DKMortals/SessionFiftySix

[ST] As the sun rises higher over the icy countryside, the column of travelers packs up the aghar and continues to move south. With luck, Astrid says, they should be able to reach the Quiet Emerald by the afternoon. For a woman who was nearly exsanguiated the previous day, she seems fine, if pale and somewhat withdrawn. She takes the lead as the group sets out, leading her elk along nearly hidden paths through the landscape, down into shallow gullys and back out again, across frozen streams, through small copses of struggling trees.

[ST] Helgara follows behind her at some distance, scowling as usual, her form hunched and heavily swaddled. The Dreamseer, Kragos, and the Once Dead bring up the rear.

[ST] After a few hours with heads down and wind howling, Astrid turns around and gestures to Wheel, beckoning him forward. She sends Helgara back to the rest with a tight nod.

[Avir] Avir huddles into his cloak, hand clapsed on his elk's reins. Its snorting breath, warm against the back of his neck, seems the only spot of heat in the world. Cold water seeps into his boots- they had somehow gotten torn during the fight. The bug, roused by its recents exertions, wriggles in its lair in his stomach.

[Avir] He watches with dim curiosity as Wheel goes to join Astrid.

[Wheel] He digs a heel into his elk's flank, awkwardly riding forward to join her. He suspected he knew what she wanted to talk about. If he remembered how she'd looked the day before right. He didn't remember much right. Must have been loss of blood, but all of it seemed to be back in him now. And he didn't especially want to talk about it with her.

[Wheel] His hip felt right now, too. Yesterday was fuzzy, but he hadn't imagined the last few days. So something had happened at least. "Yes?"

[ST] Astrid gives a soft laugh as Wheel rides up, reaching a hand out to touch his arm. "The look of that tree reminded me of your tale yesterday," she says, then shoots him a look as she leans closer, smiling and talking conspiratorially, as if they are lovers sharing some secret.

[ST] "What is he?" She asks in a harsh whisper, her smile not slipping.

[Wheel] "Don't know. It was him?" He didn't remember what'd happened right, so he hadn't been sure.

[ST] "Of course it was him!" She says intently. "He did something to us. I remember bleeding. I remember seeing some... thing. Some crawling thing. Don't you? Who is he?"

[ST] Helgara drops back slightly, her face an open book. "Don't know what they've got to talk about," she mumbles.

[Wheel] He shakes his head, grinning in what he hoped was a friendly way. From a distance it might pass, at least. "I don't remember much well. Just nonsense. Lot of blood, though, and I know I had some older wounds that are gone."

[Avir] Avir watches them. He turns to smile at Helgara. "Jealous? It's only the comradery of recently-wounded...companions. I'm sure. " They conspired against him, damn them.

[ST] Astrid pats his thigh absently, laughing again. "He is your comrade. Surely, you must know something of him. Is he dangerous?"

[ST] "I'm not jealous," Helgara says, looking down at her reigns. "What do I have to be jealous of?"

[ST] Behind the two, Morta calls herself keeping watch, but every few minutes she thinks up another dream for Kragos to interpret. It is unclear whether she is making them up or simply has them stored away.

[Avir] Nothing, poor girl. "Well, you know. They say adversity brings people together... "

[Wheel] "He's Once Dead. Definitely dangerous." Not much with a sword, though. Not at all for a Raven. Had they relaxed their recruiting further since his day? Thieves and murderers then abominations? "I'm new to this fang, so I don't know him well."

[Wheel] "What do you remember?" Maybe it'd jog his memory.

[ST] "Then how come I don't like you?" Helgara drums her fingers on her elk's neck. It doesn't seem to enjoy it. "He's a strange old man. I thought you corpses were younger."

[ST] Astrid looks ahead, guiding her elk around a treacherous patch of sunken ice and calling back the warning. After a moment, she turns to Wheel. "I mean dangerous to the Emerald. It is under my protection. If he is harmful, I will not bring him into it. As for what I remember... not a lot. I remember the pain, and bleeding out, and this wriggling insect, coming out of his body, going into mine. It had the stink of vile sorcery about it."

[Wheel] "Have you asked Helga?" He thought that was her name. "She must have seen it."

[Avir] "He made it to retirement. Got bored- I hear he practically jumped at the chance to re-up when the Once Dead started shaking the trees for replacements for recent losses." Avir looks at his back. "Ravens are all he has, I hear." The thought was sad- frightning, too, or would have been he had any chance of surviving himself.

[Avir] "Tells its own tale, though."

[ST] "Helgara," Astrid says, though her correction is gentle. "Was not looking. I have not hinted at what I have seen. She is grateful to Avir for saving me, though she shows it poorly. Were I to tell her I believe he tried to ensorcel me..." She laughs, and it is genuine this time. "The Triad only know what she would do. Kill him, or try. I want to avoid that."

[ST] "She has a true heart, but she is often... misguided."

[ST] "Don't know who'd sign up for that twice," Helgara says. "Or even once. But I guess he impressed her."

[Wheel] He sucks on his teeth. He was too new to the unit to do something about it. They'd stand for the one they knew, not the interloper, if he made them choose. So he'd have to get him killed off here sometime, or he needed to look the other way. It'd help, damn would it help, to know what it was the man was.

[ST] "He is your companion," Astrid says. "I know you trust him. And I trust you, foolish as that may be. The old and wise must stick together, I suppose. Watch him. If he harms the Emerald or its people, I will not spare him. Know that."

[Wheel] He nods. "I'll keep an eye to him. I don't think he's a harm," he adds, weakly. And if he was, Astrid wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Not to a Once Dead. It'd be him.

[Avir] "Guess so." He looks ahead again, and his hand tightens on the elk's rein. They conspired against him, damn them. What else did they have to talk about?

[Wheel] He remembers to try to laugh. For appearances.

[ST] Astrid pulls a final face, leaning forward to plant a kiss on Wheel's cheeks. "Tell them only a few hours more." Then, she turns around and continues the forward course.

[ST] Helgara gives a soft grunt at Avir's side.

[Avir] He glances at her sympathetically. "We'll be out of your life soon enough."

[ST] "What difference would it make?" She decides to study the ground in front of her elk very closely, pulling ahead slightly.

[Wheel] He tries to put a silly grin on his face as he falls back in with the rest. It was probably closer to sickly.

[Avir] "Serious intentions there?" Avir asks him mildly.

[Wheel] He glances at Helga. "We're heading back to the front soon enough, I'd guess."

[Avir] "Mm. Well, you're old enough to know your business, I'm sure."

[ST] Helgara pointedly does not look back, gnawing steadily at her lip. Behind them, Morta is still talking. "Then, I dreamed of a weasel the color of milk, living beneath my mattress..."

---

[ST] A single watchtower rises out of the Quiet Emerald, extending above the screening, tree-topped hills that surround the Emerald. As the group appears, a cry rises up from the tower, carrying out over the snow to the group.

[ST] "Astrid! It's Astrid!"

[ST] A narrow trail cuts between the hills. Following it, the elk emerge into a valley that is more of a hollow, ringed on all sides by low hills which keep away the worst of the winds and snow. This Emerald is new, and not nearly as advanced as Tanstaad or many of the others.

[ST] The watchtower juts up from a small, two story stone building with narrow windows that squats near the end of the trail. A road winds from it to the east, passing through a cluster of round wooden huts. Beyond are flat grounds that must mark the fields, covered now in snow. It is a very small Emerald.

[ST] A few of the residents have gathered to watch the arrival - Wheel and Avir spot a handful of Haslanti, most of them old and nearing infirm. One man is Wheel's age, with a withered right leg. He leans more heavily on his spear than he should.

[ST] The rest of the crowd are Quiet, and they live up to their name, regarding the newcomers with silence that borders on trepidation. Astrid moves among them, shaking hands, clapping backs.

[Avir] Avir smiles at them. It is less reassuring than he intends. Armored and armed as he is, it looks the sharp-toothed leer of a wolf. "Hello. Who can we talk to here about what's going on?" He knees his elk forward.

[Wheel] Wheel follows him, silent and dour.

[ST] "Me," a woman in the crowd says. She must be sixty or older, with whispy white hair. Even clothed against the bitter chill, she still seems small. "I am Forthright Compassion, the Mother of this community. Come, dismount, let me take your mounts." She reaches out for the reigns of Avir's elk, only clucking when it draws back, nearly yanking her off her feet. "Welcome to our Emerald. Who am

[ST] I speaking to?"

[Avir] "I am Avir, of the Once Dead." He dismounts, stepping back to let her handle it. "This is my comrade Wheel. We understand that there are problems with the dead here."

[Wheel] Wheel dismounts on his own behind Avir, tossing his reins to her as well, glad to be on his own feet after hours in the saddle.

[Avir] He stays closeenough to step in, in case the elk are too much for her. "And I don't mean us," he says, with a grin he intends to be charming.

[ST] The woman nods, taking Wheel's elk as well. Together, the pair threaten to pull her off her feet, but she stays standing. A man moves up from behind her to take them quietly.

[ST] "The Once Dead," she says. An uneasy murmur moves through the crowd. A few children are swept behind their mothers and fathers. "A strange choice, to investigate the Quiet. I would think you had more pressing demands." She bows. "Nevertheless, we are glad to have you here."

[ST] "Did you receive my message, Astrid? You must have."

[ST] Astrid nods. "It was... unclear. You said ghosts had been seen here, in the night."

[Avir] Avir returns the bow awkwardly. That was the problem with the Quiet: even if they had lived here for generations, they still felt foreign. Strange names, strange accents, and strange customs. "Thank you for your welcome, Mother." It was interesting how she had phrased it- that they had come to investigate the Quiet, rather than the dead."

[Wheel] "Investigating the shadowland is more like it. Thats been the trouble, right?" Didn't seem worth it to muck about ruling other things out before dealing with that.

[Wheel] He doesn't bother to return her gesture. No matter that she'd said Mother like it was a title, nothing here he had to respect.

[ST] "The Shadowland is a trouble, yes, but an abiding one. We accepted it when we chose to dwell here. It was a danger we were willing to face, and small. We have had less trouble from it than we might have from..." She clearly stops herself, forcing a smile onto her face. "...elsewhere. Never even a hungry ghost, thanks to the wards around it. But a month ago, one of the children reported seeing a glowing man."

[ST] "I confess... some of us did not believe him, but I still thought it prudent to send word to Astrid, on her travels. I did not think she would rush back, but I am glad she did. Many more of us have seen them, now. They come almost every night."

[Avir] "Glowing men? Glowing women?"

[ST] "Both. Sometimes it is difficult to tell. They are masked." She gives another bow. "Or so they tell me. I have not seen them."

[Avir] "Why not?" He pauses. "Are you sure they are ghosts?"

[Wheel] "Is it not everyone can see them, or just you weren't around at the right time?"

[ST] "I have watched, but they have not made themselves apparent to me. I can not tell you more."

[Wheel] He grunts. "Any patterns to the appearances? Do they do anything?"

[ST] "Enough of us have seen them that they must be real. Even your Haslanti have seen them."

[Avir] "Who can tell us more?"

[ST] "They appear seemingly at random. Some watch. Some talk. Some touch. No one has been harmed, fortunately."

[Avir] "What do they say?"

[Wheel] "How do they move? Fast? They have weapons?"

[ST] She holds up her hands, palms outward, laughing slightly. "Please, friends. I am an old woman. I can direct you to those of us who have seen them. Respectful Gaze was the first, but he is merely a boy. Some of the others have seen them. Rising Hope, Abiding Honesty, Stoic Discretion. They can tell you more."

[ST] Helgara swings out of the saddle, landing firmly in snow that rises to mid calf. Suddenly, a voice calls her name.

[ST] A Quiet woman hurries through the snow, stumbling a little in her haste. She has hastily garbed herself for the outdoors, and her improperly-fastened hood flops on her back. She is an older woman, perhaps in her forties. Long, dark hair streams behind her as she runs and her large, gray eyes brim with tears. Helgara turns, and the woman throws herself upon her, wrapping her arms around her tightly, pressing her face into her chest.

[ST] "I grew worried..." she says, clinging to the other woman. "You were gone so long..."

[ST] Helgara pushes her aside almost violently. "We'll talk about it later, Hope."

[Avir] Avir turns, eyes wide.

[Avir] "Who is this?" he asks, with more curiosity than politeness.

[ST] "It does not concern you," Helgara snaps, stalking off. Another murmur runs through the crowd, and the Mother politely ignores it.

[ST] "It grows cold here. Please, let us move within. You should feel free to question anyone you desire."

[Avir] "Yes, of course. Thank you." He turns to follow her inside.

[ST] "Have there been any strange dreams?" Kragos asks.

[Wheel] "You said the Haslanti had seen them too - can you point them out to me?" He didn't expect much of this militia, but soldiers might've noticed something more than the Quiet.

[ST] The Mother points to the man with the twisted leg, who pulls a disgusted face. "Ulf, there, has seen them. You are of course free to question him." She is careful to phrase the statement in a way that makes it seem as if she is not ordering him.

[Wheel] He nods, waving the man over. "I'll be in in a bit."

[Avir] "I'll speak to the Quiet inside, then." Avir nods to the Mother.

[ST] The Mother leads them across the fields to a house that is seemingly no different from the others. She opens the door, ushering them in. As they enter, she turns to the man still leading the elk. "Bring Respectful Gaze and the others here, please." He bows in response.

[ST] A low fire burns in the humbly appointed room. The Mother gestures for the three Once Dead to seat themselves.

[ST] "I'm going to take the Dreamseer around to ask after the sleep of the Emerald," Astrid says, nodding in a way that is almost deferential to the Mother as she leads Kragos out.

[Avir] Avir watches her go. "Have you a shaman of some sort here?" he asks the Mother idly, as they wait for the boy.

[ST] The Mother seats herself across from him primly. "Myself. Many of the Mothers have some hint of this talent. I set the wards on the Shadowland myself when the Emerald was founded."

[Avir] "What sort of wards? Deterrents? Alarms?"

[Avir] Almost without a pause, he continues, "Are they on the Shadowland or the village itself?"

[ST] "They are deterrents. Renewed every five years or so with Astrid's help, surrounding the Shadowland. It is small, you see. Only some few acres. It is possible to contain it in this way. No ghosts should be able to come through at all."

[Avir] Avir nods thoughtfully. "Then, with your permission, I will set alarm wards tonight around the village. This talk of glowing people- it is not what I know of ghosts."

[Avir] "What do you think is happening? You must had some ideas."

[ST] The Mother nods her head. "A wise decision. I am not the thaumaturge I once was, and I am too old. I could find no one to venture to the wards with me. I would not risk the death of others in the People."

[ST] "I do not know. I do not think the sightings are lies. And I think the Fair Ones would have destroyed us by now if they were responsible. I can think of few other culprits that would do anything but slay us." She meets his gaze, unflinching. "Our reputation is known."

[Avir] "What was your plan if a hungry ghost came?" Avir asks, morbidly curious. "Does your..religion...forbid you from defending yourselves against them as well?"

[ST] "No. There is nothing of humanity in them any longer. In a way, we have never feared them. It is the other things. Soil-Stealers, the Haslanti themselves. Still... there are few among us you would call warriors. We find that when violence is close at hand... it becomes easier to choose."

[ST] The door opens, and the man sent by the Mother returns, leading a young, tow-headed boy of seven or eight in front of him. When the boy sees the Once Dead, he stops, backing up into the man's shins. Morta waves casually at him, and he buries his face in his hands.

[Avir] "We won't harm you, child," Avir says, carefully keeping his voice gentle. The boy's obvious fear makes him want to snap at him. Surely even the Quiet taught their children more pride than this? "We just want to talk to you about what you saw."

[ST] "Be brave, Respectful Gaze," the Mother admonishes, and he looks up, scowling.

[ST] "You mean the ghost?"

[Avir] "Yes."

[ST] As the boy starts to speak, the door opens again, and two newcomers enter: a blond-beared, tall man of about forty, and Hope, the woman who embraced Helgara. The latter is red eyed. The Mother gestures for them to sit as the boy continues.

[ST] "Well, it was dark. And night. And I could not sleep. I am supposed to stay in bed when I cannot sleep, but I got up any way. I wanted to look out the window at the snow. It makes it cold. That's a bad thing. But I wanted to see."

[Avir] Avir nods, waiting patiently.

[ST] "It was there, on the snow. Moving across to the houses. It was a man. Wearing a- a-" He says some word which Avir does not understand.

[ST] "A prayer cord," the Mother explains.

[ST] "I did not see his face. He kept walking away. I woke my mother. She did not believe me."

[Avir] "A prayer cord? A Quiet prayer cord?"

[ST] Respectful Gaze shoots a glance at the Mother. She sighs softly. "There is no need for deception, child. Yes. A Quiet prayer cord."

[Avir] Avir nods. "Did you recognize this man?"

[ST] "No. I saw only his back."

[Avir] "What of his clothing? Was it unusual in any way?"

[ST] The boy shakes his head.

[ST] "Well, the one I saw was not one of the People," the blond-bearded man says suddenly. "Whatever it was."

[Avir] Avir nods. "One more question for the boy. Did you think it was a ghost?"

[ST] The boy nods. "I am scared of the spectres. I knew what it was."

[Avir] "How?"

[ST] "He didn't," Morta says flatly. "If it had been a spectre, it would have sucked the marrow from his bones." The child visibly pales.

[ST] "The children are taught to recognize them," the Mother says, as if the conversation had never gone down this rather grisly road. "We thought it prudent."

[Avir] "By what signs did you recognize it was a ghost?" Avir pursues.

[ST] "I c-could.. s-see through it. And it made light..."

[Avir] "Thank you. You can go." He turns to the blond-bearded man and nods to him. "Proceed. What were you doing when you saw the creature?"

[ST] "You may go," the Mother says, and the child scampers from the room. "Stoic Determination, please answer his questions."

[ST] "I was working," the man says. "Sewing summer clothes. I looked up, and it was looking through the window at me."

[Avir] "What did it look like?"

[ST] "Long, dark hair. It was a woman, I think. Its throat bled. It had on a mask, and was staring in at me. Then, it turned and ran. One of the Haslanti startled it."

[Avir] He felt rather like a prosecutor at an Icehome trial. It would have been dark; with a candle or a fire lit he would have been a pretty picture for a lonely ghost. He nods. "What sort of mask? Why did its throat bleed?"

[ST] The man grows irritable. "A white mask! I don't know why its throat bled! Mother, this is a waste of time. These strangers can't fix our problems."

[ST] She looks at him flatly and witheringly.

[Avir] "You haven't been a dab hand at fixing them yourself," Avir says dryly. "I am trying to get some notion of who these ghosts may be- and why they come, but harm no one."

[Avir] He turns to the last person in the room. "Hope. Have you also seen one?" As with the boy, he speaks gently. He pitied anyone who yearned after Helgara, he truly did.

[ST] "I... ah... yes. It... opened the door. It was." Hope clears her throat, blinking. "It was, ah. A woman. With a mask. L-like the one my brother just described. Her hair was long, and flowing, and red. She had fingers. Long. Fingers." Her fingers twine together.

[ST] "She... it... said she wanted to touch my face. And I was scared. So I let it. Her. Then she left. It was cold."

[Avir] "Inhumanly long?"

[ST] "Yes."

[Avir] "After the encounter- did you experience unusual fatigue, dry mouth, sweating, fever, headache, nausea, or other symptoms?"

[ST] She looks at the Mother briefly, her hands twisting her long skirt. "Just a headache. A little one."

[Avir] Avir coughs. "Any unusual emotions?"

[Avir] It felt like prying out teeth, getting details from them. Soldas had been wrong to send him instead of Obligatory Sunshine. This was exactly what that pretty fool was good for.

[ST] She does not meet his gaze. "No. Nothing. I do not think it hurt me."

[Avir] "Did you get any emotional sense of it? What it wanted?" He thought of Two-Face and her desolate loneliness.

[ST] "No. I... I. Didn't. I don't know what it wanted."

[Avir] "You don't have to conceal anything from me," Avir says, his patience strained. "Did you recognize her?"

[ST] "N-no. I don't know where any of them came from."

[Avir] Avir sits back, looking at all of them. "Have other ghosts spoken?"

[ST] "No," Stoic Determination resumes. "Other than that one, no. Is that all you have for us?"

[Avir] Avir regards him steadily. "For the moment. If you can think of anything else, please tell me. I am here to help." He looks to the Mother. Age had given her some wisdom, at least. "Tomorrow, I'll investiagte the wards set on the shadowland."

[ST] She nods. "A wise decision. And tonight?"

[Avir] "Tonight, I'll sleep with one ear open," Avir says lightly. Alone, if he knew anything about the Quiet. He stands, shouldering his satchel. "I'll set the alarms."

[ST] The Mother stands. "Very well. You are... not what I expected, of the Once Dead."

[Avir] "We can't all be brutes and murderers." Though they were one or the other, usuallly. "Hell, there was a Quiet from the Icehome ghetto who joined up recently."

[ST] "I am sorry for him," she says, then seems to realize how her words must sound. "I mean no offense, but it is not a road the People should walk."

[Avir] "I quite agree," Avir says dryly. "He's stubborn as a mule. Dragged a vicious beast of a woman out of an icelake right in front of me. Mistake, if you ask me." He decides not to mention that he was the one who let her fall in.

[Avir] "Any particular area the ghosts have been spotted?" he asks, hefting his satchel and beginning to root through it for paper and ink.

[ST] "Not that we can tell. They seem to appear almost at random, and do things we can barely understand."

[Avir] He nods. "I'll have to set up a few, then. Ah- Stoic Determination. Will you accompany me? You can tell me what else they've been seen doing on the way." He wasn't the best observor, and smoldered with sullen hostility, but he was neither upset nor aged.

[ST] "No," Stoic Determination says tersely. At the Mother's shocked look, he coughs. "I have no wish to associate with these outsiders, Mother. My apologies."

[Avir] Avir sets his teeth. "I'm not asking to bed you, I would just like a little more detail on what others have seen. Time is running out for me to set the alarm wards. Though, of course, if you feel the Mother is more able to withstand the cold, there is nothing more to be said."

[ST] "Very well," Stoic Determination says. "I will go. For our sake, if not for yours."

[ST] "Determination," the Mother warns. "You forget yourself."

[ST] "I apologize." He says quietly, but his eyes still smolder with anger.

[Avir] "Nevermind," Avir says with broad tolerance he is sure will aggravate the man even more, "I take no offense." He bows awkwardly to the Mother again, and nods to Hope. "Until later."

[Avir] He lets himself out, allowing Stoic Determination to either follow him like a servant or catch up.

[ST] Morta waves, then turns back to the Mother. "Do you have any more of this tea?" Hope looks at her with a kind of repelled fascination.

---

[ST] The stone guardhouse below the tower is the residence of several of the Haslanti in the Emerald. Ulf looks at Wheel and gestures with his head, and soon the two find themselves within, seated on rough wooden benches before a great table. The smell of smoke, fat, and unwashed bodies hangs in the air. Ulf stumps his way to a bench, seats himself, and grabs for a mug of warm ale already sitting out on the table.

[Wheel] "Pour me one too, lad," he tells one of the guardsmen near the door, trudging in to sit accross from Ulf. "You the only one that's seen them?"

[ST] Ulf is in his thirties, with a short blond beard, and strong limbs. His arms are overly muscled from bearing his weight. Were it not for his leg, he would have many years of battle or cowardice ahead of him. He grunts. "I'm the only one of the Haslanti that has. Damn near caught the thing, too, even with this leg. Those damn kneelers could catch one too, if they had an ounce of grit to them."

[Wheel] "So it ran when you tried?"

[ST] "It did. This was a week ago." He waves a hand brusquely as the guardsman hesitantly sits a mug down in front of Wheel. The raven always gets results.

[ST] "I only saw it from a distance. It was bright against the night. Had a spear with it. Wore this mask. Bled from a hole in its throat."

[ST] "It was standing at the window of one of the Kneeler houses when I saw it. Staring in. Just watching."

[Wheel] "It was bleeding when you first saw it? One of the kneelers throw something at it, or do they all bleed?"

[ST] "The Kneelers? Throw something?" He snorts, and spits on the floor. "No, it was bleeding when I found it. Fucked if I know about the other ones. Kneelers keep saying they see a boy, or a green man, or a woman without a face."

[ST] "Tell him about the Toucher," the man at the door says.

[ST] Ulf laughs. "Yeah, that old Kneeler bint says this tall woman with flowing red hair slipped in under the crack below the door and told her it wanted to touch her face."

[Wheel] "Has anyone seen one twice? Has the same one been seen twice?"

[ST] "From the looks of it, Helgara's been touchin' more than her face." The two laugh so loudly it takes Ulf a moment to get back to Wheel's questions.

[ST] "Sometimes. The bleeding one's been seen a few times. The green one, too."

[Wheel] "Ah, so only it bleeds, not all of them?"

[ST] He shrugs. "Damned if I know. I was ready to think it was all in the heads of the Kneelers till I saw it myself."

[Wheel] He nods. "Too right. But the dreamseer with us says he's seen things in his dreams too, so somethings happening. What was its mask like? Did it hold the spear like it knew how to use it?"

[ST] "It was a death mask. Like the Icewalkers put on their dead. Some of the Hundred Tribes, too. It seemed like it could use the weapon." He shrugs. "Course, it didn't. Didn't even try."

[Wheel] He rubs his warming face, then finally takes a gulp of the ale. Piss, but not much worse than he was used to. "What have the militia been doing about it? Night patrols? Hell, are these things coming out at night or in the day too?"

[ST] "Just night. Day burns 'em. We put out a few on patrol. Usually they don't see anything." He empties his own mug. "Truth be told, there ain't many of us here. It's me, Erdrick here, an' three others. Ain't many who want to live among the Kneelers like this."

[Wheel] "They cause you trouble normally? I never spent much time around them."

[ST] "No. That's the thing. They never cause trouble. They ain't a people you can respect."

[ST] "There's worse," Erdrick offers, in what might almost be a concilatory tone. "But they're strange. It's hard to live among 'em with only a few other Haslanti for company."

[Wheel] He nods, understanding. "How long have they been saying these things have been around?"

[ST] Ulf scratches his chin. "The kid said something about a month ago, but no one believed him, for a Kneeler he lies like a Fellai. Last few weeks, a lot of them have been showing their heads."

[Wheel] "How long is it between sightings, usually? Is there any pattern to it?"

[ST] "Not that we can see. They say ghosts are as fickle as men." He snorts.

[ST] "Damn glad to have you here," Erdrick puts in. "Even if they do say, 'Where ravens gather, corpses follow.'" Ulf silences him with a glare.

[Wheel] He grins. "Most ravens like to eat corpses, we mostly make them. Whatever these are, we'll deal with them. The death mask, what was on it? Embellished or mostly plain?"

[ST] "Plain, that I could tell," Ulf says. "I didn't get that close, and Stoic couldn't tell me shit. To a Kneeler one death mask is just like another."

[Wheel] "How fast was it when it ran? Like a person, faster?"

[ST] "Doesn't have to be fast to get away from him," Erdrick laughs. Ulf seems unfazed. If he were the type of man to take offense, by now one of them would be dead.

[ST] "Seemed fairly fast."

[Wheel] "But it wasn't darting around like a rabbit, I take it," he nods to himself. "Anyone look for a trail of the blood?"

[ST] "Didn't leave a trail. I don't think it's real blood. Not real enough to stain our world, anyway."

[Wheel] He grimaces, drinking more ale. "What was it like to see it - it feel dangerous?" Most of the things he'd gone up against that were real trouble, you knew it to look at them. Things that'd crush a man didn't tend to be subtle.

[ST] "It seemed dangerous enough." Ulf shrugs. "But like I said, it wouldn't fight."

[Wheel] "Maybe the kneelers have hauntings their way," he grins. "We'll be poking about for a bit. If one of you sees another one, raise a cry or come get us quick if we're near."

[ST] Erdrick gives a nod. "Astrid'll sort this out soon enough, you'll see."

[Wheel] He nods. "Capable woman, that one." Hopefully it was something she could sort out, and then they'd be off back to the front where they were really needed.

[ST] "Capable, aye," Ulf says. "Can't say much for the company she keeps. Too kind to the Kneelers by far. Clouds the mind when you've got to get the job done."

[Wheel] He nods, agreeing. "Well, I need to go talk to the others." He finishes his ale, silently adding that he needed to get an eye on his fellow dead and keep it there as well. Whatever the man was up to, it probably wasn't a good idea to let him run off after ghosts on his own.

[Wheel] He stands up to go, eavign the otehrs back to their seats. "I can find my way. We may be back for lodging, if they don't ahve somewhere for us to set up."

---

[Avir] Avir walks across the snow, scowling at his feet. As he's about to turn on Stoic Determination, he catches sight of Wheel walking between buildings. "Ho!" he calls.

[Wheel] Wheel waves, trotting to catch up. "What're the quiet saying?"

[Avir] Avir shrugs. "Seems to be ghosts. One ghost was once Quiet himself, the others- no." He strings beads together form his satchel as he walks. "No clue why . Hear anything more from the guards?"

[Avir] He mutters over the first string and kisses it.

[Wheel] "One of them had a spear. The ghosts I mean. And it bled from the throat. Was wearing a death mask, though not one with anything useful on it. But it doesn't seem like a particularly strong spirit."

[ST] Stoic Determination looks between the two sullenly. "I still do not understand why I should be here, listening to the pair of you insult the People."

[Avir] The beads roll and clatter in his fingers. He hangs it from the eve of a roof as he listens. "That's the same one that touched Hope, I think." He glances at Stoic. "If you think we've insulted you, you've never been to a bar in Icehome. Nevermind. Anything else the ghosts have been doing we haven't heard about already?"

[Avir] He is already stringing together the next ward, trapping one end of the string awkwardly in his armpit and sometimes holding the end in his teeth to manage. Dammit! It no longer seemed so foolhardy a thing, taking up the demon on its offer.

[ST] "You insult us by insinuating that one of the People would become a ghost. It is not our way." He shrugs, following along behind. "I have seen only the one ghost. I cannot speak for the others."

[Wheel] "Seems they show up at random times, at night. Seem real curious about the quiet. Wonder if its them specifically, or just that they're most of everyone here." He ignores Determination's prattle.

[Avir] "The guard saw one of them. Maybe they're avoiding the obvious threats. And don't be a fool," Avir adds irritably to Determination. "If a Quiet can become a Once Dead, why not a ghost? Summarize for the others, then. Consider it a form of martyrdom, less we impose on the others as well."

[ST] "Only the one my sister has seen has spoken. The others have only seen them from a distance, briefly."

[Avir] He drops the end of his current strand and hisses in frustration as beads spill into the snow. "One of you help a cripple, will you?"

[Wheel] "When the guard saw him he was watching through one of the Kneelers windows. It ran when it noticed the guard."

[ST] Determination bends to grab the beads, helping Avir to string them in sullen silence. He winces at Wheel's mention of "kneelers."

[Wheel] He lets the other man help him. The kneeler had two hands, he'd be better at it.

[Avir] "Huh. Afraid, then." He smiles sweetly at Determination. "Thank you."

[Avir] "We know as much as we're going to know, until tonight, I think," Avir says as he strings it up some distance away.

[Avir] "Why don't you find lodgings while I finish the wards?"

[Wheel] He nods. "I was thinking we'd rack in the guardhouse."

[Avir] Avir grimaces. The smell. Gods. He supposed there was no help for it. "Fine." He wordlessly insists that Determination help him with the next string of beads.

[ST] Determination moves to do so, hurrying the one handed man than his Quiet forebearance would suggest.

[Avir] After Wheel as gone to make things ready there, and Avir works on the last ward, he suddenly says, "You're not like any Quiet I've ever met. Why do you hate us? We have come to help you."

[ST] "You are dangerous," he says simply. "You corrupt what you touch." He pulls a string of beads up, and hastily lashes it in place.

[Avir] "Like you? Hissing and spitting like an enraged cat?"

[Avir] Avir murmurs the words warding over the string.

[ST] "My son left for the Greenfield because of the words of one of your whores," he says, seething. "Do not speak to me of what you do not know."

[Avir] Avir's lip curls. "Whores. I guess the Quiet know about that, eh?" He wraps the ward around a fence post. "It will hold. Can you direct me to guardhouse?"

[ST] The man's shoulders stiffen. "There is no crime in it," he says quietly. "So long as there is no love. You passed the guard house on your way in. You will find your fellow animals there."

[Avir] Avir snorts, turns, and makes his way back across the snow.

-----

[Avir] Avir spends that night crammed in Edrick and one whose name he did not know. They slept on large pallets together for warmth. Across the room, Ulf snores. Loudly. Avir grimly considers throttling him.

[Wheel] Wheel sleeps through the snores, having long since gotten used to sleeping anywhere, anytime. Easier here in the warmth than in a tree with snowmelt wetting everything while on a long watch for some stupid thing or other.

[ST] Morta tosses and turns restlessly beside Ulf. Her motion alone would be enough to disturb most people. Ulf does not seem at all perturbed.

[ST] Her voice carries through the darkness.

[ST] "It smells like piss in here."

[ST] The final two guards are on patrol, unluckily strolling through the dark with tallow-burning lanterns and thick clothing. Some time before dawn, they will switch off with Erdrick and Ulf.

[Avir] "Edrick told me they consider it too cold to go outside at night unnecessarily."

[ST] After that, Morta moves towards silence, and the night moves on. A snow lion snarls somewhere out on the tundra, but it will not come close to human habitation. Unless it is very hungry, that is, and winter is only just starting. Stillness lies like a blanket over the night.

[ST] Avir, Wheel, and the others are suddenly jolted awake by a piercing scream that splits the night.

[Avir] Avir throws himself out of bed. He experiences a moment's disorientation. The wards- they hadn't gone off- what the hell...?

[ST] The scream continues, rising higher and higher, and then suddenly stops.

[Avir] He runs for the door, pausing only to clumsily pull his sword naked from its scabbard. Too much effort to get it strapped on.

[ST] Around the room, the Haslanti are struggling out of bed. Ulf launches up with such violence that Morta trips over him, both of them going sprawling in the floor.

[Wheel] Wheel dashes immediately for the ladder to the roof and watch tower. Sounded like it was too late to help, but if they glowed maybe he could see where they were going from a height.

[ST] The cold night air bites deeply into Avir and Wheel's flesh as they enter the frigid night. Around them, voices rise in commotion; the scream has awoken everyone. Wheel finally surmounts the rickety tower, getting several splinters in his hand as he goes, and looks out over the Emerald.

[Wheel] He shivvers, not fully dressed yet in his haste. But there hadn't been time, and he'd be inside if he saw somethign or didn't in another few minutes. He could take the cold that long.

[ST] Below, Wheel can see Avir racing through the clustered huts of the village. On the far side, blood stains the snow, and a luminous figure that seems both taller and wider than a man stands, several corpses strewn around it. As he watches and the village wakes with alarm, the thing bolts away towards the hills to the west.

[ST] Wheel also notices something else as the creature races in that direction. One of the houses, taller than the others, square, has its door wide open.

[Wheel] "Avir - west to the hills" he bellows, loud as he can.

[ST] Avir races through the village, hurtling the occasional obstruction as he goes. Doors and shutters open as the Quiet peer out. A half-dressed Helgara staggers through a doorway before Hope grabs her hand. "Please," she pleads. "Don't. You can't! You can't!"

[Wheel] He'd check the house. He gets back to teh guardhouse faster than he came, up. Hard to climb a ladder with one hand, but easier to half fall fast. He grabbed a coat and his weapons and was off.

[Avir] Avir glances at one of his wards as he passes, chasing the thing like a madman.

[Avir] "Helgara!" he roars as he passes. "Follow on an elk!"

[ST] Helgara shouts something incomprehensible as Avir races onward. He bursts out of the last row of houses in the village in time to see the thing darting into the distance. It is low, hunched, and humanoid in form. Avir has arrived at the scene of its slaughter. The remains of the two guards and what looks like a Quiet woman are strewn across the bloodstained snow.

[ST] Avir notices that his wards here are broken. Beads scattered across the snow.

[Avir] He tears through the snow in his socks, naked sword glimmering in his hand. He strains onward. He had to get a closer look, even if he couldn't catch up with it.

[ST] The frigid cold begins to catch up with Avir as he races onward, the creature drawing nearer. He can see it now, humanoid, luminous, twisted, its face dumb and animal. A Hungry Ghost. A collar of hissing soulsteel is wound around its neck - it trails a chain behind in its flight. Almost, he is close enough to catch it, almost- and then it springs forward, through the trees, outpacing him,

[ST] leaving him gasping and exhausted and freezing.

[Avir] Avir kneels down in the snow, taking in breaths slowly. His feet...he can barely feel his feet. Shit. He had slept in heavy wool clothes, but without his cloak the wind slices through him like a knife. He shivers and turns back. He knew enough. He stumbles through the snow back to the lights of the village.

[ST] Meanwhile, Wheel quickly finds himself in front of the house with the broken door. No... he realizes, as he looks within, and sees the brass altar and ceremonial urns. It's not a home - it's a temple. The Quiet must construct them similarly.

[Avir] His stomach bulges as the bottle bug stirs in concern. He puts a hand on it, soothingly. His sessulia ripples. He would let them see him hurt by the cold, he decides, and the demons still.

[ST] Wheel notices that the building has a heavy door. A huge, splintered chunk of it is gone, and the steel bolt that used to lock it lies on the floor just inside the door.

[ST] On further examination, the wood is old, dry, and partially worm-eaten. It appears to have given under the stress, but this likely wouldn't have taken much.

[Wheel] He unslings his hammer - nothing to say there hadn't been a second one - and steps in teh door, watching every which way.

[ST] Within, all is dark. The Quiet do not believe in making sacrifices after dark, so there are no lanterns in the temple. Wheel can see that the interior has been ransacked but not emptied. Valuable items lay here and there - he steps over a polished brass mirror in the dim light as he moves forward.

[ST] The temple is a simple one-room affair, with a tall ceiling. A heavy oaken cabinet has been opened and largely emptied. Dark liquid stains the red carpet in front of the cabinet, and a few silver pieces are strewn here and there.

[Wheel] If he had another hand he's have dabbed a finger to taste the liquid. But he wasn't willing to let his guard down. He could see if it was blood later. For now he pokes into the cabinet, trying to see what had been stored there. While keeping a watch on the rest of the room.

[ST] Wheel spots an overturned and broken urn slopping around in red liquid - wine, probably. The little cabinet smells heavily of incense. It was probably the storage place for trinkets of wealth and the wine used in ritual sacrifices.

[Wheel] After an offering, or something remembered from its life? One of them had been quiet, from what Avir had said. He prowls through the rest of the room, trying to see if it had been after anything else.

[ST] There is a general disarray to the room, but nothing that matches the destruction of the cabinet.

[ST] Whoever or whatever broke in seems to have gone directly for those ritual items.

[Wheel] Avir knew magic better than he did. More than he should, it seemed. But he was the one to know what this might mean. He grabs one of the guardsmen who was in the square, too late to have been useful in a crisis and just gawking besides, and sets him to guard the temple door from anyone wanting in wut the Once Dead, and jogs off to find Avir. Maybe he'd be in time still if there had been a fight.

[Avir] Avir reaches the scene of the slaughter. Stirred sluggishly into action, the sessulia see down his leg and builds a cushion from the cold around his feet. He scans the bodies, then crouches down to look at the dead Quiet woman.

[ST] The woman has been rent limb from limb leaving a harrowing, violent scene. The two guards have fared little better. As Avir looks at the corpse, he notices that her long skirt is marked with a small blue band, a sign among the Quiet that the woman serves as a prostitute.

[Avir] He turns a little green. A prostitute- in the temple, perhaps? He would ask the remaining guards. He glances around for Helgara.

[ST] A few moments later, Helgara arrives, still hastily buttoning her coat. She swears softly as she looks upon the scene.

[Wheel] Wheel gets there not soon after. His legs were still fast. Well, were still faster than a civvies.

[Avir] "It was a hungry ghost," Avir says softly. "I..couldn't catch it."

[Avir] He does not mention the soulsteel chain and collar - not in front of Helgara.

[ST] "So it is real..." Helgara snarls. "I wanted to believe it was just Kneeler superstition. How did it get in without you knowing it?"

[Avir] He points to scattered beads. "It had help."

[Avir] Obvious enough that he could not avoid pointing it out.

[ST] "Helgara, put this on," Hope says, coming up behind her with a thicker coat. Helgara makes an irritated noise, pulling away from her as she tries to put it on. Then Hope sees the carnage in the snow, and turns to retch. Helgara's scowl deepens.

[Avir] "Ulf," Avir says. He had just arrived, stomping and huffing. "Do the guards ever, ah, engage in extracirricular activities during duty time?"

[Wheel] "There were two or these met it on its way out - something ransacked the temple and took some sort of relic."

[ST] Ulf turns his head and spits in the snow. If the gore troubles him, he doesn't show it. "Only all the damn time. Not my idea of fun, though. No, not my idea at all." He gives Helgara a knowing look. "I'd say these two were subject to a little more proddin' than they expected. They weren't good men, and I won't miss 'em much."

[Avir] "Over in that building?" Avir tilts his head towards the torn-open doors.

[ST] "Shame about the girl, though. She was just doin what she did." Ulf shrugs.

[Avir] Picking up on Ulf's glance at Helgara, Avir glances discreetly at Hope's skirts.

[Avir] "She chose a dangerous line of work. Dangerous even here, apparently."

[ST] Hope continues to sob miserably. Helgara takes a few steps away, prodding at the corpses with a boot.

[Avir] Avir wonders why people are forever kicking corpses. Didn't do them a damn bit of good. "Where did their assignations take place?" he asks bluntly.

[ST] "The homes of the girls. Girl, really. This is Little Sunbeam. She was the only one."

[Wheel] "Yeah, in there. I got the other Haslanti to look after the door, make sure no one messed with it till we had a chance to pick over it."

[Avir] "What's in there?" Avir asks, walking over.

[Avir] He turns his head to Ulf. "Get the Mother, would you?" He had already forgotten her true name, if in fact he had ever learned it.

[ST] Ulf grumbles something that must be assent. By now, Morta has arrived, heavily bundled up. She looks at the gore of the assault silently and almost appreciatively.

[ST] Within a few moments, Ulf has returned, the Mother on his arm, half being led, half supporting him. His face burns with obvious mortification at receiving aid from the old Quiet woman.

[Wheel] "Spilled wine and offerings thrown all over. Looked like it only really wanted something specific in the cabinet. You'll see." He half kneels by one of the corpses, trying to get a good look at the wounds - claws?"

[ST] Forthright Compassion gives a cry of alarm, falling to her knees as she sees the site of the massacre. Ulf's embarrassment lingers, mingled with a grimace as he softly pats her shoulder.

[ST] "How could this happen?" She asks. "They had never harmed us before."

[Avir] Avir grimaces at his thoughtlessness. "I'm sorry, I didn't think to warn you." He crouches down her in front of her. "I'm sorry that the girl Little Sunbeam is dead. The other two are Haslanti. It was not the ghosts- it was a hungry ghost." He hesitates, then lowers his voice further. "It had help. Someone destroyed my alarm ward."

[ST] She suddenly looks up, her eyes bright and hard, even through a sheen of tears. "What are you saying?"

[Avir] "I'm saying someone here commanded or assisted its commander," he repeats. "There is apparently a mess in that building over there. I want you to go with me to look- see if anything is missing." He offers her his arm. The one with a hand.

[ST] She rises unsteadily. By now, a crowd has begun to gather. Most of the village is there. She calls out the names of several men. "Please... take the bodies. We will honor Little Sunbeam on the morrow... and the Haslanti too, if they wish it." Then she turns to follow Avir.

[Avir] Avir nods to Wheel, escorts the Mother into the smashed-in building after him.

[ST] The Mother looks over the destruction with a soft cry, moving from object to object before finally arriving at the smashed cabinet. She teeters, and almost falls, as her legs weaken at the shock of it. She manages to collapse, more or less, to her knees.

[ST] "I do not understand..." she says. "They are only... objects. They are nothing to the losses in the People. But... why? Who would take them? Blessed wine, pieces of silver, incense. Who would take them? They are for worship."

[ST] "They are for everyone. The People share."

[Avir] "The hungry ghost ran to the west."

[Wheel] Wheel follows. THey wouldn't find anything on the corpses in teh snow, so no harm in them getting their respects now. No need for more ghosts. The wards being broken - that was interesting. He'd been with Avir since he'd finished the circle, and that kneeler had been with him as he made it, so the niggling feeling that Avir had done it himself had to be wrong. But he still wanted to watch the man.

[Avir] Avir rubs his chin. "Is any certainly missing? Or is it merely destroyed?"

[ST] "To the Shadowland. It is no surprise to me. Your other news is. Do you truly mean it? That the wards were tampered with? I suppose it must be true, as with whoever took the things here. I am sure they are missing."

[Avir] Avir hesitates, then adds. "The ghost was empty-handed. If what you say is true, this is ...very strange. Do the Quiet ever offer prayers to the ancestors?"

[Avir] His tone is non-judgmental. If Avir had not been the one who murdered him, he might have prayed to Thunder Wisdom for advice.

[ST] "No. We believe the rebirth of Lethe is necessary. We believe in doing no harm. Those who cling to existence as ghosts have harmed themselves immensely. And they have harmed the new beings who require their souls."

[ST] "Are you saying that one of the People has..." She clears her throat, grasping her strength anew. "Has helped to do this thing?"

[Avir] "I think it is likely," Avir says gravely. He glances behind him to make sure Ulf is not near, then adds, "I doubt the guards have the imagination to attempt such a thing, much less a motive. Their frustrations seem to find expression in beer and brawling."

[Wheel] "Could ahve been one of the guards, but hard to see them bringing a piece out there with them if they were up to something like that."

[ST] "A piece?" She turns back to Avir. "I do not believe it. I cannot. But we must be willing to listen to wisdom where we may find it, even if we will then dismiss it as folly. Who do you believe has done this?"

[Avir] "The wards out west are almost certainly broken. That is why the dead come at night. They are sad, curious.... whatever it is ghosts feel. But I cannot help but notice that this ..tragedy occurred the first night my comrades and I arrived." He hesitates, watching the Mother carefully. "Hope does not seem stable. I would like to search her and her house."

[ST] "Hope?" the Mother looks at him, searching for some sign. "Truly? Hope? She has her flaws. She has been alone since her husband has died, and we know of her love for the Haslanti woman, but she is too old to remarry in any case. It is no true crime. It is no true crime." She repeats it, as if to convince herself.

[Avir] "Helgara despises the Quiet. It is at least-" he cuts himself off. It seemed mad to him. Perhaps that was why he suspected her. There were dozens of people in the village- it could be any one of them. For that matter, he supposed it could be Astrid or Helgara themselves.

[Wheel] "My moneys on the angry one. You see where he went after you finished the wards? He watched you make 'em, knew where they were, what they were for. You didn't tell everyone you were setting wards."

[Avir] "It's possible. But he seemed too stiff-necked. And he made himself conspicuous, in his rage."

[ST] "Stoic Desperation has not been the same since his son left," the Mother says. "But he would not harm the People, I think."

[Wheel] He shakes his head. "Angry people aren't subtle."

[ST] "In any case... I will give you permission to search Hope's home, but you must be gentle with her property, and apologize to her if your suspicions are unfounded."

[Avir] He shrugs, but a new thought occurs. "His son- was he exiled?"

[Avir] Avir nods solemnly. "Of course."

[ST] "Stoic Discretion and his son quarreled, over a woman. That very night, he gathered his things and left home. There was no time for us to exile him, even if we had wished." She shrugs weakly. "We are a small community. We cannot afford to exile so easily the way the People of Icehome do. We must adjust. Perhaps," she inhales deeply. "Perhaps I have been too lax."

[Avir] "We don't know that," Avir says awkwardly. "What kind of man was the son? Tempermental as his father?"

[ST] "Yes. He was always given to fits of rage. He grew up without a mother, and his aunt was not enough. Hope tried to raise the boy as her own, but he would have none of it. He rejected her when he left, also."

[Avir] Avir speaks more slowly. "What was his name? Are you- are you sure he made it the Greenfield?"

[ST] "Little Promise was his name. But what are you implying?" Some strength seems to be returning to her.

[Avir] "I'm not sure," Avir admits. "I am trying to find a motive. If he died before he made it to his beloved- if he became a ghost-" he shrugs.

[Avir] He was someone Hope had a reason to help. And if Hope, too, suffered in love from Quiet insularity...

[ST] "I place more responsibility in you than I care to, stranger," the Mother says, rising. "These are my People, my children, to protect. I will allow you to aid me in this. But do not seek to harm them."

[Avir] "I will do my duty." He bows shortly to her. "And examine Hope's cabin. Politely."

[Wheel] "Someone broke the wardings, and it had to have been one of you. All the Haslanti are dead or with us. Unless you think Astrid did it. So don't be angry when we try to figure out which of you it was." Where was Astrid?

[ST] Astrid must be outside somewhere, though Wheel has not seen her in the chaos. The Mother sets her mouth against Wheel's statement, bowing stiffly to both of them. "Then go, with my permission."

[Avir] Avir turns and walks back to the house that Hope and Helgara had emerged from. "Keep an eye out for Hope," he mutters to Wheel. The old man had a surprisingly good ear.

[Wheel] He nods. An eye out, and an eye in the door. Avir might still be tied up in this. This was the first ghost that attacked, and as he said, it happened on their first night there.

[Wheel] Still, he wasn't going to talk about it.