Darne spit on the ground cursing a bit. "Maester, you go and let Lord Karstark know we're going to investigate the bodies proper and head out into the woods to hunt down that beast and hopefully somehow find their girl alive. I'll go knock down my brother's door. As you said, you ain't much in the woods and I'd rather have another strong arm in case we aren't seeing a single Shadowcat and instead a pack." he said angrily.
He stormed off back towards the tavern. He made his way inside and soon up to Lothar's door. He pounded on it angrily and with a hurriedness to his voice and movements. "Come on you young fool. Just how in the drink were you, we gotta a beast to hunt. Hurry your ass up." he said angrily.
He waited for upto a minute before he would storm off by himself.
Maester Anders nods, and hastily makes his way to inform Lord Karstark of their plans.
"This attack casts a shadow on the alliance that was concluded only last night," the young man admits, "but Lord Naelareon remains dedicated to this marriage. He hopes that you will not interpret the event as a bad omen, but simply as a sad turn of events. For my part, I will investigate inspect the bodies of the victims. And Lord Naelareon's sons are preparing to hunt the creatures responsible for the bloodshed."
"Perhaps the young woman is still alive," he continues almost as an afterthought. "Perhaps she escaped and has simply lost her way. After all, we have yet to find her body..."
With that, if Lord Karstark gives him leave to go, Maester Anders goes to inspect the bodies first, and then the scene of the attack.
Lothar turns to Tele. His face shows intent and decisiveness. And not a little redness from her tongue-lashing. Deserved as it was. He whispers.
"Cover yourself, I'm going to get Darne's aid."
He walks up to the door, to open it a crack.
"A moment, Darne. I need to speak with you inside."
There is a sound of Lothar walking up to the door. And not the stumble of the mindlesslly hungover.
The door is opened a crack.
In a voice betraying seriousness, a barely groomed and somewhat freshly dressed Lothar speaks quietly.
"A moment, Darne. I need to speak with you inside."
Darne raised his brow when his brother appeared and asked him to come in. His own urgency replaced with confusion and a bit of annoyance but he calmed himself and nodded to Lothar.
"Honestly brother, there is a girl missing and three men dead. What in the old and new Gods is up with you." he said quietly but venomously at his brother while he pushed his way into the room.
Lothar quickly closes the door behind Darne, before Darne can do or say anything.
And he turns again to speak swiftly and in barely hushed tones.
"Brother, I had to get her out of there. She was bloodied, on the ground, and her clothes in pieces. It was the only thing I could think of. But she needs a healer - and a dress."
Lothar's eyes are full of expectation. And rarely seen in him - worry.
Darne rubs his temples aggressively. "Alright...this...is not what I expected." he started.
He grabbed the blanket off the bed and covered Tele up with it so that she could have some modesty.
He looked between the two. "So...the Shadowcats killed the men and tore her dress and you scared them off?" he asked a bit confused and hopeful of the situation.
He pulled out his coin purse and let it thunk heavily on the nearest bit of furniture. He opened it up and scratched his head as he began looking through it and trying to do some calculations.
He counted up fourty silver and set it to the side along with another five.
He looked over his shoulder and eyed the two of them for a second. He sighed "Miss Tele are you alright? Is what Lothar has said true? I cannot begin to compensate for your pain or trauma of being mauled by those animals...but I can buy you a new dress and see that you're healed." he offered gently.
Lothar gathers his breath.
I cannot lie to him.
"They attacked Tele. I heard her scream. When I arrived...I was furious at them. I killed them where they stood."
He turns, spits on the floor, and back to Darne.
"I only wish that I had taken them alive for hanging. Or better yet, that they had never laid eyes on Tele. I am not sorry that they are dead."
Aaralyn gave a nod to her father's guard. "Thank you Savaric." She said before she turned her attention to finding Lord Roote.
Darne crushed and spit on the ground this was getting more complicated and worrisome.
He turned to Tele and took a knee in front of her and bowed his head. "I am truly sorry for what has happened to you because if the men we trusted and kept. I...words can't fix what has happened but I only see two ways of it right now and it ain't my decision to make. You are the wronged party." he said solemnly.
He lifted his head and looked at her "People are saying it's the work of animals that killed those men and hurt you. They think a Shadowcat took off with you. Now...if you are worried about your honor, what people may say, or what will happen to you or Lothar here...well, I can continue that lie. We will announce that Lothar found you hurt and all tattered late in the night and that he did what he could...or, we tell them that those three Naelareon men did what they did and L othar did what he did and we will make it right as best we can. I'm not sure what trouble it may cause and what it will do to your future...but those are the options and I will do whatever I must to see what you wish done. But at the very least, I will send a servant out with money and your fitting to get you a dress. It won't be new but it will be good quality. And when we find the next place we can have something made proper for you."
Lothar silently gives Darne a thankful look, then turns to face Tele.
"Your choice.", he says.
Darne paused, he knows he wasn't giving her an easy task, obviously.
He nodded at her "If I had any idea of another solution for you, I'd tell you. Hell, if you are leaving it up to me then tell me that even...but the longer we wait the worse this will get. This ain't a good situation by any means. Iffin you're worried about a bastard, we've got a Maester and I'll make sure he keeps his secrets as he should. No questions asked. But, we ain't got time to dawdle..if I don't show up soon or my brother for that matter, people are gonna come knocking. So, I need an answer even if it's forcing me to deal with this myself." he said sternly but still attempting to keep a gentle air to his voice.
"We have a very good maester. He's patched me up Seven knows how often after scrapes."
Probably not the best choice of words.
"Tele, we can not delay much longer."
Taking an almost painfully slow pace in Lord Roote's eyes, Aaralyn stepped up to the area's lord opening her hand so that he could see the broach. "Because your time is strained at the moment Lord Roote, I will keep this as brief as possible. I wish to bring Tele's body home to her mother to be laid to rest properly. I ask for House Roote's best tracker to help me. I know not these lands and thus am in need of such." She simply explained.
[ooc]20 in total[/dice]
Aaralyn's face goes pale as she covered her mouth to keep herself from vomiting. The teen had never seen anything of the like before, the sheltering her father and mother provided had seen to that fact.
However Aaralyn steeled herself and covering her nose with the back of her hand in a failed attempt to minimize the foul smell, looked around the scene.
Darne clenches his jaw a bit after he's slapped. It's not the first time in his life he'd been slapped by a woman and will certainly not be the last. He licked his lips and bit back any anger that welled up inside him at the offense. He stood up slowly. "You can hate me, you can vilify me if you need to. I am trying to give you a choice which is more than most men would and more than my brother can muster in this situation. If he were to take things to my father, he'd be left no choice in the matter. I have a chance to persuade him even at all to keep my brother from taking the black." he said trying to still keep calm and be actually concerned.
"If I didn't care how you were treated I wouldn't attempt to cover you. If I didn't care, I wouldn't talk to you and I'd be talking to my brother. If I didn't care, I'd be valuing the lives of those scum who called up into my House and did this horrible thing to you over yours. I'm not doing any of those things. If I could, I'd drive the rest of the way home with the men's bodies dragged behind the carts for all to see what I think of how they have harmed you. But I am trying to do right by you and do what you wish in this situation. I gave you the two options I see and offered to hear any you can think of...but yes, time is not on our side. And I know that perhaps I'm not being as delicate as I should be given how you were treated by I don't have the luxury if I am to be able to do anything at all to help you or my brother in this situation. If I am so vile and what I have offered is not right for you, tell me then what you need me to do." he said finally seeming to be done.
Lothar keeps his mouth closed.
More harm than good.
10+2 for a 12. Total of 12 on a convince... so 2 damage to the Naelareon composure... I think she may break down if this keeps up.
Having finished his investigation and wondering what could be keeping them, Maester Anders goes in search of the brothers...
Upset with herself Aaralyn looks to Savaric and asks "Ser Savaric, tell me what you see?" She wasn't trained for things like this, but Savaric might have a bit more insight to this.
Lothar remains silent a moment longer.
And replies.
"A moment of passion then, and everything that comes with it. I would not see you ruined if I can help it. I would take you as my wife."
Darne Sighs a bit. He's honestly unsure if this would be a good idea but it seemed the best and perhaps the happiest way to resolve this.
"You know you'll have to live a lie for many years...Father can't know and the Maester won't need to either beyond just taking care of her wounds. If you wish to tell the Young Lady...I'm not sure I'd advise it but I will understand." he said softly.
"Find yourselves out of this tavern later tonight...Get caught by the nearest guard carrying her home. Tell me nothing more than you have to and as close to the truth without telling them the truth. Just that you saved her from an attack and found her." he said shaking his head.
"Alright, I must leave...lock the door and don't open it for anyone. I'm sorry but you'll likely be hungry today." he said before he looked at the two of them and nodded.
Darne turned and left the room in a hurry.
Darne let his emotions get the best of him once he left the room and cursed a bit as he made his way down the stairs and out of the tavern.
"I understand that, Darne. Gods speed."
Lothar turns to Tele.
"So we have to be quiet today, Tele."
He stops there, unsure on how to proceed.
Anders and Darne return to find a hunting party has formed up. This party is made up of Lord Havish, a collection of men from both Roote and Naelareon houses armed with bows and spears, and a ragtag collection of hounds.
"I would try for that as well.", Lothar says, as he moves closer.
"I am not doubting that I am just... it seems odd that an animal would take bites out of three and drag the fourth off." Aaralyn said as she began to follow after Lord Roote and his men. "I don't know much about animals save for what the maester had in books and those where few and far between." She explained "Do you know much of animals like this?"
The young Karstark's mind was alight with questions she wanted answers to. Why would Tele be the only one taken? An animal who wanted food would take the one with the most meat, and that couldn't have been Tele... not with guardsmen to choose from as well... right? However in the end her knowledge was just little to answer her own questions.
Seeing Darne return alone when his brother should have come along, Anders cannot but be concerned. "I mean no insult, but I for one would be far more at ease if your brother was among us. Shall I send servants to seek him out? Assuredly, he cannot have gone far. Perhaps he lost his way last night and found himself in the wrong bed?"
Darne shakes his head "Time is short, I am sure my brother has found his own trouble to deal with besides these wild animals we must hunt. I know I pale a but in comparison to my brother's prowess on the field, but I think we have enough men to handle a simple hunt. Besides, he ain't accustomed to the woods much. He's better trolling the tourney field or the battlefield than the woods."
Darne nods to all the people gathered. He went ahead and made sure he was ready for anything, so he donned his armor and gathered his weapons. He knelt over the scene and tried to understand it himself.
Stopping for a moment beside the river, Aaralyn watches Lord Roote's men a chance to get a small bit of distance before she looked to Savric. "You seem up set about something. Please tell me what is on your mind. Is there something you've thought of that the others might no of?" Aaralyn asked.
[Spoiler=Darne and the Maester]
Darne looked around at what little of the scene was left. He squatted down and let his gloved hand move over the blood stains. He sighed "I suppose this is what I get for going to look for my brother...late to the party. Still, it appears they left good enough tracks to follow. Come, let us caught up with them. They seem to be making their way to the river. It would be in our best interest to be a part of the hunting party than working alone." he said before standing back up and going towards the nearest person with a wagon.
"I've got a couple of Silver available if you might be so kind as to carry myself my friend here to the river as swiftly as possible. Some of our friends left without us because we were a bit slow to rouse." he said trying to ply the man into helping them catch up without tiring themselves.
"That wasn't what I meant." Aaralyn said softly as she crossed her arms. "I do not doubt that you have empathy, if you didn't your reaction to how I treated my father would not have been what it was. I mean that you seem, upset or even annoyed that we're following Lord Roote's men. I know you wanted to go as a smaller group but this could be helpful no?" She asked, wondering why this bothered him so.
Darne thanked the man and gave him 3 silver for the trip. Once he and the Maester got off the wagon, he looked around at the scene. "Looks like they managed to gather quite a few people..." he offered, stating the obvious.
"You mean, I won't be able to find Tele's body?" Aaralyn asked with a raised eyebrow. "Why do you say that?"
"That's a fortune paid for nothing more than a wagon ride when by all means we should have walked," Maester Anders scolds Darne, albeit respectfully.
Looking at the river and imagining the careful work of the Silent Sisters, Anders sighs. "What clues remained to be studied will have been washed away," the young scholar complains. "Still, they may have noticed something that I did not. And we'll certainly be safer in the company of a proper hunting party."
With that, he looks expectantly at Darne to make a decision.
Darne shakes his head "It was perhaps a bit much, but consider it good will." he said politely.
Once he felt he had seen everything to be seen and knew which way to head. "Come, let's get in a little exercise since you're so remiss about us missing out on walking." he said before beginning to jog after the hunting party in an attempt to catch up.
Aaralyn was quiet for a moment before saying "You believe this a Fool's errand..." in hardly more than a matter when what he said finally settled. "What would you have me do? Go back to Nan and tell her that her daughter is gone without even trying to find her bones and bring them back?" Aaralyn asked, and there wasn't any sarcasm or anger in her voice she was genuinely asking.
Darne looked at Anders and then looked towards the men running towards them. "I don't like the looks of that...best get ready for a fight." he said before pulling his trident off his back and gripping it with both hands.
He began to run towards whatever the men were running from, hoping that these men weren't actually running towards them for a fight.
Aaralyn let out a surprise scream as Savaric pushed her away, only for it to grow louder when she saw the bear. Yet even that could only linger for a moment as a loud splash was heard. In her fear and with the momentum from Savaric push, Aaralyn had gone right into the river.
Cold pierced her skin as the water seeped swiftly into her clothes, making the fabric much heavier than it normally felt. The broach she had held onto this whole time found itself held even tighter, to the point the edges of the suns broke the skin of her palms.
Her other hand flailed about trying to grab onto something, really anything, to keep her from going under.
Ill-equipped for battle but ever-courageous, and seeing Lady Aaralyn fight the current in the cold waters of the river, Maester Anders quickly searches for something – a rope, a long branch, or a boulder from which to reach out to her – before rushing forth to save the girl.