The morning arrives like a poorly cooked omelet.  Not quite appetizing but palatable.

The villagers are of course a buzz with talk about the undead and Salie's funeral.  They finally get around to towing her out to sea.  Her pyre is lit just on the horizon as the sky starts to rise.

Several of the villagers take time to stop each of you and thank you for what you did.  Several of the young ladies flock around Kozibi, fluttering their eyelashes, smiling at him with mouths that mostly have all their teeth.

You are asked to check out the outlying farms, just to make sure there aren't any lurking zombies or smelly things.  Luckily there are not.  People start to settle back in.

A little before noon, word comes out that Coombs is back and he wants to meet everyone at the fish market, which serves as Salt Lick's village square.

He and Nysene are there as everyone gathers.  They both look tired.  It's obvious they got into some fights.  They have scratches and Moondog is wrapping a bandage around Coombs sword hand.

He watches everyone gather, nods at the four of you, and then steps up onto a table usually used for gutting fish, now used as a podium.

"Morning.  Or Good Afternoon.  Hope everyone got some sleep.  After this, me an' Nys will be going to get ours.

"First, I wanna thank those of you who stepped up yesterday.  I can speak for both Nysene and myself when I say it made our job easier knowin' the folks at home were being looked after.

"Now I'm sure everyone's worried about where those critters came from.  Nys and I did a sweep last night.  There were others out there.  We took care of all the ones we came across.  But I won't say we got 'em all.  There might be stragglers.  So for the next few weeks, let's all be careful.  Make sure you don't go anywhere, especially the woods, alone.  Make sure someone who can fight goes with ya.

"I think we don't have too much to worry about.  There weren't signs of a big mass of them.  All I can say is they came from up north-"

"Bet they came outta the ol' Braker place..."

Coombs sighs and eyes the farmer who grumbled that out loud.  "We aren't gonna make any assumptions.  They could have come from any point up north.  You folks don't need to worry about it.  Where they came from is my problem.  Your problem is fishin' and farming and making sure your family gets fed."

"You forgot about payin' taxes."

Everyone laughs.  Coombs chuckles too.  "Oh I didn't forget.  Figured you were gonna pay everyone else's share this time Lowrey."

Lowrey protests and everyone else shouts that that's a great idea.

Coombs holds up his hands.  "Okay.  Me an' Nys' been up all night.  We need some good hot gombs, a fresh pair of sheets, and about twelve hours shut eye.

"Norvis is doing okay from what Moon here tells me.  He should be back up and cussing everyone tomorrow.  In the meantime, someone make sure he gets fed for me.  You know how he gets when he's hungry."

For a town that was just threatened by undead, the Salt Lickiens seem fairly upbeat.  Maybe they just have faith in Coombs.  Or maybe they just don't know enough to worry.

I am going to give each of you some 'me' time.  Please see the individual post that follows with your name on it.  Thanks.

Jocko has a sandwich.  He’d like to give it you Bellinha.

It is a mighty tasty looking sandwich.

Of course, no sandwich is free.

He came to find you about an hour after the little town meeting, sandwich and a jar of fresh cold tea in hand, offering you lunch.  ”I know you worked hard yesterday.  And I wanted to do something to express my personal appreciation.”

He waits a moment to see if you take the sandwich and what your reaction is before he adds, ”And Master would like to know if you can have dinner with him this evening.”

”And then…and then…you had this big ball of water in your hand!  And then you went like this!  And it went BOOSH!  And smooshed the guy on the head!  And then and then you took that harpoon-“

”Enough Karla.  You’re talking so fast your teeth are going to fall out.  Let Zale eat.”

The two Neshie daughters have been in awe of you since you returned back to their house Zale. The youngest doesn’t know enough words, but her sister Karla makes up for it by talking non-stop.  Mr. Neshie is out, trying to finish up some work that got put off due to the commotion yesterday.

Mrs. Neshie has laid out a good spread for supper.  Fried fish.  Shrimp cooked with garlic.  Roasted potatoes.  Green beans cooked with tomatoes.  They’ve even given your friend a fresh fish all his own.

Hettie spoons some potatoes on your plate.  ”You need to eat more.  You’re too thin.”

The Neshies are obviously grateful for what you did yesterday.

Karla waits until you’re done and then leans closer when her mother and grandmother are busy with the dishes.  ”Mr. Zale…can I show you the bubbles?  I think you need to see the bubbles.  Can I show you the bubbles?”

”You are so charming Mr. Januson!”

”And handsome!”

”And charming.”

The two women who are flanking you Kozibi are a mother and daughter named Lillian and Essie Boregard.  They’re dressed in old finery.  When your mother was in her late teens, around Essie’s age now, these clothes would have been stylish.

They both came to the inn, and listened with rapt attention to your evening performance.  They’ve bought you a few rounds.

From what you can gather, Lillian is Orus Coombs’ sister.  Essie is his niece.  They are the closest thing to socialites that Salt Lick has to offer.

Essie glances at your hand.  ”Your hand is so large Mr. Januson!  Is it from all that sword swinging?”

”Essie.  You shouldn’t ask such a question.”  Lillian gives you a coy smile.
”Please forgive my daughter.  She’s still young and inexperienced.  Educating her in such a…picturesque locale such as Salt Lick has added some challenges in bringing her up.  But I will not give up my efforts.”

Lillian flips open her fan, using it to hide her mouth.  She peers over the top of it at you, her make up not quite thick enough to hide the wrinkles around her eyes.  ”And I’m sure you will agree…experience is what gives a woman her allure. Am I right?”

Nys reaches down to scratch Dillo on the ear shortly after you walk over Ordin.

The meeting has broken up and she signals for you not to ask any questions right now.

”Let’s go home,” she says.  The three of you start to walk back to the small camp you have set up in the woods north of Skeeter Pond.

When she is sure you are out of ear shot, she sighs again.  ”So.  Sure you have questions.”

She chuckles.  ”Pretty much what Orus said is what we found.  There were some undead, but they weren’t acting together.  They were all spread out and…well. Confused I guess is the best way to say it.  We came across a number of zombies and a couple of ghouls.  That’s how Orus hurt his hand.

“Did you notice anything specific about the ones you fought yesterday?”

Bellinha had just finished her daily workout when Jocko made a timely appearance.  There was a moment of hesitation, as she considered the offer.  It did look like a delicious sandwich, so her hesitation did not last long.

Offering up her thanks, Bellinha took a sip from the cup of tea.  "Thank you, Jocko." she said sweetly, trying not to show how hungry she was by taking the sandwich too quickly.  "You may tell my cousin that I would be my pleasure and honour to join him this evening."

"How are you and Thena?  Last night was certainly more excitement than one would expect in such a quiet place as this."

In reply to Mr. Whetstone (msg # 5):

Listening in rapture to what Orus had to say, Ordin plays along in his mind what they might have done to the undead they found.  More so Nysene than Orus of course.  He would have to ask her when they were alone how she fought them.

When they got to their slice of paradise just north of Skeeter Pond, Ordin began to speak but then as Nys began he quieted.  When it was his turn he said, "The undead didn't work together which tells me they were probably not being controlled by a necromancer or the like.  It seemed all too random for me.  As for the undead themselves, I can't say for sure."  (Did I notice anything, more so on the Owlbear since I handled taking care of it)

"Do you and Mr. Coombs go all the way north?"  Ordin asked the question because of the comment from the farmer who blurted it out.  He met the man a few weeks back.  He was a pretty nice gentleman by the name of James Hinkelton.

"Did you use your magic to defeat the undead or did you change into a ferocious beast?"  Ordin wanted to know and perhaps asked a little too eagerly.

The undine tries to back away from all of them, looking like a deer caught in headlights. He watches the child talking about him going after the undead. Zale starts to eat, but looks up at the others and protecting his food. The otter barks out and he's tossed a fish. A pause as Karla quietly talks to him. He finishes up and just nods.