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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Whizbang Dustyboots" data-source="post: 3386101" data-attributes="member: 11760">By the time the party returns to Maidensbridge, the sun is going down, but the hamlet's muddy streets are ablaze with light.An expedition from Wit's End has arrived and the members are placing Bufer into a covered carriage decorated with painted forest creatures. Hazel hovers nearby, watching and chewing her bottom lip. The gnomes catch the human girl watching them, and murmur a comment quietly under their breath. Hazel notices a surprising number of small animals are also in the carriage, sniffing at Bufer and his wounds, but despite that, the interior of the gnome-scale carriage is immaculate.The driver of the conveyance is bundled from head to toe in layer upon layer of clothing, so that not even an inch of skin is showing. Once all the gnomes are aboard, what appears to be a senior gnome reaches out, thumps the top of the carriage and says a word to the driver. Without looking back, he gives a precise snap of the reins and the shaggy pony pulling the carriage sets off at a trot for home, carriage wheels crunching through the mud and snow.Meanwhile, the constable has found a cart of his own -- or rather, commissioned one in the baron's name from Lars Kramer -- and is putting together blankets in the back.When he sees the party arrive, the constable stands up in the back of the wagon, steady despite his wooden leg, and begins barking orders."Get the dwarf inside. Mother Bridger and some of the Glangirn are waiting on Emus. They took over one of the rooms upstairs and are going to patch him up there." The constable's face is a stony mask when he looks down at Emmerson's body in Tucker's arms. "And put him in the cart, lad. We've got a spot of traveling to do."Ragglus nods and enters The Cat & The Fiddle with Emus, intent on finding those mentioned by the constable."Make way, ya rabble," he calls as he hurries through the common room, not caring who is in his way as he makes his way to the stairs."You need to talk to Katadid Leach before we go," Tucker tells the constable. "Just before he ran off toward the fighting, he said something about giving away military secrets -- and this was none of his craziness.""Find him," the constable replies. "We'll bring him and talk on the way."Finding the young wizard isn't hard for Tucker to do: Although the streets are full of villagers, people tend to give the boy a wide berth. He's in the center of Maidensbridge, walking in a tight spiral, flipping the cracked goggles over and over in his hands, mumbling quietly to himself. Tucker has to put himself directly in the young wizard's path to get his attention."What? Oh.""Kat, I have a question for you," Tucker says, putting a hand on Kat's thin shoulder. "Do you know how many times a single spoke on the wheel of an average-sized wagon -- like, oh, that one over there -- goes around when traveling a straight league? If it starts at the top, how many times does it go all the way around before the end of the distance?"Kat looks toward the wagon, then back at Tucker. He opens his mouth wordlessly, then pauses, confused. He looks at the wagon again, then, with a frown, wanders over in that direction.Tucker puts two fingers in his mouth and lets a shrill whistle, waving at the constable."Load up!"Upstairs in The Cat & The Fiddle, Ragglus darts back and forth across the hallway of The Cat & The Fiddle's upper floor, shouldering his way through most of the doors as he looked for those awaiting Emus."Ma!" he calls out in frustration, tiring of the surprised and furious glances behind said doors, not to mention the dead weight in his arms. Seeing Mother Bridger's head pop out from a room further down, Ragglus charges down to the last room in the hall, boards creaking beneath the combined weight.The Glangirn contingent peppers him with questions as he passes through the open doorway, laying Emus down on the pallet."Shut up!" he cries in return, rounding on them. He's been accustomed to dwarves in Maidensbridge for as long as he can remember, but never managed to pick up a word. "I don't speak rockmuncher!""Ragglus Chaplin!" Mother Bridger exclaims, outraged. She immediately tends to the gravely injured Emus, but that doesn't stop her from chewing out the fighter over her shoulder. "I was just done telling these fellows how nice it was for you to carry poor Emus all the way here to safety, don't make me regret my words, foolish boy!""Sorry," Ragglus offers instantly, flushing. Following her gaze, he rolls his eyes and faces the dwarves, mumbling a reply. "I'm sorry."Downstairs, now that the carriage taking to Wit's End is finally out of sight, Hazel wanders into the tavern and drops into a chair. She thinks she saw Rags heading upstairs when she was dropping the gear, so she picks a spot where she can see both the main door and the stairs, and waits for news on Emus.One weary hand dips into a pocket and pulls out a silver coin."Milos," she calls toward the bar. "Hard cider, if you please, and some for my friend when he's done upstairs."After watching Rags carry Emus through the woods without complaint, Hazel's a bit more inclined to overlook his more unsavory habits.* * *The wagon rattles into the gathering dark of the Tulgey Wood, the Baron's Road visible by a pair of swinging lanterns mounted on poles at the front of the wagon. The constable keeps the ponies going as fast as he dares. Without taking his eyes off the road, he clears his throat, a puff of warm air leaving his chapped lips."What's this about the kobolds and Kat, then?""Damned if I know," Tucker replies. "Damn lizard-speak sounds like a bunch of barks and gulps to me. Kat had been freaking out about something, then grabbed Wormy, screamed at him and told me he'd let secrets slip before running off to help the shorties.""Kat, is this true?""Yes," Katadid says quietly.There is a long pause before he speaks again."One," he says, his voice a little above a whisper, "And one. It was ... an agreement, a question for a question. He asked ... he asked how many people guarded the town."Katadid's voice trails off, and he taps nervously on Emmerson's armor. The paladin doesn't complain."I had to answer. I tried ... not to, at first, but I had no ... I made a deal."Kat stares straight ahead at the road."Wormy is Kem, the dangerous one, the one they wouldn't mind losing, the one who had nothing to lose."Tucker is suddenly very conscious of the black silhouette of Green Mountain staring at his back as they ride through the forest."But he-he knew my answer before I gave it. Or said he did," Katadid says, turning and looking at Green Mountain himself, and then at Tucker. "They're watching us.""Well," the constable says finally, "This appears to be the day of paladins being put to the test when it comes to honoring oaths. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with you, Kat.""Neither am I."* * *Hours pass, but Emmerson is unaware of their passage. Later, he found it hard to recall what he was aware of during those dark hours, and could only recall figures walking him away from where he was, back to where he came from. The entire thing filled him with a degree of regret, but he understood his duty.There is no dramatic transition. Emmerson merely finds himself laying on a cold stone slab, his body a mass of aches, which he would later realize were the sites of his various injuries, healed now, but still badly bruised. His face is even colder, though, and reaching up, he finds his face is wet."You're awake." The accented voice takes Emmerson a moment to place. Even after opening his eyes, his vision is a blur for a long moment before resolving itself to a heavy man holding a silver basin full of water. Holy water, Emmerson realizes."Yes, your holiness." The paladin tries to push himself off the altar and down to the floor to kneel, but in his weakened state, he succeeds only in falling to the floor in a heap. As he struggles to get back up, he hears Bishop Jurgen Lehmann put the basin down and feels strong hands stand him back up. "Thank you.""Lothian is not done with you yet, son, and neither am I."Lehmann inspects Emmerson, taking each hand and arm, inspecting them, rubbing the flesh with his thumbs and nodding as he feels warmth returning to formerly dead limbs."Maidensbridge is drifting away from the church and is home to all manner of pagans. Lothian has granted you a second life. You gave your first life as a paladin. You are born again as his instrument here in Midwood. You will study under me and become the priest of Maidensbridge and the church's agent in the shadow of Green Mountain."</blockquote>

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