizbeth's own crush! But it seemed Lizbeth had her own troubles in that regard. Much like her own. Which, brought on a world of pain Lizbeth wasn't ready to deal with just yet. Kathryn despite starting to feel buzzed, was determined to help the small child who was now supplying her with more confidence juice. So with another cork ripped off the bottle, Kathryn began downing the next one. This time only getting about a quarter of it before stopping. "Difficulties aside, tell us about this tinker boy huh?" The poor girl needed something positive to focus on, and Kathryn was determined to give her an out from her dark thoughts. "Is he cute? Kind? Come on, spill the beans dude!" Kathryn spoke up excitedly. Okay, so she wanted the gossip too. But if Kathryn was able to help Lizbeth and get to have these fun conversations? Win win!

Kathryn wasn't sure how to explain her situation better to Kosara. So drunk Kathryn took another sip from her bottle of wine, and set it down as she prepared the easiest explanation she could. "Well Kosara, a noble family name is a right of power and responsibility. How much varies so much its hard to quantify." she paused considering her words further, then taking another sip. Trying to not chug it as to enjoy the taste more. She may have to take V up on her offer of something for a proper drinking drink. "They essentially removed it's worth, and it's responsibility. As much as they could at least. There is only so much that can be done while I am still around ya know?" Kathryn chuckled, aware that as long as she was still alive she did technically have a claim to her old homeland, even if she lacked the means to back it up. But it meant it was something that would loom over those murderous dicks heads forever. "The drawback to it is I can't use my family name now." Kathryn said with an indifferent shrug, before taking yet another sip of wine. It was at that moment she realized she was getting tipsy for sure. Maaaaaybe she should slow down. Maybe. But also she was finally relaxing for the first time in gods knows how long! So! She was ready to drink away her fears!

Kathryn found herself trying to think of the best way to describe her marriage culture to Kosara. It was a hard one none the less, but it was sort of fun to talk about home. "Kind of. You're really close. For most households that would be the case, but being apart of nobility I have to make sure a proper bond was forged between families. Marriage, and a child between the couple. So for me to be in a relationship with another woman, my family would require that the first bond was more than secured. And on top of that, my husband would have to also approve of such relationship. And that other person would need to be open to also marrying my husband as well, and then all of our families would need to approve the marriage. It's a complicated process that gets more complicated the more people you add in. To add to the complication, many noble families didn't practice those sorts of relationships. Especially the higher echelons of nobility. So Trevor, the boy I was likely to marry, likely would not have been for such an arrangement." Kathryn took another sip of her wine, a smile on her lips as she did so. "Not that I would have minded, he was a sweet boy, and at the time I loved him. And if that isn't what he wanted, I wouldn't have pushed otherwise." Kathryn said almost dreamily. Before her expression returned to indifference, and she took a rather long sip this time, bringing the bottle down to it's last third, maybe less. "I don't think that marriage is valid anymore so I guess that means I am sort of free to do what I want then huh?" Kathryn spoke with a drunken smile across her face. "You're right Kosara! I am an adventurer now! I get to see the world! Slay evil beasts! Punch douches in the face!" Kathryn taking her arm that was holding the wine bottle, used it to hold the blanket closed on her still, and used her free hand to draw her family sword into the air, still in the sheath. "I'm me own woman! Restrained only by public decency and the laws of man!" She shouted holding her protected weapon in the air, poking the ceiling at an awkward angle before setting the small great sword down on the counter again. "I'm gonna open a bakery." She said giddy like a small child. "Not, right now obviously. But like, as soon as I can get meself sorted a bit more, maybe come the spring, I wanna make baked goods for people ya know?" She said to no one in particular, but was definitely looking around the bar for a reassurance from anyone else present that it was a good idea.

Kathryn found the conversation taking an assortment of weird yet interesting turns. In this case, the camel in the room. Kathryn in her case did know what a camel was, though she had never seen one. "Kosara may know better, most of what I know of them is from my uncle's tales of his time in the campaign. He said they were better suited to handle the sands then our beasts of burden back home. He also... said some rather less than nice things about camel riders from the lands he helped conquered. Some very, less than nice things." Kathryn said emphasizing the less than great for dinner topics. Kosara, had a much better explanation about the strange creatures. Even Kathryn who had heard of such beasts found herself surprised to hear about them. "They Eat Cacti?!" Kathryn exclaimed, not believing it much herself. Ser Lucas had mentioned how one man from his company had tried to do such a thing, only to have pins and pricks stuck in his mouth for the rest of the campaign until he could see a proper doctor to remove the last of them. "YOU'VE EATEN CACTI?!" Kathryn said even more surprised at hearing the notion! She had heard stories of men drinking cactus juice, and going totally mad. Losing their sense of sanity, and worsening paranoia as the cactus juice drove them mad. She then paused, looking at Kosara, and wondered if maybe it wasn't trauma, but in fact the regular doses of said juices that had driven her mad?! But then again, most of those men died, and slowly and painfully at that. Kosara was still here. Maybe tieflings were better suited to drink the stuff? Kathryn wasn't too sure what to expect from the woman at this point, but drinking poison juice wasn't amongst those things.

Then, it had arrived. One of Kathryn's beverages of choice. ALE! A rather hefty barrel of the stuff. The tall woman sat up, one arm holding her blanket to her person, the other holding the mostly empty bottle of wine. Though one of the laborers seemed rather apprehensive about the work, young Lizbeth took control of the situation, and kept things under control rather well. "Thank you lads very much! Your efforts are much appreciated!" There was also talk of their weapons, gear, supplies, bug bits, and other pieces and bobs set aside or put away. As a whole, they were here only one night so far and were already pretty settled in. God Kathryn wished she could live like this forever. Drinking, fighting, a seat of power! And overall just feeling comfortable with herself again! Hell! Maybe she'd even teach herself how to swim! Then she remembered, winter. Snow and ice don't mix too well with swimming. MAYBE! She could learn to bake! She could do a moderately okay camp bread, but that was about it. She could make cakes! Cookies! Pies! And other treats! She would make good sue of this winter. And if possible, she would work on getting stronger too. Sure, she was unlikely to face a foe stronger than herself, but she would rather keep if that way.

Finishing the bottle off, Kathryn walked out from behind the bar mug in hand. Leaving her family sword resting on the countertop not too far from the makeshift armory on the counter. It was only then did Kathryn notice the blade on Lizbeth's side. "Preparing yourself for a fight aye?" Kathryn asked as she poured herself a mug of ale. "If ya really wanna learn how to fight we should absolutely work on it then. There be lots of ways to fight, hand to hand, sword, hammer, daggers, defensively, offensively, we got all sorts of fun options!" Kathryn then lifted up her foot so a boot that wasn't there would be easier to reach. Then, it clicked she was infact not wearing a knife on her ankle. So setting her ale on the counter she then picked up one of the daggers and stepped back a pace or two. Doing a few fancy twirls and spins with it before tossing it up, catching it by the handle, and doing a rapid back and forth slash, slash, step twist all within a single motion. And all while holding the blanket close to her person. She then turned back to face Lizbeth and attempted to sheath said dagger, drunk Kathryn forgetting she was in fact not wearing a belt with her blanket, and fumbling for a bit before putting it back on the counter with the other weapons. "When I am a little more sober, let's get some training weapons sorted yeah? Either blunting the blades on a couple of these, or making something you can use to practice with from scratch. That way when we train we don't accidentally gut each other ya know?" Kathryn said jokingly. Though she did see that happen once some years ago. A pair of knights in a melee with a bunch of other men had began to duel each other, only for the bloke with the great sword to find a gap within the armor of the other knight and cleave half way through his person. The violent removal of said weapon had done it in for the victim. Not that Kathryn would ever get that careless with Lizbeth. Nor be that brutal with her. But training with weapons wasn't something she thought was good in unpracticed hands. She didn't want to actually hurt Lizbeth.

BlackBerry stared at Kosara in stunned disbelief when she had asked WHY discussing bedroom habits was not suitable for the dinner table. His spoon, hovering halfway to is lips, dribbled its contents back into the bowl. He put the spoon back into the bowl with a deepening frown after the rest of Kosaras sentence.

The picture she showed of the horse with a hump on it was very interesting, and if the rest of Kosaras sentence hadn’t been weighing on BlackBerrys mind he would’ve been inclined to ask more questions. Instead, he simply laid his hand on Kosaras shoulder and said, in the tone of someone deeply, deeply, concerned for another’s well being;

“Perhaps later I shall explain.” And then finished off his wine with a grimace at its sharp sweetness.

With that bit of business of the way he returned to the more important matter of his meal with gusto, having had no idea when the next interruption would be, while Lady Kathryn explained the various dynamics of marriage to the group. Overall it all sounded rather complicated to him, his thoughts betrayed by his eyes flicking back and forth tracking the topic of all involve parties families approving of the marriage. A flag popped up in his mind.

“You’re married!” BlackBerry said with a bit too much surprise while almost chocking on a bit of pheasant. After a small coughing fit and with tears still in his eyes he continued. “A bakery sounds marvellous, Lady Kathryn. Apologies for the outburst I did not realise that when you had spoken before of exchange in lands and titles the marriage had been completed.”

He thumped his chest in an effort to remove the offending pheasant piece from his windpipe Meanwhile a pair of labourers arrived to setup the casks of ale and set the parties collected weaponry across the bar. BlackBerry noted through his tears the collection of weapons looked a lot larger now spread out than they had in a pile in the back of the wagon.

“Remind me to put in an order for fruit pastries. I very much look forward to trying some of your goods.”
The conversation again switched to the topic of Lizbeths training, possible training BlackBerry corrected himself, with Lady Kathryn giving a quick demonstration of her control with a blade. The neat little knife spun and twirled to the warriors whim making the blade flicker silver and orange in the roaring light from the fireplace. Finishing his meal, he rested his chin in his hand to watch the show while silently debating having another glass of something to drink. Comfortably full and warmed by the fire and with a hard days travel behind him, BlackBerry was certain he would sleep quite easy tonight.

“Are you hoping to be a warrior then Lizbeth, walking in the footsteps of our fair Lady here ?” He turned his head from Lady Kathryn to the young girl.“A life of a fighter, whether you adventure, is not for the faint of heart or those without discipline to continue their learning as much as they may.”

He then added with a sly look to the bottle in Lady Kathryns hand. “Furthermore, one must also be aware of what they consume as well.”

And odd, strangely guarded expression came over Victoria's generally serene face when Kathryn gave the hypothetical of her voice dropping a few octaves. She quickly adopted a more or less genial smile to brush it away with a polite "Thank you, Ser Kathryn." A small sip from her glass and a touch of thought later, she continued her response, "I assure you, I am emphatically common-born. Unless you count my Elven heritage, which some Humans do." Seeing that others had raised an eyebrow at this concept, Victoria related further, "My parents are independently wealthy; they are considered 'New Money'. After making their fortunes in the world, they invested in properties, transportation, goods, et cetera. They are now successful merchants with a respectable network for trade."

Victoria settled into her seat proper and pulled her bowl of soup a little nearer. She unfolded a napkin and placed it into her lap, angling a spoon to take agreeable portions of the thick, yummy dish to her mouth. After a bite or two (and a polite affirmation to Lizbeth on the quality), she continued. "Up-and-coming traders move from the outskirts of the capitol of the realm and settle in a rich trade city nestled between the sea and the forest a short jaunt away. Then they hire private tutors which were previously only available to the children of Barons and Viscounts, but for whom gold is the final arbiter of their insecurities involving the Class Divide." It seemed that there was always a separation between the social classes that having wealth might move one up toward, but never fully breach. "And while those of a bluer bloodline adore people like myself and my ...cousin..." Victoria took the moment to conjure up a flat, unmoving image of a Half-Elf with striking, dignified features, dressed in dark finery. The familial resemblance was positively uncanny.



Her face took on a mildly bitter expression as she gazed upon the image she had cast into view. She swiftly righted herself and completed her thought. "...as we're both quite pretty and are in high demand for society events - especially noteworthy funerals - people like us are regularly reminded that we are not of the true, blood-right aristocracy of the land. I can walk among them, speak like them, know what they know, and even have more money as a family than a some of them. But I assure you, regardless of how well known the Belmonts of Ashhaven are known (and we most certainly are known, within circles) I am most definitely not one of the nobility." Victoria did break into a genuine smile over her wine glass as she voiced her following thought, "Though my sisters are convinced that at least one of them shall marry a prince."

Victoria was feeling quite talkative in the moment, and moved on to address the questions raised about her knowledge of wines and discerning the qualities therein from just a taste. "Now, Father was the roguish type (according to Mother, who insists he has gotten much better recently) but he had a discerning palate and wanted his children to share that trait. No doubt someone like Madmoiselle Lizbeth has a better grasp on this than myself, but even I can tell you that the circumstances of the grape's growth, maturity, processing, and aging, not to mention what kind of grape it is, leaves elements of flavor, aroma, texture in the finished wine. You just have to know how to interpret the signs it reveals. I can do so as a cosmopolitan sipper of fine vintages. The people who live and work here would make me look like a sanctimonious novice. Even the laborers would have an intimate knowledge of the local wines."

She waved off her latest statement as a bit of a digression from her overall point. Getting back to it, she continued, "The longer lifespan that the Elven half of my lineage provides next to my Human neighbors meant that I was still comparatively young when my formal studies drew to a conclusion. My family allowed me to take to the road with their caravans to receive a broader, more worldly, less formal education on other cultures, and relevant to this conversation, the local flavors of their wines, among other things."

Another sip, another gesture, "Or to put it with incredible simplicity, my proclivity to Necromancy aside, I am a Bard. I know a little bit about a lot of things." Her smile was prideful, maybe even a bit cocky as she spoke, swirling the wine in her glass around. She glanced back to the illusory image of the handsome young Half-Elf she identified as her cousin, shook her head slightly, and flicked her fingers at it. The spell faded into the ether like sugar dissolving under pouring water.

Weather: Mostly cloudy. It is becoming actually cold now, rather than merely chilly outside. the tiniest hints of precipitation still find their way to the earth below.

Time: Early evening. The sky is a lovely shade of deepening purple with the arriving twilight.

Ambience: The taproom's mildly uncomfortable temperature had been successfully abated by a pleasant mixture of the hearthfire, grapeseed oil lanterns, and the movement of active bodies within. The warm and filling meal, admittedly, did a fair amount of the work as well. Lamplight flickers along the walls in pleasant ways, giving cheery illumination. Scents of good food and better wine linger in the air, mixing with the pleasant lamp oil and burning hardwood. In short, it's rather nice.



Lizbeth looked over the drawings of the interesting flora and fauna of the desertous regions past the mountains far to the south with interest. There were occasions where she would ask a small, supporting question like, "Does its face look like a horse's or is it different?" and observations such as, "So it's like thistle stems, but spinier. Okay." and "Grandpa said that you need to have friends in the desert, or you would proably die. Is that what it's really like?" Even the somewhat darker thought of, "So if the camels also store water, how do you get it back out?" was voiced. The last one had a somewhat unsettling smile attached to it.

The young lady kept her discussion about the Tinker's son rather terse, apparently preferring not to dwell upon it for very long. But she did answer openly. "He is clever, and good with his hands, like his papa. They only come by once in a while to see if we needed anything repaired that Urmdrus hadn't gotten to yet. Sometimes I would drop something of mine from a window or hit it with a hammer just so he might fix it, if I saw the Tinker's wagon coming up the lane." While her wish to speak about herself and her crush was repressed presently, her duties as a host were not. Seeing the growing state in which Kathryn was putting herself, Lizbeth rose from her chair and fetched a sizeable portion of bread and soup to help fortify Kathryn's blood against the less desirable effects of the wine, as well as a flagon of water. "Maybe we won't start training so early tomorrow, Lady Kathryn. It'll be okay." She smiled in a genuinely kind and nurturing way.

Oddly, Baronfjord's question put her a little off guard for a second. She recovered. "I really wouldn't mind having an adventure or two before settling down and having to take care of the family Vineyard, and Aunt Cecily tells me that the soldiers train for two or three months before they get into the Royal Army. With a real-life Knight training just me, I'm sure we can make me as good as any line soldier in like ...half that time! And all the rest of you showing me good things, there's no telling what kind of adventurer I might become before winter is done!"

Lizbeth was about to address Victoria concerning what Victoria had said about her upbringing, even with a familiar look on her face. But the moment she opened up to speak, the main door to the Coach House burst open, admitting an abrupt figure. The gloom of twilight silhouetted a figure of shortish stature and a shorn-bald head. As the figure moved into the room proper, the door swung back shut and the firelight revealed the sudden visitor. It was a Dwarf male, from the look of him. He had a thick beard, braided at the edges and cut to a straight across, broom-like shape at its end. His skin was a stony shade of grey, marked with thick, black, tattooed lines on the left side of his face. The build of this particular Dwarf was a little un-Dwarflike - he was broad of shoulder but slender of limb, with ropes of hard, sinewy muscle standing out in his bare arms. The Dwarf wore thick woolen garb, stitched for practicality rather than fashion and sturdy leather boots with metal toecaps and heels. A laden toolbelt was slung about his waist with items from a half dozen professions present, some of which would easily double as weapons.

He spoke to Lizbeth first. "Lizbeth. Safe, very good. Heard what you say just then. Maybe come to me; learn soldier craft." He spoke with a strange accent; strange at least for a Dwarf from anywhere around this region. Also, he phrased his words as a person for whom the Common tongue of trade was learned later in life.

Lizbeth cheerfully exclaimed, "Master Urmdrus!"

A quick "Harrumph," and he continued, "Tomas say your friends have Ankheg in storage. I look in storage. There is a lot." His eyes moved from person to person in the taproom, sizing them all up with scrutinizing glares. "Hum. Yes. You all save the women of L'Rose. I will help you. Help comes with barter. Yes?" Without waiting, he continued with his offer, "Few steaks of good bug meat, first. What remains of the chitin when I finish with it, second. Do what I want with it. In return, help. Chitin makes good armor. Weightless armor. Durable, light shields. Shows enemies you killed Ankheg. Reinforce Human chain with tough green plates. Reinforce leather, hide under clothes. As good as Underdark centipede shell for armor. Deal with me?"

His eyes found the cask of ale on the bar and he licked his lips lightly. Cocking an eye back to the group, he suggested, "Drink on this deal?"

Should Kathryn have slowed down on the drinking? Probably. Would that stop her? No. Spending much of the time on her own since Ser Lucas passed drinking she felt rather invincible when it came to drinking. And to be fair, to a degree she was better off than most. The problems started to arise when some fun party drinking turned into downing two whole bottles and a sample of another in a rather short period of time. Kathryn at this point, was a couple drinks off from kissing the floor. BUT! Not as of yet! She was however, giddy as one could be. Up for shenanigans, challenges, and best of all, ADVENTURE! The current adventure? Stay standing while not kissing the floor! And she was kicking that adventure's ass! She thought so at least. Though she had some help.

She did however, get her approval for the bakery! Though there seems to have been confusion on what was considered in her past. "No no no, it was all arranged, though both our parents already built up plans for us. To the point where they already had a castle being built for us out in the frontiers. But no marriage completed. Our parents kept putting us together in a desperate hope to get us to like each other. And sure, it eventually worked, but there was a lot of fighting before then." Kathryn giggled for a moment, as if laughing at a joke only she could hear, before snapping back to things. "I punched him in the face. He said I fight dirty, and I told him he's a pompous and sore loser." The giggles soon turned into light laughter before she calmed herself a bit. "Shy of the real ceremony, we were all but married. He pretended to speak like a confident lord, convinced he's get a son or two out of me, and I told him he'd have to beat me with a sword first." Kathryn let out a big toothy grin. "I always won. Father said I shouldn't be so hard on him. For once mom agreed. My uncle only finally agreed when my husband to be lied to his father about how his nose got broken. But he grew on me eventually. Trevor was kind, put up with my bullshite, and when you got past him pretending to be fancier than he was he was a rather sweet boy. Plus, he got better at fighting over time."

Kathryn did however let out a bow when Blackberry offered to buy some goodies when Kathryn finally got around to baking. "It would be my hono-" She was suddenly cut off when bending over so far her body forgot which direction up had been. With a quick correction and sudden correction, nearly losing the blanket she wrapped around herself, she successfully held her position. Eyes wide like she just cheated death. Before the giggling began again. "Did you see that? Almost took a bite of the floor yeah?" She joked as she stood back up strait correcting how the blanket wrapped on her person.

How Lizbeth described the boy was so cute! Down to the destruction of things and stuff to get his attention and buy his time. Maybe literally too now that she thought about it. But it was cute. "He sounds so good for you dude! We should arrange some time for ya or somethin'" Kathryn commented before about to lose balance again. "Maybe I can request some stuffs be fixed to buy ya time yeah? Or something then." In Kathryn's mind, it sounded like a great plan. But she was also not perfectly aligned in terms of thought process. The moment Lizbeth handed her food Kathryn's whole wagon of thought went out the door. "Hey, we can start training whenever you want. I got time. Plus, much of that soldiering training isn't even for fighting for a while. Much of that training be for marchin' in formation, and taking orders from their boss dudes. They don't even get access to weapons in many cases until the last bit of their training. Unless ya wanna learn to march and get yelled at we can focus pretty much just on discipline and fighten' ya know?" Kathryn said completely unironically, as her own lack of self discipline dragged her deeper into a drunken stooper. "We'll gotta figure out the best way for ya to fight, and what ya wanna get out of fightin' yeah? Then we can teach ya the good shite. You're kinda small so you should know how to fight the people bigger then ya yeah?" Kathryn said as she shoved a rather big chunk of bread into her mouth. "You'll have the whole world to make your choices with my dude." Kathryn said proudly as she made herself comfortable at the bar.

Kathryn did however listen intently as Victoria explained a bit of lore on her family, Kathryn hoped she would remember it all by morning as she found herself intrigued by the whole thing. She thought the bit about humans thinking elves were nobility by default sounded off, but then again, common folk believed all sorts of weird things. Likely just getting their information through rumors and campfire stories. Kathryn found herself staring intently as the image of the half elf with rather deep fascination. "Weird..." Kathryn said in regard to how comparable V was to the image before her. Kathryn listened more intently as V continued talking. It seemed rather sad, how much the small woman and her family pushed to be like nobility and yet kept being denied. "Sounds like they were hoping for a family like mine was. One with titles and land, but not enough to make a major difference." Kathryn said thinking. Then the alcohol in her brain finally lubricated the cogs in her mind, and a few thoughts were allowed to trickle again. "Well, if I ever get my seat of power back, I could totally bring ya up as a vassal or somethin', advisor, knight some people, get ya jump started ya know? The drawback, is I lack lands, power, influence, and the people who give noble houses power ya know?" Kathryn smiled as if she told a joke, and was waiting for the punchline herself. Then seemed to trail off a bit as she leaned against the counter, attempting to not fall over.

Kathryn listened intently as Victoria continued to explain not only how her family lineage compared to humans and nobility, but how her understanding of wines compared to that of people who worked on them. Kathryn did find herself struggling for a moment trying to process so much information at once. But she did her best! And her best, needed some work. But she was deeply invested into what Victoria had to say. "That is pretty cool not gonna lie. Knowing a bit of everything like that yeah?" Kathryn said still a little dizzy, and definitely very drunken at the moment. "So why did you decide to do bardy stuff? Was it a push from family? Or did you do it because your family said not too? Or was there like... some kind of cool inspiration there?" Kathryn said wondering so much more about the small woman she was going to spend the next few months with. "I wonder if I'd make a good bard... I know like... so many songs." Kathryn said confidently as she sat up in her chair. For a moment, she seemed like she would stand, but either there was an inability too, or apart of her reminded her that she was not 100% in it at the moment, and needed to take a break. Still, she began a tune.



Though the tune came out okay, she soon trailed off, as if forgetting the words, or just unsure if she should continue. Either way, after some mumbling she would stop singing. Kathryn did find herself ready for a fight yet again, as if sober the whole time the moment the door was crashed open Kathryn was on her feet dagger in hand ready to toss. Blanket gripped with her other hand to not only hold in place, but to either toss as a distraction or to act as a make shift net as her eyes locked with the figure in the door way. She eased up rather quickly when it became apparent that new person was friend. Once the adrenaline began to fade the giggling returned. "More of the soldiering type? Fucking dope dude." Kathryn said much more relaxed as she set the blade back down on the bar, the alcohol taking back over as she fell back onto the seat.

The dwarven man seemed like Kathryn's type of person. Soldiering type, worker type, drinking type. "I don't think I've seen a dwarf since I was a wee lass, younger than Lizbeth by a few years yeah?" Kathryn asked, then realized no one else could possibly be able to confirm such an answer. "But I like the things ya say my dude." Kathryn said giving an approving nod and finger point towards the dwarf. "Sounds like a good deal to me yeah? We can sort details when I be less silly then." Kathryn giggled out before taking the soup and began downing it as if her body deep down knew she would need it to survive the night. "Imma be good for drink moment I can stand again yeah? Then! I'll show all y'all some real drinking." Drunk Kathryn said confidently.

BlackBerry listened to Victoria and was impressed the explanation of her abilities and then digression into her family history as well. He did however stick out his tongue in mild disgust when she mentioned Necromancy, though he was somewhat impressed that she had just said it aloud without any hesitancy at all. The image of her cousin hung in the air before him with such a strong family resemblance it was almost uncanny, and if he hadn’t known any better he would have assumed they were siblings.

He watched with growing embarrassment and dread as Lady Kathryn continued down her merry way towards drunken abandon, with Lizbeth taking on the role of caretaker for the knight who looked to be loosing track of her limbs. He offered the young girl an apologetic smile for his companions behaviour. But Lizbeths talk of her crush and her devious schemes did earn her also a lopsided smirk and a chuckle; he could appreciate the fun games could-be-couples would play simply in the hunt for scraps of time spent together. Oh the stories BlackBerry could tell of such games played back home.

Lizbeths pause at his question wasn’t entirely unexpected but it did make him sit up and listen to her answer, nodding with agreement as she laid out her thoughts on training. Perhaps her idea of how long training took was a bit on the optimistic side but he didn’t blame her for it, obviously she had a good head on her shoulders but she was still young, but there was something more to her excitement. BlackBerry leaned back in his chair and pushed against the table with his knee, balancing on the chairs back legs precariously while he continue to listen.

Whatever was pushing Lizbeth down this path to train didn’t seem like a run of the mill fleeting fascination with adventure spurred on by watching battles and fights, this seemed like something more. He wondered if it was the recent passing of her Grandpa that might have caused this, perhaps the man had been killed in the attacks or otherwise had an unsavoury end. BlackBerry worked hard not to show the forming worries on his face, to keep his expression that of agreeable interest.

“Indeed, best to take the time to find your own strengths and what methods work best for you. There is more than one way to skin a cat after all.” He agreed joyfully with Lady KAthryns own somewhat slurred assessment. Lizbeths enthusiasm was proving infectious despite his worries. “I daresay you are spoilt for choice for what you may wish to learn. Lady Kathryn and myself can teach you that ways of weaponry or even hand to hand combat. But if you so fancy our esteemed magicians.” He gestured to Victoria and Kosara. “I am sure will happily offer their own expertise to you as well.”

Speaking of magicians. BlacBerry’s gaze then returned to Victoria but Lady Kathryn saw fit to try her hand at her own brand of music. He listened politely to the unfamiliar tune, his chair creaked on its back legs from him gently swaying in an attempt to follow the rambling rhythm Lady Kathryn sang before she descended into slurred and halfhearted mumbles.

“Perhaps another go at it in the morning Lady Kathryn? When your head has cleared somewhat, hopefully. But moving on, Victoria, there has been a question on my mind for sometime now.” He raised his hand and tapped upon his chin in mock contemplation, the momentum of the motion pulling his knee away from the tables edge for a moment, balancing on the chairs back legs. “You clearly have talent and skill for both the performing and magical arts, easily enough to get by on either alone. So I must ask why Necromancy?” BlackBerry’s voice was still happily loud and light with curiosity, but with a definite undercurrent of distaste as his lips curled around the word ‘Necromancy’. “Though I do admit that this may of course not be the best time for such a question. Topics for the dining table and all. While I am not a Cleric I am aware of several Gods who would frown upon such acts. Though I must admit that beast of yours is useful and all without the stre-”

Whatever BlackBerry was about to say next was mangled into a startled yelp when the front door crashed open and BlackBerry lost his balance. He fell backwards and fell out of view past the edge of the table in a wild flailing of limbs, a foot smacking at the underside of the table, swiftly followed by a clattering racket of chair, horn, and body hitting the floor in that order.

From the floor came a long hiss of pain and then a quiet. “Ow.”

“Sounds really weird. I will have to ask Grandpa when I meet him later. He will know what to do in situations like these.” Kosara sagely stated, hearing the later explanation from Kathryn on how a noble ‘loses’ their name.” Hey it’s fine, I don’t have a family name I can use either! A name doesn’t make who you are!” She gave the huge woman a huge grin in reassuring happy voice. Seeing somewhat that it was not quite a happy topic for Kathryn. Besides a name is just a name, it shouldn’t dictate your life!

“Hmmmm… that sounds a bit more familiar to back home just way more convoluted I suppose.” The tiefling quipped, thinking really hard on the topic of multy people marriages. Honestly she wasn’t seeing what the big deal was, but then again she wasn’t married so maybe there was a context that she was missing. On the topic of bakery though...” That’s a great idea! And I want to see you bake!” The tielfing was once more excited. Apparently Kathryn could bake! She wondered if Kathryn could make good bread…. Or cookies. She had heard of cookies that were apparently something very nice… kind of like small hard but sweet tasking breads… Admittedly that had Kosara’s attention, b ut she was way too busy since she arrived north with her many aimless wanderings and adventures that she forgot.” Hmmm? Ohh yeah! Like you cannot eat or drink ALL cacti out there, but some are good. Make good refreshing drink once chilled too, gotta know the difference though. I hear the same being said about mushroooooms. But yeah there are some that aren’t good for your health and there are some that make you really… ahm… how do I explain this… last time I drank some of that I was seeing dancing pink crocodiles while a quartet of golden snakes were playing music in the background.” She got banned from sampling those drinks afterwards for some reason.

“You can wrap the blades in leather tightly. That should protect you for the most part, though it still hurts to get hit.” The tiefling added her two coppers to the training discussions.”And maybe I can help too! I’m no warrior like Kathryn, but I’m fairly handy with a curved blade… and daggers.” She then looked at Berry who was saying that they should mind their drinking and eating and looking at Kathryn when talking about warriors.” To be fair, all the adventurers and warriors who passed by the caravan stop back home were drinking heavily. Gramps were happy cause they left a lot of gold behind to pay for all their food and drinks and occasional damages and other expenses.”

Moving the topic to V, she listened in rapt attention and took in the sights of V’s cousin apparently.” Ohh… pretty. My sister Asenath would certainly have liked him. Im fairly certain she's looking for a husband too though.” Kosara quipped, looking at the bard again.” So how many sisters do you have, V?” Now that was a curious topic for the pale tiefling cause she herself had a lot of sisters even if not by blood relation and the way V said it, sounded like she’s got a few at the very least. Now on the topic of knowledge, the tiefling was indeed in awe and her expression showed it. Bards were apparently very amazing!

“Ehh not really quite the same. Camels are quite interesting though, have a lot more personality than quite a few of the horses I’ve seen. Ohh yeah, traveling the desert without knowing the land is a huge mistake. You could easily get lost in the endless dunes until the sun or the lack of water does you in, if the critters don’t get you first. The deep desert is also a treacherous place where even your senses can betray you to stray off the paths as the mind starts playing tricks on you because of the powerful sun and heat. Most people who travel the deserts do so along very well known routes that have been used for generations, following the known water spots and that usually requires guides or to join a caravan. It can be very very dangerous, but it’s also has a beauty in it’s own way. During the day at noon, as you stand along the sands it’s like an endless sea of gold.” When Lizbeth asked about the camels and taking the water out, Kosara raised an eyebrow.” Not that I know of…. It’s a lot of fat in the humps, pretty sure there’s no pure water in the body, but you could bleed an animal and drink the blood if the need’s great enough.”

The teifling grinned at Lizbeth’s ambitions to be an adventurer and training during the winter.” Hear, hear! That’s a good plan! I can also teach you to dance! It keeps the body in good well sculpted shape and trains flexibility and dexterity! Can probably also see if I can’t reach Grandpa if you want him to teach you magic!” She grinned.

Then the door opened, Berry fell down and a dwarf walked in. Kosara blinked once, blinked twice and looked down at Berry.” Need help?” She asked with a smile, reaching a hand to help him stand up if he wanted and then looked at the dwarf!

“Hello! Nice to meet you, I’m Kosara!” She introduced herself in traditional Kosara loud fashion. She listened to the proposition and nodded along.” I’m good for such an deal, there’s way too much meat already and I have no idea how to process the chitin! I could certainly use some chitin styled dancing garments. Exotic costumes are a good thing to have for performers! Also maybe a headdress with a segmented cover for my braid to make it appear as a scorpion stinger almost! My sisters would be so jealous!” She grinned suddenly she halted and looked at the dwarven craftsman.” Can an Ankheg head chitin plate thing be turned into a shield?!” Kosara asked, eyes looking at him with anticipation.” I Will drink on it!” She cheerfully confirmed, looking at V and Berry in alternation waiting for their responses.

Victoria had it in her mind to answer the interests put to her by the rest of her fellow adventurers. It sounded like the first real occasion that they sounded interested in the details of her background and circumstances. To be perfectly fair, it was also probably the only time she opened up about herself whatsoever. Baronfjord was right to question her motivation to study Bardic Necromancy, being as she was the overly social, pretty-of-face magic user who more or less openly had an undead thrall at her side to use as a pack animal. But this first, truly open conversation would be postponed by the circumstances of the evening. In this instance, the arrival of an uninvited Dwarf. Though to look at him, this wasn't exactly the standard issue hill or mountain dwelling son of Moradin to which she had been accustomed in her travels.

It was a pity. Victoria did truly feel like opening up just then.

Victoria listened to the sales pitch given by the industrious fellow. She did not truly know the full value of the Ankheg chitin, having heard only rumors of its use and only half-told rumors, at that. But she had the wherewithal to realize that this Dwarf valued it highly if he was going to offer rare services for their scraps and extras. More than that, it was possible that he was attempting to lowball them. Yes, he had skill. But he had no product upon which to ply it. So Victoria endeavored to push the craftsman's sense of ethic. The first step was to put him on the defensive. "Master Urmdrus? I apologize if my more sylvan tongue does not do your name justice, good sir, but if you will allow me to interject?" The others had given their blessings, it looked like, and the deal did sound good, but more might be wrung from this. She continued, "My pardon, please, but did I hear correctly that you knew we were lent the right to this building by the L'Roses, and then came to place without invitation, looked through our belongings in storage, and entered here without so much as a knock at the door?"

She let the accusatory question hang in the air for a half moment before continuing, "I understand. Well, I understand a little. Madame Cecily said this building wasn't in use recently and you are the resident crafter here. It was a minor oversight in the face of a long time of unfettered access. But I must insist that we all become better friends before such familiarity is appreciated."

Victoria looked like she was losing Urmdrus, or that her words her falling on annoyed, deaf ears until Kathryn offered the guy a mug of the local ale from the bar. And prior to them striking an official deal. This seemed to perk the Dwarf up significantly. A fresh mug of foamy goodness in hand, he indicated for Victoria to continue. Or get to the point. Whichever. The Bardiest of Necrobards breathed a quiet thanks to the presently inebriated Kathryn for better speaking Urmdrus's language than herself, and proposed a counteroffer. "Thank you. Please, pull up a seat." A deep breath in, back out, and then, "I have a good idea of what we have. Not expert by any means, but a passable approximation. And I understand that you are the skilled craftsman here. But the fact is, we are the only ones in... well, quite a ways that could properly appreciate the gift of your armor. The soldiers have uniform gear they have to use, just as Avonshire town guards. There are precious few mercenaries and we, I believe, are the only Adventurers in the area; certainly the only ones who brought this material to you. In the spring, if Ankhegs are even spotted, the locals will either avoid them or put them into a stewpot, provided they don't leave them to rot."

With an amount of humility to her movements, Victoria poured a second mug of ale and placed it next to Urmdrus, then returned to her own glass of wine. "And once we come to a more evened deal, I should be joyous to drink with you, Master Urmdrus. In fact, I should wish to learn more or your homeland and the stories they tell, if it pleases you to speak of it." She smiled warmly, giving the outward appearance of gratitude and interest. Her words to come did not support this assumption, however. "The fixed amount of goods you have discussed means that you walk away with the far greater share of the chitin. As for the steaks, I say have at them. Food should never be a bargaining chip. I find it uncouth at best. Take what you feel is fair, and if anyone else has a difficulty with this, take it from my share and eat in good health, sir."

A small sip of wine, and Victoria addressed the issue of the chitin itself. "Your skill will create beautiful things, I am confident. But we risked our lives to get this. Blood was shed. Assuming that your skills play as important a role in this enterprise, I would say that this entitles you to an equal share of the shell, and nothing more. I will also concede that you might have something in mind, else you wouldn't have come to visit so immediately. Your project comes from your share, and the rest of the chitin remains open to discussion for further use at a later time. Unless you wish to renegotiate with an equivalent in gold, which I will be more than satisfied to entertain."

"As for me personally, you were speaking of a light, strong armor that can be concealed under clothing - I am very interested in this. Maybe a bauble or two so that I may properly commemorate this occasion when I do not wish to wear armor, and praise the handiwork of Master Urmdrus the Craftsdwarf and Armorer to those in my social circles who would listen." Victoria raised her glass and held it out in front of her. "This is the deal I propose, and I will most certainly drink on it, sir."

While Victoria could not tell what Urmdrus was thinking, she could have sworn that she saw the older Dwarf trying to hold back a smile. Or a sneer. It was hard to tell.

"Like Blackberry Pie suggests, we got all sorts of skills. We can start ya with some of the basics of the defensive stuffs. Never hurts to know how to use a blade to keep would be attackers at bay, no matta who be doing the..." She paused party way through the sentence. A little unsure if she was saying the right words. Then broke her attention from Lizbeth and looked upwards as if trying to read her own thoughts. Then appeared to be mouthing a string of random words and sentences as she got her attention span back in order. "Bad assholes will be bad assholes, you should know how to keep them away no matter how you go about your training. A good blade skill can do wonders there." Perfect. And Drunk Kathryn seemed to agree as a dorkish smile crossed Kathryn face as she brought her attention back to Lizbeth. Blackberry continued to be rather sweet to Kathryn despite drunk Kathryn attempting to reign control over the situation. Though at this point the internal battle seemed to end at a draw. Leaving a mildly Dizzy Kathryn to take charge. "No no no... I think I can get it just..." She pondered again. Thought very hard. Nodded in affirmation, before turning her attention back to her dragonborn friend. "You might be right... I keep getting the tune to Wonderall stuck in it's place..." Kathryn said defeated. She would sober up some more before she attempted to sing more. Unless the booze had their way. By that point the only person who may recognize that the noise coming out of her mouth as music, would be Drunk Kathryn.

Kathryn looked flabbergasted when BB said Victoria practiced Necromancy! "Wait wait wait wait... like dead people?" Then she stopped, looked at Morty, considered the other recently delicious Morty, and it made more sense then. "wait... no now I remember... please forgive me. Imma go and make brain work again." She said confidently. The question that BB asked seemed to not be answered as of yet, so Kathryn did what Kathryn did when she was trying to stay up right. Relaxed in her chair, ate her food, and debated what to drink next.

What did confuse Kathryn even more, was not being able to find Blackberry again! One moment he was there, the next he was gone! Right around the time the dwarf gentleman came in... She could have sworn she heard his voice... But even Kosara seemed to be looking around for their lost dragon friend. "My dude?" Kathryn asked standing up looking for Blackberry. Finding that Kosara had found the man first, and he seemed... not dead. So, well? Possibly so. Kathryn stumbled over to assist Blackberry, but Kosara already seemed to be well on the case! But surely she could help right?

All the while Victoria attempted to make a deal with their new dwarven friend, and things seemed to go poorly. SURELY! Kathryn could help here. "V V V V. Victoria." Kathryn said as if explaining something to a child. But the drunken smile showed she had no ill will, or even an ounce of scolding in her voice. But Master Urmdrus was one of Kathryn's people. Not by culture. But by their way of class and lifestyle. "Master Urmdrus here is a master of his trade. And maybe he's getting a little excited about things, but who wouldn't be? Hells, I can work a forge rather well meself if I do say so myself." Kathryn said confidently. "But this is clearly an area of this very handsome man's expertise." Kathryn said before walking surprisingly strait towards the ale, and pouring a pint for herself, drinking it half way, and pouring another one for Master Urmdrus. "As one fellow trades master to another, we would love to work something out with you. Alas, we have some drinks to enjoy tonight. Mind helping us out yeah?" Kathryn said in a relaxed tone. A tone of someone who was here to celebrate a great win, and who was ready to build good relations with this new man. "Victoria is a little harsh on the edges sometimes, but she's a rather lovely lady if I do say so myself. She's also probably the best to sort out a good deal between us so we can all walk away happy and shit faced." Kathryn joked as she gave a pint to Master Urmdrus, before returning to her section of bar walking backwards and giving a cheers motion towards the dwarf. Them having some more of her ale as she returned to check on Blackberry who at the very least seemed alive and as well as someone flat on the floor could be.

Kathryn who was no where near sobering up, decided she really wanted to help and get involved. SO! Setting her drink down on the counter she stumbled closer to Blackberry and Little K. "Here, let me. You're small and adorable and I don't want you hurting yourself. And I? Am big and strong! Less adorable but that is not what's important right now." Drunk Kathryn lacking the coordination to work around Kosara she wrapped both of her arms around the small woman and lifted her up over her shoulder. Upon doing so, Kathryn found herself spinning in circles with a small tiefling woman over her shoulder laughing and giggling as she did so. Too continue with the shenanigans Kathryn began speaking in a deep mock gruff voice. "Hardy har har look at me! I am a cuckholded ass fart who tries to beat on people I am supposed to protect to make myself feel stronger! I try to lure woman into alleyways so I can stab them in the back! I am sooo unlikable all of my goons with nowhere to go ran away the first chance they got!" Kathryn then let out a high pitched giggle as she continued spinning, now knocking over a table as she did so. At that point the spinning stopped, but the laughing did not. "Oh whatever low life could I be?" Kathryn continued as she confirmed she was infact not falling over with her really good friend over her shoulder.

"Oh! Wait! Wait wait wait I got more!" Kathryn teased. First stumbling to the bar to grab her ale, take a few more sips, and adjust as she was trying to do too much with not enough hands and too much alcohol in her system. "Oops. Almost lost my blanket..." Kathryn chuckled before turning to the rest of the room, holding Kosara firmly on her shoulder. "Okay okay." She cleared her throat. "Oh look at me! I am gonna attack a bunch of heroes in broad day light! And be a dick to the one who tried to be hospitable! And be soooo surprised when she gets fed up with my shit and teaches me that I can in fact, sniff my own ass." She said in her best withery squeaky voice. Not that she could hold it as in Kathryn's mind, she was the funniest person in the world at that moment. And the giggles and laughs continued. She paused thinking of more she could do. "I have for you lot, a serious mission that is totally bogus, but we're gonna call it real for another totally serious mission. You're gonna hunt goblins but look into my corrupt stooge of a cousin and find proof that he is a disappointment to the whole family!" Kathryn said in her most authoritative soldiering voice. Even standing up strait suddenly so she could do a mock solute. It was clear Sober Kathryn had lost the battle. Would she win the war by the end of the night? only time could tell. "Thank you, thank you. I take requests." Kathryn bowed, holding onto Kosara so she wouldn't fall to the floor, and using her to keep the blanket firmly wrapped on herself.

Finishing the ale she poured for herself she spun herself into the middle of the room still giggling as she went. "wait wait wait I got another! See if y'all can guess this one." She limbered up, shook her arms, stretched her legs, and did a little hop. "I don't trust you adventuring types. All y'all do is cause problems with your money and harassing my customers. Those be almost adequately paying customers you be scaring into comas at my doors there!" Kathryn said in her best old man voice before the giggles took over and she needed a break. "Stop throwing me patrons around and under tables! Stop drinking so much! But keep spending! By the way watch out for suspicious curses, but don't tell anyone I told ya yeah?" Kathryn said with a hint of optimism. "By the way, can y'all get me a silver knife for self defense, some shackles so I can get the job done myself. OH! And by the way, I will help you, but I won't actively help you. Also, no talky until daylight. There's a ton of weird shite that is gonna surprise you in a couple hours-" Kathryn stopped suddenly almost dropping Kosara as the realization hit her like a brick. "Holy shit was Robert a were rat?" Kathryn asked in a surprisingly clean sentence, as if she had sobered up all at once.

Weather: It is a moderate sort of cold now, advancing against the retreating daylight. Tiny, icy wisps of rain occasionally find their way groundward, though referring to the event as rain, proper, is generous.

Time: Dusk. There might be almost enough light to comfortably see by right this moment, but swiftly, the dying of the day is upon you.

Ambience: The taproom has warmed up to a quite pleasant, aromatically pleasing experience. Burning lamps filled with grapeseed oil, burning hearth wood, and the continued scent of the meal hung in the air with a comfortable presence. Simple but well-crafted flatware and dishes clink together, providing a special sort of background noise with the crackling fire. The fire and lamplight flicker with mellow orange and yellow illumination dancing along the walls and furniture.



The mood of the Coach House turned from the serious to the remarkably less serious in a short amount of time. The majority of it, anyway. There lay a single island of direct and serious conversation still at the table where the majority of the evening's repast was lain. Not complete and total, dread serious, however. Master Urmdrus now had exactly as many foamy mugs of ale as he had hands, and it seemed like that was the way he preferred it. He cocked a curious eye in the direction of Kathryn when she spoke to him, tiny elements of distrust crossing his face with the flattery as it grew into something truly worthy of springtime fertilizer, but the ale sanded out the rougher spots of his mood. Or appeared to. It was difficult to tell with this particular Dwarf. It did manifest the intended effect of making Urmdrus more willing to hear out Victoria's counter-offer.

Lizbeth took to being quiet, for the most part. The overall mood shifted when the Bard began to speak, especially as the first part of it was too similar to levying an accusation. She did make one, tentative suggestion over her bowl of soup, "Maybe if we're counting everyone getting even shares, we should split all of the unused stuff evenly? Like, what they don't want for their armors and..."

She was swiftly albeit respectfully silenced by the wiry Dwarf, with a sudden look and intonation of, "You are not old enough to barter by Human years yet. I trade with these people, who brought me good chitin. Another year, little more, I can listen. Not yet." He turned back to Victoria and the rest of the group (who may or may not have gotten up to various levels of shenaniganry at this point) and hefted one of his mugs to his face. Nary a drop was wasted as he downed the liquid fermentation of local grains and set the drinking vessel upon the table. "Hmm. Not to barter with food. Shows respect." He leaned over the table to grab a small loaf of bread and some soup for dipping with the surety of a person who owned the place, else had the implicit trust of those who did. "Okay."

Urmdrus allowed the word to marinate in the moment while he chewed heavily on a chunk of orange-soaked bread. He then noisily slurped down a good portion of his second mug of ale, belched quietly(ish) and nodded. "Good." Then louder, so that the others could hear, "Good." I make the armor reinforcement for the tall one, assassin armor for Violin Lady. Hair decoration and ...hot weather garb... I make with armor cutting extras. But I keep enough to make... he struggled with the word in Common for a moment, "...cuirass. Yes. And shield. This is made first. Then one piece to do what I want - this is last." Anyone keeping up with the math on the deal as it was unfolding would realize that this actually placed him at a position where he claimed even less than the current deal. "Will cook Ankheg for us all tomorrow, if you give more of..." Urmdrus raised his empty mug of ale whilst simultaneously downing the remainder of the other.

A hearty belch later and the Dwarf raised from his seat and stomped toward the door. He stepped just outside and unceremoniously dragged in two wooden buckets that he had apparently brought with him. "We drink on this. I start tomorrow early. Also - piss in the buckets. All of you. Need this. I will collect tomorrow morning. Deal?"

Lizbeth began to sidle off, away from the table. She cast her eyes over to the random shenanigans the rest of the group was getting up to and wondered it it was slightly more sane than the conversation the was almost a part of. She did venture one question toward the older Dwarf: "Master Urmdrus, you'll teach me how to be a fighter with Lady Kathryn, too?" The obviously far-from-home Dwarf gave a stout nod, but remained unspeaking in hopes of getting an answer from the party before continuing.

BlackBerry blinked up at the ceiling trying to clear away the stars from behind his eyes while Kosara spoke, painting scenes of horses with large fatty lumps on their backs galloping across shifting waves of sand with wagons of people in tow. It would have been an amusing image to think about if it weren't for the sharp pains at the back of his skull, and base of his horn, where had had hit the floor. His foot also reminded him it had been hurt as well. It was odd to think he could easily take being stabbed, punched, kicked, bitten, and smacked with a haddock without so much as a wince or a grunt, but it was falling backwards on a chair which had left him stunned for a moment.

From his spot of the floor he could hear people running through introductions for the newcomer.

“Baronfjørd Chedgusah.” BlackBerry said on hollow instinct, his hand popping above the table to give a quick wave. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance. And yes, I would appreciate a hand, but in a moment thank you. Let the room stop spinning first.”

Almost regrettably he could hear the conversation above him turn towards what to do with the bug carcasses. Kosara seemed to have it in mind to wear some of the chitin in her hair from the sounds of it, while Victoria had the more reasonable idea to instead have some fine light armour created. Lady Kathryn meanwhile had managed to grab a drink for Urmdrus, and another on for herself for good measure, and was now stumbling her way back towards the table as if the floor was rolling like the golden waves of sand Kosara had mentioned. The floorboard beneath his back juddered with every nearing step, filling BlackBerry with the acute sense he was in danger of being stepped on if he didn’t move.

“Lend me a hand would you please Kosara.” He then added with more than hint of urgency, reaching up to Kosara. “Quickly now.”

Fate however decided this would not come to pass. As Blackberry reached out towards Kosaras offered hand the pale tiefling was whisked away by large hands wrapping around her and carrying her out of reach, leaving only the fleeting feeling of their finger tips brushing past each other.

“Ah.” BlackBerry said simply The dread finally blooming into abject fear. “Oh no.”
Scrambling feverishly up from the floor BlackBerry chased after Lady Kathryn around the room while trying hard not to be hit by Kosaras limbs being thrown this way and that as she was paraded about like a springtime maiden. He ducked under Kosaras flying legs with a small yelp when Lady Kathryn suddenly spun again to make a beeline towards her momentarily forgotten drink at the bar. BlackBerry tried to jump ahead of Lady Kathryn in attempt to snatch away the drink before she could grab it, but even in her current state her long legs carried her to her prize, only for BlackBerry hit the bar and his hand grasping at nothing but air. He smacked the bar with a furious snarl.

“Lady Kathryn! Would you please beh-yipe!” He ducked under another spin of Kosoras legs. “Do you take the request to ceased this nonsense and calm down for a moment? It is incredibly unseemly to behave in such a manner in fron-goondness!” Another hurried duck beneath her captives legs. “To behave in such a manner in front of our host and guest!” He finally finished with a snap of his teeth for good measure.

BlackBerry wisely took a step back to gesture at the much, much calmer conversation taking place at the table which he was admittedly missing the majority of. He didn’t dare think what Lizbeth thought of them all now behaving like a bunch of animals and fools. He didn’t dare think of what Madame L’Rose would then think of them after hearing of this not only from her Niece, but also from Master Urmdrus as well.

“Perhaps you should slow down?” He suggested.

“Or even another bite to eat?” He pleaded.

“Lady Kathryn, Would you at least allow Kosara to stand on her own two feet?” Although just after he said that he looked to the Teifling and figured she was actually enjoying this.

Unfortunately his suggestions were either ignored or simply not heard as BlackBerry found himself in the surprising position of not being the loudest person in the room. Given the circumstances, he didn’t like it. With the patience of a cat he stood, fuming, bristling almost as Lady Kathryn declared her her skills of mocking impressionism to the world. Meanwhile BlackBerry’s eyes had snapped onto the pint still in her hand waving too and fro as she jump from one voice to another, biding his time, only half listening to her talk while waiting patiently until….Lady Kathryn came to stop.

He struck like lightning. BlackBerry stepped forward and wrapped his hand around LAdy Kathryns wrist of the hand carrying her drink, with his index and middle fingers on the back. Without even a moment lost, surprise was key to this movement, he pushed Lady Kathryns hand inwards with his index and middle fingers. The sudden force strong was enough to crash through the knights resistance but crucially not enough to break the wrist. At any other time the Knight would likely have been able to resist the movement to break her grip through sheer strength or dexterity from endless training honed into instinct. Instead, BlackBerry watched Lady Kathryn's fingers slacken as the tendons within were unwilling stretched to their limit and then gave out, breaking her grip from the cup. His knee snapped upward to meet the falling cup and send it, and its contents shooting up into the air.

The cup began its descent first.

BlackBerry released Lady Kathryns wrist and snatched the cup from the air. The now freed ale was still up high but had already begun it’s own descent within the loving embrace of the force known as gravity. Still deeply within the moment, BlackBerry saw the world; he saw the beauty of the firelight at the same time reflected and refracted through the globules and drops of the golden ale spinning and shining. His movements were as steady as they were blisteringly fast, drawing the cup in an arc across the air to gather the ale back into its home. He did have to drop into a crouch to catch a stray drop he hadn’t been able to get in the initial arc but otherwise he had caught nearly every bit of the ale that Kathryn hadn’t yet drank.

“I do apologise for that Lady Kathryn, that was somewhat rash of me.” BlackBerry drew himself back up straight, the drink he now held had gained a very large head of foam from its exciting travels. “I hope I did not cause you any harm. But as I was saying Lady Kathryn, you should really pace yourself. We are in the company of our very gracious host and I unfortunately must inform you that you are not making the best impression.”

Promptly turning on his heel, the fish tied to his horn ratted with laughter at the shamed knight, he then strode towards a potted plant. “You have had quite enough for this evening.” He upended the ale into the potted plant.

“EEEEP!” Kosara let out a sound of startled surprise when she was hoisted up like a sack of jolly potatoes by the decidedly bigger woman who had partaken in jolly alcohol consumption. Or as Gramps back home called it – get shitfaced drunk. She had no idea why they called it that, but it was what it was. It seemed Kathryn here was indeed very very drunk. That realization however gave way to the realization that Kathryn was jolly and was now spinning, probably due lacking coordination.” WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~” She let out a gleeful sound now as she was spun around. Ohh yes, Kosara very much had a lot of fun actually. These types of hijinks were her most favorite thing… What nobody else liked it when people spun them around??? Well she liked it since she could remember… that and moving fast and even spinning by herself. As parto f her dancing sometimes she spun a lot, but admittedly sometimes she noticed that if she spun too much too fast she’d get dizzy.

And then Kathryn began her drunken ramblings and knocking over tables and almost falling over with the tiefling on her shoulder and it was getting decidedly less fun. Kosara really didn’t want a drunken Kathryn falling on top of her or something. Then after all the random schenanigans, she was nearly dropped when her very very good friend exclaimed that maybe Robert was a wererat. Well when you put it in context like that it was a distinct possibility, the tiefling surmised. Just because somebody was making logical conclusion while drunk didn’t make them any less valid if confirmed and checking out. In this case it sounded quite possible.

That said she gave the dragonborn a glare when he suggested that Kathryn puts her down.’ Don’t you dare! I like it here!’ She mouthed out to him. Then Berry, was not quite as sneaky as that previous monk, but still very fancy monkish with his glowing arms when he summons them, managed to pry the drink out of Kathryn’s hand in some rather impressive display of sleight of hand coordination. Then Kosara thought about it and nodded, still hanging on Kathryn’s shoulder.” Yeah… drunk Kathryn’s not as nice or fun...” She concluded and reached over, placing a hand on the woman’s cheek.” Lesser Restoration!” The pale woman chanted with an innocent smile, celestial energies from her bond with her patron coming to life as sparkles of gold flashed and the spell took effect.” Soooooooo Kathryn, you sober yet? This usually sobers people right away! It’s great for dealing with hangovers before they even begin!”

The duality of adventuring life was not lost on Victoria. They had participated in an event that had shaken the Township of Avonshire from its rough log walls to the cobblestones of its streets. They had battled back things conceived in nightmares and had their brains scratched by a power beyond their immediate comprehension. They were compensated for their time, though in Victoria's opinion not remotely enough. The Bard herself had several small ways to express herself artistically and socially, mostly in the form of music. As she was a bit of an extrovert, her social proclivities were sated by traveling to a new spot and meeting new people, even if it was just this one odd, ill-mannered Dwarf. But to the point of Victoria's train of thought on the situation unfolding, these were ways in which she unwound, whereas her new adventuring party saw fit to get hammered and flop about the confines of their lent vacation home. By every merciful god in the heavens above (and a few that weren't), Victoria hoped it would stay in the confines of their lent vacation home. For the life of her, she could not fathom the overall goal aside from just blowing off some steam.

It did appear that the responsibilities of negotiator and babysitter fell to her, which earned the rest of their group a raised eyebrow and annoyed look. Maybe two. But these she smoothed over, intent on getting back to the tasks set to her. "If I may, Master Urmdrus?" She used the honorific presented by Lizbeth first, unsure as to whether it had specific or general meaning in this land but hoping that, even if it wasn't appropriate, the attempt to emulate custom would be appreciated. "To your earlier address with Miss Lizbeth; her suggesting a course of action when she hasn't full accounting of the proceedings aside, how else will she learn? I do appreciate that you have no objection to her presence as we come to an agreement."

The blatant appropriation of a portion of their supper from the older, grey Dwarf was not missed. It was not a point worth arguing over, even if it was rather rude. The stony bastard was really pushing the phrasing of their earlier narrative, Victoria observed. "Perhaps another time, I might allow you to indulge in of some of my smoked pork. To be open, there has been an element of magic in its preservation." It was at this time that Urmdrus spotted Morty, standing as still as death in to the side of the room. He looked from the undead thrall to Victoria, who simply sat smiling with an otherwise neutral expression. To her surprise, the Dwarf nodded. It was not the nod of one accepting an offer so much as it was clarity of understanding. Nevertheless, Victoria continued as if it was precisely such an acceptance. "Excellent," she almost purred. "I shall make sure to set some aside for you."

With what felt like the vast majority of the business talk out off the way and a better understanding of one another, Victoria looked to address the last of the points at large and make one more request. "As the only one on this side of the negotiation that is paying attention, I agree to your caveat. Or rather, I will if you will agree to one of mine." Victoria looked around at the minor spellcasting, fleet acts of manual dexterity, and demonstrations of alcohol-fueled shenanigans. "Make my armor second. Take your time; really pour yourself into it. I've heard tales of ...Duergar? Duergar craftsmanship. I should wish to see this for myself." Victoria topped off her glass of white wine and raised it tentatively toward Urmdrus, who raised his tankard and clinked his drinking vessel to hers. He began to drink. Victoria followed.

When their drinks were drained, Victoria refilled her glass once again, saying, "Now that we have come to an understanding, Master Urmdrus, I am curious about two things. One, would you like another ale? By all means, please serve yourself. And two, why do you need us to 'piss in the bucket', hmm?" More questions might follow, but these demanded more immediate attention. Especially that second one.