Zertin looks slightly amused by Qvar's baby talk to the weasel.

"Don't blame me if she bites you, Brother," he chuckles. "Though I think you are probably safe. She tends not to chase game that glows in the dark."

Preoccupied with their meals, both Arafarafarfa and her feline friend have remained silent through the events.  It is not until Zertin addresses her that she clears her mouth enough to speak, while Oooh'Awww devours the contents of the abandoned bowl with glee.

"Not first group but fate ride in pocket maybe this time.  Not only survivor again good will be."

A grim smirk tugs at her mouth.

"More fun than here stay."

She makes a kind of clicking noise and gains the attention of the large cat.

"Un'asema nini? Una'taoa owen'tha ouwin'tha?"

The grim smirks turns into a full-blown grin.

The cat rolls his head rapidly, causing his ears to flap noisily and his fur to stand up as a low rumbling growl is more felt than heard.  He then leaps towards the small, in present company, woman and she appears to sweep up on his back as naturally as she would sit down in a chair.

The big cat throws his head back and shrieks and the woman on his back punches the air with a fist as she joins in.  It is hard to tell which one appears more savage.

Violet's eyebrow rise at the sight of the weasel.  Such things are not completely unheard of in her city of birth...but really, are pets of the rich.  She, herself, would have enjoyed having one when she was younger; if it were as well-trained as this 'Louise', it might have been able to help with her thievery, making it worth splitting her meagre food with the beast.

Such things are far behind her, now; gold no longer hold allure.

There's some amusing banter between the brothers, then the tiny savage woman finally deigns to answer...though Violet isn't certain she grasps what the answer entails.  The display a moment later?  Certainly whether or not it is meant to intimidate, it accomplishes just that.  The young woman shrinks in her chair, then slips from it, moving around the table to where the rest of this odd group sits.  Two men without any real weapons...the heathen knight...and the armed and armored woman.  Easy choice; she moves to where Saeko sits, which is further away from the cat to boot.

"Hopefully it's not a problem if I sit here," she murmurs, keeping her eyes upon the great beast and its rider.

Caesius throws back his head and laughs, "By Heironeous' Blade!  It is good to have fallen in with a group who share my conviction that we must lend aid to this... this... Barovia?  And to its Burgomaster."

Growing more solemn, he continues, "As it is written in the Fourteenth Scroll, 'When Darkness rises, He will see to it that the Righteous hear word of it, and find guidance upon their path to confront it in His Eternal Name.'  Has not that happened here, this very day?"

"Indeed, Master Caesius, I think you have the right of it. I truly hope we shall find guidance upon our path. If the price we must pay is to help in the battle against darkness, then that is a price I will happily pay," Zertin tells the paladin.

"I see that Arafarafarfa understands the proper order of things as well as my dear Louise does, too. The male is the beast of burden while the female rides in the place of honour. What about you two, Violet and Saeko? Have you your own mounts outside or will you ride piggyback on Caesius and Qvar? I would never have suggested such a thing in the past but my dear brother does seem much more robust now than I have ever seen him before!"

Saeko, who it may be noted is not sitting, but standing near the bar, gives Violet a small nod of assent when she requests permission to join her.  Zertin's comment draws a puzzled, irritated look, though.  "I have legs," she replies, simply.

Qvar recoils a step or two when the howling starts, his holy glow sputtering out in shock.  He recovers himself when Caesius laughs, his glow flickering back as he marvels at the spectacle.

Zertin's outrageous proposition leaves him agape, stifling a laugh and glancing down at his own skinny frame.  Clearly he is not up to any such task.  Saeko's indignant response suggests she is not amused.  He smiles apologetically at Saeko and Violet then squeezes his brother's shoulder and grins warmly.  "That's the reason I called for you, Zed.  You're so good with people.  You always know exactly the right thing to say."

Pulling over whatever is handy - a stool, a chair - Violet sits next to the clearly standing Saeko, much more at ease in proximity to an armed and armored woman who actually appears sane.  She shrugs at Caesius' conclusion; it's not so far off the truth.  Her eyebrows, however, rise at Zertin's query.

Fortunately, Saeko's answer seems to fit; Violet offers a short nod back at Qvar, indicating lack of offense, and waves a hand toward Saeko.  "She has the right of it."

Joke or no joke, Violet is accustomed to walking.

"Seems we should consider going there, then," she quietly states.  "I'm not...actually in strong need of food."  The young woman is here for the warmth, after all, such as one can receive in this damp, miserable land.

Zertin beams with pride at Qvar's compliment.

"Thankyou, Q. Yes, it is a gift and a useful talent that I am fortunate to possess."

He smiles and nods in acknowledgement of Saeko and Violet's willingness to walk.

"Excellent. We are all ready then. Master Vistani, will you show us the way? And what name should we call you by?" he asks the Burgomaster's messenger.

OOC: Zertin is obviously very proud of his one whole rank of diplomacy skill, which he probably had to work very hard to achieve. It is a skill that most characters never develop at all. ;o)

The Vistani shakes his head, refusing to accompany you.

"I have done what I was paid to do and now my business takes me elsewhere, far from these darkling lands."

"But if you are foolish enough to heed the ravings of a madman ... and will trust the words of a 'thief and vagabond'," he sneers at Randal, "then follow the road westwards - the village is but a day's march away.  There you will find the Burgomaster ... if his madness has not yet consumed him utterly !"  He barks a laugh at the thought.

Randal is somewhat discomfited by the Vistani's attention, but proves to be more helpful.

"I am not a brave man," he admits, "and I've no wish to die again ... if this place is truly the crossing place between life and death ... but I will accompany you and give what help I can."

"Well then, thank you, Master Vistani. I am glad that the Burgomaster paid you well to deliver his message and I wish you a safe journey."

He turned to Randal and slapped his arm around the man's shoulders.

"Thank you too, Master Randal. I am delighted to have you accompany us as I am sure you will make sure we do not get lost along the way. I look forward to hearing more of your own tale and whatever you can tell us of the history of this place and its most notable inhabitants as we walk."

He turned Randal toward the door with his arm still around the man's shoulders and started walking, still talking.

"Did you just say that you have died before? My brother says the same thing, don't you Q? I've not had that experience yet, or at least I don't think I have. I hope it won't distress you too much to tell us about your experience as we travel ..."

Zertin halts as soon as he opens the door and looks outside, if he does indeed get that far at all.

"Ah, yes, I remember now. It is after sunset already, isn't it? Shall we meet here in the morning for breakfast and set out after we have eaten?" he suggested to Randal. "Unless there is anything you think we should know tonight so we can make preparations for what we might need to deal with tomorrow?"

The man from Surd shakes his head.  "I'll tell my tale, though it is a poor one ."

"But aye, there is something you should know before you seek your beds ..."

"This place," he looks to the Dwarf behind the bar for a moment, his lips tightening, "here tomorrow never comes.  Ever we sit in the failing light awaiting a morning that does not dawn."

"Take what rest you can ... but wait not on the day that ne'er will be."

"Thank you, Randal. That sounds like good advice, to get a good night's sleep while we can. When we are all rested that will be soon enough to face a night that never ends."

He turns back to join the other newcomers again.

"Does anyone have anything else they wish to do or to discuss before we seek our beds?" he asked.

Sö... daylight never comes here. Caesius muses.  He glances at Qvar.  He. at least , might be able to correct that situation.  He is, apparently, beloved of his own god.

"Time may be of the utmost import.  The missive seemed to imply some urgency.  If morning will not come, then we gain nothing by waiting for it."

"The missive implied madness," Saeko says, turning and rolling up her paper again, putting the inks and quill away with practiced precision.  "And the nameless Vistani is correct; to follow it is foolishness."

Turning back around, she lets her bag settle over her shoulder.  "But someone must be foolish so that others need not.  For the sake of this Ireena, I will go, and I see no need to linger over a decision already made."

Qvar's mouth drops open as he looks at Caesius.  "Never?  That's not good..."  he wrestles with the earth-shattering revelation that the sun will not rise and burn away the mists, eventually managing a determined grimace of a smile "...but we'll just have to make the best of it."

"I don't know about the rest of you but I walked all day to reach this place. The village is another day's march to the west, according to our Vistani messenger. I cannot manage another full day's walk without resting first," Zertin pointed out.

"You'll not sleep," Randel puts in, apologetically.  "You'll be tired ... but grow no tireder.  Sleep won't come."

He shrugs. "It is the way of things here."

"Oh, so we really are in a different world now?" Zertin finally concedes. "Alright then, I suppose we might as well start walking straight away. Perhaps you were right after all, Caesius, that there is nothing to be gained by waiting."

OOC: It will be interesting to see how that affects the normal rules about clerics praying for spells once a day at a particular time of day and wizards requiring 8 hours of rest before preparing new spells to replace those that have been cast. That's not a problem at this stage as spellcasters would still be almost fully stocked with spells at this stage of the adventure.

The paladin of Heironeous breaks into a broad grin.  "Splendid!  The sooner we start on our way, the sooner this evil can be ended."  He pauses thoughtfully, then adds, "Since I have my own mount, perhaps I should ride a little way ahead to strike down any enemies that lurk upon the road?"

OOC: DM - There has been mention of "the failing light" and mists "making it hard to see much of anything through the darkening forest that marches alongside the road". What is the lighting condition outside now? Is it officially a low light condition where we (humans and halflings in particular) cannot see beyond the low light range of our light sources, or is it a bit better than that allowing us to see somewhat even without a light source?

"That's just in the borders," Violet murmurs.  "The...sleep thing.  Also, not eating."  She hasn't eaten a thing since she arrived in this area, and is none the worse for it.  "Sleep and hunger will return when we leave the border," she states.  It's a guess, mind, but it follows with the other borders and situations she has encountered since wandering out of Chaville to...whatever hell this is.

"I'm ready to go now," she states, picking up her scuffed and battered pack.

With Randal and Violet's assurances ... and under the mocking gaze of the Vistani, you take your leave of the Inn, Caesius quickly checking his mount's tack and harness as you set off, following the path westwards ...

Continued in Ravenloft - Barovia.


OOC: In game terms, the failing light and fog does not hamper normal vision
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:34, Mon 14 May 2018.