Mists Over the Musarde, Chapter Three

[Le Noir Faineant]

Cirdan, not listening to what Miklos has to say, turns around as soon as he sees the corpses.

As quick as possible, he returns to his quarters and puts on his armor.
Once he's fully in steel (like, twn minutes later), the knight returns to the scene, his vizor closed, and his eyeslids glowing in dim red.

If noone else has done it by then, Cirdan will proceed and ask the first tinker he finds [Batman voice] if there were footprints of any kind,
or if people have any idea about the concrete time when this has happened.

Fully armed and ready to travel, the knight waits for the hunt to begin.

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio curses and plants the tip of his spear in the ground. There is a sad look in his eyes, the way the outside corners are turned down, but also the shadow of anger across his brow. "I grieve with you, Miklos. I would know the names of the slain," he says, gesturing to the woman and to the shrouded figure near the dog, "So that I may remember them in my prayers.

"But you are wrong, my friend. It was the beast who has bringing us here, and not the other way around. This is no mindless brute. His name is Gaston van Deicks, a murderer and worse. He came here to this place, these Woods that Wait, looking for something sinister. Something that could bring a far worse evil. We have been trying to stop him, and when he came here, we followed. Now he has killed ours, and he has killed yours. What does that make us, if not allies?"

Dorgio sighs, shakes his head, and wishes he'd brought a cigarillo with him. "Such a waste. If you do not give us passage, you do not give us passage. Clearly we must be dealing with van Deicks before anything else, anyway. Miklos, are you knowing anything about this place, or what he could be looking for, that would help us put an end to him?"

[Adam]

Bennedict watches the crowd closely, gauging their reactions to his friends. As he does so, he makes his way quietly over towards one of the bodies, tapping the shoulder of a tinkerer who appears to be an authority figure.

"Pardon," he says in a hushed whisper, "I would like to see your friend as well as one of ours who was killed avenged. It would be more easily done, if I could be allowed to examine the bodies, to characterize their wounds." He looks around, trying to find an out of sight place. "Perhpas we could move them somewhere away from prying eyes. I would not want to disturb your fellows anymore than they already are."

[ewancummins]

Cirdan corners one of the tinkers, a sturdy youth of perhaps nineteen or twenty years' age. The knight interrogates the young man, asking about the time of the two killings and about any tracks discovered in the area of the camp.

At each harsh, rasping syllable which issues from within the confines of Cirdan's frightful helmet, the youthful tinker flinches as if from a threatened blow. It is with a quavering voice that the young man, shaking like a reed, answers the knight-

''When were they killed? Ah.....Grigori, he must have died sometime in the last hour before dawn, I think. His was the last watch of the night. When he wasn't seen at his post....we looked for him...he was found in the trees with his throat laid open. Some of the men looked for tracks, but I don't think they found anything...the light was so poor yet. ''

The youth steadies himself on a nearby wagon and takes a deep breath before contuining.

''Ahhhh...while some of the other men were trying to find a trail, three of us were sent to check each vardo, to make certain no one else....I found Esmeralda in her bed. She was.......''

The young man doubles over, looking queasy. He retches, but nothing comes up his craw.

[ewancummins]

Miklos listens, grim faced and silent, as Dorgio speaks. After Dorgio is finished, Miklos answers,

''This man you hunt, Gaston Van Diecks, it was he who killed Grigori and Esmeralda? Perhaps it is best that you should speak with our raunie. She may divine the truth of the matter. She may be able to tell you why Van Diecks came here, and for what it was he has been searching. If my raunie confirms your word, then perhaps...Yes, if she says you are not liars, then my price for passage is this: bring me Gaston Van Diecks, alive, to face Vistani justice. ''

[ewancummins]

Bennedict watches the crowd closely, gauging their reactions to his friends. As he does so, he makes his way quietly over towards one of the bodies, tapping the shoulder of a tinkerer who appears to be an authority figure.

"Pardon," he says in a hushed whisper, "I would like to see your friend as well as one of ours who was killed avenged. It would be more easily done, if I could be allowed to examine the bodies, to characterize their wounds." He looks around, trying to find an out of sight place. "Perhpas we could move them somewhere away from prying eyes. I would not want to disturb your fellows anymore than they already are."

Benn's tinker is an older gentleman with a gray beard hanging down to the chest and a walking stick of blackthorn.

''You wish to look upon the dead? The living here are the responsibility of our headman, but the dead belong to eternity...and it is our raunie that must speak for them. Ask her, giorgio.''

[Le Noir Faineant]

''This man you hunt, Gaston Van Diecks, it was he who killed Grigori and Esmeralda? Perhaps it is best that you should speak with our raunie. She may divine the truth of the matter. She may be able to tell you why Van Diecks came here, and for what it was he has been searching. If my raunie confirms your word, then perhaps...Yes, if she says you are not liars, then my price for passage is this: bring me Gaston Van Diecks, alive, to face Vistani justice. ''

Cirdan briefly nods to the young man and opens his vizor.
Under the grotesque mask, his eyes are icy-blue and clear.

"By my honor as a knight, I promise that I will right this wrong and punish those who are responsible for it."

Taking off his helmet, he walks over to where he hears Miklos talking...

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

The priest nods. "Very well, we would be honored to speak to your raunie." With that, he goes to gather the others to meet with the tinkers' leader.

[ewancummins]

The priest nods. "Very well, we would be honored to speak to your raunie." With that, he goes to gather the others to meet with the tinkers' leader.

Most of the party is within sight of Dorgio, so gathering them is no hard task.
Miklos goes to speak with the raunie inside her wagon, while those of you hoping to speak with her in turn must wait outside on the grass. The Vistani keep their voices low, so that it's hard to make out exactly what is being said.
One of the speakers, possibly the raunie herself, has a thin, wavery voice-
''beast...the plates...''
Miklos' voice you may recognize, of course-
''Van Diecks......murder......no tracks...''

After another minute of muffled conversation inside the house-wagon, the back door swings open and Miklos steps down to the ground. Coming around the side of the vardo, he stops to face your party.

''If you would speak with the raunie, she will hear you now. You must leave your weapons outside the vardo.''

Those who comply and disarm themselves are allowed to enter the vardo. The space within is lit by a combination of candlelight and the early morning sunlight, which is admitted by and open window. Inisde the wagon the air smells of pungent spices and old parchment. The interior space seems just a bit larger than the wagon had seemed from without....still, it is a tight squeeze for more than three guests. Across a fold up table with candles on top sits a Vistana crone, her hair tucked beneath a bright floral scarf that contrasts with the black shawl draped over her bony frame. Much of the vardo's interior is filled with a mixture of the necessities of the travelling life [preserved food, tools for mending clothes, tin or copper cooking utensils,etc] and stranger curiosities [crystal pendants, wooden hex carvings, parchments displaying star charts or open palms transected by matrixes of thin lines, and other things of an apparently occult nature].

The raunie speaks in a quiet voice,

''Sit or stand, as you may. I will cast your fortunes, but first you must all answer me true three questions. Have any among you ever harmed a Vistani? Do you believe this man, Gaston Van Diecks, killed Grigori and Esmeralda? Do you intend to bring harm upon me or my band?''


The withered old prophetess regards each of you in turn with bright green eyes, two emeralds peeking out from among the creases and folds of her parchment-yellow face.

[Adam]

Bennedict drops his crossbow at the steps of the Vardo without hesitation, stepping inside.

In response to the Raunie's questions, Bennedict nods in greeting. "My name is Bennedict." He proceeds to introduce the others. "We have not harmed your kind. We came here tracking a...I hesitate to use the term, but 'man', named Van Deicks. He is a butcher, murderer, and pimp, and he is associated with a cult of a plague god known as Incabulos in some way. We do not know why he came here or what his objectives are, but if he harmed anyone from your Vardo, it was not as a result of our being here. So far as he would have known, we are not associated with you."

[steveflam]

Norzak drops his weapons on the ground near a Vistani and folows the others inside the Vardo, entering last.

When the Raunie asks her three questions he answers without hesitation.
"First: I never harmed none o yer people, ma'am. Second: There's a very huge possibility it is this Gaston Van Dieks cretin who did this to your unfortunate people. Actually a very high probablility in my opinion. Third, I speak fer meslef in sayin thet neither meself nor me shadow intend to harm you or yer people. Y'e've my word of honor, ma'am."

[JMaytr]

Jonathan is distrustful of the gypsies whom he has only heard bad, scary things about. He stays in the moot house where he feels safer. The boy is not pleased that Norzak has gone to them, as he worries that they will harm the dwarf whom he calls friend.

Doing the best he can, Jonathan squeezes his eyes closed and wills himself to sleep, his mind trying to find solace amidst the chaos.

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio yanks his spear from the ground, quickly cleans the tip with his tunic, then lays it near Norzak's weapons before draping the Sigil of Dawn aroundhis neck and walking in the tent.

Inside, he sits, cross-legged. When the raunie asks her questions, Dorgio shifts uncomfortably, wishing once again for tobacco.

"My mother, she was of Vatraska's tribe. She died when I was little. When I was perhaps nine, a band of Kamii's tribe were passing through my city. One of their older boys, he saw my features, and said my mother must have been a giorgio-loving whore. I hit him in the nose, and he knocked out one of my teeth before we were pulled apart. I have attacked no Vistani since, and I am not seeking to harm you or your kin.

"Yes, I am believing Van Deicks is the killer, and I am believing he will do worse if he is not stopped."

[Le Noir Faineant]

Cirdan, with the others at the raunie.

The elf might think of getting his fortune told, indeed...

[Lord Skybolt]

Alain leaves his weapons at the door and cross's the threshold . Saying after he sits down at the raunie's feet "I have not harmed a Vistani as far as I know . This looks like the possible work of Van Diecks, but I can not be 100 % certain of it . I do not intend to bring harm to you or your band . "