Gerhart was content to let the others deal with the fire, feeling a trifle put out after being soundly smashed about by an unholy abomination. Each breath made him feel as though someone had driven half a pound of fine Dwarven nails into his side and rubbed in some lye to ensure that it was a suitably caustic sensation. Still, he cleaned off his blades and sheathed them, checked his crossbow and then began to have a good look at the deceased. Though mutants were strictly in his area of expertise, they came under the heading of unholy and that indeed was his business.

[OOC: What's the difficulty for Follow Trail to see where that big fella came from? I'm guessing he wasn't exactly tip-toeing along the streets.]

When the chief monster fell, Marie took the acidic cough directly. Despite her self control she shouted in pain and surprise as it sizzled her flesh. But she had no time to nurse her wounds, as there was still the fire to deal with. Josette had to be saved at the very least.

"Oui! Be careful ma cherie!" the Knight of the Realm cried to Etain as she sheathed her weaponry and ran into the stable.

Having long ago been comfortable with horses, and they with her, Marie soothed the agitated animals with honeyed words and soft cooing while the others fought the blaze. Considering her wounded state, she wasn't too upset at the assignment.

"You will take a more respectful tone with me, paysan," Marie snapped at the Roadwarden, a bit grumpy from the pain.

"These wicked beasts appeared to be looking for something. What it is, I cannot say. Food, treasure, or something foul by decent standards, I should guess," she shrugged, continuing to soothe the horses.

OOC Mechanics
Wounds: 6/15

Rolls : 07:35, Today: Marie Arceneaux rolled 73 -- 2 degrees of failure using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 46.  Toughness Test.
07:35, Today: Marie Arceneaux rolled 5 -- 3 degrees of success using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 39.  Animal Care.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:02, Fri 28 Feb 2020.

Jareik nodded at Etain in an impromptu recognition of a job well done and finally allowed himself some respite, catching a breather whilst cleaning his sword from mutie blood before nonchalantly circling the corpse of the bigger creature, since he didn't get the "honor" of seeing it alive up close. It didn't look like anything like any creature he recognized from the war but then the forces of chaos were rarely uniform in their appearance. He's one ugly bugger that's for sure.

He straightened at the wardens approach.

"If they were tailing us we certainly didn't know about it. We're mercs on our way to Faltdorf and were about to turn in for the night when some of us smelled burning. We went outside to investigate and found ourselves staring at this ugly lot and got in a bit of a scrap. To say I'm a bit surprised at seeing these beasts acting so bold this close to Altdorf would be an understatement."

He listened to Marie and shrugged uncertainly.

"Maybe, the forests ain't lacking in game so would be enough for these lot but I'd wager they are part of a herd, probably made up of survivors from the war that had been lurking around here for a while. I didn't hear them say anything but then I was a bit busy tangling with the smaller mutants. "
This message was last edited by the player at 23:08, Sun 01 Mar 2020.

Milly joined the chain, although apparently not very adept at it, an extra pair of hands wouldn't hurt the effort. Far from her to admit it but she was far better at starting fires than putting them out. The constant hauling of water eventually had the wizard matching the work with her breathing and although she understood the necessity of it, something inside of her lamented taking part in putting out the small inferno. "Shame..."

"From Altdorf you mean? I have seen, things, you wouldn't believe there, but these wretches don't strike me as the type of oddity to come from there." Mimi gestured towards the creatures. "I would advice burning the whole lot of them, and to be expedient about it. The foulness of those beings resides still in their bodies, best it be burnt away before it's taint seeps into the very soil."

With the fire out Etain remembers seeing some of that vicious monster's burning blood had landed on Marie so she takes off her shirt and soaks it in the water before making her way over to her and places the cool, water soaked cloth over the areas that look to have been acid burned "My, my I hope this doesn't scar," she says as she soothes her old lover. [Language unknown: "Ut harut aiers ortst li ou wius restheeen ho hiprek rores?"]

The man huffed.
He penned down a few things, and nodded.
"Fine. For now, remain and let the authorities investigate. The night is young, and hopes are that everything is over..for now. You are free to go for now."
With the fire out, and the sky grey, and dark, as if rain would come soon, a roadwarden more appeared to assess the situation. With haste, he got on his horse and rode in the direction of Altdorf.
It would not take long before the Witchhunters would come most likely, but by chance perhaps they would be out of sight come that time.
The innkeeper rose, shaking and stood by the bar, taking a stiff, cold drink to calm his nerves as you entered.
The roadwardens outside shrugged and collected part of the barn that had broken and was unusable, beginning to make a makeshift pyre.

"Cheers, good luck getting this sorted." Having cooperated with the wardens as best as he could, Jareik started making his way back inside the inn, passing the others.
"Time for some beauty sleep, if we're unlucky enough to meet more excitement like this I'll be needing it."
Ooof that looks nasty, good thing that ain't troll puke or she would be missing an arm entirely. he thought as he glanced Etain cleaning Marie's grisly looking acid wound.

Nodding to the bartender, he went up to his room and turned in for the night.

When the others start to move inside Etain moves in with Marie and looks to the Innkeeper "I would like a hot bath run please, with soap fresh towels, two if you have a second tub, but one will do if needed"

The innkeeper, shaking from the events eyed her.
"We got a bathroom down the hallway. I can give ye the key, 6 Silvers, but easy to use. One bath, and shall send someone to prepare it for ya. Good enough?"

Outside a horrid smell spread as the two roadwardens with effort began to burn the corpses one by one, trying to ensure down wind conditions to not suffocate the inn itself. That was a tall order and even then, the smell was something else.
The pyre and flame grew, lighting up the nightsky fully, as if a star had placed itself right outside the door. It was almost as if dawn had set already.

An hour passed and the fire dimmed in strength, allowing those weary and wounded to rest and hopefully find some calm. The wardens took turn and circled the inn for the rest of the night to ensure no further events to happen.

^{- Those of you who go to sleep by the end of the burning, can assume a nights rest and gain 1W as per RAW rules.}

The sun sets, early, bringing about new hope and wonder - the warden that left to find aid in Altdorf, had yet to return, and would likely be a good bit longer. The two wardens went to rest, expecting replacements soon. For now, they eyed you curiously, but as stated yesterday, they had little proof of your undoing, rather you being victims of circumstance.

Milly, either wanting to oversee the task or out of some morbid comfort she found in it despite the stench, remained outside and up during the burning of the creatures. By the time the deed was done and the corpses were nothing but a smoldering ruin, the wizard came back in in rather high spirits, only to cheerfully call it an end for the day and to wake her up when it was time to get back on the road, as if nothing had really happened.

Gerhart surveyed the scene and considered matters with care. While the mutants themselves needed no other motivation that their own existence to be roused to mayhem, they were often pawns of more insidious and intelligent forces. With the madness apparently subsided, he limped off to find a physician to attend to his cuts and bruises.

Once he had some bandages on him and some fortified wine within him, he went to snatch a few hours sleep. He was quite a light sleeper, by nature and necessity, and much preferred to rest in daylit hours. Fortunately, there was nothing like a good hiding and a stiff drink to help a man to drift off in even the most uncomfortable spots, all the better to dream of old flames.

Etain hands the man the six silvers and says "Thank you sir, extra warm if you can help it"

Looking to Marie she tells her "Lets go you our room and I can help you take off that armour so we get you cleaned up properly and then to bed, we need to get up early."

Jareik started the day with a hearty breakfast of egg and sausages, seating with the coachman. As the others roused in turn, he motioned them to come seat at his table aswell when only the previous day he had been happy to keep away.

When more then half of their number was assembled he bought up the topic of the beastmen and asked with a grin:
"So which of you felled the big one in the end anyways?"
This message was last edited by the player at 23:42, Mon 09 Mar 2020.

Kargun starts awake from his snores near the fireplace. He is pleased to see that Jareik has breakfast well in hand a move to join him, ordering another plate of food.

"Wisnae me that felled thon big beastie... T'was the lass fae Brettonia, best as I could tell." The pit fighter reflects for a moment as one of the servers places a loaded plate of meat and eggs in front of him. "A braw fight does wonders fer' th' appetite!" He tucks in noisily.

Etain came down shortly after Jareik, her shirt in her hands still, the chill of the night left it still damp from when she soaked it and used it to quickly clean the acidic blood from Marie and she placed it near the fire to dry off as quickly as possible as she makes her way to others and orders a plate herself, and another for Marie who should have been down sooner rather than later.

"I think Milly brought it down in the end but Marie by far did the most damage to it; I know I couldn't hit the damn thing by the time I snapped out of the state it brought on me." she says before taking a bite of the thick, brown bread slice she had and continued "How far do you think we will need to travel today?"

The wizard came downstairs dangerously rubbing her eyes as she did so, butting into the conversation as if she was part of it from the beginning. "That foul evil was no match for righteous steel wielded by a steady hand, let alone the mighty red winds of Aqshy. The wretch should had known better but I suppose madness goes by the hand of malice." Milly nodded sagely, now fully awakened. "I don't know if the coach is a thing anymore... We should talk with him and gauge the situation."

Gerhart ambled downstairs, the better to restore himself with a sandwich made of fatty pork and a stiff belt of whiskey. Once the invigorating effects of a bit of food and drink had gone to work, helping to alleviate the rigor lingering from the night before, he ventured forth to join the others.

"Those were awful fine hounds that painted lass had with her. Perhaps they might be of some use in tracking the source of the beasts." He dipped his head in a show of contrition. His lack of alacrity in the fray had troubled him, his pride was hurt far more than his flesh and bones. "I would have been on the trail last night were I not so put out by one of those abominations. I do believe that our acceptance of Captain Hartesel's contract, the promulgation of Karl Magnussen's predicament and the appearance of those beasts are tightly bound. I doubt that I alone believe as much."

Unsurprisingly, Marie came downstairs later than the others. And though she had made a good showing the previous night in combat with the mutated monstrosities, it was clear from her face that she was paying for it today. Though she was clade back in her armor, it was clear from the slow way she descended the stairs that she was feeling bruises from the night before. Previously they had seen her hair combed and done up in a typical Bretonnian braid. Now, her hair was roughly pulled back into a utilitarian bun. Combined with the bags under her eyes, she was clearly exhausted. And the angry red burns that peaked out from her gambeson were still shiny from some freshly applied salve.

"Bonjour..." she said with a weak smile as she approached the table.

She must have been truly exhausted, for she forgot her own neurosis about public displays of affection and kissed Etain on the cheek as she sat down next to her.

"Merci," Marie grunted, taking the plate Etain had saved for her.

Placing her helm on the table next to her, she took up her utensils and began delicately cutting up her meal and chewing slowly, as though she were at an important ball. Old habits die hard, and all that.

"I apologize for my tardiness. What are we discussing this fine morning?" the noblewoman asked between bites of food.

"Bonjour" she says back, smiling as she leans into the kiss a little and as she passes the plate she also adds "vous êtes les bienvenus"

"We were talking about how we were to go about finding the missing man Karl" she says between mouthfuls of food, passing scraps to the anxiously waiting dogs.

"Ha, should have known. Back in the war whenever when the larger fiends showed up, when it didn't take an entire regiment's worth of pikes to bring them down, usually the one to send them back to whatever hell spawned them was a wizard or some piece of artillery. Or one time, our elector count, bless him." He raised his tankard to the wizard.

"True that. I admit with all that was going on, didn't really stop to check the coach's condition." he added to Milly and Etain's thoughts about the next leg of their travels.

He mulled over Gerhart's assertion but remained skeptical.
"Bloody hell I hope not, if the beastmen hit Faltdorf then there must an entire brayherd's worth roaming in the woods still and we would be walking right into them."

He gave a casual two finger salute to the knight when she finally rose from her slumber.
"And last night's antics in general. Well fought by the way, that little holding action you lead made things a lot easier in the end but still..." He glanced at the damaged parts of marie's armor with a wince of sympathy. "Now sigmar willing that was a one time thing, but let's say another situation like this arises again. Would you consider holding the line to let us get off a few shots before an engagement? In the Empire we ain't too keen on running up to things bigger then us and with sharper claws unless we have to, gunpowder is a great equalizer. I respect that knights fight differently to infantry but you're the only knight we got here so keeping up with you can be tricky. And honestly I'm pretty sure if it was me who was in your place, I'd probably just be a pile of fleshy ribbons right now. Now If I was still wearing gromril armor on the other hand  it would be a different story.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:59, Sun 15 Mar 2020.

Breakfast was served, with hot beverages and warm bread, the innkeper very unassuming this day and very clouded in his head obviously.
Fruit, vegetables and meats, cut thinly.
The day was early, and you had lots of time to traverse ahead to the old crossroad, along the roadsides, the farmlands(that would thin out), sparse farms and beginning woodland.
The only advise you got, was to seek out the crossroad, and the inn of Black Bart, the socalled Hairy toes - hinting of the racial background of the proprietor.
The issue of traversing ahead had been solved, as your coachman, had been hammering and working for most of the morning, fixing a broken part of the front wheel.
He appeared inside, got a breakfast plate and nodded.
"Ready when you are..", he said dryly.
He was in no rush.

"Well that's sorted then." Jareik nodded to the returning coachman, thankfully they will not need to be walking the remainder of the way. He took one last swig, finished the remaining sausages then made his way out the inn.

The corspes were disposed off, but tainted blood remained in places darkening the ground which he carefully sidestepped before jumping back to his place next to the driver of the coach, double checking his rifle before they took off.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:50, Sat 21 Mar 2020.

Etain finishes her meal and makes sure each of the pups has had a good meal before waiting for Marie and the others to finish before getting up and collecting her now dry and warmed shirt and quickly throws it on before heading back upstairs to gather the rest of her kit, the dogs never far from her. Coming back down in less than 10 minutes she says "Should we get ready to go then?"

Gerhart got himself a few extra portions of food, beer and liquor for the road. He was still feeling quite stiff and sore from the previous night. His gear was in good order, he checked it first thing before sleeping and on waking. One could never be too careful.

He regarded the woad-tinted woman with a polite nod of his head. "Perhaps you might want to acquaint your hounds with the scent of mutants?" For he had no knowledge of the queer land of her birth, but he thought it no harm to suggest.

Though not one to admit of any frailty, he was glad that Jareik took the seat beside the driver. For his part he sat inside the carriage with his back to the front, the better to employ his crossbow through either window at any targets from the rear. Having the greatest of respect for the Magus, he had no desire to be in close proximity if she felt a need to conjure fire. Far better to be aware and eliminate a threat as soon as it arose.

"Well then, everything is sorted." Having her fill, she proceeded to the coach, just like the day before, her own reduced size and perhaps the dwarf's (if he chose to rode inside) making it feel more roomy. "Say Halfhand, I heard your kind can make engines of war that can rival those of Nuln, what can you tell me about them?" Started the Wizard, seemingly in high spirits and eager to start some idle chatter to pass the time, of course in topics that interested her.

Admiring the landscape was fine with Milly but just sights made for a rather dull time, half the fun of 'going outside' was the people you saw and she would be pressed to find a more colorful lot, if she said so herself.