"Wine, ale, even absinthe would be good after the night I had." Wulfsen said.

"What I have to tell isn't going to improve your night." Xavier moved behind the bar and rooted around. He grabbed a pitcher and two mugs and set them on the counter. Then he checked the keg behind the counter, gratified to find it had something inside. Xavier filled the pitcher.

Wulfsen sunk down at a table.

Xavier set the pitcher and mugs on the table and sat down across from Wulfsen. He filled the two mugs. He didn't know any other way to say this other than to just say it. "Apparently there is a race of shape-shifting mermen off the shore. Supposedly they took Nelek and replaced him with a man who assumed his persona." Xavier turned his attention to his mug of ale and slowly drank it."

Wulfsen stared. "What happened to the real Nelek?"

Aron had no idea where his family was and he was too exhausted to search the keep. After Shawn had said he was going for a walk to clear his head, Aron returned to the hall, found a spot against the wall and nodded off.

Aislyn hurried through the halls of the keep, calling out for Lord Thornblade.

Wulfsen was despairing of ever finding Sileas when he heard a woman calling him. He turned to the voice.
"Hello? Mrs Gerthrim?"

"Lord Thornblade! Thank goodness. Sileas, Yehudit and Questa are out there battling one of the mermen. He tried to take Millie. They need help out there!"

Wulfsen was still walking funny, but he tried to walk funny faster. "Where are they?"

Millie replied, "Down from the gate coming toward the keep. Almost to the edge of the woods. There's a drop off that I fell from."

Wulfsen knew the area.

"Find Xavier and tell him what's going on." Wulfsen hoped he would not need backup, but it would be better to have it and not need it than to be overwhelmed.

"We will," Aislyn promised. Now that she knew the area, she could drop Millie off with Difyr while she searched for him.

WUlfsen walked funny out of the keep.

Aislyn nearly bumped into Xavier in the hallway down from the healing room. She gave him all the information on what was happening and he took off. She returned to the healing room.

"We need to find a large room with lots of shelves, ideally. Large enough to hold all the contents of a manor," she said as they entered the hall.

"Good luck at that, evry right good big room 'as been taken over... And evry shelf taken for buildin'." Questa pointed out.

"Maybe something down in the cellars. It would be better if it were a private area anyway. Not so many prying eyes. I don't know what I might find." Or what might happen.

"Maybe." Questa said doubtfully.

"Or in the cellars beneath the kitchen. I would wager no one has been down there as of yet."

"Some bloke lookin' for a drink might." Questa said.

"He wouldn't be after shelves though if he were looking for a drink. If we find a drunkard down there, we'll just clock him over the head and get him out of there. If we find a suitable room, we'll have to fashion some sort of lock.

"And tidy the piss puddle from the corner." Questa wrinkled her nose.

"Wouldn't be the first time." She thought for a moment. "If the room is large enough, we can even make a living space. It'll be easier to duck Yehudit if I'm not upstairs."

"Outrunnin' a cripple is dead easy." Questa said.