"Behind at the keep? I wanted to. I tried to. I didn't feel she should be walking on her ankle any more today," Sileas said as she knelt. "Do you see anything we can carry the water in after I find it? I wanted her to stay at the keep because I didn't know what we might find or how it might affect her."

"Yes, behind at the bloomin' keep. I put a couple containers in the bloody wagon but I fink there's a bucket over 'ere, right, it's all beat up." Questa picked up a badly dented and rusty tin bucket. "I don't fink there's any 'oles in it."

"We'll take more than we'll probably need just in case." Sileas had finished pulling the rocks away from the well opening. "It's nearly impossible to convince Yehudit to stay behind," Sileas said as she gingerly lowered the buckets into the dark depths. "I think she is convinced I am going to run off or something."

"Maybe yer 'ave ter break boff 'er legs properly ter make 'er stay behind where she belongs." Questa leaned against a toppled wall. "Were yer gonna run off, isit? If yer didn't find yor... her?"

"Seems to be a drastic solution to have to do every time I wanted to go off alone." Sileas gave a small smile as the bucket grew heavy, hopefully with water and not rocks. "If Papa and Olivia hadn't been found? Maybe. But no, I had no intentions of running off if I didn't find Mama. It was like I could hear Mama calling me to help her." Sileas shifted her position. "I've never experienced something quite like it."

"Yor not turnin' crazy like Mad Mary, right, are yer?" Questa asked, referring to a beggar woman from Portside who heard voices and saw things that were not really there. Questa's eyes traveled to the building that used to be Millie's dress shop, miraculously still mostly intact, and pulled her eyes away as if wanting it to not be there.

Sileas shook her head. "No, I don't think so. But I do believe that when people are deeply connected, one might be able to feel certain things when the other is in danger. Kind of like Lek and Millie with their twin connection."

Questa glared at the dress shop, as if resenting that the owner's name was brought up, then looked back to Sileas. "Yer got enough water yet?"

"I believe so. As long as there are no holes, there should be enough left for each of us to have a drink." She hauled the bucket up and checked it. Good. No rocks.

QUesta gave the dress shop an uncomfortable look. "Good, right, ffen let's cop out of 'ere."

A long lock of gold-blond hair blew from the doorway.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:41, Thu 17 Sept 2015.

Sileas straightened her back and turned to head back to the wagon. But the sight of the blonde hair caught her eye. "We need to come back tomorrow," Sileas said absently.

Questa shook her head vehemently. "There's nuffink ter see there."

There was blood on the hair.

"Yes, there is." Sileas handed the bucket to Questa. "Here take this to the wagon, I'll catch up." She took off toward Millie's shop.

"Damnit, right, stay out of there. If yer go in there yor gonna cop all weird and upset again... There's nuffink ter be done now." Questa wanted to chase after Sileas but the bucket had to be held carefully so as to not spill because the lip had been so badly bend out of shape.

"But she could be injured and need Difyr as well. I can't just leave someone injured behind," Sileas pointed out, nearing the shop. Get the water up to the wagon. I'll catch up, I promise."

Questa groaned. "She's dead, that blond girl that worked wiv Millie in the dress shop. Cor blimey, would I lie to yer? They cut 'er all up, right, yer don't want ter see that."

Sileas stopped in her tracks. The ringleader of this attack had been married to the girl who worked with Millie and was very angry with her. It made sense. "You already checked? She really is dead and not badly injured and in need of help?"

"She weren't movin', right, didn't 'ave a look ter be breathing. I covered 'er but didn't touch 'er." Questa shifted uncomfortably, she grew up with violence and committed a lot herself but what she had seen done to the girl really troubled her. "They put the smile on 'er face and carved letters all over 'er body wiv scissors... She's a bloody mess and blood is all over the bleedin' place. She can't be alive after wot they did ter her."

"Oh God," Sileas uttered. "We'll have to tell Wulfsen so he can have her buried tomorrow. I know the men are coming down to look for any missed survivors and anything that is still usable." She tried to walk away but found she couldn't. "No. No. Questa, take the bucket up to Aunt Lia and send Wulfsen down here. I'll wait here, I won't go in alone, I promise." Sileas readied her bow with an arrow just in case she needed to protect herself.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:24, Thu 17 Sept 2015.

Questa sighed, not looking forward to the flashbacks she was sure that Sileas was going to have, for no good reason. She went to the wagon.

"Here's the water. Sileas wants ter see a dead girl in the dress shop, she shouldn't go in there alone." She said pointedly to Wulfsen.

Another dead body? Wulfsen jumped down from the wagon and headed to the dress shop, where he met Sileas. He looked at the shop.

"It's strange that it's still standing. Questa says there's a dead girl inside?"

Liadan was still struggling with Yehudit. "Aron, can you fix up some tea?"

In reply to Wulfsen Thornblade (msg # 322):

"Questa said she didn't appear to be breathing and covered her. I was going to let it wait until the men came tomorrow to bury her but for some reason I can't walk away. I don't know why. Just a feeling that she might not be. But the way Questa described the body, I don't know how she could be alive."

In reply to Liadan Buckley (msg # 323):


"I guess we'll need to risk making a fire, though I'm loathe to." Aron found some kindling and made a small fire. He held the bucket over it, high enough that the flames couldn't burn the wood.

In reply to Sileas (msg # 324):

"I've met men who should have died in battle." Wulfsen said, somehow, without realizing it, he had taken Sileas's hand. He gently squeezed it. "Maybe I should go in first."