Morning is heralded by the ringing of the abbey's glass and iron bell, accompanied by the drone of morning prayer. The night was spent in simple cots, spare but comfortable enough, and a humble breakfast of porridge (both with and without meat) is offered. Warm air is piped from the mission's furnace to keep the chill at bay, devotion to the Gear shown in practical ways as well as spiritual. Abbot Werner is already at the head of a room full of scribes by the time Anisa, Lilac, Umeko, and Gibson are up and about, and he has a rough map sketched out, as well as an offer of mounts. "Should all go well, I think you will be able to reach civilization before nightfall."

Sitting cross-legged on her chair, porridge in her lap, Lilac leans forward to peer at the map. "I've never ridden on a mount before," she remarks, sounding remarkably awake. From what the scribes said, she had fallen asleep at the table while going through old books, only to fall out of her chair early in the morning and wake up with a start. She's been wide awake ever since. "But I suppose I can just fly, or run."

"These lands are far too cold," Umeko comments, a hint of lethargy in her voice, as she pulls on her cloak once more. Gone is the Kiriga's kimono, replaced by a rather drab looking tunic and loose-fitting pants. Her ornate swords look all the more out of place where they are tucked in the makeshift belt-cord. "Xander is off gathering some supplies. He did not sleep well for some reason. I suspect it was me squeezing too hard in an attempt to remain warm," she comments, then yawns.

Switching out her trunk for a simple backpack, Anisa hefts the overstuffed sack up on her back. "I hope you don't mind if I leave my stuff here until we come back. I think I brought a bit too much for the trip." Her ears blush a bit. "You may want to define 'civilization' – where are we headed again?"

Gibson answers this, his own duffel laid up against a wall, packed fairly lightly. He presses a fingertip to the map, tracing a line down. "More or less due south, then southeast once we cross into the swamp. There's a few little villages clustered around in here that eke out a living… Long Crossing, Stonebarrow, Gaston's Folly. We can stop off or not bother… Rookery would have been among them."

"Doesn't the Rookery have a keep, though? Isn't that unusual for a Sylvanian town, Gibson? Is the keep gone too?" Lilac, who's taken their time secluded in the church to let her ears, tail, and wings out, rotates her ears to focus on the big black buck.

"Will we be able to find a town each night? Everyone talks of the dangers in the wild, so I assume we do not wish to sleep exposed at night," Umeko comments as her neck cranes a bit so she can look at the map.

Grinning at Umeko, Lilac says, "Lucky for us, I know how to camp in the woods, if we need to. I also know how to spot monsters, so you can count on me to protect us while we're traveling."

Anisa's fur shivers out a bit. "Dagh, it's a good thing we'll have rides then. Hopefully, we can get to the towns much quicker."

The big black rabbit nods. "Rookery was larger than most, but it was also deeper in. What it's got now is anybody's guess." He frowns at the vague area of swamp hatched on the map, and draws his finger around it. "Getting to town'll be the least of our troubles, I figure. These locations are constant, but the mire changes too much for regular paths, so we're going to have to play getting between them by ear."

Nodding, Lilac reaches out and points to the swampy area, "I can try and guide us by air, if that'll help. I'm a lot better at guiding myself through my homeland than others – I got a lot of practice as I was trying to leave the country – but I think I can get us through."

"It is good that Lapis have large ears, then," Umeko comments, completely missing the metaphor. With a glance to Lilac, Umeko asks, "Given the thick trees we saw in coming, how can you guide from the air if you cannot see the ground?"

Gibson nods again. "Lilac'll probably have to be doing a combination of spotting from above and below. I think she'll know her way around here better than any of us."

"It'll be tricky, but I can try. If you yell, I can hear you, or you can carry torches and I'll be able to spot those. It's not odd for travelers to carry torches, even in the day – scares monsters away, or at least one hopes," the bardess answers Umeko. "Besides, I'm hoping at least some of this will feel familiar."

"Fair enough," Umeko agrees with a nod. "That leaves Anisa and myself as the primary, ah, monster fighters, should we encounter problems."

Lilac nods to that. "I'm not sure how helpful I can be against the monsters, because of, well, you know. If any of the locals try and help you, I could end up with a crossbow bolt in my butt, or worse."

Affixing her skedat whip to her wrist, Anisa sets her ears back. "I'd rather not fight em at all. Hopefully we just slip past."

"Then I suppose if we encounter Vandringar, we will slip past him as well? After all, if you do not wish to fight monsters… " the Kiriga teases Anisa.

"That monster, I'm more than ready to fight," Anisa says, clicking her weapon as if to illustrate the point.

"That does remind me," Umeko says as she peers at Anisa's weapon. The Kiriga reaches into her pouch and pulls out a small cork stoppered glass bottle and slides it across the table to Anisa. Inside is a clear liquid. "That may be useful on your barbs."

"I'll try and stay back, if I can. You know I can't avoid changing if my friends are really in danger, so I'm going to have to be extra careful here. Sylvanians know more about shape-shifters than any country I've been to, and they won't just think I'm an Exile or a odd pet," Lilac explains. "I'll do my best to restrain myself, but, well … I can't honestly promise anything."

Gibson folds the map up, and gives the Abbot a small bow of thanks, which Werner returns with the sign of the Gear. The buck turns to the others, and says, "Well, let's meet up with Xander and get started. The earlier we set out, the more daylight we have."

Anisa blinks at the bottle, and takes a hold of it. She peers at the liquid, then starts to uncork its container. "What is it?"

Standing as well, Lilac also bows to the monk. "Thanks for letting me stay here, and talking to me. I feel a lot better now," she tells him.

"Ah, you're all in here!" Xander says as he enters the hall. "I stopped by the Mage's Guild here and got a list of the places where Mages have been hired to go help with swamp-clearing," he notes, handing the list to Gibson. "You know, in case we wanted to avoid them."

Umeko reaches up. She draws her lips back in a toothy smile and taps one of her fangs. "Might as well make some use of what he tried to do me to better our odds," she offers by way of explanation.

"Peace through order, the Gear go with you, my daughter," says the Abbot.

Anisa freezes, and recorks the bottle. "Um, maybe I'll add it on later… you know, when we need it." She opens up her pack, and stuff the liquid inside. She then turns and bows to the Abbot as well. "Sorry I fell asleep on your stool. It was a, er, long trip… "

Gibson takes the list, and skims it. "Let's see… that rules out Gaston's Folly. The rest of these are, I think, further south than Rookery."

"Peace to you, Father," Lilac replies with a smile. She gives the man a little wave, then tugs on Gibson's arm. "We can go over that as we travel. Like you said, the faster we go, the faster we get there," she tells him.

"Can't drain a swamp from the center of it," Xander notes.

The Skreek gives Anisa an indulgent smile, and shakes his head. "You wouldn't be the first, and since you're not a scribe you're in no danger of a switching."

Now standing and stretching a bit, she says, "And I agree with you, Gibson, the sooner we leave, the further we will get today. We should also make notes of ruins we pass, should we find ourselves nearing nightfall and needing a place to stay." Her head then bobs to the abbot as she says, "Thank you as well for the food and a bed. With the blessings of the ancestors, perhaps we will recover the orb quietly and without even the Cinder's noticing."

"The who?" Xander asks.

"The group Vandringar is with," Umeko offers as an explanation. "Just a name, nothing to concern yourself with."

"I picked up a travel guide from the Guild too," Xander notes, holding up a little pamphlet. It's titled, "How To Avoid Getting Lynched – A Mage's Guide to Sylvania."

Lilac leans around Gibson to peek at Xander's new guide. "Wow, I could have really used one of those back then," she admits.

"So, ah, what's our first stop?" the smaller buck asks, and starts leafing through the small guidebook.

"I also hope you are up to casting your warmth spells for a long time, Xander," Umeko comments to the mage. "These lands are not welcoming to my kind. I would prefer to not go, an, endothermic to conserve on food. But … if you cannot, my body will eventually compensate."

"Well… fur-lined clothing would be more reliable," Xander notes, "but cantrips are cheap and quick."

"Fur lined clothing only works if my body is already putting out its own heat," Umeko points out.

Outside are three Dromodon and a monk grateful to have their reins taken off his hands. The beasts are familiar in build, and shaggy as most, but their coats are thick and lay closer to their bodies rather than puffing out in a woolly manner. "Bred to wick off water," points out Gibson, who soon has the creatures in harness and his bag lashed on. Today is as gray as yesterday, but at least the sun is high while the group travels, keeping the path well-lit if washed out and bleak. The hours pass with idle chit-chat and few other people seen on the roads, with fewer still as the party proceeds south. The road stays solid for several miles while the land around it gets increasingly marshy, but soon even the hard packed earth gives way to mushy footing and the smell of bogs. On the bright side, at least it's getting warmer.

Having landed only seconds ago, Lilac approaches Umeko and reports in, "The marshland is approaching, Ummy. It stretches out for some time, and I can really feel the warmth rising. You're going to have to take it slow and careful from now on, and I'll try and guide you."

"This is better. It is more like a low temperature sauna now. Humidity and some warmth," Umeko comments over her shoulder the the Lapi sitting behind her, "Do you regret yet deciding to accept my offer to act as my magic adviser?" When Lilac comes in, she nods to the human, saying, "Understood. I do appreciate the warmth and moisture, though. What sort of creatures live in the lands ahead? what dangers should be expected?"

"Fire Mages learn to live without regrets," Xander replies, and then asks, "I'll stop recharging your warmth cantrip then if you're comfortable."

"I was getting used to the coolness," Anisa states, herself seated in front of Gibson on their shared Dromodon. "It was a nice change from the desert."

"I'm fine. Thank you Xander," Umeko says and pats the Lapi's leg near hers.

"Well, there are the usual swamp nasties like leeches and such. Lots of bugs, too. I've heard of swamp lights that can lead a man to drown, but I've never seen one. They call them fox fires, since I think the first victim was a fox." Lilac shrugs a little. "There's also the danger of sinking in mud, something they call quicksand elsewhere, but it's more like quickmud here. You'll be fine if you don't struggle, just crawl on your belly and inch out. Oh, and diseases, like swamp fever. And, oh, I've heard of giant leeches and of course the undead."

"Nothing too terrifying, then," Umeko remarks to Lilac. Strange one, that Kiriga. She comments back to Xander, "No following strange lights that lure men to die."

"Women too," Lilac adds, "it's just the victims are usually men."

Gibson leaves the reins to his sister, studying Werner's map and another he's making himself, if just to track landmarks and their progress. He keeps the group's direction more or less constant with Lilac's help and his own seasoned travelling acumen. The trail disappears entirely at points, but it's always found again, and the Dromodon placidly march over damp soil and through what would be waist-deep water if the travellers were on foot, not seeming to mind.

"I'm not the sort to be attracted by floating lights," Xander notes.

The bardess takes wing whenever an expanse of water approaches, not wanting to get herself dirty. For a woman who seems to enjoy rolling in dirt half the time, she seems to have no love of swamp water or mud. When the party reaches another 'island,' she touches down and explains, "We're nearing Long Crossing, I can see smoke in the distance. Long Crossing is on a crossroads, that's how it got its name. I'm going to land outside of town and hide myself. Be careful, everyone."

"Warm bathes of mud are quite relaxing," Umeko comments idly as she now looks to the muck and water they now slowly make their way through. "It was not uncommon on Jadai from women to share such. It is good for the scales."

"You should join Umeko for one, Anisa," Xander jests. "I'm sure Lilac would."

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to wash mud stains out of white fur?" Anisa says, looking down at the muck with a frown. "I'll stick to the baths at my gym, thanks."

"I don't know," Lilac ponders aloud, "but I guess I could try it. As long as it's not this mud. I have nightmares of trying to get clean from this mud."

"Oh, got the womens' bath's heating problem fixed," Xander notes to Anisa. "That's how I ran into Umeko… "

Sure enough, Long Crossing announces itself with creaky flotillas and bridges built on stout pylons where the water gets too deep to comfortably cross. The group sees people before it sees buildings, the occasional man replacing a waterlogged barrel along one of the floats, or repairing a rotten board. The town itself doesn't impress… a few scattered buildings on stilts, a trading post, and a tree with directional signs nailed to it.

"Do you know what sort of people populate the town, Gibson? Any information on the culture and their views on outsiders?" Umeko calls out to Gibson. "Knowing what would be offensive would be good."

"This reminds me of that Akwavi shack in Half-Valley," Anisa mutters to herself.

By the time they enter town, Lilac's hidden her wings and covered her ears and tail. She sticks close beside Umeko's mount, using it to partially mask her presence.

"Quaint," Xander comments, and then advises, "Don't get too close to any low windows, they could be outhouses."

Gibson rubs the back of his head, ears flopping as he thinks the questions over. "Well, like most little villages, really. Probably more superstitious than most, but by and large they're just trying to get by." He leans in the Dromodon's saddle, holding onto Anisa for a bit of support while he peers closer at the signs on the trees. They point in various directions, reading "Stonebarrow", "Gaston's Folly", "Fourteen League Nook", "Gallows", and one freshly carved and painted sign. "The Rookery"

Anisa oofs as her much larger brother leans forward. "That one looks new. I thought you guys said The Rookery had disappeared?"

As Umeko is listening to Gibson explain, her brow goes up a bit. Apparently she also sees the sign. "That is … most interesting," she comments to the group. "For a town that supposedly no longer exists to have gained a new sign."

Pausing at the sign, Lilac stares at it with an eyebrow raised. "That is weird. Did the townspeople add it, or maybe Vandringar? And why?" She then leans over and tries to poke it, to make sure it's real.

"There must have been enough people coming through recently to warrant it," Xander offers. "I mean, if folks were coming back with treasure and saying it was from Rookery, it's not surprising that they'd add a sign here."

"It feels more like a trap," Umeko offers.

The broad-shouldered buck twitches his nose. "Nobody's supposed to have heard from it," he confirms. He nods agreement with the mage. "That'd make sense… business for the trading post has probably gotten better."

Umeko looks for a place to disembark from her Dromodon. "I suppose we should ask," she notes.

The platforms here are sturdy and wide enough to dismount, with pylons serving well enough for hitching posts, not that the Dromodon look inclined to go anywhere of their own volition.

Swinging her legs over to one side, Anisa leaps down from her mount, and stretches. "Any more time on that thing and I think my back would break!"

Umeko gracefully slides from the back of the Dromodon and adjusts her cloak to conceal her weapons. She looks about for a moment, then heads towards the building she believes may be the trading post. "I shall see what the locals know," she tells the others.

"I'll wait here with the Dromodons," the bardess informs everyone, edging back from the sign, which proves to be quite real. "Bad memories, you know?"

"Hold on!" Xander calls to Umeko, climbing down to join her.

Anisa follows behind Umeko, giving the town a look over while her nose twitches rapidly. "I wonder if the locals are at all friendly?"

Umeko waits for a moment for Xander to catch up before she resumes walking. "I would assume them to be wary, but as long as we do not appear threatening, I cannot imagine difficulties. You two have an advantage there; Lapis are not threatening," she comments.

Anisa sets her ears back. "Hey, I can be menacing when I want to!"

"Uh," Xander says, looking through his guidebook. "Right, not threatening so long as they don't think we are from Stonebarrow."

"Why would they find us menacing if we were from Stonebarrow," asks Anisa. "Is it some kind of zombie town or something?"

Alone now, Lilac bends over to try and find the eyes of the Dromodon, "Helllllooo," she murmurs, "I guess we're kind of stuck here. I wonder how fresh this paint it?" Shrugging at the beast, she sniffs at the sign.

"It's just one of the places it says to avoid if you are a Lapi," Xander reports.

The trading post's door is propped open, and a string of flypaper liberally covered with bugs nearly sticks to Anisa's ears as she passes through the door. Inside, the place is heaped up with goods like most any general store… tools, kegs of ironwood nails, coils of rope, tuns of water and hard biscuit, and plenty of junk. Cleared off to one side is a small seating area around a card table and something akin to a bar, with an Eeee hanging over it next to another strip of flypaper. On the wall is mounted a stuffed eel that has to be ten feet long. The Eeee is dressed in overalls and reading a book, occasionally picking something off the flypaper and popping it into his mouth. He looks up from his book when the three Lapi and Kiriga come in, and closes it. "H'lo! C'mon in. Whatcha need? Drink? Boat? Coffin?"

Outside, the Dromodon looks back at Lilac stupidly. It lows at her. A sniff (and touch) of the sign shows it to be freshly painted, but not so recent as to still be wet.

"Information, mainly, and perhaps some fresh supplies of clean water," Umeko answers with a bob of her head to the strange Eeee. "The maps we obtained in Justininople indicated this was a good stopping place on the way to may other towns. But … it didn't mention a town called the Rookery? The sign outside looks new, so is the town new? Is it a good place to stay while traveling?"

"I feel the same way," Lilac tells the lowing Dromodon. She scratches at her nose, then explains to, apparently, herself or the Dromodon, "It's new, but not that new. Maybe a week or two? Very weird. Oh well." Then, she leans back against the beast and stretches. "At least no one's bothering us."

The proprietor shakes his head, and spits some legs and wings into a bucket hanging near him. "Oh, you don't know 'bout it? Figured that's what you was here for. It's not a town. Well, not anymore, nobody's seen it. Lots of people comin' through here and finding stuff around that way, though. I got everything you need to dig up gold. Torches, lamps, ropes, shovels, nets, bloodfly repellent, knives, leech poppers, you name it. Waterskins too, sure."

"Who put the sign up, the treasure seekers?" Anisa asks.

"So the sign points to the route the treasure hunters have been taking?" Xander asks, just to be sure.

"And who has come through recently?" Umeko inquires as she 'browses' the stock. "And what did they find?" She does actually start selecting a few things to buy. Rope is always useful. A net may be as well, if only to make a trap. Plus a couple torches.

"I did," the Eeee answers Anisa. "An' it's pretty much right. The hunters say so, at least." He seems in good humor as Umeko begins picking things out, and cheerfully continues. "Haven't had so much business in a while, got all kinds comin' through. Grubby gravediggers, monster hunters, all kinds." He whistles. "One fella, dressed all in white… no idea how he managed it! Nothin' stays white around here for long." He inclines his head toward Anisa. "Not that I'm sayin' you won't, miss."

Anisa's ears start to wilt over the 'white' comment, but then they shoot back up. "This person in white… was he a Cervani by any chance?"

The shopkeeper nods. "Oh yeah. Big fella. Came through days ago. You seen him?"

Outside, Lilac remarks. "I forgot how gray everything is." She looks around a moment, then shakes her head. "Yep. Gray. I should have brought color back from Nagai."

The doe's ears wilt once again, but quickly shoot backwards in determination. "He didn't mention his name, did he?" She takes a few quizzical steps towards the Eee.

Umeko carries over her selections, knowing that a sale will help keep the shopkeeper talking. "And have you heard of any significant problems that way? I must admit all this talk of treasure and adventure sounds very exciting."

"Nope," replies the Eeee, swinging idly from his perch. "Didn't buy nothin' either. Guess he was already pretty well kitted out. Gonna be his hide when he sinks in a bog and doesn't have any of my rope."

"Waterproof rope?" Xander asks.

"I hope he was polite at least," Umeko notes, "This town seems very friendly. It would be poor manners to not return it in kind."

"My tail is so cramped," Lilac mentions aside to the Dromodon. "I bet you never have to deal with that."

The shopkeeper tallies up Umeko's selections, and seems quite happy to chat with such a good customer. "Oh yeah, plenty of problems out there. Some of these folks comin' through think you just pop out there and pick up a silver plate or a gem-studded bracelet out of the muck, an' you're off. Nope. Gotta be prepared, gotta be careful. Dagh, even some of the cagey ones don't come back. Not that I think you folks won't. That'll be payment up front, please… 26 shekels and eight bits ought to do you."

The Dromodon grunts, and blinks slowly. It might be agreeing.

"Yeah, we beasts have to stick together," Lilac tells the Dromodon, nodding with her own agreement. She doesn't sound serious, but who knows what goes on in the mind of the cursed?

"You said there were monster hunters heading that way as well? Any names? It is probably a good idea to ally with them if we encounter them, wouldn't it? " Umeko inquires as she actually draws out thirty shekels and gives them to the shopkeeper. "Oh, no need for change, by the way. You have been most kind in answering our questions as well as very charming. Consider it a tip, I believe it is called." She even reaches up and very lightly pats the Eeee's cheek.

"I'll carry that stuff for you… " Xander says, trailing off before saying Umeko's name.

"Thank you," she tells Xander, smiles, and dips her head to him.

The Eeee beams, and doesn't seem discomfited by the gesture. "Thanks, ma'am! Oh, I don't know none of the hunters, they just pass through, sometimes come back, sometimes sell me bits'n'pieces. They chat it up when they drink, though. I know a name of one, but I never seen her, she doesn't come into town. Call her Von Horne. They say she's after the Murder… none of the other hunters that've come back have seen one, so I can't rightly say if she has, but they swear up and down she's got some notches to show for her time out there."

"Do you know anyone who's seen the Murder?" Xander asks the man.

The Eeee rubs his chin. "None that stuck around, but I heard stories from some of the diggers that lit out of here. They say the Murder's black as pitch and skims across the the bogs like lightning. See, they was Korvs but for some reason there's this howling noise before they snatch someone up. Me, I think it's some other monster what's doing it, Korvs they… well, they kaw, right?"

"Well… I know some are quite good at mimicry," Xander offers.

"Did you just feel a chill? I felt a chill," the bardess tells the Dromodon beside her, rubbing her arms. "I guess I'm just being paranoid."

"That sounds like a tale to scare children and make them behave," Umeko comments, smiling as if engaged in just idle chitchat. "But, best be prepared if we decide to head that way, right? Has any one in town currently seen these creatures?"

The Eeee shrugs his upside-down shrug, collecting his shekels and stashing them away. "Well, don't see why they would, but I'm no hunter. I just keep 'em outfitted."

The shopkeeper shakes his head. "No ma'am. We're simple folk, we just keep Long Crossing floating so others can get through here."

"How far is this … Rookery from here? And is there any good places to stay here? A warm bed and a good meal in the evening would be most welcome," Umeko comments. "I do not like the idea of having to camp in the wilds if we travel much further."

"I 'spect it's a few hours out, more if you're slow going through the swamp," says the Eeee. "We got a flophouse for a few shekels a night, they got mats, blankets, and it's dry."

"Well, thank you. We have taken enough of your time. So, if my friends have nothing else they wish to ask, or wish to purchase, then I will bid you a wonderful day," Umeko says and bows her chin. "And if we stay in town the night, perhaps we can share a drink at the pub. If you have one, of course."

The Eeee grins. "I'm as close as we got to a bar, if you wanna rot your guts. C'mon back anytime."

"Oh, one thing more," Xander adds. "Are there any Hunters staying in town tonight that you know of?"

Anisa looks the wares over, but doesn't seem to make a move towards any. Instead, a look of concern is spread across her face.

The Eeee shakes his head. "Some set out 'bout a day past, none come back yet. Lots make a few days of it deeper into the swamps." He makes a little circle gesture at his temple. "Couldn't pay me enough to sleep out there, but hey."

"You are a truly wise man," Umeko tells the Eeee. A final dip of her head and she turns and heads towards the door.

Forcing a polite smile, Anisa gives a nod of thanks to the shopkeeper as well, and follows Umeko out.

Outside, Lilac has taken to trying to braid the Dromodon's hair fur and she waves when the others step outside. "Hi! Did you learn anything useful?" she inquires.

Once outside, Xander whispers, "If there aren't any Hunters about, it should be safe to stay the night. Nobody to come after Lilac."

The three Dromodon are patiently enduring attempts to braid their fur, one of them drinking from the brackish water over the edge of the platform.

"Our friend in white is ahead of us by a few days," Umeko tells Lilac as she approaches. "I also purchased some rope, a net, and a few torches, just in case. The Rookery is a few hours from here… but given the time, we may wish to stay the night in town."

"We found out that Vandringar's been through here," Anisa says to Lilac in a low tone. "Not that we should be surprised or anything."

"He sure gets around fast," Lilac remarks, head tilting in a puzzled manner. "I wonder if he's a normal Cervani at all? Anyway, rope is always useful, as are torches. And, not going to head out? Well, I can't blame you; I've slept out here in the dark, and let me tell you, it's scary even without anything to trouble you."

"It is a group vote if we stay the night in the town. Personally, I feel we should be cautious and stay the night. That gives is daylight by which to explore the rookery area," Umeko explains. "And the people of this town are … simple, but polite and charming in their own way."

"I vote we stay the night too," Anisa says. "If anything, we can use the remaining daylight to do some more research. The people in this town have to know more than most."

"I can help stand guard," Xander offers. He has been a bit antsy of late – probably because it's been awhile since he last blew anything up.

"We will take turns guarding," Umeko comments, "You need rest as much as any of us."

"Normally I'd agree, but I worry about Vandringar getting too far ahead of us. He's already a few days ahead, like you say – and he isn't stopping in towns, is he Ummy?" The bardess glances at Anisa, and nods, "I guess I can go look around outside of town. It's not safe for me to get too close to anyone here, and you never know who will show up."

"He could have agents in town too," Xander notes. "Someone watching for a Lapi like Anisa to show up."

"You have already begun to forget your lessons of patience the temple tried to teach you, Lilac. Rushing ahead without proper rest or a strong plan is asking for defeat, or worse," Umeko warns as she looks over the dilapidated town, trying to locate the flophouse."

"If the wine on the train is any indication, he already knew our exact path long ago," Anisa says to Xander.

Lilac, for her part, sticks her tongue out at Umeko. "I know," she insists, "I'm being cautiously reckless, in this case. It won't help us any to get there late and miss everything. It's delay that nearly cost us everything in the first place, and if Vandringar can survive out there, we can too."

A long, flat building looks to be the most likely suspect, windows curtained. There's no printing on its sign, but one could mistake the flat "H" shape on it for a bed if one squinted enough.

"He's got guards and probably mages with him," Xander points out. "We should try to get descriptions of his retinue from the locals."

"Vandringar is better funded than we are," Umeko points out, "And likely has a small army with him."

"Everyone's said he's going with a small group. Don't you think if an army past this way, someone would see it? If anything, I'd think his army was already south, and has been waiting for him, but isn't with him. I do think he's traveling with at least one mage, and probably another expert, like Beshret. Skilled, powerful individuals," says Lilac. She follows along, but remains a bit behind Umeko.

"Also, Lilac, you of all people should be careful. You can survive out here, but you are forgetting that a hunter, one who is hunting the Murder is also nearby. Von Horn is in the area. If you travel at night, imagine how you would look," Umeko points out.

Gibson speaks up. "I think Lilac's right. We've heard so far he's only been traveling with a small group… he must be pretty confident if he hasn't bothered to remain anyplace for long."

The buck adds, "I certainly wouldn't mind waiting for a good stretch of daylight, though."

"Err, is this a bad time to point out that Fire Magic can be tricky in a swamp because of methane pockets?" Xander asks.

"Also, a new day is not that far off," Umeko adds, "A few hours to rest and recover, then we leave when dawn breaks. Vandringar must rest too. It is unlikely he would gain much ground on us."

"If someone can find me," Lilac tells Umeko. "You trust your blades, don't you, and your skill with them? Well I trust my ability to not be found, when I don't want to be. I did survive this long, bypass an army, steal from a guarded mansion and carry a body through an army without being seen. But, I don't want to risk my friends, so I'll go with what you want, Ummy." Lilac smiles a little lopsidedly, then shrugs. "After all, what use is a few hours if I lose my friends?"

"I do wonder if he rests, though. Vandringar, I mean. There's something odd about him, and not just his maliciousness," the bardess adds.

Gibson looks somewhat alarmed at Xander, and the black Lapi smooths his ears down to his head. "Well… you'll be careful, right?"

"Oh… I'm always careful," Xander promises. "Just… uh… don't expect me to lob a fireball if we see Vandringar's camp."

"But you haven't dealt with someone who is specifically hunting your kind. Don't get too self-confident. Or do I have to remind you of what happened last time you believed yourself unstoppable? You have advantages here, but do not let that make you careless. You have more than just yourself to worry about … mother," Umeko points out with a sigh, then shakes her head. She heads towards the flophouse to arrange for cots.

"What's a methane pocket?" Lilac asks, looking down at her outfit and her pockets. She then looks up and blinks at Umeko, blushing at the mention of 'mother.' "Hey, that's a low blow, you know! Hey!" She hurries after Umeko, then tugs on her tail. "You didn't hear me giving you a lecture when you tried to masquerade again – and you remember what happened last time you tried that, right? That whole 'arrows that block out the sun' moment?" She sighs, then scoots up next to Umeko, and gives her a sudden hug. "I guess we're both kind of reckless and prone to not listening to advice, but I'm not running off, am I? Come on, don't be mad."

"Swamp gas," Xander mutters to Lilac. "It explodes sometimes. Although… Vandringar probably has oil for his lanterns and such. A good Ignite ritual… hmmm." The Lapi is soon lost in thought.

"And to be sure that you don't, I'm going to tie that collar to the post of a cot," Umeko grumbles, trying to look annoyed and failing at it.

"Hmmm… mmmm," Xander mutters. "Yeah… tie Lilac to the bed… wait… WHAT?"

"Then they'd think we're really weird," Lilac insists, her tail making her butt seem to wag.

"We are weird," Umeko points out, lips slightly curled back, "You like wearing that. You would probably like being tied to something, too."

"Hey, I wear this to remember who I am, what I'm supposed to do, and that my friends are with me, not because I like being treated like someone's beasthound," insists the bardess, who hrumps after crossing her arms.

"Would you feel better if I also tied Xander to a bed?" Umeko asks the bard, then glances back towards the Lapi.

"Not the same bed though?" Xander asks, just to be certain.

Lilac grimaces at that, then shakes her head. "No, and just hearing you say that is so bizarre. I'm not like Xander, and he's so … pervy." She then points at him. "See?"

"It keeps him paying attention," Umeko points out, "Instead of drifting off into his mind."

"It's probably pervy in there, too." Lilac gives Xander a suspicious look.

"Is it?" Umeko asks Xander and stops as she watches the buck out of the corner of her eye.

"I'm not pervy!" Xander insists, and looks to Gibson for support.

The black buck holds his hands up. "Whoa. Leave me out of this."

"I'm not pervy," Xander insists again. "No matter what Anisa says, I'm perfectly normal for a Lapi buck of my age and education. And really, Lilac, did I ever act inappropriate when I had to deal with your nudity? Even if it usually came with large amounts of blood… "

"Vandringar has powerful allies and mages with amazing credentials," Umeko mutters as she opens the door to the flophouse and goes into pay, though she's grinning with amusement. "I have a bard with little impulse control, a Lapi mage who lives off of some sort of hormone suppression drink, and the Snowshoe family. I think I picked the wrong side."

"Too late now, Ummy, you killed your husband," Lilac insists, grinning at the woman. She also grins at Xander, though she also sticks her tongue out at him.

"We still won last time," Xander notes.

The Lapi mages sticks his tongue back out at Lilac, then pulls it back in before Umeko turns around.

"I think I'd be safer in the swamp," Lilac says with a sigh as she stands at the door. Shrugging, she heads on inside. "But, I gotta protect my friends."

The night in Long Crossing is spent in only mild discomfort, most of the bugs kept at bay with coils of burning stuff that smells mediciney. Sunrise is all too welcome, and finds Gibson at the break of dawn with the Dromodon fed, watered, and loaded up.

Xander is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as usual. But Lapi aren't generally the sleep-in-late sorts. "Mmm, smell that fresh air. Fermented!"

Umeko is slow to move in the cool morning air, but once her body shifts into endothermic she moves a bit faster. "You are far too cheery in the morning," the disheveled Kiriga mutters to Xander.

Anisa is up as well, now brushing her ears after having completed her exercises. "Lapi are early risers," she says to Umeko.

The Fire Mage grins, and chants a cantrip to help Umeko warm up. "Think I should prepare a spell in case we run into trouble?" he asks.

Lilac, used to sleeping in worse places than this, seems to have slept fine. She uncurls from the ball she ended up in, and stretches against the floor. "Moooorrrrring," she greets everyone, her word as stretched as she is. Sitting up, she rubs at her behind, her tail a bit sore from being cramped up all night, then adjusts her hood.

"Will it be safe with the pockets of gas you mentioned?" Umeko asks as she tightens the ties on her rough travel clothing and returns her swords into her corded belt.

"I just can't do big explodey sorts of spells," Xander notes. "But a pseudo-familiar like the Eye of Flame should be fine."

After rolling over on to all fours, stretching again, Lilac hops to her feet and yawns cavernously. "This air brings back memories," she remarks moments later, "and not all are bad! There's something comfortable about the air of your homeland you just don't get anywhere else."

"A room with poor ventilation after a bean-eating contest might do it though," Xander Lapi-whispers to Anisa.

"Ah, then there is a side benefit … you can't get in as much trouble," Umeko comments and flashes her teeth to the Lapi in a grin. "Now, we should make sure we can backtrack … or we need to locate an old building for a base camp while we examine the area around the Rookery," the Kiriga tells the others. "And … we should peek around town before we leave and see if there have been any new arrives during the night."

"You guys snoop around, I'll stay with the Dromies and work on my spell," Xander says.

Anisa gives Xander a smirk, combined with a scrunched up nose in disgust. "I say we do any snooping quick. The sooner we get going, the more daylight we'll have to travel by."

"Agreed," Umeko says with a nod. The Kiriga is already heading towards the meager buildings to see what the day's news is.

"Finding an old building shouldn't be hard. There are lots of ruins and old farmsteads that have been abandoned in Sylvania. The hard part comes with finding out of they're occupied or not, and by what," Lilac advises Umeko. She then starts for the door, and adds, "I'll wait with Gibson by the Dromodons – no reason for me to get friendly with the locals now!"

"Bring back some muffins if you find any," Xander requests as well, before getting out his chalk and magical supplies to deface part of the platform with.

Anisa follows along with Kin, finishing up the brushing of her lobes. "I wonder what the traffic is like in this place?"

"My guess is it has not been much, but picked up recently with the incursions of the 'famous' adventurer," Umeko remarks as the Kiriga first goes to the combined trading station and bar.

"I am most concerned about the monster hunters, given I am unusual in these lands and Lilac's condition," Umeko adds quietly.

Umeko's and Anisa's quick jaunt in the trading post finds it to be the only real center of activity in Long Crossing, what little activity there is. It does seem as though there were some new arrivals today, a trio of treasure seekers discussing the rumors of gold in the swamps over mateh and buying extra supplies.

"I wouldn't worry about monster hunters giving you more than a careful look, Ummy. You're unusual, but you look rich, and monsters, well, they rarely look rich. It's pretty clear you're some kind of noble, just by how you move." Lilac follows Umeko to the trading post, but remains outside, just past the doorway.

Umeko casually looks over the new arrives, trying to determine their places of origin and if they show any potential skill. "I don't exactly look rich in these rags," Umeko comments to Lilac, but grins anyway.

From outside, Lilac insists, "It's how you move."

"One mateh, please," Anisa says as she sidles up to the counter. She turns to the seekers. "I couldn't help but overhear," she says, swiveling her ears for emphasis, "but you were talking about gold in the swamp? Any decent leads?"

"Oh, oh, Ummy! Buy me some jerky, would you," the bardess calls in from outside. "Something I can chew on as we go, it helps pass the time!"

The three men don't look especially capable, dressed in common clothes and carrying picks, shovels, and currently un-lit lanterns. Two are Rhian and one is a Gallah mutt, this last one answering with a shake of his head. "Nah, but we heard it's not hard. Just getting back out is the hard part, but we figure we know how to get around a swamp. Not sharing if we find any, sorry." Anisa's mateh arrives a little cold, but brewed quite strong.

Shaking her head, Umeko goes to buy jerky while Anisa gathers information. "My friend is afraid of enclosed spaces. So … she's terrified of entering buildings," she remarks absently to the shop keeper as she pays for the food.

Taking a deep swig of the mateh, Anisa sets the mug down and wipes her mouth with a sleeve. "I didn't expect you to! So, what about the monsters? I heard they can be tricky out here."

"Those tricky monsters," agrees the human woman outside. "I'll keep an eye out, from out here."

The proprietor is all too happy to sell tough Rughrat jerky by the pound… at least, one assumes it's Rughrat. One of the Rhians laughs. "I dun think there's as many monsters as people says. Bet most are city types sinkin' in bogs. Any road, if you see monsters, you just gotta be able to run at least second-slowest."

"I wonder which one of us runs slowest? Probably Xander," muses the cursed bard from beyond the doorway.

"That would be me," Umeko points out. She's slower than any of the Lapis. "And this jerky looks like old shoes."

"I don't know about that," Anisa says after another draw from her mug. "I hear there are cities that come and go – and whenever they show up, monsters arrive by the boatload. Ever hear of that?"

"Oh well, you know I'll protect you Ummy," Lilac assures the Kiriga, poking her head inside far enough to smile. "And old shoes is fine! I've had worse, believe me."

"Then you get to carry it. The smell is making my mane curl," Umeko comments as she hands the package of jerky through the door.

Both Rhians go, "Pfff," at the notion, whickering and shaking their heads. "What, like… gypsies? Nobody lives out there now," says the Gallah.

Lilac eagerly snatches the package, and can be heard opening it and pulling out pieces shortly later. After a period of silence in which presumably chewing occurs, the bardess pauses to remark, "By the time we arrive, I think this stuff will make my jaw muscles strong enough to chew through chitin!"

Anisa shrugs her shoulders, then finishes off her mug. "Ahh, that hit the spot. Well, the chat's been fun fellas, but I think we have to hit the road. Happy hunting!" Putting her mug back on the table, and slapping a few shekels down on the counter, the doe practically bounds to the door – overexaggerating her girlishness as she waves goodbye to the trio. Once she gets back to Lilac and Umeko, she whispers, "those guys are gonna get eaten alive… "

"Or we will end up rescuing them," Umeko comments quietly as the odd trio makes their way back to Xander and Gibson.

"They so are," Lilac agrees around a half-chewed piece of jerky. She glances inside, then shakes her head. "I feel bad for them, though. I think maybe if I see them, I'll scare them home," she adds to Anisa, in whisper.

Outside, Gibson is already saddled up. "Shall we?"

"Might be a good idea," Anisa says to Lilac. Once beside her Dromodon, she leaps up in front of her brother and settles in. "Lets."

Umeko climbs up on a Dromodon and drapes her arms around Xander. "Onward," she says.

"You got it, Gibson," Lilac replies. She takes position up beside his Dromodon, and begins walking.

"I get to ride up front?" Xander asks, just to be certain. He's got a little flaming bracelet on his right hand now.

"Yes. I do not want my mane burned off," Umeko teases, then nips the Lapi's ear.

Xander actually giggles for a moment at the nip, but brings it under control.

A little flick of the reins sets the beasts in motion, and their plodding gait carries the adventurers along the boardwalks and out under the drooping branches of the swamplands. The vegetation grows thickly, and even at a Dromodon's usual pace Long Crossing's buildings are soon obscured, and the flotillas reach more solid (relatively) ground, then give way altogether. Gibson directs navigation again, managing to find paths as briefly as they appear before breaking up and vanishing again, traveling south. The sun crawls sluggishly up into the overcast sky, casting wan light over trees bent under hairy masses of vegetation.

Thankfully, for all the talk of monsters, it seems to be fairly sedate out here, at least by day. Swamp life buzzes, croaks, burbles, and in the case of insects, tries to eat the Lapi and human alive, though they more or less leave Umeko alone.

"This land is … very wet. And muddy. And it smells like the inside of a squibbit lair," Umeko mutters as she looks at the grim landscape.

Lilac's pulled her hood as close around her head as she can and see straight. "The Eeee around these parts call this a flying feast," she explains, gesturing at the bugs. "Last time I was here, I think I spent most of my time with fur and scratching. Have you ever been really itchy, and had talons for fingers? It hurts."

Currently, Anisa is using one of her ears to cover her nose. "It smells like the boy's bathroom back home, ick."

"You have some nasty brothers, then," Umeko tells Anisa.

By midday, the group is deep in the overgrowth, the place thick and murky. The trees allow a little light in, but it's easy to see how it'd be pitch dark here by night, and the footing is treacherous. If Gibson didn't seem confident in where he was going, it'd feel very much like being lost, but he and Lilac skillfully maneuver the group around the worst of the soupy ground.

"Maybe we should forget the ruins and climbs the trees for the night?" Xander suggests.

"I hope you have good balance then," Anisa says to Xander, fidgeting a bit in her saddle. "I just hope wherever we find is dry."

"So, look what I found Anisa, it's a black-tailed liar lizard. L-" the bardess, who comes over to Anisa to show her what is indeed a black-tailed lizard, suddenly pauses. Her brows narrow, then widen. She seems to forget the reptile in her hand, and starts sniffing around at the air, circling. "Does anyone smell that?" She sniffs more, then pushes her hood off her head to free herself up. "It … it smells really good!"

"Which means it may be Vandringar's camp. So quiet," Umeko warns. She cranes her head up, trying to look around.

Anisa starts to look down at Lilac's catch, but stops as the bardess's attention is put elsewhere. She raises her snout, and sniffs the air. "What's it smell like?"

Ears up, Xander starts paying attention to the sounds of the swamp, listening for anything out of the ordinary.

"How come he gets all the good food?" More sniffing, and Lilac answers, "Delicious. As good, or maybe better, than the meal at the Emperor's palace. It's food. Mmmmmm." Closest, Anisa can see Lilac licks her lips – she looks like she might drool any minute now! The lizard in her hand, ignored, wanders up her arm.

To the Lapi, it all sounds and smells like it did before… buzzy, chirpy, earthy, and a bit gassy.

"I don't smell anything," Anisa says, switching to scanning the area with her ears instead. "Where's it coming from, Lilac?"

"It could be a trap," Xander notes. "Some sort of animal luring carnivorous plant… "

"Ummmm." Lilac turns, then points directly down the path. "That way. It's ahead somewhere, probably on the path or near it. It's … it's making my mouth water. It's like torture!"

"Go eat more of your dried shoe," Umeko comments. "We must proceed with caution."

Anisa strains her ears down the path, listening for anything. "It could be some other treasure seekers. The guy at the trading post said there were more coming through this way."

"Awwww," Lilac whines. She sighs, then pushes some jerky in her mouth and begins chewing, eying the path longingly.

"Well, we should check it out," Xander notes. "Just carefully."

With her ears focused in the direction indicated, Anisa can hear something… the faint crackling of a low fire.

"Then let us continue in that direction. Lapis should listen for familiar voices," Umeko suggests, then nudges her Dromodon on.

At the mention of checking the disturbance out, Lilac nods enthusiastically around her meat snack. She also edges towards the side of the road, preparing to vanish into the murky cover, if the need arises.

There's no voices, or footsteps other than their own. Before long, the foliage opens into a small patch of relatively dry ground. A small campfire is there, or rather a camp-smolder since the flames are mostly down to hot coals, and above it on a spit is some skinned animal, rubbed with herbs and giving off the smell of roasted meat. A small lean-to is nearby, as well as a bedroll under it, but none of it looks to have been disturbed. The underside of the meat is somewhat overcooked.

Umeko slips from the back of her Dromodon. Her cloak is drawn back and Sunlight Through Storm is slid free from its scabbard. "I believe we have found a camp of an unfortunate soul taken my the night monsters. Look for signs of the Murder," Umeko comments grimly. She heads for the leanto and looks for talon marks near the bedroll.

Having chewed through several snacks and still looking hungry, Lilac's been staring at the path with an almost scary focus. When the camp site reveals itself, she cocks her head to the side, and frowns. "That's it," she says, then she holds a hand out towards Umeko, "Ummy, wait! There's something wrong here – get back!"

At the sight – and now the very clear smell – of the meat, Anisa instantly winces, pulling her shirt collar up over her snout. After regaining her composure, she slips off of her Dromodon. "But those coals are more recent – this camp was still occupied until maybe this morning."

Umeko stops at Lilac's request. Her sword held ready, she looks around.

"Is it a monster trap?" Xander asks, his Eye of Flame already expanded into a flaming blade.

"That meat smells funny. Not funny bad, but funny good. It smells much better than it should, and believe me, I know all about camp site food and the rating there-of," the bardess warns. She then suddenly looks around, brows narrowing again. "Someone is either a phenomenal cook, or … they did something to it. It, um, feels like a trap. They may even be watching us … " Searching, the human begins scanning the surrounding flora, then looks up for someone perching.

"We could call out," Xander suggests. "If anyone comes, Anisa can knock them out."

"Von Horn," Umeko calls out, suspecting who may have set the trap. "If this is yours, we are obviously not monsters. Reveal yourself." The Kiriga slowly backs towards her Dromodon.

Luckily for Anisa, she hasn't strayed too far from her mount – the smell of meat keeping her back already as it was. She readies her whip, scanning the area with eyes and ears.

Umeko's teeth click against each other as her jaw rolls and her mane hackles up slightly. She continues to back towards her mount. "We are being watched," she says quietly. "Xander," she whispers, "Can you change that spell into the heat shield?"

"Ever get the feeling you're a second away from being stuck with an arrow, Ummy? I feel that way right now," the bardess whispers to her friend. "I think that meat's a trap – a trap for me." She tries not to make it obvious, but she's desperately trying to locate the watcher, gaze darting from clump to branch and so on. "If the hunter heard me, she'll suspect."

"The fur on my neck is rising up," Xander whispers, and looks around for a good sniper position as he chants to expand the Eye from a blade into… well, a small shield.

"I can feel the eyes, Lilac," Umeko whispers back, "Can you guess where they are?" Her eyes continue to flick and search, her sword held ready.

It's all good sniping positions out here, the trunks, canopy, and bushes providing near limitless hiding places.

Turning to her mount, Anisa starts to fidget through the packs, looking for her bow and quiver.

"Looking, looking," the human murmurs back. "I don't think whoever it is is on the ground – up in the branches, and the sky." Following her own advice, the bardess peers upward, fighting the urge to tuck her tail between her legs and scurry for cover.

Gibson narrows his eyes, his long ears swiveling around, and he drops a stone into his hand from his skedat shell… however, from how quickly he's glancing around, it's clear he can't decide what or where to look.

"We are travelers and explorers in these parts. We do not desire confrontation. If this camp is a trap to keep monsters at bay, I apologize for disturbing it. We will leave it in peace," Umeko says calmly and proudly, with the tone of confidence she used when leading the Imperial army.

No answer but for the faint sizzle of meat.

"Start backing the Dromodons away," Umeko orders those who remained mounted.

Finding her weapon, Anisa slings them over her back, and returns to scanning the trees. "I can't hear a thing… "

"Backing away is a good idea. No need to force a confrontation," Xander agrees, and nudges the Dromodon he's on.

There's a whipping sound, and something flies from the trees at Lilac, trailing leaves.

The sound of leaves being thrust aside abruptly ends with a solid tha-thunk as a line tied with two heavy wooden spheres catches Lilac, who's attempt to dodge it almost succeeds. The bolas wraps around her back and left shoulder, tangling her arm and one of her wings, but leaving most of her free. "Wha-hey! What is this thing," she yelps, eyes still scanning the trees as she tries to wriggle free.

Turning in the direction the bolas came from, Anisa notches an arrow to her bow, and lets one fly. "That way!"

Umeko's lips draw back and the Kiriga darts towards her friend, trying to position herself between the trees where the ropes came from and Lilac. "Stand down," she orders. "We do not wish a fight, but if you insist on this course of action, we will exert whatever force is necessary to end this decisively."

"Y-yeah! Stop throwing … nnrgh, stupid thing … whatever these are at me," Lilac insists, the woman still trying to untangle herself but having little luck. Watching the trees occupies most of her focus, not allowing her to look at what she's working with.

Umeko's left hand draws Grey Cloud free and she holds it backwards, edge up. "Cut yourself free," she hisses softly.

"I can't cut it and watch the trees at the same time, Ummy. I can't help but feel whoever it is is readying another shot, and if I look away, I might get it," Lilac insists frantically.

Climbing down, Xander heads for Lilac too, and makes sure it's clear that he's wielding magic by turning up the flame effects on the shield-form of the Eye. He gets between Lilac and where he thinks the attack came from.

Fwee! The arrow darts off into the foliage. There's a momentary pause and a rustling, then the arrow and Umeko's words, are answered by something else that hurtles out, something sphere-like that lands in the clearing with a 'poff'! A cloud spreads from it, smelling of pepper and causing the eyes of everyone present to water… whereas for Lilac, her nose suddenly starts burning fiercely. The pepperball is soon followed by a black shape that dives from above and immediately starts for Lilac with remarkable speed.

Anisa grits her teeth as her eyes begin to sting, but still manages to catch sight of the shape darting downward. "Lilac! Xander! Watch out!" Notching another arrow, she tries her best to zero in on the shape, and lets another volley fly.

"Ahh!" Xander yelps, and tries to block the attacker through blurred eyed.

Umeko coughs and blinks rapidly. Trying to blink away the tears, her long blade whirls and whips rapidly, trying to ward off anyone that goes for Lilac. "Choice made," she hisses angrily, "Prepare to die."

Eyes widening at the ball, Lilac tries to dodge, but there's no evading the scattering of pepper. Her expression goes from wide-eyed fear to pain, her face reddening as she sinks to her knees and starts hacking and coughing, her attempt to dislodge herself abandoned as she rubs at her nose fiercely! "Ahhh, it burns!" she wails, "Ummy, my nose is one fire! Oh, OW ow!"

Umeko's toe claws dig in and through blurry eyes, she darts to intercept the creature descending on Lilac, Sunlight Through Storm in her right hand and Grey Cloud in her left hand.

Crippled by pain and trap, Lilac is caught wheezing and moaning, the searing pain in her nose making her squint fiercely against the agony. She holds one hand to her nose, which barely seems to help ease the powder's assault, while inching towards the swamp and its water, and the relief it may hold.

The dark figure tries to dart around Kin, but the Kiriga proves too quick a barrier, and Kin finds herself face to face with goggled eyes and a long pointed face covered over in what looks like a leather cone. Seen through blurring tears, a shaggy coat adds a ruff over the assailant's neck, and something spear-like is held in the claws of its wings.

The attacker's assault is fierce, the spear darting in for quick jabs. Kin can hear the ring of steel on steel when she bats the head of it away from herself, and the weight of it feels remarkably heavier than a spearhead or even glaive might ordinarily.

Through squinted eye, Anisa watches her friends under attack. Slinging her bow back over her shoulder and unfurling her whip, the doe sprints into the clearing where Kin wrestles with her foe.

While battle rings out above her, Lilac begins stumbling towards the swamp edge, and towards water. "H-hold on Ummy, I-I can h-hel-" The bardess sneezes fiercely, than coughs, followed by pained wheezing as she makes her way.

Gibson rubs at his watery eyes, trying to get off his Dromodon and snagging a big Lapine foot in one of the stirrups, nearly dumping him face-first onto the ground.

"Lilac?" Xander calls, and heads for the woman's voice. "I'll cut you free… if I can find you… "

"O-ver here," Lilac calls back to Xander. "C-can't s-see we-" Ah-choo! The bardess convulses in a sneeze, followed by a wail of pain.

The onslaught for Kin to stave off comes harder than ever. The spearhead whistles and sings, swipes coming from every direction, the butt of the staff stopped just short of Kin's ribs by Grey Cloud… but the stranger just can't push the Kiriga back. The goggles are expressionless but the ferocity of the attacks belies some frustration.

During the commotion, Xander creeps over to Lilac and starts searching for the weighted wooden balls, intent on burning the cords at their source.

Racing across the clearing and towards the melee, Anisa joins the fray by giving a few early lashes at Umeko's attacker. The stranger fends off most of the attacks, but one manages to get through. With her opponent momentarily distracted, the doe starts in with her fists, although her target is rather adept at fending off two foes at once it seems.

Umeko's blades flurry in, and while the stranger is distracted, Anisa moves in. The Korv has to balance herself to now handle the Lapi … and that's when the new 'instincts' flicker in her mind. She slips the back of her blade around the Korv's wing and draws it towards her. At the same moment, her head darts in and jaws close around that wing, those curved, grooved fangs sinking. When pressure hits the poison glands, a stream flows down the channels in her teeth, right into whatever her teeth managed to penetrate.

Xander finally finds the balls of the bolo, and uses the Eye as a burning edge to cut them free from Lilac.

With Xander's help, Lilac is able to free herself from the bolas that binds her, letting her use her newly freed hand to help her rush to the water's edge. There, she scoops up the murky liquid in both hands before splashing it over her face and in her nose again and again. With cough and a sputter, she rises to her feet and shoves her hood and matted, wet hair from her face. "That was a dirty trick, and attacking my friends is unforgivable," she yells hoarsely. Close by, Xander can see Lilac's skin begin to darken, her teeth elongate, and her nails lengthen …

The assailant is definitely avian, the muscles of the wing strong, but Kin's fangs find meat under the feathers, the stranger expecting to catch a sword strike with the haft of the spear, not an attack on the wing. The stranger jerks away, and narrowly misses punching Umeko in the head, but the Kiriga is able to let go, her venom already delivered.

Umeko's head jerks back and shakes from side to side, a few drops of venom flicking away from her. "And now I intend to get serious," the Kiriga hisses…

"Lilac… there's a lot of sharp stuff flying around, and that person is experienced in hunting the Midnight Murder," Xander hisses to Lilac. "Calm down, please!"

"What good is my power and curse if I can't help my friends?!" The bardess reaches across her chest, then pulls her cloak from her shoulders and casts it aside, almost covering Xander! "She's after me, I won't let them be hurt because of me! If she wants me, here I come." Freed, Lilac's wings flare out, making her look much larger than normal. The woman begins racing forward, dropping on to all fours as her arms crack, pop, and reshape themselves into the now familiar taloned limbs of the black beast.

Xander wrestles with the cloak, complaining, "And people call me impulsive!"

The Korv has to take a step back, placed on the defensive and clearly fighting a losing battle… even with their eyes streaming, Umeko and Anisa are too much to handle, particularly after the Kiriga's fangs level the playing field. The attacker suddenly lunges at Umeko, but the stab is a feint that strikes the ground in front of herself instead, and a puddle of something splatters there. Something on the spearhead clicks like a flintlock, and a blinding flash of flame erupts, hungrily spreading across gobbets of oil. The stranger doesn't wait for a reaction, dropping the spear, twisting the staff apart into two sections and beating its wings, lofting up and away toward the canopy.

"Dagh!" Umeko yells and throws up her arm to shield her eyes and staggers back. "Anisa … shoot her," she calls out, not knowing if Anisa can see at all. Her eyes blink repeatedly as she tries to clear them, then takes a few deep breaths, steadying herself.

Anisa leaps back from the flames, shielding her eyes from the sudden flash. "I can't… I can't see!" Stumbling around a bit, the doe unfurls her bow, notches an arrow, and aims skyward. Forcing her eyes open a crack, she attempts to shoot in the Korv's direction.

With a whistle, Anisa's arrow darts up and after the fleeing ambusher, but embeds itself in a tree branch, and soon the black shape has winged its way into canopy too dense to get a good shot through.

Umeko's eyes continue to blink. Growling, she twirls her steel blades and both sink into their sheaths simultaneously. "Can someone get me a waterskin?" the Kiriga asks.

Hopping up, Xander offers his canteen to Umeko.

"Do you want me to blow up the canopy?" Xander asks quietly.

Umeko tips her head back. She brings her left hand up and pulls her eyelids open. he Kiriga then rather unceremoniously dumps a quarter of the water into her eyes to try and remove the remaining pepper. "I would prefer her taken alive. Can you detonate in front of her and knock her out of the air?"

Stumbling over to Kin – more by the sound of the canteen than by sight – Anisa nudges the Kiriga. "Hey, save some of that for me! Dagh, I feel like I got lemon juice all over my face!"

The lithe form of the beast – clothed – dart after the fleeing avian sniper, racing past Anisa and Umeko! The beast leaps off rock and tree, attempting to gain height in order to match the bird – and then overtake her, diving from the air to gain speed to catch up.

"Detonating anywhere near should knock her out," the Mage notes, and looks up into the treetops. "Maybe some of us too, at this range… and… there goes Lilac… "

Umeko hands the canteen over to Anisa as she blinks the remaining water from her eyes. "She's going to get herself killed! Try to stop the Korv somehow!" Umeko says quickly.

The white doe tips back her head, and starts to wash out her eyes with the remaining water. "Just make sure you don't burn Lilac too!'

"Right," Xander mutters, and pulls the Eye of Flame back into a tight ball in his palm, then thrusts his arm upwards to launch it. He has to guess at the distance to have it detonate above the treetops.

They eye of flame's baleful gaze looks up to the treetops, and its stream stretches into a lance as it flies up into the canopy. It doesn't explode with the force of a true fireball, but the wash of flame catches great swaths of foliage. Lilac manages to avoid the inferno, but the stranger on the other side of it doesn't… the Korv flails a wing, and there's a smell of burning leather. Something crashes down behind the trees.

"That way – it fell down there!" Anisa is off like a flash in the direction of where the attacker fell. "C'mon you three!"

Umeko's webbed ears flick towards the sounds of the crash and then runs in the direction of the sound. "Coming! Gibson, guard the supplies!" she calls out.

The black buck has, by now, managed to pick himself back up and dust himself off… rather too late for the fight. "Erm… right."

Xander stays put, and looks up through the hole in the canopy to see if anything else comes down. Just because something dropped, he's not about to let his guard down, such as it is.

Fire and smoke engulf Lilac's vision, the beast having to abandon a jump in favor of ducking under a tree to evade flaming debris and much of the shockwave. Momentarily confused by the blast, Lilac's ears swivel and her nose works the air, until the heavy thump catches her attention. She heads the way, trying to avoid both notice and flames by keeping to the ground.

Lilac and Anisa arrive on the scene first, at a point beyond the flames, which now lick at the foliage above and behind them, trying to spread but stymied somewhat by the swamp's soggy vegetation. They find the source of the crashing noise… that polearm has been dropped and abandoned, laying in some broken bushes. Its owner is nowhere to be seen.

A polearm is, after all, a large stick, much as Lilac is, some sort of canid beast. She hops forward, ears alert and glowing lilac-colored eyes scanning the trees as she edges to the crash site. There, she picks up the weapon in her jaws, then turns and carries it over to Anisa.

Anisa skids to a halt, actually backing away from the polearm and keeping her distance. "The Korv is gone – keep your eyes peeled! And stay away from that stick of hers!"

"Lilac, no!" Anisa backs away from the canine. "Don't touch it!"

"I feel like a slug," Umeko complains as she brings up the rear again. "I am going to tie weights on both of you… "

Head cocking to the side, Lilac looks at Anisa with a perplexed expression, ears askew. Then, she simply drops the weapon, hopping away from it and growling at it like it might attack of its own volition.

"Remember, Lilac; you can't out-fly a Korv," Xander calls to the transformed woman. "Is anyone injured?"

"My pride is," Umeko calls back in Xander's direction. "I should have felled her quicker than that. I must train harder."

"I'm fine," Anisa says, keeping her eyes glued to the stick. "Any sign of where our friend went?"

The polearm has some heft in Lilac's mouth, but seems otherwise harmless without its owner. It rolls in the grass when dropped. With their eyes washed out and the danger passed, it's easier to examine. The haft is stout wood, rough-hewn with grips on it that are wrapped in some sort of skin. The head is the interesting part, an iron tip worked to look like a Korv's beak with a sharpened edge, the lower portion of the beak hinged. Though the eyes are currently sealed, oil shines in streaks below the sockets.

Xander uses some of his fresh water to finally wash out his own eyes. Luckily, he's used to working while experiencing some sort of burning sensation…

Umeko goes over and just lifts up the polearm. " A trophy, if nothing else. Plus, it may lead her back to us; it appears valuable," the Kiriga comments. She rests the haft on her shoulder with the 'beak' hanging behind her.

"She seemed to have a lot of tricks stored in that thing," Anisa says, still eying the polearm warily. "Let's get back on the road, we wasted enough time here."

The beak swings shut when Umeko picks the spear up and turns it, striking a small spark where it meets the upper half.

Now that the weapon has proven harmless without its master, Lilac sits on haunches and stares at it, her body beginning to retake its original shape. The front paw that she uses to rub her left ear becomes a hand, which keeps rubbing, and all the rest follows until Lilac is sitting on the grass, looking disgruntled. "That was a dirty trick, both of them, and the exploding sky – and using food! Evil," she insists. Then, after a sigh, she frowns. "But I can't help feel there's something wrong about all this. I wonder if Vandringar told her we'd be here? I'd be just like him to use someone." She moves to join Umeko, eying the curious weapon.

"Clever. Spark and a container of fuel," Umeko muses as she makes her way back towards Xander. "Almost a mage's weapon. Almost." To Lilac she comments, "Doubtful. It is unlikely Vandringar knows we are here yet. Though with the explosive display from Xander … anyone nearby knows someone is here. We had best leave the area immediately."

"Here," Xander says, returning Lilac's cloak to her. "Next time you feel the urge to throw your clothes at me… uh… okay, I can't think of how to end that sentence."

Anisa shakes her head, winding her whip back into her skedat shell. "I doubt it. I imagine hunters like this are all over, and we just ran across her path. In any case, she definitely knew what you were." The doe starts back for the pack animals. "Make sure you stay close to us up the trail, Lilac, I doubt she's done with us."

Gibson is waiting by the Dromodon, his face worried. "Did we get him?"

"Her, and no. She escaped," Umeko explains, then offers the polearm to him for examination. "She left behind her weapon, though. I think she realized she underestimated us. Assumed we were more fool treasure hunters."

"I don't know, he seems clever enough to predict quite a lot, and I'm sure he knows about me," Lilac tells Umeko. She accepts her clothes back, then pats Xander's arm. "Thanks for the help back there, by the way. That was a nasty trick, she did. I should find that thing and look it over." She then nods over to Anisa, saying, "I knew she knew what I was once I put together the puzzle of the meat. Only I could smell it, and she must have heard me say so. I'm so used to warning everyone about what I smell, I didn't think someone would use it against me."

"I am positive that was Von Horn, the famous hunter," Umeko adds.

Keeping her bow strapped to her shoulder, Anisa leaps back up on her Dromodon. "Umeko got a bite in on her, so she may be down for a little bit, but someone like that doesn't stay down for long."

Gibson whistles, taking the offered weapon to look it over. "You're probably right. Dagh. This is a piece of work. Is everyone alright, then?"

"I hope it was Von Horn, I'd hate to think there are more hunters of so much skill and … Wait, shouldn't I be glad she's around? She protects ordinary people, I guess, but she wants to kill me, I … Hrum." The bardess shakes her head at the puzzle hunters present her, then shakes her head again. "Can I see that weapon, Ummy? I may be able to get a scent off it, or maybe try and figure out where it came from."

"We'll need to find someplace with a roof and four walls tonight," Xander notes. "She knows better than to give us a chance to react now."

Gibson offers the weapon over to Lilac, the beak swinging open and shut again, sparking a little.

"If she wanted to kill you, that would have been an arrow, not a bola," Umeko points out. "She wants you for something else. And, I agree with Xander. We should find a defensive location with at most two narrow entrances. As for me, I am fine. Only angry with myself for doing so poorly in combat."

Lilac takes the weapon gingerly, as if it might lash out at her at any moment. "It's kind of creepy holding a weapon that may be designed especially to kill people like me," she admits, sounding worried. Testingly, she turns the thing, causing it to spark as she studies it. "On first guess, I'd think Chronotopian, but there are a few Chronotopian Korv families that moved here, including the Raveness's."

The scent on the weapon is slightly masked with the bitter aroma of the oil, but the Korv's scent is definitely there too, leather, the tang of iron, the tickle of feathers.

"You need to be kept warmer is all, Umeko," Xander notes. "And… ah… I've used up my spell. Do you want to wait while I recast it, or move on and try to find shelter first?"

Gibson looks up into the canopy again. The fire is burning itself out, leaving a gaping hole open to the leaden sky. "I don't know about that, Umeko. I'm not sure Von Horne takes anything alive. If she didn't immediately kill something with a shot from a crossbow or arrow, it could still get away. If she tangled it up first, legs, arms, or wings, it can't get away from her… "

After holding the weapon to her nose, Lilac lowers it and nods. "I have her scent now, at least. If she isn't careful, I'll be able to scent her coming, and I'm not falling for that meat trick again. Meat trick! Wicked!" She makes a face, then glances around. "Anyone want to hold this weapon? It's giving me goosebumps just holding it."

"I say we try and find shelter. You can keep her warm the old fashioned way." Anisa looks impatiently at Gibson, waiting for him to take his seat.

The tall black Lapi nods, and pulls himself up behind his sister. "Good idea, I'm for it."

"Give it here," Xander says, holding out a hand for the weapon. "I'll see if it has any magic in it, or other chemical tricks."

Umeko extends her hand to Lilac. "I will carry it," she offers. "And yes, we must find shelter. Two entrances, narrow, nothing or as little burn able as possible and a way to secure it so pepper bombs cannot be thrown in.:

"And, I think Gibson's right, Ummy. She was trying to disable me. I've been wounded before, and it hadn't always stopped me from getting away. We're very fast, and this thing," she hands the weapon to Xander, "definitely isn't something to capture someone with. It smells like oil."

Xander sniffs it. "Hmm, oil and incendiary powder," he agrees. "I could recharge this with what I have, I think."

"Dismantle it," Umeko suggests. "I do not want it to be of immediate use to her if she recovers it."

Lilac frowns at the thought of a recharged, flame-spewing monster killing weapon, but suggests, "What if we abandoned it here, but sabotaged it, or rubbed it with something only someone like me can smell? Then she might walk into our trap?"

"Alright… but I could also booby-trap it," Xander offers.

"Abandoning it is too obvious," Umeko notes, "But trapping it is a reasonable idea."

"We'll bring it along then, so I can work on it," Xander notes. "If we meet the Hunter again, she try to take it back… and get a surprise."

"Trap it and scent it, so I can find her easier if she gets it. But, for now, let's get out of here before more people show up," the bardess suggests.