Vivaeri looked worriedly at her sister. At that moment, she wanted to reassure her more than anything, something she had counted on Halsanna to do so often for her. "Yeah, yet." she said with a playful smirk that seemed more than a little forced as she hugged her sister. Before letting go, she whispered, "Hey, I'm not running off with him, okay? I think I can scare him off." As she let go she smiled more easily and winked and whispered even more quietly, "And if that fails I'll just claim to be a woman lover."
She then raised her voice, "We were getting some fruit for the bat. Apparently we're going to bait the thing and pray it doesn't chew any of our ears off. Ewald here is going to try and catch it and the thing may be rabid, so this could be fun to watch at least." Her voice was cheerful, but it was clear in her eyes that she had a few more details to tell her sister and that she wanted to keep her close. The worry was still there. Seeing Halsanna in vulnerable moments always frightened Vivaeri a bit.
Ewald continues his discussion with the smith..asking him about two bladed swords. Off course he doesn't expect to find one in this rural backwater
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Amunrel sneezes suddenly not enough to spoil his balance but it does make him shiver.
"Why do i get the feeling something ominous has just happened?" he mutters under his breath as he and Adjunta continue to maneuver the ladder towards the bell tower.
"Let's get this ladder set up," Adjunta says, "if we're lucky our flying friend is in here, if we're not perhaps we can make that unhappy discovery before the others get back with the rotten fruit."
"Let's get this ladder set up," Adjunta says, "if we're lucky our flying friend is in here, if we're not perhaps we can make that unhappy discovery before the others get back with the rotten fruit."
Amunrel sneezes suddenly not enough to spoil his balance but it does make him shiver.
"Why do i get the feeling something ominous has just happened?" he mutters under his breath as he and Adjunta continue to maneuver the ladder towards the bell tower.
"Agreed," Amunrel nods back.
Halsanna accepted the hug with a shaky exhalation that only 'Vae could have heard and took a great deal of comfort from the hug. Some of the fears she had were groundless, and her sister had dismissed one of the others that she had not thought of, but was afraid for anyway-- that of her eloping with Ewald.
Her sister's last resort made her smile, shaking her head at the lengths that she was willing to go to keep her fiancé-- however forced-- from marriage. "'Vae", she began softly, "it's alright if you start to like him.." A slight rueful shift of expression implied the unsaid "..I already had." Moving on, she smirked softly, mischievously, but said nothing, knowing how 'Vae's mind wandered frequently, and guessing about some of those thoughts that had likely crossed her mind.
Grinning a little more, in anticipation of the blush that she hoped to see from her sister confirming her teasing, she spoke louder, in a more normal tone of voice. "Goodness..", her voice was dry, slightly sarcastic. "..you mean that there is a chance that not only might I lose the pointy parts of my ears, but end up foaming at the mouth by nightfall? How can I ever resist?"
Despite the dramatic roll of her eyes, a display shamelessly stolen from her sister, she was smiling as she went to go put up the tools she was using before rejoining her sister and tag-along.
Ewald , the smith can take a commission to make you one but warns you it would take several days .
Amunrel and Adjunta , you set up the ladder
Now which one of you is climbing it?
For a brief moment Amunrel considers bluffing the cleric into scaling the ladder but given there's no sign of Ewald he decides to do the decent thing and ascend it himself.
"I'm just going to take a look, okay?" Amunrel nods to Adjunta.
Ewald squints up at the sky.."I hate to hurry you ladies but time is moving on and if we are to fulfill our mission before the good priest begins his service then we should be starting back now..."
Vivaeri couldn't hide her relief at seeing Halsanna smiling again, though she did look at her sister as if she had grown another head when she suggested it was fine if she had begun to like Ewald. Her disbelief was tinted with concern as she caught her sister's hidden meaning as well. She suddenly felt very protective of her sister, as the thought of her becoming involved with The Adversary appalled her even more than she herself doing so. She couldn't quite manage to voice that however, and only managed to shake her head and stammer a bit too quickly "W-what? No. Oh gods no. There is no danger of that happening!"
She grinned at 'Sanna's wry comment on what they could look forward to at the church, mostly because she was just glad she was coming with them. "Yes, we have to make our own fun outside the big city." she deadpanned.
"If you'll lead the way then?" she replied a bit too cheerfully to Ewald's request to hurry back. She was trying to find her equilibrium again. She knew deep down it was unfair to go on the attack again, but he had provoked her again by way of her sister, even if he didn't know it.
Amunrel ascend . With his keen elf sense , he has no difficulty spotting the bat ( yes , it's here ) . There is just a little tiny problem . The Bat is higher than the ladder ...
There seems to be several choices there to catch it .
* The ladder could be kept vertical by strongs arms below
* The one catching it could transfer from the ladder to a beam up there and balance himself on the beam to catch the beastie
* You can try to lure the bat to you
* any other idea you could have ....
Amunrel stretches one arm pointing towards the bat to those gathered below and then firmly grasps the ladder as he remembers why he doesn't like heights...
Ewald strides back towards the church his mind pondering some possibilities he had not considered up to this point. He assumes the ladies will foillow along in thier own time and he knows the srrvice gets closer with each minute he wastes.
Entering he finds Amrunel gesturing toards something in the belfry. Looking up he spots the bat and shakes his head slightly
"I knew I would need a rope and grapple" he mutters as he moves towards the ladder
Vivaeri turned in circles as she stared straight up where her uncle had pointed. "Ugh. Why not try to use the fruit first? Maybe he'll come down to us." After all, what could Ewald do? Get to the top of the ladder and jump for it?
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"You managed to get the fruit did you?" Adjunta says to the returning couple, "fantastic work, and it seems the two of you are, at the very least, on speaking terms. That's a good start for a marriage I think. I must admit your uncle is a crafty one, sending the two of you away as he did on this errand, but I'm afraid you can put those peaches away, for our friend is not a fruit bat."
"You managed to get the fruit did you?" Adjunta says to the returning couple, "fantastic work, and it seems the two of you are, at the very least, on speaking terms. That's a good start for a marriage I think. I must admit your uncle is a crafty one, sending the two of you away as he did on this errand, but I'm afraid you can put those peaches away, for our friend is not a fruit bat."
"I heard that!" Amunrel grudgingly whispers at the top of the ladder, he reconsiders for a moment before descending the ladder.
"I think we ought to let those of us conversant in animal handling handle this part," Amunrel explains as he tries to cover the urge to shiver from his bout of vertigo.
Vivaeri couldn't keep her eye from twitching as Adjunta informed her of the bat's true diet and of his theory concerning why she and Ewald were allowed to go on their wild-goose chase. She was ready to let all the bile she had managed to hold back earlier loose on her uncle and the priest, but she managed to channel it elsewhere.
She slowly took one of the peaches from the sack and bit into it with a quiet anger as she stared at Adjunta and Amunrel, like a ghoul biting into a skull. Whose skull exactly was uncertain, but it was certainly someone's.
Ewald raises an eyebrow at the priests comment and looks up the ladder.
It reaches up to the bell beams and the bat is a good 10 feet above that..
"You come down Sir and Let me have a go at getting the beast down"
He waits for Amrunel to descend the ladder
"Yes....do come down, uncle..." Vivaeri said between bites.
Amunrel descends the ladder finally managing to let go after a moment's hesitation.
Stepping away from the ladder he pulls out a hankerchief and whirls suddenly to present it to Vi.
"You know that's going to ruin that outfit of yours,"he tells his niece noting the fruit juice currently coursing down her chin towards her clothing.
Ewald takes the bats cage from Ned and swarms up the ladder pulling himself up onto the rafters of the bell tower and regarding the bat ..he gives the creature a good view of himself whispering soft imprecations to it his whole attention foucused on making it believe that he is it's friend and that it should return to the cage
Ewald looks down to the group below "Damned things asleep..." he states in a hoarse whisper that is carried to them by the acoustics of the tower...."and I can't reach it from here"
He thinks for a second considering his options then whispers again
"I think one of the ladies could secure it if she was to sit on my shoulders. Vae..Sanna..do you trust me enough not to drop you?"
Halsanna, lingering a slight ways back from the goings-on in the temple, only raised an eyebrow in a slight display of skepticism at Ewald. She had folded her arms across her stomach, making no move at all to assist, though she did shift her eyes to her sister. Those of keener sight might be able to make out a slight blush on her cheeks, though she would volunteer no explanation why, even though her firm denial of the offer was plain to see. If anyone was going to take up the offer, it was all up to her sister. She seemed content to lean her hip on the nearest pew, watching.
Halsanna, lingering a slight ways back from the goings-on in the temple, only raised an eyebrow in a slight display of skepticism at Ewald. She had folded her arms across her stomach, making no move at all to assist, though she did shift her eyes to her sister. Those of keener sight might be able to make out a slight blush on her cheeks, though she would volunteer no explanation why, even though her firm denial of the offer was plain to see. If anyone was going to take up the offer, it was all up to her sister. She seemed content to lean her hip on the nearest pew, watching.
Amunrel raises an eyebrow at Ewald's request.
"So are you taking him seriously yet?" he asks turning to Halsanna."So either Vi goes up there to perform a acrobatic feat or me, Adjunta and Halsanna lift the ladder the desired height for him to grab the bat... maybe if we do that we ought to warn him first so he can secure himself to the ladder first and not take an unnecessary plunge?" he now turns to glance at Vi.
"You've got more peach juice running down your chin," he points out to her.
Vivaeri glared at her uncle as she wiped her mouth gracelessly with the back of her hand, and then nearly choked at Ewald's question.
"I think one of the ladies could secure it if she was to sit on my shoulders. Vae..Sanna..do you trust me enough not to drop you?"
"No?" she managed, almost on the edge of laughter at the absurdity of it all. Halsanna's looks weren't helping her composure either.
Still, Amunrel's suggestion afterwards spurred her to act. "No, no wait. Let's...*sigh*...let's give it the shoulder thing a try first..." she said with an unhappy glance at her sister. She was not going to enjoy this. "Two people holding the ladder upright and someone who isn't used to heights is just asking for trouble. If you keep it braced, and all of you hold it set, we'll have an easier time of not falling and breaking our necks."
She whispered to her sister as she removed her cloak, trying to reassure her. "Don't worry, I'm used to these sorts of stunts. And father would be upset if we got him killed..." she said with a wink.
Taking care to wipe her hands first, she climbed up the ladder towards Ewald, not entirely sure what she was thinking when she decided to do this.
"Watch the hands..." Vivaeri muttered in a low growl as she leaned outward to snatch the bat. Oh gods it IS like a rat with wings! Augh! Her hands shook after putting it away in the cage.
"Unclean...unclean..." Vivaeri seemed fearful of touching any of the rest of her clothing with her bat-hands, as if the things carried the plague.
Ewald tries his best not to get intimate with Vae paying more attention to adding additional bracing to the ladder..still the sweet smell of woman as she passes close to him makes him grin
"I assure you my Lady..my hands will not wander..I'm not in the habit of molesting women." he drops his voice as she climbs down again "even beautiful ones"
He follows the girl to the ground handing the cage to Ned.
"Three down lad..and I think your customer will have to make do with them for his choices"
He pulls a soft cloth from his beltpouch and offers it graciously to Vae
"Thank you for the invitation and I would like to attend a service, but our young friend here needs to get his pets back before too long and there's at least one more out there we need to help find before it gets too dark,"Amunrel apologises bowing to the priest.
"Admittedly Aroden seems to have worked wonders on at least one couple I won't mention at this point,"Amunrel openly notes avoiding the glare from Vi.
"Ahh..yes..thank you Father but I'm afraid my companion here is right...we do have to be moving along"
"Nice fellow, especially for a Taldane come to think about it,"Amunrel notes as they leave the church.
"So whats next on the list?" he abruptly asks the lad.
Ewald tries his best not to get intimate with Vae paying more attention to adding additional bracing to the ladder..still the sweet smell of woman as she passes close to him makes him grin
"I assure you my Lady..my hands will not wander..I'm not in the habit of molesting women." he drops his voice as she climbs down again "even beautiful ones"
Vivaeri's eyes narrowed, but continued downward. She knew she was angry at Ewald for being her betrothed, but now she was wondering more and more whether she simply resented him just for being her arranged groom or because she would have enjoyed knowing him if she had not been promised to him, and become more and more worried about why she was wondering. And he has steady hands too. Damn it!
Still, she offered kerchief, with a mumbled "Thanks." as she wiped the imagined bat-bourne pestilence from her hands before shuffling closer to her sister for refuge.
Upon hearing which animal was still left to retrieve, she placed her palm on her face. "Oh gods...not that again..." She could almost feel the ache in her foot returning.
"Ah yes the cat..I think we decided to pass on the cat...and the snake I judge to be irretrievable..no I'm afraid this wizard will have to make do with what we have"
"Ah yes the cat..I think we decided to pass on the cat...and the snake I judge to be irretrievable..no I'm afraid this wizard will have to make do with what we have"
"What kind of snake was it after all?" Amunrel asks.
Vivaeri nearly choked on air.
"A WHAT?! You were going to have us stumbling around the ditches and high grass looking for a bloody viper?!" Her words were driven more by shock and rising fear than anger. She was beginning to question the sanity of wizards as a whole. Who in their right mind keeps something like that around?!
"That still remains my primary interest in this matter," Adjunta says, "this is a matter I must see sorted. Find the remaining two would be nice but discovering who did this and preventing it from happening again is my main objective."
"So we go talk to the pseudo-druid then," Amunrel shrugs wondering whats gotten into Halsanna.
Vivaeri calmed a bit when she felt her sister's hand, but the thought that they may have barely dodged being bitten by a poisonous snake still sent shivers down her back. Oh gods! What if we had to make camp and we were sleeping in our bedrolls and it crawled into our bedrolls and then we would be in our bedrolls with a snake all curled up and slithering around oh gods oh gods oh gods...
"That still remains my primary interest in this matter," Adjunta says, "this is a matter I must see sorted. Find the remaining two would be nice but discovering who did this and preventing it from happening again is my main objective."
Vivaeri chose to keep quiet about the cat, subtly looking at her uncle and Ewald to see if they intended to do the same.
"Yes, best to handle him before he can let loose the three we've spent the day catching. Again. So where do we start looking for him, then?"
"He works in the stables at the inn doesn't he? "
Ewald wonders why neither of the girls can seem to look directly at him surely they can't have suddenly developed a bad case of shyness
"He works in the stables at the inn doesn't he? "
Ewald wonders why neither of the girls can seem to look directly at him surely they can't have suddenly developed a bad case of shyness
"He didn't turn up for work today apparently," Amunrel quips back.
"Then perhaps we should find out where he lives and start from there..did anyone give you that information?"
"Then perhaps we should find out where he lives and start from there..did anyone give you that information?"
"They were somewhat reluctant at the time," Amunrel shrugs as he recalls what he learned.
Maybe we need to be a little more persuasive..." Ewald grins broadly and turns to Vae "Fancy using that silver tounge of your's again?"