Locke joins Illona in the farm house, "Perhaps we can use this place for our base of operations during our investigation?" He give the place a once over himself.
Drancis leans back against the side of the farmhouse, winded from his efforts. I don't think I could go through that again!
He follows Illonna into the farmhouse looking around it carefully. "Best to make sure nothing or no one is lurking inside."
Rikkan nods. "Be sure house is safe and warm. Then we expand and click go looking for the others."
Perception
The Redthistle farm appears to be, upon first investigation, a good location from which to base further investigations into Holver's Ferry. As Ambrin indicated, there are simple provisions left in the larder and adequate firewood with which to build a fire... There are five bedrooms, all on the first floor of the building, and - quite welcome after the soaking by the relentless rain - the house seems dry and warm. The Redthistles had clearly spent some time reinforcing the house - all of the downstairs windows are boarded closed and the external doors, with the exception of the front door, are all locked and latched.
With the afternoon sun slowly making its way towards the horizon, there is limited time for further exploration... But enough, at least, to follow the trail into the centre of the village. Locking the door behind them, the friends make their way back into the rain... and, after a hike of a few minutes, arrive at the granary. A 30-foot grain silo rises here - the tallest building seen thus far - with its ground-level door slightly ajar. The top of the tower also includes another door accessing a narrow, wooden walkway that encircles the tower and overlooks the village and river.
Suddenly, the door at the top of the tower swings open and a plump middle-aged woman dressed in a beautiful, but ill-fitting white lace wedding gown appears atop the granary’s catwalk. Tentatively, she moves out onto the platform and, after a few moments of holding onto the door frame, stands looking into the middle distance. With a cracked and mournful voice, she starts to sing of a 'village so bounteous and fair... and of the maiden who lived there' - thus far she doesn't appear to have noticed the friends below.
Perception
"Look, her hair is dry but her clothes are drenched. How can that whrr be? And why is she singing that strange song?"
Astraea is relieved to see the Redthistle family leave Holver's Ferry behind. She hopes they will find shelter before the madness that is consuming this town escapes beyond its borders...
She is just as relieved to find that the house, their new base of operations, seems secure and comfortable. I'll make sure to leave it cleaner than I found it, she reminds herself, wishing she had done the same to the Vesk-owned roadhouse the day before. Cleaning always helped her get her thoughts all in a row, and it was polite to boot. The fact that she had not taken the time to do so then was the first clue to realizing just how rattled she really was.
Upon seeing the woman on the catwalk, Astraea listens to Rikkan's words. "Strange... what was she up to in there? Should we get her attention?" What if she falls? What if she jumps? Astraea brushes her damp bangs out of her eyes and tries to focus her vision on the woman, but the cracks in her eyes are far too pervasive to see her clearly. "Please, tell me if she makes any sudden moves. I'll try to talk to her."
"...and all who saw her... loved her. But for her, there was only one in her eyes..."
The woman, her voice still unsteady, holds tight to the fence around the walkway... and swings her leg over it...
"By the Gods, she is going to jump!" Drancis exclaims with a note of panic in his voice. There is no way anyone else can stop her...I have to do it! I just hope I can control it...
Holding his hands out and up above his head, a swirling mass of shimmering what looks like distorted air swirls above his head making an eerie high pitch tone. After a few seconds as the field coalesces, he points both hands out towards the woman and the field vanishes...but the effects are felt by her high above as she staggers backwards as if flung by an unseen hand.
The fence around the walkway bends and groans briefly as if struck by a strong wave - and the woman, straddling the fence, is forced to hold tight against the buffeting winds. As it passes, still oblivious to those below, she swings a second leg out... and now, standing beyond the fence, is at the precipice of a 30 foot drop...
Almost shouting now rather than singing, "That man, she said... Will be mine forever more... And our lives will be as one..."
"Locke, quickly! Join in the song, it may fascinate her!" shouts Illonna as she rushes forward, placing herself in such a position that if the woman goes over, she'll have a chance of being caught.
Locke quickly starts to belt out a song in tune with Milda Vesk, another kind person that he doesn't want to watch die. I hope this works... and if does, the others better start climbing that tower quickly
If Rikkan can find a set of stairs or a way up, he starts rushing toward them. If not, he simply watches on in horror, hoping the bard had some luck.
Locke’s song suddenly breaks Milda Vesk’s mournful tune… and, rather tentatively, she sits down over the edge of the walkway – her legs dangling over the side… a potentially fatal thirty feet above the ground - as she hums along to Locke’s singing. Below her, Illona attempts to gauge where she would fall to – and readies herself to catch the woman if things turn sour.
Seeing an opportunity, Rikkan rushes to the granary and, entering the building, finds a staircase that leads upwards…thirty feet of hard running later, Rikkan reaches the top of the stairs, pushes the door open and, stepping out into the rain once more, is almost overcome by the smell of oils and alchemical substances coming from the woman…
It'd be great if I remembered to grab some rope, Rikkan thought as he looked out at the precariously dangling woman. Not knowing exactly what he wanted to do, now that he was actually up there looking at her, Rikkan pulled his mutagen and drank it down, increasing his Strength. He moves out to her, preparing to grab her if she makes any move toward the edge. "Hey, I'm Rikkan. I'm here to help, click."
Zoreck mutters under his breath, "Has everyone in this town gone completely crazy?" as he follows Rikkan up the stairs.
"That's a lovely dress, ma'am. Are you getting married?"
The woman turns around as Rikkan arrives, her eyes unfocussed and her voice aving an almost semi-waking quality, "A talking mouse is here to help... How quaint and what a delight... My Tablin would have thought it a hoot... Are you a clockwork? The fair at Galduria had a show of mechanical animals... We were so young then... Me and my Tablin....", the woman's voice trails off...
...and then, when Zoreck appears, she almost loses it, "Married!!! Why would I be getting married? How could I? This is the dress that I married my true love in... But now he's gone... He's gone... Oh!!!". Turning away and looking out into the rain-filled skies once more, she hisses at the friends, "Don't come any closer... I'll do it... I really will..."
And, when she pulls a hand from inside the purse she is wearing, she is holding a short piece of wood with a sparkling sheen to it...
"Come down from there, and we can talk about things, wrrr. I'm here to help you. We are here to try and figure out what happened in town, and why so many people have lost loved ones. You can help us with this, click.n Put that twig down and come over to us."
Diplomacy
Now that Rikkan and Zoreck have reached Milda, Locke stops singing and makes a dash for the top of the tower too. "Milda! Do you remember me? Locke Lestrange? Come down from there and we'll talk, you can tell me what's happened and we will do what we can to set things right."
Drancis watches the scene unfold above him with a look of horrified fascination. What has gotten into her? We cannot let her perish here!
As the fact she carries a tindertwig in her hand becomes apparent he seizes on the opportunity to act, forming a bubble around it and pulling it from her grasp.
An accent of clarity appears in Milda's voice - just for a second - before she drifts off into a daze once more, "Oh... Yes, Locke... Oh, yes I do remember you... Tablin did so like you... When I am reunited with him, I shall tell him you were here"
...and then, Milda Vesk strikes the tindertwig against a metal strut within the fence - a red plume of flame erupts from the stick...
Illonna continues to maneuver herself from the ground, still ready to catch the woman if she decides to jump again.
"Drancis" she calls in a low tone so as not to attract the attention of the woman "Can you perform your trick with the water again?"
Drancis nods in response. Of course! That should take care of it...
Not bothering with a verbal reply, Drancis scans the side of the road and sees a puddle of water lying next to the muddy road and immediately yanks a portion of the water with his mind, the bubble surrounding it. He then points at the woman and sends the hovering mass of muddy water directly at the tindertwig.
I hope I am not too late!
Rikkan definitely wiTs to see how that plays out, as he has no idea except grabbing her, and the both of them would no doubt fly over the edge.
Smelling the various oils and ungents on Milda's clothing, Zoreck realizes that she'll go up like a bonfire if she strikes that tindertwig. He glances at Rikkan, tenses, then his right hand strikes like a snake to try to knock the match out of her hand.
A pulsating orb of water, fighting against the rain, sears upwards and catches Milda Vesk face on... the orb implodes as it hits her - further drenching her clothes, her face and her hair. Drowned, the tindertwig fizzles and dies in her hand... just as Zoreck reaches out and grabs it from her...
With a resigned, "Oh...", she gives Zoreck a forlorn look and steps out into oblivion...
"Nice job, Illonna! Great catch," the rat man calls out as he takes off his monocle and wipes the rain from it. He then climbs back down to try and find out some information from the distraught woman.
As Milda Vesk steps out, gravity takes over... suddenly screaming, she plummets from the sky as thirty feet of granary tower fly past her - and then, with a heavy thump, she lands in Illona's single good arm...
Milda Vesk, bedraggled and smelling strongly of volatile oils, smiles weakly at Illona and then passes out...
The ratfolk looks at the others. "Now what we do to keep her safe? When she whrrr wake up, she might try to hurt herself again."
Illonna braces herself and easily catches the woman when she falls, shifting most of the force to her torso. She keeps her feat well, too.
A quick examination shows Milda to be fine, though banged up from the experience.
"I shall return her to the farmhouse. A new set of clothes and some rest will do her well." comments Illonna, still carrying the woman, as she heads back to the farmhouse. "Otherwise we will simply have to see how she wants to behave once she has regained consciousness."
Drancis watches Illonna carry the unconscious woman off. "What I would like to know is where she found all that oil. That is not something usually found in large quantities, especially in a small village like this." He enters the granary and has a quick look around. "While I don't think this is where she found the oil...best to be sure, right?"
He thinks about what Rikkan said. "I dunno. Maybe we can rouse her awake and hopefully get some answers from her."
Locke rushes his way down the tower, happy to see Milda caught safetly in Illonna's arm. "Nice catch! If you hadn't been here..." Locke's face darkens momentarily before he catches himself and smiles brightly at Illonna. "It might be dangerous to go alone to the farmhouse, especially hindered by carrying someone, I will join you."
He accompanies Illonna in bringing the woman he had once known to the farm house, "Should we restrain her? If she wakes up alone we have no idea what she might do. I'd prefer to have her disheveled than dead."
"I will stay with here until she regains consciousness. When she fell she...started screaming. It strikes me as unbecoming of someone intent on taking their own life."
"I'd like to leave her unrestrained for now."
"we could always take her back to our secure place. Keep her warm...make sure when she wakes up, she sees friends, click. Don't want her to hurt herself."
Drancis nods in reply once he has returned from checking out the granary. "Yeah that seems the best course here, as she is our best link to figure out what happened here."
Carrying the unconscious Milda Vesk back to the Redthistle Farm, the friends are out of the rain and safely inside before the sun goes down. An examination of the woman confirms that, whilst she was certainly hurt in her fall, the actions of Illona have saved her from any severe injury - the examination also confirms that she is in a highly unresponsive state... at this point, rest is probably her best option for recovery.
...as darkness falls upon the village, the rain finally lets up... an unnatural silence interrupted only by dripping of the farmhouse gutters...
As it gets dark Illonna finds the rest of the group "I would like to cross the river once more before night fall." she states plainly "It is irresponsible to leave the surviving farmer to fend for himself, especially in a situation such as this."
"Are we going to take Milda with us over and back? I'm not sure she's in any condition to be moved either."
"No point, I'd rather return the farmer here. This building is safer than the shack out there."
"Well, we still don't know what we're up against in this madhouse of a town. Let's hole up here for the night."
"Good..." Astraea says, her shoulders slumping. "I need a little while to gather my thoughts. All this stress is making me feel topsy-turvy..." Astraea begins looking around for things out of order, anything that needs dusting, or anything else she can do to organize the farmhouse and get her thoughts in order.
Assuming someone is willing to help her, Illonna will go to fetch the unconscious farmer and return him to the farm house. After double and triple-checking his restraints she'll tie him down to a spare bed or chair and put him in his own room.
Later, once she has checked on her two patients and taken up a watch over the slumbering party, she starts praying to Ragathiel; that he may watch over the clergy members and others who may still be trapped in Holver's Ferry.
Drancis will go to help Illonna fetch the unconscious farmer and return him to the farm house. Once the farmer has been restrained he volunteers, "I know something of the human body due to my studies of the bubbles which surround them. If you need me to help you treat them, or just keep an eye on them, just let me know."
I hope the other villagers in this forsaken place can stay alive until morning.
Locke stays at Milda Vesk's side, making sure the familiar face was looked after on the forefront of his mind. "I have plan to stay here in case she wakes. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if she took her life while I was gone. And I want to know what happened to her husband and the village."
Rikkan tries to grab some shut eye while the others took care of the two 'patients.' If something happens, the nursemaids will wake me. He looked for the warmest spot in the farmhouse as he made sure the door was locked and bedded down for the night.
The journey back and forth across the river, the third time of hauling the raft across the turbulent water, is without incident. The bound prisoner within the hut has yet to regain consciousness and between two is not a difficult load to manoeuvre on to and off of the ferry... carrying him back to the Redthistle Farm, he is tied to a chair within the kitchen area - where his condition - and his waking - can be observed.
The night passes without significant incidence - at some point after midnight, the orange glow of a fire can be seen in the distance... But listening for shouts and watching for movement, there doesn't seem to be anyone in danger - so the friends choose to stay within the safe walls of the farmhouse ...as morning breaks, a low mist envelopes the village - the first rays of daylight cutting through the grey cloak of the fog... somewhere a dog starts barking but the strange muffling acoustics make it difficult to tell where it is...
The captive from the hut makes it through the night - his wounds proving to be less severe than originally thought - but when he does wake, he appears to have fallen into a catatonic state...his gaze fixed in the middle distance and a lack of response to any sounds.
Milda Vesk, in the early morning also regains consciousness and, with a smile, greets Locke, "Oh, hello my dear... What a pleasant surprise to see you... Where am I?". As the friends tell of how they found her up the Granary tower and of what she did, she blanches and then thanks Illona for catching her. The tale she the tells matches that of Ambrin Redthistle, that a few weeks ago, a sickness overcame Holver's Ferry and that it drove groups of people to episodes of extreme violence. Her husband, Tabin Vesk, perished when the lumber mill burnt to the ground ten days ago and, since then, Milda has been hiding away in her home on the shore of the lake. The loss of her husband, and the events of the last couple of weeks, must have driven her to despair, "Although I have no memory of climbing the tower... none at all"
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"I'm so sorry for your loss Milda, your husband was a good man. There is obviously something sinister happening in this village and we hope to get to the bottom of it. You may be right that you were overcome with despair, but with how the other villagers are acting... I worry that you may be affected by whatever is going on here." Locke offers the woman an encouraging hand on the shoulder while at the same time examining her for traces of magic. "Still, if we can give you a clean bill of health then you can either stay here and rest up and we'll do our best to take care of you and solve this mystery, or we can help you cross the river, though I dread you taking the journey alone by foot."