"Let's gather all this up and head back to the chapel to find Winter." John says.
"I think that on the way we need to stop back by the office where we found Red Destiny."
"We left that lockbox sitting on the desk in that room. If it's still there, I'd like to take another crack at it."
As the group made their way back to the chapel they saw that many, if not most, of the Apostles had wandered out into the courtyard. Ustalav was known for its foreboding grey sky, but whatever god watched over madmen had blessed Briarstone with a clear sky that day. The yellow mist was gone entirely, and the blue skies overhead spoke of good things to come.
Elbourne had organized some of the former guards to help with his patients and just waved at the group as they walked past.
The asylum interior was quiet but peaceful as the explorers wound their way back to the records room. It looked like the room had been looted even further in the group's absence. Someone had tried to open the lockbox by throwing it on the ground, but it was still shut and locked tight.
When they opened the door to the chapel redoubt they were met with the sound of conversation.
"...looks fine! The sun is even out, thanks to the Lady!" There was a small crowd of people clustered around Winter out in the open area where the children played.
Winter was holding her hands up, and Adelar and Rostam were standing behind her like guards. "All I'm saying is that we don't know what's..." The Royal Accuser trailed off as the explorers came in sight.
"Oh! Did you have something to do with this?" Smiling, Winter gestured at the sunlight streaming in the formerly yellow-choked windows. The crowd all turned to look at Broom, Des, John, and Reine.
Broom smiled and waved back "We did! We defeated the Tatterman and his smoke spewers, but...um." Broom's smile fell and she looked uncomfortable for a moment "We..uh.. couldn't save Zandalus."
"We also didn't get Our memories back." Her smile returned "But everyone else seems to be much better now and it looks like we can leave.
Reine, following the others, actually returned Winter's smile. Then she let hers fade as Broom spoke.
"Lots of people got hurt or killed in this thing," Reine said, "but some survived, as well. One of the doctors, man named Elbourne, managed to keep some of the 'Apostles' relatively healthy. Him and the other survivors are starting to get outside and breathe fresh air again, too. You might want to connect with him. Coordinate efforts to get everyone safely out of here, before someone else tries to set up a little kingdom, like Zandalus did. They were almost out of food, so relief is gonna turn into hunger again pretty soon, unless something is done."
John tries to open the lockbox when we're in the office.
When we get back to the chapel and everyone seems happy, he stays back out of the crowd. He doesn't seem to know how to handle the attention and the positive mood of the crowd.
Desdemona, eager to leave this place with the only memories she had, stuck close by Broom, finding the dual-minded, tidy woman comforting to be around. When the crowd turned toward them, she spoke up.
"Hunger or no, we are no longer trapped in a world out of nightmare," she said, her faint smile sincere despite her doubts. "Yet I would argue that this no longer represents a place of healing to anyone here. What supplies and resources there are would be well-spent in seeing to a return to society for everyone here."
She tried to catch sight of the boy and his pup, thinking to wish him farewell.
The crowd erupted into excited happy chatter at the party's news. To Des's disappointment, none of the children were out, probably off being distracted from the excitement.
Winter beamed at the group, moving closer to be heard over the uproar. "That is amazing! I'd hoped you would be able to help. Thank you. You've saved everyone here."
"We should head to the dock now before anyone else seizes the opportunity and steals the boat. If we can get off the island now, I need to report back immediately and I can introduce you to Accuser Omari. Just let me get my things and I'll meet you down by the dock. Just follow the road south til you get to the water."
John gives the coins and pearls to Broom for her to store in her bag.
He pockets the card for the Sleepless Detective Agency.
Reine frowned. After having done so much to keep people alive, Winter seemed suddenly very ready to simply abandon her former charges to their fates here on the island.
Wait. Island? Briarstone was on an island. That was interesting. But as Winter had indicated, that fact made it imperative that the group get to any boat that might be available, so that they weren't trapped here. And where would they take everyone? Maybe Winter wasn't abandoning these people, after all, but instead making sure that what had happened here was reported to someone who could organize real help. Letting some random asylum-dweller grab the boat and leave it on the other shore while they ran off into the woods wasn't likely to get the rest of the people here what they would need.
"Right," Reine said, "to the boat, and then to get some help."
John asks Winter: "Is the Island we are on near Thrushmore?"
"I don't remember how I got to this place, but I remember Thrushmore."
Upon hearing about the prospect of being on a boat, Broom was suddenly confused about her feelings on the matter. She was conflicted as a feeling of gleeful anticipation rose in equal measure with concerned trepidation and she didn't know why.
"How long is the boat ride?"
Winter nodded at John. "We're in the middle of the Danver, right at the mouth of Avalon Bay. You can see Thrushmoor to the east from the coastline."
She looked at Broom and shook her head. "I'm not exactly sure? When I first got here it was a few minutes. Five, maybe ten?"
"Right. We can take the boat to town and send back help for the rest of the inmates and staff." John declares.
Broom was relieved that it was only a short boat trip to land, though she did not know why. "Let's go then, the sooner we can get help for everyone else here the better."
She shouldered her pack, smoothed out her clothes and made ready to leave.
Reine nodded, shouldered her own pack, and led the way to the dock, in the direction Winter had indicated.
Relieved to finally be leaving, and oddly comforted to know that she'd be in the company of the other three, Desdemona stepped into the sunlight with a visible relaxation of her posture.
Even with the shadow at her feet, warning her of the night to come, she smiled as she followed the others - a full, happy smile. Surely now she'd find a cure for her... affliction, even if none of them found their memories again. Yes, the worst was behind them.
"Goodbye, Briarstone," she said, not looking back as she left.
The group opened the front doors (implying that no one else had yet come this way) and walked out into a day as nice as any of them could remember. The asylum turned out to be surrounded by well maintained grounds, with stately old trees and wide lawns, all curated to lend the place a calm and reassuring air. The breeze smelled like green living things and fresh running water and the sunshine and blue sky was a stark contrast from the yellow mist full of monsters.
It was a few minutes walk from the doors down a shady, crushed gravel path alongside a cobblestone road to the dock. On one side of the dock was a 60 foot work scow that would likely take more manpower and sailing knowledge than they had. On the other side was a 27 foot whaler that looked like it could probably be rowed by just 4 and seemed their more likely option.
From the dock, the party could see both shores of the river and far out into Avalon Bay. Along the coast they could see buildings, presumably Thrushmoor, though it was hard to make out specifics from Briarstone Isle.
About fifteen minutes after the group got to the boats, Winter arrived with half a dozen others. She had the three children- Brenton clutching Nipper, Maeve looking possessively at the dog in the younger boy's hands, and Bates, who had been healed of his wounds- Tolman, their handsome and attentive minder, Airwynn, a staff member whose broken arm had been healed, and another woman, Mura, who was walking hand in hand with Bates.
The small group stopped on the dock and Winter stepped up to the explorers. "All ready to go?" Winter dropped her voice. "I didn't want to see the children spend one more second in that place. I'll make sure the Accuser arranges a better situation for them."
"Not a minute more in this place." John says.
"Getting off this island, cleaning off all this filth, and getting a decent night's sleep." he looks at the others.
"Then I'm going to start looking for the guy that left us here in a basement full of corpses."
Reine just nodded. Though whether she was agreeing to Winter's question or John's proposed schedule of activities wasn't clear. Perhaps it was both.
She took a position next to one of the oars and made ready to pull.
Broom excitedly walked to the edge of the dock and came to an abrupt stop in front of the boat, the strange anxiety returning. She stared at the boat for a moment and then over to the far shore as if judging the distance. "We don't know why, but We are really excited about going on the boat. But at the same time We feel like We aren't supposed to be on a boat."
Just as suddenly, she cocked her head to the side and furrowed her brow. She knelt down at the edge of the dock and peered intently into the water.
After another moment or two she laid down on the wooden pier and turned her head, as if listening to the water. A smile played across her lips "Do you hear that? Its so faint, so far away but it sounds like the the noises We hear when We touch minds in the Deep Place."
She lay there on her stomach straining to hear the faint sounds until everyone was ready to embark. Almost reluctantly Broom got up and brushed her clothes off before climbing onto the vessel.
Once on board she took a seat at the side of the boat and peered over the gunnel into the depths.
Winter got everyone piled into the whaler and took up a spot in the stern to indicate where they should go. Tolman, while not the most robust of men, didn't think twice before taking up a spot at an oar, as did Airwynn. Mura sat with the children near the middle of the boat, leaving two oars and the tiller unmanned and only the amnesiacs to do the work.
Once the crew assignments were figured out, Winter unlashed the ropes and kicked them away from the dock. "Head east, for that island right there! We're aiming for the northern edge of it- there's a channel their to the piers!"
As she had remembered, it was only the work of a few minutes for the group to row the 30 foot boat from Briarstone to Thrushmoor. The river was either surprisingly deep or somehow extremely dark, and Mura kept her arms protectively around the children even as Maeve tried to follow Broom's example and peer down into the deep, dark water.
It was perhaps not an encouraging sign that the first thing they passed as they came round the headland was a rusting iron gibbet hung like a counterweight off a gallows. Mercifully, neither the cage nor the noose were currently occupied.
One of the piers was in noticeably worse shape than the others, and still had a vessel moored there. The boat and the pier were both rotting where they stood, and it did not look like a good place to tie off. Passing the rotting pier by, Winter directed them to an empty space at the end of one of the working piers, close to a bridge from the island to the mainland.
"Around there! I don't know if they have public or private docks, but let's just tie up somewhere and get onto solid ground!" The docks on the inside curve of the island were mostly empty, though the assorted gear and detritus left behind on them said that was probably because the fishing vessels that called them home were out working at mid-day.
Broom made no move to take up either the oars or tiller. She stared into the blackness of the lake, thoroughly entranced by whatever had captured her attention.
She remained that way for the length of the trip, as short as it was. The only time she moved was as the boat neared the other shore. Without a word Broom shifted to the other side of the vessel, the side facing the deeper waters of the lake, and once again stared into the depths.
Her fascination did not end once the ship was docked. She continued to be oblivious to anything around her until someone roused her. She looked up sleepily:
She blinked a couple of times in confusion before a smile spread across her face. She looked around excitedly suddenly aware of her surroundings for the first time "Oh! We are here!"
Like Broom, Desdemona had made not one motion in the direction of taking up the oars - not, as in Broom's case, because she seemed unaware of her surroundings, but more as though it simply hadn't occurred to her that she might be expected to perform manual labor.
Instead, she had kept an eye on Brenton and Nipper, but as the boat ride progressed, she turned more and more towards Broom, a thoughtful look on her face as her gaze shifted between the dark waters, and the enigmatic woman. She didn't move from her position in the stern, however.
She answered without blinking when Broom swam up to the surface of perception once more. <"Well enough. I believe we've arrived,"> she said in flawless Aklo.
Rising, she paused as though expecting help to exit the boat, but then clambered ashore with a puzzled shake of her head.
"Is this quite the right place to...? Well. I suppose for John's purpose, this might do nicely," she mused, half-murmuring as she turned a circle to survey the rather dingy surroundings.
Reine had rowed, paying too much attention to timing her pulls with the others manning the oars to get too caught up in what Broom or Des or anyone else was doing.
When they pulled up to the dock, Reine had been the one to ship her oar, grab a line, and jump to the dock to tie off. She didn't really know if she'd done it right, but it kept the boat in place while the others disembarked.
"Maybe we should go with Winter," she suggested, "If she's reporting to someone, we can give a better picture, since we actually did the k-" she cut herself off with a glance at the children. "Uh, since we got a better look at the rest of the place. Besides, the Accuser-lady might be able to give us some help in finding... whoever."
Winter and the other adults made sure the children all got up onto the pier safely and the Royal Accuser was the last to disembark, just in time to catch Reine's comment. She nodded at Reine. "At the very least, we can give you somewhere to start. And I would appreciate having someone to corroborate the more fantastical parts of my report, if you don't mind doing me the favor."
"I don't know if our support will make it seem any more reasonable, but I'll be glad to vouch for your story." John says.
Broom got off the boat and took in the sights of the town and its docks. Had she ever visited a place so big before? Or perhaps, this place was small compared to wherever she had come from.
She thought for a moment before concluding that for some reason this place seemed big to her.
As the others disembarked the vessel and discussed their next move she poked around the fishing gear on the dock.
She was delighted at the plethora of minds that she was able to touch on the subject of fishing and fishing gear, and so few of them were terrifying to encounter!
She picked up a broken rod and inspected the gear on it "It looks like they catch bream here, and oh, look!" she picked up a tangle of line with some hooks and the remains of old bait "Perch too!"
Reine quirked an eyebrow at the expression, "doing me the favor." From someone like Winter, that meant something. Reine nodded.
"Yes," she said, "we'll follow you."
She gave Broom a sideways look as the little woman held up the fishing line. How did that little addled head hold so much random knowledge? And such an optimistic default setting, even after all the group had seen and experienced? Reine couldn't help herself, she smiled, and a small chuckle escaped her lips.
"You should probably not touch other peoples' tools of the trade too much, Broom," Reine pointed out, though there was no malice or even real direction in her tone. "They might not appreciate coming back to find their gear in such disarray." It was an easy setup. Almost too easy. But for some reason, giving Broom the chance to enjoy cleaning or tidying something gave Reine a joy of its own. The tall, slim woman with mismatched eyes waited to see if Broom would see and take the implied invitation.
Broom examined the broken rod for a moment "Well, We could fix this for them in a couple of minutes, but sorting out these lines would take longer. And those nets look like they need to be mended too..." she looked at the pile of stuff scattered across the docks and then back to the party "But it looks like everyone is ready to go."
With a little reluctance Broom put the items back where she found them. She was fairly certain that they had been left because they were broken or tangled, but she couldn't be certain and she didn't want to make anyone mad.
But before she returned to the group she cast a quick little spell on the hooks. They remained tangled in a mess of lines, but the old bait and rust was cleaned off and they now glinted in the sun from the magical polishing.
Desdemona felt a surge of irritation at Reine's promise on their behalf, then caught herself with true confusion. Why had the woman's promise caused such a response in her? Was her contained fury catching? Was Desdemona remembering something, deeply buried?
Or was there a darker reason?
A dent put in her good mood at being out in the bright light of day, she floated after the others, most of her attention once again preoccupied with what her shadow was doing, though it seemed innocuous enough now, gliding along the ground and doing as she did obediently.
That odd, calculating corner of her mind did note Broom's continued range of knowledge, and how easily Reine turned Broom to her purpose. When she realised it consciously, this only served to confuse Desdemona further. What on earth was she thinking?! By then, Winter's request was long past, and Desdemona merely trailed along, lost in thought, a faintly worried expression marring her brows despite her customary slight smile.
Reine felt a brief moment of chagrin as Broom pointed out how she didn't have the time to fix things, and a flash of irritation went through the taller woman. Still, she thought she caught Broom working her magic in some way behind the piling where she'd found the things in the first place, and Reine felt a little better.
"Perhaps," she said to Broom as they walked, "we'll be able to come back later and take those few minutes. But if not, I'm sure we'll find you something to organize today."
Winter nodded at the group and turned to the others who had come over from the island, going down on one knee to be at the children's eyeline. "Just a few more minutes and we'll be someplace safe. It's a short walk through town." She made eye contact with each of the children and looked up at the adults. "We'll just stick together and be there in a jiff." Winter looked Brenton and Nipper. "Keep Nipper close to you, Brenton, and stay next to Tolman. Maeve, would you mind holding my hand?"
The dark haired woman stood and put out her hand and Maeve took it like she'd been given a prize. Tolman stood with his hands on Brenton's shoulders and Mura and Bates had never let go of each others' hands- it looked like the adults were ready to do their best to make sure the children didn't see any more trauma today.
With the group now ready, Winter nodded at the heroes. "Alright. We'll just follow the road there to the south and it will take us to the bridge. The Sleepless Building is down the first right past the Fish Market on the other side. That's where we're headed."
The immediate vicinity was dominated by fishing and sailing businesses, all open and hard at work but not particularly busy with the fleet out on the lake. Away from the docks, though, there were a few stores open and it looked like the surprise nice weather had probably encouraged people to come out and walk around and shop.
Shops had their doors and windows open and there were people out enjoying the day. Thrushmoor seemed to be a relatively well off town, and only one shop was shuttered- a bookstore, from the shelves full of books visible through the windows- with a "CLOSED, MOVED TO ROZENPORT" sign nailed to the shut front door.
As they walked, Reine's mismatched eyes scanned the area - and the people - they passed. The more she observed of the town's residents, the more she began to frown. After a while, she drifted back to walk next to John and Des.
"You two might want to keep your heads down," she said, keeping her voice low, "It seems like you've made an impression here at some point, and I'm not seeing smiles, if you know what I mean."
"Oh, We still have lots to do this evening." Broom held up a hand and started counting thing off her fingers "There are still all those pages that need to be sorted, and then there is all this stuff in Our pack that need to be cleaned and organized. Clothes need to be cleaned and mended, maybe a bath would be nice. Oh! and shopping! Look at all these stores! We need to buy some things to replace what We used."
Broom smiled and watched the people as they passed saying hello to the occasional random person. She noticed that people seemed to be taking an interest in John and Des. When Reine brought it up she added "Do you think this is where you two live?" she let out a little gasp as an even more random than usual thought crossed her mind "Maybe you two are related!"
Pulled from her mounting paranoia, Desdemona took a minute or two to pay more attention to the people they passed, circumspectly. Reine was right - these people seemed to know them.
"I should think not," she blurted to Broom quietly - mostly about living in the fish-smelling town, though she felt rather certain that large, burly men were not in her direct family tree, unless she was the odd one out among tall, statuesque women. Though, of course, she could be. Well, Broom would probably know what she meant, with her unusual talent.
Desdemona was torn. On the one hand, she did want to recover her memory... didn't she? And these people might know something about her that might jog it, or at least tell her where she might learn more.
On the other, it didn't seem like these fisherfolk would have any good memories to relate. Had that one man spat on the ground after looking at her?! She couldn't be certain that she was the reason for such uncouth behavior, of course, but it might be wiser to do as Reine said, and keep her head down until they reached whatever authority this town sported.
She couldn't bear to tug up the hood of her cloak, dropping shadows around her very face, but she nodded to Reine and didn't meet anyone else's eyes as they walked. If she stepped a bit more quickly, well, that was surely understandable. They had places to be! And John had a long stride.
Regardless of the occasional glance or whisper, none of the townsfolk bothered the group as they made their way through town. Most people even responded positively to Broom's salutations, though one or two gave a quick glance at Des as if to see if she was going say something.
The bridge from island to mainland was sturdy and well maintained, with more than enough room for a wagon to trundle down the middle and have pedestrians walk by on either side. Just on the other side of the bridge to the left was a large building that looked like a municipal town hall, two stories tall with a bell tower reaching up from the roof, though as she directed the group down a street to the right, Winter called it the Fish Market.
Their destination wasn't very far past the Fish Market. Behind a tall hedge was a sprawling, two story brick building with a sign out front that simply said "Sleepless Agency". Rising up just beyond the Sleepless Building was a hill with what looked like some sort of memorial or statue built atop it, looking like a twin to one the group had seen through a gap in the buildings out on the island a few minutes before.
Winter used the bell pull by the front door and a few minutes later a young woman opened the door. She smiled at Winter she saw who it was. "Investigator Klaczka! How was..." she trailed off as she took in the children and other adults assembled behind Winter.
The Pharasmin shook her head. "It was eventful, Meg. Is Accuser Omari here?"
Meg shook her head, her smile fading. "Um, no. You should probably talk to Miss Wrentz." As she looked over the group again and looked from the children to the adults she finally noticed Broom, Des, John, and Reine. Her reaction was obvious and not at all friendly. Meg stood a little straighter and stepped fully into the doorway, obviously blocking the group's entry. The rapier at her hip was suddenly prominent as her stance showed she was ready to draw, even though she was clearly deliberately keeping her hands away from her weapon.
Her face conspicuously neutral, Meg looked first at Winter, then at Des. Her formerly friendly tone was cold. "Lady Desdemona. Do you and Inspector Klacza have some business with the Agency today?" Winter turned to look at Des, her impassive face typically unreadable.
Desdemona's slightly-frozen smile melted into a puzzled look. She glanced at Winter, then cautiously ventured, "Good day, miss. We've come to report some... unusual goings-on at the Briarstone Asylum, and see to the providence of these children. I'm sorry, my memory isn't what it perhaps should be. It seems apparent that you know my name; might we have yours?"
John smiles and tries to look friendly.
Broom's excitement grew despite the seriousness of the situation. "*Lady* Desdemona? She's a noble! *And* people around here know her too. Maybe she owns the town! Maybe John is a noble as well, though Meg didn't address him. Hmm."
Despite her excitement, she held her tongue as there was something else going on.
Meg looked suspiciously at Desdemona before turning back to Winter. "Is she telling the truth?"
Winter kept looking at Des for a long moment before glancing at the other three amnesiacs and finally turning back to Meg. "As far as I know, yes. All four were admitted to Briarstone with symptoms of amnesia. They also went out of their way to help people who needed it. I credit them with saving my life."
The woman in the doorway frowned and looked at the four amnesiacs again, overtly sizing them up. "You'd better come in. But you four need to leave your weapons here." Meg gestured to something off to one side just inside the door, presumably a closet or room the group couldn't see.
She looked at Broom and Reine, the first indication they were known here in town as well. "Doctor, Miss Rain. If your intentions are not hostile, I would appreciate the two of you agreeing to wear shackles, as well."
Winter turned to regard the four of them again, dark eyes considering. Tolman, Mura, and Airwynn had all been watching the conversation with concern, and while they hadn't exactly pushed the children behind themselves the adults all looked ready to do just that.
"Shackles?" Reine frowned, and the others could see some of the Reine they had become used to in the asylum begin to rise back to the surface that had been calm and almost happy-seeming prior to the walk here.
But then, something else registered.
"Doctor!?" She turned to look down at Broom, a very surprised look on her face. "Really?
Broom's excitement evapourated into confusion as she stared at Meg waiting for the rest of the jest.
"Us? We aren't a doctor, Xander was the doctor. We just watched him. He taught us everything We know, but that is just press on bleeding and it usually stops. But..." her eyes darted around randomly as if she was physically looking through her own thoughts "We can't say We aren't a doctor since We don't remember anything. It just doesn't feel right."
The moment of confusion began to once again give way to excitement "However, We always wanted to be able to fix people like We can fix things, so if We are a doctor We already know how to do that and We just need to remember!"
Her brow furrowed "But why do doctors need to wear shackles here? The ones at Briarstone didn't wear them."
"Very true," Reine said, turning back to face "Meg." "The doctors didn't. The creatures that bound people to beds and flayed the skin off of their living bodies... they didn't wear shackles, either. But their victims surely did. Why is it, "Meg," that you would shackle people who have shown no hostile intent? Who have, as attested to by an Accuser's own words, gone out of their way to be helpful and save innocent lives? Who have seen terrible things happen to other non-hostile people in shackles - people they helped to free from such circumstances. Why would you think that, having been through that, we would be sanguine to the idea that someone we don't know might want to put us in shackles?" She shook her head.
"I will freely hand over my weapons, but given what we've been through, what we've seen from people who should have been protecting the innocent...? I think we will need to agree to show one another some trust, rather than it being all one-way."
Meg frowned at Reine. "From what I've heard, Rain," it was perhaps significant that she had dropped the 'Miss,' "your weapons are your hands. If you can somehow hand them over without shackles, I'd be interested to see it." It was perhaps also significant that as soon as Reine had spoken up her hand had gone to the hilt of her rapier. She'd practically jumped out of her shoes when Reine raised her voice about the word "doctor."
"As for you, uh..." Meg shook her head and looked away from Broom to glance at Winter, who was watching the entire conversation silently with a face that could have been carved from marble, "Miss. We all know you're a magician."
She's not trying to be intimidating just now. If Meg keeps pushing, Reine might get snarky though.
"I'll agree to wear gloves, if that will help," Reine said. Clearly, something here was important, and getting that information was suddenly very important to her.
"I don't wish to harm you. We're here as a favor to Winter, to report on what we've been through, and get help for people who need it. But we - and these kids, and dozens of people trapped out on that island - have been through the various hells. It's been less than two hours since we were at the complete mercy of a creature that could hunt us in our sleep. It's been only a few days since we woke up bound in cells, to the sound of a man - who was shackled to a metal table - screaming as a creature that could change its face, dressed like a doctor, cut into him. I understand that, for some reason, you're afraid of us. Perhaps you have good reason to do so - we don't know. We have no memories beyond the last few days. Some vague memories from childhood, maybe, but nothing at all for at least the past few years. I don't recognize you. I don't know why you're afraid of us. After what we've seen, I don't blame you. But I do ask that you make an effort to understand what we've been through, and not ask us to make ourselves completely vulnerable. Not right now."
Broom didn't understand why Meg was scared of them, but she understood that there was something wrong.
"Wait, one moment." She carefully reached into her pack and fished around for a moment before her fingers closed on the small bundle of cloth resting at the top, just where she expected it to be. This pack was great!
"You seem worried about all of us but We don't know why. We will wear the shackles, but We would like to talk with this." She carefully unfolded the cloth to reveal the little block of incense with the charred corner that had been used to talk with the onerigen doctor. "It will help everyone understand each other much better and help let everyone know that everyone else is telling the truth or not."
She turned to Winter "You know what this is. You can be in charge of lighting it and if Meg is worried then you could stay out of it and make sure everything is Ok if you didn't want to join in."
Broom hesitated for a moment "Winter, Meg knows who we all are and everyone knows We have magic and people in town recognized John and Des. Did you know who we were when we first met in the Asylum?"