"Well, he's stopped trying to climb the walls," says Mr. Linseed, the Skreek caretaker at the Museum safe house. He drops a fresh log into the fireplace, and prods it into place with a fire poker. Mrs. Linseed emerges from the kitchen with a tray bearing mugs of hot xocolatl, and adds, "He won't let us near him, and he doesn't talk much, not that we can understand anything he says anyway, even when it's Standard. When he talks to himself, it's in Gallesian."

"I hope he has not damaged your home," Kin says as she accepts one of the mugs. She dips her head and smiles politely in thanks. "I also hope that catching him will prove worthwhile. We caused a bit of a … mess in the Darkside, was it?"

"Well, that's a … relief," Lilac says with a bit of uncertainty. She had been helping to wrestle with the lunatic ever since they caught him days ago, spending the off hours trying to wring a coin out of tavern patrons. "I hope he didn't break anything? Lamps? Fingers?"

Anisa takes one of the mugs with a gracious smile, and follows it up with a big swig. Wiping the chocolate-colored stain off of her lip (which – having white, easily stained fur – doesn't work entirely well), she nods with the others. "If he caused you too much trouble, I can pay you back. We didn't expect that he'd be this big a looney when we went after him."

"Well … " Lilac glances off, suddenly interested in the cup of xocolatl she picks up from the tray.

"Yes. He is even worse than that trainer you have coming to your gym. Klaus, was it? He stopped by yesterday; he claimed my tail was crooked. It most certainly is not," Kin notes to Anisa. "A most rude fellow."

Mrs. Linseed shakes her head, setting the tray of mugs down on the nearby table. "Well, we'll have to re-plaster the wall, he really scratched them up. But… you'd probably better have a look for yourself. At least he's washed finally." The Skreek woman smiles at Anisa, touching her arm. "Oh, don't fret it. We're here to help Curators run to ground, we take all this in stride." The mug Lilac takes greets her with a rich smell, both bitter and sweet.

Lilac rolls her eyes back, tail wagging. "WOW this smells good, my nose works SO well some times," she remarks. "I guess we'd better have a look at the horror show, then."

Taking another sip of her drink, Anisa shrugs to the Kiriga. "Yeah, he's a pill, but he brings in the customers, so what can you do?" Looking up to the Skreek, the doe smiles. "Still, if you need any help, just let me know. We should have found Gibson and made him come here with us. He'd have a better idea on what to ask this guy."

Kin takes a drink from her mug and then eyes it oddly. She starts to say something, then seems to decide against it. So, she nods to Lilac and sarts back towards the room holding the Whippet.

Anisa gets up from her seat and follows the others. "Hmm, looks like the smell is gone… "

"Not exactly," Lilac tells Anisa, before sticking her cup under her nose.

Mr. Linseed says, "Knock on the door, but go ahead and let yourself in after you do. He never answers it, so we got resigned to it." The rodent's wife takes the emptied tray back, and adds, "Bring him his lunch, it might be something of a peace offering." She disappears into the kitchen and soon returns with the tray, this time bearing some simple slices of cooked Bromthen ham and a goblet of inexpensive wine.

Anisa takes the tray from Mrs. Linseed, but holds it at arm's length due to the smell of the ham. "Um, maybe one of you should take it. I might make me- er, him, nervous… "

Kin offers to take the tray from Anisa. "I will handle the food," she offers.

"It'll just make me hungry," Lilac admits. She steps forward and raps the back of her knuckles against the door. "Hi, Whippet! It's me, Lilac. I know you won't answer me, so we're coming in."

The doe gratefully hands the tray off to Kin, then wipes her paws off on her pants as she follows Lilac.

As the Linseeds predicted, there is no sound from the room.

"Be ready to duck, just in case he throws something … " Lilac warns as she turns the nob and heads inside. "Also, don't smile and … wag your tail if you can. Trust me, I know ALL about this." And with that, she steps inside.

"Kiriga do not wag," Kin notes, "It would unbalance us and we would tip over." The reptile then follows after Lilac as she passes into the room.

Anisa looks back at her cotton puff with a slight frown. "I don't think I'll be too useful in that department either. You'll have to do the wagging for us." She follows the other women inside, her ears perked forward in curiosity.

The room doesn't smell at all as bad as everyone might remember, thank goodness. It does seem… different. The bed has been pushed to the back corner, along with the nightstand, chairs, and washbasin, only the chamber pot (empty) remaining on the far side. There is evidence that the Whippet moves around the room, because there are scratches on the walls, bits of plaster peeled away. The Whippet himself huddles in the bed, as skinny-looking as ever. His long face is nervous, eyes wide as he stares at the women coming through the door, but at least he isn't hysterical like last time.

"Really, Kin? I didn't know that." Lilac gives Kin a curious glance, then smiles at Anisa, before shrugging a little. When she spots the Whippet, she bends over a little and wags her tail, "Hello, Whippet! We've all come to see you! I heard you're doing better!"

The gallee's gaze darts back and forth. "You. You three. Again."

"Yes, our tail is a fair amount of our weight, if we waved it about too much it would drastically shift our balance," Kin notes from behind Lilac. She then peers around and adds to Lilac's statement, "And we brought your dinner."

Anisa peers around Lilac, ears forward and nose twitching as she looks at the canine – who's a sight more healthy than last time they met. "And it smells… tasty!"

At the mention of dinner, the gallee sits up a little, his long skinny neck craning out. He doesn't say anything, though his face speaks his misgivings. "What do you want? I have to leave."

"Yeah, tasty! Mmmm," Lilac insists. She steps forward, then drops down on her haunches so she isn't towering over him. "Yes, us three again. We have questions for you. Questions about … " she peers at the man, " … The Castle of the Raveness?"

Kin steps around Lilac now and walks slowly towards him. Her narrowed eyes watch the Whippett warily as she approaches and then sets down his tray of food on the floor in front of him.

Anisa stays back behind the other three, not wanting to give Whippet a start. She also stays close to the door, just in case he tries to make a break for it.

The man shudders, drawing his covers up around his neck. "No! Don't… don't take me there. They're waiting. Murder."

"We have no desire to take you there," Kin notes as she backs away from the gallee. Her eyes never leave him.

"We just want to ask you a thing or three," Anisa adds. "You're safe here with us, we promise."

"So, you have been there … " Lilac casts a glance at her two fellows, looking a bit surprised. When she looks back to the Whippet, she's all smiles. "You don't have to go there, but we do. We think they have something that's important to us, and we need to know about the Castle."

The Whippet rolls into his side in the bed, reaching for the tray on the floor. He takes the cup of wine, and takes a long drink from it. His eyes squeeze shut, as if he were enduring some long pain, but after a moment he opens his eyes again, leaving them downcast. "Castle. Castle Pieksveldt. Cursed. Twenty of us. Just me now. Just me. Can't find me. The Murder can't. She can't."

"I doubt that someone would come from Sylvania to this island just to find you. You are safe here; it is over," Kin notes, trying to keep a pleasant tone on her voice.

Anisa cocks an ear sideways. "Twenty of you? What do you mean by that?"

"So, the Raveness is the Murder? The Murder … of ravens? Or, is it someone else?" Lilac inquires. She opens her mouth to say something, frowns, scratches at her left ear, then continues. "And, do you know anything about black, um … monsters?"

"Twenty men," mumbles the dog in responds to Anisa, a little flesh under one eye twitching. "Adjutant-chef Remaux led us. Sous-Caporal Chereis his second. Rest of us soldats. Reconnoiter territory. Wasn't to be anything there… ruins." He glances sidelong at Lilac, as if not willing to look directly at her. "Black, yes. The Midnight Murder. They serve her."

"What do the black monsters look like?" Kin asks, brow ridge furrowed a bit. Her head dips and snakes as she tries to look clearly into the Whippet's eyes.

Anisa's ears flatten as she realizes what the canine is saying. "You probably shouldn't stare at him like that, Kin," she whispers to the reptile.

"The Midnight Murder … " Lilac breathes. Hesitantly, she lifts one of her own hands and stares at it, as if trying to see something beyond. "Do they look like … black furred, glowing eyed, winged creatures, Whippet?" Lilac's tail stops wagging.

The Whippet's hand begins to tremble, the wine remaining in his cup lipping the brim. "B-black… couldn't… couldn't see them good… just black and flashing eyes… stole men away, one or two soldat at a time. Remaux tried to… to organize us, to fight. Didn't know what they were. We made to the castle to shelter, find a position, but… but they took Remaux."

Kin draws her head back up. She turns to glance at Anisa oddly, not understanding why she should not watch the Whippet. Still, she figures Anisa knows these people better than she does, so she quits trying to watch his eyes. "Did you find anything in the castle?" she asks.

Lilac works her lips, then suddenly flops back on the floor with a sigh. "Well, it's something," she whispers back to Anisa, looking up at the woman. "I feel bad for him, you know? I'm glad we could do this for him." Lilac rolls over so she can watch the Whippet easier, and asks, "Did you meet her? Their leader?"

Anisa sits down on the floor, cross-legged. "So you stormed the castle? What did this person do that led you to that?"

The gallee glances at both Kin and Lilac, and he drains the rest of his wine as if to fortify his nerve a bit. It's Anisa he answers first. "The land… Gallis land. Ordered to secure. It… the castle, we… it should have been empty. We were to shelter, but the shadows lived there. She lived there. The Raveness yet lives." He shivers again uncontrollably, and the cup drops from his hand, rattling across the floor. "We had heard the old stories… knew now that it was the Midnight Murder that… that stole men away one by one. To look upon her was to see… " He sobs, and clutches his face in his hands. "Mais delivre-nous du mal."

"Emptiness?" Kin prompts.

At this, the dog finally looks up, staring directly at Kin now through his fingers.

"Ohh, then the stories are true," Lilac breathes with a hint of awe. She sits up, ears perked.

"May I pose a theory?" Kin asks and folds her hands together, "On why the Midnight Murderers take people one by one?"

At the sobbing, Anisa stands up, a concerned look on her face as she starts towards Whippet. She catches herself, and steps back, smoothing her ears to regain her composure. Looking away from the dog, she changes her glance to Kin. "Why would that be?"

Lilac follows Anisa's movements and, when she hesitates, the human puts forward, "Do you … want a hug, Whippet?"

"Well, two theories. The first being … if she is truly empty, then she takes people in an effort to fill her emptiness. But if she is now the essence of nothingness, no matter how many she takes, she will remain empty," Kin offers. "The second being that she wishes all others to be as empty as she is and that she takes them to … strip them. I do not know if those words are quite what I want to say, but your language is not easy for me."

A shuddering rasp, and the dog hisses, "No! Don't touch me."

Lilac holds up her hands. "Okay, okay! No touchy, okay," she insists.

"Maybe she's one of those Eees… the ones that have to drink blood?" Anisa shudders a bit at this, one ear on Kin while the other stays on Whippet.

"Did she touch you?" Kin asks the man. "When you said that looking upon her … was it visual, or did you feel it?"

"No," Lilac says, turning her attention towards Anisa. "The Raveness is … well, was, … a Korv. A Korv woman. She lost her husband in a war, and according to Mr. Tinsnip, she probably used some sort of dark magic or artifact to fight back when she was alone. The problem is, well," the woman frowns, making a circle with her hands, "she was so vicious, that even her allies feared her. Vicious, and as the songs say, empty."

Anisa ears splay at this. "If it was one of the crystals she had, then I can see how… " She places a paw to her chin in thought, then turns to Whippet. "Did she have a crystal pendant? Worn around her neck maybe?"

DuBlanc lolls his tongue, panting as if he can't quite catch his breath. Like Kin, he seems to struggle to find words as well. "To look upon her was to see… the end of all things. Deep and cold, stretching away forever… they brought Remaux… to the darkest night, Starless and… and he… " He clutches his head and shakes it. "The Midnight Murder mustn't find we sinners. Saintez de Etoile, priez pour nous, pauvres pcheurs, maintenant et l'heure de notre mort… "

"He became one of them?" Kin prompts.

"He what? What did he she do to him, Whippet? What is the darkest night?" Lilac insists, leaning forward and focusing all her attention on the man. "I need to know!"

The dog shakes his head more vigorously, squeezing his eyes shut and putting his palms over them, his fingertips pressing into his fur. "Gone, gone… we fled… Sous-caporal tried to lead us away, but they find you… can't hide, always moving… can't stop or they find you… 20 men… just me now… "

Anisa just frowns, returning to her post by the door with her arms crossed and ears slightly back in frustration. "Maybe we aren't asking the right questions."

"Where any taken while they were in this city?" Kin asks, "Or did those that go missing all vanish while in Sylvania?"

The dog gives Kin a disoriented, confused look.

"Where did you see your last comrade?" Kin tries.

"Ohh, bother," Lilac sighs, once again flumping back on the floor. "Curses are such … a, a curse." The woman reaches up and covers her own face out of frustration, rubbing tiredly. After a moment of silence, she offers, "I think I've heard of the 'Midnight Murder' before, in a story."

The Whippet looks away again moodily. "The bogs… we scattered. I traveled for days. Covered in mud, eating leeches… hid ever since. Stay moving."

"Then that tells us a few things; they have not hunted in this city. This is good. It also tells us you may not be the last, if you scattered in the bogs, others too may have survived," Kin observes.

"How did you get to Rephidim," asks Anisa. "Maybe a few of your comrades came here as well." She pauses, and looks to Lilac. "What did the story say?"

DuBlanc gives another bewildered look, this time to Anisa.

"You are not in Sylvania," Kin tells the Whippett, "You are in an island in the sky."

"Well," Lilac begins, scratching at an ear, "The Midnight Murder was supposedly the inner circle of the Raveness's guard. They were her most loyal retainers, and they played a key role in the defense of Castle Pieksveldt. Of course, none of the stories seem to know exactly how,, but I think we can guess."

The dog glances back and forth between Kin and Anisa, not appearing to comprehend,

Leaning against the door frame with arms crossed, Anisa focuses her ears on Lilac. "Did the stories mention what the Murder were? Did it describe them at all? I mean, they don't sound like they were people, from what I can tell from this guy here." The rabbit motions toward the canine, her earlier sympathy seeming to run thin now.

Kin shakes her head. "He is lost. His mind remains in the swamp; he does not understand he is far from it. We will likely gain nothing more from him," she says.

"Well, they're described as Korvs. Ordinary Korvs. They were the Lord Rook's and Lady Raveness's retainers. But, then something … " Lilac gestures at Whippet, "happened to them, I think. Something connected to the Raveness." She bites her lip, then suggests, "Maybe … Maybe we should see for ourselves?"

The Lapi nods to the human woman. "That's pretty much what I'm thinking. This guy is about as useful as a sack of drunken Creens." She yawns slightly, then stretches. "Besides, if they're Korvs, then they aren't what I dealt with back in Half-Valley. Those were more like giant black bugs."

"Maybe it isn't the, um, originals that are the connection, but the common theme? Black, shadowy beings … Be they bugs, or Korvs, or … " Lilac trails off, glancing at her tail.

"If these creatures hunt at night, then we should take nocturnal creatures with us to watch if you wish to go to those lands," Kin points out. "And a strong will. If you give into fear then they will have an easier time taking you. Indeed, fear itself is a powerful weapon and it may be that this Raveness relies on it."

"Well, I'm used to Sylvania. I grew up there," Lilac points out. "AND I can see in the dark, and smell in the dark, too. So, I think I can help you with all that. Plus, I can play a tune as we travel. That helps with fear."

Anisa nods, and starts out the door. "We should start making arrangements then. I might be able to get a ship that'll take us there on short notice, but it'll most likely take a day or two."

Lilac pushes herself, then dusts off her butt and wings. "Maybe the Curators can help, and I'll have to say good-bye to Gibson. Oh," Lilac glances at Anisa, blushing faintly, "speaking of Gibson, I … um, well. Never mind, it can wait."

Kin follows Anisa out of the room. "I … well, I'm not sure what I will do," she admits. "This is your land and you know the procedures. Lilac knows the stories. I will … do something," she notes.

"You can so hack up the zombies, Kin!" Lilac insists, encouragingly.

The doe gives Lilac a quizzical look, staring at the woman for a brief pause. Then, with a twitch of her ears, she continues on. "You can relax for a while. We'll probably need to speak with Mr. Tinsnip again before we go, anyway. He'll probably want to know what we learned. Well, what little we learned, anyway."

"We have not learned much more than we already knew," Kin says with a small shrug. "But, I wonder. Hm, I will have to ask Xander about making some sort of flash powder, perhaps. If these are creatures of shadow, then surely bursts of light would be a useful weapon."

"Umm, no, maybe you shouldn't. You see, he did rather tell me to … not … find the Whippet. Something about it being … dangerous, if I remember … " Lilac tucks her tail, shrugging a little.

Anisa laughs to Kin. "You met Hotfoot? Ha! That guy's almost as much a bundle of nerves as Whippet! One time, he-" The rabbit cuts herself short, and turns to Lilac. "He told you not to find him? I thought you said Tinsnip said he could help us?"

Kin pauses and looks back at Lilac. She says nothing, but her eyes narrow and her expression grows cold. Her attention returns in short order to Anisa, at least, and she says, "Yes, I did. He is jumpy, but seems a kind fellow. He invited me to the house he is staying at to see some artifacts of his brother. He did not mention anything about being called Hotfoot, though."

"He did," Lilac protests, ears perking. "And … he said don't look for him, because the Darkside is dangerous. I was going to go alone, you know? I, well," she bites her lip and shrugs again, "I needed to know."

"I don't know if it helped you much," Anisa replies to the human. "Other than to reinforce what this crazy lady can do. Did Tinsnip mention what connection she had to the Cinders?"

"He said he supposedly saw a piece of artwork – a wall hanging. He never said anything about a connection to the Cinders – that was my guess," the human answers. She glances at the Whippet, asking, "Do you remember a wall hanging, Mr. Whippet? Black creatures? In the castle?"

"So, we chased the Whippet down without any certain knowledge on its connections with the Cinders," Kin says with slow, deliberate, enunciation. "We caused a large fight and who knows how many died from it on a guess."

The Whippet sits up. "A tapestry… of the Raveness. When Rameux was taken, we saw it… she was surrounded by the shadows. But… no… " He seems to be given pause now.

"I said I was going to go alone. I'm pretty sure I mentioned it was dangerous and I think I said he didn't want me to look," Lilac insists. "And, I mean, it's not like I helped you on a crazy plan without knowing what it was all abo-" Lilac blinks when the Whippet speaks, looking at him.

Anisa gives Kin a knowingly sympathetic glance, but pauses from leaving the room as Whippet speaks. "Go on, Slim – what did you see?"

"The tapestry is the Raveness," Kin suggests as she pauses to look back at the Whippett, "She stepped from it to take Rameux, didn't she?"

Lilac just folds her arms, tail tucked, frowning.

"We fled as dawn broke," says the gallee, his gaze distant now. "Past the tapestry. The shadows… Korv. But for one figure. Different from the rest… pale amid the black."

"What was it," Anisa asks as she steps back into the room. "It wasn't a Korv like the rest?"

"Did it look male, Whippet?" Lilac asks quietly.

DuBlanc closes his eyes. "No."

"Was it her?" Kin asks and motions a claw towards Lilac.

Lilac shakes her head. "Not the Lord, then," Lilac says. She then blinks, looking up suddenly. "Wait what- me?!"

"Pale amongst the shadows," Kin says pointedly.

The canine looks at Lilac, seeming to study her. He doesn't answer.

Anisa eyes Lilac as well. "Well, I guess you would be pale compared to a bunch of shadows."

Lilac shifts uncomfortably under the canine's gaze, folding her hands behind her back and fiddling with her tail. She looks off, avoiding the gaze of the others. "Wellll … ," she says, uncomfortably.

"When did you become the way you are now?" Kin asks Lilac. "How long go?"

"It's hazy, I told you I can't remember what happened or why it happened. But, it was about a year ago. A year ago in Sylvania, before I left the country because of … what happened. I was traveling, and … I don't know," Lilac answers.

"What year did your troop go to the castle?" Kin now asks the Gallee.

The human shrugs, helplessly. "I wish I could be more help. I want to know! But, well, it's like I told you: I blank out now and then, when I … " she glances at the Whippet and pauses, then quickly corrects, " … when I feel sick. That's how we met, remember Kinny?"

"Living art," Kin muses, "As in stories I read in Jadai, a soul who poured their heart into a work of ark. Sometimes it was a pot, sometimes a painting, sometimes a poem. So much of themselves did they put into that work that they left a part of themselves in it. If it were a labor of love, the item would bring great fortune to their descendants. If it was born of sorrow or hate … it could consume their descendants." The Kiriga just shakes her head, saying, "But those are tales, and fanciful ones at that. But in fables seeds of truth sometimes exist. Perhaps part of you is bound in that tapestry and part of that tapestry is bound in you. Perhaps it was the Raveness who weaved the tapestry . Perhaps when the Raveness calls upon her shadows is when you feel sick. It is something to consider. This is why I am trying to establish times. Lilac."

The dog shakes his head, giving Kin a haunted look. "Days, weeks, months… all run together… "

"That's a disturbing thought," Lilac says, sounding thoughtful. She works he mouth and frowns. "But, so far it's always when you or Gibson are in trouble, right?"

"What about all the times before you knew us?" Kin points out. "There may be a subconscious trigger. Such as, say, protecting your master or mistress, as the shadows protect the Raveness."

Anisa just leans against the door frame, her ears darting back and forth between Kin and Lilac as their conversation unfolds.

"Well, I think I was threatened once. I may have been drunk. They're hazy, too. It's like everything became clearer when I met you, Kinny. When you're around, it feels like my life has solidity. Before, I felt a bit like I was dreaming. Or, well, mad," answers the human woman.

That actually elicits a small, and rare, smirk, from the Kiriga. "The nature of the reptile brings structure to a life of emotion," she intones, then shakes her head. "We should leave this man to rest. We have taken enough of his time."

"Now that I know what happens, it's a little easier to remember why it happens. The last two times I remember are with you: once, when those men attacked you; and, once when the mercenary attack Gibson. The others times, maybe it was when I was in danger? Or, hungry. I was hungry a lot … " Lilac glances at the Whippet, gives him a little smile, then heads for the door. "He probably shouldn't hear this, anyway. He's had a hard enough life … "

Lilac pauses at the door, looking back. "You're so snobby, Kinny." She then grins, ears going askew. "But, you're my best friend." She reaches over and hugs Anisa. "You too, Anisa! Without you all, I don't know where I'd be."

Anisa smiles to the woman, returning her hg. Following the others out, she closes the door behind her. "I'm getting hungry myself. Let'sgo grab something to eat, and then look for a ship to Sylvania. With any luck, we can leave by the day after tomorrow. Maybe we can even get in a party or two before we go – Star knows I need to unwind a bit."