"Da." Teldon answers Zee, "Pentru toate descoperirile noastre și cunoștințele acumulate nu avem nici o formulă care poate prezice mișcările de o flacără ..."
Whilst the old folk of the village discuss the election of the Festival Queen, the tables and blankets are moved to side of the field and several of the village folk - their brown clothing brightened by a multitude of garishly coloured ribbons - take to the stage. Unloading various crates at the rear of the structure, they start to set up their instruments for the dancing that will be the last event of the night's festivities... A fiddle is tuned, a drum starts to bang a rhythm and a strange droning noise comes from the wooden pipe that a young man is blowing into...
With the air of anticipation growing, the Mayor - followed by the three Festival Queens - takes to the stage.
"Ladies, Gentlemen... My dear citizens of Ravenmoor... and my distinguished guests", the Mayor smiles towards Joanna, "It is true that the burdens of office can sometimes weigh heavy around a man's neck... yet, does the Slumbering Dreamer not tell us that toil and hardship must precede any gift... that rewards come to those who make sacrifice... The rewards of my office are to see our Village thrive and to see our children grow"
A hush falls over the crowd, "And there are few rewards greater than the honour of presenting to you three of Ravenmoor's finest young ladies... All of whom would be surely crowned queen in any lesser village... But here, in our oasis within the wilderness, there may only be one... My dearest friends, I present to you our Festival Queen..."
...a pause for dramatic effect...
"Shel Lupescu!"
There is an uproarious cheer from the crowd as Shel beams a wide smile across the field. With a kiss on either cheek, the Mayor places a garland of vines around her neck and a crown of fresh flowers upon her head - before giving a posy of flowers to each of the other girls...
"And now Ladies and Gentlemen, let us enjoy the rest of our Feast with music and dancing"
The band strike up a fiercely energetic number as the men and women of the village take their partners and start to dance a polka of some form...
The old man who took to Arsith after her performance at the Starknives reappears, bows and asks Arsith, "May I have the honour of this dance?"
Arsith, surprised, takes a few seconds to answer, but rises and curtsies to the man
It's been a long time since I last dance, but it would be discourtuous not to agree. I am honored you asked, and ashamed of my little skills
She manage not to tread on her partner's feet during the dance, but it's obvious she is not a very proficient dancer.
Teldon rises, straightens his outfit, swallows hard, and very seriously asks Briana, "would you do me the honor, m'lady?"
Joanna manages to smile when the mayor looks at her, but her nerves keep it from being genuine, but she does smile, truly smile, when Teldon asks Briana to dance.
"It appears that our dour Teldon has fallen hopelessly in love with Briana," she says with a chuckle to Ziomarra.
With the music and dancing in full swing, Briana and Teldon make a decent attempt at the polka swirling around in the field - for a moment, it seems that Teldon is going to trip over his own feet but, at the last moment, he catches himself and turns the fall into an elaborate flourish. Also twirling and twisting through the crowd, Arsith is led a merry dance by her surprisingly spritely partner...
The music moves between giddy polkas accompanied by equally boisterous dancing towards mournful melodies where the dancing is far slower and more sombre. The stars twinkle prettily within the sky and the bonfires burn brightly as the dance continues.
At some point during the evening, a rosy cheeked woman - who you recognise as Shel Lupescu's mother from the parade of the Festival Queens - sidles up to Joanna and Ziomarra. It is clear as soon as she starts to talk that her rosy cheeks, whilst possibly attributable to an outdoors life, have certainly be emphasised by a certain amount of wine, "Hello... Zeejoanna and Mary isn't it? I'm sure that's what my Saul said anyway... How are you enjoying our Festival? What did you think to my daughter? Wasn't she just the prettiest picture? Surely no girl has ever deserved to be the Queen more than her... Oh, we are so proud... So proud"
For a moment or two, she stands watching the dancing - leaning on Ziomarra for stability - after considering Briana and Teldon for a moment, "He seems like a nice enough lad - I've seen better dancers but he looks a gentle soul... Are they? You know... Are they together? I must say it is strange to see a man travel with so many women"
As Zee stands to greet Mrs. Lupescu, she teeters a bit herself.
Maybe I shouldn't have had that second serving of flayleaf salad... but young flayleaf is so tasty!
"Good evening, Mrs. Lupescu! It's Zee, and this is Joanna. Congratulations to your daughter! She seems like a lovely young woman—you must be so proud of her! I am having a splendid time at your Festival! We had not intended to intrude, and are very grateful that Mayor Kriegler invited us to join you all."
After watching the dancing for a moment, Zee answers Mrs. Lupescu's question. "Aren't they a charming couple? I have to admit that I didn't see coming when it happened, but I am very happy for them."
After another moment, "So, your daughter is the Festival Queen! Does the title carry any duties or responsibilities, or just bragging rights?"
Teldon carefully studies the movements of the people dancing and attempts to mimic them.
'milord'... he reflects with a tinge of sadness, I wonder if she's forgotten that I'm not a lord, or that she is actually a lady... I wonder if she could truly be happy with a man below her station in the long term...
Momentarily distracted, he nearly falls but recovers fairly well. "We'll dance as long as you like," he answers with a somewhat nervous smile.
"He is a kind soul, but I think at times he can be a little callous. Briana seems to be good for him, though," Joanna says, paying no mind to the mess Mrs. Lupescu made of her and Zee's names.
"Do you choose a new Festival Queen every month? I remember the mayor saying that there was a festival and a feast each month here," Joanna asks, something in the back of her mind whirling there, like she had pieces of a puzzle that went together, but she couldn't see how just yet.
"And if you don't mind entertaining the questions fo a silly girl, how do you decide who the girls hoping to become the queen will be?"
"Oh that's a bit of a shame... Don't say anything but my Shel hasn't spoken about anything else other than the handsome man who rode into town this morning... She didn't even seem that bothered about the chance to be Festival Queen - me and her Dad had to have a few strong words with her, I don't mind telling you"
...as if to emphasise Mrs Lupescu's point, at that precise moment, Shel Lupescu - Flowers radiant in her hair - swings through the crowd dancing with a young man... Twice she and her partner waltz towards where Briana and Teldon are dancing... Each time, her smile is very specifically aimed towards Teldon...
As she continues to watch, Mrs Lupescu regains her composure, "Ooooh, sorry... I was watching my daughter... So very proud... Now, what was it you were asking? Oh yes... Being Festival Queen is more about status than anything else - I think she will be asked to maybe do a little speech before the next few Festivals... And she gets to sit at the top table whilst she is Queen but duties? No, not really..."
Mrs Lupescu permits herself a little giggle when Joanna asks whether there is a new Queen each month, "Oh no my dear, the Queen is elected for a season or two... Shel will be our Autumn and our Winter Queen... Gosh, we'd run out of girls if it was every month!!! Course, we haven't had a Queen all through the summer... Not since those folk took off with the Kharvoski girl"
"And, as to how we choose our potential Queens? Well, you're a woman grown... Our Queens are... Ah, how would you say it in the city? Ah yes, freshly blossomed flowers..."
Briana's reverie within Teldon's arms as they cavort around the dance is suddenly interrupted...
"Excuse me... Excuse me"
...Shel Lupescu, her cheeks flushed from dancing, stands before you... her toe tapping to the music...
"Would it be an intrusion if I were to ask your man for a dance... After all, it is the tradition for the Queen to dance with guests to the village", her voice turns to a whisper, "Folks are expecting me to dance with him".
Teldon - it is pretty obvious from her body language, that Shel really does want to dance with you... Whether it is because tradition demands it or not, you really can't tell.
"Perhaps, but I am not that old. I'm but a few days past my seventeenth birthday," Joanna says, obviously a little embarrassed by that fact, "I've often had people swear that I was at least two years younger, so I am grateful that you think that I am so mature."
Mrs Lupescu seems genuinely surprised when Joanna reveals her age, ”Really my dear, you have a wise head on those young shoulders…aaaah, I knew this would happen”, Mrs Lupescu watches as Shel talks to Teldon, ”You know, your friend really should let Shel dance with her… some folks might take it as a slight were he to refuse a dance with the Festival Queen”
Excusing himself from a group of older folk and apologising to Mrs Lupescu fur the interruption, Mayor Kriegler sidles in between Joanna and Ziomarra – he passes a glass of wine to each of them before, with genuine regret in his voice, he announces, ”I’m afraid that I must attend to some urgent Mayoral business – Joanna, I had hoped for maybe one dance but, for now at least, it must wait. On the morrow, I promise we will discuss your Mr Kyle and, if you wish, we can talk about the village’s veneration of Desna”
…and with that, he bows and, striding through the crowd, is gone.
"Isn't that going to make people uncomfortable after what happened with the last Festival Queen after she danced with visitors?" Teldon asks earnestly while trying to read Briana's body language...
Shel seeks to reassure Teldon, ”For many years, it has been tradition that the Festival Queen dances with any guests to the village… the actions of those awful people don’t change that… and people can see that you are nothing like that Mr Kyle”, Shel curtsies to Teldon and then, smiling to Briana, ”I promise to give him back after this dance”
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oh gods, as if it weren't enough to stumble through these dances to please my sweet, beautiful Briana, now I have to do so with some random girl while the rest of the town look on suspiciously? I've already drawn enough attention though... I'd better not cause a scene by refusing her...
Forcing a smile Teldon replies, "You honor me, your majesty," and acquiesces to her request. He looks apologetically, and nervously, at Briana as Shel drags him away.
Once more swirling away into the dancing crowd, Teldon finds himself the focus of everyone’s attention as he dances with the Festival Queen – but, contrary to Teldon’s fears, the faces of the village folk are smiling at the sight of their most precious girl dancing with the visitor from the big city. ”Pay them no heed Teldon” whispers Shel as she pulls herself close against Teldon, ”They will return to their own dancing soon enough”. The ravishing Festival Queen is quite correct in her prediction; as the music slows down once more, the sight of Teldon and Shel dancing is of less interest than their own drinking and dancing…
…although Mrs Lupescu, a broad smile across her face, continues to look on approvingly…
…as the music ends, Teldon and Shel re-emerge from the crowd… the Festival Queen having, quite innocently it seems, kissed Teldon on the cheek curtsies before declaring, ”Thankyou sir, your dancing has quite worn me out… I must rest a while”.
Watching the dancing, Zee remarks to Mrs. Lupescu, "Your daughter seems quite the dancer!" She then looks to Brianna to gague her reaction, as she sips a glass of locally-made wine.
"You are too kind, Mrs. Lupescu. I often feel that I am a fool," Joanna says at the woman's compliment, "but that may just be me being silly."
The paladin watches as Teldon begins to dance with Shel, and Briana to see if she's alright, and it is not until she hears Mayor Kreigler speak that she notices him.
"I understand, and you needn't worry. We shall keep ourselves out of any mischief," she reassures the Mayor as she takes the wine, "I look forward to being able to speak with you about both those things on the morrow," she adds before he leaves. When she is certain that no one is looking, she gives Zee a worried glance before returning her attention to Teldon's dance with the Festival Queen.
"She could certainly put most of the nobles back home to shame," Joanna agrees with Ziomarra. She thinks for a moment then turns to Mrs. Lupescu, "I hope you'll pardon me, but with the sudden business with the mayor, and there being six of us, I was wondering if you would mind if I imposed on your hospitality? I don't want to be a distraction for the mayor while he deals with whatever has come up, and I think that four people in the house would be less distracting than six, wouldn't you agree," she asks, falling into habits drilled into since childhood, "I promise that Zee and I will cause no trouble, and I'd also like the chance to get to know Shel as well, if that would not be a problem."
Teldon is sheet white as the young Lupesco woman kisses his cheek and takes her leave. Once some distance separates them he draws Briana close in another somewhat clumsy dance, then whispers, "Նա հարցրեց, թե արդյոք ես պիտի գան եւ արիություն իր ծաղիկ երեկո ..."
Mrs Lupescu seems taken aback by the suggestion that Ziomarra and Joanna might stay with her and Shel in the Smithy overnight - but rebuts the suggestion quite firmly, "Oh no my dear, it is terribly kind of you but I can assure you no harm will befall my daughter... Not with Saul around!!! And, if the Mayor found out that you had forgone his hospitality in favour of ours... Oh my dear, oh no, it just wouldn't do!!!", she places a hand on Joanna's wrist and quite sincerely thanks her for her concern.
...and as Shel finishes her dance with Teldon - at the same time that Briana finishes her dance with the young man who graciously thanks her - Mrs Lupescu bids you a good night and bustles off after her daughter.
Indeed, it seems that people are generally drifting homeward bound - the dancers become more sparse and, one by one, the bonfires around the field are doused. Catching up with you, after having been playing with his lads for the majority of the dance, Viorec Korzha tells you that, "Tradition holds that on the night after a Founders’ Feast, the Dream Tender is particularly active, so folks are eager to get home, burn a flayleaf fetish of the Dream Tender, and fall into a deep sleep to enjoy wonderful dreams". Viorec coughs, "Not sure I believe that myself...but there you go. You folks going to be okay getting back up to the Manor from here?"
"Ah, forgive my impropriety, then. I did not mean to offer insult," The young paladin says with a bow.
A little while later, when Viorec comes by and mentions the tradition, she bites her tongue to keep from blurting out a question that was likely to cause far more harm than good, instead she turns to the man.
"Yes, I believe we can, but if you could spare the time, may I ask a couple of questions," she asks, looking around the thinning crowd to see if she could be overheard.
"Mr. Korzha, I know that this is supposed to be a time of celebration, but I am concerned about the circumstances that lead to Miss Kharvoski's disappearance, and I'm worried that something similar may happen again. I..." Joanna stops herself and shakes her head before looking at Viorec again and asking, "Mr. Korzha, what do you know of Iomedaeans, especially Iomedaean Paladins?"
With the music dwindling away behind them and sending his boys on ahead, Viorec asks quizzically, "Why do you ask?". He ponders the question for a moment, "To be honest with you, not that much beyond the fact that they tend to head up to old Sarkoris".
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When they have a moment of privacy as the crowd disperses Teldon corrects the troubled Briana, "I think that's the exact opposite of the truth. In the animal kingdom nothing bothers to steal a mate from a lesser animal, they try to steal mates from the greatest among them to prove their own worth. I suspect the same is true of Shayliss and Shel... They see your beauty, and kindness, and wisdom, and all the other qualities that make you so incredible and they try to get me only to prove themselves your equal. Shelyn knows I never had this problem before."
perhaps this is actually their custom... it can't be easy to add new blood to family lines out here... truthfully, it's a shame I can't help them- it would do future generations good to have more predisposition to critical thought...
"Well, I guess actions will speak louder than words," she says, before taking the dagger from her belt and praying that this might be enough to convince Viorec of her intentions. She holds open one hand and slices open the palm of it. Joanna lets out a small hiss of pain through her teeth as the blood from the wound begins to run to the back of her hand.
"Paladins are holy warriors, the swords of their faiths and the shields of the innocent. In return for our oaths, our lives, we are blessed with strength, wisdom, and many gifts that even the priests of our faith do not have," she says before placing her other hand over the wounded one and mutters, "Iomedae, please, lend your servant this boon."
A soft golden glow comes from her hands and the symbol around her neck. She shows Viorec the wound, quickly shrinking and glowing white-hot. After but a breath, nothing remains of the mark her dagger had left.
"We can heal our wounds and those of our allies. We can provide succor with but a touch. We can also sense all manner of fiends and the dark priests of evil gods and the rulers of Hell, the Abyss, and Abandon," She says looking up to Viorec, "I tell you this, not as a boast, but in the hopes that you will trust me, or my intentions at the very least."
She looks to her friends, the ones that had witnessed her falter and doubt herself several times since they had met. She looks nervous, but sure that what she was doing was the right course of action.
"I've been uneasy since I have arrived here. When I learned about Miss Kharvoski's disappearance, and asked the mayor about it, I was told two differing tales. One spoke of her abduction, while the other spoke of her abandonment of Ravenmoor and her faith in Desna for Abadar, and it told of her flight to Riddleport," Joanna looks around to see if anyone was in earshot of her before she continued, "Then there was the tainted pig, what ever possessed it was not of this plane, it was evil and if given the chance, it would have devoured everyone in this village. Then there was... There was what I sensed from the mayor," she says before quickly holding up a hand to forestall any heated reaction from the man she wanted so badly to trust them, to trust her, "I do not know if he is the one behind Miss Kharvoski's abduction or the fiendish parasite in the pig, only that he, or something possessing him, is evil. Either way, I do not trust him and I am worried about the well-being of everyone in this town. I do not know what is going on, but the more I learn, the more we learn, the more I fear that something foul is afoot in Ravenmoor," she finishes, her voice now very quiet, and her eyes full of worry. In error or not, there is little doubt of her sincerity or honesty.
To Joanna, discreetly
I don't like this place either, Joanna. It feels... rotten from the inside, while trying to keep a pleasant appearance. I don't know how to put it.
Viorec Korzha watches wide-eyed as Joanna's wound heals, for those brief moments he is speechless and, as the Iomedean starts to lay out her concerns, he has her full attention. When she finally stops, having expressed her fears for the villagers and her suspicions about the Mayor, Viorec puts his arm around her waist - a friendly gesture, nothing more - and guides their walk back towards his home.
"We should discuss this somewhere private... my children are more than capable of putting themselves to bed so please, all of you, come back to mine... a detour for ten minutes or so won't attract any suspicions"
As they troop away from the field, the last of the bonfires are extinguished and the twinkling of the stars above becomes the main light within Ravenmoor...
Teldon kisses Briana back, and wishes it could have lasted longer. He quickly refocuses though when she reminds him of their task. Taking her hand in his he trots over to their friends just in time to head out with them and Viorec. "What did we miss?"
"Agreed. Let me just make sure that we have everyone," Joanna says before doing a head count and making sure everyone's accounted for.
With everyone safely in the Korzha house, and a fire swiftly lit for warmth, Viorec stands next the hearth, "I'll admit, I've never much like the Krieglers... It always seemed to me they held their power due to the family name rather than actually deserving it but, what you suggest, that maybe they mean harm to the village... I don't know... I just don't know".
Your host goes to the windows and draws the curtains, "I take it you mean to do something? What have you in mind? And, if you do take action... What proof beyond your 'feeling' about the man do you have? There's a lot of folk who believe in that man up the hill... They won't like it."
"Well, you have summed up our predicament pretty nioely," Joanna says with a rueful chuckle, "We are strangers here and we need proof that can't just be explained away, or at least not without sounding like an idiot or a liar. As much as I want to go confront him right now, I know we'd be chased out of town, even by those with good intentions."
She sighs heavily, rubbing her forehead and temples, "I think that we could stay a day or two, and see if we can't turn up anything as well as seeing if there's any signs of Mr. Kyle. I doubt that he'd have abducted anyone from here, knowing that he'd have to come back through on the way back. Only an idiot would do that, and from what I gather, idiots don't last long as treasure hunters, or grave robbers if you prefer," Joanna reasons aloud, "Further more, I know that a priest of Abadar would never condone kidnapping, even if his heart was as black as pitch. It's unlawful, and to an Abadarian, it is laws that keep chaos at bay."
"If we could find out what really happened to the Kharvoski girl, we could hopefully find what we needed to confront the mayor openly and gain the support of Ravenmoor," The paladin pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs, "but that may not be of any help, she's been gone a long while. Who knows what happened to her. I was hoping that you could give us more information on what happened the night she disappeared, and if you noticed anything that would have fit in with what the Mayor told us about her abandoning Ravenmoor and Desna to worship Abadar and go to Riddleport, which, from every story I have heard from my father who often sailed the Lost Coast, is barely more than a den for pirates, rogues, and thugs."
Joanna slumps in a chair, faint circles beginning to appear under her eyes. She had been given many powerful gifts by her goddess, being able to not sleep was not one of them.
"This is by no means definitive," Teldon offers, "but to corroborate what Joanna has apparently already told you, earlier this day we went to see Lame Jimmy... we discovered that someone had come through the woods, opened up one of his windows, and disappeared back into the woods unseen, with a mess of snakes, including two poisonous vipers, inside the house... we discovered them before they got to the farmer and were able get some information and sausage from him... When we returned to town with the meat the mayor was visibly surprised. What cause we he have to be surprised by the sausages unless he fully expected Jimmy to be dead when we got there?"
Telson hesitates for a moment then somewhat awkwardly asks, "Is it common for your festival queens to be deflowered on the night of their coronation?"
Zee tactfully ignores Teldon's final question...
"I may have not taken formal vows as a priestess, but Desna does speak to me through my reading of the Harrow. I have followed the teachings of Desna for all of my life, and I have traveled all across Varisia... and I must agree with Joanna that there are things about your village's worship of the Song of the Spheres that gives me pause. Have you heard the story of the Hatching of Ghlaunder?"
"Long ago, when she was a young goddess, Desna traveled the Great Beyond to see what was there. On her travels, she once found a strange coccoon. Curious as to what might be inside, she openend it. What emerged was a terrifying beast like a great mosquito. It called itself Ghlaunder, the Gossamer King, and immediately attacked her, trying to suck out her divine essence. Desna defeated Ghlaunder easily, but he escaped before she could destroy it. Ghlaunder then spread parasites into the world: creatures that only live by feeding on the essence of others-- weakening or corrupting them without killing them. Priests of Ghlaunder will sometimes pose as priests of another faith, slowly corrupting their followers and bending their worship to that of the Gossamer King."
She pauses, and continues, "We have found many of your worship practices to be very strange... your abandonment of the church of Desna, your practice of burning effigies of Desna, inducing dreams with flayleaf, not knowing that the starknife is Desna's sacred weapon, calling her the 'Lady of Gossamer"... At first, I thought that you were simply following old and forgotten worship rites, as worship of the Starsong dates back to the days of Thassilon and earlier still. But the more I see, the more I am convinced that a cult of Ghlaunder has wormed its way into this village. And your spiritual leader is Mayor Kriegler. He has to know... and may well be responsible for this."
The Varisian witch pauses again.
Continuing, "Unfortunately, I ate a bit too much flayleaf salad at the feast and wasn't guarding my words around the mayor as well as I should have. I fear I may have tipped our hand that we suspect the influence of Ghlaunder."
Hearing Teldon's question Joanna slowly turns to him and her jaw slowly drops. She closes it and her cheeks soon turn a brilliant red.
"Teldon, would you care to explain where that came from," she asks, much more embarrassed than angry.
Why would he ask that? Idle curiosity? Does he actually have feelings for Shel? What about Briana? She doesn't seem too upset, but... but...
In fact, she seems to be almost shocked stiff.
"Someone said something to me during the festivities which made me wonder if that was a normal part of the occasion," Teldon answers, now trying to be a bit more tactful too, "I'm sorry to be indelicate but if it is a common practice that might provide some additional insight into the last queen's disappearance..."
At Joanna’s suggestion that staying on for a few days to investigate further, Viorec nods, ”If what you say is true then surely you should stay – you must talk to the Kharvoski’s and maybe to some of the girl’s friends? It is many months gone past now so all that we have left is memories of the night. I’m afraid to say that I don’t recall anything too far out of the ordinary – certainly the visitors didn’t exactly endear themselves to the village folk with their cavorting but nothing I saw that night made me fear for the girl’s safety… course, when we heard, we all felt terrible about it”. When Joanna mentions the Mayor’s story that the girl fled to Riddleport, Viorec wrinkles his brow, ”First I’ve heard of that and, truth be told, I’d never have thought it of the girl… She was a lovely girl for sure but she wasn’t the brightest of folk… are you sure he said that?”
Teldon’s story about the snakes at Jimmy’s causes a raised eyebrow, ”Look, poor old Jimmy hasn’t been right since he got bit out in the swamps… wouldn’t surprise me if he’d been keeping snakes – but you say that someone might have planted those snakes there? And you reckon it might have been something to do with the Mayor?” Viorec seems astounded for a moment… and then Teldon outdoes himself…
”Sorry??? What??? I don’t…. um, okay…”, Viorec stumbles over his words, ”Who told you that? It’s certainly never been tradition before… it’s true enough that the girls who are elected Queen have only just become adult – and, in a way, the festival is a celebration of that but deflowering? No, that’s not what’s gone before” and then, when Briana asks about other Festival Queens, his composure starts to slip, ”Oh my… oh no… there was Rosa, she went with the Mayor to Galduria and joined a caravan headed south… and Lucetia, she fell ill and died up at the Kriegler household… Persha swept away in a flood they say – the Wolf in the Water got her. Ain’t none of the Queens in Ravenmoor no more… they all moved on or died”
Ziomarra’s discourse on Ghlaunder and the perversion of the Desnan religion that she has seen within the village causes Viorec to slump in his seat, ”I can see now… I can see how this would lead back to the Krieglers… How could we have not seen it? Been so blind?”
A look of cold determination grows in the man’s eyes, ”What do we do?”
"It didn't happen overnight, and I think we may need to lie just a bit. I'm not leaving Shel alone not after learning about what happened to the previous girls that earned that title," Joanna says, that whim of steel edging her voice once more.
"Briana, do you think you can tell the Mayor that I fell ill and was taken to lie down at the Lepscus'," she asks politely before turning her attention to Viorec her gray eyes like cold steel.
"If you can, can you show me to the Lepscus' house? I may just be a bit paranoid, but I find that all of the festival queens have either left to never be heard from or died to be too much of a coincidence. If Shel's in danger, then I'll be damned if I'm not there to be her shield when it comes."
White silvery light plays in her eyes as she looks into Viorecs, her holy symbol glittering in the light.
"And if need be, I'll die protecting the innocents of this village, all of them."