BlackBerry glared down at the corpse. The corpse…didn’t move. It remained resolutely still even when BlackBerry quickly withdrew his finger from its socket. Unceremoniously, he wiped his hand across the dirty, dusty floor trying to get the worst of the skin and sinew stuck to his finger. His nose curled at the stench that had arisen from the corpses now much-emptier-eye socket.

“Yes, yes I am fine thank you Lady Kathryn. It is just all this dust and filth wreaking havoc is all.” He sniffed and felt a familiar warning tingle at the back of his nose. “But yes if there is nothing else here perhaps I may head outside for some fresh air, and to get a better look at whatever change has become of me and investigate those grapes as well.”

But even saying this BlackBerry didn’t move from his spot where his eyes kept jumping between the two corpses. A warning sense of dread had made itself comfortable in his stomach. Similar to their situation in the Township they were left with more questions than answers and likely not anyone around with the answers they needed.

“Bashed his head in?” He repeated Kosaras findings of the other corpse. “Possibly we have stumbled into an old crime scene? But if so it would seem a lot of effort to lock and bury this place if it were after the fact.”

BlackBerry took a breathe and stood back up with a stretch.“Well, I feel that blocking this place up again might be a wise idea actually, Kosara. We would not wish for anyone else to stumble in here in case whatever has affected us may return and affect someone else. There is no telling what harm could befall someone. On that note, I am sorry to say Victoria but perhaps our changes may not just be physical but magical as well?”

He grimaced as he spoke the thought. It was a worrying idea that they had all been so changed so easily.

“I must admit, I am likely mistaken about this corpse.” He gestured down to it, it grinned up at him still having not moved. “They are likely nothing more than simple corpses and I am simply jumping at shadows.”

Something was off about this place, and it wasn't just the fact that a piece of magic she was looking forward to using decided to fail on her. Victoria was certain she had done it correctly. So there had to be a caveat somewhere; a condition that existed or that wasn't fulfilled which muddled the spell somehow. Mentally, she prodded about for what that missing piece might be. There was usually a bit of wiggle room with things like this - exact wording to keep the practitioner of Arcana within certain lines of safety - so that a toe may step over a line or small liberties taken with minimal risk. But there were always hard and fast metrics that, when not adhered to, caused a spell to "fizzle". Victoria was certain that this happened here.

The subject of Speak With Dead must not have been affected by it for ten days prior. Considering that the place was walled off, this was probably not the case. The corpse must have some semblance of a mouth, from which it may speak. This condition was filled. The corpse cannot be...

A sudden flash of quiet inquiry flashed over Victoria's face, even as the markings of her preferred school of magic left her face. Sparkling, crystal blue eyes regarded the attempted subject of her spell with renewed interest, but she kept herself quiet. Guarded, even. The general consensus of people's faces brought her to the conclusion that there were notes of suspicion from the others, too. A quick mental command brought her Morty to interpose itself between her and the corpse, and she spoke with a projected, optimistic voice. "No, Master Baronfjord, I do not suspect that the surge altered my magic." She then looked to Kathryn, saying, "Perhaps we should get what we need and leave this place for now. The remains can be properly interred when we know more of them. Now if you all will please excuse me, I shall be right back, after getting a push cart from the workshed nearby."

Victoria met eyes with each of her companions present and then looked warily at the corpse she could not magically converse with just earlier. Her Morty maintained its interposing stance as she exited the distillery, careful not to stumble on her way back up to fresher air. Once out, Victoria did do as she said she would, but first gave her Raven Familiar a hard stare, imprinting a course of action that it may take involving staying put and lending its senses if necessary. Satisfied, the Bard twirled her cloak about her shoulders against the bracing winter wind, and set off for the nearby shed. She was returning with a cart for a barrel or two of that lovely distilled spirit, and she hoped that her silent insistence for caution was received.

Kathryn listened intently as the group went about their investigation. Again, Kat found herself rather lacking here. Sure she wasn't useless, but compared to her party, she didn't really have the skill set for this sort of thing. She was more of a "Hey how's it going" sort of girl. Then flatten into paste sort of girl when that failed. The latter being a much more proficient skill of hers. "I'll admit, this whole thing is rather weird. Between the likely murder scene, and the weird built up magic, and then Victoria's magic not seeming to work on these two?" And... the eye socket BB so politely tested. That Kat would rather forget about now. It's not that she had a weak stomach. But ew.

Kat did take a moment to pause, and listen to how alcohol could be poisoned from time to time in her homeland, and how effective it seemed to be at well.. poisoning people. "I suppose I didn't consider that Kosara..." Kathryn said. They were surprisingly logical points. And they hit harder coming from Kosara who didn't seem to have that sort of logical train of thought. The tiefling woman likely knew a lot more than Kathryn gave her credit for. The tall woman made note of this, and would take what the smaller woman would say with far more consideration. "Well, it tastes pretty fine. Plus, if it was poisoned, chances are V or I would notice something by now. But I do see your point." That would however, not stop her from finishing the cup she had poured for herself. Apart of her still wanted to relax, enjoy the winter in comfortable accommodations. Yet, she was fearing that these complications were going to be a bigger problem than she first thought.

As everyone settled about to finish up their tasks, a question still lingered on Kathryn's mind. What had caused the burst of magic that took place? Seeing as how the dead dudes had failed to rise at Blackberry's prompting, Kat had her doubts there. Even if Victoria's magic had seem to fail on them. Sliding her hammer away, she figured a fight wasn't about to break out. But the weapon of blunt force trauma did remind her of an ability she saw Victoria use once when identifying her new weapon. "Hey V, got a second? And maybe some magic to spare?" Kat asked putting her combat kit away across her back and belt, and maneuvering around the barrels and furniture as to not have to shout across the room. Once next to her slightly less short friend she spoke up with a tone of inquiry on the lip. "Remember when you cast detect magic on my hammer here? Could you do that again? But on the corpses here? Or maybe on the alcohol?" That both Kat and Victoria had consumed... Which looking back, maybe wasn't the best idea. But it was free, and they were so far not dead! Or cursed.

Unfortunately, Victoria had other plans and points to make. "Okay, when we learn more, we'll come back, and learn what we can from these two." And the alcohol both she and V have been sharing. That she may have also filled her water skin with as well. The barrel was already open, she didn't see the harm in filling up the pouch with some liquor for the road. "I think you two are right. We should try and seal this place up when we leave. We don't want some poor innocent walking in and suffering from whatever is going on in here." Or to let something out that could also cause harm. Victoria was also thinking ahead on moving about some of the barrels using a nearby cart! Perfect. "We could load up one or two in the cart, and I could carry one back as well. Do you think it would be better to take the one we already opened? Or leave that here?" Kat asked the bard. She was far the expert in terms of fancier alcohol. Kat was just a consumer and casual enjoyer. "No matter what we do, we should take steps to be cautious. Something weird is happening here. Be in dead people who won't talk, or very convenient brandy. We should be careful." While V went to grab the cart, Kat herself would begin rolling up barrels out of the entry way to be loaded up and carried off.

As the others apparently had decided that their investigation into the… destillery was over for the time being, Kosara was still looking with studying gaze at both the dead figures. The one that the dragonborn ahd poked with his claws and the one she had looted… ahm… searched for clues. She was actually NOT planning on taking the coins really. First of all it was silver, wasn’t shiny enough. Second it wasn’t right, especially if these people were known to others in the community around these parts. These silvers probably belonged to somebody, maybe relatives or family and it would be right to return it to them… IF they weren’t magical in some way that is.

“Yeah I agree, we should block this place up before leaving.” Kosara agreed with Berry when he brought it up. V had decided to go grab a cart. Kathryn herself was apparently focused on getting the booze as an important thing to do. Everybody with their own priorities she supposed.” What should we block the entrance with though? I mean we can pile the rocks back up, but it will take a while. Maybe we can fit another door on it? Or move some barrels to block it?” Kosara offered some suggestions, before her eyes once more focused on the bodies.

“Hmmm...” her eyes narrowed at the one that Berry poked. There was something weird going on here. V failed with her necromancy spell about talking with the dead. Why did that happen was the question. Suddenly she gestured with her left hand and spoke a brief incantation.” Sacred Flame.” The golden radiant energy descended onto the body further away from her and covered it almost like a veil… before the body burst into flames. As far as she was aware this spell was for ‘creature’ targets. Which usually included undead too. She was fairly certain it didn’t attack random non creature things.” Okey… something’s off with that body. PRetty sure if it was simply a dead person the spell shouldn't harm the body.” She stated flatly as she pulled away from the one she was next to and then repeated.” SACRED FLAME!” A second veil of golden light descended onto the second body in the premise and moments later it too began to burn in a controlled show of flames, turning it partially to ash.

“Alright… something really off is going on here! We are BLOCK THIS PLACE BEFORE LEAVING!” Kosara stated flatly as she made sure the things she had found on the body earlier were securely stored away and to the side of the room.” Do you guys think we can pull the door from the shed and use it to fit in place here? We can then use a barrel or something to block it so it cannot be opened.”

Locating a pushcart large enough to be capable of moving a barrel or two wasn't difficult, seeing as this was crop bearing farmland, even if that crop was just grapes. The idea did cross Victoria's mind that any cart she could move by herself over not-quite-even terrain might not be the absolute best thing to transport full barrels of ...extremely fine brandy... along footpaths which wound between the hills of the Rose River Vineyard. The very thought that one of those barrels might careen off of the cart and into some hard and/or sharp surface, or merely crack under its own weight combined with falling from a moderate height, either method of damage resulting in all of that lovely brandy soaking into the cold, winter ground. But this was the best option available to them at the moment, so there she was.

Victoria's return to the entrance of the hidden distillery gave her a touch of pause. Something had occurred here in her absence, and she bet that the wisps of char on the wind might have something to do with that. This wasn't fully against what she might have suggested, were she to vocalize her suspicions as others had vocalized theirs, as her own attacking magic wasn't the best suited to immediately eradicate an opponent. Yet. But first, she addressed the rather loud topic at hand, putting her opinion in the open. "Of course, I agree. I also think that Cecily L'Rose, or even we, may wish to get back in there." She regarded the gaping hole in the side of the hill, and the barrels Kathryn was rolling out of it. "If for no other reason than the realms shouldn't be deprived of that ...very excellent brandy..." She trailed off for a moment but snapped back readily, "Though a fresh set of eyes on the situation, or the passing of a day for reflection, might reveal more."

Then it occurred to Victoria that there was a conversation ongoing concerning her use of magic in the recent past, this from their resident "Half-Giant" which probably needed addressing before it led to a further misunderstanding. "Oh, I don't have that kind of detection magic. There might be something in one of the Ritual books I acquired recently, but I haven't been able to translate the Pact Magic version into something I can use yet." She shook her head to reorient her conversational direction, as she was beginning to get off of her point. "In any case, I didn't use a Detection incantation on the Constable's hammer. It was an Identification spell, cast in Ritual form. I already knew the hammer was magic from its use in the fight on Harvestide; detection was unnecessary. Do you wish to learn about Arcana? Perhaps there's something further to unlock in the mind of the magically curious."

Weather: Additional snow is threatened by the approach of clouds, just a touch thicker than overcast - as if they were plotting their own precipitous shenanigans upon the hills and valleys of the Vineyard. This approach is heralded not only by the lessening translucence of the clouds, but also the steady winds which swept the area, unburdened by heavy tree coverage or any appreciable wind blocks. It's not snowing just yet, however.

Time: Elevensies and a half, let's say.

Ambience: Radiant flames have half-turned corpses to ash, which is interesting in an of itself, but lent a different, burnt-corpse sort of smell to the air which replaced the more mouldering scents of just a few minutes prior. The heavy sweetness of old spirits production remains, though now muddled with holy cadaver scorch. But that's down inside of the distillery. Outside, it's significantly better of air quality even if it is significantly colder.

Full barrels and two distillery tanks take up most of the room within the hidden distillery, in surprisingly good condition despite their apparent neglect for a very long time. The stable, underground temperatures probably had a lot to do with this. The open door might begin to compromise the contents therein over time, but you're probably good for just now.

The dead people are half bones and half ash. Whatever else might have been on their person of a more flammable nature is now part of that ash.

A notation: The effects of the Wild Magic remain, now about a half hour past their onset.



For those focusing on the full barrels, they are extraordinarily heavy and will require either ropes and animal assistance, a group effort, or someone particularly large and strong to manage them out of the hidden distillery. That is to say, Kathryn can roll them up the slanting tunnel with a far better chance of success than any single one of the others present. Still, a slip here could cause substantial damage to one below or behind a loose barrel.

Moving the barrels now has the options of rolling individual ones along footpaths and hope nothing bad happens, rolling a couple into the cart that Victoria provided and hope nothing bad happens, and returning to the Coach House to get the army wagon and mule to haul a greater amount away at one time.

Elsewhere within the bounds of the southern fields, previously viewed anomalies remain for others to view. Barren (even for the winter season) vines entwine frames and stakes in orderly, slightly curved rows. It was a gradual change for those walking toward the affected area, but after a while those with any knowledge of agricultural processes would recognize the signs of a place marked for clearing and replanting. The few leaves remaining on these vines were brittle and dry; tendrils which were once vital and held the vines snugly to the planting frames were woody and snapped with ease. these plants appeared biologically incapable of supporting flower nor fruit. Nevertheless, two spindly bunches of smallish, near-to-black grapes hung from a vine, sporting tough, withered skins. They bobbed lightly as the cold, winter breeze pushed them about, an eerie sight of withered fruit growing on deceased vines.

Blackberry blinked down at the now burning bodies waiting to see if it would convince…whatever they were to finally act and reveal themselves. It didn’t. The corpses remained lying exactly as they were without any care in the world. Meanwhile, the flames continued to happily eat away the dry, crumbling, rancid flesh and fabric of the corpses.

[color=00aeef]“Yes, well.” Blackberry stepped away from the fire, making sure to pull his trailing robes up away from the fading flames as he started back towards the door. “I suppose that settles that then. If you all do not mind I shall wait outside until all is done. I can barely see past the end of my nose, even before all this rancid smoke.”

Stepping past the others he then made his way back up the short tunnel back into the outside world. Grey skies and refreshingly cold air welcomed him with a well timed breeze to blow away the cobwebs, both metaphorically and literately. For a few moments he simply pulled his robes close trying to stop the wind from snatching them and what little warmth he had gathered down in the hidden distillery away.
Finally back out in daylight, even as overcast by the darkening clouds above, he could see his own transformation; his blue scales had taken on a luxurious sheen. Blackberry turned his hand this way and that to marvel at how the sun danced across them, certainly not as shiny as a jewel but enough to say he looked a bit ‘shinier’. He even dared a moment of chill to lift up his shirt and confirm the transformation on his stomach. Curiosity demanded a more thorough investigation later in private and possibly with a mirror.

While waiting for the others (or more likely, just Lady Kathryn) to finish getting the barrels out of the Distillery, his attention was caught by the Sycamore tree standing naked and proud atop the hill. Following an idea he strode towards the tree and then, when he was right next to it, looked back towards where he had come from the entrance leading into the distillery. With a nod BlackBerry guess-timated that he was probably now directly above the Distillery and so the roots he had seen, or felt below belonged to this tree. Continuing to follow the stray thought, he then circled the tree examining its trunk and branches above from all angles looking for anything that seemed off or un-tree-ish. After a few laps he gave the tree a few affirmative knocks and then affectionate pat before returning back to the others once they had all exited the Distillery.

“Good news. It would appear that whatever magic there is below seems to be politely staying there. The tree just there appears unaffected by anything.” He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder to said tree. Turning his attention to Victoria and Lady Kathryn he then said. “If you two are taking some of the barrels down to Madame L’Rose perhaps you might ask for Master Urmdus to accompany you back and put together a more permanent solution to keeping this place locked up? Kosara and myself could wait here until then before investigating the strange grapes nearby.”

Being a formal student of the Arcane, Victoria was still puzzled by the mostly desiccated corpses in the hidden distillery. Her magic didn't work on them, but Kosara's did. Yet they did not stir in the slightest, even to defend themselves. On the face of it, these facts were in contradiction to each other, based upon the uncertain status of the corpses. Before, when she began to have her suspicions, she did not share them with the group. Hindsight told her that this was a mistake. This was not Victoria's first adventuring party, even if it was some time since she was in one last, and she had to extend greater trust if she was going to have greater trust given to her in kind. So, the Bard set down the farm cart with a bit of a huff and addressed whomever was still in or around the entrance to the hillside. "I have formal tutoring in Arcana, and it's no secret that my magical proclivities bend toward the school of Necromancy. Here are the issues I have at the moment: To start, I attempted to use a spell to speak with the dead. It failed. The spell was cast, energy used, but it did not take. There are a few reasons this might happen. One of them is if the corpse affected is Undead. Further, Kosara was able to affect the bodies with a spell which only targets creatures, even if those creatures are merely Animated. Like Morty, here." Well, if anyone didn't already know (which would have surprised the Hells out of Victoria), it was now stated openly that she had a pet Undead thrall. The young Half-Elf shook her head and shrugged off her recently acquired knapsack to retrieve her Ritual Book. She continued, "Now, an unattended thrall, or a spontaneously occurring Undead creature - which, by the way, happens more often than you'd think - might attack the living outright, else it would definitely move to defend itself, even if just to try to move out of the way." Her book flipped open to a page detailing a spectral horse. She completed her thought, "Unless it had an existing command not to."

Victoria lat this hang in the air for a moment. There were implications present in this series of statements, which were all true to the best of her knowledge. Said implications were broad, however, so she left it up to others to add their own thoughts to the pot in hopes of getting a differing perspective. "Or this could be something completely different. This is just biased conjecture from my personal point of view. However, it occurs to me that some of these barrels need a better home, so if you will excuse me..." Victoria spent the next few minutes gathering up Ritual energies to form into another Phantasmal Steed. This one, unlike the usual form she chose of a sleek, bone-white riding horse with interesting, nigh magical details, was shorter, stockier, and semi-translucent. One could just barely make out the skeleton of the beast beneath the phosphorescent flesh, ghostly in nature but quite solid - at least solid enough to link its tack up to the cart. A slender socialite of a lady might pull an empty cart about with a little effort, but one laden with really good brandy? This required an amount of horsepower. "Very good, then. We've a little less than an hour before I have to reapply the Ritual. Let us load up what we might and locate it elsewhere, unless there are objections." In that moment, Victoria was somewhat tempted to go for another small glass of the magnificent brandy. Her raven flapped its wings heavily to rise form its perch, giving a quick look around on its mistress's behalf, and remained circling above.

“That it might, V, but what if the things start moving or something else?” Kosara asked, looking at the returned bard from inside the space underneath the earth.” We can’t rightly leave it open either.” Kosara stated as she headed to the exit to wait for the smoke to clear out some. She looked at Berry who had a rather good idea on how to proceed with this unexpected situation actually. Though to be fair his sudden shininess was a bit distracting. Now she was wondering if all dragons and dragonborns were such if somebody took the time to carefully to clean and polish their scales. On that note a side thought wormed it’s way into her mind about what sort of polishing tools and supplies might be needed to polish dragon scales. She blinked and the thought was galloping away to join all the various random ideas that were in residence in her head that were no doubt going to return at some opportune time at a later date. Such as when they visit a jeweler or a bath house.

Also on that note she also wondered what it would take for her own horns to be polished to a mirror shine. Why? Well… she liked shiny things Though admittedly her horns weren’t smooth exactly so was it even possible to polish curved horns covered in ridges? She blinked again and refocused her mind once more with the ease of somebody who was at home in switching thoughts at a moment’s notice. Now back to the topic of burning mummied people which was very important yes.

“The good thing is that the bodies were turned half to ash. So it will be way bonier undead if they do rise and those are easier to deal with a lot of the time, yes?” She stated and asked at the same time. As far as she knew it, skeletons were easier to deal than zombies. Why did she assume so? Did she have extensive experience fighting undead?! Not really, but she figured that skeletons lacked the meat and tendons bit to keep bones together so a good whack with something solid would send them tumbling to pieces. Grand logical deduction indeed.

“Alrighty then, I’m waiting here until we get news from the manor.” Kosara cheerfully stated, hopping up and down, before proceeding to take guard… ahm… she proceeded to start rolling up a snowball… Then she proceeded to roll said snowball over the ground to make a bigger snowball… She may or may not be going to be making a snowman… A big one. Why? Why not! So she proceeded to play in the snow, whistling a merry tune.

Kathryn jumped back at the magical energy that loosed from Kosara. Surprised at the flaming magic the tiefling woman had, but realizing she probably shouldn't be so surprised. "Holy shit dude... Little warning next time yeah?" Kathryn asked Kosara with a chuckle and a surprised smile on her face. Truthfully, she was just happy this whole place didn't go up in flame with Kosara's stunt. But maybe her magic was fire proof? She heard Tieflings were fire proof once. But she also didn't know any tieflings prior to this adventure. She had seen a couple on her travels, but never knew any of them. And not longer than a passing glance.

Pondering of tieflings aside, Kosara had a point. They should probably seal this place up. The conversation she had with V also was rather informative. Kathryn listened closely to V as she explained how different kinds of magic worked. Her face was visibly pondering like a young student in learning trying to grasp an exciting topic she knew little about. "Well, I am studying some runic magic from a couple of those books, and trying to continue the translations in the others. When we have time maybe we can lend each other a hand? I can help you with your books, and you can help me with mine?" Kathryn offered hoping to learn a bit from Victoria, and maybe even teach Victoria some stuff herself! "I would love to learn some stuff about Arcana! It's pretty nifty stuff from what I hear. Though I do wonder... how come we can't use the identification spell in here? When we suspect there is magic afoot, but we don't know for sure what it is?" She was sure there were rules on how spells could be used. But little of it made sense to the poor half giant.

Thankfully getting the barrels out of the distillery was easy work. Several of the barrels were of comparable weight to those she worked out with many mornings. But this was also evidence. So she had to be rather careful. One by one she rolled up several barrels to load up into the cart V found, and so she could carry one back. This wasn't her morning workout where she was trying to push herself as far as she could go, so it was better safe than sorry. She could have gone into her giant's form. But that didn't last too long. She hadn't timed it yet, but she wasn't convinced it would last long enough to get the barrels back. So she figured just the one to get some back. The rest could be gathered later with the wagon and the mule that Blackberry was growing rather fond of.

"I am going to grab us some help to get this sealed back up so we don't get too many stragglers going in. Or out..." Kathryn said in a weary tone. It was clear something was up, but all of their attempts to figure things out have been stifled either do to a lack of evidence, or a lack of ability to find said evidence. "I'll be right back with some help!" And she set off, dropping off the ale at the couch house due to it's closer proximity to the distillery, and moving on to grab some help. Ideally aiming for Cecily or Lizbeth as they may know more about the history of said place, but anyone who had a spare moment to help she was open to offering. Thankfully not a far walk as she returned after passing the word along for assistance.

Kathryn was able to make it back in decent enough time after asking about getting help. Seemingly in time for her to explain her concerns with the issues going on in the distillery. "What if they are like vampires? And are only active at night? Or like the constable and his goons and only get their powers on specific times? Were-... were zombies..." She would work on that. Names were not her strong suit. "But what kind of command could those two have? They were trapped in a distillery for countless years. And as Kosara said, one of them had their head bashed in. And was likely killed in there." Then there was the concern of whoever gave the order. Maybe they were made on accident? Magic could do all sorts of weird things. But even then, how were they created? "Could it just be more mild magic playing tricks on us? Messing without magic and those corpses giving us false information?" Kathryn probably had the least experience with magic in the party, and the magic she did know was a rather powerful, but crude magic. Far from the elegance of arcana.

"When I dropped off the first barrel I asked for some help that should be here pretty soon. Hopefully we can seal this up until we get a better idea on what to do here. Maybe we gotta come here during the night, or the full moon?" She paused looking at their resident necromancer. "Hey V, if they might already be animated in some form, could you try to take control over them? Or if we found a way to cancel out their possible undead condition, could you speak with them then?" She wasn't sure how to kill a dead guy who wasn't undead if that was even the case. Maybe snap their neck? Remove their heads? She had no idea. She listened to Kosara explained how the now burnt corpses should they ever animate, may be easier to face now. "makes sense to me. They have less body, so there is less body to destroy!" Was that how it worked? No idea. But! It made sense to Kat. And magic had its own logic. Speaking of magic, Kathryn enjoyed another sip of that brandy from her waterskin. It was rather good, maybe this could be her drink of choice for a bit.

Weather: The sun has progressed to its apex in the sky and just a touch beyond, not that one can experience it's warming rays firsthand. "Overcast," remains the word of the day. Chilly comes to mind as well. The winds are now steadily pushing the season's air upon you. Rejoice, those who dressed warmly.

Time: Give or take, it is about one-thirty to two-ish in the afternoon. Moving barrels, inspecting the tree, and finding alternatives to close off the distillery has taken a chunk out of the day, and we're all here for it.

Ambience: The most immediate of the smell of corpse-burn has wafted out of the hillside, though it's safe to assume that the lingering notes of radiant smolder and old rot are scheduled to be present for an indeterminate (but not short) amount of time. The air in here is heavy but breathable, and the details of brandy still hang in the background. The air outside of the distillery is, per usual, clean and clear but significantly chillier.

The barrels and equipment within held its integrity well enough, dry and solid on the outside, maintaining the contents within in a sort of quarantine while it continued to age, as it likely had been for decades.

The dead people are half bones and half ash. Whatever else might have been on their person of a more flammable nature is now part of that ash.

For the point of repeating things as least as possible, let us assume that until mentioned otherwise, the effects of the magic burst remains. Kat is still a little taller, Victoria is noticeably taller (but still the shortest one in party, go fig), Kosara still has flowers growing harmlessly in her hair, and Baronfjord, the Blue Dragonborn, is ...blue. I'm seriously never getting over that one.



To kick things off, there is plenty of time to build a superior snowman while things are in the works elsewhere. If you need to hit the Coach House to get a carrot (or parsnip, whatever - get as creative as you need) for a nose, have at it. You go, Kosara.

Exploration of the area around the sycamore tree, as well as the tree itself, yields nothing except for a lighter amount of snow beneath the mostly bare branches, and an otherwise stout, healthy bit of upright flora. Regardless of what may or may not have been going on in the hidden distillery below, this tree seems to be apart from it, or at least unaffected.

The epic journey of barrels, now counting three thanks to the efforts of Victoria's Phantasmal Steed turned from shadowy riding beast to trotting, semi-transparent labor animal and Kathryn's indomitable physical prowess, make their way steadily over to the Coach House, hopefully as a temporary measure to await proper distribution or at least a formal query to the Vineyard's caretakers even if it might be understandable to keep it on the quiet. For study. Obviously.

As the party members who went to deliver the brandy to its destination were Kathryn and Victoria, they are the ones who meet up with Urmdrus, coming from his out-of-the-way smithy/shop/humble abode here on Vineyard property. He seems resolute, and carries a bulky, irregular sack of coarse cloth slung across his back. The bottom of this bulging burlap bag of bouncing befuddlement barely brushes the bare, beveled base of the boardwalk betwixt buildings, belying a bounty of beautiful bits and bobs for bestowal. He looked like he was headed in the general direction of the Estate House, and strode with purpose. This was, until he caught sight of the two adventuring women exiting the Coach House.

Urmdrus stared at the two of them in wonder for a moment as he drew close, shaking his head and copping an incredulous look at the both of them, as if he might begin scolding at any second. "Hrrrrrm..." he growled. The sack was deposited upon the ground and the Dwarf pulled a short length of rope from his tool apron. Those who were under his scrutiny in the past knew what to expect, mostly. The rope was marked off at regular intervals, and used deftly but with some annoyance as a measuring device while, and without requesting permission mind you, wrapped it around points of Human and Half-Elven anatomy and uttered what were probably numbers in an unusual dialect of Dwarven. In halting Common, he said at last, "STOP. CHANGING. SIZE. Custom work. Have to alter. Hmm."

He understood more or less, after what explanation was offered, that there was a "mysterious hole" that needed have a door installed over it and a means of barricading said door. He explained that he might do something "Fast, ugly," in a couple of hours, but assured that "...it will hold." He then went to specifically find Cecily to inform her of the developments.

It was another hour before Urmdrus came upon the site, pulling a cart laden down with wood and tools.

“By the gods, say it not so.” With a voice as flat as a pancake, had been the only response BlackBerry gave to Victoria revealing Morty’s true nature. The rest of Victoria’s musing though left more of an impact. The idea that maybe someone was controlling those creatures below in the distillery was quite distressing even if right now they were being commanded to lie low.

“It may be conjecture but it seems as plausible as anything else though I would argue fairly unlikely. This hardly seems like the sort of place for such a thing after all.” BlackBerry didn’t sound convinced and his eyes kept slipping back towards the direction of the manor.

After waving Lady Kathryn and Victoria off on their most dangerous quest, taking the liberated/rescued alcohol back to the manor, he was left to watch Kosara’s escapes trying to make a snowman. He chose to watch such things from the relative protection of the tunnels entrance. While BlackBerry would decline any invitation to join in making the snowman, “No thank you. I shall happily keep watch just to be on the safe side.”, he would off the occasional bit of advice or suggestion as the pair waited for the other half of their group to return.

“Master Urmdurus, marvellous to see you again.” BlackBerry moved out of his refuge to greet the master dwarf and the with a mock reverent bow he continued. “I do apologise for us taking you awake from your work but we have rather urgent need of your skills. I am not sue how much my friends have explained of the situation but, see there the hole in the wall? We need it sealing up as best you may please.”

“If you have any need of an extra hand at all I am certain Lady Kathryn here will be more than happy to oblige. If that is agreeable with you Lady Kathryn?” The question was directed towards Lady Kathryn. But without waiting for her to respond he then turned on his heel and strode towards Kosara and her snowman. “Shall we be off then Kosara? I believe we have some more work to do before the day is through.”

It was an interesting event for Victoria, varying the Ritual that she had mastered just a matter of weeks ago. Tiny alterations that kept the intent of the spell, but changed it up in mostly cosmetic ways. Mostly. The spell itself allowed for tack and saddle, and the dimensions of the beast summoned had some of that arcane wiggle room that allowed for the changes presented. In this case, the shorter, broader kind of horse that one might attach to a cart or wagon, as opposed to the taller, more majestic creature that stepped high and lively, which took to the saddle and nonverbal commands of its rider. She needed something hauled this time, as opposed to a grand appearance or a really, really fast jaunt. The fact that she made it look like it was wraith-like with a skeleton visible beneath the ghostly flesh was just there for ambience. Victoria did like to make an impression. Out this way, said impression was less likely to result in pitchforks and torches. She hoped.

Nevertheless, there was a bit of time between picking up the brandy and getting back to the site, which she used to speak candidly with Kathryn - except for the parts where Urmdrus insisted that she cease changing her size, which was not really her fault to begin with. In truth, she actually seemed to be rather pleased with the development. Magic being magic, the outfit she was wearing appeared to change right along with her. As for the things she kept tucked away in her travel chest; they were quality garments, a few of them quite expensive, even. But they were not bespoke and would not suffer much for the extra couple of inches. The armor which was not made yet and was to be customized? Different story. So she remained as polite as she was able to the gruff Dwarf and took to the remeasuring with civility. However, Kathryn seemed to have questions. So she took time to address them as best she might, circumstances being what they were. "My Identification Ritual is mostly useful for learning the qualities of things which I know are already imbued with magic. Usually intentionally imbued. And people who are enspelled somehow. The information gleaned from such a Ritual concerns the magic itself, not the properties of the object as a mundane item. It is not a perfect method of drawing knowledge from a location, nor the history of an object. Divinations higher than that which I can provide are necessary for that. But I shall help as I can." She spoke in a manner that was knowledgeable but open and kind, preferring to be considered a resource of information as opposed to a know-it-all with a pretty face. Though that last part was rarely a liability.

The friendly inquisition continued as they returned to the site to wait for Urmdrus. So she continued to play what role she had in this ...interesting... adventuring group, and speak to what she had some knowledge in. Victoria did not have all of the answers, but she did have some of them. "At initial thought, I cannot fathom a type of Undead creature that fits the description of the corpses in the distillery that require a specific time of the day or special circumstances to become active, save by an order from its controller or creator." She took a long second or two to consider the next question she could answer, and it was also not the most fruit-bearing of responses. "As much as my proclivities take me into grey areas which involve the ebb and flow of life forces, the spirit, and necrotic energies, I am more limited in my practical ability than a Wizard who specializes in the School of Necromancy. A True Necromancer of relative experience to myself is far more likely to be able to hold them in thrall. My studies emphasized versatility as opposed to hard specialization. To put it plainly, the most I might do directly is take myself away from their notice. Commanding randomly encountered Undead is not a talent I possess yet." Victoria's powers in this regard were awakening, strengthening, allowing her to come into her own, but in the aspect of direct magical power she would always be surpassed by a Wizard Specialist. Victoria was a smart young lady. She might have gone far in her studies if she dedicated herself to pure arcane schooling. She would have made a fine Wizard. Instead, she made a truly exceptional Bard.

There was a line of questioning that she could answer with a better degree of accuracy. "Yes! If an undead creature is ...hmm... dis-animated, and turned back into a normal corpse, I can cast a spell to speak with them. If the body has a mouth, it can speak back to me. Unfortunately, the ones down there are a little too damaged now. But if we happen upon another murder scene, I'm your girl!" She was a little too excited about that last part, and instantly realized it. A mildly embarrassed look came over Victoria's face and she let out a quiet, "Oh."

Baronfjord's comment about the open secret of Morty's origin, or more specifically the delivery of his comment, earned a slow turn of Victoria's head toward him. It looked a lot like annoyance on her features, and this assumption was bolstered by a likewise slow crossing of her arms across her chest. Her expression became almost the very image of a disappointed parent, dryly looking at the (still) taller Dragonborn Monk. Then a smile broke through, and the woman put one hand over her mouth as her head and shoulders pitched rhythmically in silent laughter. After a moment, sounds of genuine mirth followed. Victoria uncovered her mouth as quietish laughter spilled forth and she shook her head slightly, pointing a finger in Baronfjord's direction "Alright," she stated, "Point taken." She was quite put into a less dramatic mindset about her obvious status among her group, and lightened up a touch. "I shall make use of my Cabal of Enthralled Necromantic Evils and go investigate those grapes. If you will excuse me? I've skullduggery to accomplish." The last sentence was punctuated by a sweeping gesture and sarcastic lilt to her voice.

"In seriousness, I am bringing Morty with me. My Raven shall remain here, near the tree, and should anything unexpected or aggressive happen, I will know immediately." Victoria thought for a moment, "Should the same befall me, I can notify you through my Familiar, as well. Marvelous mimics, Ravens."

Victoria then set off. The place that she was told about was not so very far away, and like the hidden distillery, located in the southern section of the Vineyard. It might have been a little unsettling, moving from the more actively producing fields to one which was obviously slated for clearing and burning, but then she remembered that she was a pretty lady who used death magic and was accompanied by an animated barbecue on legs. This place did not corner the market on "unsettling."

The grapes were easy enough to find with the description given. Almost black, somewhat smallish, seemingly growing from dead and withered vines. Victoria was not an agriculturalist, and while this didn't seem right, she was at a loss to explain. Considering that there was magic of some kind that was, or used to be, in play here, perhaps the reason leaned that way. But basic investigative observations revealed nothing she was not already told. At least she made a point to see it for herself, so that she might reference it later if more information presented itself.

The run to the couch house went rather smoothly all things considering! The barrel was heavy, but lighter than her morning workout routine. On top of that, she wasn't going to push herself as much as she could, so she could take it a little easier as well. She also didn't want to carry it all the way back up to the main house yet. Partially because she wasn't sure if the L'Rose family would be there. Partially because she couldn't be too sure what they would want to do with it. And maybe she wanted another sample to be safe. Either way she would let the L'Rose family members know they had the brandy once they were found! Until then, less travel with them was better. On their way out, Katrhyn found herself stopped with Victoria by none other than Master Urmdus. Who seemed... less than pleased. Before Kat had a chance to ask what was wrong, the dwarf was back to measuring the duo to be refit for their new sets of armor. "I well..." Kathryn said red in the face, unsure how to speak for a moment as she was remeasured. When the master craftsman was done with the measurements, he made it a point to mention to STOP CHANGING SIZE. "Sorry..." The half giant would say rather ashamed. "Thank you for being flexible Master Urmdus." Kathryn said before giving a short bow to the man.

Thankfully he was more than willing to return to the distillery site to help seal it off. While on the return trip Victoria even began explaining the specifics of arcana to the tall woman! Kathryn watched like a young girl in school learning about one of her favorite topics. Had she a desk and notes, both would be fully utilized! But alas, she lacked the means of proper note taking. For now, she would take mental notes and do what she could to remember. She did explain why her magic earlier wouldn't work on the basement, but it didn't make a ton of sense to Kathryn. She kind of understood the general idea, but it was a struggle for her to grasp. She even explained bits about what it was like to be a necromancer! Or at least a magical user who was able to do a little bit of everything, with a minor focus to necromancy! "You're clearly leagues above me in terms of use of the arcane. Even the magic I use is crude compared to what you can do." Powerful, but crude none the less. And Kathryn wasn't the best skilled with it either. She was actually probably well below average, making up for it using her martial skills and brute strength to make up for her deficiencies in Runic Magic. Thankfully those skills complimented each other well.

Her explanation of being able to speak with dead people was interesting, but it seemed the duo in the basement would be unusable for this purpose. "I guess I could snap the neck of the next one we see? Or cave in their chest cavity if neck snapping won't cut it..." Kathryn said pondering things. A part of her figured adventuring would involve a lot more using her physical might to overpower her enemies. And though she wasn't dumb by any standards other than high wizards, it was clear much of her skills were dependent on her physical ability. So she would offer it however she could to assist! And assist in other areas where she could. She did briefly take note of how enthusiastic Victoria seemed to be to animate a corpse. "Guessing you don't get to practice your hobbies too much do you?" Kathryn said teasing Victoria when the smaller woman very much tried to hide her glee. Did Kathryn get it? No not really. Playing with dead bodies was far from appealing to the half giant. But alas, Kat enjoyed fighting, and even in life or death situations she had fun with it. Hitting a bastard so hard bones shatter to powder. Finding a weak point in armor to a foe, and watching the realization they have that they are now fucked. Kind of messed up, but she enjoyed the fight. Sparing was also fun, but it didn't have that same adrenaline rush as fighting someone who wanted to end your life.

Kathryn found the scene back at the distillery rather amusing overall. But nothing too out of hand. She almost expected the place to be up in flames. Just a random thought, but she was relieved to see the whole place intact, and nothing on fire. Kathryn did chuckle towards Blackberry's silly comments about Morty the second. "I know right? He's so full of life!" Kathryn said walking over to the undead pig, about ready to shake its face. But a little warning bell went off in the back of her mind telling her that was a bad idea. So instead she just pointed to the undead bacon to be with both of her arms palms open. "So lively." She spoke out in her most smart assery tone she could muster. But then!! She was volunteered to help barricade the entrance to the distillery! She was really hoping to see this investigation through, but she also understood that out of all the party members she was also the most qualified to help. "I can stay for a bit, but I was hoping to check out the grapes with Kosara. Afterwards I will be right back to help out!" Kathryn said really hoping to check things out. "Plus if my help is really needed, V can let us know through her..." She looked at the bird, unsure what to think of it. "She'll let us know." Kathryn spoke matter of factly. The bird was cool, but another dead animal was still creepy to her. She would still stay a moment to help Master Urmdus with the door, but rush to catch up with the others as they went to check out the grapes.

Upon seeing the grapes, they just seemed.... wrong. The plant looked dead, but the grape looked perfectly fine? The smell though... was wrong. Leaning in Kat gave it a sniff. It smelled like rancid meat gone bad. But alas, The Kat was curious. Taking one of the grapes ever so carefully off the vine, she plucked it into her mouth and found herself rather surprised. It was sweet! It reminded her of the brandy she had drank in the distillery?! "What the Fu-" She was cut off by her own gagging as the grape popped in her mouth like a boil in her mouth. The taste was good, but the texture itself with the smell of rotten meat in front of her face was enough to make her feel like she would puke. With a quick swallow she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Can't say I know a ton about grapes and wine making, but I think these fuckers are the ones used to make the brandy we just found." Speaking of which, Kat would take her water skin out and drink some more of it to wash out the idea of the foul smell. More of a placebo effect, but she needed it. "Definitely the L'Rose brand, that is for sure." The aftertaste was familiar too. Not to the brandy... but to something else she had recently. But she wasn't too sure what it could be.

With half the crew heading off to deliver alcohol and hopefully get somebody to come check this out so they could head ahead and do other stuff in the meantime, Kosara and Berry were left to their own devices as the smoke from the ashen bodies in the burrow was clearing out. Now it had to be said that Kosara was already up and doing said thing as she was acting like a child and playing with the snow. First of all, she would never NOT be amazed by this cold frozen water thing called snow. It was marvelous, pretty, cold and wet all at the same time. Also made for good playing. Making snowballs, digging into said snow, throwing snowballs around or making a snowman. This was her current task. MAKE A SNOWMAN! And making one she very darn was!

There was quite the time before the others returned. About an hour or so, but it passed like a short few minutes, especially to the thiefling playing in the snow. She had rolled up a very big snowball and then one smaller to put on top of the other which surprisingly took some effort and creative thinking. Needless to say afterwards she had hopped over and up to the tree on top of their mysterious location for whatever lil twigs she could scrounge up for arms. For eyes she just went with the smallest pebbles she could find in the pile of stones and dirt they had created. There was no nose, but for mouth she used broken up sticks. It wasn’t the most beautiful of snowmen, nor the most decorated, but hey it was a snowman and it was mostly done and it was pretty darn big what with spending an hour or so rolling up the biggest snowballs she could.

When the band returned and the friendly gruff craftsman dwarf too, Kosara greeted them with energetic waving of her hands.” Hey! Nice seeing you again, Mr. Urmdrus! Found a hidden thing!” She exclaimed with a huge grin now that he could examine as her attention refocused in turn away from the dwarf, her snowman and onto V who was acting almost unusual to herself… maybe not quite unusual, but maybe she was just hopeful for the murder mystery. What with being a necromancer bard and probably needing drama and tragedy as part of her daily needs… That was how necromancer bards worked… right? She knew regular non-necromancer bards tended to give out heavy compliments to pretty ladies a lot… at least some back home did whenever they met her sisters. Granted her sisters did enjoy the attention and the gifts.

“Alright, off to the mystery grapes!” Kosara cheerfully agreed with the others and hopped away from her snowman to follow the bard and the warrior, leaving said snowman for somebody else to deal with at a later date. Was a road there? She had no idea and hadn’t actually thought about it. So if somebody had to move a carriage or a wagon there at a later date… well… There would be a murder mystery of the crushed snowman to deal with.

Arriving at the mystery dried up grapes that had a stench of rotting MEAT, Kosara was looking up with expectation as Kathryn and Victoria got on the task of investigating and examining the mystery. The bard was quiet in her work, Kathryn not so much. Then the warrior ate one, much to Kosara’s amazement somebody could stomach that stench… both literally and figuratively. Kathryn the booze whisperer or whatever that word about a person who knew alcohol was, apparently had insights.

“Wait… so the brandy we found was from this type of grapes?” She blinked.” Are these MAGICAL grapes?” She asked, looking at V who had been quite quiet so far, then she frowned.” Alright, but why do they smell of rotting MEAT!? I mean… grapes are not meat! I would know… I’ve eaten both grapes and meat. Totally different things that as far as I remember when spoiled have different bad smells… I think… yeah!”

She was now eyeing the grapes too. If Kathryn could try one, she could too!

Weather: The temperature feels like it is hovering at, or just above freezing. The snow upon the ground is still maintaining itself quite nicely, but the less compact fluff upon higher surfaces has glazed over with a paper-thin layer of ice, as if the outermost parts thawed slightly and refroze. It is cold, still overcast, and the winds now carry with them an indication of dampness. This is cloak and soup weather.

Time: It is early to mid afternoon at this point. Work is progressing at the site nicely, but these things can take time.

Ambience: The sounds of hammering and sawing echo across the hills of the Rose River Vineyard; an impromptu carpentry session committed to with haste, but also with precision. Snowfall from the night previous has done well to color the landscape a relatively frigid but nevertheless inviting white, interspersed with the wood color of buildings designed to keep that frigidity out.

The wind gives a good reminder that the current and incoming weather is more than a polite suggestion to keep covered up now, and seek shelter in the evening. High above, the mostly hidden sun has begun the second, downward leg of its journey across a likewise mostly hidden sky. Winter has arrived, and she is baring her teeth at the unwary.



The snowman looks great. Just thought I'd start the update with that.

Urmdrus, or Master Urmdrus to those who still have custom requests of his time and talent, seemed to keep to his word. The structure he was slapping together was indeed a less-then-pretty barrier, but he didn't bother to begin with an actual door. Instead, the first good hour of his work involved constructing a frame to go around the existing hole. He ignored the rotted wood of the present door, instead pounding pegs into the earth itself and using these points to put proper anchorpoints down, eventually building enough structure to hold a sizeable door. To keep it simple, it was a single, outwardly swinging portal, attached with brassy colored hinges. The hinges didn't quite match one another, but there were four of them and they seemed like they were close enough to get the job done.

Much of the wood was rough. Some of it looked like additional pieces from past projects, and one could still see bark on a couple of them. Urmdrus was correct, it was put up quickly, but it had not the usual visual appeal that one might expect from Dwarven craftsmanship. After a couple of tests upon its stability, the older Urmdrus repeated, "It ...will hold." Instead of a latch, or even a lock, Urmdrus lay a single, thick, wooden crossbeam to bar the door. One might note, he set up the bar on the outside. One might find their way in, provided they wished to and put forth some intention to do so, but one would not be able to aimlessly wander into it.

Any who were within sight of the distillery door past its construction might have seen a tired-looking, bald Dwarf rolling away a barrel larger than himself, to places unknown for reasons unknown. But one could reliably guess about either.

Over another hill or two, still within the boundaries of the southern fields and not too far away from the site of the distillery, the mysterious grapes reside. They grow from seemingly deceased (or just very, very unconscious) vines, the stakes for which are marked with ribbons to indicate their need to be cleared and replanted. It is a mere two bunches of the strange, smallish fruits, so dark as to be almost black as they hang upon spindly, desiccated twigs.

The investigative procedures embarked upon so far have revolved mostly around observations, comparisons, and eating them.

It would have been a lovely walk towards the grape fields if it werent for the cold. Where the others walked, lead by Kosara leaping and bounding her way playfully along the snowy edges of the paths, BlackBerry meanwhile trudged behind, trying to stomp some feeling back into his feet. Even with his new shoes he could feel his toes starting to go numb after huddling away in the tunnels entrance for so long. He had half a mind to wonder if Kosaras idea to keep busy and therefor moving by making a snowman had been the better idea of the pair.

When they arrived, watching Lady Kathryn had been a sight an a half. BlackBerry stared in wide eyes horror when the knight had plopped the offensive grape into her mouth. What in the name of all the Gods had possessed the woman to try one of the grapes would be a question he would have for the rest of his days. The audible ‘pop’ from within Lady Kathryns mouth and her following reaction simply confirmed that the idea had been a very bad one.

“Might I suggest not eating or drinking everything in sight, please.” BlackBerry pinched the bridge of his nose. But what Lady Kathryn said about definitely being the L’rose brand did make his tilt his head in confusion. “Well I certainly would not doubt that, Lady Kathryn but I must say they do seem a tad off given the situation. Kosara, these are the same grapes as the ones you brought us at breakfast. Are they not? Were you able to ask Madame L’Rose about them when you spoke earlier?”

He took the moment to look across the field they had been lead to and it struck him as incredibly odd that, of all the dead or otherwise dormant bushes around them it was only these two which were bearing fruit. BlackBerry peered over Kosara shoulder at the strange plants before kneeling down beside her to get a better look. The plant didn’t seem normal, even to BlackBerry’s untrained eye. The plant looked dormant as any other would be at this time of year; brown, dry, and bare but for the most stubborn leaves which rattled when he flicked the hardy stem. Other than the strange fruit he would have supposed the plants were dead for the winter.

The rest of the field had been marked, likely for clearing if BlackBerry’s meagre knowledge of farming served him right. There couldn't be that much difference between growing fruit and growing any other vegetable. Was it simply the case that the odd occurrence was contained to just these bushes? Or were they otherwise a foretelling of what was to come?

“Personally, I do not think these belong here.” He stated matter of factly whilst giving one another tap. Its leaves rustled with indignation. “Out of this whole field there are only the pair of them. I remember Madame L’Rose mentioning something about a late crop still needing to bring in but I would be very surprised if these were them. I believe we should take some to Madame L’Rose and get her opinion on this matter, and our other findings before we proceed with anything else.”
BlackBerry gripped the plant where a small branch split from the main stem and gave it a tug. The branch stubbornly refused to move, even and he twisted it this way and that trying to remove the damn thing. Lady Kathryn kindly lent a hand to rip and tug at the poor plant until it spitefully let go. BlackBerry held up the small branch he had been given with the mangled end and few remaining leaves. The parent plant was barely doing any better,, if only for the fact it was clinging to the ground for dear life.
“Ah…yes…thank you lady kathryn.”

He gave the shredded ends of the twig a curious sniff. It smelled like dry grass, almost like straw as he expected, but with sharper undertones of something else. The twig cracked quietly when he squeezed it between his thumb and finger. To him it was nothing more than a very dead twig from what should be an equally dead plant but couldn’t tell figure out anything else about the plant.

“Well, I unfortunately have no idea what sort of plant this may be but hopefully Madame L’Rose or someone else will know.” A somewhat unorthodox idea struck him then. “Victoria, perhaps you could even take some to your teacher in town? Perhaps she may have some inkling as to what is happening here.”

Returning to the distillery was a rather amusing site. Seeing Kosara work on the snowman reminded Kat of what it was like to be a young girl again! If they weren't in the middle of something important and ready to move out again, Kathryn may have joined her. But she needed to stay focused!! Much to her own challenge. Thankfully, Master Urmdrus was more than prepared to seal the doorway. Though the materials were rather raw, the door was surprisingly well made! Walking up to the built up door, Kathryn gave a soft and long whistle to it. "For a job done with no notice, and with limited materials, I gotta say this is some fine handy work." Kathryn made sure to compliment the crafts man. "Maybe someday I will have skills even half as good as yours!" Trade skills weren't Kathryn's strong suit, but she did love working with tools. So maybe that could be a backup profession should she ever retire from adventuring. And also not pursue her career as a lady of power.

With a simple but cold walk to the grapes, Kathryn found herself still rather comfortable. Maybe it was just being more accustomed to the cold, maybe it was the many layers she was wearing, or maybe she was just a naturally warm person? Who knew! "Having fun Kosara?" Kat asked the tiefling dancing and jumping as she ran along to the grapes. Kathryn figured Kosara would be the most susceptible to the cold. Between being a tiefling which she was pretty sure were a species much more suited to the fires of some underworlds, being used to the desert and being raised in their sands, and also the fact she was a little difficult to keep dressed, she figured she would need to be heated the most? Or maybe she was also naturally warm. "How do you think she does it?" Kathryn leaned over and asked Blackberry. "I can see us holding up fine in this weather, but Kosara is acting like this is her natural habitat. The more I see of this world, the more it confuses me." The half giant chuckled with a smile on her face.

Unfortunately, the investigation didn't seen to bear much fruit. Well except for the one that popped in Kat's mouth like a leaking pimple... After nearly puking to the after taste and the smell, the tall woman took a moment to take note of Blackberry commenting on her tasting the berry. "I don't-" She paused to let out a short coughing fit before clearing her throat and continuing. "I don't eat and drink everything in sight! I've been doing really good at watching my weight!" She said defensively. Working hard to make sure her body used every calorie she in took into nothing but energy and pure muscle mass! Yes she was probably heavier, but she grew a few inches, and was physically a lot stronger than a couple weeks ago! She worked hard to keep fat off her body... and normally the armor hid it rather well... The rather direct comment didn't stop Kat from trying to help Blackberry as he took a sample from the weird dead grape bush. She wasn't sure how much help she actually was, but she hoped it was the thought that counted.

Speaking of eating everything in sight... She figured she would try to recreate her experiment to see if it got any different results. "I have... an idea!" She said proudly and rather confidently. "Kosara, if these are in fact magical grapes, we shall know soon enough." She spoke confidently still as she plucked another grape, and tossed it into her mouth. The grape tossed in so fast that she didn't even get a chance to smell it. HA HA!! SUCCESS! She then took a moment to suck the grape instead of chewing it, hoping to taste it without that horrible texture in her mouth. Unfortunately, her tooth had pierced the grape. Yet again, that oozing popped clumpy blister feeling was in her mouth again. "Huk Gak Gak" The half giant coughed out as pieces of grape flew from her mouth and made some rather solid distance! "Nope uh... learned nothing new..." She said rather shamefully. And again, to wash out the rather god awful texture she took another sip of her brandy filled water skin. Then it clicked... that maybe that was more what BB was talking about... not necessarily the quantity of food and drink she had.

It was a little colder than Victoria liked. It was fair to say that, as a lady of cosmopolitan proclivities, she preferred to be indoors and warm most times anyway. Comfort was important. On the other hand, she grew up traveling with her parents' merchant caravans as well. As a child, or very near adult, time was spent in the elements with the guards and traders, setting up camps and staying in less-than-upscale locales. In truth, Victoria had some formal experience with survival skills and could tolerate much more intense of circumstances if need be. It was something she didn't advertise as she was content for others' estimation of her to be at least partially incomplete. Having just a hair of underestimation on her side was useful sometimes.

Likewise, having people who knew she practiced Necromancy as more than a hobby meant that they often overlooked other useful qualities of hers. (Or conversely, those who didn't know her at all usually figured she was a stock-and-file Bard and were shocked when a spectacularly dead something-or-another attacked them on her behalf.) But to move back to the sake of keeping appearances of a purely urban socialite, Victoria spoke up to a personal request, "I could quite go for a hot cup or two of tea and a spot by a hearth. And if I'm being honest, I am disheartened by the lack of ideas we have on what we have seen today. Perhaps a warm room, a good chair, and some time is what is necessary." Yes, she was a bit of a diva, and further asserting a benefit to their newfound mystery gave an additional layer that she hoped made a connection.

But then, at the precipice of Victoria's last shred of possible hope for the collective intelligence of the group (herself included), Baronfjord uttered something that she thought was a good idea. One that she hadn't considered, herself, and probably should have. "Yes, perhaps you are right. The woman is a herbalist and might know something. I believe it is best to keep them on the vine for now and collect them as 'fresh' as I can when I set back out to Southmoor." She regarded the anomalous grapes with a serious and thoughtful expression, including a lip bite and bona fide brow furrow, "This does not seem normal."

Another concern, probably lesser in the grand scheme of things but central to her experience and opinion, reasserted itself in her mind. "Whomever those two were in the distillery; after Cecily is informed and we make some inquiries - they deserve a proper interment." Victoria pulled her cloak about her in the wintry wind, a stark contrast to the apathy that Morty had for their surroundings.

“YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!” Kosara cheefuly replied to Berry in regards to his inquiry on the grapes. Indeed these were the same grapes alright. She could even point out from which branch she pulled the ones she had brought to the manor earlier. Indeed, the branch was on that grapevine over there! Suddenly she recalled he didn’t just ask for confirmation. She gave the shiny dragonoid… ahm dragonborn a flat stare of unspoken intent and thoughts. She stared for a few long moments… eyes locked into him, before she just blinked, tilted her head and let out a single.” Oops… knew I was forgetting something!” She then chuckled innocently.” I mayyyyyyyy have gotten overly excited about the wall and forgot to tell or show Cecily the grapes.”

With that she nodded to the only male at the party at his agreement that these didn’t look natural or at least that these didn’t look like they belonged here. She was in quite the agreement! Not that she knew what kind of winter plants existed, she was from the desert! That said the cold snow was a weird thing and very fun to play in. Even if it made her skin feel a bit too cold at times. Or how the colder winds made her shiver. The cold wasn’t going to stop her from playing in the snow! She may not get another chance for a long time! And after a good energetic jaunt through the forest and playing she (mostly) didn’t feel the cold! Yes… no anybody who says otherwise was not correct.

“YES! A LOT OF FUN! I LIKE THE SNOW! IT MAKES EVERYTHING LOOK WHITE AND PURE!” She replied to her very good friend, despite said friend’s attempt to continue eating weird potentially dangerous grapes that may or may not be spawn of evil magic or curses… or monsters. Were there evil plants that uses parasitic grapes to infest people?! Was it possible to make evil alcohol? She eyed Kathryn. She was going to have to keep a close eye on her best friend… just in case. But first she made a snowball and threw it at Kathryn.” Stop eating potentially evil grapes!”

Her attention then return to the grapes. Her eyes narrowed and she summoned her Pact weapon and without warning began stabbing the ground where one of the vines was as deep as she could. She was stabbing, and stabbing into the forest earth, trying to get deeper, relying on her magical sword of golden horsy awesomeness( because the handle had a golden horse head) to make it through the cold earth. At this one moment, Kosara was a woman of focus, commitment, sheer will. Silently, methodically, she made short work through the earth. After that she stood up properly, sword rapidly vanishing into motes of light returning to wherever pact weapons went.” Well… there’s nothing buried underneath them that I could find.” She stated in surprisingly calm and serious voice.” I expected maybe a giant bug or evil grape growing undead.” And there was the typical Kosara thinking.