.
The news was completely unexpected. Professor Petros Lorrimor, famed scholar, explorer, and teacher, was dead. Strange: it almost seemed like yesterday that you'd first met the man, and you still remember the impression he'd made on you. But in time's inexorable march forward, you'd gradually lost touch. It's been years since you've had any communication with him. Last you'd heard, he was living in some town in the middle of nowhere called Ravengrow. Apparently, that's where he died, too. Such a tragedy. The strange thing, though, was that his will specifically mentions you. That's all the messenger knew. So, of course, you've set out to attend the Professor's funeral.
The woods close in on either side of the carriage, barely leaving room to pass. Dry branches snap against the walls, making the horses nervous. The afternoon light does not reach all the way down through the trees. Small clearings of farmland show low cottages, yellow light in the windows. And then more forest. Dark and still, except for the hooves on the hard packed ground. According to the sign you just passed, it's only a few more miles to Ravengrow.
Looking out of the window at the trees passing by, a young woman sits in the carriage. Her hair is a golden blonde the color of flame or the setting sun, bound up in two tightly bound tails. She wears a wide-cut black dress that is more likely an elaborate fashion statement rather than functional clothing, and probably heavy enough to make walking for prolonged times inconvenient. While it does cover her from neck to ancle, the tailoring does put a subtle emphasis on the girls slim taille and her perky chest.
Her ears were rounded, and most everybody who saw her would have mistaken the young half-elf for a human teenager. Turning away from the window after reading the most recent sign, she addresses the young man sitting opposite her: "Brother dearest, what is on your mind? You have been silent for the better part of todays ride. You are more broody than is usual, even for you-", she offers a playful smile to him, waiting for an answer.
The pale-skinned half-elf brushed his long hair forward to recover his ear tips. Those cursed spirits had messed it up again. Touching the holy symbol around his neck, Kamali mouthed the familiar mantra to recenter himself before responding. "My 'affliction' has been particularly troublesome of late, dear sister. I fear it's a portent of ill-tiding."
The young womans mood darkens a little, and her expression quickly changes to reflect that: "Bah....ill-tiding. You would not know excitement if it came knocking and asked for you by name. And I can't remember a time when you did not consider your affliction as troublesome. I'm certain it thinks the same way about you!" - Ill-tidings, hu? If only he wouldn't be right so often. Oh well, if there's dark times ahead, all the more reason to have fun before then. - "Know this: If you think you can shut yourself into some room the moment we arrive, pondering questions of philosophy...do reconsider. I intend to drink to the good Professors memory, and if you don't return me to my room when I had my fill, someone else certainly will."
While her voice and gesturing were serious, the grin that returned to her face showed that it was playful banter, not an actual threat.
Oh, not that she considered the idea outlandish, but as brothers so often are, her's was somewhat protective of her as well. He knew he could not forbid her from doing as she pleased, but that did not mean he automatically had to approve of everything she did...
"I just wish I knew why they picked me to follow around. I mean, you'd think they'd want someone who isn't dedicated to ridding himself of such abominations." He pouted for a few moments as a barely-audible murmuring briefly filled the interior of the carriage before settling back down. Then, brightening (at least as much as his dour personality would allow), he responded. "A drink would be nice, actually. Hopefully Ravengro has an inn that's decently quiet so I can catch up on some reading while keeping an eye on you."
"Why were you picked? Because you are you. That's all there is to it - the gods play with the mortals, yet there are powers beyond gods that move like a chaotic clockwork, in patterns we cannot understand, but which are present nonetheless. If you mean to question why we were choosen, you may as well question the sun rising, or the wind blowing.", Robin picked up on her brothers pouting. They did have plenty of talks in the past, and knew very well their different approaches - Robin felt blessed, choosen, gifted, and was unable to comprehend how Kamali could feel different. The murmuring that had filled the interior was very agreeable to her.
"Either way, it's settled then, we check in the inn, then head for a drink. Quiet is fine. Boring and empty is not. Just saying, if I wanted to read a book, I could stay in my room, too."
Kamali's response is interrupted by sudden screams of terror outside as the carriage lurches violently. Peering through the closed windows, you can see the driver and horses being attacked by large mosquito-like insects.
Robin comments: "My, what a hospitable part of hinterland this is.", glancing at her brother for a moment, as if to seek confirmation.
Act now? Or err on the side of caution and prepare better while the driver is murdered by these wretched insects
"It seems our unique abilities are called for, Kamali", she continues, reaching for the door and opening it a bit. A moment later, taking only the blink of an eye to focus, Robin reaches into the void between realities and draws forth a celestial eagle to do her bidding, the bird instantly assaulting the closest insect, violently but not very accurately.
Kamali clutches his holy symbol and mutters a prayer as the carriage begins again to fill with spectral moans...
... that are rapidly left behind as the carriage continues its headlong flight. "We're moving too fast! Even the spirits can't get a foothold (thank Pharasma for small blessings)."
The horses continue their headlong flight as the driver struggles to both control them and fight off the insects. From all around you comes the eerie sound of a fiddle playing a lively jig. Suddenly, the carriage hits a pothole and lurches heavily to one side, threatening to throw you out the open door.
"Yes, we seem to have picked up some pace, maybe...ugh...", Robin is rudely interrupted by the pothole, managing to press her foot against the other side of the open door to maintain her balance clinging to the carriage wall. That sound...a fiddle?
With a simple gesture, nothing more than pointing at one of the insects to an outside observer, flames start whirling around her arm and coalescing into a projectile hurling itself towards the flying beast. But the bumpy ride made targetting hard...
At least the Celestial Eagle was less surprised by it's sudden appearance now, and chased after it's designated prey, lashing out more accurately with it's talons.
Distracted by the eerie music, Kamali is flung flat on his face by the carriage's sudden lurch. Picking himself up, he tries once again to work some magic.
And this time, a dagger appears in the air outside.
One of the bugs breaks off attacking the horses and strikes at Robin's eagle.
Latching on, it begins greedily siphoning blood.
Meanwhile, the carriage driver begins to slump forward. He's turned unnaturally pale and is clearly about to fall - leaving the carriage driverless as the fiddle music continues to intensify.
With her brother clumsily falling and taking time picking himself up, Robin glances at the Driver, realising he would not last much longer.
Trying to cover as many of the insects as possible in a blast, she breached the gulf to the primal fires and caused an eruption of elemental flame to engulf the creatures.
The Eagle tried to lash out at the one that latched on, but could not reach it with it's Talons, only managing to make tangential contact with it's beak.
Robin's fireball obliterates the stirges - and terrifies the horses, causing them to rear. The driver falls out of his seat and rolls into a nearby ditch. With the death of the insects, the fiddle music abruptly ceases.
"I'll check on the driver; do something about the horses!" As he shouts instructions, Kamali dives out of the carriage and heads for the man.
"He's alive but has lost a lot of blood. I've got him patched up somewhat, but he'll be unconscious for a good while. We're not too far from Ravengro, so I'll carry him if need be," he calls back to his sister.
"Do WHAT about the horses?", Robin manages to shout back, before a bump in the road forces her attention back to the runaway carriage.
Should I just wait until they calm down? No...
"Hooo....Shhh.....Calm down!", Robin attempts to duplicate commands or verbal signs she had heard drivers use.
Not really being trained in handling animals, the only other plan she managed to come up with was to try and get to the drivers seat, to try and catch the reins and force the horses to stop.
(+2=>21, or -1 =>18)
Meanwhile, the eagle flew along slowly, disposing of the stirge attached to it.
Robin's initial attempt at calming the horses is unsuccessful, but she does manage to maneuver into the driver's seat and grab the reigns. Perhaps that'll make it easier to stop the carriage.
Robin, having made her way to the drivers seat, tries to stop the horses with a rushed application of force to the reigns.
Which only serves to make them more agitated, if anything. Taking just a moment to look back towards her brother quickly disappearing behind, she attempts again, with a more controlled pull on the reigns:"Hooooo...."
It takes some doing, but Robin's able to get the horses under control, and the carriage comes to a halt a couple hundred feet down the road. Encumbered by the unconscious driver, it takes Kamali a little longer to catch up, but the man's eventually loaded inside.
"How is he?", Robin asks worried. "Will he survive?"
She then looks around:"I think I heard some music play. Do you think someone orchestrated that attack? - I would call my friend, but I doubt townsfolk would appreciate that much....nor the horses-"
Kamali gives his sister a reassuring look. "As long as nothing else attacks us, he should live. He's lost a lot of blood, but I was able to stabilize him." He shakes his head when Robin mentions her ... friend. "You know how I feel about that ... thing ... you let hang around. It's dangerous, and I don't trust it."
The horses know the way to your destination, and once they're sufficiently calmed down, they begin to walk toward Ravengro. Unless someone speeds them up, you'll arrive later than planned, but you should still have time to clean up before the funeral starts.
Robin offers a playful pouty smile:"Being dangerous is the whole point of it since his purpose is to protect me. But I will listen, and do as you say. You are probably right in that we are dangerous enough by ourselves to keep us safe the rest of the way. Dibs on getting to steer the carriage!", she starts laughing as she hurries to climb up to the drivers seat again, regardless of wether her brother joins the race or not.
Once Kamali secures the Driver inside, Robin gets the horses going again, playing around a bit trying to get a grasp on the handling:"Walk on, Trot....easy....gee, haw, trot!"
Upon being able to see Ravengro, she bumps on the cabin, shouting back:"We're near the village. What now? Did the letter include any instructions?"
Kamali shook his head in mock annoyance as Robin led the horses on a rather jerky ride due to the random instructions. In truth, he didn't mind terribly, as he was able to tend to his patient in relative peace and quiet. His sister's boundless energy kept life lively, but when he had work to do, solitude was best. Plus, he had no idea how to drive a carriage, and attempting to do so would (at best) prevent him from administering aid if his patient's condition worsened.
Robin's shout jerked him out of the reverie he'd found himself falling into. "Um ... That's right. The note said we can stay at the professor's daughter's place. Her name is ... Kendra, I think."
Ravengro is a small backwater of a town that can't have more than 300-400 inhabitants. It was originally built to support Harrowstone Prison, but that place burnt down years ago under somewhat mysterious circumstances. Rumor has it that the ruins are haunted, but those are just stories. The ruins are still dangerous, of course, but on a dark cloudy night, when the wind blows from the right direction, you can almost hear the mournful wails of the ghost of the warden's wife.
A few locals stare in curiosity as your carriage rolls into town, but most of them quickly turn back to their regular activities. It's not so much that they're uninterested in your presence: they don't seem to like you. In fact, one particularly-ugly fellow marches up and scowls at Robin. "Yew're not the normal driver. Where's ol' Burt, and what're yew doin' with his carriage? Yew steal it?"
Kendra, hu? I hope she's fun.
"Right. I'll ask around for their place."
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Rolling into town, Robin realizes that many of the people are happy to stare, but avoid eye contact when she looks their way. So despite the mans tone, Robin is actually relieved that there is SOMEONE willing to talk:"You are right, I'm not the regular driver, but a passenger. On the way here, the carriage was attacked by some swarm of flying bloodsuckers. My brother and I managed to drive them off, but not before Burt fell unconscious. He lives, though, and my brother is taking care of him in the passenger compartment. I'm looking for the Lorrimor residence, which is where he was supposed to drop us off. Could you offer directions there, good man?"
Kamali pokes his head out the carriage window to corroborate his sister's explanation. "If the local healer could meet us there, it would be much appreciated. Burt'll be okay, but I'll need help to get him back on his feet."
The man laughed harshly and turned to shout to anyone in the general vicinity. "Yew hear that? She's gone and pissed off the Fiddler!" Ignoring your requests, he shambles off. The other nearby townsfolk pretend not to hear. After a long, awkward minute, you hear a *bark* in front of the carriage. An old dog wags his tail and bounds forward a few paces before turning back to look at you. Clearly he wants you to follow.
When it becomes clear the man would not answer and intends to leave, Robin shouts after him: "The fiddler can lick my arse for all I care. If he shows his face, he'll share his pets fate."
Following that, she takes the reigns and lets the horses slowly move onward, as they did before, trying to ask people. Her face was a frown when the dog showed up.
Watching his peculiar behaviour for a moment, she quickly reaches a decision she also tells her brother about:"I have no idea where we are, so I'll follow a dog towards some place it leads us to. So far, the dog was the nicest person in this town. Just why Lorrimor WANTED to live here, no idea...."
The man chuckles cryptically at your words as he walks away.
"A place this far out of the way is probably pretty quiet. Good for solitude. Hopefully the rest of the locals aren't this unwelcoming, though. No very neighborly, that's for sure."
The dog leads you to a house south of the town center, barks once, and trots away. Kamali rings the bell at the door, and after a few moments, a well-dressed woman opens it. Judging by the cloudiness of her eyes, she's likely almost completely blind. "Good evening. Is someone there?"
"Indeed there is, and good evening to you as well, Miss. It would seem your dog was kind enough to lead us to this place. Most residents here do not seem too fond of strangers, so I don't want to waste much of your time...could you explain how we can reach the Lorrimor residence?", Robin explained, hastily, but as friendly as she could manage while expecting the door to be shut again any second.
The woman smiled. "You must be talking about Old River. He's the town mascot, and he's led you truly, it seems. I'm Kendra Lorrimor, and this is my home. Are you Robin?"
"Oh, my apologies, Kendra. And my condolences. Old River is a good dog. I am, indeed, Robin, and in the carriage is my brother Kamali, with the Driver. We've been attacked by some oversized insects and...a musician. But don't worry, my brothers great! The driver will be fine.", Robin starts talking, without pause, glad to finally have found someone that seems normal, and glad they reached their destination.
All the while, she's rummaging in her backpack, only stopping to talk when she triumphantly raises a piece of jerky and some hard cheese. Breaking off a bit of cheese, she throws both towards Old River:"A-ha! Here it was...Good boy, Old River, good doggie! Thanks!", then knocks on the carriage:"Brother, we are here."
"Sounds like you had a run-in with the Fiddler," Kendra chuckles, "Or at least that's what the more superstitious of the townsfolk would say. If you'd like, I can show you to the guest rooms. You'll have to carry your own luggage, I'm afraid. I can't afford a butler."
The Lorrimor residence isn't particularly fancy, but it does have a pair of guest rooms and a small study. Everything appears to be well-kept-up. Despite her lack of vision, Kendra seems comfortable navigating without the need for a cane, doubtless due to her familiarity with the layout.
Kamali greets Kendra as he carries Burt into the designated room. Barring any unforseen complications, the man should wake up in the next day or two. He'll be weak from blood loss, but he should be able to walk.
"Right, Fiddler, thats what that one townsfolk said. We're travelling light, so no worries about the luggage...but there's no need for more than one room. We're travelling a lot, and separate rooms at inns are expensive. This will be more luxurious than a common room already, so please don't indebt us further through lavish hospitality", Robin smiles...feeling foolish for the gesture a moment later as she realizes Kendra won't see, but hoping her cheerful tone made up for that.
A moment later, she becomes solemn again:"And as said...sorry to hear about your father's passing. I only knew him fleetingly, and was honestly surprised when the messenger came. But it must be hard on you. How are you holding up?"
Kendra sighs. "Honestly? It still hasn't fully registered. I mean, one day he's here, and then he's ... not. It just feels so surreal ... after all he's accomplished, you wouldn't think he'd go out in such an ordinary way. I know it'll sink in eventually - stages of grief, and all that...." She trails off as her eyes well up with tears.
"I...sorry for bringing it up.", Robin pondered...she did not know how he died, but it felt wrong to ask if he peacefully slept off - nor, for that matter, to dwell on the other womans feelings.
Robin had not meant to make her cry. Wanting to let the woman grief, but not wanting her to have a breakdown, Robin considered her options:"Will there be a wake?"
Kendra shakes her head mournfully. "The way things are in Ravengro right now, I doubt there'll even be much of a ceremony. The two of you are just about the only people who responded to the notice."
And I came as much out of curiosity about being mentioned in the will, as for the burial...
A sense of guilt washes over Robin, and for a moment, she is glad that Kendra can't see her face. Taking a moment to steady her expression, she tries to make things seem less bad:"Thats...not nice. I'm sorry to hear that, but the road here is perilous, maybe others tried to come, but got held up. Burt only agreed to take us here because he's local here anyway, the other driver we asked before refused for the payment we could offer."
Dropping off her bag at the door of their room, Robin looks around:"Also, apologies for asking, but the road was dusty and the sun hot...if possible, I would like to wash up a bit before we continue our talk. I must smell awful."
Kendra nods. "Of course. There's a washroom across the hall from the bedrooms. I'm afraid the water will have gone cold by now, but it should be better than nothing."
Kamali, of course, had already noticed the tub. A bath would be nice, to be honest, and Burt was in stable-enough condition to be left alone for a short time. Besides, he was just right across the hall, so he could rush over if something unexpected happened. Burt was soon tucked comfortably into one of the beds. Unfortunately, Kamali wouldn't have that luxury tonight. Robin deserved a bed to herself for a change, and there was an armchair that looked comfortable.
"Don't worry! It was hot on the road, cold water will be refreshing!", Robin answers.
For a short moment, she considered helping Kamali with the baggage, or Burt. But she had driven the carriage while he had time to relax in the passenger compartment, so it was only fair that he would do the work at hand now.
Entering the washroom, she found that the water was still lukewarm. Not as hot as she would have liked, but not too cold to enjoy. But Kamali would likely want to wash up as well, so she could not soil the bathwater by hopping right in. She was a responsible little sister, after all.
Undressing and placing her folded cloths on a small table next to the door, she walked over to the regular washbasin, took the soap and piece of cloth there and began to scrub and rinse off sweat, dust, and dirt.
I'll have to get my clothes presti'd as well. They won't be far better off than me., she thought as she turned to face the entrance, looking at the pile of clothes at the table.
Kamali walked into the washroom - and promptly averted his gaze when he saw Robin rinsing off. Just his luck: she'd gotten there before him. There'd be no hot water left by the time she was done, which meant the stiffness in his back from carrying Burt wouldn't fully abate. Sigh... This trip was truly testing his patience, and it wasn't even half over. Kamali loved his sister. He really did. But he'd barely had a moment to himself for days.... "Please let me know when you're done, dear sister. I'll be unpacking."