Blackburn's Crossing Chapter 4: Snake Eater

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Arissa smiled at the thought. “I am so glad that Perian has found someone... if I am to be frank I have a few reservations about her being in a relationship, but I believe that Yelcan is a good man...” Arissa pauses for a moment before grinning mischievously to Jonathan. “And if he proves himself to be anything otherwise, I will be sure to teach him a lesson he will never forget for you.”

Arissa then thinks back on Jon’s comments about her children being performers and pulls out her flute, inspecting it for a moment. “It is odd that you should mention that. I actually performed at the Roaring Rapids last night... I know I could have chosen a more ideal crowd, but I truly did enjoy performing. It was one of the few times I had felt that I was enjoying myself... albeit I may have overindulge a tad bit.”

Arissa blushes, hoping that there would not be new rumors about her the next time she visited Terra. She then turns to Jonathan and takes his hand, smiling sadly. “I should probably let you be for the time being. You have some more clever jokes to come up with for my return, and I a large human-like snake to kill. Any advice for a novice swordswoman? My lessons with the foil consisted of little more than to stick them with the pointy end.”
 
Einhorn Haus:

"I'd rather her be with someone then end up alone, in the end," says Jonathan when it comes to Peri. "For all the posturing towards Yelcan I know he won't fuck it up. He knows there's far too many people that care for Peri, and I'm sure you'll be constantly reminding him needlessly of what he already knows."

"Ah I see I missed a mighty fine performance then," says Jonathan smiling. "No crowd better than the one that could turn and throw tomatoes at you for any misstep."

"Well I hear you should probably stick them with the pointy end," said Jonathan doing a thrust forward with an invisible sword. "Hopefully after poking a few holes in them they won't be able to move any more."
 
Arissa rolled her eyes. “Thank you, I have oddly never heard that advice before. I was planning on using the pommel.” Arissa then smiled softly to Jonathan. “Well, thank you for humoring me as I blundered my way through my goodbyes. I pray that you will hold out until my return. In fact...” Arissa fixed Jonathan with her most authoritative noble stare. “I forbid you from dying until I permit it, Jonathan Einhorn.” Arissa smiled sadly to Jon as tears fell down her face, but she felt a sense of closure as she gave Jon what would likely be a final hug. She then recollected herself and forced a confident smile. “I will be back in a few days. Try not to miss me too much.”
 
Einhorn Haus:

When Arissa ordered him to not die he shook his head. "And now I definitely won't make it. I was never good at following directions," says Jonathan right before Arissa came in for a hug. He returned a much weaker hug this time, and then waved her goodbye. "Don't worry, I've got plenty to keep my occupied. I'm actually thinking for once. Not being able to mindlessly forge may have it's benefits."
 
Bernard smiled, "Thank you Simon, I know he wanted closure. This seems like the best I can do." He collected the journal and receipt along with the Adaptive Weapon, still in the shape of the Falkovnian sword and turned back around to Leone and Kallisto. "I'm headed to see Derek and Jonathan, you're both welcome to join me unless there's something else?" He began to leave the office, the two women trailing after him.

When they'd exited the constabulary Bernard shrugged and after a quick glance around to see that no one was paying too much attention he stated, "Subcinctus." The blade quickly melted and reformed into a very simple ring, which Bernard placed on his finger. "So, what have you two been up to? Got all the supplies you need for the trip? I need to get a net for Peri. I'm sure I can find the food we need and I have a bedroll. Maybe I should see if Reginauld has anything useful in his Curio shop? Or pay a visit to Bjorn, who knows?" Bernard lacked conviction in his next goals, his mind focused on speaking with Jonathan, sharing what he knew.
 
Arissa smirked teasingly to Jonathan as she stood and headed to the door. “Thinking? Gods, I never thought I would live to see the day. Perhaps you can take a page out of Heather’s book and write those thoughts of yours down... that is, if you ever learned how.” She opened the door and stopped before turning back to look at him with a sad smile. “Goodbye, Heartbreaker Jonathan Einhorn. Gods, who knew how accurate a name that would be for you?It has been my greatest pleasure to have called you my friend.” Arissa curtsied to Jonathan, and then turned and left his room, closing the door behind her. She steeled herself and began to focus on the task ahead of them. There will be time to mourn upon our return... First we need to guarantee our survival throughout this task.

Arissa said a quick farewell to Derek, still unsure of how to begin to talk to the man after all that had happened, and then walked purposefully back towards the Marsh House. She saw Violette waiting by the door and smiled broadly, waving to her. “Hello, Violette! Thank you for your assistance. I am eager to see the results of your trip.”
 
Listening to Bernard go through his findings, Kallisto picked at her beads with a frown ... she had tried to help with the case, yet it seems others had done far more than her.

When the serpent was mentioned she gave Bernard a nod in response, adjusting the heavy crossbow on her shoulder.

She followed him out of the constabulary, "I ... last time I spoke to the Einhorns, I ... think I was -- I don't think I handled their feelings very well. I'm ... not the best with people still." She walked with her head bowed slightly, Aluc still on her shoulder, "I did not realize how much others had done with regards to Maria. I wish I had done more ..." As Bernard said a strange word she watched it shift to a ring, "At least our fears of how easy that is to hide were true..."

Shifting the crossbow she shook her head, "I thought I was going to need more supplies, but in looking over my things, I do not. I had considered buying a longbow, since so many things seem to be out of reach," she raised her arms in the motions of an archer, before shifting to holding an imaginary crossbow, "... instead when I spoke to Simon he offered to let me borrow this crossbow. Not something to be used on people, but the swamps hold many strange creatures."

Speeding up slightly she moved in step with Bernard, placing a clawed hand on his shoulder, "I -- I know you have many things on your mind ... it was not until yesterday I realized what has also been on your plate... when I met Lina. I understood little of the conversation, but it is hard to mistake a missing presence." Attempting to balance the crossbow she unhooked Sulrac from her hip, holding it out to Bernard, "I ... you have so much to keep track of, and you always offer your help. You have a very personal concern, and yet ... still you focus on the serpent in the swamps first."

Kallisto motioned for him to take the weapon, "Let this be a promise: I will get this weapon back when I have helped you with your own task. I expect it to be returned during dinner at the Marsh House, with all seats filled at the table." She gave him a slightly tired smile, her teeth visible. "You tell everyone to lean on you, please know you can lean on us when the time comes for it."
 
Bernard continued toward the Einhorn house, listening quietly as Kallisto spoke. As she placed a hand on his shoulder Bernard stopped to turn toward her. "I just have to have faith that mother will be fine in her story book until we're able to go rescue her. I don't trust the town to be near as tough as her." He replied as she unclasped her weapon. When she motioned for him to take it he hesitated, but her insistence that it forge a pact was enough for him not to argue. "I'm sure that time will be soon enough, and I appreciate the help. Once this snake business is done I'll be heading right into that book." He took the blade, tying it to his belt. "Please, I am far too heavy to lean on anyone, especially once I put James' armor on. I'll settle for some company." Bernard jested with a chuckle as Kallisto grinned. He continued his trek toward the Einhorns'.

As he walked he began small conversation, "To be honest, I probably haven't done the best with handling Derek either. Though Maria did a decent job of pointing the finger at him on many levels. It wasn't until a chat with Annabelle that I decided that Bjorn might be a suspect, that was a whole mess that lead me to Maria's lie. When I went to speak with her, believing she was Heather, I found she'd left. The only thing I'd say I did right was checking Heather's room when I learned she'd left. I just stumbled through the rest of it. Leone identified the weapon and Thomas came up with the suspects, I spent most of my time chasing down answers to questions I had from your questioning Derek." Bernard shrugged, seemingly content to state what a mess his "investigation" had been, in his mind it wasn't as if he'd been some Alanik Ray, he just kept chasing answers because he owed that to Jon.

As they approached the Einhorn residence, Bernard put on his best priestly smile, smoothed his tunic, and knocked on the door. Turning to Kallisto he smiled, "I'm sure some closure will do Jonathan some good, but I feel it might confuse Derek so we should take this slowly. We're here as friends, not as officials."
 
"Hmm, I think between all of us we'd manage to prop you up."

She sighed as she listened to Bernard continue, "When we spoke to Derek originally ... I had a strong doubt he was the killer. Bjorn I could see being a suspect, it led to his return to smithing, but ... too obvious of a gain. Much like the sword, it felt too obvious." Running a clawed hand through her hair she added, "At least I was half right in thinking the weapon was still near. I thought perhaps it was invisible in its safe -- seeing Arissa and her invisibility ... I didn't know if it could be used on items either."

Standing outside the Einhorn door she rocked on her feet slightly, "I will try my best ... as I said, I still am not the best with people."
 
Léone nods at Bernard and Kallisto as they start making their way over to the Einhorn house. The full solution to the mystery was definitely... unusual to say the least, and she continued to mull it over as she splits ways with them and starts heading over to the Marsh house to see if anyone was there already. On arriving she notices Arissa and Violette out front, and she waves to get their attention. "Hey there! Lovely day for some hunting huh?" She smirks a bit, trying to mentally prepare herself for what seemed like a fairly long trek in the swamp while waiting for the others.
 
Einhorn Haus:

Derek sees both Bernard and Kallisto again at his front door and looks between the two of you quizzically. "I can only assume you're both here again because you have news.... or you have more questions," says Derek as he lets you in before shutting the door. "Can say it's been weird to have so many visitors to the house in the last few days compared to what it's been before."
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Marsh house:

Violette waits leaning on the fence looking around. As Arissa approaches the Marsh House Viollete waves at her and holds up a bag with the presumable cloths in it. Around the same time Leone approaches and she smiles in her direction as well. "I think we'll be doing more walking in mud than hunting in truth. The hunting will begin soon enough I'm sure."

After taking handing the bag over of the change of cloths to Arissa she also holds out a small bag that clinks with coins. "Eight gold coins is you're change," says Violette as she waits for Arissa's reaction to the cloths. "The selection was not the best in a fashion sense but honestly it will make up for it when you are not freeing out there in the swamp. Trust me on that. And I managed to strike a very good deal for the price of them."
 
After entering the house, Kallisto set the large crossbow and weapon down against the inner wall. Turning towards Derek she bowed, "A few days ago, I said we were trying to do as much as we could, for both you and Jonathan. I still ... regret how overwhelming I might have seemed to the both of you, asking a wave of questions." She stood straighter, though her head was still bowed slightly towards Derek, "Bernard has a better understanding of all that was figured out, but I ... wanted to apologize for how ... unaware I might have been for your feelings."

She scratched her head hesitantly, "This is likely a conversation Jonathan should hear as well."
 
Arissa approaches Léone and gives her a quick hug. “Hello, Léone! Ready for our next adventure? Hopefully this expedition goes better than any of our previous trips in the swamp, ja?”

Arissa then turned and smiled to Violette, taking both the bag and the pouch from her. “I appreciate your frugality with my funds. If I am to be quite honest, my purse has been rather light ever since I have arrived here. I suppose I should get used to living in more modest means, but oude gewoontes zijn moeilijk af te leren, ja?”

Arissa stowed the pouch before opening the bag, and removing a reddish-brown wolf’s pelt cloak and matching boots. She stared at it for a moment, considering her options before nodding and looking to Violette. “I suppose these will do for now. I doubt that you could have done anything better in this town... it is a shame, I had the most lovely nertsenvel cloak sitting in my closet back at home, hardly ever touched. Gods, I would kill for it now... I had never felt anything softer before in my life.”

Arissa took a moment to reflect back on the comparatively simpler times back in Carmanth before walking over to the door and opening it up before gesturing to Léone and Violette invitingly. “Please, do make yourselves at home. Forgive me for my continued streak of poor hosting, but I am afraid that I am in need of a bit of a rest before we set out. If either of you should like to do the same, I am certain Bernard would not mind one of you using his bedroll. He seems to be comfortable enough in it as I continue to steal his bed. I would offer to share it with you, but that does seem to be rather indecent, ja?”
 
Marsh House:

"Perhaps you have not spent too many winters in cold places, sometimes in the wilderness one does what one must to do to survive," says Violette as Arissa starts to head off. She looks to Leone for a moment. "I will be right back there is a small thing I need to mention to Arissa."

Catching her before she fully gets into the room Violette speaks. "There is one thing that I should mention," says Violette a bit sheepishly. "I mentioned who I was shopping for, and how with you're closeness to Bernard the head of the church, you might put in a word to eventually have him look into the matter of her daughter. Lora, I believe her name was."

Violette shrugs before continuing. "A harmless promise for saving quiet a bit of gold wouldn't you say?"
 
Bernard smiled, "We've got news, which I hope will help you find some closure. I agree with Kallisto, Jon should hear this as well." Bernard, Derek, and Kallisto made their way to Jonathan's room. "Good afternoon, Jonathan. I've news about your mother's case." He smiles and takes a seat on the edge of the bed, pulling out the journal. "There is no easy way to approach this, so I will explain. It is our belief that Maria orchestrated the death of her body and has now inhabited Heather Blackstone's. Jonathan, based on what you and Arissa learned of your mother and her first death, it is possible that she became a vessel of sorts. She was dealing with the Falkovnians, and they intended to take her to Falkovnia. On night that Maria's body died, Heather's journal entries end earlier than usual." He opens the journal sharing the last of Heather's entries with Derek and Jonathan. "The next day the entries begin late in the day in Maria's handwriting." Bernard flips the page, allowing them to see the difference and compare the receipt to the entry. "I believe in the missing time that Maria brought Heather from the manor back to the shop where she entered Heather's body and disposed of her own using the Adaptive Weapon." Bernard held out his hand, "Subcinctus." The ring uncoiled from around his finger forming into Jonathan's Falkovnian blade. "I am unsure whether this killed Heather, or if Maria and Heather cohabit the same body. I fear the first, but hope for the second. Maria has fled the city so far as we know, but we hope to learn more." Bernard looked to both men and sighed, "I know this is likely not the news you wanted to hear, but it is what I have learned. It was not the Falkovnians, nor any competitator, but Maria herself who was responsible for her fate. I will keep you updated as I learn more, only if you wish to know. Otherwise, I hope this gives you some closure." Bernard then turns the blade in his hand, offering the hilt to Derek.
 
Einhorn Haus:

"Impossible, you're saying that my Maria is.... alive?" asks Derek trembling. "How is that possible?"

Jonathan just shakes his head considering what has been said. "Thank you, but I think I would have rather not known. Some secret's I could live without," says Jonathan tiredly. "Regardless thank you for trying your best Bernard." Derek looks to Jonathan at first with a look of bewilderment and then slowly understanding.

"I won't abbandon you son," says Derek coming over to Jonathan and grasping his hand. "Not while you're still here."

Jonathan smiles for a moment then shakes his head weakly. "I know dad. I know."
 
Arissa rubbed her temple for a moment, trying to stay focused on the task at hand before moving on to the next catastrophe. “I would rather not be used to curry favors from Bernard... besides, the man has so many troubles already. I hate to be a further contribution to the list.” Arissa sighed for a moment before turning back to Violette. “I suppose it is something that he would likely have to deal with in the future anyways... I will bring it to his attention after we have dealt with our current threat. I do thank you again for running the errand for me, Violette. If there is ever anything you need from me as well, do not hesitate to ask.”

Arissa gave Violette a last smile before removing her boots and beginning to change into her nightgown. She pauses, and then looks over to Violette. “I do not mean to order you around as if you were a servant... but by any chance could you put on a kettle for tea? Oh, if you or Léone are in need of food, I believe there may be a pancake or two left over from breakfast on the table.”
 
Marsh House:

"I knew you'd understand," says Violette smiling back in response to Arissas. When it came to Arissa's request she looked momentarily surprised. "Actually, I was going to try and round up the others in the mean time. I'll be sure to let Leone know you'd like some tea."

Violette waves behind herself as she walks off leaving the message with Leone and going in search for the other party members of the group.
 
Bernard gave a weak smile before placing the journal back into his belt, "I'm sorry that it is not as you expected, I understand it is difficult to process. The church is here, however they can help. I will be gone for a few days helping with some other things that require my attention, but I'm sure Archibald will continue to do his best, for both of you." Bernard stood and began to exit the room, pausing to turn back around, "Jonathan. Thank you, for understanding, and for being a friend - to Peri and Arissa, and everyone else. It... it means a lot to me and I'm glad you were there for Peri when I went away. Derek, honestly, if you need something, ask. Ezra served the people, and we follow in her footsteps. We're not perfect, but we strive to do just a small fraction of the good she did." He gave a slight bow to both of them and stepped out of the room, leaving the father and his son as well as Kallisto for any final words she might have to say to the men. He stepped out in front of the house to wait for Kallisto, speaking the command word and turning the sword back into a simple ring.
 
Arissa considered the thought of Léone making tea, and was suddenly concerned by the very real danger of the Marsh House burning down due to errant magic. Arissa followed Violette and caught up to her, smiling apologetically before whispering to her. “If you would not mind, I believe that it would be best if you set the tea for me after you have returned with the others. I am a bit concerned that the house might be a pile of rubble when you return.” After Violette agreed and offered some tea from her homeland, Arissa smiled and thanked her again before returning to Bernard’s room and removing the leather armor that Jonathan had sold her from her bag. She set it out carefully on the dresser, and then noticed a roll of paper that had fallen out of her bag. She raised an eyebrow and picked it up, smiling as she unrolled it to see sheet music with familiar Carmanthian lettering at the top of it. Toevluchtsoord voor Reizigers, ja? I recall this piece well for my inability to perform it... I had only taken it with me upon Father’s insistence that a baroness should be prepared for anything in the wilderness.

Arissa studied the music for several minutes to refresh her memory of it before slowly nodding off to sleep, feeling oddly confident that the spell was now within the grasp of her talents.
 
While Bernard spoke to Derek and Jonathan, Kallisto still tried to fully understand everything that was being said about the case, but towards the end found herself looking between the father and son pair. Bernard had said "Jon is dying", but it was hard for her to comprehend when last she'd seen him he had been able to stand, just maybe looking a little unwell, like she had felt. How had things gotten to this point ...?

The way Bernard spoke before leaving, it sounded like he didn't expect Jonathan to be around when the group returned either. She watched him leave before turning back to the pair, their eyes on her, but ... what could she really say? She had known them over the years, occasionally delivering materials or helping unload their shipments, buying whetstones and such to maintain her weapons...

Aluc adjusted herself to preen her feathers as Kallisto sat picking at her beads. "I ... did not realize how bad things had gotten for the both of you." She glanced towards their clasped hands, "I also dislike speaking of things as if they're set in stone." Her eyes met Jonathan's tired gaze before flickering towards Derek, still stuck in a mix of shock about Maria and concern for his son. "Over the years ... I have appreciated that neither of you treated me badly, avoided me because of what I looked like or had acted when younger. Helping to find Maria's killer, I had hoped would repay some of that if I could ... but I feel what was found may have hurt even more." Still seated she bowed her head towards the pair, "As Bernard said ... know that if you need anything, either of you, you merely need to ask."

Eventually she stood before looking towards Jonathan with a smile, "When we return, we can tell you all about our trek, the strange things encountered, how we used weapons with your maker's mark. I intend to bring back a few trophies from it, you will have some as well. Then you can tell all of the mighty unicorn that slayed a serpent, right?" Nodding to them both she left the room, collecting her weapons by the front door.

Stepping out she saw Bernard still waiting, the ring back on his finger. "... there is much I do not understand. All our talk of no more secrets, yet still they appear." She finished settling the crossbow on her shoulder, "So many things happening at the same time ... one after another. Yet we must focus on one thing at a time, else nothing will be done." She ran a finger along Aluc's back, "I think I am done preparing. I will head to your home for now, see if anyone else is ready yet, unless you think you need me still. I ... hope Perian might be able to 'awaken' Aluc today, but I will not force it if she does not want to."
 
Bernard nodded, fidgeting with the ring. "I do not think this would do anything more than further hurt Derek, but in the interest of honesty, Jonathan made his deal with Legba, gave up something and took on Arissa's debt present and future to the Fiend. Now Jonathan is paying the price, and it will cost him his life. He did this to protect Arissa." Bernard gave a pained laugh at the situation as he continues. "That evening you got your axe, I was going to make the same deal but learned someone had beat me to it. Legba's second offer was not nearly as appealing."

There was a moment of pause while Bernard mulled something over in his head before he added, "I believe that Legba twists things for his favor. We are fools to think we are more than pawns in a larger game. I am increasingly worried that he set us after this snake and gave you that blade so he might upset a balance that has existed for a very long time. We should, if we get the chance, speak with the serpent to gain some clarity before we end it. I am not saying we leave the natives to their fate, but if it can speak perhaps we can reason with it. Then, if you want, we will find a way to free your soul from it's bond."

Bernard quickly moves on from the discussion to address the what's next. He didn't seem to have the heart to argue or fight, "Right now, I need to run this journal back to Simon and buy a net for Peri. I might also grab some supplies and rations and see if I can't make it to Reginauld's shop. Good luck with the awakening." Bernard gave a bright smile as Durendal appeared nearby. Mounting the steed he turned once more to Kallisto giving her a brief wave before heading back to the Constabulary to drop off the journal at the front desk. From there he moved on to the general store, for a net and trail rations.
 
Arissa rose and stretched with a yawn, feeling partially refreshed from her nap. She rolled out of bed as her eyes fell on the armor she had set out. It is fitting that Jonathan would still be protecting me on this trip, ja? She strapped on the armor, feeling the familiar latent magical energy tingling throughout it, and grunted a bit as she tightened a belt around her bruised rib. Gods, if only I had this during the ball. Arissa then quickly packed for the expedition in the bag she had purchased for the journey to Tumbledown, and then headed for the living room.

Arissa smiled as she saw Kallisto sitting on the couch with Léone, feeding berries to her small bird friend. “Hello, Kallisto! I apologize for not having the opportunity to talk yesterday. My mind was a bit... preoccupied.” Arissa then pauses for a moment to consider something before smiling sheepishly to Kallisto. “There is something I would actually appreciate your assistance in, if you would not mind. I found a spell that might be of great use to us in our journey... given that I am able to perform it, that is. It forms a protective barrier that only those who are within it are capable of passing through, and lasts throughout the night. Would you be interested in a performance?”
 
Kallisto listened as Bernard spoke of more deals, "Mmm... I think it is better you did not make the deal regardless of how 'appealing' the offer was. You claim to want to be better than the prior generation, do not follow them in making deals. Arissa means much to you, but if you had done the same, would it not likely be you dying instead?"

When he continued to speak about the serpent, "Much has changed with how I think of it. You are the only one I know of who has heard it speak -- the vision I was given ... was silent. I am willing to talk, but we will have to see how things progress. Things will be as they'll be. Do not worry so much of my bond, there are larger concerns ahead of you."

She returned his wave as she moved towards the Marsh House, passing Violette on her way to try and gather up the rest of the party. She entered the home, finding Leon busy with her thoughts and decided to give Aluc some small berries she'd found around town -- a reward for tolerating all the human chatter she'd had to overhear. Hearing Arissa she glanced up, "That sounds like something that would be very useful with our intended journey. What would you need from me to help...?"
 
Arissa smiled, glad that Kallisto seemed to agree that with the spell’s use. “Well, all I would need from you at first is to sit through my performance without growing too testy. I am afraid it has been quite some time since I attempted the spell, so the notes may be a tad rusty. All I would need from you is to test the durability of the spell after it is in place. I would hate for it to fail at the first sign of resistance, so it would be better to find out now if it truly works, has?”

After Kallisto’s agreement, Arissa smiled to her and walked to the other side of the room before turning and curtsying to the two. She then removed her flute from its case and began to recite the song from memory. It was far from Arissa’s best work, but as she played a breeze seemed to pick up, and slowly leaves started to drift into the room, forming a circle around her throughout the performance. As the song drew to an end, the leaves began to rustle about until they scatter into the air, forming a translucent green barrier around Arissa that seemed shift and move about. Arissa grinned to Kallisto. “Apologies for the ear-sore, but I believe that the spell had its intended results. Might you do the honors?”
 
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