Madame Natasha's Wagon
Dark. Very, very dark. The Khatta seems to prefer to keep the lights low in her somber wagon. The walls are draped in black fabric with arcane silvery symbols. In the center of the wagon sits a round table that's about enough to seat three people around it. In the center of the table rests a crystal ball. A few feet behind the table hangs another sheet of dark fabric, presumably for keeping her bedding and personal items away from prying eyes.

Natasha sighs and shakes her head. "Amelia, child, your enthusiasm is admirable, but you're not thinking clearly. Whatever this thing is, is more than a mere monster. It has been able to stalk and survive for years without being detected. I rather doubt it's going to just walk up and let you kill it. Also, have you ever faced real undead before?" she asks.

Olivia, her eyes still covered by one hand, now appears to be thinking fast and furiously rather than just sitting in her chair, depressed.

"Well, not personally," Amy says. "But we don't know that it's undead. Really, we don't know anything yet, aside from Bravil hearing chimes in his dreams."

"Err, and I may have heard some too when I left the camp after seeing him," the Kadie adds.

"If you heard anything, I imagine you were supposed to hear it," Natasha points out. "And if it's who you seem to think it is, he may not be undead, but I can promise he will have them at his call. It's hard to kill things that are already dead. Normal weapons are not that great. Zombies don't feel pain. All you can do is hack them up to the point they can't move enough to be a threat, typically.

"Well, that's what I was trained to do," Amelia notes. "Besides, he could be right here in the camp, disguised as another Gypsy. He has to have easy access to Bravil's cook-pot and a way to watch him, after all. If he has zombies, then they can't be too close."

Olivia now raises her head and looks at Amy. "Well, whatever this Skreek is now – still a necromancer, half of a lich, or something else entirely – we know that we can't take it out. Neither can Natasha, on her own. But we know of others who might be able to, along with Natasha. We'd have to talk to Isolde about it, though."

"I'd rather not distract Isolde from treating Zahn until we have some better evidence," Amy says, sounding a little uncertain. "Can you set up spirit alarms or something else that will react to the presence of undead, Natasha?"

"Child, I know every member of the tribe. I would know if he was among them," Natasha says and waves her hand dismissively, then sighs. Her head swings tiredly to look at Olivia, then comments, "I rather doubt Isolde would wish to deal with the likes of me. Not after who I am gets around."

"Well, that's where Olivia comes in," Amy says, smiling. "She'll come up with a story that doesn't tie this thing to you. I'm less concerned about how the witches will react than I am about how the gypsies would react."

Natasha considers it for the moment, then shakes her head. "No alarms. The best I could manage would be a large scale spirit ward around a section of the town. No spirit would be able to pass through, unless it was very powerful," she says.

"That wouldn't stop undead though would it?" Amy asks.

"They're animate corpses, animated through spirit magic. Yes, it would," Natasha says. "Small wards are easy and take maybe ten minutes to do. Large scale could take days."

"Could you set it up around the camp without being too obvious?" the Kadie asks. "We can't assume the villain knows we suspect anything, but putting up spirit wards might give things away."

"Not without your local guardian spirit noticing," Natasha tells Amelia and sighs. "But, I could ward your injured friend, at least. That's a small area and may serve to help prevent any future attempts."

Olivia nods to the Kadie girl first. "Of course. I want Zahn to get better, too! But it is an option, should we have to use it. And Isolde herself might not have to be involved. It's her conclave that she told me about once that I'm thinking of." Then her gaze goes over to the Khatta and she smiles slightly. "Well, if we want to come up with a good, er, cover story, perhaps the best route would be to tell just a little of the truth. We could just say that this necromancer was someone you dealt with in the past, and not mention the College or your training. After all, no one else knows what you did back then. You could have just been a traveler for all those years, as far as anyone else knows."

"That would still tie the tribe's misfortunes to Natasha though, wouldn't it?" Amy asks the Skeek.
"That brings up another big question: how are the victims chosen and tracked?" Amelia asks. "Do they have anything in common? Zahn is being kept hidden right now, and I'm hesitant to do anything that could draw attention to where he might be. Drawing attention to where he isn't, on the other hand, might be useful."

"You would have to ask the person responsible. I didn't know your friend, nor he know me. It's not like people close to me have been targeted," Natasha says.

Olivia taps her chin with a forefinger. "Hmm, good point, Amy. Let me think about this for a few minutes." Then she proceeds to gaze off into the distance, her brow furrowed.

"It's also possible that if this person isn't coming into camp himself, he has an accomplice within the troupe," Amy notes. "You know everyone, Natasha. Who might be under that sort of influence?"

Natasha considers the question, then shakes her head. "Trust outside of the tribe is almost non-existent. It's not likely he would have anyone in the tribe, not willingly anyway," she says.

"And you're positive it isn't you that might be under his control?" Amelia asks. "You don't have any gaps in your memory, things like that?"

Olivia's stare finally snaps back into focus again. "Is there anything, any piece of information or suchlike, that has come up that links what's going on to a necromancer, in general? Not just to the one Natasha ran into before, but any type of necromancer?"

Natasha almost looks insulted at that question. "I may not be part of the College anymore, but my skills have not weakened. I was a student of spirit and mind. So, I'm sure it's not me," she snaps.

Natasha then turns to Olivia and says, "Your friend here claims that traces of corpseweed were found in Bravil's food. It's a herb very commonly used by necromancers as part of sacrificial rites and the like."

"That's another gnawing thing," Amy says. "How often do you have some of Bravil's stew, Natasha?"

"Not that often. He's not a very good cook, but he tries," Natasha says, then shrugs and looks sad. "And yes, I know how Bravil feels about me. He still tries to take care of me, even these long years after he found me."

"The thing is, how can the necromancer know for sure what nights you aren't sharing the stew?" the Kadie presses. "If you had some and tasted an odd minty flavor, you'd probably check into it wouldn't you?"

"Immediately," Natasha says.

Olivia's face brightens. "Then maybe that's just the detail we need to cook up a plausible story. We could say that Natasha found out about the corpseweed in Bravil's food independently of Amy. Perhaps we can mention that she thought he was acting strange that night and investigated the food, finding out it was laced with the stuff. That links us back to a necromancer and doesn't even mention the misfortunes that have been following the tribe. Then we could go from there, saying that other strange evidences have been popping up around the camp lately, like the cane-holes in the ground when no one here walks with a cane. Would that work, d'you think?"

"So, how does he figure out the timing then?" Amy asks, looking at the table. "Hmmm, I'd like to avoid mentioning Bravil at all, Olivia. I still think the best plan is to make it seem like we're asking for Natasha's help dealing with something unrelated to the tribe at all. Nobody knows about the attack on Zahn yet except for us and the witches."

Natasha rubs her chin in thought. "Depending on the necromancer's skill and training, he could simply be using a simple spirit envoy to watch over things. Or even something like binding their spirit to an object to spy. It's difficult to do, but possible," she says, brow furrowed.

"That could risk detection by you though, couldn't it?" Amelia asks the feline. "If he's as careful as you think at hiding, he shouldn't be using any spirit magic at all around you. You didn't eat last night, right? Is there anything common about the times you lose your appetite?"

"Usually when I will be having a bad dream," Natasha says and sighs. "It's a sense of unease." Her head then snaps up, eyes wide, "No… " The Khatta leaps to her feet and rips open a chest, then starts digging through it.

Amy blinks at the sudden burst of activity, and looks to Olivia.

Olivia looks a bit put out that her second theory now won't do, but she sighs and offers next, "All right… then what about us spreading the word that one of our meals was laced with the corpseweed? One of us started acting oddly, you traced what was happening back to the food and came here to find out what the herb was? Again, that links us to any necromancer and keeps Bravil out of it. However, I'm not sure that will cover the questions Djivan might have when I ask him to watch Bravil's cookpot. Why watch his when it's one of us that had the food?"

The Khatta pulls out a large tome and drops it onto the table with a loud thud. She starts going through it quickly, saying something in a tongue neither of them recognize. She looks like she's in an absolute panic.

Amy's eyes go wide as the book lands.

Olivia stops her tale-spinning for a moment and quirks an eyebrow at the Khatta.

Natasha stops on a page. She reads it, then re-reads it repeatedly. Her eyes then close and she just collapses back into her chair and puts her face into her hands. "No," is all she says.

"Ummm," Amy goes. "No to what?" she asks a bit timidly.

"Yeah, what she said," Olivia chimes in.

Natasha looks up and smiles sadly. "I know how you could quickly kill him," she says quietly. She takes in a breath, then says, "You kill me. I … I … "

Amy stares blankly at the Khatta for a moment. "Come again?"

"I understand now. I understand the feelings, the dreams," the Khatta says and takes in a breath. "The bastard linked to me. It must have been crude and incomplete, but he linked to me," she hisses. "There's a spell in necromancy which allows mages to link the spirits of two people together. Dreams can sometimes be shared. Moods, feelings. If one dies, the other often does too. That's how he intended to take my power. He was trying to absorb me and botched it."

"Or was interrupted, like you remember," Amy suggests. "Is there any way you can use that link to find him though? It must work both ways."

Olivia looks horrified. "This is not good. It means that if we just try to kill the necromancer, it could kill Natasha! And I'm sorry, there's been enough pain and damage here lately. I do not want anything to happen to you," she says emphatically, looking at the Khatta.

"No, the spell doesn't work that way. You get some sensations, some dreams. Even the pain the other feels. But, nothing that specific," Natasha says. She then looks at Olivia and smiles sadly, saying, "You won't have the choice. If you want to stop him, you'll have to take that risk. I don't know of any way I could break the link, or if I even could because I'm part of it. Besides, it would take a powerful spirit mage to undo it, if it could be undone. And there aren't any of those around."

"What about a powerful spirit though?" Amelia asks. "Could that break this link, or… link you to someone else instead?"

"I … don't know," Natasha admits.

Olivia turns her head to Amelia now. "What are you thinking? What powerful spirit, specifically?" she asks.

Amelia sits quietly for a bit, and then looks at Olivia. "The not-dead-but-still-possessed boy, Axel… did he show you any magic powers while he was staying with you, Olivia?" the Kadie asks.

Olivia gapes at the Kadie girl. "You… you can't be serious," she breathes. "Bring Axel into this? The crazy bird-man who set himself… " Her eyes widen suddenly. "Who set himself on fire and didn't get burned!"

"Also… could you perform this spirit-linking thing yourself, Natasha?" Amy asks.

"One of my books covers the ritual. I've never performed it, though, as it goes into the realms of necromancy… It requires the people to be cooperative, or at least subdued. Plus, it requires some sort of physical transfer as well. Blood is usually used. Why?" Natasha asks.

"Well, if killing one of the people linked causes the death of the other, then what happens if that other person has a second link in place?" Amelia asks. "Would it act like a lifeline, keeping them from dying too?"

"I have no idea, I'm afraid," Natasha says. She then looks to Olivia and asks, "And what's this about someone setting himself on fire?"

Olivia tries her best to explain Axel. "This is the human with wings that came into your camp one night. You know, the night Isolde came swooping in and put him into my care for three days? When I was looking after him, I had some candles lit in my room and he burned himself on one of them. However, there was no mark on his skin after I put the fire out!"

"And there was that thing he did with Parsley, too," Amy says. "I'll have to ask her about that in detail, I see."

"Ah, yes, the possessed one. I did a minor aura read on him earlier, but didn't push it too far," Natasha notes, then raises her eyebrows. "His spirit and another are strongly intertwined and in turmoil."

Olivia sighs. "Yeah, after talking to Axel I got that idea, too, but I don't know who he is intertwined with. But, er, would that mean he can't have a link to Natasha, too, if he has a link with something else already?"

"Sounds like he – they – at least know about binding spirits together," Amelia says, and then taps the open book before Natasha. "And, if you were tied into another spirit first, it might be safer to try and break the link between you and the necromancer."

"Oh, I wouldn't suggest binding Natasha to Axel," the Kadie tells Olivia. "There's really only one sensible choice for it, and that's Bravil."

"I'm not exactly wishing to be bound to anyone," Natasha says and sighs. The Khatta rubs her eyelids lightly with her fingers. "Expecially not Bravil. He'd do it willingly, but … that would be using him."

"No, it would be letting him help you," Amelia says. "If you die, what do you think will happen to him? You're the only link he has to anyone at all, it sounded like. Without you, he'd just… wither."

Olivia stares at Amy, then shakes her head vigorously, as if clearing it. "The love connections here are beginning to give me a headache," she comments dryly.

"He'd survive. He did before he knew me," Natasha says quietly. "He wouldn't understand the implications of what would happen. He would just do it because it was me."

"Sometimes, just surviving isn't enough, Natasha," Amelia says. "I couldn't believe the children didn't even come and play with him. Without you, I don't know that any of the others would really look out for him."

"They would. The tribe always looks out for each other," Natasha says quietly, resting her face in her hands for a moment. "I just … I couldn't use someone like that. I'm sorry. I can't hurt him like that. He's been hurt enough. His size is the result of an incident near a forbidden zone."

"Why do you think it would be hurting him?" Amy asks.

"Intertwining the spirits of two people isn't like casting a wisp for light, child. It's dangerous," Natasha says and looks at the Kadie. "I thought you had some witches training?"

"Not the magical stuff," Amy says. "But… I can't in good conscience go after this necromancer knowing that you could die as a result. I'm not going stop the killer by killing the victim."

Olivia draws circles on the tabletop with one of her fingertips. "Well," she says quietly, "if it is possible for Axel to bind and then break spirit connections between people, and Natasha isn't willing to connect to Bravil… she could connect to me. If Axel can do what you suppose, Amy, then he could break my connection to Natasha after he successfully breaks the link between her and the necromancer. So it would be only temporary… and if it would be permanent, well, that's better than dead."

Amelia blinks at the Skeek. "That sounds even more dangerous than linking to Bravil," she says.

Olivia merely shrugs. "And a powerful necromancer out there with his zombie army isn't?"

Natasha sighs. "This is my problem, not yours," she says weakly. "I don't want to make things worse by dragging someone else into it through a linking ritual. If it came down to it, Bravil would be the better choice, anyway. He's physically stronger and might survive the killing of the necromancer, which might keep me alive. But that's all speculation. I've never heard of a three-way link."

"We don't know he has a zombie army," Amy points out. "Dragging an army around sort of defeats the whole not-being-noticed thing. If his spirit is linked to Natasha, then he probably survived the fall from the cliff, and is still in his original body. Plus, Natasha said there weren't always attacks in the towns along their route. This guy has a weakness, or else he wouldn't be having to use Bravil and hide in the shadows."

Olivia nods at what Natasha says, still looking at the table. "Well then, let us hope that Axel can merely break your link with the necromancer and not have to resort to a three-way link of any kind. However, if you don't wish to link to Bravil, my offer still stands."

"No option is very good. All have risks," Natasha says with a sigh. "Too many unknowns."

Olivia now thinks over what Amy has said. "I suppose that's something we have to be on the lookout for, too – any signs of this necromancer's minions. I appreciate your point about not dragging an army around, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have some out there to help him."

Amelia drums her claws on the table again while she thinks. "We have the home ground advantage here. We need to draw the necromancer out so he can't rely on his secrecy." She looks up at Natasha, and says, "You haven't been feeling well, Natasha. All this travel has been wearing you out, and you're thinking of leaving the troupe to settle down. So you're going to move in with the witches to see if they can help you. Bravil will come along too, to make sure they don't try to do anything to hurt you… "

Natasha's eyebrows go up. "Leave the tribe? I'm not sure that would be very believable… " she says.

"Well, just to recuperate then, perhaps," Amelia says. "The necromancer is obviously able to come and go without being noticed here, if he's drugging Bravil's pot right under everyone's noses. He has the advantage here, so we have to take that away."

"I don't know," Natasha says, rubbing her chin. She looks thoughtfully at Olivia. "I'm considering your suggestions. I appreciate your concern for not letting out what has gone on. Amelia is also right on home-court advantage, so moving out of the campsite for a bit is probably a good idea."

"And we don't have to mention the necromancer at all, which is even better," Amelia says. "With Natasha at the Gnarly Tree, we can check into this spirit link without drawing attention."

"But, we still need a reason to go there, recuperate why? Why not here?," Natasha points out.

Olivia stands up and begins to pace now. "Wait, wait – Amy, I know you didn't want to bring Bravil into our explanation of why these things are happening, but how about this: we say that Bravil went hunting around for herbs to use in one of his stews and just found the corpseweed growing in a small, hidden plot. Then he ate some of it and started acting oddly, or got sick, or something like that. We could then say that Natasha found what was in that stew and identified the herb, finding it strange that something only used by necromancers was growing here. Then she could go to the witches, on the excuse of pointing out the hidden plot and asking why such a thing would be here, where good magick-users supposedly lived. That might cover all our bases and certainly brings no shame on Bravil."

"Or, just say I went to go ask about a strange herb and not even mention the necromancer," Natasha says, then nods to Olivia. "Both your and Amelia's ideas hold merit. I think that is workable. Seeking out the local experts to consult on an odd herb poisoning, and we're out of the tribe and in a safer location to explore magical solutions."

"Because the spirits told you to go to the witches of course," Amy suggests, then chews on her lip at Olivia's idea. "But, nobody here knows about the corpseweed yet. And probably wouldn't know what it implied either. They probably don't even know I visited with Bravil. But saying he ate something he picked up would fit in if anyone did see me, and give Natasha an excuse to consult the local witches about it. The trick would be convincing Bravil of it."

"Also, it gives an excuse as to why we want Djivan to look out for the others' cookpots – we say that he should look out for the others putting in things they shouldn't," Olivia adds. "Then, if someone strange comes up to put something in, he might catch them, too. If we're lucky!"

"Okay, I'll go with that," Amy says. "At this moment, we don't know for sure that Bravil was used for the attacks on people – I didn't see anything that proved he'd been out of his wagon last night. So we need to keep any of our speculations about that to ourselves still."

Natasha just nods at that. "That all sounds reasonable and believable. As for if he's been out, well … there are ways to find out," she notes.

"Ways that don't involve a big conspicuous spell casting?" Amelia asks.

"Well, depends on where it was done, but trying a memory recall ritual in private and dream-walk his memories could tell us something. It's a bit hard to do, but it could tell us some things," Natasha suggests.

Olivia nods to Amy. "Agreed." Then she gets a slightly uncomfortable look on her face. "However, there is one other person besides the witches that I'd like to bring into our confidence, if you'll both allow it."

"Who?" Amy asks.
Olivia sighs but looks determined. "Gunther. We may need some of his, ah, expertise in a certain area."

"Certain area?" Amelia asks. "Well, I can agree to telling Gunther. He'll be busy with security at the dam, and until we can be sure Bravil is the attacker, we have to assume the attacker is still out there. I also would like to have Lili keep her ears open for the sound of chimes. We can say it's a missing Rughrat or something we're trying to find."

Amelia reconsiders for a moment, then says, "Forget that, tell her it's a ghost. Nobody will go investigating then… we just want to know if it's coming near the camp."

Olivia nods again. "Agreed about Lili, too, that's a good idea. She has much sharper ears than the rest of us! As to why I want to tell Gunther – we may need him to construct some weapons for us. That's where his expertise lies, remember Zahn telling us? If it turns out there are any zombie minions running around, we're going to need effective and creative ways of taking them out. I think Gunther's just the crazy, creative Kadie for the job!"

"Hmmm, it will at least keep him busy," Amy says. "We've always been able to deal with the undead before though. Do you want to tell Lili to keep a listen out for 'Kevin' then? Mention he has bone chimes hanging from his antlers."

Olivia gives Amy a lop-sided smile. "Well, until we know exactly how much of the undead we're dealing with here, it doesn't hurt to err on the side of caution. And sure, I'll give Liliana that story about Kevin. I'll talk to Djivan about the cookpots, too, before I go and see Gunther. Heh, now that's going to be an interesting visit… !"