"Bummer." Jominda replies.
This leaves Vauran very visibly confused
"Well. We just visited Jorfa to talk about how we share the stuff we found at the Harrowstone. Jorfa keeps all the stuff she produced some hundred years ago. And we get to keep all the magical stuff. The question is now what you want from that as your share." Jominda explains.
"You did assist us very well. I don't think any of us would be alive if it weren't for you, Father."
"Consider it charity. If all things go well I will never need any of the things we found." Vauran says after thinking for a moment
Jominda jumps at he Father and presses a kiss on his cheek. "You're the best!"
Turning to Kendra she exclaims "Weeee. Magical stuff to play with."
"That is very generous of you, Father." kendra smiles, and then laughs as Jominda cheers at her. "Father, do you have another moment of time? I would like your council on something." With a wink at Jominda she adds [b]"I'll leave our excited one here with the task to figure out what to do with the 'magical stuff'."
"And to you Pevrin." Vauran says before turning back to Kendra, "What council do you seek?" He says as he opens the door and steps aside to admit her
"Is it a private council?" Jominda asks unsure if she is allowed in or if she should leave them for the time.
"That is Kendra's decision." He says to Jominda as he turns to indicate to Kendra to make her decision
"Well, I already asked you the same. You're welcome to join, though I would think it a waste of your time." Kendra answers, and steps inside the temple with a nod of thanks to Vauran.
"I'd rather waste my time in your company than standing alone outside waiting for you." Jominda replies looking at Kendra and Vauran and follows in. "And I haven't heard Father Grimburrows answer to it."
Herm will rummage around at the inn for a bit before going to visit the Father at the Church.
Opening the doors, Herm is quiet and respectful of this place of power.
"Father are you here?"
"Pardon me for a moment." Vauran says to Kendra and Jominda, he stands from the chair in his office and sticks his head into the main hall, "Aaah, Herm. Please give me a moment in here and I will be with you shortly."
He turns back into his office, "As you were saying Kendra?"
Kendra began her question as Father Grimburrow closed the door behind them and led them to the small sideroom. "Well, Father, what I wanted your insight on, is my current situation. I doubt the fame of saving the town will last very long, especially once Gibs is released again, and apart from my father's home and his belongings, there isn't much to keep me here." She pauses for a moment as she looks the Father in the eyes, showing how difficult she finds it all.
"It is, however, my father's house. It's where I've lived for most of my life, and it is difficult to leave behind." she halts, not quite knowing how to pose the actual question. "What err... what is your advice?"
"The inhabitants of this village can... be rather difficult. They have learnt skepticism and paranoia are useful tools for survival, and this philosophy goes back generations. I can see how staying here might be difficult. However going has it's own problems. While the bigger cities are better about newcomers, every person in Ustalav has learnt the same lessons. Don't trust anything and you are more likely to live till tomorrow." Vauran says, his words laced with concern, and the pauses heavy with thoughts about how best to word the next sentence.
"If you want to leave you must know where you are going, and what you seek. For you this is probably an easy answer. I imagine you wish to seek out the truth behind your father's death?" The father pauses again, "If you did leave, is there any reason for you to sell the house? Besides, I am not sure who here would buy it."
"Old men's advice. Raising more questions than they answer." goes through Jominda's head.
"I have a buyer already." Kendra confesses. "Or an offer, at least. But you are right, I should first look into where I would be going." She ponders his words for a moment. "As for why to sell it, I think... well, I don't have many happy memories here, and selling the house would bring a form of closure."
She frowns. "This is frustrating, I can defend both positions equally well."
"Then the next question is to ask yourself what you might gain in either case. If you stay here what might you gain? I doubt there is anyone here you would consider as a suitor, and there are few avenues for growing oneself. If you left, there would be opportunities, but their might also be risks..."
"You make a valid point, Father. Thank you for your council. I will give it some more thought."
"I'd say the place for a bookworm like Kendra is at the university. Either she knows enough to teach, or it's the place to learn what's missing." Jominda throws in stating the - for her - obvious. "But you asked Father Grimburrow, not me." she excuses herself biting her tongue. In hopes to not get thrown out.
Kendra smiles at the woman next to her. "Your oppinion is always valued, dear. Thank you."
Vauran stands and leads the two ladies out, before he turns to Herm, "What can I do for you?"
"We should prepare a journey to the big city! Let's see if Lepidstadt has the answers you seek!" Jominda exclaims with her fist stretched out to the sky.
"I should first check if the other friends of my father are still willing to bring the books to Lepidtstad." Kendra comments.
"Shall we visit them at the inn?" Jominda asks
"Good day father, What is it that you can tell me about what happened in the Harrow Stone, I remember investigating the furnace room then, awakening to your group saving us. I feel as if I have failed in the task set out, I am supposed to accompany Miss Lorrimor to Lepidstadt but I feel I might not be up to the task."
Kendra nods in agreement with Jominda, and follows her towards the inn.
Father Grimburrow asks Herm into his office and offers him a chair. "Excuse me, I didn't catch your name the first time we met."
Upon getting told he sighs "Where to start. First I want to apologize to you Mr. Dunlaven. I was harsh the first time you asked for help and brushed your concerns off without a second thought. I was wrong and me denying the reality at the Harrowstone - and the help you asked for - almost cost your life and brought great terror over Ravengro. At least I could help saving you from the prison the Harrowstone had become for you."
"I don't know what you already found at the Harrowstone but we saw some signs of fight where you obviously had been already. Like the smashed plant at the outside of the building. Inside there were haunts in many rooms. But the main story was a fight between the ghost of Vesorianna Hawkran and the ghosts of five most evil prisoners. It was no nice experience but our task was simply to put all five ghosts to rest to win that fight for Mrs. Hawkran. And once we managed to do that over a period of three days all the evil in the Harrowstone was vanquished. And you suddenly appeared out of nowhere."
"It was thanks to Miss Kendra that we started exploring the Harrowstone to find you. If not it might have been too late. For you and for Ravengro."
Kendra greets all the travelers in the inn in turn, and compliments them based on the evidence before her: "It seems you have a healthy appetite. I'm glad you find the food here agreeable."
She gestures at two nearby empty chairs. "Would you mind if my friend Jominda and I join you? I'm sure she could use another bite by now."
"Of course you're welcome to sit with us." Tamara replies and collects some dishes to stack them and make room at the table.
Amira nods in agreement.
Kendra takes a seat and smiles. "I hope you are all recovering all right from your ordeal at the Harrowstone complex. It cannot have been an easy experience."
"It was a horrible experience. All this time in this walls. Always in fear what might come out of the darkness. It will be a while until I can sleep without light again. But thanks to your relentless effort we are alive and can breath fresh air under the sun again." Tamara answers.
"The hopelessness of the situation was the worst." Amira adds.
"I can only imagine. Is there anything I can do for you at this point?" Kendra asks empethically
"That is not the way it was supposed to be. We should have been there for YOU. But fate brought only death and destruction along on my path - again." Tamara answers being close to tears.
"You have done more than enough." Amira replies. She feels awkward with Tamara's sudden outburst of negative emotions.
"I believe it is your presence here that brought me to go and look for you - and uncover the truth about the Harrowstone prison. Without your presence, we may have discovered that too late and have lost the town completely, with all its inhabitants included. Your presence has brought a chance to save this town, a chance for redemption. And that chance was taken."
She takes Tamara's hand.
"So you see, there's no need to be sad."
Tamara cringes shortly as Kendra takes her hands. As the thin papery skin is sensitive to touch. But she tries to smile back at Kendra for trying to comfort her. "I'm glad you can get something positive out of it."
Herm nods at the man, chewing over what has been said.
"I can understand your hesitance on assiting people you didn't know on a task that you didn't wholly believe in. I again thank you for rescuing myself and the others who went in with me. I guess i will go and thank Miss Lorrimor again. Thank you father."
Herm stand and nod at the Father, taking his leave and heading back into town to find Kendra. Going to the Forge first but finding only ringing noise, he heads to the tavern.
Finding Kendra and her friend with Herm's companions, Herm will quietly move to table and sit down.
Miss Lorrimor, I want to again thank you for rescuing myself and my companions here. Without you this town would be lost, I am offering the services of myself to you in the remainder of your life."
"You should get something positive from it as well." she smiles.
As Herm walks, kendra nods at him in greeting, letting go of Tamara again. Then Herm makes his announcement, and Kendra is just flabbergasted. "You... what... My whole life!?"
"Take up the offer before he changes his mind." Jominda whispers to Kendra with a glint in the eyes.
"It is what I feel is right, I was a friend of your fathers, I feel that I can aid you as I did to your father." Herm sits down ordering some water.
"I'll take a stout ale." Jominda tells as Sarianna takes Herm's order.
Kendra stands up suddenly, causing the chair she was sitting on to topple backwards onto the floor. With a finger pointed at Herm, she raises her voice. "Listen you. I didn't go to Harrowstone to get a slave, I went there to save the friends of my father, and ended up saving the few good people in this town from a horrible fate as well! But I didn't do it for a reward and certainly not to gain the responsability of your service for my. Whole. Life." With that, she makes for the door of the inn at a brisk pace.
"Wow." Jominda comments, her mouth standing open while looking after Kendra.