Blackburn's Crossing Chapter 4: Snake Eater

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"It's not surprising to me that might be the case. It would explain the shrine to Legba in the Blackburn family vault." Bernard said little else on the matter while they travelled to the Einhorn residence.

As they approched Bernard took Peri's hand, "I hope you know I didn't tell you to hurt you. I'll give you some time with him, alone." He gave her a brief hug before knocking on the door. "Derek, it's Father Bernard, I've brought soup for you and Jonathan as well as Peri to see him!"
 
Einhorn Haus:

Derek opens the door to look at Bernard and Peri before giving them a weak nod. He looks gaunt, like he's physically exhausted but he still moves with purpose towards the kitchen taking out some of the bowls, and washing a few spares to set out for the table. "Jonathan's in the back with Annabelle. Archibald left some soothers, so I guess we should probably mix it into his bowl so it doesn't taste as bad," said Derek pointing over to a few vials he had on the edge of one of the counters. One of them was already used. "He's putting on a good face for now. I'll be by in the morning... to pray."
 
“I know Bear, I am thankful you told me, I would like to not lose anyone again but most of all not without saying goodbye.” Peri went silent once more as Derek opened the door and she follows Bernard in. When Derek mentions where Jonothan was she nods and thanks him in a small voice. Looking to Bernard for a moment she nearly teared up again. He hadn’t said Jon was in pain or seemed so close. “Bear, If you need me, I’ll be with Jonothan and Annie.”

Excusing herself she moves deeper into the house knocking on Jonothan’s door waiting on an answer before slowly and with great effort making her way in.
 
Bernard grabbed a pot and lit the stove, pouring the soup in and warming it. "I didn't realize you'd have guests. I would have brought more soup." He cleans the bowls and nods to one for Derek to pour the tonic before ladling soup on top.

He filled the second bowl and took them both to the table. "One moment." He delivered Jonathan's to Peri and then returned to the table, taking a seat.

"How are you doing Derek? You don't look much better than Jonathan."
 
Yelcan waves off her apology, and settles in to listen to her explanation. As the words began to spill out of Arissa, Yelcan could see that she needed to get this all out of her system and he stayed silent, allowing her to empty these thoughts out. Once she finally fell silent and covered her face, he shifted his chair forward and put a hand on her shoulder. "Arissa, I know this is not necessarily what you might believe, but it sounds to me like Jonathan made a conscious, personal decision to make that deal with the Fiend, you cannot blame yourself for that at all. You can also not blame yourself for using what resources you had available to you in order to protect those you cared about, no one here can truthfully say they would not have done whatever they could, just like you. I know that you probably will not believe that, and will beat yourself up as empathetic people tend to do, but I truly believe that is the case."

Yelcan took a breath, and removed his hand from her shoulder, and allowed his eyes to drift off to a random point on the wall. "Now, that being said, this does not mean we can't do everything in our power to save him...I can safely assume that I am not the only one to know about this situation, and as such I'm sure that Bernard has exploited his connection with Ezra already to try and remedy it. That means that this is likely more than a simple curse...oh, and as for telling Peri, unfortunately I believe that being honest might be the most difficult of decisions right now when she is probably pretty fragile, but I wouldn't hold that information back for long. Now, obviously one of us can go to the Shadow Man and try and cut some deal to fix this, but that is what got us in trouble in the first place, so we should do our best to avoid that if at all possible. Now if this is indeed a magical connection between you, Jon, and the sword, it is possible that others skilled in the arcane arts might be able to detect that thread, and perhaps modify or alter it in some way that could be in our benefit, but I unfortunately do not know how that would work." It is almost as if Yelcan is thinking aloud as well as talking to Arissa, his hands move animatedly as he tries to think and describe his different ideas. "Now there is also the possibility of destroying the sword -- but no, we can't do that until we know how that might affect Jonathan."

It's at this point that Yelcan remembers just how exhausted Arissa had seemed, and he abruptly falls silent. He gives her an apologetic smile, "Sorry, I tend to get carried away when I am faced with a problem such as this. I don't mean to be callous. We...we can try and figure something out Arissa, I will be damned if I don't do everything in my power to help another kid from being corrupted by these kinds of magics. We got this." He gives her a reassuring smile, doing his best to instill any sort of confidence that he can in her.
 
Einhorn Haus:

Annabelle opens the door surprised to see Peri, and then grins. "The Triple Threat Trio reunited again," says Annabelle letting Peri into the room. Jonathan turns a smirk over to Peri. "Ah, heard about my wounded pride Peri? Fear not, I'll be better before long," he says in a commanding voice.

"Jonathan take this seriously," says Annabelle shaking her head. "In fact maybe I should leave for the moment and I'll return once you two are done catching up." Annabelle heads out the door towards the living room. Jonathan leaned up slipping himself into an upright position.

"So guess news travels fast around town. I don't think I've had this many visitor's all year," says Jonathan looking at Perian with a smile. "I wish I had known the secret to getting everyone to come visit me was getting sick. I might have done this sooner."

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"I'll live, I keep expecting any moment that someone is going to come through our doors and try to kill me and Jonathan. Unlikely I know but it feels as though someone's hexed me. First Maria and now Jonathan... you only hear things like this in tales about Vistani curses and the like," says Derek shaking his head. "Fuck if I know what to do, so if I got to pray I'll pray. He's all I got left, I sold the forge to Bjorn for a good price doubt I'll be needing it if things continue the same path."

Derek looks up to meet Bernard's eyes with a soulless expression. "I thought my house made of Iron, but now I see it was made of naught but clay. What am I supposed to do?" asks Derek before his gaze shifts over to Annabelle coming out of the room. "How's he doing?"

"Well he still is well enough to joke, so that hasn't changed. I think we'll have to start worrying about it when that stops," says Annabelle starting at her clasped hands after taking a seat at the table. Derek gives an almost imperceptible shake of his head. "No, that won't happen. It isn't in him."
 
"Derek, how common is it for a smith to recognize the Maker's Mark of another smith? For example, if one smith crafted a hammer for someone and it were damaged and I brought it here, would you be able to tell me who made it?" Bernard probed cautiously, hoping that the answer to "who killed Maria" was not "yet another Maria". If Thomas could only point the finger at one of the three, it would be difficult to find a forth option.
 
Einhorn Haus:

"Depends on how much they produced, and the quality of work. We're known for crafting some of the best armor's and weapons that nobles from many lands come to commission or send letters. They in turn show it off to their friends. For ours, if it didn't have Maria's mark then it had Jonathan's mark," says Derek walking over to take a seat at the table. "Any decent smith worth his salt will recognized other smith's marks, if not by prestige than by the years buying and selling weapons and armor. Einhorn's markings won't be showing up before long. Maybe our weapons will be worth more for a time, but in time the name will fade just like all the other great smiths."
 
Peri practiced her scrunch nosed smile on Bear as he handed her the soup, then again on Annie as she opened the door. “Hey Annie, Mr. Einhorn said you were here. I have soup.” Lifting the bowl a little she moves in but hesitates at the foot of the bed. Breathing in through her nose and slowly back out. ‘I can do this’ she thought to herself, her lip quirking at his jokes rather than her usual giggle.

As Annebelle left them to catch up, Peri moved closer and set his soup down on his side table. Sitting on his bed she kicked off her shoes and scrunched as small as she could hugging her knees heels hooking the bedrail. “James wanted me to tell you he would be by later, maybe, I think he meant tonite.”

Giving him another smile she sighs. “I came to find you the other day you know, but you were out with Heathuuuur” Peri stuck her tongue out at him after exaggerating her name. “I remember when you didn’t like girls so much. What happened? you went rogue on me.”

Laying her head in her knees she watched him for a moment. “Quit faking okay, you got your attention.” Tears stung her eyes making her look away towards the door, her whole body shuddering, as she breathed it away. Looking back she bit her lip and smiled again. “You are too sarcastic to..” she can’t finish the sentence so she simply smiled.
 
Arissa sat silently throughout Yelcan’s speech, doing her best to listen to his thoughts and options that he had come up with. After he had finished, Arissa was quiet for a long moment before she took a few shaky breaths and responded quietly. “No... I do believe you about the fault not being entirely my own, Yelcan... it is just hard for me to accept.”

Arissa wiped at her eyes before remove my her hands from her face and looking to Yelcan with a slight smile. “You have nothing to apologize for, Yelcan. Truthfully I had hoped to get your thoughts on the matter, as little as we know about the situation.” Arissa pauses briefly before looking down at the table somewhat ashamedly. “I do not wish to give up either, but I am fearful of what I may do when Jonathan’s time draws near... I have been tempted by darkness before for far less than the impending death of a friend, and I cannot allow myself to do it again. Bernard is thinking of ways to preserve Jonathan’s life as well. You should speak to him before embarking on any plans of your own, and if I can be of assistance to you in any way, please do not hesitate to ask.”

Arissa looks up to Yelcan’s smile and gives him a sad one in return. “Thank you for listening to my ramblings and offering to do what you can. I will continue to hope that your efforts may bear fruit, but in the meantime I believe I should try to... come to terms with this.” Her expression then shifts as she looks at him seriously. “Be careful, Yelcan. There is only so much loss Perian can handle, and I fear for what may happen if another she cared for were to die.”
 
Yelcan stands up from his seat. “I will wait to speak to Bernard before testing any of these theories, I promise. And I’m sure you will be instrumental in remedying this, so I wouldn’t worry about that.” Yelcan lifts the chair and slides it back into its spot at the table. “As for being careful myself, I will do my absolute best. But don’t fret, I’m sure Peri will understand the circumstances, don’t write her off as a friend just yet. But for now, I think we should all get some rest.” Yelcan goes over and gives Arissa a big hug, and after a wink and a wave, he heads out towards the manor.
 
Having given everyone some space to attend to their own business, Léone walks back from the curio shop and slowly makes her way over to the manor. Finding a spot on the floor in an empty room, she takes a deep breath and begins to work on the summoning ritual once more, the burning incense softly wafting out the open window. After about an hour or so she finishes up the last incantation, and Attimer appears in his raven form once more in a shimmer puff of mist. "Hey buddy," she says with a weak smile, petting him softly. "You've missed a lot."

"Have I, madame?" Attimer tilts his head curiously, still warming up to his voice once more. "It seems to me that less than 24 hours has passed since the time of my dispelling - which you are most likely aware was due to the necromancer's assault."

She sighs, shaking her head. "We've been in this town long enough to know how much can happen in a day. Anyway, we're going out to hunt the Great Serpent soon so you're going to keep an eye on James for me in the meantime, act as a messenger bird to our party if it's urgent." She chuckles. "Probably keep him company, too. If he asks any questions try your best to answer them, I've got nothing to hide."

"As you wish, madame." Attimer nods curtly in response, cawing happily as Léone tosses him a scrap of meat to eat. She sits back and thinks, replaying the day over once more. "I think that's all I really had to prep - still have the supplies from the last trek. But what to do now..." Mulling it over for a few more seconds she stands up and heads back to the room. Hopping onto the bed she leans against the wall and puts the Grimm's Fairy Tale book on the nightstand, before pulling out the old family journal James had given her this morning and beginning to read idly.
 
Arissa smiles to Yelcan, glad that Bernard would have someone to help him along. She returned the embrace and allowed him to leave without another word. She then stood and went to Bernard’s room, dressing her night gown and laying down in the bed for a few minutes but finding herself unable to sleep with so many thoughts running through her head. Arissa buried her face in a pillow for a moment, letting out an irritated yell before getting back out of bed, changing into a sleek black dress and her red jacket. I cannot sit idly by as everyone else is so hard at work. Sereal’s shop is likely closed by now, so that should wait until the morning. Bernard said that it was Thackery who runs the Roaring Rapids, ja? Perhaps I should pay him a visit.

Arissa exited the room, flute at her side, and quickly heated Bernard’s soup with her magic before eating it ravenously. She then began to head out the door, but paused as she remembered the type of establishment the Roaring Rapids was. After a moment of hesitation, she reached out and grabbed her sword from its place by the door. A familiar menacing voice floated into her head. I guess ya couldn’t stay away, eh lass? Not to worry, I have that affect on most women. Arissa rolled her eyes at the bellowing laughter that followed before responding curtly. There are a dozen means I could think of to destroy you blijvend. Try my patience again, and I will begin to run down the list. Arissa strapped the sheath to her side before setting out for the Roaring Rapids, hoping that Thackery would have some sort of answers for her.
 
The conversation with the man near the noticeboard comes to an end as Ludwig explains the situation and gets a notice written up for him on the board, he walks off with a casual wave and makes his way outside of The Dancing Lady. While walking around town he suddenly gets a spike in his mind, as if he'd just remembered something very important. "The stock! I can't do medicine without proper materials!"

Standing in the middle of the road, Ludwig grasps his chin and looks straight up in the sky as he tries to let the ideas flow into him. "I have the basics, I even brought some plants from the trip back from the swamp, though I didn't pick all that I saw. Perhaps I should get more varying flora from a different part of the swamp?" Snapping his fingers as if he'd come to an conclusion, he makes his way back to the apothecary and hurriedly unlocks the door.

Stepping into the apothecary, Ludwig goes over to some of his equipment that he'd stored away, more specifically for extracting materials. "Ah yes, that'll be good, this too... not to forget this one.. and ooooh.. I adore that one." Rapidly stuffing everything into his backpack, Ludwig marches out of the front door. Putting the lock back on, he starts to dig into his pouch and pull out a coin. "Fate'll decide where I go."

As he flips the coin, he closes his eyes in anticipation for the sound it makes when it hits the ground. A quick sneakpeek through his fingers determines it to be heads. "Heads? Seems like this excursion will be going South!" With a small chuckle, Ludwig starts to move his way into the swamp to collect whatever strange things he can get his hands on.
 
Bernard nodded, "Yeah, that makes sense. I guess Jonathan's early work would be relatively unknown, right? But those contraptions of his, the guns... those might be a legacy." He shifted to look toward Annabelle with a smile, "How are you, Annie? Seems like we haven't hardly shared a conversation since I got back to town." Bernard did not want to push Derek too hard, instead he tried to have a pleasant conversation with all the company.
 
Einhorn Haus:

“Yeah, I haven’t had a chance to hang out with him in the last few days since he’s been busy though I did hear he proposed to Leone and she said yes so that’s good. If anyone can keep the Brainiac in check it’s probably another Brainiac no?” said Jonathan chuckling. He laughs a bit more when Peri makes fun of heather’s name. “She’s an interesting one, but I asked her to the Ball because I ruined her dress. Figured it might at least make it up to her by being nice. Well nicer than I am to little rascals that play out in the muddy swamp.”

Jonathan rubs Peri’s hair for a moment before taking the soup and taking a few spoonful’s before setting it aside. “Besides I’m not sure I ever didn’t like girls. I liked you didn’t I?” says Jonathan nudging her in the side playfully before watching Peri crawl into her depressed state balled up state.

“Perian Cherricola Marsh… what am I going to do with you,” says Jonathan sighing through a smile. “I know you probably don’t think about ‘boys’ too much but I think you should find someone who cares for you. You’re brother does sure, but he can’t always be there for you, and there are some ways in which he won’t be able to support you. So find someone who loves you for who you are, and maybe who also likes nature so at least you have a common interest no? I mean who else is going to make a mess in people’s shops with seed pods?”
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"Could be, though I haven't seen him with it for a day or two. Usually likes carrying the contraption around," says Derek turning his attention over to Annabelle was Bernard does. Annabelle looks to Bernard taking her gaze from her hands. "Yeah, congratulations on you're new position Bernie," says Annabelle offering a soft smile. "I hear you've already begun to make some changes and they sound like they will be for the better. Sorry I don't check in very often. Between my dad's over protectiveness, the Tangled Thread, and the other town craziness it has been busy for me. I did hear you took Arissa to the Ball... is that working out well?"
 
Roaring Rapids:

At this time of night the Roaring Rapids is still up and moving with people cheering, yelling, singing shanties. Some are involved in card games, or dice games of chance, while drinks are served and Thackery is busy cooking up meals. A Halfling seems to keep an eye out on things from his spot at the end of the counter making sure nothing gets out of hand, or no one gets too familiar with Terra.

Some unusual figures are around tonight. The most outstanding is a pair of humans in full plated armor, bearing the crest of what seems to be a skull on the shields secured onto their back. One has dark hair and white eyes, while the other has seemingly the opposite arrangement. Their faces show seriousness as they drink and discuss. The similarities of their faces mark them as being possibly related.

Another man in one of the far corners plays with an assortment of five strangely colored dice, and as the man across from him stands up he shakes the elderly gentleman’s arms and wishes him well. After a moment he sits down and begins to lazily spin a die on its edge.

A large man holds up a spear to the people stationed around the table he was at. He seems to be telling the tale as to how he got the item in his possession. Very few take notice of another person entering the Roaring Rapids as Arissa enters though the man with the dice seems to take a prolonged stare at you before returning to spinning his dice casually.
 
Arissa entered the Roaring Rapids, reminded of the first night she had been brought there by Peri and Zindan. Gods, things were so much simpler back then. She shook her head and then put on a smile as she walked into the room, briefly taking stock of the place. She raised an eyebrow at the tiny man who seemed to be eyeing the sword at her side, and distantly remembered him from the pirate invasion, but shrugged and allowed her eyes to further drift around the room. Arissa locked eyes with a strange man in the corner who seemed to be playing with dice. She gave him a slight smirk before approaching the bar.

Arissa leaned against the bar and cleared her throat gently to the man who appeared to be cooking meals, and smiled to him as he looked over. “Pardon me, sir, but I believe I am looking for a man named Thackery? He is the purveyor of this establishment, ja?”
 
"Wow, still calling me Bernie... though I'd grown out of that." Bernard smirks, he always hated that name. "I hope to change the church, and the town, for the better." He smiles at the thought of Arissa and the night at the ball. Despite all the bad things that happened that evening, he couldn't help but remember their dance, it was a pleasant memory that he clung too, afraid that any moment it might be ripped from him like so many other things. The knowledge that memories of Jonathan's ghost sight had been taken from him, worried him, nothing was safe, not even in his own mind. His warm smile and soft tone hid a slight pang of concern in his eyes. "Things are going well. She's a wonderful woman, and I have been very fortunate to have time to spend with her. Have you had the opportunity to get to know her? I know she arrived in town shortly before I got back..." He kind of trailed off, it felt wrong to speak of his future and happiness in front of Derek who lost a wife, and faced the impending death of his son. Looking back to Derek, Bernard quickly asked, "How's the soup?"
 
Peri crinkles her nose at him as he nudged her, “I’m not a girl i’m a Peri, I’ll always be a Peri. That’s why we are friends because your a silly unicorn and I’m a Peri.” Turning she sits cross legged facing him.

“Who is going to sneak me snacks? I’ll starve.” Her face changes, teasing, as if it was the most devastating revelation. When Jonothan mentioned boys she shrugged and looked down fiddling with her hands. “Haven’t really had to think about boys. Momma was the only one who seemed to care about that sort of thing for me. Not like James or Bear or Annie, it was expected..you too?”

Holding out her hand she shows him the ring, “Bear has this made for me, told me I was a noble lady.” She laughed at the thought. “A noble lady who runs amuck in the swamps, but I like it. It’s something I’ll treasure as Bear moves forward with Arissa at his side.”

Scratching her head she thinks about his comments a bit more. “I don’t know if it means what you meant about a boy, but I have found a friend in Yelcan. He likes nature, and spending time with me.” She blushed. “He makes me feel smart, and strong. Not that Bear doesn’t, but in a different way.”

Tucking her hair behind her ears she fiddles with a piece it was getting long. “When he kissed me at the ball my stomach flipped, when he did it today I felt flush It’s confusing”
 
Roaring Rapids:

Thackery turns for a moment looking over his shoulder at Arissa and then smiles before flipping a fish and setting it back down to continue to cook. "That would be me alright," says Thackery collecting a few mugs and setting them off to the side of the stove. "What can I do for ye miss?" There is a loud cheer and for a moment Thackery looks up towards the table before going back to looking at Arissa. He seemed friendly enough. A girl soon joined him behind the counter and began to clean some of the mugs.
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Einhorn Haus:

"You won't starve, your dad taught you how to find food, even if you do steal it as a fox," says Jonathan shaking his head for a moment remembering the time she ran through the baker's store because she really wanted pastries. "You'll find a way."

When the subject comes to Yelcan he smiles a bit. "That's a good sign that he might be the one I'm talking about. They'll usually make you feel that way, sometimes butterfly feelings about your body as well," said Jonathan who coughs for a moment before continuing. "If things ever get a bit serious between the both of you, I'm sure Bernard will be giving him a bunch of mean looks, but it's not because he hates the person all of a sudden. He just wants to protect you like an over protective momma bear. I think some people forget that like the birds in spring, if they never leave their nests they'll never learn how to fly, and those birds eventually die much sooner."

Jonathan looks back to Peri. "I think you should probably tell Yelcan how you feel, so he knows. It would be better that he knows rather than guessing, or even worse if he doesn't know," said Jonathan laughing at the thought. "In addition though you might want to mention that I'll come back to haunt him if he hurts you, but not too much. I promise."
 
Yelcan leaves the Marsh house, wandering in the direction of the Manor as he thought about what he had just learned. These deals that have been made with Legba, there had been so many of them and yet Yelcan had never even met the man, or know how it is he works, what his goal is. It seems like the only thing they knew about him is that he liked to make deals. Yelcan decided if he was to be any kind of help, he would need to speak to the man first hand to understand how he thinks or how he works. Yelcan changed course and instead followed the path that Hyde and Peri had taken all those nights ago. Once Yelcan arrived at where they had met Papa Legba, he stayed silent, sitting cross legged on the floor to see if the fiend made his appearance known.
 
Peri smiles and chuckles a bit, “I think he’s been threatened a few times, It didn’t look like Papa liked him much, and James said something similar. You won’t have to though Jon, I don’t think he would ever hurt me. Not on purpose.”

Crinkling her nose she decided to ask, “Did Heather give you butterflies?” Pointing her finger she waves it over him.
 
Arissa’s smile widens to the man. “It is good to meet you, Thackery. Unfortunately I do not believe our paths crossed on my previous stay here over two weeks back. I am Arissa... and to be frank, I am rather bored.” Arissa smiles at him mischievously. “I am told that my skills with my flute are fit for royal audience, but I suppose that the patrons of your tavern would do. I hardly ever have the opportunity to utilize these talents of mine. How does a performance sound? Gratis, of course. After all, this is as much for my amusement as it is for that of your customers.”
 
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Einhorn Haus:

“I’ll probably never let that one die,” says Annabelle smirking for a moment at his protest to being called Bernie. “I actually have met her a while ago; we walked from the forge to James’ around the time he had just arrived. I’m afraid I might have scarred her off with my temper at someone using my dad’s likeness as Sherriff. I’m not sure if nobles where she comes from summon weapons and threaten them at sword point.”

Derek looked down at the soup having not really touched it and then tried a few sips. He grunted in response. “It’s good. I’m afraid I’m not really in the mood for praise at the moment, you’ll have to forgive me,” says Derek letting the spoon drop back into the soup. Annabelle briefly looks there for a moment and then back to Bernard.
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“Some time we’ll have to catch up with what we did while we were away, you off with your priestly duties and me off with my schooling,” said Annabelle tucking a lock of hair that was falling in front of her face, behind her ear.

“That’s good, then I wish him luck then,” said Jonathan taking a few more sips from the soup, as he thought about Peri’s question. “No, she was nice but I have other things on my mind right now than to be focusing on something like that. I’ll just be a small chapter in her life, potentially remembered with a fondness but nothing more.”

“So what has been going on since the party? I haven’t heard anything about what everyone has been up to, I’m sure Bernard was busy with a funeral and Archibald mentioned something about him giving a speech,” said Jonathan curiously.
 
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