Old Graveyard, 3 miles from downtown

still @ 2:15 PM

Alric, Bright Feather, Caden, Karnath (npc: acolyte & weaver)

Caden

The bundle is the furry skin of a marmot splayed out with what feels like extra bones inside. The dried, unidentified rodent head doesn't match the rest of the fur. The bony limbs sticking out are bird wing bones, though. Little bits of grass and flowered stems are tied about here and there.

The sounds are getting further away from you, and then go silent.
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Karnath

Rolling for pursuit? Or staying within sight of your friends. They are cresting the next rise and will likely take a few rounds of sprinting to get to them. You'd likely encounter them over the ridge.
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Alric & Bright Feather

The acolyte ends his head-to-head chat with the weaver. He approaches you two while the weaver goes behind the monument out of your sight. "Our elders, well almost our elders' elders now, thought well of Livonia's man. He cared deeply and at great expense returned to honor her. Part of our agreement, after silver was found around his return, was to help travelers."

You hear intoning from behind the monument. It sounds like the voice of the weaver who is currently out of sight.

"He spent some time here with many laborers to set up this large, strange boulder. Others who passed were reburied here, with the thin rocks you see here, and both his people and ours did ceremony for their remains. And this area has enjoyed a quiet peace since."

The intoning behind the monument continues, and you hear the transferring of liquids between containers.

The acolyte continues to engage both of you in the creation of this place and the rise of the boomtown.
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Blushing Phlox Home

Hanalee

"Oh, but it is just a moment, dear. Wait, I still can do it! Do not forget me, I feel alone..."

You break off and go deeper inside the home towards the sounds. You see the bride-not-to-be holding a cloth to her hand and staring at a kettle on a cast iron pot belly stove. There is a wooden bowl on the counter with sage, mint, pine needles, and other leaves inside. She doesn't break her gaze upon the kettle as you enter.

"Water's almost hot. Ready for the medicine steam." Her voice is as disembodied and impossibly sad as ever. Her face looks like it actually shed a tear, though.

Alric nods and listens to the Acolyte as he begins to shuffle and quietly attempt to disengage to see what the weaver is doing.

Quote from: Artifacts of Amber;814686Alric nods and listens to the Acolyte as he begins to shuffle and quietly attempt to disengage to see what the weaver is doing.

The acolyte tries to keep you both in range, occasionally moving to do so.

How would you like to do this while keeping up appearances?

Blushing Phlox Home

Hanalee hears Mother Phlox's brief lamentation as she leaves her, and regrets disappointing the woman but has to investigate.

As she enters the room she places her hands on the daughter's hands before she can reach the kettle. "Here--let me do it." She goes to the kettle, and waits for the girl to tell her what to do next.

"Your mother...does she know about what happened? She seems to think...er, everything's okay."

Quote from: Mr. Kent;814760Blushing Phlox Home

As she enters the room she places her hands on the daughter's hands before she can reach the kettle. "Here--let me do it." She goes to the kettle, and waits for the girl to tell her what to do next.

"Your mother...does she know about what happened? She seems to think...er, everything's okay."

Nodding recognition of your offer she accepts your touch and backs away. As you attend to the kettle you hear a flurry of action behind you. Upon looking back she still seems to be holding her hand in cloth with the other. There is an obvious cloth that wasn't there before in a far side of the counter basket, though. You turn to your task at hand.

"Mother has been unwell for months now. But the news this spring hit her hard." Her understatement and deflection about her loss is dark like the humor of the suicidal. Words so chilling it is a relief you don't have to see her face yet.

"Time does not pass for her anymore. Like she is up in the distant ice with our great bear ancestors." A frisson goes up your spine at her slight shift in tone, a touch of envy.

"The knowledge." She rejoins you at the steam bowl, looking into it, her reference obvious. "She relives it each time, you know."

She walks out to the room with her parents, cupping her wounded? hand in cloth. The assumption to help with the medicine bowl is self-apparent.

Alrci nods as if in understanding then suddenly turns and walks around to see what the weaver is doing as if a thought just entered his mind.

"Don't wander around here it's dangerous" Alric says to the weaver.

Caden will keep hold of the bones for later examination, perhaps one of the others could make more sense of them. He will continue the pursuit of the sounds, picking up again by heading in the last direction he heard them from as best as he can tell.

Quote from: Artifacts of Amber;814871"Don't wander around here it's dangerous" Alric says to the weaver.

You cross to the backside of the monument to catch the weaver pouring a bit of water from her small basket upon her other hand, rinsing it. She returns your look with a plain smile, seems like whatever she did is already done. "Could use a bit of refreshment?" she holds out to you the tiny basket with some of the water remains.

The acolyte continues to talk to Bright Feather about the story of Livonia's Lament and lets it trail off, stepping back. "Hopefully that info will help you. We'll leave it to you now." He and the weaver will step to the side together and watch you both in smiling silence.

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Quote from: Arkansan;814923Caden will keep hold of the bones for later examination, perhaps one of the others could make more sense of them. He will continue the pursuit of the sounds, picking up again by heading in the last direction he heard them from as best as he can tell.

Continuing on (retaining your Stealth value) you go through madrones and scrub towards the last known sound. You catch a snippet of nearby frightened breathing, you must along the right path. You guess within another stealth move through difficult terrain will get whoever it is within your reach.

The challenge now is choosing left or right — and then which 5' square in front of you (left, right, or center) to Search.

(Stealth is at a Slow pace, 1/3 of your Speed, (20'/rd). Walking through Difficult Terrain halves your Speed, (10'/rd). You have a range of 5x 5' square areas from which to guess. Where you move determines a range of 3x 5' square areas to search within the 25' wide, woody, sloped border. Stealth v. Stealth happy, fun contest!)

Alric gets his huff up a bit. He moves up face to face with the weaver. "Listen I don't have time for your games. I heard you doin something back here so tell me what it was"

"If your not helpin us then you can leave"

The acolyte chimes in flawlessly, with inscrutable face, "We're here to observe. And when evening comes bring you to the elders to chat."

The weaver puts out her hand, as if to have the acolyte stand down, and adds in conciliation, "It was a discreet ablution to honor the spirits here. We do like to keep some things private among our people, but if you must know..." She nods with curious respect, as if she had to offer a distasteful gift. "We are newly met. As outsiders, your distrust is understandable."

They stay quietly smiling together, waiting whether this calmed your ire. "Please, work as though we are not in the way," adds the acolyte.

"Well if you need to do any more "ceremonies" it will be a might bit more helpful to let us know. I don't like toying around with these here spirits, and I like it less when people be toyin' around with me. Trust isn't the issue, don't need to trust you to accept your life's ways. What you do is your business until it interferes with mine."

He stands squarely and remains so until he sees that they understand even if they might not agree.

"If I can assure you, we would not play tricks upon the spirits resting here," says the weaver.

"And watching your business without interfering is our business," adds the acolyte. "You are in good hands."

Weaver continues, "By the way, your friends' business is noticeably not your business." She nods towards Karnath on the trail and the last known whereabouts of Caden. "Is there a reason you travel together? Are they protecting servants?"

The acolyte smiles and looks up innocently during this question.

Karnath, what are you doing? Fighting or still standing?

Caden, have you decided which way to go?

Hanalee, shall we assume you follow bringing the medicine steam bowl? Or do you delay a moment in the kitchen to mess with something?

Alric & Bright Feather, have you decided how to approach this Livonia's Monument mystery? Are you continuing your investigation elsewhere in the Old Graveyard?

Hanalee will inspect the cloth sitting in the basket, perhaps taking it with her if she deems it necessary, and then follow with the steam bowl.

Alric in typical hunter fashion will merely grunt and nod still not trusting their secrecy. "We fell together like many things. None of us are idle hands."

He walks back to Brightfeather. "So what ya think?"

Caden chooses to go left on both accounts.