Nathan of the FoS wrote:In the distance there is the sound of hoofbeats arriving at the cottage and coming to a halt; Charles cups his hands at his mouth and calls, "We're up here! Up at the stones!"
The hoofbeats stop for a moment, then grow steadily louder. A few moments later, a rider on a heavy horse looms out of the gathering dusk.
"You must have a deathwish, doctor Arachne," a familiar, chill voice rings out as Lia dismounts. She ties the horse's halter to a tree outside the circle, then comes striding in. "For all you know, I was Cavendish, riding about looking for you after killing off the rest of the Ex ... pe ... dition ..."
When Lia sees Marilena's body, her acerbic words falter. As do her footsteps. For a moment, she just stands there, watching the old woman's body. When she moves forward again, she finishes by kneeling down next to it.
"Now that really just isn't fair, Old Mother," Lia says quietly, her voice barely audible. "Leaving before I even got a chance to properly say sorry to you? Really, that just won't do."
The Mordentish girl starts to speak out loud, her voice a monotone, her eyes on Marilena's face. "Cavendish escaped. His army of undead melted away when the rains came, but they did not seem to affect him. He fled because he was outnumbered, I think, and we may hope he is gone now. Still, I would rather not chance it. The last time he 'left', it was just a little distance away, so he could lead his army. While these rains continue, he can not raise a fresh army, but he is dangerous enough by himself."
Slowly, Lia reaches out and smoothes Marilena's hair, folds her hands on her chest.
"I can't imagine anyone else in Ravnika could have arranged for these rains," she says. "Thank you, Marilena. The village, its people, and we members of the Expedition are in your debt. Go you in peace to your just reward, if you will."
Lia heaves a sigh that seems to shake her whole frame, then rises and turns her eyes on Charles and Khalil. "As I said, Cavendish is gone for now," she tells them, her voice now pitched lower than usual, raw. "But it would be foolish to assume he has gone very far, when we lack the means to detect his presence; he proved that much when he paraded himself right under our noses in the guise of Dimitry. I suggest we take Marilena's body to the temple in town for now ... and that we search her cottage for items of power. I mean no disrespect to her memory, but I would not leave anything of significance for that worm Cavendish to snap up -- nor for any other scavenger. You can fill me in on what happened while we walk, gentlemen, if you feel up to it."
