And what a week it had been. After her failure at breakfast the other day, Kathryn shied away from everyone for the rest of breakfast. Attempting to hide the embarrassment and the taste of cheese. She did her best to correct her manners after The Incident, but the damage had been done. Thankfully! The week was passing at a good rate, and soon everyone had their own problems to worry about! Kathryn would work on her physical condition a fair amount through the week, carrying as much as she could and taking it as far as she could for as long as she could. With mixed results. Twice in the week she had to set down the barrels she used for weights prematurely. She kicked herself for that and would make up for the failure with pull ups using the railing to the stairs up to the second floor, and with crunches until she was flat in the dirt.

She went easier on herself when Lizbeth was with her. In part because every muscle in her body ached all the time now. As well, she didn't want to give Lizbeth the impression she was trying to show her up. "We're going to work on endurance and stamina a lot this winter. Adrenalin can carry you pretty far in a fight but the last thing you want to do is collapse due to exhaustion. And when you're fighting, you're not just pushing your own limits, but so is whoever you're fighting. If they can't beat you in a strait fight, they'll work on breaking you down until you can't fight anymore." Kathryn said trying to educate the young Lizbeth during their workouts. But Kathryn wanting to have fun with this girl who was like a sibling to her wanted to do more than pushing physical limits.

After a few days of doing discipline and physical work, Kathryn brought Lizbeth to the base of the lookout tower she had explored her first day here. "Now, we're not quite ready for proper fighting training yet. Buuuuuuuut..." Kathryn said with a less than subtle hint of excitement. "We're not far from that point either." Kathryn said giddy like a little girl! Kathryn pulled out the short sword from the back of her belt and laid it out on top of a flat stone by the two woman. Then she pulled her family great sword from her hip and laid it out by it. Still chipped in places, and scratched to hell, the old blade looked like it had seen a thousand battles. "I have a duel coming up in a few days here. And I would love for you to be my squire for this event. I don't expect it to be a particularly challenging fight, but Baronfjørd may have a few tricks up his sleeves. Normally squires help set up armor, polish and clean weapons, and hand a knight their gear and supplies as needed. Wine and water when in need of a drink, a sword when fighting, and to assist a knight in problem solving difficult situations. Granted, we're not going the full thing here. Proper squire and knight training takes a long time. For all intents and purposes, you'd be my assistant before I kick Blackberry's ass in a fight." Kathryn chuckled, rather full of herself.

Kathryn then sat down on a nearby stone, and picked up her family sword from the flat rock. "However, you should know how to maintain a weapon. And mine is in need of a lot of love at the moment." She said a bit embarrassed. "SO this is a good chance to show you how to do so." For much of the rest of the day Kathryn would show Lizbeth how to oil, clean, and sharpen a sword. Letting the small girl work on Kathryn's short sword which was already in pretty new condition. After some hours of showing Lizbeth how to maintain her gear, Kathryn then pulled out a pair of wooden swords, a little longer than a short sword, but by no definition a long sword. And a pair of very simple made shields. "These wont serve you in a proper fight. But it'll probably be safer to train with than blunted swords. When I kept insisting to my parents I wanted to learn to fight, my uncle agreed to teach me. That day he had the blacksmith make two long swords and told him to not sharpen the blades." She chuckled at the nostalgia for a moment. "I got to dance at the spring harvest ball with my hand wrapped up to let it heal. And it was the funnest winter I have ever had." She said with a giddy expression. Much of the rest of the week was spent on much the same. Pushing physical limits, polishing armor, and by the tail end of the week, Kathryn was showing Lizbeth the basics of stances to use with a sword. Even showing her how to counter and block attacks. As a whole, a productive week.

The rest of the week was pretty simple for Kat. Working out, long walks and jogs, finding new places to get a good view, the works. Though at one point Master Urmdrus had surprised her cutting her off with a rope and a stool in hand. Kathryn froze in shock as the smith began to measure her. But not before letting out a surprised "Eeep!" In a pitch way higher than someone her size would normally make. But after a brief recommendation to pee more and a quick measurement, the moment had passed without further incident. But this wasn't her only interaction with the dwarf this week. Earlier, she had approached his shop to work on the training weapons that she and Lizbeth would be using together while Lizbeth learned to handle a blade. She had asked the man a few questions here and there, but she wasn't really sure the best routes to go about them.

While working in the shop setting up the practice weapons that her and Lizbeth would use later in the week, Kathryn turned up to listen to the smith talk about the bug armor he was crafting. "So like... totally acid proof? I suppose if we come across more of those things we'll be in a much better spot. The way they hit us before was pretty brutal. But their acid attacks were the real killer in that fight. Plus, the idea of not being melted like a lit candle on a hot day sounds rather nice." Kathryn joked unable to help herself to the small jest. Realizing the joke may not be as funny to him as to herself. Changing the topic Kathryn moved onto other matters. "So, I haven't seen a lot of dwarves in my lifetime. But you seem... different." Kathryn wasn't sure the best way to ask the question, but curiosity was winning out in this case. She had a solid admiration for the dwarf. He was a skilled trade worker, an experienced warrior, and despite all of that, he was still willing to teach young Lizbeth how to fend for herself. She had seen many people fit that bill, who would never do such a thing as to show a young woman how to fight. Either due to cultural social norms, or due to the fear that they may experience what they had when it was their turn for war. To see Master Urmdrus help Lizbeth was a huge win in her book.

The rest of Kathryn's week wasn't as exciting. The rest was spent working out by herself, drinking, and reading. Lots, and lots of reading. A question she still hasn't been able to find an answer for. A question that has only gotten more complicated the more she thought on it. The goblins. The question had many parts to solve though. Why were they there? They clearly weren't some random bandits. They were also too well equipped, how did they get said gear? What the hell were they doing with old runic magic? Old runic magic which its origins can be traced back to across the world? With little to no sightings from there to here? It's not something that can just find itself somewhere random. A private library of a former traveler or merchant? Maybe. But a pack of well equipped goblins? Something was up. She already had some suspicions on the goblins to begin with due to the nature of their quest. But now? What were the chances that magic that that was considered outdated and rare in her homeland, where it's roots began, found its way out here? From her homeland. The place she was trying to avoid. She spent hours every night, dedicating herself to learning more about this situation. She needed answers.

Kathryn was finally allowed a moment of respite. Something relaxing to calm her nerves as the week drew to an end. A duel until one yielded. With arguably the only person in the party who could go toe to toe with her in melee. Baronfjørd "Blackberry" Chedgusah. Walking up in full gear with Lizbeth in tow, who got the privilege to hold her sword in it's sheath, and the hammer attached to it's same belt. She briefly saw Kosara and Victoria as she walked her way to the Gazebo patio. Kathryn's powerful stride broke to a stop when she overheard what Kosara was explaining. "I uh... Yeah that sounds pretty weird huh. But sounds fun to explore. First, Blackberry has brought a fate onto himself that only he will understand the true cost." Kathryn said confidently. "You're both welcome to watch Blackberry and I beat the shite out of each other down by the Gazebos. Lizbeth will be my acting squire for the event. And, I am expecting a rather fun time." Kathryn said proudly with a grand old smile on her face.

The week had passed by without much comment.

For starters there had been his and Victoria's little trip to Southmoor. The pair parted soon after arriving to handle their own affairs, BlackBerry had made a beeline for a shoemaker who had understandably been surprised by ar having Dragonborn for a customer. But a customer was acustomer, and after taking the necessary measurements suggested BlackBerry return in a few days to collect his purchase. The Shoemaker understandably didn't have anything that would fit properly already made.

What followed after the little trip had been several days of hard, gruelling, thankless work both at the Coach House stable with Old Boy.

The battered Dragonborn had gotten his wish and been given many of the unglamorous jobs which needed doing before the first snow, namely mucking out the stables, cleaning various tools, counting the bags of feed. Now that Jon, the head Stableman had seen the Battered Hero could indeed pull his weight outside of ‘flashy, magic heroics’ there was now promise of more laborious tasks to come.

However, it was not all bad. While the mornings and afternoons were indeed hard work, Jon had been a man of his word, his evenings had been a change of pace going through the basics in horse-care. There had been a lot to go through and Jon was a man who adored the animals in his care. He would spend hours go

Jon taught BlackBerry mostly the basics in horse care; keeping an eye on the animals gait in case if injury, how often each year to have his shoes cleaned, how much to feed and whatnot. BlackBerry ended up asking for a lot to be written down for him so he could refer to it later.

Right now though, he was sitting around the table with the others and turning his nose up at the rancid smelling parcel Kosara had just put on the table.

“Madame L'Rose did mention some fruit was being left on the vine did she not? Perhaps these had been left on a bit too long.” Giving another sniff he then added with no small amount of disgust. “Definitely been left too long. Any longer and it very well may walk off on its own.”

He didn't dare unwrap the parcel in case what Victoria had suggested were true and he unleashed a swarm of midges, flies, or something equally horrid in the room. There were numerous songs, jokes, and cautionary tales of masterful adventurers being laid low by the smallest of creatures and he didn't want to follow them.

His leg bounced rapidly as he followed the thought. “Does the cold not kill off bugs? you tend to not see many bugs other than during the summer. Especially those horrid little midges that like to fly by your ear. Ghastly things.” BlackBerry pinched the air to illustrate the size of them.

“Though perhaps you should inform Madame L'Rose about that, Kosara. I doubt she would want any crop going to rot in the field. The wall though does also sound interesting, might prove a fun pastime to go investigate it as well. I wonder if Madame L'Rose knows of it. I bet you Lizbeth would; she continues to strive as the sort for whom exploration and wanderings come easy to. That is of course if you can convince the Girl to take a break. I do believe I have seen her asking our fair knight for as much training as she can handle. And then a fair amount more.”

“On the bright side however. It does seem we've hit a stroke of luck in a calm and benign time here seems guaranteed. the debacle with the bugs last week notwithstanding. I have had plenty of time to talk with Jon, the stablemaster here, who has yet to mention anything much of interest going on. Nothing more than a worker going places they ought not but I fail to see anything overly nefarious though.”

A thought then struck him. With an annoyed click of the tongue he said to himself “Drat. I still need to get those letters sent off. So that the rest of you know Southmoor does in fact offer a postal service shoukd anyone else have anything to send. It seem well organised to my mind.” But there wasn't time to dawdle. He had a battle to fight which was heralded by their knights arrival and departure from breakfast, armed to the nine hells and back stopping only long enough to invite Victoria and Kosara to watch.

“Was that today?” He frowned and then stood up so fast when he remembered the chair fell back. He grinned excitedly.“Goodness gracious me, I had plum forgot. Yes, one moment I shall be after you in just a moment! Oh this will be fun. Do not alarm yourselves.” He paused for a moment between stacking the plates to reassure Kosara and Victoria. “We shan't be going overboard. Just a short and friendly spar is all.”

His words trailed off. He was watching Lady Kathryn striding down the road to their agreed battleground with Lizbeth trailing behind, almost bowing under the weight of the Knight's weapons she carried.

“I believe those were training weapons young Lizbeth was carrying, were they not?”

Weather: No fresh snow falls upon the hills and vines of the Rose River Vineyard, and the day is bright enough through the even cover of clouds as to make things easy to perceive at a distance. The existing snow remains a wintry, bright blanket on the ground, muddled in places of usual foot traffic. Wind gusts only occasionally, and it is most assuredly cold enough to keep the present snowfall from melting.

Time: Officially now, let us give it the label of Late Morning, as opposed to the more generic "mid-to-late" of the previous update. Some time had passed, but not enough for the remaining laborers to pause for midday repast.

Ambience: It is a brisk morning here in the start of winter, proper. White and bright, a curious rhyming scheme to describe the day, is accurate as well as catchy. Folks here find themselves in warm clothing and thicker footwear than just a month prior as they work out in the vineyard. And work must be done, of course. The late harvest grapes must be harvested late, as the name implies, when the conditions call for it. Apparently, this is not to occur on this day.

The grapes which remain upon the vine, cared for by the staff still, were once pale green of color but now begin to have a yellow tinge and a touch of malformation to the skins. These details are marked by their handlers and appear satisfactory. Work continues. These grapes look in opposition to the few stragglers found by Kosara earlier in the week - them being small, dark, and generally unwholesome. The white ones are clearly intended to have some age before picking.

A couple of smaller barges make landfall at the beach underneath the Estate House. Cecily could be seen walking down to meet them, pointing and giving instruction as things began to be offloaded. The few persons crewing these boats were all Human, evident by their relative heights and builds from the distance as they delivered staple products to their clients.



The talk with Urmdrus was, per the older Dwarf's proclivities, very short and very direct. He answered questions with as few syllables as possible and a gruff voice. "Armor resists acid. Not person wearing. Helps. Needs magic, better help person wearing." His grasp on the Common language showed its lack of complete fluency as he spoke, but he figured something out eventually. "Different. Yes. Different Dwarf." Urmdrus looked a little annoyed. But it passed, and he got back to work.

Kosara's discussion with Cecily concerning the partially uncovered rock wall bears a little fruit, but after said fruit was skinned and seeded, not a truly satisfying amount. There was a haze of confusion at first, until mention of a Sycamore tree was made. "Yes! I know that tree. Hugo and I had a picnic there once! Before it began to rain it was actually a lovely time. We harvested that area for the year already and if I'm not mistaken, it should be dormant for now. I'm sorry, I don't think I know anything about a buried wall over that way. It has been a while, and I don't walk the grounds so much. My husband was the one who grew up here; I just married into the L'Rose family." She gave some light consideration and added, "You have my permission to find out what you can about it, if you like. The Vineyard grew from diverse products at its founding. Perhaps you've stumbled across an old workshop. Wouldn't that be exciting? Yes, do look into it, please. You may acquire hand tools from any one of the worksheds attached to the fields."

Kathryn's time spent poking around with the local laborers was even less informative, but they did not particularly shoo the towering Knight away. The most useful bit that could be gotten from them came in the form of, "Ancient horrors lurking beneath the opulent manor? What? No! The only thing under the manor (most as I'm aware) is the main winery, proper! You can get there through the main house or..." The fellow pointed up to the easternmost gazebo, "That's how us paid-by-the-week folk get in." What was inferred from speech was that the main winery was below. Another point of idle gossip, such as only a rare few were being idle, came the vague opinion that everyone felt sorry for Lizbeth, as most of her family dropped dead on her at a tender age and something might happen to the Vineyard if Cecily died as well. Past that, it was hard to gather much that sounded remotely reliable.

For those who actually decided to take the trek out to the place mentioned, one would find it easy to locate. A sycamore tree standing by itself nearish to the Southern parts of the vineyard tended to stand out among the rolling hills of grape vines. Climbing the hill was also a relatively easy task, though the steepness of it made it slightly less useful to grow crops upon without terracing. Hence, only the sunny side was planted, near the river. Kosara's experience was also a useful tool in locating the place, as it could be indicated with a point and an utterance of thataway, or nearabouts. The description of the spot was dead on, as well. It was a spot on the shady half of the hill, just to the side of a worn path large enough to accommodate a farm wagon, now covered in a layer of crunchy, white snow. The mild hollow which held the rock wall looked like an excellent spot to step to the side as agricultural folk passed through with heavy burdens of their profession, or turn a wagon like that around, and likely was used for that purpose precisely. This time, about shoulder level for most of the taller races (Human sized, give or take) one could make out the space where frigid ground had cracked away under the weight of someone leaning on it, revealing a vertical space of intentionally stacked stones. It wasn't but a half-yard of exposed rock, but the very nature of its piling gave one heavy inclination to believe that it was much bigger than just the part showing.

V’s interest in the buried wall was a huge mood boost for the tiefling. She was genuinely happy for the crew to gather for any reason at all. The last few days they mostly gathered up for mealtimes and Kosara kind of felt lonely all things considered once her adventuring out in the snow ended and she gets back for mostly being alone until mealtimes.” I don’t think so…?” She quite doubted it was insects. It was a bit too cold for insects, wasn’t it?

She turned with a huge smile towar’ds Kathryn’s direction, the one where she heard her voice from. Kosara’s expression fell just a tad.” But… exploration?” She asked, wondering why Kathryn didn’t want to come join them for the fun of exploring buried marvels…

“Maybe? But it looked weird… so… I’m not sure. Pulsating rotten grapes can’t be a normal thing.” She shrugged in reply to Berry who apparently was up with Kathryn for beating the hell of each other for some reason.” Yeah my thinking too. I was always told bugs didn’t like the cold! Which admittedly wasn’t a thing back home much. Sure nights can get chilly, but the days were scorching.”

“Alright, I’m going to talk with Cecily about the wall and we can then go check it out, V.”

Kosara’s dash was fast and energetic as only she or a kid could be. In any case, locating the Lady of the Manor wasn’t too difficult a task. In the end the talk with Cecily proved to be both fortuitous and not so much. On the bad side of things, the older woman had nothing on the way of information about the possible buried secrets sans possible ideas of forgotten buildings from times past. On the plus side however…

“V, let’s go. Cecily gave full permission to poke around!” The tiefling energetically called back when she returned, positively giddy with excitement and brimming with energy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Locating the spot wasn’t difficult, after all Kosara had it on her mind since she found it. Same with the spots where the got the grape, but she will try to drag V there later for the bard to see for herself. In any case, now at the point of interest, she pointed out to V the place she had leaned and revealed the stacked stones behind. It wasn’t much, but it was clear something was there.” See, it’s here! It looks like somebody blocked something! Do we dig it out now?” The tiefling woman asked, looking around, trying to spot any of the toolsheds for the fields that Cecily mentioned. A good pickaxe or a shovel would do wonders. Or maybe a hammer. Alternatively she recalled V's spell that seemed to shater that tree in that fight with the goblins.

The morning was delightfully crisp with a freshness that snatched the breath from a persons lungs and delighted in showing it off in short lived clouds. White snow bounced the bright sunshine back up into the crystal blue sky. It was a marvellous day for a battle. Kathryn was the first of the combatants to arrive at the Gazebo patio, with her faithful squire-int-training Lizbeth carrying the knights great sword and hammer behind her. A few pairs of eyes had caught sight of the armour shining in the sunlight and their owners were now hurriedly either tidying up their tasks or calling over to others nearby in excitement. A small crowd began to form in the fringes and edges of the patio with a few exchanging words and coinage with eachother.

Lady Kathryn cast a well trained eye over the patio while she waited patiently for her opponent to finish jogging up the freshly cleared path towards her. The knight waited for BlackBerry to set foot upon the patio before she nodded with a grin, then turned and moved away from him to point about 30 feet away on the other side of the patio. The blue dragon born came to a stop wearing his own excited grin as he began hoping from foot to foot, twisting his torso, and stretching out each limb in preparation.
Lisbeth stood turning her head between the two combatants.

"Until someone yields right? Let's not hold back. As long as no one suffers anything permanent I think we'll be okay. But I promise to not light you on fire yeah? I hope that same courtesy goes both ways." Kathryn said in a calm manner, a giddy smile on her face. The tall woman just loved a good fight.

“The terms are most reasonable and I agree to them.” BlackBerry called back after one more twist. “I do say it would be no fun if either party were to hold back.”

To start things off, she locked the helmet to her head as she held out her hand for Lizbeth to have her weapon brought to her. At which point, the young squire scurried over and, after juggling the equipment in her arms, held out the sheathed greatsword. Kathryn pulled the sword from its sheath, the polished castle forged steel sword glistening in the sunlight. The snow and ice particles on the ground making it seem to glow further. But to those who knew a thing or two about swords, this wasn't a sword intended for duels. The flat tipped blade was a style popular amongst executioners. The sharp sound it made as it was pulled from the sheath sending a metallic echo across the patio. Despite it's rough looking shape a few weeks ago, some clean up, and the few chips and scratches still visible made the blade look more experienced than worn. A blade with the sole purpose of killing the enemies of Kathryn's home. "Gods I've been waiting to do that." With a smile on her face, she placed the "Decorative" blade back into its sheath. Taking the hammer from the same belt that Lizbeth was holding. Removing the shield and cape from her back, and equipping herself for battle. She faced Blackberry. "Are you ready?" She said surprisingly warmly despite the friendly battle about to take place.

The battered DragonBorn pursed his lips eyeing the weapon in Lady Kathryns hand. His head tilted to the side and he momentarily paused as the only inkling of doubt evident on him. His hand went to the belt holding the Viscious Shortsword to his waist and, undoing the clasp, wrangled the sword into his grip which with a quick flick spun the tightly around the guard and handle. “Now, I am ready.” Then, without taking his eyes of the Knight, he called out. “Young Lizbeth. If you would be so kind as to count us down from three please.”

The young squire nearly bounced with excitement from behind the Knight. She didn’t need asking twice, and with a grin called out. “Three!”

BlackBerry softened his knees and fell into his stance.

“Two!”

Lady Kathryn secured her grip on the Warhammer.

“One!”

The combatants locked eyes. Their hearts beating as one.

“Fight!”

BlackBerry powered forwards with powered snow erupting behind him, struggling to keep up with his speed. The monk pulled at the power sitting at his core and pulled it into the world for Spectral Fire to blossom out from his shoulders like wings. He planted a foot down hard on the ground, coming to a dead stop in front of Kathryn, but the spectral force at his shoulders continued on and washed harmlessly over the shining armour. BlackBerry scowled up at the knight who dared stand tall, unaffected by his spectral attack. He changed tactic. The spectral force retreated, instead he lashed out with the sheathed sword, stabbing with the same motion trained by his opponent, up and high towards the target only for it to bounce harmlessly off the armour without any fuss. Back to basics, the left fiery limb curled in on itself, edges rounding into the vague shape of fingers rounding into a fist. With blinding speed the limb snapped forward and the hit landed with a dull ring against the metal chest piece.
Kathryn found herself unprepared for the blows and attacks Blackberry had at his disposal. She wasn't sure what to expect from her dragonborn friend, but it was clear that maybe he had a trick or two up his sleeve.
“Your Turn dear Kn-” BlackBerry started. He didn’t get to finish the sentence.

The second Kathryn got a moment to strike back, she did, and hard. Stepping back a pair of steps, she then shifted her weight forward for the six or so steps it would take to close the distance between the duo. In that time, her height changed from nearly 7 foot, to nearly 14 feet. Swinging the hammer like an underhanded instrument, she struck BlackBerry in his lower torso like a pin in some sick game of alleyways! But as he fell backwards from the blow she had struck him with, she used her speed and power, assisted with the force of Gravity and brought the blunt weapon down again on his chest. Yes, he had a good hit, but she hit harder.
"You can yield at any time, there's no shame in it." She said with a soft and warm tone as she reeled back the hammer to strike the down BB again. It was a shame really, she was looking forward to a solid fight.

The hammer had come down on his torso. Hard. The air had been forced out of his lungs, and a dull ‘crunch’ could be heard. The crowd gave a low ‘ooh’ and not just one cheer. BlackBerry, finding himself suddenly horizontal, fought against instinct to curl up in pain. Instead, when the hammer rose he flung himself to the side and with a hard kick of his left leg spun back upright onto his feet. Darkness circled the edges of his vision, he fought to drag into his lungs, he had to act fast.

“Good hit.” BlackBerry wheezed as he circled Kathryn. His eyes hunting for a weakness in the knights defenses. He had underestimated her by a long shot. This wasn't going to be as easy as the other night. “I was using that rib.” Not to say he wasn’t going to try. He knew speed was he real advantage right now. BlackBerry Knew he couldn't let up for an instant; another hit and he'd have to concede! Against the pain in his ribs he dragged in another breath to fuel the fire in his being. The flames around his shoulders surged to a roaring inferno. He step forward to close the gap between them. The left lashed out but missed, the right however struck the knights helmet making it ring.

But he didn't let up, BlackBerry flicked the sword in his grip again and making it spin. He grabbed the handle and charged at Kathryn who showed off her own fleet footwork and manoeuvred around the attack with ease. BlackBerry followed her steps and lunged again.

Kathryn had clearly underestimated the monk. And was now in a surprising amount of pain. Though she was able to block many of his attacks, and Blackberry's blade had trouble doing much against her armour, those magic fists hit hard. Really, fucking hard. But something about that last blow…she had seen the left fiery limb curl around BlackBerry’s arm and flow across the swords sheathe to where it struck at the centre of her chest, felt the hit collide with her armour. But then she felt the strike again without BlackBerry moving for another attack, her training and experience distinguishing the second blow hidden somehow in the first. Her muscles seized up, like a muscle spasm. She bent back as her body was unable to respond to anything but pain. Nothing but pain. What had BB done to her?! Had he meant to do that?! If so could he always do that?! Maybe Kathryn underestimated her opponent. A fight she thought would be quick and easy, was quickly turning on her head. Then, he stepped back with a grin an forks of lightning dancing frantically across sharp white teeth. All she could think was... Oh shit. BlackBerry let out a yell unleashing a torrent of lightning towards her. The electrical breath struck her and her body continued to only respond in pain. She failed to take the fight seriously, and now she was getting the shite beaten out of her. She fought to regain control, but that last blast had taken a ton out of her. She felt weak and dizzy, unsure how much more she could take. Not wanting this fight to escalate, and not ready to take any more tricks that blackberry had up his sleeves she found the strength to speak up. "Wow wow wow." She called out regaining her balance. "Alright my guy, I yield. You won." She said in a cheerful tone. Yeah, she lost a fight she thought she was going to win by a landslide. But she still had fun. Shrinking back down to her normal size.

“Beg your pardon?” Small sparks jumped across his puzzled face. He looked Lady Kathryn up and down wondering for a moment if he had heard her right. And then realised he had heard her correctly as he watched her shrink back down to normal height. After laying his sword, with only a small amount of complaint from his ribs, he stepped forwards to lend a hand catching the arcs of lightning trying to jump across the seams in Kathryns armour. “Here one moment, allow me. I find lightning does try to reach the ground by any means, and if it gets stuck it will give a nasty shock if you are not resistant to it.” He patted the Knights armour as if he were simply wiping away dust. “A simply marvellous fight Lady Kathryn. I truly mean it when I say you land one hell of a hit.” He winced and rubbed his stomach and then bit back a cry when his hand touched a very sore rib "One more and I would be the one conceding.”

"You're a good fighter my guy. And you have far more tricks up your sleeves than I thought." She said patting him on the shoulder, a satisfied grin on her face. Turning to Lizbeth she continued. "Let this be a lesson in humility. Never underestimate your opponent. And be a good sport when you lose." She chuckled before turning back to Blackberry. "Now I know however, I can hit you a little harder next time." She said in a sweet tone still, but clearly excited to try again in the future. "Not today though, I gotta rest and see how bad that damage you dealt to me was." She chuckled removing her helm, and her charged hair magnetizing to her helm as she pulled it off. Only the weight of her braid keeping most of it in place.

Kosara seemed excited to get underway. It was a small mystery, after all. Despite the past few days she had spent under the tutelage of an authoritarian healer (not to mention the independent study and transcription of numerous written works Annick had insisted upon because "writing dedicates to memory") had worn her out, mind and body both, Victoria found that this curious point had quite energized her. She was going to spend the day in leisure, but this was just too interesting to pass up.

This was a rather adventurous occasion, and as such Victoria made sure to outfit herself for an adventure. It hardly mattered to her that this particular one was likely the dramatic uncovering of dirt from rock to find more dirt. And probably more rock. But the possibility of a payoff that something interesting was behind that rock demanded to be met with one's best. Perhaps she went a little too far touching up her cosmetics, minimalist though they were, but it was as much a ritual to center herself as mild vanity. Victoria was fine with both.

A tendril of necrotic energy, delivered unnoticeably through a mental connection, spurred the animated porcine beast of burden, Morty, to action. The burlap-wrapped creature moved with its choppy gait to Victoria's heel like a silent, subservient dog. It remained by her, following, as she strode out of the door and into the biting air of the morning. Another mental expression coupled with a raise of her hand summoned her great, black corvid to her; the raven Familiar appearing from parts unknown and already to wing, circling overhead. It dipped down to meet the Bard, landing briefly on her forearm before taking to the sky again with a rasping caw. Smiling, Victoria mused to herself, "Sometimes, being a Necromancer is just fun." While she could not claim to have the full abilities of a Wizard, let alone one specializing in Necromancy, she comforted herself in having a firmer grasp than other spellswords or lute-strumming Bards. And few True Necromancers could boast her sense of outright style and showmanship.

With her magical menagerie of two, Victoria accompanied her Tiefling associate to the site. Sure enough, it did look like there might be something to this. There wasn't a whole lot uncovered, but what showed was definitely put there with a purpose. Responding to Kosara's suggestions, she said, "Yes... You have Cecily's permission, correct? Then let us see what is back there." A spark of impatient wonder touched her voice as she pointed in the direction of a tool shed at the edge of this field, "They must have shovels we might borrow."

A few minutes later, Victoria had two shovels and passed one over to Kosara. "I never did get a taste for manual labor, if I am being honest." Luckily, they did not have to toil for long before the vertical earth over the stones fell away in clumps, thanks to the thinness of the layer and the recent freeze.

Soon, the majority of a wall made of stacked, more or less flat stones was exposed, approximately seven feet high and six wide. A few of the rocks at the top slid down, revealing what appeared to be a corner of a long rotting wooden door, clogged with years or decades of root growth. A sudden, sour-sweet scent of old organic rot stirred from the small aperture they has just cracked. "Kosara," began the astonished Bard, "I think you might be onto something here." She smiled and looked to her adventuring associate. "Should we try to rip through this or wait for the others? I think I saw a couple mattocks in the tool shed." Her grin was near to mischievous.

BlackBerry sat beneath the gazebo while Lady Kathryn did her best to tend to his injuries from their little battle,. All the while his legs kept bouncing, protesting at having to sit still for so long. A few of the staff who had turned up to watch had had the forethought to bring some cloths, bandages, and a few herbs with them just in case of any serious injuries happened to either the combatants, or even the audience for that matter knowing these adventuring types.

“Oh! That is painful!” He squeaked. Grimacing, he held himself still for Lady Kathryn to work her best bit of healing along his now very bruised ribs. “I hear tales of lizards whom spend their days doing nothing but lounging on rocks and soaking in the warm rays of the sun. What I would not give to be one of them now. I bet you the desert Kosara is from has them.”

He winced when Lady Kathryn continued touching his ribs just in time for a gust of wind to come sailing through to add insult to injury by making him shiver. The muscles all along his sides cried in protests at having to move. But despite his grumbling the blue dragonborn endured the treatment while stubbornly refusing to fully take off his shirt, and instead pulled it up about his pits for Lady Kathryn to work.

“Thinking about it.” He said quieter than usual. It was a bit painful him to talk not that it was actually stopping him. “I think I shall take a page out of your book Lady Kathryn and begin training in more earnest than I have done. Perhaps even one day I might land a strike as strong as your ow-ah! careful, careful.” He nearly jumped out of the chair in his attempts to scoot away.

BlackBerry peered over the bundled cloth of his shirt to the splotch of dark purple scales. He grimaced then clicked his tongue. “Well, no doubt it would have been a lot worse without. And I shall say it does look anywhere near as bad as the Abominations own work the other week. I think that shall do me for now Lady Kathryn, you help is very much appreciated.” He rolled down his shirt, gladdened to be given a bit more protection from the cold. Why they hadn’t chosen to go inside was beyond him.
“Here. Allow me to check over your injuries as well. It would not do otherwise, and I do wish to check I haven’t left any serious marks on you.” He waited for Lady Kathryn to be as ready as she would be for him to check her over. Once she was ready he began his quick checks over her and continued to talk, “Gracious me, if Old Brother Rorvil saw that he would have boxed my ears and have me scrubbing all the chamber pots in the Monastery for a month. On my own no less!” A few half hearted chuckles filled with memories followed.

He spent a few minutes simply applying a cloth, dampened with very cold water, onto the worst of the burns and bruises he could find but unfortunately missed quite a few. “Yes, I think that is the last of them. I do apologise Lady Kathryn you have suffered a few minor burns but nothing that will cause you much bother. I normally find such things clear up after a few days and bit of cold water here and there.” BlackBerry spoke with the confidence of a man who didn’t quite realise scales and human skin heal differently.

“Well, I suppose with that we should go and find the other two. If I recall Kosara had found a rather interesting wall the other day and wished to go investigate, possibly with Victoria in tow. With any luck the pair will still be at the Coach House, or otherwise may have gone without us to investigate.” He stood up from his seat with a joint cracking stretch and retied the Viscous Shortsword back into place around his waist. “Unfortunately Kosara neglected to mention the exact whereabouts of this interesting wall she found. However I imagine we can find it without much trouble. Are you ready then?”