Since their lamp oil supply was nearly exhausted in the tunnels, the intrepid group of explorers decide to walk back along the road. It's a pleasant afternoon and the wind blows in the right direction; namely it blows into the swamp, which means the swamp smell is kept away. After a short hike through the woods, the group finds themselves on the road heading back into town. Up ahead, they even see the outline of the town welcome sign. At least it looks like the welcome sign from this distance. Except … there appears to be a smaller sign nailed to the post under the main one.

"Vandals!" Amelia exclaims as she rushes ahead to examine the tacked on extra sign.

"Now who put that up there?" Olivia wonders and comes up behind her friend, although not in as frenzied a manner.

Zahnrad and Gunther look at each other. They shrug in unison and follow along. "And they say Wingnuts are panicky… " Zahn comments.

Amelia's tail puffs out as she reads the sign. "You Must Be This Tall To Enter!?" she squeaks. "If it wasn't for the proper spelling, I'd suspect Emmett!"

"That rules out half the town, doesn't it? That sign is pointing at a height of about four feet," Zahnrad points out. He rubs his chin thoughtfully.

"Bet a horde put it there to trick all the townspeople to leave!" Gunther insists. "Then they can just walk in and claim the town. "They're getting more tricky… "

The Kadie girl eyes Gunther, then says, "Well, I guess one of the gypsies was having fun then." She tries to pull the extra sign off. "Help me lower this thing."

Olivia scratches her head in confusion. "Why should it matter if someone isn't this tall?" she says, pointing at the height of the sign. "It's not how tall you are that really matters, anyway! D'you think Eric knows about this?" she asks to the others.

"Maybe his mother put it there to get rid of the 'undesirables'," Zahnrad offers as a theory.

"I find her rather undesirable," Gunther mutters.

"Don't we all," Olivia returns, grinning.

"It's nailed on pretty good," Amelia grumbles. "I could use my axe I suppose… "
"You don't have your axe with you," Zahnrad reminds Amelia.

"Want to try one of my throwing knives, see if you can pry it off with that?" Olivia asks the Kadie girl.

"Hmm. Maybe it was that strange otter, Jack, who did it. He seemed disturbingly educated for an Akwavi," Gunther says as he grabs onto the board and swings from it, trying to dislodge it.

"Could be, seems like his humor," Amy notes, and then grins to Zahn. "I've still got the axe-head on my halberd! But I'll let Gunther try it. I'm sure he can destroy it somehow."

The board doesn't budge as Gunther swings back and forth on it. Grumbling, he clambers up until he's practically laying sideways on the sign. He grips one end with his feet and the other end with his hands. With a grunt, Gunther tries to curl up on himself and just break the board at the point it's nailed to the post. The creaking and cracking that follows seems to imply it just might work.

There's a loud crack, followed by a a 'yeek!' as Gunther falls to the ground. The board broke all right. Except it broke in two places, not one. So, now instead of saying 'You Must be … " it now just reads: 'Be This Tall'.

"Not much of an improvement," Zahnrad comments as he covers his mouth to stifle the following laughter.

Amelia takes out the pointy end of her halberd, and takes a swing at the remaining half.

Olivia stands back a little and re-reads the sign. "Great… now the sign says, 'Welcome to Stonebarrow, be this tall!'" she grumbles.

Thwack goes the axe. Instead of dislodging the board, it just sticks into it.

Gunther gets up and dusts off. He takes a few steps back from the sign and peers at it. Then without asking he goes and digs in Zahn's backpack.

"Hey!" Zahnrad complains and swats at his brother, "Hands to yourself."

Amelia growls and braces her feet at the base of the signpost before trying to pull her axe out. "Nobody better be behind me!" she warns.

Olivia backs up again hastily and calls out, "Be careful, Amelia!"

Zahnrad moves a few steps to the left.

Amelia wrenches the halberd free. Not only that, she doesn't even jerk backwards or lose any bit of her balance when the wood releases its grip on the blade.

Gunther waves his arms wildly and approaches the sign again. He says, "Back up, back up! I know what do with this!"

"It better not be explosives, Gunther," Amy says after she stows her weapon.

Gunther pulls out the small dagger he was given by Inaya and starts scraping away at the lettering painted on the sign. After a couple minutes, 'Be This Tall' is gone. He tosses a black stick up into the air, then catches it between two fingers. Apparently he took one of Zahn's writing coals from his backpack. Biting on his tongue, the young Kadie starts writing a new message on the sign. Once done, he steps back and places his hands on his hips, looking proud. Now the sign reads: 'Welcome to Stonebarrow!' and underneath it on the shorter board it reads: 'No Hordes!'.

Zahnrad sighs and puts his hands over his eyes. "Gunther… " he mutters.

Amelia shrugs. "Well… good enough for now," she says.

Olivia blinks twice at the new sign… then throws her head back and starts laughing! "Perfect!" she declares, when she can talk again.

"I rather like it," Gunther declares. He tosses the bit of coal back to Zahn. As he passes Amelia, the young Kadie just grins.

"Never mind that the hordes we get aren't the sort to read," Amelia mutters with a grin.

"Just remember, you wanted to bring him," Zahnrad points out to Amelia, grinning now as well.

Olivia picks up her own pack once more and starts back along the road into town again. "All I want to know now is, who put that sign up in the first place?" she says over her shoulder to the others.

"Who knows? Maybe it was Djivan. Seems the sort of prank he would do," Zahnrad offers as he resumes walking back to town. Gunther, for the moment, is peering at Amelia's back He's looking for all the world like he's plotting to hop on and ride her back into town.

"Could have been anyone," Amy admits, shifting her shoulders a bit.

"Hiyah!" Gunther shouts and hops onto Amelia's back. He points over her shoulder, then declares, "Onward, faithful steed!"

Amelia acks and falters under Gunther's weight. "Gunther!" she yells, and tries to fall over backwards.

Olivia sticks her tongue out at Zahnrad and counters, "And at first you thought Eric's mother put it there! Why have you changed your mind to Djivan, all of a sudden?"

"Just saying. Amelia is right, it could have been anyone," Zahnrad offers with a grin.
Olivia hmfs and turns her back on the Kadie boy, stalking ahead of the group with a frown on her face.

"Bwacpth!" complains Gunther as he goes down on his back and Amelia lands on top of him. His arms and legs flail wildly under Amelia.

The Kadie girl scrambles to get off of Gunther. "Don't ever do that again!" she chides.

"Why not?" Gunther inquires as he sits up in the dust. He's grinning.

"It's annoying, and I'm not a Rughrat!" Amy yells.

"So, where are you going next?" Zahnrad calls after Olivia. "Back to your room an down the other tunnels? Going to investigate that bit of cloth? Something else?"

Gunther gets to his feet. "You sure? Always said the only thing that would date my brother would be a Rughrat," the Kadie quips, then takes off into a sprint down the path, zipping by Olivia!

"I'll drop my pack off in my room first, but then I want to have a look at the storeroom that was rifled through some days ago," Olivia calls back. "I haven't had a chance to follow up on that until now!"

"Want us along?" Zahn inquires as he leads to the side and watches Gunther bound down the path ahead of them.

"Oh yeah," Amy says, dusting herself off as well and watching the fleeing Kadie boy. "We should check that out."

"Sure," the Skeek says, although she gives Zahn a bit of the evil eye. "Just… watch the commentary, please!"

"Welcome to the family," Zahn calls back to Amelia, grinning. "He's accepted you."

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Zahn asks Olivia.

"Wonderful, I'll have to come up with a way to 'accept' him back now," Amy says. "And you shouldn't have suggested Djivan was the sign-maker."

"I know Djivan can be a bit annoying sometimes, even to me, but I am still dating him, you know," Olivia tells him. "When you put him down all the time, it hurts me a little."

"Maybe you could play a part in his play, Zahn," Amy suggests with a grin.

"Ack, no," Zahnrad says as he hurries down the path now. "Let's just get the storeroom done!"

---

The remainder of the trip is without incident. Gunther eventually slowed down and rejoined the group. He did, though, keep Zahn between Amelia and himself for the remainder of the walk. They reached Olivia's room and dropped off her pack. Then 'Team Strange' headed into the Weaver building to track down the damaged storeroom. Olivia was told it was Storeroom #3, so that's where they went next …

Storeroom #3
This is one of many nondescript storerooms of the Weaver Compound in Stonebarrow. These are positioned at regular intervals along the walls of the main weaving room so that apprentices can obtain the raw materials needed for their work. Each room is carefully organized into parts; one section contains the raw materials to make thread and yarn. Another section contains dyed thread that has been made, and another contains completed sheets of fabric. If it wasn't for the plaque on the wall, it's hard to tell which storeroom is which … except this one also now has a few distinctive features. Long gouges trail along the walls and even in the well-worn floor. The interesting thing about the gouges, though, is that none of them get above three feet on the walls. So, whomever made them … they were rather short.

"Was anything taken, do you know?" Amy asks as she looks at the gouges.

"I was taken by Nene and Bebe once, does that count?" Gunther asks.

"No," Zahn says.

Olivia hmms as she starts examining the contents of the shelves. "I didn't hear anyone say that things had been taken, but maybe they didn't look hard enough. I don't have what's in the storerooms memorized, exactly, but maybe I'll notice something."

"Well, it looks like the work of a troll, certainly," Amy notes, tapping at the gouges. "A short one. Your little friend?"

Zahnrad pulls out an odd looking device with a series of marks on it. He presses it into one of the gouges and part of the device depresses. "Hmm," Zahn muses, "Claws are about two inches long, if my depth gauge is right."

"One of the little ones then," Amy says while nodding. "The big one had those long metal claws."

Olivia shrugs as she continues poking through the room's materials. "Could be, but there could also be more than one really short troll."

There is one thing Olivia notices is missing. She only notices because she was the one who put it there. It was a roll of bright fabric that she had just finished weaving the day before and put away in the storeroom on the evening of her weird dream. It was memorable because it was shockingly bright blue … and apparently was an order from none other than Blue Miller, the 'famous' blue Skeek.

Zahn twirls the depth gauge between his fingers then slips it into one of his many back pockets.

Olivia starts a little at her discovery. "The blue fabric I made is gone," she tells the others. "I put it away in here the day I finished weaving it!"

"Good thing that wasn't one of the carving knives," Gunther whispers to Amelia. "He put one of those in his back pocket once, then sat on it later. Boy, did he yell. Morgan had to put two stitches in his butt."

"So, it stole some fabric you made … and had a bunch of your stuff in a shrine," Zahnrad comments as his brow does a neat little wavelike roll. "You seem to have a troll stalker."

Amelia hides a snicker behind her hand. "Are you sure it wasn't picked up by one of the other apprentices?" she asks Olivia after she recovers.

Olivia just shakes her head at Amy and says, "It was a very, very bright blue cloth. Who else would want it besides me and Blue Miller, the one I made it for, anyway?"

"Someone who is color blind?" Zahnrad whispers to Amelia, then nudges her with her elbow.

Amelia just shrugs. Then she asks, "Do you think anything else like that would be missing? Colorful stuff?"

Olivia turns back to the storeroom and looks up and down the shelves. "I can look again, see if any of the colorful prepared materials are missing, too."

"Wouldn't it just be easier to steal Olivia if they wanted colorful stuff? She does make it all the time," Zahn comments.

"They'd need looms and stuff though too," Amy points out.

"If I keep having dreams in which I sleepwalk, they might just get me eventually," Olivia mutters.

"They can have Loom #4. I'm tired of fixing that demon," Zahnrad mutters.

No other colorful fabric seems to be missing. Only the cord of it that Olivia personally worked on is gone.

Amelia asks, "The door was locked right?"

Olivia nods. "As far as I know. An apprentice goes around and checks the locks on every door, every night."

"Soooo… " Amy says, and starts looking at the floor boards.

"So, either someone picked the lock or there's another way in," Zahnrad muses as he rubs his chin.

Olivia closes the door to the storeroom and sighs. "Nothing else seems to be missing. I guess that's all we're going to find out here, unless you found something else interesting in those claw marks? Or – gods forbid – you're asking to dig up the floor in here now!"

Gunther doesn't look … he bounces all around the room, landing firmly on each floor board. after trying several … one turns up loose. It swings up and smacks the Kadie square in the nose. "Yowlp!" goes the young Kadie as he falls backward onto his butt and holding his battered nose.

"I guess that solves that dilemma!" the Skeek exclaims.

Amelia sighs. "Well, at least we didn't need the pogo-stick… "

"What's wrong with the pogo-stick?" Zahn asks.

"We'd have to… oh… never mind, let's look at the loose board," Amy says.

The Skeek walks over to inspect Gunther's discovery – moving cautiously, in case he tries bouncing around again and raising any more boards.

Amelia checks on Gunther's nose as well.

Thankfully, his nose isn't bleeding, so Gunther doesn't appear any worse for wear. The only thing that seems to be damaged is his pride.

Underneath the board is … a whole lot of loose soil. Something tunneled in, then collapsed the hole on the way out, it looks like.

"I really can't believe I'm saying this, knowing how furious my aunt is gonna be, but… d'you think we should dig out the tunnel and see where it goes?" Olivia asks, with a great deal of trepidation.

"Not until we explore the other tunnel first to see if they connect," Zahnrad offers, "One excavation at a time."

Amelia hmmms, and turns from the hole to one of the walls. "Think this is in line with the tunnel?" she asks Zahn.

Zahnrad crouches near the floor and peers towards the wall. He tilts his head this way and that as he thinks. "Might be," he finally says, "if my sense orientation and geometry isn't off."

"Well, you weren't the one getting whacked in the head with a board, so I guess it's still good," Amy notes with a giggle.

"Pththththbt," goes Gunther as he raspberries at Amelia.

Olivia nods at this bit of wisdom from Zahn. "Sounds fair enough. I'll be on the lookout for any connecting tunnels when we go back down, then. In the meantime, we should probably secure this board really well, like we did with the trap door."

Amelia suggests, "We could just pile junk on it."

"Gunther could secure it," Zahn offers as he glances towards his brother. "It would keep him out of trouble… "

"I suppose they're used to him working on stuff around here by now," Amy notes.

Olivia sighs. "Maybe we should just do it in the usual way… you know, with new boards and better nails? Or bolts, for that matter?"

"I thought you used glue?" Amy asks, rubbing at her left ear. "Floor building isn't my specialty."

"Nails," Zahn says and thwaps his brother with his tail. "Go get a repair kit and fix this floor. Just … beat on it as punishment for whacking your nose," he tells the younger Kadie.

Grinning, Gunther hops to his feet and zips out the door. There are a few shouts and sounds of chaos as Gunther makes his way through the Weaver's main room and out the other side.

"Somehow, I don't think he sees this as a punishment," the Skeek remarks, quirking an eyebrow at all the noise.

"It will keep him out of trouble for a while," Zahn offers and shrugs. "So … now what? You have a troll stealing stuff from your store room and a weird box in an old tunnel. Anything you need to get examined from that box by someone?"

"Hitting things with hammers is always fun," Amy notes. "Haven't you tried it, Olivia?"

Olivia grins at her friend and comments, "The only problem is, I end up hitting my fingers more than the nails. I'm just not talented that way."

"Hmmm, try hitting big nuts instead!" Amy suggests.

Zahnrad covers his mouth as he resists saying something…

Olivia looks at Zahn next and snaps her fingers. "Thanks for reminding me! I should have one of our journeymen take a look at the fibers that came from the box. They have more training than I do, of course, so it would probably help to ask."

"All right. So, uh, where are the journeyman at around here, anyway?" Zahnrad asks as he rubs the back of his neck.

Olivia smiles at the Kadie boy and explains, "Well, we only have a few here at any one time. The journeymen are the ones who have finished their apprenticeships and are ready to set up shops on their own, which they do as soon as they can. The ones who are here now just haven't found towns to settle in yet. They have their own housing block. If you want to follow me, I'll show them to you."

"Lead away, oh Skeek of the cloth!" Zahnrad declares, then bows to Olivia.

"I didn't think there were many towns that could support a weaving shop," Amy says as she follows.

Olivia glances back at Amelia as she leads them outside again. "Well, they usually operate on a much smaller scale than this, and do some tailoring work on the side to supplement their incomes," she says. "Now you know why I do so much clothes-making! It's practice for future sales!"

Off in one of the western corners of the compound is a long, rectangular building that houses the journeymen's rooms. Just from the way the doors are spaced on the outside, Amelia and Zahn can tell that these rooms are much larger than the ones the apprentices have, in deference to their higher station. There are also little frames on each door that cards can be slipped into, giving the name of the journeyman currently living there. Olivia walks right up to the door on which the name 'Celestine Weaver' is written in nicely-spaced letters and knocks. In a few moments, a shuffling noise is heard and the door is opened by a very neat-looking Skeek girl, who looks to be just a year or two older than Olivia.

Amelia smiles to the Skeek and tries to look innocent.

"Hello, Celestine!" Olivia chirrups. "Do you have time to help us out with something? It's a bit of a mystery to me, I'm afraid, and I thought you might know more about it."

Zahnrad, for his part, looks bored.

Celestine looks between the odd gathering outside her door. Her gaze lingers on Amelia for a moment. "Are you in trouble with the town watch, Olivia?" the Skeek asks. "I just knew when you started associating with that crazy Kadie boy that he would get you in trouble… "

Olivia blinks at this, looking slightly taken aback. "What, do you mean Gunther?" she asks. "Okay, he's crazy sometimes, but really not all that bad the rest of the time. Er, anyway, we're getting off track, I think. No, I'm not in any trouble. I just need your help identifying some fibers I found."

"Just don't turn your back on Gunther and you should be okay," Amelia confides.

Celestine rubs the back of her left hand as she considers the explanation and the comment from Amelia. "All right, come in, then," she says and motions for the group to follow her inside.

"Remember to wipe your feet first," Amy whispers to Zahn before following.

Olivia thanks the older Skeek and leads the way inside.

The Skeek's room as as tidy as her appearance is. Everything is either arranged nicely, or folded into exact shapes and sizes where they rest on shelves. Celestine walks over to a work desk and settles down into its char. Her hands come to a rest neatly on its top. "What do you want me to identify?" she asks.

Zahnrad wipes his feet before following Amelia into the room.

"Olivia has a long way to go before reaching this level, I think," Amy whispers to Zahn in the face of such overwhelming organization.

"I wonder is she sells organizing services," Zahn whispers back.

Olivia takes out the few threads she found in the box in the tunnel and extends them to Celestine. "I'd like your opinion on what kind of cloth or object they might have come from," she says, by way of clarification. "These are all that survived from the inside of a half-charred box I came across."

Celestine slides out a drawer of her desk and pulls out a very delicate looking pair of spectacles with a series of lenses on rotating bands. She sets them gently atop her nose and slides a few of the lenses down so she can look through them. After picking up the fabric, she peers at it this way and that. "Hmm," she comments. The next thing she does is taste them.

"Uh… " Amy starts to say, then thinks better of it.

Olivia whispers to Amelia, "I know what she's doing looks strange but I promise, it's all part of her training."

"Is she tasting it though, or feeling it?" Amy whispers back.

After several minutes the Skeek lifts her glasses off. She folds them up and puts them away. Interlacing her fingers, she turns to address the group. "Have you been grave robbing?" the Skeek inquires.

Olivia looks between the others before replying, "No. But the place where we found those fibers was certainly… odd. Why do you ask?"

"Because those fibers came from a funeral shroud. Those are made with a very specific twist in the fiber. Plus, they are blessed by Isolde and anointed with various oils that have a distinctive taste," Celestine explains.

"Huh… that's odd," Amy notes.

"I would call it mildly disturbing," Zahn notes.

Olivia looks down at the floor before saying quietly, "Oh. I'm sorry you had to put that in your mouth to tell us this, but I thank you for the information, just the same."

Olivia then reaches out her hand for the fibers again and says, "I'll get rid of that for you, if you like?"

Celestine smiles, saying, "Nothing to apologize for. Taste is sometimes part of the trade to identify dyes and other materials used on cloth. You said you found it near a charred box? I guess it was a bit that survived cremation. I would guess the fibers are fifteen years old, maybe? Somewhere around that based on the taste and amount the fibers have started to fray." After a glance to Olivia's hand and the fibers, she adds, "Feel free."

"You can tell all that from tasting it?" Amy asks, agog.

Olivia takes the threads back and puts them in her pocket again.

"Fibers pull apart and decay at a specific rate as they age. I told most of the age by looking at it. Haven't you ever noticed how old clothing tends to tear easily?" Celestine inquires. "In any event, it's all boring stuff to explain. Basically, cloth ages like people do. You can tell after dealing with a lot of different kinds."

"Huh. I didn't know that," Zahnrad admits.

"And here I thought it was just because I was growing bigger all those times," Amy mutters.

Olivia smiles at this. "Well, that's part of it, too, if you're trying to fit into old clothes!"

"Was that all you needed?" Celestine asks. "I can't tell you who the shroud was for, if you were hoping I would know."

"Oh no, I didn't think that was possible!" Olivia replies, the insides of her ears coloring a little in embarrassment. "Anyway, that's all we wanted. Thanks very much, Celestine! By the way, how is your search for a shop going?"

"Slow. All the close towns already have tailor shops set up. Unless I head further out, or a new town starts, I don't think I'll be able to start my own business any time soon," Celestine says and sighs. The Skeek rubs along the bridge of her short muzzle for a moment. "But, I've gotten a few orders in from the gypsies of all people, for some new costumes. Some for dance, some for a show they're going to put on. Do you know anything about that?"

"Uh… yeah. It's a play that one of the gypsies wrote," Olivia offers. "They want me to be in it, of all people!"

"Oooo, what sort of costumes?" Amy asks, ears perking up.

"Well … " Celestine says, ears flushing a bit red. "Costumes that have very little cloth. You know, for that dancer bat? They're for her girls and herself, I believe. Oddly, one is made to fit a Kadie. She doesn't have any Kadie dancers, does she?"

"No, she doesn't," Amy says, narrowing her eyes. "She's taught me a few of the moves though… "

Olivia looks at the Kadie girl out of the corner of one eye. "I think Lili's trying to recruit you, Amy… in her own not-so-subtle way!"

Celestine stands up. The Skeek slips over to Amelia and peers at her. Closing one eye, she starts estimating Amelia's size and proportions using just her fingers. The corner of her mouth curls back into an amused smile and she says, "I think Olivia is right. The sizes match."

Zahnrad is currently finding his feet really interesting.

"But she hasn't even asked!" Amy claims.

"She's not known for asking," Zahnrad mumbles.

Olivia sighs out a little laugh and pats Amy on the shoulder. "Don't feel too bad, Amy… you know how she's always trying to snog me, right? Well, at least she's only after you to dance!"

"Oh good, she hasn't kissed you yet," Celestine says as she settles back in her chair. "That means I still have a chance in the pool."

Olivia arghs and smack her forehead with one hand. "Have I mentioned lately how I hate you all?" she mutters.

"I'm really glad nothing like this happens to me," Zahn whispers to Amelia.

"Ahem… bunnies?" Amy reminds Zahn.

"Hate the game, not the players?" Celestine offers with an innocent smile. "Everyone bets in Emmett's pools."

Zahnrad coughs.

"How long are you betting Olivia will hold out?" Amy asks.

"Three months, twenty-two days, three hours, thirty-six minutes, and twenty-two seconds," Celestine says. "What about you?"

Olivia looks between everyone else in the room, shocked. "Why are talking about me as if I'm not even here?" she demands in a scandalized voice.

"I'm not," Zahnrad says and raises his hand.

"I don't bet in Emmett's pools," Amy says. "I'm not allowed, since half of them seem to involve me."

"Only thirty percent do," Celestine corrects, "Nymmie won the pool on how long it would take before the bat kissed you, Amelia. She was within a minute of the exact time, even. The part about how intense the kiss was wasn't won, though. The observer fainted and missed that."

Amelia crosses her arms and hmmphs.

Olivia shakes her head and says, "Perhaps we ought to go before any one else in this room gets embarrassed?" Turning back to Celestine, she says, "Thanks for identifying those fibers. We'll leave you to your, er, costume-making, then!"

"But no one won the bet on Zahn and Parsley when she kissed him," Celestine notes before the group departs. "The wine was a nice touch she added, too."

"Even if I don't dance, I'm gonna get that costume from Lili," Amy whispers to Zahn.

Olivia grins at Zahn as they leave. "Too late!" she says to him.

"Gah, time to go," Zahnrad insists now too. At mention of Amelia and a dance costume is tail puffs out.

Olivia ushers the Kadies out with a big grin, then waves to Celestine before closing the door behind them all.