Ripply rings spread away from where Xander's friends dove under the swamp's brackish water. Soon, they quiet, and the swamp returns to buzzing and lapping as if nobody had been there at all. Xander is alone but for the two Dromodon, which placidly chew on reeds.

Taking a deep breath of his own, Xander begins to chant, working up a minor spell to protect him from extremes of temperature (and hopefully keep from getting too clammy when it's his turn to dive). He draws off the Dromodons, looking from somewhere nearby to keep them out of trouble – and to not alert anyone who comes by of the exact location of the pool.

The animals obediently follow along (once they're satisfied with the reeds they've munched up).

Finding a likely tree, with plenty of forage and not likely to be uprooted by the Dromies, Xander ties them to an exposed root and goes back to concentrating on his spell.

The regular buzzing and croaking of the swamp is, in its own way, relaxing and conducive to meditation. The spell begins to shape itself in Xander's mind.

Finishes and holds his Resist Elements spell, wearing it as a fiery bracelet until he's ready to use it. "Okay, it's been at least ten minutes now," he mutters, and heads back for the 'clearing' where the others dived.

There's a splash directly behind Xander.

"Did you untie your leads?" Xander asks, turning around and expecting to find one of the Dromodons behind him.

The Lapi instead finds his reflection in the lenses of a pair of goggles mounted over a long, leather-wrapped beak. A fist wrapped in chain crashes into the side of Xander's head, and everything goes dark.

When he comes to, Xander finds his chin resting on shaggy hair, flames licking at him. It takes a moment for a muzzy brain to register that he is not burning, though his head certainly does hurt. Attempts to move reveal that Xander's wrists are tightly corded together, as are his ankles. His muzzle tastes of cloth… there's a gag tied around his head. He's lying across the back of a Dromodon, belly-down, the animal apparently not overly concerned with the situation at hand. His position affords him a view of the pond, into which several lengths of rope are trailing from the trees bent above. The rope leads into the bushes beyond, arched and angled almost like a pulley system, if there were wheels.

"Mmmgrff?" Xander asks as he comes to. Ironically, that's exactly what he said, so the gag didn't mangle it too much.

There's a creaking sound from the treetops, and a Korv suspended from a rope lowers toward the surface of the pond, foot hooked into a loop at the end. She ignores Xander, climbing the rope as the end slips into the water and is fed in ten or so feet more. Satisfied, the Korv gives another line she was holding a jerk. Something in the bushes clicks, and the Korv beats her wings, lifting herself off to land on an aerial root. She makes her way toward the Dromodon.

"Mmmm? Mmmm frrmmm!" Xander demands, trying to twist his head to keep the Korv in sight.

The Korv sideways walks down the root toward Xander. This close, she's much easier to make out. Her clothes are utilitarian and undecorated except for a belt buckle bearing a coat of arms and a string of long, black, furry things hanging from her shoulder that very much resemble Lilac's tail. A bandoleer lets a pair of knives, chitin and ceramic, dangle under her wings, and a belt around her waist has numerous pouches along them. Two bola are tied at the side of the belt, hanging from her hip, and a length of metal chain is wrapped around one fist, thin by necessity but evidently strong enough, and allowed to go slack behind her, with a stone weight on one end and a hook on the other. The weight has a curious hole in it. The Korv hooks a talon into Xander's gag and tugs it down.

"Don't hurt them!" Xander blurts out as soon as he can, and tries to use Big Brown Bunny Eyes on the woman, since he's pretty much helpless otherwise at the moment.

The hunter cups Xander's chin with a rough, scaly hand. Her voice is a muffled croak through her mask. "Only one I need to, gravedigger. If the others just hang politely, I'll let them."

"What?" Xander asks. "Listen, Lilac isn't one of the Midnight Murder! She's human and… well, she escaped them! We're here to undo what the Raveness has done! You should be helping us if you want to really stop the Murder, please! There's a man coming, a noble, who wants to take the power of the Raveness and use it to… well… probably make his own monsters, I don't know, but something that will unleash that power on the world for certain!"

The goggled mask is expressionless, but the voice that issues through is bitter. "They already took him. They'll take you too, if you don't leave. Maybe the curse is spreading, I know I saw it in your gravedigger friend. Maybe I shouldn't let you leave after all." She begins tugging the gag back up.

"What? The Cervani man was here?" Xander asks. "No, please!" he begs. "Tell me what happened!"

The Korv fits the gag back over Xander's muzzle, but she does keep talking while she does so. "They took him away, like they take whomever they choose away. I didn't get there in time to get a kill or whistle them down, because he didn't put up a fight. He must have thought it was sport. Just cheerfully went along. Idiot." She looks up and away, a thoughtful cant to her head.

Xander pleads with his eyes, even letting tears well up in them. He's just a brown bunny, practically a stuffed toy! Or at least, that's what he tries to project. Ungag me, c'mon, he thinks.

The Korvess seems largely unmoved, but at the pleading eyes she does at least get a fistful of Xander's tunic to haul him up on the saddle a bit more comfortably. She seems too focused on the task at hand to desire to chat any further, however, and wings her way up into the treeline.

Thanks a lot, lady, Xander grumps internally. He tries working his jaw in an attempt to loosen the gag or catch it in his teeth. There isn't much a Lapi can't chew through given time.

It's definitely awkward with little leverage on the cloth, but Lapi incisors are indeed formidable. A slow process of fraying begins. This could take a while.

I can burn through the bindings if I can get my mouth free, Xander plans out. If she'll let me. That looked like a noose-snare she planted into the shaft. There's probably something set to yank it up. I wish I could see where she was though…

The guideline Kin pulls herself along brings her back to the glowing rock, or at least where the glowing rock would be if it were still glowing. Swimming upward in the dark, she can feel things bumping against her.

Anisa and Lilac get into the water soon enough to see Umeko ahead of them, the Kiriga's tail undulating in her graceful swimming motion. They see her silhouetted above amidst some sinuous shapes at about the point they reach the bend… and suddenly they see the surface of the water broken as Umeko is violently yanked from it, leaving nothing but ripples on the surface.

Umeko loses her decorum for a brief moment when she's yanked into the air in a snare as a series of curses in Imperial issue forth from her. She strains in her awkward position, trying to snake one of her hands to Grey Cloud so she can cut the ropes from her. "Whomever did this is going to … suffer," she thinks darkly.

Anisa almost swallows some of the disgusting water as she sees Kin suddenly vanish upwards. Changing her route, the doe makes for the far side of the pond – opposite of where they came in.

Anisa can see Lilac pause in the water when Umeko is yanked out, then she turns back, pointing at the surface with her free hand. The doe can see the anger in her eyes, that look she gets before she transforms. Sure enough, the bardess begins to twist and bend in the water, the spear thrust into her mouth.

Seeing Umeko yanked up out of the water, Xander redoubles his efforts to try and chew through his gag. In the meantime he tries to point to the tree canopy with his ears.

Gibson is late on the scene, apparently only seeing the tumult in the water above and not Umeko's actual disappearance. He seems to take the remaining snares for handholds, and when he grabs one, he's wrenched from the pond as well with a bassy roar. Since he didn't put his hand completely in the loop, he's merely hurled off into the underbrush with a crash and a wet slap of mud, out of sight, leaving his snare dangling empty up by Umeko. The other two women safely avoid the ropes, and when they break the surface they can see Umeko dangling in an uncomfortable looking crunched-up position from a rope in the trees. Xander is sprawled across the back of a Dromodon, trussed hand and foot and apparently furiously gnawing on something.

What leaps from the water isn't human, but the beast form of Lilac, the hunter's spear trailing water as it hangs in her jaws. She immediately hits the ground running, moving in a circle that will taker her towards Umeko while building up momentum.

Anisa looks back just in time to see her brother go flying through the air. "Gibson!!" Springing from the pool as best she can, the doe tries to run over to where the buck was tossed – although her small stature combined with the depth of the swamp slows her down considerably.

As Lilac picks up speed, something else picks up… a strange buzzy whistling noise. It doesn't bother Umeko at all. The Lapi find it intensely annoying and a little painful. The bardess finds herself suddenly dealing with intense vertigo. Following the direction the sound is coming from reveals a familiar Korvess, beak masked in leather and eyes shielded by goggles. A bandoleer carries two knives under her wing, one chitin and one ceramic, while her belt is festooned with pouches. She is dressed ruggedly, undecorated except for a carved belt buckle and a string of long, furry, black things hung around her shoulders that look disturbingly familiar. In her right hand is a metal hook from which a thin but strong chain leads to her other hand, currently spinning a weight at the end of it. The overpowering whistling noise is coming from a groove in the weight.

The Korv immediately begins heading for Lilac.

Anisa winces at the sound, trying her best to ignore it as she continues her search for her brother. "Gibson – where are you?"

"Augh! Mmf… sput" Gibson's voice comes from a clump of cattails, the black buck standing up covered in mud and very disoriented. "I… I'm alright! cough I think. Where am I?!"

Lilac staggers a step, the sudden vertigo making her balance falter. Still, despite turning to watch the Korv for a movement, the bardess presses on towards her friend. Her gait is plainly off, however, as if the beast had consumed copious amount of alcohol. She speeds up for the jump, but her distress makes the barreling approach rather ominous.

Anisa heaves a sigh of relief at the sight of her sibling. "You're in a bad, stinky place. Now just sit down for a bit, and relax." Turning on her heel, the doe seeks out the Korv, and starts to sprint over at her – or at least she tries.

Finally chewing through the last of the gag, Xander pushes it away with his tongue and calls out, "Lilac! Change back! You can't fight her as the beast because she already knows all of your moves and weaknesses!"

The Korv's whirling chain twirls faster as she approaches. With Lilac zig-zagging drunkenly, intercepting her is a simple matter.

"You are a coward!" Umeko calls out towards the Korv when she finally managed to get a hold of Grey Cloud and begin to cut. "I am Umeko Tsuguri, daughter of Lord Tsuguri of Jadai, former Governess of Viper's hold. Defeater of Beshret the Razer, liberator of the Beast Lands. You cannot have Lilac, a woman and dear friend who seeks with all her heart to defeat the curse that infects her. And should you harm her, you will never be free of me. I will hunt you down."

"Could everyone just… calm down?" Xander calls. "Please?" He shifts around as much as he can to get a good idea where all of this ropes are that bind him.

Unable to manage either the balance nor the momentum, Lilac turns to face her pursuer, growling around the spear she clutches in her mouth.

It's a valiant defense that Lilac puts up. Even with the Korvess' unfair advantages, the black bird cannot approach without being snapped at, meeting jaws with taut chain. But it's as if she knows every move Lilac makes before the bard herself does. A deft feint has the Korv throwing her chain under Lilac and past her front paws, the loop of it swinging back up and over the back of the beast's neck. The Korv catches the hook end again and the chain constricts over Lilac's throat while her tormentor puts a taloned foot in the small of her back.

Frantically, Xander begins applying Ignite cantrips over and over on his bonds in an attempt to burn through them.

As fast as she can muster, Anisa sprints at the Korv, bringing her fists up to combat stance. "Hey you walking pillow, leave her alone!"

The huntress's spear clatters from Lilac's muzzle, falling to the mud as the beast-woman emits a strangled howl of pain! Strangled and down, Lilac can only paw feebly at her attacker, her squirming only serving to make her choke further. It's a sad display, the bardess trapped like a wild beast, pitifully trying to fight back and failing miserably.

Embers wink into and out of existence on the cords binding Xander's wrists, some of them singing him, some of them singing his cords. Little wisps of smoke begin rising up from them.

The Korv cocks her head as Anisa approaches, and wrenches Lilac around to put the beast between herself and Anisa. The chain clinks as it grinds away.

"This is taking too long," Xander mutters as he catches his breath. Instead of starting up another Ignite spell, and he tries to wrench his whole body in one direction in an attempt to get the Dromodon to turn towards where Lilac and the others are fighting.

Above the pond, Umeko begins swinging back and forth by using her tail as a weight as her one free arm frantically works at the rope holding her. Nothing is worse than feeling useless.

The Dromodon lifts its head as Xander flops on its back, fishlike. "Mruuuuuuuh?"

When wrenched forward, Lilac rolls with a whine and a flail of paws. She hits the dirt with a grunt, looking up to meet the charging Anisa with those glowing lilac-colored eyes. And then, the beast begins to ripple, she begins to change back …

Managing to gain some speed, Anisa tries to leap over Lilac to get at the Korv. Unfortunately, the hunter is quick, and manages to keep the canine between herself and Anisa. Still, the doe does manage to get in a few good kicks at her opponent from around Lilac.

The golden Kiriga begins picking up momentum. Just a few inches at first, then a foot, then a few feet, her rope swinging back and forth over the pond.

"Turn, you hummock," Xander tells the Dromodon, and then tries to yank on its shaggy mane with his teeth.

The change is definitely unexpected. Lilac gets enough slack to turn if she desires, and her arms are granted a greater range of movement. The chain remains tight, however, the Korv merciless, and it won't be long before the bardess blacks out. Her attacker focuses on maintaining the choke, catching a few kicks on the stronger parts of her wings and able to respond with little in return.

As Umeko works at her binds, her eyes flick to the fight below. Every now and then she shifts her tail to alter her swing, trying to align it so that she waves over then on the peak of each swing.

Throwing a few more wild kicks at the Korv, Anisa looks down in dismay at Lilac's predicament. Leaping back a few paces, the doe crouches down low. Then, like a loaded spring, she leaps forward, powerful Lapi legs propelling her into a full-body tackle of her opponent.

Lilac's change and slump draw the masked Korv's human shield down temporarily, and it's the exact window of opportunity that Anisa needs. The bardess is able to hang onto consciousness long enough to suck in a gasp of air as the chain around her throat goes slack. Anisa can feel wings slap against her back, more in surprise than in any sort of concerted attack, and both combatants are brought down to the ground.

Tackling the Korv causes her grip on Lilac to slacken, allowing the bardess time she needs to yank her head from the constricting embrace of the wailing chain. She coughs, her throat stinging, but she can breath again. "S-stop f-fighting, s-stop," she wheezes as she sits up. "W-we're not … n-not your enemies!"

"Gotta stop 'em," Xander mutters, after spitting Dromodon hair. He'll just have to steer the hard way. He casts quick Pop cantrip, holding it on the last word, and then immediately follows with a second one. The latter is set off directly under the Dromodon's tail in an attempt to get it moving.

Umeko's arc is a bit too far on the rope. Still, she cuts free at the apex and glides gracefully down through the air, body contorting. In a split-second the snare floats away from the Kiriga and she lands relatively close to Anisa and Von Horn. Grey Cloud's elder sibling, Sunlight through Storm flashes free of its sheath and the Kiriga's lips pull back from her teeth. "My turn," she rumbles rather draconicly, then charges the battle, fully intent on ending it fast … and brutal.

Robbed of her prey, the feathered huntress is soon being backed into a corner much as happened before. She proves equally skilled with the chain as she did with her spear, but the fray is quickly telling on her. Her chain whirls and spins, the hook catches both sword and skedat shell… for now.

A little popping goes on behind Xander's Dromodon. The beast goes, "Roooo!" eyes bugging a little. It doesn't exactly go tearing off, but it's evidently trying to get away from the annoying noise, and waddles in more or less the direction Xander wants it to go.

Meanwhile, a black rabbit who is currently mostly brown staggers from the treeline, skedat shell affixed to his wrist.

"Finally," the mage gasps, and chants another Pop to keep the beast heading towards the fracas. He has to get closer!

Anisa keeps up her barrage on the Korv, alternating between punches, kicks, and the occasional crack of her whip when Horne tries to back too far away. "What's your problem anyway, lady? What'd we do to you?"

"Nothing," Umeko adds to Anisa's statement, glaring at Von Horne. "But soon we will be. You had your chance to handle this peacefully and you threw it away. The only monster I see in this swamp right now is you."

"Anisa, Ummy, l-listen: don't kill her! Not unless you must," the bardess pleads as she staggers to her feet. "I know she's trying to kill me, but she's a Sylvanian hero, we can't afford to lose any more heroes, and she's only trying to protect people." Lilac holds her arm, the limb sore from being pinned, and she tries to find the hunter's gaze in all the fighting. "Aren't you, Von Horn? Stop this!"

"Lilac!" Xander calls. "Lead my Dromie closer! I have a plan to stop this without anyone dying!"

"Graverobbers calling me a monster? I'll have your monster. The curse goes no further." The Korv's laugh, though muffled behind her mask, is harsh. She finds an opening to smash one of the pouches on her hip with her fist. An acrid, biting, stinging smell fills the air and claws the eyes and nose.

"Graverobbers?" Umeko manages out, "We have stolen nothing and intend to steal nothing. We are here to stop someone from getting a hold of the Rookery's power." And then the Kiriga launches her assault again.

"Then it w-was a grave? But, it's more than a grave – and what do you know of my curse, Von Hor- … ," the bardess's ears suddenly shoot up, then she immediately covers her nose, her ears flattening moments later! "Oh! The pepper again, agh, not tha- … agh, s-sorry Xa- … gah." She begins to cough all over again, turning to rush for the pond edge.

Finally close enough now, though still bound, Xander begins chanting another Pop cantrip while focusing on the Korv's goggles. Specifically, on the inside of the goggles. He lets off the first Pop, aiming for right goggle, and then lets off the held Pop at the left one. If this works, you should get two black eyes at the very least! he thinks.

At least one of the cantrips hits the mark! The tiny, otherwise innocuous little explosion goes off in the confined space of the Korv's right goggle, filling it with smoke and stinging the eye itself.

The Korv's head jerks, one of the lenses of her goggles going black(er), a silver crack crossing it.

The fight has become clumsy for everyone involved, Korv, Lapi, and Kiriga alike. Eyes are stinging and tearing up, blows are sodden and slow, when they aren't going completely wild, muddy water churned into brown and white froth. It's a chance opening when Von Horne hurls her hook at Anisa and misses, the chain snaking out and instead wrapping partly around a tree trunk. The hook digs into bark, and its owner yanks hard, suddenly hauling herself past the Lapi and into the air. Talons skim the surface of the pond, and the Korv smashes into the side of the trunk, but apparently not hard enough to stun her… she kicks her feet off and dislodges the hook, a beat of soggy wings throwing muddy droplets off and lifting her onto a branch.

Resisting the urge to curse, Umeko instead looks to Anisa. "You are a better jumper and faster than I, can you catch her?" she asks quickly. "I am tired of dealing with her."

Xander screws his eyes shut to try and avoid the sting of the pepper cloud. "That was just a warning shot!" he threatens.

Spinning around to watch her opponent sail by, Anisa is now breathing heavily, starting to tire – although her look of anger is just as strong as ever. "What the- get back here you little bi-" The doe stops mid-sentence, and her ears quickly swivel in the opposite direction. "I don't think we'll have the time, Kin – someone else is coming!"

"Is there time for someone to untie me from this saddle at least?" Xander pleads.

Lilac has found her way to the pond edge, falling to her knees in a frenzied effort to clear the pepper from her face before it can take full effect – ironic, in a way, for a woman who loves food so much. "D-don't kill her, Ummy! I'll help just as soon as I-I-" the bardess emits a head-jerking sneeze, then falls backwards from the recoil on to her butt. A splash later, and her ears are flat. She blinks, dazedly.

Umeko's delicate features grow dark with anger. She points her sword after the escaping Korv as she calls out, "If you show your face anywhere near us again, I will remove it, along with your head." Her longsword twirls, then sinks into its scabbard at her side as she slogs slowly towards Xander. "Time to depart."

Gibson staggers out of the bushes, covered in mud and clutching his shoulder, grimacing. His ears are pricked up and swiveling around, listening. "What IS that?"

"And try not to be too angry," the brown Lapi suggests. "She told me that she saw Vandringar go with the Murder already, but I couldn't get any more details before… uh… you got back."

Anisa bites her bottom lip, seemingly hesitant to let Horne get away, but also jittery at the new sounds. "Its some kind of… howling? Like a drunk Jupani?" Running over to Lilac, she helps the woman to her feet. "I think we need to get out of here."

"Ow," Lilac whines, holding her head. "I think I'm hearing things, my ears are ringing and, … Oh." She pulls herself up, rubbing her left arm and suddenly looking around. "Um, Ummy?" Her ears perk, then slowly rotate, her gaze turning to Anisa slowly when she says, "They're coming. The Murder is coming."

"Lilac, stuff something in your ears," Xander suggests. "Who knows what their howling will do to you!"

"Then next time I'll leave you tied up and not bother to protect anyone, Xander," Umeko snaps at the brown Lapi, then clambers up on the beast to lead it out of there. She notably doesn't untie him. "You are all insane wishing to spare an enemy who has no qualms about behaving dishonorably and killing friends."

Anisa makes a short sprint over to her Dromodon, waving Lilac and Gibson to hurry. "If we don't get a move on, it'll be moot in a few minutes."

"And you know that a warrior should not let anger drive her," Xander replies. "Attacking her was foolish, but that's not important now! Listen: Vandringar just surrendered to the Murder and they took him off. He's already ahead of us! So do we go with the Murder or not?"

Anisa looks at Xander oddly. "How did you know he just surrendered?"

"Besides scare me? You know, it's a lot more frightening to hear that sound coming from not me!" She begins looking around more rapidly, ears shifting like dishes trying to find a signal. "If they're as fast as me, if they can fly like, we, um … Hey, wait!" The bardess hurries after Anisa, scrambling up to her side and insisting, "I don't think we can outrun them! And where did the hunter go? I lost sight of her when I was washing my eyes."

"Von Horne saw it!" Xander explains.

"We do not. They will just feed us to the orb to continue to protect the Rookery," Umeko comments and digs her heels into the Dromodon to get it moving.

The black (and brown) Lapi hurries over to his Dromodon and hefts himself onto it, but not without some effort. His face looks pinched and his ears pale for a moment. "Mmmf… " he says through gritted teeth, but he regains his focus, and glances up at the treetops warily. "Vandringar went with them? Well, whatever the case is, they're coming fast… we need to make a decision quickly!"

Anisa looks at her brother with visible worry, his injuries concerning her. "Can we even outrun them on these Dromodon?" Even without an answer, the doe wheels her mount around. "Maybe they'll take us right where we need to be, if they didn't outright kill Vandringar."

"Lilac will have to talk to them," Xander notes. "If they think they've got their sacrifice, they may just be out on a hunt – or because Vandringar told them about us."

Gibson shakes his head when he sees Anisa's glance at him. "It's not serious, the snare just wrenched my shoulder. I don't think the Dromies can outrun them… maybe we could hide, but hide or greet them, we gotta make up our minds now."

As Umeko tries to guide the Dromodon off, she uses gray cloud to cut Xander's bindings. Unfortunately for the buck, he gets a very up close look at the gleaming, and sharp, edge of that sword.

"I really don't think we can outrun them on Dromodons in a swamp," Lilac insists, turn around in place as her ears try and follow the sound and her eyes search for the hunter, fearing a sudden knife in the back at any moment. "M-maybe they'll be willing to t-talk? I'm not sure, I don't think they, or I, or, um, well … ," she stammers. A pause to inhale deeply, the bardess breathes, "Go hide, I'll … I'll stay and meet t-them. You too, Von Horne!"

The mysterious Korv's presence has been reduced to a few wet black feathers fluttering down. Even with her expertise against the Murder, the huntress seems to have no inclination to test herself against their number in her weakened state. She has fled without so much as a parting remark.

"We'll move the Dromodon out, and you stay back, Lilac." Anisa fidgets, following Kin's lead. "Maybe if we get just out of sight, we can get them to take you back with them and follow behind – but at the first sign of trouble, let us know." The doe spurs her mount on.

"Why are you mad at me?" Xander asks Umeko.

Gibson nods agreement, worried as it may be. "Be careful, Lilac," he says, coaxing his Dromodon along with his knees. The sounds have become audible to Kin now too… long, mournful calls echoing through the swamp and answered again.

"A woman attempts to hang me and kill my friend … and you defend her, claiming I attacked her?," Umeko comments quiet and cold, "And you have to ask me that?"

"The first sign of trouble," Lilac asks incredulously, ears shooting straight up. "I think we're way past the first sign, Anisa! Now, now, you better go, I d-don't know what they'll do or, or what I'll do. I don't know what they think of me, but, just … Just go!" She straightens herself, trying to brush the mud off her body, and turns to face one of the sources of the howling. "I'm going to call them to me, once y-you all get going."

Umeko continues trying to cut Xander's bindings. As annoyed as she is right now, she's still at least careful to not cut him in the process.

Xander sighs. "You attacked without taking any precautions against the tactics you knew you were going to face," the Lapi points out. "You were acting exactly as Von Horne expected you to, at a disadvantage, instead of thinking things through. Is it any wonder I'm the only one that's managed to actually hurt her?" The Lapi tries to reposition himself in the saddle once the cords fall free.

Anisa kicks her oversized feet into the Dromodon – this time even digging in with her toe claws. She keeps her ears swiveled backwards and aimed on Lilac, even as her gaze is set forward.

"Hrooo!" The Dromodon shakes itself out a little, but obediently begins humping along as quickly as its ungainly gait and the swamp will allow, carrying both Lapi up onto a steadier (if still mushy) piece of swampland.

"Given she was about to kill Lilac, I did not have time to plan out an elaborate defense, Xander. I would have liked more time to develop a strategy, but sometimes such things are not possible," Umeko points out as she sheathes Grey Cloud. "And if you believe you're the only one capable of planning and dealing with them, then why don't you get off now, stand with Lilac, and solve the problem?"

Gibson frowns a little, looking at Umeko since he has the luxury of not having to steer his mount. "C'mon now, Umeko. I've never seen you like this."

The bardess glances back at her departing friends, the worry and fear wilting her ears and darkening an already wet and uncomfortable expression. She starts walking now, seemingly aimlessly, until she pauses and kneels down and begins fishing around.

"Could you two can the arguing for a bit," Anisa says, looking clearly agitated – although more spooked than anything else, a rare sight on the tomboy rabbit. The sounds of the baying have seemed to dredge up some buried, primeval fear inside her, and its plain as day that she just wants to get distance between her troop and their new pursuers.

Something hard and half-buried in silt sticks up from underwater, and Lilac bumps her knuckles against it.

Xander's ears go down, and he remains quiet.

Tall reeds and bushes soon swallow up even the hefty dray beasts, carrying Lapi and Kiriga into the twisted trees of the Sylvanian marshes.

Moments later, Lilac pulls a now sodden hunter spear from the murk. She gives it a distasteful look, holding it at arms length, then jams it butt-down into the mud so the metal glistens dully in the faint light. "I hope they appreciate this," she whispers to herself, head shaking. Then, she drops to her haunches, and begins to change …

Even as the baying becomes louder, a hush seems to fall over the rest of the swamp… first Creensong silences, then the croak of amphibians. Finally, even the buzz and chirp of insect life stills, leaving only the quiet lap of brackish water through the roots and rushes.

Anisa scampers around her brother so that she's further on the Dromodon's back, her ears perked in Lilac's direction for anything.

Kin, for her part, just closes her eyes and breathes slowly, waiting in the tall reeds on the Dromodon.

The change that overcomes the bardess is familiar to the observers, if perhaps all the more ominous now that an unknowable number of others like her now close in fast. She takes a moment to shake off the water that clings to her, a seemingly pointless effort in the middle of a swamp, but maybe she's just trying to work herself up to her task. A moment of silently looking around with that eerie, glowing-eyed gaze, and then she inhales deeply. The sound of Lilac's mournful howl pierces the silence, ringing in the ears of the Lapi and carrying without echo.

There's a pause, and then long, throaty calls answer. They're soon joined with the beat of wings, and the swish of leaves being pushed aside. Then from the shadows shines a pair of eyes, bright and bestial, as if Lilac were seeing her own eyes reflected in the water. A shadowy shape emerges, prowling out along a branch, and more pairs of eyes dot the murk beyond the treeline, blinking and glancing around along the perimeter of the clearing. Lilac is surrounded.

Behind Umeko, Xander raises his ears try to hear what he can. He's pretty sure the Murder can be rational while transformed, like Lilac, so maybe they can speak as well.

Lilac's ears flatten to her head, and her tail hides between her legs, the only part of her that can manage an escape – if however temporary. She doesn't need the glance she casts around to know she's surrounded; it's what she'd have done, after all. N-now I know how all those other p-people felt, she thinks, noting the eyes set against her. Well, h-here we go. I hope they're as friendly as you are, ghostly Korv who haunts my dreams. She eases back on to her hind legs, returning to her human form. As she rises, she looks up to meet the gaze of who she assumes is the leader. "I'm back," she tells it.

The one furthest out on the branch shudders and changes as well, the black shape shrinking into another, feathery one… a Korv with a very surprised expression. "You… what… ?" he croaks, uncertainly. Another of the strange beasts shakes, and melts into Korvid form. "What are we waiting for?! That's not a sister! Take her and let's go! The huntress lingers here somewhere, I can smell her vile tricks still!" A third shakes and changes, and when he speaks, his voice is vaguely familiar. "Can't you see?! Didn't you hear her? Back! She's the outsider!" There's a rumble that passes through all the assembled, beast and Korv alike.

"There were others here. Where are they?" demands the first.

"They know there were others with Lilac," Xander whispers to Umeko, in case she can't hear what's happening.

Umeko's answer to that is to slowly draw Sunlight through Storm free from its scabbard and hold it lightly in her right hand. Her eyes remain closed and the rest of her silent.

Anisa frowns at the conversation, grabbing her bow and quiver from the saddlebags just in case.

"They left," Lilac answers, trying to sound as neutral as possible, though unable to hide the undertone the fear in her voice. "The huntress attacked us – attacked me. Here's her spear." The human gestures at the spear unnecessarily, then turns to blink at one of the figures, eyes widening. "You, y-you're Greyswand! And, you know me too, don't you? Please, tell me!"

All the beasts shift uneasily on their perches at the sight of the spear. The first of the Murder looks shocked. "That's-… did you slay her?!" The other male in avian form looks equally shocked, but for another reason. "Nay! But… no, I do. From… how is it you know my name?" The first snaps his beak loudly. "No time for that! Did you slay the Huntress or not?!" The rest of the Murder seems to be quietly conferring now, a number of them having changed form to do so, disquiet in their ranks.

"They don't seem insane," Anisa whispers to the others. "They almost seem afraid of Von Horne, from the way they talk."

"Well, she's scary," Xander whispers back.

"Should we go to them, then? Offer to help their hunter in hopes of getting into their lair?" Umeko comments quietly.

"No," Lilac answers, her head shaking slowly. "She was driven off. I don't want to kill her; she's a hero of Sylvania, isn't she? You remember fighting for Sylvania, don't you? All that time ago." Taking a step forward, Lilac spreads her hands and goes on, saying, "You know her, don't you? I saw she had crest on her belt, I can see more in her eyes and the way she fights. She has a deeper tie to all this, doesn't she? Like I do?" Turning to face the one she addressed as Greyswand, the woman answers, "I dreamed of you, maybe many of you. I know who lurks in the tower, and I know what you do. Did you kill Lady Riesling?"

"I think its too soon for that," Anisa whispers, one ear on Umeko, the other on Lilac. "Let's see how this plays out – none of them seem to recognize Lilac."

Xander whispers, "I agree: give Lilac more time."

"As you like," Umeko says quietly.

At the name, all the Midnight Murder go quiet, some of them with their beaks hanging open. Greyswand answers, "Why do you make this accusation, stranger?"

"Who is Lady Riesling?" Xander whispers to the others.

"A Korv from the past; one of them. Lilac had a dream of being her. I was in that dream with her, and there I died," Umeko explains briefly. "It is how we know about what the orb does."

"Ah," Xander replies. "I know Lilac has a lot of personal stuff to ask them about, but I hope she doesn't forget about Vandringar," he whispers. "They can't let him near the orb, or try to sacrifice him to it. I'm sure that's what he wants them to try."

"Bloody throat, kind Lady Riesling, beloved of the Raveness," Lilac recites, taking another step forward. Her head tilts to the side, reminiscent of her bestial form when she's confused, or considering. "That's the name you called me in my dreams, Sir Greyswand. I think the bloody-throated woman and Lady Riesling are one in the same. I think either you, or I, killed her in the tower – killed her when she wouldn't let the sacrifice die. You know, don't you, Sir Greyswand?"

The Korv's back stiffens, and his crest and neck bristle out, but his tone is even. "We none of us know what became of Dame Riesling, of my friend," he says. "And I have never addressed you, either as Dame Riesling or otherwise. Who are you? How do you come to bear our curse?" The first Korv snaps his beak again. "Enough! It matters not. She must come with us. Let our lady of the castle decide her claims, be she friend or foe. I will ask you again, stranger. Where are the others that were here? Whose scent lingers?"

"They can still smell us," Anisa says, her fur bristling as she notches an arrow. "Get ready to fight if we have to."

"Okay… it would be bad if Lilac tries to lie to them and gets caught out," Xander whispers. "Do we announce ourselves so she doesn't have to?"

"Decision time. We surrender, or we fight," Umeko says quietly. "We will likely not survive the odds should they transform. And we cannot afford to let Vandringar get to the orb." So, Umeko makes her decision. She dismounts and starts walking slowly back through the swamp. "She stood with me, I will stand with her," she tells the others. "Perhaps I will be lucky and get a chance to strike down Vandringar."

"Maybe they can't tell different Lapi scents apart?" Xander whispers, and then hops down to follow Umeko, leading the Dromodon by its reigns.

Lilac closes her eyes, taking a breath, then answers, "My friends, they helped protect me from the Huntress. And I smell a scent on you, one Lord Vandringer. He is a wicked man, more dangerous than the Huntress! But, you're right. We need to go – to the castle, to the Raveness." She lifts a hand and gestures back to her friends, waving them forward. "We'll go with you. And Sir Greyswand," she glances at the man, "ghosts never rest quietly in Sylvania, don't you know?"

Anisa bites her lip… then dismounts as well, following the Kiriga. "Should someone stay behind? They may not let us keep our gear."

Gibson slides out of the saddle, rubbing his shoulder gingerly when he lands with a squish of mud and follows along. "I'm not sure they'll give us the option."

Xander rubs the lump on the back of his head where Von Horne hit him. "I'd rather not stay behind again," he tells Anisa.

"My only suggestion is that perhaps Gibson should remain behind and seek ally with Von Horne, should we require a rescue," Umeko suggests. "I cannot see the future, I cannot predict what will happen from here on out, other than what they may send us to."

The black Lapi looks pensive. "I don't want to leave you guys, but… well, what should it be? They might not be able to tell me, 'Nisa, and Xander apart… do I hide?"

Anisa stops, then turns and gives her bow and quiver to her brother. "Yes. We need someone on the outside in case anything goes haywire." She hugs the big buck. "And be careful."

"I'd hide, yes," Xander notes, and hands over the reins of the Dromodon to the big buck.

Umeko pauses in her walk, turning to face Gibson. "May fates walk with you. If we do not meet again, it was an honor to travel with you for a time," she says. The Kiriga then blinks and comments to Xander, "Gibson was offering to stay. Are you now planning to as well?"

Gibson hugs his sister fiercely, squeezing hard, his voice a tight whisper. "You too, sis. Come back out of there. Please." He quickly takes the reins, as if trying to hurry himself before he changes his mind.

Umeko pauses in her walk, turning to face Gibson. "May fates walk with you. If we do not meet again, it was an honor to travel with you for a time," she says to him.

The black buck gives Umeko a grave nod, and rests his hand on the Kiriga's shoulder. "I know sis won't like me saying this, but I don't really care right now. Take care of her. All of you have to come back out of that place."

At that, Umeko nods once. "What must be done, will be done," she offers as her promise, then resumes her walk towards the pool.

Anisa's ears flush red, but she turns back towards the clearing without another word.

The Midnight Murder is silent as Lilac gestures, except for Greyswand, who answers, "My conscience may not be clear, but my memory of Dame Riesling is pure. Your friends' lives were forfeit when they entered this swamp, but if they are peaceable, they will be our guests until their time comes. We will explain more within Castle Pieksvaldt."

Several of their member wing down from the trees, carrying ropes attached to what looks like a large net, which they dip down to the marshy 'floor' of the swamp.

As she waits, watching back for her friends to come, the bardess answers Greyswand's question – albeit belatedly and distractedly. "My name is Lilac, the Flower of Sylvania. At least, that's my bard name. My real name is Lisandra Dragomir. You are Sir Greyswand, of the Midnight Murder." A pause as the man speaks, and she adds as she turns back to meet his gaze, her expression stony, "Oh, I know what you do, Sir Greyswand – but my question has become why."

"And I am Umeko Tsuguri, Daughter of Lord Tsuguri of Jadai. Former Governess of Viper's Hold and member of the Emperor's army," Umeko announces as she enters the clearing, golden head held high. "Defeater of Beshret the Razor, and ally and friend of Lisandra Dragomir."

Anisa steps into the clearing soon after the Kiriga, arms crossed and face scowling. "And I'm Anisa Snowshoe. That's all I'm gonna tell you."

"Uhm, I'm Xander Lightfoot," Xander says after the others. "Uh, I singed Von Horne's feathers."

Lilac ears perk when Umeko arrives, her head turning back. "Hey, I helped defeat Beshret! And-" she glances back at the figures lurking around her, and stops abruptly, " … and this isn't the time for that, is it, Ummy? Meet the Midnight Murder – you already know Sir Greyswand." She offers each of her friends a strained smile as they arrive in turn.

Xander gives Lilac a reassuring smile and a thumbs-up.

"A pleasure to meet you outside of a dream, Sir Greyswand," Umeko offers the Korv, smiling rows of sharp teeth. "This is the second time I get to be your sacrifice, I see."

Greyswand gives Umeko a confused look, but the first Korv, the leader, responds. His face and voice are grave when he speaks, nodding curtly and offering an avian sort of bow. "Well met, Lady Tsuguri, kinswoman Dragomir, masters Snowshoe and Lightfoot. I am Sir Muninov. Please step into the netting. We will transport you to our stronghold."

"I've never been in a net before," Xander whispers to Anisa. "So… if we get pushed together, please don't smack me… "

Umeko's answer to that is to step into the netting. There she simply crosses her arms together and waits.

"Netting?" Anisa says, eying the apparatus warily. "Can't we just walk there?"

"Don't worry, Ummy," Lilac assures her friend even as she holds her hands up in a calming gesture, "I won't let it happen this time either – so don't try anything crazy again. It'll be okay." She nods when Sir Muninov speaks, then asks him, "Do I need to step in the net, too? I know "no one leaves the Rookery" and all – I've heard that before – but I'd rather fly."

Muninov eyes Lilac appraisingly. "Fly with us then, if you be one of us. We will know soon enough."

Frowning, the white doe steps into the netting, visibly apprehensive about the whole concept.

"We will," Lilac agrees, trying to sound brave about the matter. Then, in a lower voice, she asks the man, "What are we, anyway?"

Xander scoots in between the two women, and hopes the ride will at least be smooth.

Muninov beats his wings, lifting himself into air and directing his cohorts to fly also. "We are the servants of our lady. And her jailers," he says. "We are the Midnight Murder." With that, a ripple passes through his body, his beak becoming a maw of jagged teeth and his body elongating, covered in thick black fur. The rest of the Murder pull the ropes taut, and the grid of netting breaks the surface of the marsh, carrying its passengers up and through the swamp's canopy. Clawlike branches grasp at them for a few moments before the Lapi and Kiriga are lifted free and carried into thick fog, still dripping.

"Jailers?" Lilac's surprise is as obvious in her voice as it is in the sudden perking of her ears. She hasn't time to inquire more, as the man is soon off. She spreads her own wings and flies off after him, trying to keep pace.

"Upon a sea of mist we ride, as if walking across the very threshold to the land of the dead. Does nothingness truly await? And in the end, does it matter? What must be done, will be done," the Kiriga mutters in imperial to herself.

"Was that a prayer or a poem?" Xander has to ask.

"Does it matter?" Umeko answers in standard.

Xander blinks, and figures the Kiriga is still peeved at him. "Err, how are you holding up, Anisa?" he asks the doe.

"Well, let's see, I'm weaponless, sitting inside a giant snare, being flown over a swamp by a bunch of murderous thugs to a castle where some evil force waits to suck out my soul – how in Dagh's name do you think I'm holding up?!" The doe practically growls at the buck.

It's a quiet flight… none of the baying from earlier, though occasionally a throaty bark carries on the wind. The Murder moves silent and sure even in the thick mists. A spat of cold water hits Anisa on the cheek. Another one glances off Umeko's shoulder, and one lands in Xander's ear. They're followed by more, but as the rain intensifies, a number of the Murder take formation over the netting. If they don't manage to deflect all the rain, at least they manage to keep some of it off. The more the clouds give way, the heavier the rain becomes, until below they can see dots of orange light against the dark of the ground… and ahead in the twilight, the silhouette of a sheer cliff with a cluster of spires nestled at its edge, which steadily grows as the Murder approaches.

Xander finds himself wishing Lilac were in the net now. It just hasn't been his day, even if he still feels pretty good about getting that one shot off.

"Is that … Castle Pieksvaldt?" asks Lilac as she flies, one arm shielding her eyes from the rain. She's only seen it once before, and not from this angle – at least, she doesn't remember seeing it from this angle. "W-where is it? Wait, it isn't is it? It's beyond the world as we know it … "

"If you would feel better with a weapon, you may borrow Grey Cloud when we land," Umeko offers Anisa. For her part, Umeko watches the spires approach with a stony expression. What she doesn't suggest, though she wants to, is Anisa could also just swing Xander around as a mace; his head is thick enough.

"It is," says Greyswand. Unlike the others, he has elected to fly in his Korvid form. "Only we may find it, may come and go at will, though never beyond the lands we patrol."

"I don't know jack squat about swords," Anisa says, "but thanks for the offer. I'll just have to rely on ol' lefty and righty if things get hairy."

"That's good, because we all know how useless I am in a fight," Xander mutters.

"They are already hairy," Umeko comments and thumbs towards the creatures carrying them.

"Really? Only these lands? Then, why can I leave," the bardess asks Greyswand, looking to him questioningly. "I've been all over the world it seems, I even met the Emperor. Then again, I didn't find the castle either, and I don't remember … " She blinks, then narrows her eyes suspiciously, "Hey, you called me the outsider, what does that mean?"

"You could have stayed behind," Umeko notes to Xander.

The castle looms larger as the whole flight angles down toward it, passing over the village at the foot of the cliff. It looks very solid and real indeed, high walls crenelated and towers capped with slender peaks, many of them bridged with graceful arches and flying buttresses. The group is met by more Korv from the battlements, and escorted down to the courtyard, where the net settles on flagstone and drops away. Korv liveried and armed more traditionally than the flight that brought the Kiriga and Lapi surround the landing point, and the tall arched doors of the castle creak open, spilling light down the steps.

"I was being sarcastic," Xander notes. "Or maybe I have a concussion and am just babbling. Cut me some slack."

Anisa quickly steps out of the netting, glad to be free of it. She gives the courtyard a long glance with both eyes and ears.

"Wow, it's a real castle," the mage says, a bit in awe.

Umeko stretches momentarily when the net drops away, the Kiriga now a sopping mess. She slicks her mane back out of her eyes and now looks around the courtyard and their captors. And then the next thing she does … is look upward for the tallest tower.

Lilac touches down beside Greyswand, looking around with a hint of wonder, despite the dire circumstances. "The castle's more beautiful than I remember, even more so for being real. I know it's cursed and what is to come, but it still has a Sylvanian beauty to it. I just wish the circumstances were different and, um … Never mind me," she murmurs. As if to show she's still paying attention and definitely not dazzled, she tells Greyswand, "I still want to know what you meant by 'outsider,' and how you know me!"

Far above, Umeko can see one of the thicker towers punching into the roiling clouds amidst the already foggy lesser peaks. Every so often, a flash of purplish lightning illuminates the clouds, allowing a brief glimpse of the highest spire.

"The orb is likely in that tower, along with the Raveness," Umeko comments to the others, then points skyward. "Vandringar's goal. I also wonder … hmm. It cannot be discussed here. Should we be allowed rooms nearby, you and I need to speak, Anisa."

A shadow falls across the light cast from the door, and there's a crisp clapping sound. "Come, waste no time. Bring our guests inside, we've already assembled."

Anisa looks up at the tower, then nods to Umeko. She can't help but idly clasp at the pendant hidden underneath her collar.

"It wouldn't be polite to attack the Cervani without issuing a challenge or duel or something, right?" Xander asks, eying the doorway.

"Seneschal Kantemir," Lilac breathes, eyes widening. "It's all true, isn't it? This is really real." The bardess begins walking forward, towards the light.

Umeko pats Xander's back lightly, then telling both Anisa and Xander, "Come on. Seneschal Kantemir is calling us. Let's go meet our escort to the afterlife."

"Duels are for suckers," Anisa says, following Umeko inside the gates.

"He'd better have some candy," Xander replies, and follows.

The liveried housemen usher the group up the steps. "Inside, please. It's warm and dry there. Come along."

Umeko pauses to give one of the housemen a sidelong glance through slit pupils. She lingers for a few seconds, then heads up the steps and inside.

"You're a bit nicer than I expected," Lilac remarks aside to the Korvs guarding them. "I know what you're up to, but it's good to see there's still some kindness here. I was worried it'd have faded after all this time."

Anisa paces up the steps, ears swiveling left and right in alarm. "Yeah… nice."

"Will they have icepacks?" Xanders asks Lilac. "I could really use one."

"I don't know," Lilac admits. "This is a Sylvanian castle, and we're not nearly as rich as the Emperor, but maybe. And this castle, it's beyond the normal world, so who can really say what it has?" She reaches over and pats his shoulder, then leans into whisper, "Ummy will forgive you, just give her time. She's stubborn and noble, and hates fighting dirty or losing – especially both. But for what it's worth, I think it's good she didn't kill the Huntress."

"I just hope we can arrange for Anisa to be sacrificed before Vandringar, if she really does have some sort of control over these orb artifacts," Xander whispers.

Some of the Korv glance at each other, puzzled at what Lilac says, but they do not challenge her. Past the threshold, it is indeed warmer inside. The grand hall is wide, with staircases leading up and away from it, and a tremendous vaulted ceiling. The wan light from the high windows is bolstered by chandeliers encrusted with wax, and wall-mounted sconces. Statuary and paintings, dusty as they are, decorate the hall, lending a somewhat faded grandeur. The back of the hall, between the two largest staircases, is covered in a large tapestry depicting a pair of Korv in a distinctly medieval style. Below them is a repeating pattern of Korv, almost quilting the design… except for one glaring hole with a pale figure in it.

Greyswand enters the hall behind Lilac. "I call you this because you are an outsider," he says, a robe being draped around him by a younger Korv, some of the rainwater sopped up. "But I do recognize you." He points up to indicate the tapestry.

Umeko's eyes go immediately to the pale figure in the tapestry now.

"Err… how old is that tapestry, sir?" Xander asks Greyswand.

"I'm worried that there's another Te-" Lilac's words break off as she catches sight of the tapestry pointed out by Greyswand. She can only blink at it, stunned, trying to take it all in. Her eyes dart across the painting's features, her ears going askew as she seems to try and work it out. "That's … the … I had almost forgot what The Whippet had said … But, can it be?" She begins forward, as if the pale break held her in a siren's song.

It is stylized like all the others, though the workmanship is masterful. Slender and graceful, with dark hair and a single drop of violet on the face. Sir Greyswand croaks, "It is as old as the family, gifted the Pieksvaldts long before the Necromancer Wars. It carries an old enchantment." And indeed, Xander can feel it… a lingering dweomer that's been slowly fraying the tapestry, unraveling it a thread at a time as magic often undoes things.

"Magic," Xander mutters, looking from the tapestry to Lilac and back again. "Interesting… "

"But, it can't be, can it? Before the Necromancer Wars? That wasn't, no, wait … " The bardess stops, eying the painting as if it had become strange to her, even threatening. She glances back to Greyswand and asks, "The part with me in it, that's new, isn't it? It can't be old?"

"I wonder if it ending this nightmare could be as … well, simple as destroying that tapestry," Umeko thinks quietly to herself. "Cut away the threads of fate and let everything unravel."

"It is… one of our treasures… perhaps the dearest… " comes a low voice from the top of a staircase, scratchy but soft and feminine. Despite what the housemen said about the rain, a chill comes to the room, as well as a hush. All the guards along the walls lower their heads, and the Seneschal respectfully inclines his as well, standing to one side. A cascade of soft, crushed velvet in black pours down the steps, a tall Korv woman descending slowly. Despite walking with the aid of her scepter, there is a certain regal bearing to her, her slow and slightly tremulous movements belied by a certain careful grace. A large ruff of feathers rests over her shoulders, forming a high collar around her head, and lace spills under her throat. A smile graces her beak that would look friendly under other circumstances, but seems pale comfort under the emptiness of her eyes, deep pools of black with no shine to indicate a living surface.