--I will let you decide on who goes when and allow the below to happen in regardless--

The night air is cold. The enclosed campsite feels oddly safe. secluded and gives a sense of quiet despite what you may have thought.
Sometime near midnight, the adventurer on watch will hear the sound of movement just outside the light of the campfire.
The sound stops after a moment.
A few moments later, the sound of a nightjar (whippoorwill) calls from the same general direction.
Then all is silent again. An hour passes before a feminine voice speaks,
“May I enter your camp, good travellers?”
The voice is delicate, youthful and calm. You can not see anyone.

Fetching a stick from the fire, Milly held the thing aloft and tried to pierce the darkness surrounding the camp. Just what was doing a lone traveler out in the wilds in the middle of the night? It could had been her imagination but then again, there was no harm in talking back with every possible witness of her idiocy slumbering. After some rather long seconds of deliberation, the wizard answered. "Madam, do excuse my hesitation but in fact, but with so calm a watch and the rest of the night's ambience, I scarcely was sure I heard you speak. Do step into the light so that we may talk more comfortably, we are not wild beasts skulking in the dark and you have me at a disadvantage."

There is some hesitation as if ensuring you are not setting up an ambush.
The woman is short, with delicate features, but rustic appaerance. She has a long brown braided ponytail and calmly colored clothing, as of the earth itself.
“Forgive my manners; I hope I have not upset you,” the woman softly speaks. “I am Bianka Eichenholz. My village of Geheimtal is twenty miles east of Wurtbad. Might I ask who you are and why you are travelling this road to FaltDorf?"
She eyes around, but is unarmed and calm otherwise.
You sense the forest is alive beyond you, but not concerningly so. The wind blows, small sounds emanate, and owls howl, but nothing else.
To show faith, she sits opposite of Milly and smiles at her.

With their mystery guest situation solved (as far as she was concerned), the wizard stretched a little and comfortably relaxed again by the fire, feeding the stick back to it. "Various tasks really, nothing too remarkable to be honest. But if it fills one's pouch is just as well, right?" Glancing at the others, Milly inquired. "And what were you doing out here in the middle of the night? the woods are no safe place to be wandering for a nightly stroll."

As the woman started closer to the camp Roan started awake and walked out of the tent and immediately started barking, waking up Eimear who starts awake and starts to barks as well. This in turn awakens Etain who comes out of tent, axe in hand held loosely as she groggily looks about and asks "Whats going on here?" rubbing her eye with her offhand.

Startled by the barking, Jareik's eyes shot open and by reflex reached for his rifle from beneath his makeshift pillow.
Eyes heavy with sleep, his aim darted around due to assuming the worst before resting on the unknown woman for lack of any visible threat.
After a heartbeat, he lowered the gun but did not release his grip on it.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:28, Wed 02 Sept 2020.

The woman nodded.
"You should turn back. The Mother has revealed to me that Faltdorf is unwell. I have journeyed here to cleanse the blight on the land. There is no need for you to be concerned.”
She took a deep breath, and you sense growling in the distance but could not place it.
“The nature of the blight has not been revealed to me. I’ve just arrived here, but will no doubt quickly discover what ails this land.”
On the topic of her presence she merely nodded.
"I serve the mother of the lands. Making her feel well and safe. It is my call and duty.."
Her depiction of the "mother" sounds familiar.
(Anyone can roll a CK:Empire +10% to get a hint of who it could be)

"I see..." For a moment Milly had considered the possibility of her being one of her peers. "Worry not, we have no intention to stay longer than we have to. Now if you will excuse me, I am going to sleep, my shift is likely overdue anyway. These are Étaín and Jareik." She introduced them while pointing in turn. "You can stay with us although I suggest you lot do the bulk of any talking in the morning, the night should be used to sleep."

Etain cocks her head at the women as she calms the dogs down "Please forgive my lack of understanding, I am not of the Empire, but is the mother you speak of the Goddess Rhya?"

Today: Etain Seanait rolled 7 -- 4 degrees of success using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 55 with rolls of 7.  CK:E +10.

Bianca nodded.
"Rhya guides my path. She warms me and directs me to where wounds are on her lands. Should yo go..and I can not follow you you all the way...the know this.
Near the village is sure to be a sacred grove or stone circle. I’m not sure what or where it is, but I’ll find it soon. Meet me there at midnight on your second night in the village. I
will answer further questions then.”
She nods, and rises after a short while.
She came to warn you, and take care of those who wander, but refuse to remain.
The night sky is calm....and the rest of the night pass uneventfully.

The next day’s travel is uneventful. The skies remain cloudy with some light drizzle in the morning hours.
Ahead you notice some movement in the bushes, and a closer look display some shadows.
They are humanoid and notice that you have seen them.
Quickly they move further away back towards the city which you expect is but an hour ahead...Faltdorf.

The windy track to Faltdorf leads you through rolling hills of clover and small crags.
As the adventurers get nearer to the village they notice pastures filled with sheep grazing lazily.
You also see many small farms dotting the land as well.
The few shepherds and farmers who are out watch you cautiously and keep their distance.

By noon you reach a top of a large hill, and below you see a small village surrounded by a ditch and a wooden palisade.
A small slow moving river runs along the base of the hill, and a bridge spans the river. To the east of the bridge is a mill, and to the west is a slaughterhouse. The track leads into the village and around the base of a large hill to the south. You see a few villagers walking about, and the whole place looks peaceful. As you enter the village they feel all eyes on you.
Looking about, you see that there are branches of mistletoe and evergreen hanging above every window. In addition, you notice a strange knot-like symbol is carved into every door.
Ahead you see a small run down inn with a sign depicting a bed and the words “Good Rest”. The inn is two storied and looks to have seen better days.
The coachman eyes around with shifty eyes.
"End of the road. I will be at the inn..."
He jumps out and leaves you to make your choices.

Jareik refrained from rolling his sleepy eyes at the woman's midnight rantings. Perhaps in different circumstances he might have been more receptive but right now he felt only annoyance and suspicion towards this woman and her crypticness. Was easy enough to remember her instructions though, she apparently had a thing for midnight
With our rotten luck, wouldn't surprise me if she was some vampiric wench.

Giving a half hearted wave as the woman left he got up for a groan. "Right  ,my turn to watch. Hopefully no more strange women coming out of the woods for tonight."

Thankfully the rest of the watch went on without incident, the trickiest part was to wake Etain up without also alerting the dogs (will leave it to Etain to determine how succesful that went).

With the coming of morning, it was time to set off once again.
At one point there was...something in the bushes up ahead, but despite calling out and rushing to investigate, they vanished before he could get a good glimpse of them. "Guess they were feeling shy." Little matter, an hour later they finally reached their destination.

"Not a bad looking little place, very picturesque even, but people weren't joking when they said folks here ain't used to visitors judging by how much they staring at us. You'd think we were a bunch of elves and dwarves."
As he said that, his eye drifted to Etain and Marie and even the wizard...On second thoughts, ok maybe the villagers were right to be a bit curious and suspicious regarding his unorthodox companions.

He eyed the symbols present on every door as they passed but figured it was some quaint local tradition and thought nothing more of it.

He nodded to the coachman.
"Thanks for getting us this far mate, safe travels to you if we don't meet again, but I imagine we will be looking for a return trip. With luck we will get our business sorted out in a few days anyways."

With that he turned to his companions. "Allright, how we playing this? I'd say we start with the pub, if our man was with a woman he had to have stopped there at least once. But I guess we could also seek out the local mayor or whoever's in charge here."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:09, Fri 11 Sept 2020.

When Jareik tried to silently wake up her up he got past Éimear but unfortunately woke up Roan, who slept against Etain's chest who growled lightly after startling awake. Etain quickly calmed him down, then pulled on her coat and made her way to the fire, throwing another log on before sitting down beside it and waiting the night.

Eyeing the villagers back as they walk through she says in her own tongue [Language unknown: "Ce ect osse Ill ntevac ilsaceceec"] before the carriage stopped and they got out, gathering their belongings and thanking the driver for his efforts getting here.

"The pub may be best, besides we may need to get a couple rooms for at least the night" she tells Jareik while looking about.


Etain Seanait rolled 93 using 2d100 with rolls of 62,31.  50/50 pass/fall dog 1 & 2.
Would I be able to do a test to determine the knot meaning?

The knot looks kinda like a symbol those worshiping Rhya could use, but then again, not so, as it differs a bit from what one would expect. So a derived symbol perhaps. It is still a guess for Etain what that could mean..

Upon entering the building you see a few people sitting at tables and eating in the common room. All conversation stops as all eyes turn and you are noticed.
A large fat balding man stands behind the bar and smells of herbs and spices. He takes a breath and cautiously looks at the you.

He refrains from talking to you, and merely nods.

"I would agree that acquiring lodging before all else would be best, ma cherie," Marie agreed with a simple nod.

As she did every time they stopped, the young noblewoman dismounted and saw to the care of Josette before anything else. From the way she doted upon the magnificent animal, it was like she was a Human friend or sibling in her eyes. Such was the Knight of the Realm's connection to her mount. Once she was finished, the Bretonnian entered the pub after Etain, and stayed close to her, casting her eyes around at the less than friendly customers.

[Language unknown: "Ditha ac loanli sttra nowhtend uteepe..."] she muttered in her native tongue.

Investigation was not among the skills that the burly woman was blessed with, so she deferred to the others to get tongues wagging. Jareik was the man for the job in her eyes, as she and Etain would no doubt have to go through the same level of suspicion foreigners underwent before the real conversation could begin.

[Language unknown: "Poeiad, Pl nce traainenc k ut weecho"] Etain responded to Marie before heading over to the barkeeper "Could I get a glass of red wine, a mead and a pair of meals please. And do you have any rooms for the night?"
This message was last edited by the player at 00:08, Tue 22 Sept 2020.

The man eye you curiously, and nods, finding a few jugs of ale, some meat and vegetable in a some heavy and rich sauce and some freshly made bread, and asked about the red wine he shrugs.
"Ain't got any...mead, ale, or fruit wine. Take yer pick".
His tone is distancing and shows some concern about your presence.
You still feel many eyes on you as you order.
"Rooms? Aye. I have two....they are 5 crowns a night each."
His tone is cold, and somewhat harsh.

"Two fruit wines then, and any chance on those meals?" she asks before looking back to Marie [Language unknown: "Itne weer u vorsetoun n it li olno llus e ieheio, N miesei p is as evehatthe p fo tr olssfi, Atons poie uslont ati trsan le has as torenc mefi, llnour wi ss reome acon u Whinteard ei Ulecmopren."]

Marie cocked an eyebrow at the quoted price, and nodded distractedly back at Etain.

[Language unknown: "Il il m ounthuwhe m somus whmo'unit a p ndnoth ss ck offitiou. Olurenad mofotr ntila k eiprti ad ariltr, satin ntibutnte I o siwh ulolon latil, setndeionpro haart oericaich. Th eiofai wanichpl kor m ha ateintpre,"] she said with a slight frown.

Striding over to the man, the burly woman placed one gauntleted hand on her hip, and the other one casually on the pommel of her sword. The look she gave him was the pure disdain of the nobility of Bretonnia reserved for the lowest of peasants. The kind that broke faith with their rulers and turned to banditry.

"I see. And for this price, I assume we will be bedded in the finest silks of Cathay? With masterful rugs of Araby to massage our feet? Elven maidens to attend to our every need during our stay?" Marie asked, a flinty edge to her voice as she asked the obviously ridiculous question.

"Was hoping you'd say that, nothing like a pint to start an investigation."
With that, into the inn they went.

"Allright lads." said Jareik with a forced smile seeing the reaction the group got.

Tugging at his hat, he made his way to the counter and let the ladies make the first orders whilst he looked around and got a feel for the place, occasionally crossing an unfriendly stare. One could get the distinct impression we are not welcome in this fine establishment.

Deciding it was best not to antagonize the locals, he broke off his gazing and focused back on the action at the counter. "Ale for me, cheers." He said when the two women spoke to each other in their foreign tongue.
Jareik did a low whistle at the room prices and chuckled at Marie's comment. "I'd be happy with just the elf maidens thank you very much."

But the tone in her voice and more importantly, the hand on the pommel suggested Marie wasn't being cheeky though so in a vain attempt to defuse the situation he added. "C'mon mate you're pulling our legs here. You don't really charge 10 crowns to everyone do ya? We ain't troublemakers, we just passing by and will be out of your hair..." He realized as he said it that it might be an unfortunate choice of words to someone who is balding. "..in a few days, a week tops."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:40, Sat 26 Sept 2020.

The cost of staying there was positively outrageous, but there may have been more to it than mere aversion to strangers. After all, in many place, that man would be held responsible for any misdeeds they may commit, specially in a small one such as that town. Moreover, they did look like trouble, Milly while not normal, looked relatively plain next to the savage with the hound and the woman in armor with whom she spoke a foreign tongue. Jareik was more mundane but armed as he was and not knowing him, he could be as much trouble if not more.

"I can assure you Sir that we mean no ill to you, the foreigners know little of how to conduct themselves but they are just ignorant, not malicious." Producing her note of employment, Milly presented it to the man. "We are in the employment of Watch Captain Hartesel here to attend some business of his. Law abiding folk all, you will have no trouble from us." Retrieving the note after he had a chance to see it, she continued. "Now regarding the cost of accommodations, if we could supplement it's pay in something other than coin, I would be more than grateful and willing. If there is something that needs doing, for you see, I am no stranger to labor and at those rates our money would soon be exhausted before we could possibility finish what we came to do at that price."

The man, whom you overheard being referenced as Rolf by a customer looking for a refill while eying you closely, turn to you, eye you up and down.
"Beats sleeping outside....fine. 2 golds. Rooms are sparse. Doublebeds. Dinner is ready in ten minutes. Meat, bread, vegetables. Local food."
It is obvious that he wont haggle nor push the conversation further.
He nods at a local, waves him out, and turns back. He gazes out into the room, to take note, and turns to you to await if you accept or not.
He appears to care little regardless what you answer. Further he is a man of few words and strong concern for foreigners..as many here appear to be.

Jareik clicked his tongue in annoyance but started reaching for his purse, grumbling as he did "This is daylight robbery,for 2 gold I hope it's the finest food this side of the reikwald."
This message was last edited by the player at 10:25, Sat 03 Oct 2020.

[Language unknown: "Tias whesomoun ng us riun ntinc din and hosom tiobe aresheromwerwas arelinent k omereafor"]  she said in her love's language before finding a seat and waiting for the food to be served.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:33, Sat 10 Oct 2020.

A man makes pretense to speak up, but as he raises his arms, and barely exclaims:
"Well, could you not just...", he is pushes and frowned upon, as hidden as they can.
He eyes down, daring not to ire the rest any further.

The food arrives, in fine condition, well tasting and decently warm. Honestly, a decent meal.
The barkeep barely nods and departs shortly after.

Jareik's ear twitched as the man said something. Maybe they didn't like Etain sitting down or something? Well sod them, for 2 gold they could sit where they pleased. He thought nothing more of it.

Not bad. He thought, chewing on some meat.
But was the halfling's that was worth 2 gold.