2 House Velenosa Guards arrives, following Leta.

Onida, a boglands wolf-hound, Outi the Iron Hound, Gene Erique, Guardsman, 3 Iron Guardsmen, Tero the Iron Hound arrive, following Jyri.

The day is warmer than the previous, one of those strange winter days where the sun isn't hiding behind clouds and instead paints the city in its warm golden glow. The snow from the previous day is melting to slush and there are plenty of children gathered outside to play and tell stories as children are wont to do. There is a small knot of them playing a clapping game, coordinating clapping patterns with a chant. "...mother says, don't talk back, if you do you'll be a snack... a snack to who, well that's a fact, you'll be gone with a click and clack, stole away and just a mask."

Entering with Quintin is Olivia. They seem to be chatting, as always Olivia dares not be out 'enthused'. "No I am telling you cousin, we need to find someone who knew Ol' Sam. That is step one!." That's when she stops and hears the end of a strange limmerick.

Ian stands alone, over at the scorch mark on the wall, considering it and the monument attached to it. He's pretty well tuned out the chanting of the children. This is Arx. Children are always chanting creepy stuff. If it's not cannibals with mask obsessions, it's invisible claws, monsters that take children, or any number of worse things.

Quintin has an apple in one gauntleted hand, which he's eating as he walks along with Olivia. "That's the man whose mask that got pulled out of the trash or the one that got swept up after the other mask was found?" He asks his cousin. He also turns his attention on the children, listens, and raises his eyebrows. "Well, that's a bit creepy." The Ashford man's gray gaze takes in his surroundings - the scorch mark, the man by the scorch mark.

That isn't a beautiful song to hear, especially not with the shadowy undertones audible to nearly everyone happening to hear it. The quality of the song doesn't leave her smiling, but neither is she overly horrified. The songs about the monsters in the Lodge were just as bad; if you're guarding the sacred lodge, be swift of foot and sure to dodge; or else you'd end up mush and gunk; your precious armour turned to junk. Her voice hums along with the melody because she can hardly resist it, though she drifts inward with an Inquisitor and her guardian at her back. "And here I thought it would be a nice day to get a drink," she says, apropos of nothing, to Ian. "Hello, Lord Ian. You and yours are doing well?" She's hard to miss with that copper-bright braid, and she is likewise prone to waving to Quintin and Olivia.

Olivia rolls her eyes at Quintin, "Sam was who told us about the masks... Then got turned in to a mask or something... I am going to go ask these children." She waves her fingers at Delilah as she makes her way over to the children with her warm smile, "Hey guys. Do you all mind if I ask you a question. I am looking for where Ol' Sam used to live. Or someone that knew him. Did you all know him?"

Ian looks towards the sound of someone saying his name, and nods to Delilah. "Lad -- Duchess." Belatedly, he deepens that nod a little bit. "We're doing well. And yourself?" He mouths the pleasantries with a mechanical air, someone saying the things it's been drilled into them to say.

Jyri is looking down at a note and checking adresses as he and the dogs march down towards the gate. He pauses and listens to the children, then stares at the shadow on the wall - he murmurs something in respect to something or someone before he notices familiar faces; he tucks the note away and approaches. "My ladies, my lords. Aye, looking for that adress too."

Quintin raises his free hand to give Delilah a gesture of greeting, not quite a wave. When Olivia moves off toward the children, Quintin doesn't follow; he hangs back, still eating his apple, watching. A nod to the Iron Guardsman, Jyri.

Leta walks down the street from the Upper Boroughs, bundled up in a green cloak and a thick padded coat, more armor than anything else. She keeps an eye on the traffic moving by, fingers tucked away under wool, one hand resting lightly on the pommel of her sword. She slows down to listen to the children's rhyme and arches an eyebrow at it, but only seems to pause to draw in a sharp breath and carefully step over a slushy puddle. Spotting Olivia speaking to the kids, however, she stops in her tracks and tilts her head to listen.

"Now it's time to list the dead, Carlie Jacobs and her brother Fred, Sheila Ramsey, Bobby Jean, Greta Farrow, that mom Helene..." The chanting and clapping stop as Olivia comes near, and a trio of bright eyes look up at the Ashford Lady. "Ol' Sam the carver?" One of the tots, a girl of about eleven or twelve asks, "Yeah, he lived around here. He's gone though. They said he was took like the others."

"You can still call me by name," Delilah murmurs, the wan cast of her smile twisted around that unspoken shadow between them. "One of the Scholars was complaining about Ol' Sam being plucked out of thin air around here. I don't know if it's nonsense or not, but the gentleman seems to be..." A roll of her shoulder. "It might not be the first time." Her head inclined to the tavern, she orients herself in the snow to avoid any trouble with impeding traffic. But with the names, her gaze lifts upward to the tween girl. Olivia has the questioning of kids down pat, but she tilts her head just in case. "Ooh, that's a fair few."

Olivia smiles at the children, "He might have been. But I and a bunch of other people are trying to find him. It would be super helpful if you could show me exactly where he lived. Or tell me someone who might know. I think I have a couple of cookies in my bag here, they are yours if you can help." She gets her satchel ready to open and kind of looks behind her to the gathering people she recognizes. Then back to the kids with a serious face, but a smile none the less.

Soot, a gray foxhound puppy, 3 Iron Guardsmen, Violet, a shopkeeper, 1 Crimson Blades Lieutenant arrive, following Petal.

Soot, a gray foxhound puppy, 3 Iron Guardsmen, Violet, a shopkeeper, 1 Crimson Blades Lieutenant leave, following Petal.

Ian pushes his hand through his hair. "You're thinking some kind of maniac." There's a slight insistence to his voice, almost undetectable but there. It turns the question into a statement. Please don't tell me you're going after another godsdamned demon. Say that this is just a normal, run of the mill psychopath. Please.

Quintin raises his eyebrows, looking toward Delilah and Ian. "I've only heard what Olivia's told me," he mentions, distractedly. "That /is/ quite a few names." Olivia mentions cookies; Quintin has a bite of his apple, chewing thoughtfully.

Jyri crosses his arms over his chest and lets those that are less likely to make children cry do the talking. But he listens intently and looks at the others, the little crowd gathering up.

The children eye the bag, then Olivia and the gathering crowd of elites. There is a quick mutter between them, heads together before the spokeschild steps forward and says, "We dunno where he lived. I mean, none of us were neighbors of him. But we can show you other stuff! There's the Hall of Names! Ol' Sam's name was just added the other day."

Olivia smiles and reaches in her bag. She happens to have two cookies for each. "You all get one each now. And one after you show us that stuff. But you have to promise me it will be safe ok?" She turns and motions with her head for Jyri to join her.

Delilah curves that dreamy grin to the children. "You can show us the Hall of Names? That sounds terribly exciting. Would you?" A nod to Olivia backs up the Ashford voice's statement, and behind her, the Inquisitor is probably ready to put his face against the wall. "Is it terribly far from here?"

Jyri's eyebrows go up hearing that and his expression turns decidedly more grim. He nods to Olivia and Delilah, and moves to the former's side. The dogs pad along, tails wagging at the kids like they really like children. Good dogs.

Nobody has told him it's not going to be another godsdamned demon, and so, with a sigh, Ian turns away from the monument, apparently determined to follow along. Probably to try and keep anyone from becoming the models for any more masks.

Quintin finishes off his apple; he falls in to follow, too, without comment. The apple core is flicked over his shoulder toward the alley, where it can feed some rats or something.

There is an eyeballing of those cookies and again the trio of children lean in for discussion. The apparent leader, the eleven year old girl finishes consulting with her friends, a slightly younger boy and a girl of equal age, and she nods. "Sure. Two cookies each!" When the dogs arrive, the children are distracted. Good Dogs get pettins! This is a fact. A few other children are lured in by the dogs and promises of cookies. "Where we goin' Sarah?" The leader looks up from her petting of one of the doggos and says "They're givin us cookies to take 'em to the Hall of Names. Bet you wish you'd played with us now, huh Grech?" The girl sticks her tongue out and the boy mutters under his breath. "Whatever. The Hall of Names is stupid! I know better places!" The younger boy shakes his head to Delilah, "Naw. It's close."

Leta adjusts her cloak and rubs a hand behind her neck, hesitating. Then, drawing a deep breath and exhaling a sigh, she turns on her heels and starts to stroll along behind the others, squinting for a few seconds at the children then up at the path ahead. "I live just - down the road from here, myself," she gestures eastwards along Merchant road, fingers rubbing at her jaw for a second before hiding under her cloak again. "Can't say I know where that is, myself."

Jyri looks at the kid saying he knows 'better places', but still wisely choses not to go into Iron Guard mode, which in his case is largely being grim and not very charming. The dogs are much better ambassadors of the Iron Guard towards kids, the three canines now moving around the children and getting petted with great enthusiasm. There's even some licked faces if they're not careful.

Olivia smiles at the Kid who says he knows better places. He wasn't clear that it was related so she offers a diplomatic, "Maybe you can show be the better places after?"

The bright-haired Inquisitor hiding that fact -- steadfastly -- glides in after the children, winking at the boy left out from the great cookie offering. "I bet you do. Maybe next time, you can tell us a story about it. But over hot chocolate, because this cold..." Her breath billows around her in an icy cloud while she waves her mittened hand. "Thank you, Mistress Sarah," she adds to the ringleader. Pulling her hood a little lower keeps the snow off her telltale hear... err, hair. Tick-tock.

Ian steps carefully on the slushy street, littered with patches of ice that he won't feel until it's too late. While he follows along, he gives off the sense of being alone, just because of all of the attention he has fixed on his own footsteps. He keeps up just fine, though. Careful doesn't always mean slow.

Quintin nods politely to Leta when she joins the others, following along. The young Ashford lord smiles faintly as he peers about, looking rather like a tourist.

The girl shakes her head, "What are you gonna show 'em Grech? Your "monster" tracks?" The young girl scoffs, rolling her eyes. "That one is a bit nutty. You gotta watch out for him." This commentary gets the young boy obviously peeved and he snarks back, "Shut UP Yvette! I *know* what I saw!" Yvette shakes her head and lifts a hand to spin a finger against her temple. "C'mon. I'll show you the Hall of Names. Gotta get home before dark, you know."

Olivia follows along but waves Grech over to her. "I have extra cookies left for you if you tell my friend over there where those tracks are?" She points to Jyri with a smile.

Quintin holds up his hand. "I volunteer to go see the monster tracks, if time's an issue," he tells Olivia and Grech as well, with a glance of his own to Jyri.

"Do you have any ideas of what made the tracks? Were they boots or clawed, pads like a dog?" Delilah sponsors the running riot of the imagination, though nothing in her tone sounds less than reasonable. "See, we think it's worth checking out. Even if you're wrong, you still get a cookie." Positivity on overload? Maybe. She's too busy paying attention to the walls and the ground, everything in between.

Jyri can't charm kids per se, but he's got the dogs. "What if you take Onida with you and I'll come along," he suggests, gesturing for the largest of the dogs -Onida even wears a custom made leather armor. "We can split up even."

Leta furrows her brow for a second at the mention of monster tracks, and drops her fingers back to her belt under the cloak, letting out a sharp breath through her lips. It goes brrrrth or so. "Well, a monster who does crafting in their spare time would be something," she muses while studying the path they're taking through the streets.

"Boot and something else. I don't think it was one-legged. It had something else there. A curved pointy bit?" Grech mimes an arc from hip to ground in a smooth line. "Made a metal sound." Yvette is groaning, "If you're going to listen to him, you'll be chasing shadows all day. I got a hiding from my dad when I came home after dark because *Grech* promised to show me a dead body." There is some clear resentment there. Grech counters, "There *was* a body! I tell you! It was the same day Ol' Sam went missing. I think it was *him*. It's not my fault you took forever to decide to go!"

Lacking both charm and dogs, Ian paces along, a silent presence. He may or may not be listening; his attention seems pretty well fixed on his footsteps. Once or twice, he has to straight up stop walking to keep from slipping on the ice and falling, but he's always able to pick up his pace and catch up, after. Although there's something subtly off about the way he walks, he's not limping. So no one legged man here. Thankfully.

"Might be someone with a pegleg or some other manmade contraption," Quintin says, looking thoughtfully at Grech while the boy mimes. "And that's a rather distinctive feature. I want to see the monster tracks and the place where the dead body was. Are we splitting up? Olivia, are you still going to the wall of names?"

Olivia smiles "I will head with Sarah and the others I owe." She hands some cookies over to Quintin, "Who ever wants to go with Gretch can. The cookies are for him." She pokes her cousin. "For HIM not you."

Delilah tries not to chuckle, though her attention remains dancing all around her in case someone with a sword for a leg or wielding a dragging scythe is about to jump out at her. In that case, she might have challenges. Her blithe stride is completely at odds with the fact that she orbits generally around Ian's vicinity; should he be at real risk of falling, she might be within reach to cushion said fall.

The story is turning more and more detailed from the children and Jyri frowns thoughtfully as he walks alongside Grech, the dogs making a circle around the kids - as if protecting them in particular.

Sarah, the leader pipes up before Yvette and Grech can continue to bicker, "The Hall of Names is on the way, if we take the Soggy Alley." Yvette and Grech continue to glare at one another but by their silence it's a good bet that Sarah is correct. The children start moving in a unified direction, along the street until they come across an alley, the mouth of which is dipped low and has gathered quite the puddle of much and slush. As a one, the children groan, "Soggy Alley." And then, like little gazelles they leap across the puddle with varying degrees of success. There is splashing and childish cursing when their feet get soaked in frosty sludge.

Leta checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 35, rolling 3 higher.

Quintin checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 35, rolling 1 higher.

Jyri checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 35, rolling 5 lower.

"Right, right," agrees Quintin as he takes the bag from Olivia, shooting a sidelong look at Grech, like, can you believe this lady? Now, he bears the cookies. But can he keep them dry? The young Lord Ashford leaps across the puddle, managing to land on the other side without getting a soaker. And without getting an Olivia on his back.

Delilah checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 35, rolling 11 lower.

1 inflicted and Delilah is harmed for minor damage.

Olivia checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 35, rolling 23 lower.

Ian doesn't even look like it would have occurred to him to jump over the puddle. It's just a puddle. He uses his cane to test the ground in front of him before stepping there. It helps that the braces in his boots protect him from jarred ankles and he can't feel any cold water that seeps in. He stops and watches while everyone else jumps. Attempts to jump. Fails miserably at jumping.

Jyri eyes that puddle, and looks down at himself. He sighs and goes back a few steps before leaping, but even so his foot splashes sludge all around and he makes some very colorful curses that young children should not learn. He turns to at least offer a hand to the rest if they want it.

Olivia glares DAGGERS at Quintin as he jumps across. She narrows her eyes and takes a good nuumber of steps away. She gets a nice running head start. Then comes time to jump. She absolutely freezes and just trips flying forward landing square in the puddle. She roars loudly for a moment as she gets to her hands and knees. Then her expression changes. She pulls a muddy something out of the puddle

Quintin checked composure + etiquette at difficulty 15, rolling 2 higher.

Quintin turns to watch the others and winces when Olivia falls into the puddle. Don't laugh. Don't laugh. Don't laugh, Quintin. Don't. Laugh. Quintin. Quintin stares, looking very much like he might say something. His mouth opens. His mouth closes. He stays silent.

Gods hate puddles. Delilah has no reason to love the snow and leaping over it isn't going to end well, this is a given fact. Sighing, she takes a running dart after Jyri. This is not bound to be a good experience, but at least she doesn't wipe out face-first, though her gaze is narrowed at the landing. No swearing. Her ankle twists as she slides over the slush to a halt. "All being fair, could we use a ladder next time?"

Quintin eases back toward the puddle, extending a hand to Olivia.

Ian paces into the middle of puddle where Olivia has fallen, avoiding the same fate with his cane taking soundings. He stops next to her, but doesn't offer to help her up. He probably wouldn't be much help. "You alrigh -- ?" Then Delilah goes flying into the puddle, too.

Leta frowns as she follows the others into the alley, glancing down at her very fine fancy leather boots. Still, they should be fine. The brawny woman takes a few steps back, then gets a head start and leaps just past the slushy mess, arms out flailing for a moment to recover her balance. She checks her out her boots again, and stomps them slightly as she looks back past her shoulder to see others fare... less well. "Need help, m'Lady?" She inquires of Delilah with a look of mild concern and a small friendly smile.

While Quintin shows discretion, the children do not. There is a burst of giggles and laughter seeing Olivia fall into the puddle, though being good natured tots, they do shout out apologies. "That is the only danger of Soggy Alley." Sarah says, "We're almost to the Hall of Names though!"

Olivia takes Quintin's hand, and totally doesn't try to pull him down like she should. She is transfixed on a strange object in her hand. It looks like a metal cylinder that tapers to a points. She wipes some of the muck away from her face as she makes her way out of the puddle to the other side, all the while studying the Object. She looks at it intently, before her eyes search for Jyri and Ian. "What do you think this is? Piece of a spear?"

Delilah mutters, "... ... be grateful ... it. I should ... ... ... at ... ... I am."

Delilah's expression shows a certain degree of gratitude for Leta's help, which she is glad to accept. Offering her hand, she tests the wait on her ankle, determining whether or not she can bear up the weight on it.

Quintin checked intellect + riddles at difficulty 30, rolling 14 lower.

Ian checked intellect + riddles at difficulty 30, rolling 26 lower.

Leta checked intellect + riddles at difficulty 30, rolling 18 lower.

Jyri checked intellect + riddles at difficulty 30, rolling 26 lower.

Olivia checked intellect + riddles at difficulty 30, rolling 14 lower.

"Terrible," Jyri says wryly - and then he walks out on the edge of the sludge pool and crouches to offer a hand to Olivia, but QUintin beats him to it. So, he steps back and instead takes off his cloak to offer it to Olivia for extra warmth, now that she's all wet. He looks at the object, rather intrigued. "It's a... metal thing," he responds. So helpful. "Anyone else?"

Delilah checked intellect + riddles at difficulty 30, rolling 13 higher.

"Mhmmn," Quintin agrees with Jyri, his head bobbing. "That's definitely a metal thing."

Golden, an Oakhaven bloodhound, Gunther, a Rottweiler, Micana, 1 Saik Guard arrive, following Lucita.

Leta seems to have steady footing on the icy ground, and takes a step closer, offering her arm to Delilah. "Well, you can lean on me, or... can you walk?" The burly knight asks with another concerned look down at the other woman's ankle, brow furrowed. She isn't in any hurry, other than to squint after the children as they lead the way. The object gets an entirely blank look.

Golden, an Oakhaven bloodhound, Gunther, a Rottweiler, Micana, 1 Saik Guard leave, following Lucita.

Ian shakes his head. "It might be a weapon. I'm not sure."

Delilah leans down in the prospect of finding her footing. It takes her a moment to realize what she sees, and she lifts her leg rather than try to bend double in a strange chair position best attempted by others than her own. Plucking the metal from her boot, the tiny shard presents itself, held flat in her gloved hand. "That struck me when I landed. I suspect it was in the snow." Her attention shifts to Leta, and she offers it. "In case you have any idea of what it is. I think I'll be okay. Did anyone else have any metal pricking them? I wonder if it matches the same one that you found, Liv." The sharp gaze flits between the various sections, though she isn't too much prone to wandering about. "They look to have a common origin. The metal wasn't forged well at any rate. Even I can see how it sheared off like that. See? Broken." She points. "When it was being made, whomever tempered it didn't have a good idea of what they were about. I think we're ironically looking at a foot, but the base is all off. I haven't spent enough time among the Mercies to know whether the design is common. But it looks strange indeed to me."

Olivia hands the metal thing over to the Smart and just wraps herself in Jyri's cloak for now trying to warm up.

Ian very, very carefully lifts one boot out of the water and then the other, inspecting both for any sign of metal bits that he'd be unable to feel

Quintin does the same, checking one foot, then the other. "Huh," he comments.

"What, like someone made a foot to make... monster tracks with?" Jyri says, studying the pieces with renewed insterest. He doesn't outright think there's monsters walking about. There's usually a more logical explanation. "Or to exchange one you lost, instead of peg-leg."

Olivia checked intellect + medicine at difficulty 45, rolling 2 higher.

"Can't say I've -" Leta leans forward to peer at the object, still looking altogether baffled by it. She turns her attention downward towards the ground around her boots in case there are any pieces outside of the puddle. She's obviously not stepped on anything, but taps her toe against the ground nonetheless. "I'm good. Don't reckon it would go through my boots, anyway, but that's odd... why'd they make it out of metal, anyway? That's heavier than wood, isn't it?"

Delilah carefully rocks her foot back and forth, now that a shard is no longer pricking her at every opportunity. "Presumably either. Someone making marks deliberately to stir up fear wouldn't be out of the question. I normally would think something like that would shod a cane or... I suppose there are ice-picks and the like, too." The children are up there somewhere, and she proffers a hint of a smile. "I think I'm well. But thank you. Anyone care to sweep the rest of the snow, or shall we carry on?"

Olivia narrows her eyes a moment and borrows the metal object from Delilah again. She inspects it carefully, scrunching up her face. She crouches down and borrow Quintin's right leg. She takes his ankle and lifts his foot to behind him bending his leg at the knee. She hovers the object, point side down under his knee. "Well I think I figured it out... But it is a customish design... Seems like who ever this is wanted their leg to be a weapon still..."

Ian says, "Depends on the wood," Ian remarks after clearing the puddle. "It can't have been very stable. Blades are made to flex under pressure.""

"Depends on the wood," Ian remarks after clearing the puddle. "It can't have been very stable. Blades are made to flex under pressure."

Quintin gives Olivia a weird look, but it doesn't seem like she's doing anything awful, so he doesn't kick her or anything. He extends an arm to help balance himself, wobbling slightly. "What an eccentric choice of prosthetic."

Jyri moves further down the alley, looking around alertly and keeping closer to the kids. The dogs, not that worried about sludge and the weather, are nosing about in the alley, sniffing things.

The children emerge from the alley and turn down another twisty side path before pointing to a more well lit alley. This one is clearly in common use, there are torches set along it, well used from the soot marks on the walls. "It's just down here." Sarah says. "The Hall of Names is down there. Then Grech's lookout is a couple blocks that way." She points in the direction of the Lowers.

A girl arrives with Rysen following a few steps behind. "There they are, m'Lord," she says. Rysen crouches down beside her, careful not to touch the sludge beneath them. "That you, lass," he says, and hands her a few coins. The girl counts them and squints at him. "Gods and spirits," Rysen mutters and gives her a few more. "Worse than Orathy," he adds under his breath, and rises, coming to stand beside the investigators. "Sorry to intrude, but couldn't keep my curiosity at bay, and wanted to see if I can help."

Olivia hmms, "Lord Jyri, we should look for someone who is known for making Prosthetic's either here, or for people around here." She turns as she sees Rysen. A huge grin. The girl is covered in mud and sludge from the puddle, she walks towards the Crovane menacingly, arms open for a hug.

Leta nods to Delilah. "Very well, m'Lady," she says, but she keeps a couple of steps away, just in case, matching the Duchess's pace as they continue down the alleyway after the children. She seems to find this whole business with the mysterious bladed pegleg unnerving. So instead she focuses on the streets ahead, looking around, cloak swept back to give her arm some freedom of movement, whether that's to catch Delilah or to stab someone.

"Good call," Jyri agrees to Olivia, then follows the kids further down the alleyway. He nods a greeting to Rysen - and realising most don't even know him, he finally introduces himself. "Lord Jyri Whitehawk." Nothing else added, no social chit chat here. "You know of anyone?" he asks the kids. "Making peglegs and the sort?"

Ian's electric gaze sweeps the alley, sharp eyes picking out details, placing them into the whole. His interest, as always, involves hidden threats, possible exits, and what around here would be useful in an attack. "If it's badly made, it won't have been made by a professional. A blacksmith's apprentice, maybe.

Quintin nods to Rysen when the man appears; he looks down at the kids, too. "Someone perhaps not very good at it." He glances down at the bag of cookies in his hand, and then back over at Olivia. Then back to the cookies.

"Peglegs?" Sarah asks, "You mean like for when someone gets something chopped off?" There is a speculative gleam in the child's eyes. "I heard Jamison Bartlee had to get a fake leg when his was crushed by a cart. Dunno where he got it. Was wood though. So maybe at that Bookcase store?"

"It didn't look to be professionally made at all. Someone who didn't know much of what they were doing. It could be an apprentice, it could be someone desperate. Either way, I would keep an eye open. An artisan of another kind, perhaps?" Delilah pauses and asks the children, "How old is Messire Bartlee?"

"You'd think that someone with a metal blade for a leg would attract some notice," Ian remarks, mostly to himself. He's scanning the wall of names, now. Not so much reading the unfamiliar names, but looking at the handwriting that wrote them, what material was used to do so, and how high on the wall the names go. "Probably keeps to himself."

Rysen's brow darkens as a muddy Olivia comes towards him with open arms. "My apologies, Beggar, but please keep your distance." His expression breaks though and he laughs, and sweeps Olivia into his arms and spins her around, heedless of her condition. "Good to see you, Livie, delving into mysteries as always."

Rysen offers a brief, respectful bow to Jyri and says, "I am Lord Rysen, My Lord. It seems that someone of interest has made a prosthetic limb, and that the children are leading you to a place where this person might be found?" he asks curiously.

"Maybe he switches his legs out," Quintin suggests. "Some days are classic oak pegleg days. Some days, you bring out the fancy yew pegleg. On special occasionals, out comes the blade pegleg."

As for the Hall of Names, that appears to be a memorial of sorts. It's clearly unorganized and goes back who knows how many years. Names are carved into the stone wall, scratched in in places, some are wearing away, others look fresh. Ol' Sam Weatherby is the freshest. While some are so old they aren't really legible. Some names stand out clearly. Helene Dumonde, Raspar Ulmay, Bartleby James. Older names can be read: Brother Fred Godsworn, Greta Farrow, Bobby Jean, Sheila Ramsey.

"Aight," Jyri says, looking at Sarah with a firm nod. "We'll look around." He straightens up and looks at the group, and waves them in for a more private conversation, out of earshot of the kids. HOpefully. "This is about someone abducting people, over the course of twenty years. Seventeen people, might be more, but that's what I could dig out from old records. Always left a mask behind, a mask of the taken peoples' faces." He then follows the kids into that Hall of Names.

"He needs to get those chained bookshelves that he could use to display them. Pegs of different sorts, painted ones. Why not make a fashion statement of it?" Delilah is deadpan when she considers the list of names. "Did the people end up marked or disappearing around the same time each year, does anyone know? Is there a pattern?"

"Right. Maybe he's got a spare," Leta concurs with a nod, pointing in Quintin's direction, but slows down as she comes to the Hall of Names. Her brow furrows further as she squints at the inscriptions, leaning closer to try to make out some of the more worn out names. She takes a step back from it. "Uh. Why'd someone write these names here, anyway? What's the point of all this then?" She gestures at the wall in confusion.

Olivia lets Rysen go and she wanders over to Gretch while the others inspect the Hall of Names. She whispers to the little boy and smiles.

Quintin nods to Leta. "Like changing your jacket," he says. He turns to look at the names on the wall, chewing thoughtfully on a cookie he got from nevermind where.

Overhearing Leta's question, Sarah says, "It's so people remember those that got took. There's no body to bury. No place to go to remember them. So they put their name up. In the summer they hang drawings. Those that remember what they looked like."

Rysen walks over to the inscribed names and runs his fingers along the incisions. Turning to Sarah and Leta, Rysen says, "So it is a memorial of sorts for those whom the community has lost?" He looks over all the names and crosses his arms, resting his elbow on the hilts of his swords. "I wonder if there is some connection between them all - places they visited, people they knew..."

Jyri walks slowly along the walls, studying the names. The more he reads, the more grimfaced and disturbed he seems to become. "This is a lot of names. This is many more than I'd found already." He takes out a notebook, starting to write the names down. "Ain't any nobles, none," he notes additionally. He begins studying each name more thoroughly. "Would be good if we can figure out the oldest - give us an idea when this all started."

Ian loses interest in the wall once he realizes why it's here and who put it here. Noting Olivia over with the kid who saw the body, he paces in that direction. He's been on enough "adventures" with her to know what to expect. "It's probably not the same person behind all of these. People disappear all the time."

"But is it a memorial or a record, like stags in a hunting lodge? One could make the argument it passes for the lost. We heard their names sung." Delilah's hand rises. "If we are here, then presumably whomever did this could come too. Forgive me, the thoughts are macabre when they shouldn't be. Honouring the past and the Queen by recalling the departed is not a bad thing."

Sebastian, an adorable gray and white tabby, Jacinthe, Arindais, a dour-looking Scholar, 3 Templar Knight guards arrive, following Sina.

Sebastian, an adorable gray and white tabby, Jacinthe, Arindais, a dour-looking Scholar, 3 Templar Knight guards leave, following Sina.

Sebastian, an adorable gray and white tabby, Jacinthe, Arindais, a dour-looking Scholar, 3 Templar Knight guards arrive, following Sina.

Sebastian, an adorable gray and white tabby, Jacinthe, Arindais, a dour-looking Scholar, 3 Templar Knight guards leave, following Sina.

Quintin walks along the alley, frowning. Dusting cookie crumbs off on his coat, he heads back toward Grech and Olivia. "The monster tracks -- are those nearby? And can you show us where the body was, perhaps?"

Jyri leaves the Hall as welll now, but he murmurs something in Crownland's shav - something about spirits, for those that know the language. He nods to Quintin and looks at the kids. "Show us the tracks. Also, you said there was a body? Can you show us where?"

Coming to kneel down beside Sarah, Rysen asks, "Did you know Ol' Sam Weatherby, Miss? Can you tell me what he looked like? How he spent his time?"

Delilah's a shadow behind Quintin and Olivia, still lost in her thoughts. Such is the way of things on occasion.

Grech puffs up a little, now its his turn to shine. "I can show you! It was just over this way!" He points to the south and is about to head off when he sees Rysen speaking to Sarah. Sarah looks up at Rysen and there is a smile for the lord, "Ol' Sam? Yeah. He was a big fellow," She mimes her hands out around her belly, tucking her chin. Kid speak for extra chunky. "He was oooooold. He had to be at least *thirty*. His hair was all wispy like on top." When she gts to the part about how he spent his time the girl shrugs. "I dunno! He drank a lot. Talked A LOT."

Leta lifts her feathered hat and runs her fingers through her hair, face set in thought. Slow, ponderous thought. "Just wonder if it's all the same - I mean, folk go missing a lot, don't they? I wonder if these all are the ones who just vanished from round these parts and maybe left a mask behind or something..." she sniffs, then glances over at the children for now, letting others lead the investigation. She keeps quiet and looks uncomfortable.

"Drank a lot and talked a lot, eh? Remember what he talked about, Miss? Or how he got the coin to drink?" Rysen asks Sarah with a smile. In spite of the grim circumstances, there is something about the girl's smile and manner of pantomiming as she speaks which he finds heartwarming.

Jyri waits for the rest as well, keeping close to Grech. So does Onida, the dog obviously guarding the children here, as if he's used to that task. Outi and Tero are more laissez-faire but they keep close by and never run off. "ain't no easy feat napping a big person like Ol'sam, whomever did it got to be strong."

"Depends on how drunk he was," Ian opines. "I can wrestle Porter to the ground if I put enough rum in him first."

"What *didn't* he talk about?" Sarah rolls her eyes with the exasperation of youth. The sun is arcing across the sky, and dusk is starting to fall. The girl looks fidgety and says, "We gotta hurry if we're going to show you the rank place. I hafta be home before dark or I'll get a beating." Gretch is rocking on his heels looking a little bored. "Hey! It doesn't smell *that* bad!"

Olivia msiles and holds a hand out to Gretch. "Yes let us go. Lord Rysen will get us all home safe afterwards."

Rysen rises to his feet and nods to Jyri and Ian. "It's true a big man may be brought down by someone much smaller. But if his body was taken, that would require strength or great cunning."

Rysen nods to Olivia and falls into step behind her and Gretch.

Quintin is mostly keeping quiet, his expression solemn. When the others start moving, he joins in.

"Or a handcart," Ian chuckles.

"If anyone threatens to give you a beating, you can say you were asked for help by a few nobles," murmurs Delilah to Sarah.

Finally given leave to go, Grech does take Olivia's hand, as does Sarah, leaving Yvette to follow behind. Grech moves quickly through the tangle of alleys and streets for five or six minutes until he points ahead to a dingy alley. The smell is already ripe, carried on a cold bladed wind. Sour, with the sweet undertones of decay. It only gets worse the closer the group gets to the alley way. Grech stands at the mouth of the alley and gags, "It's not usually this bad." He covers his nose and mouth with a hand. "Ugh!"

Ian starts taking this whole thing a lot more seriously when he smells THAT. He straightens up out of his half-slouch and looks back at the children. "You should go home before your parents miss you. I think we can take it from here."

Quintin takes out the bag of cookies and thrusts it toward Gretch. "Here, take these before you go," he bids the boy, his brow furrowed as he looks toward the alleyway.

Leta slows down as she nears the mouth of the alley, grimacing when her nostrils twitch at the scent. It's a familiar one, at least. She fingers the dagger at her belt and looks warily around, a hand raised to block her mouth and nose for a second. "Thank the Gods it's not summer, can you imagine?" She mutters.

Delilah is overheard praising Carita.

The dogs start to make noises and warning sounds at Jyri - they know the smell before the rest sense it. He walks onwards, realising waht is likely to be found. "Is this where the monster tracks were found too?" he asks of Grech, before the kids can run off. He takes out some silver coins, to give all three of them. "The Iron Guard appreciate your good work to the city," he notes with a solemn air.

Grech, Sarah and Yvette linger at the mouth of the alley, none of them looking particularly keen on going any further. Grech says "I was walking past here a week ago and I saw a body in there. I thought it was Sam. He used to give me candies sometimes. I'd never seen him in an alley, so I went to step in, but there was this... shape." The words are all muffled from the hand over his mouth. "It were like a giant spider peeling itself off the wall. There was a scratching sound and it moved over Sam and I just ran."

The presence of death doesn't, oddly, seem to set Delilah overly on edge. She frowns for a few moments and stares off again, her scarf pulled over her face. "You saw a shape, like a shadow or a thick, heavy body like a spider, coming down it?" The questions are light enough.

Olivia crouches down as she sticks with the children, waving Rysen to go check out the alley. "Did it smell any different when the monster was near?" She doles out the cookies she owes to the children, trying to make sure they do not wander out of her sight.

Hearing the words of the children, Rysen glances back at Ian and Olivia, and his hands rest on the hilts of axe and sword. He listens attentively to what the children my reply to Delilah's query.

Ian makes sure the kids are leaving or he's out of earshot of them before looking back to everyone else who's venturing into the alley. "If the body gets up, don't light it on fire." He speaks these words in a solemn, flat tone. He's got to be joking, right? It's so hard to tell when he's joking.

Quintin's hand settles on the hilt of his sword. He comes to a halt just outside the alley, peering into the darkness with a frown.

Jyri looks a bit startled at Grech's description of what he saw. He looks at Delilah, frowning thoughtfully. "Could be a play of shadows on the walls," he notes, glancing around the alley itself, before taking a few careful and slow steps further down. He's got his spear out now. Just in case.

Rysen wields Ruby Axe.

Grech says, "It's never smelled this bad before. Sometims a little like this, near the bad. That's why they call it the rank place." He looks to Delilah and says, "It was dark. Darker than the dark though. Like a person. But it didn't move like a person."

Hairpins and cloaks do a lot to protect a person, but they can only go so far. "It looked like a person who moved differently. Moved like it was an animal or more jerky, like the limbs weren't right?" asks the copper-haired Inquisitor. Inquisition duchess, she's one of the three -- or two and a half, if a former duchess counts. Still, that wan smile shows as she turns to Jyri. "If the dogs find blood, I'll need a sample, Jyr. The spider gives me a lead, but I'd like to avoid an incident if it proves to be a problem. Diplomacy and such."

Leta grunts under her breath and shifts uneasily, gripping the hilt of her sword a little tighter. "If I'd known I'd have stopped by the house and arm myself proper for whatnots that climb on walls..." she says. Because apparently that very large sword at her hip isn't proper enough for this business. "Sounds unnatural, that's what."

Olivia hangs back out side of the Alley with the children. Standing guard over them. She looks between the three. "Do any of you know people that knew Ol' Sam?"

Ian puts Blunted Practice Sword in Aged Satchel.

Glancing at Jyri, Rysen says, "Perhaps someone using prosthetics could appear much like a spider - though, the other explanation must be considered as well," he says ending softly. He turns to Leta and grins. "You and me both."

Quintin frowns at the dark mouth of the alley. "Nope," he announces. That said, he looks to one of the buildings flanking said alley, peers up the wall, frowns, and starts to climb up toward the roof. Nimbly finding hand and foot holds, the Ashford Lord scampers up. He might be part squirrel.

Quintin wields steel sword.

Ian goes along apparently unarmed aside from the knives at his belt and his cane. He does pause to tug his heavy leather gloves out from where they're tucked in his belt and put them on, though. He's probably not going to want to touch whatever is making that smell with bare skin.

Grech is quiet for a time, thinking and remembering. "It moved... smooth, but weird. Things didn't bend right." Yvette looks to Olivia and shrugs, "Lots of people knew him." There are sounds of awe as Quintin scales the wall to get to the top of the roof. "How'd he do that!?" The sky is getting darker, and Sarah is getting fidgety. "I gotta go miss. I have to get home."

Olivia looks around, she nods to Sarah, "I will take you home. All three of you. You guys can keep me safe deal?"

Delilah watches Quintin climb up, and that brings a bit of a smile to her lips. Sarah receives a gentle murmur, and then she takes a few moments to write something out on a scrap and hands it to the tween. "Take this to your parents and tell them you have the thanks of the Duchess of Graypeak. They can come to the trader's tavern and I'll make sure that you all gain a token of our thanks for taking us here safely."

Rysen glances back to Olivia, and rests his axe on his shoulder. "Want company, Livie?"

There's a nod to Delilah, a firm one, and a curious glance - he doesn't understand what she's aiming for but doesn't argue it. He gives the dogs some commands in Crownlands Shav, and they immediately begin to sniff around on the ground, searching for something. Blood, persumably. Though Tero, the least trained, seems to mostly get in the others way. "Go straight home," Jyri tells the kids sternly. "And together."

Olivia nods to Rysen, she turns back to the kids, "Lord Rysen will take us all home, like I promised."

"Good luck," says Rysen to those who remain. "We'll be back as soon as the children get home safely." He comes to stand beside Olivia and the children.

Delilah mutters, "... large spider could belong ... the embassy inhabitants in the ... Ward, and ... rather ... see us run afoul of the ... If ... is the ..."

Quintin waves to Olivia and Rysen before drawing his sword and walking along the edge of the roof, peering down at the alley.

Olivia grins at the children, "I bet all three of you could fit on his shoulders and back." She winks at Rysen.

There is a look of relief from all three children and they hie off with Olivia and Rysen, heading to their respective homes. It will take them about twenty minutes to drop off the children and another fifteen to return to this place.

"Anything fun up there, my lord, or are you simply trying to get some fresh air?" Delilah falls in carefully to the parade of the others, though she spends far more attention to the ground and walls than she does anywhere else.

Jyri carries out a murmured quick conversation with Delilah - and then he too looks up along the alley walls before he marches more determined towards the smell of the body, to see what there is to find.

Jyri checked command + animal ken at difficulty 15, rolling 55 higher.

Quintin checked perception + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 16 higher.

Ian is, since people are now coming into the alley, just stepping away from a pile of... rubble to make a cursory search of the rest of the place. From the way he scans the rooftops as well as pokes around in other shadows, he's not looking for clues. He's looking for threats.

Immediately the dogs give their warning bay, the expected sound for finding a body. They zoom straight over to Lord Ian in the back and point to the pile of body parts it appears are moldering in the back near the Kennex lord. There are a LOT of body parts. Four legs of different lengths, severed at the ankle, knee, thigh and hip, two arms, one off at the shoulder, the other at the elbow, and a body of a formerly young man, headless, missing a left arm and right leg.

Ian points 'helpfully' with his cane when Jyri arrives. You know, in case he missed it. "Over there. Hope you have a strong stomach."

Quintin peers down at the grizzly scene below, making a brief, unhappy gurgling noise. At least the smell isn't blowing up his way. "That's... unsettling," he remarks, mostly to himself. He turns to examine the top of the roof, pacing a long. "There are some marks up here. Divots, like something sharp and pointed ran over it," he calls down. Approaching the edge of the roof, he hunkers down at the ends and runs a gauntleted hand along it. "There are slices taken out of the edge here."

Ian checked perception + medicine at difficulty 20, rolling 11 higher.

Jyri has seen quite a few dead bodies and certainly smelled them. Even so, he's reeling back a bit and has to steel himself. "Bloody bollocks," he curses. He crouches down near one of the legs to study it. He pokes at it with his spear, carefully - but he doesn't really know how to tell how someone died. Instead he squints upwards with his one eye at Quintin. "Any chance you can tell by how many feet?"

Leta decides to stay back so as not to trample the ground the dogs are sniffing around; she keeps an eye on the alleyway too, while she's at it, one hand still remaining up by her nose, as if it helps covering up the smell. The other's on her sword, fidgeting, stroking a thumb over and over again across the relief on the pommel, helping to wear the edges smoother. Hearing people the dogs seem to have found something, she looks over, taking a couple of steps nearer and rising on her toes for a look. She grunts, swallowing in dry to fight some urge to heave, she mutters. "At least it's not - they're not all stuck together into some kind of giant beast. They do that, sometimes."

"Sharp and pointed like metal feet or prongs?" Delilah adds thoughtfully. "Jyri, could you possibly have /shod/ some kind of... big... footed animal? Sharp shoes or sharp boots, spikes and such? I shouldn't be entertaining the idea of a horrific steed with great hooves bearing awful jagged spikes, but I'm sure someone's already beaten me to drawing that."

Ian finishing his survey of the alley and finding no ninjas lying in wait, Ian returns to the bodies... bits of bodies... watching his feet as he walks. He nudges the limbs around with his cane again. "This looks like old McCallister's work. A ship surgeon I used to sail with. Guy had no idea what he was doing. Lost his patients more than saved them. I wonder if this guy's trying to keep people alive when he takes their limbs off."

Daylight is fading quickly, and there are Iron guardmen on patrol, lighting torches as they go. There's still some light left, but it is dimming. The gathering of nobility in the alley has a few of the patrol moving over, saluting to Jyri -- up until that smell hits them. "What in the gods' names is that?"

The Inquisitorial confessor holding his distance to watch over Delilah casts one of those wan looks back at the question. In black and crimson, he's about as subtle as a watchfire in a cave.

Jyri gives Leta a decidedly dark look. "Crap," he notes, and he is starting to think along other lines here. "Like... building an abomination," he murmurs, looking at Delilah again. He straightens up and turns to the Iron Guards, immediately a commanding officer. "Block entrance to this alley, send for more men," he orders. "There's several body parts here, belonging to more than one person and we need to keep people out of here till, well. Till it's all thoroughly examined." He nods at Delilah and the others, then tells some of the guards to watch the alley entrance ways and sends one off to the barracks to get more men.

Ian steps away from the, um, pile to let the guard move in and do their thing. "Yeah, the arm and leg from this guy were definitely taken away. Looks like whatever is being built, it's almost done." Pleasant thought.

Quintin disappears from the edge of the roof for a time. When he finally comes back, he calls down to Delilah, "Maybe... four? Oh, look, more guards are here." Quintin waves to them, politely. Ignoring them seems rude, but there are too many body parts flung about to make smiling at all not creepy.

Leta shakes her head and backs off a few steps, switching out her hand to draw the fox fur trim of her cloak up and over her nose, hiding behind it for a second before piping up. "They all the same leg? Or you got mixed right and left ones?"

"Mixed," Ian tells Leta. "And cut to different lengths. Ankle, knee, thigh, hip. There are arms there, too. And no head."

Quintin checked perception + survival at difficulty 25, rolling 9 higher.

Olivia makes her way back to the Alleyway with Rysen pulling her shawl over her nose. "Gross." She looks around at all the activity forming. She turns to Rysen, "I am guessing it is safe. I am gonna see if I can spot any foul things growing." And she uses Rysen to push her way in to the alleyway to take a look around.

Olivia checked intellect + agriculture at difficulty 40, rolling 11 lower.

"Clearly found the source of the smell," says Rysen with a slight grin. He moves through those nearby to help Olivia get close to whatever disgusting specimens catch her eye. He makes his way to Jyri's side, and glances over the body parts. "I wonder why someone would go through all the trouble," he muses, and he begins to scan the ally for anything that might catch his attention.

Ian seems content to leave the investigating to the investigators and the guarding to the guards. He's still hanging around, though. Maybe waiting to see how things will play out.

Jyri makes sure the guards do as he says and then turns back to regard the corpses. He nods at Olivia and Rysen as they return, and rubs his jaw thoughtfully. "Well, whatever did this ain't here now," he notes matter of fact. "Don't even know if this is related to the masks left behind," he says with a gesture at the body parts. "So, all you with some knowledge of medicine - can anyone say if the body parts been here long? I mean... if they been here a week or more, or if some is only a few days and so on. If this is a proper stash. Also, is it possible to make out how many dead total here?"

Olivia hmms, "I don't think it was pigs either..."

Quintin goes still up on the roof, staring southward at something. "Aw, shit," he mutters. Raising his voice, he calls down, "I can see it. Coming from the south, up on the roofs. It's... got bladed legs. Not moving like a person, but not like an animal, either. Gray hair, and gold...? Uh. I think it sees me seeing it."

Reigna GM Roll checked dexterity(5) + athletics(3) at difficulty 35, rolling 16 higher.

"Gods and spirits," hisses Rysen. He returns his axe briefly to its harness and grabs a hand hold attempting to climb to Quintin's position.

Merek arrives with the Guard back-up, making his way to where Jyri is while he pulls his cloak about him in the golden sun. He looks up towards the skies, then it's back to those that are about as he frowns at the scene a bit.

Ian looks up at Quintin, squinting at him through the gloom of the gathering dusk. "Tell me if it comes this way." He sounds like he's expecting it to run. There's none of the intensity he usually displays before a fight.

Rysen checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 30, rolling 17 higher.

Olivia looks around a little nervously pulling out a hairpin. "Something is coming. Fantastic." She glances at Ian. "Lord Ian. My brother may stop letting me visit with you if this how they always turn out."

It moves on four limbs, back(?) arched, head forward, almost dancing, through there are illogical twists and shifts of the spine, the forelegs switching places, the gait inhuman. It is running towards Quintin, jumping, hopping and moving in those weird, unpredictable motions. It is gaining ground fast, making all manner of odd, clicking and clacking sounds, gutteral and raspy.

Jyri checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 30, rolling 0 higher.

"He may hire me to protect you if I keep bringing you -- shit." Even before the shouted warning, Ian saw the change in the way the people on the roof were standing. He tucks his cane into his belt and moves to scale the wall.

Ian checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 30, rolling 8 higher.

"Oh, yeah, it's coming," Quintin says, hastening toward the edge of the roof again. "I'm coming down --- I don't want to be stuck up here, there are more people with weapons down there. Just remember, this thing doesn't have to stay on the ground."

Sometimes it sucks to be on the ground when everyone else is up high but Lilah isn't going to fight on the roof. Not at all. Ian is headed upward, which si good enough reason for her to stay down where she is.

"Well, come on down here then!" Jyri barks up at Quintin - even so he's moving to climb, in case Quintin decides not to get back down on the ground, looking up as he slings his spear onto his back again. "We shouldn't spread out - alright, good," he says and he moves back down, having climbed up part ways with clear effort. He is a bear of a man, but he could use some training of athleticism. Instead, he swings the spear forward again and gestures at everyone to form some sort of defense. "Unarmed and unarmored in the center," he suggests.

Leta removes her hat and tucks it carefully into her belt, adjusting the feather so it's smooth against her side and out of the way. That done, she shifts her cloak over to one shoulder and draws her long sword. She stares at her hand, flexing her fingers. "Getting soft," she mutters under her breath.

Rysen calls out to Ian, "I don't like surrendering the high ground without a fight, My Lord! Let me remain here to try and keep it from reaching the ally. If I fall, it will be little loss to your defense." He drops his weight into a combat stance, sliding his feet slightly apart to find firm footing on the roof. He breathes out, and waits till the monstrosity moves within striking range.

Reigna has rolled 1 3-sided dice: 2

Reigna GM Roll checked dexterity(5) + melee(4) at difficulty 15, rolling 14 higher.

Ian checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 15, rolling 52 higher.

Reigna GM Roll has rolled a critical success!
Reigna GM Roll checked dexterity(5) + melee(4) at difficulty 15, rolling 102 higher.

One scythe-like leg slashes outward towards Ian in a testing sweep, it is not a particularly skillful strike. Up close... it is still hard for the mind to compute what exactly this creature is. Part steel, yes, but the smell and shape might be human. Was once human? It's impossible to tell with it in constant motion. And stabbing towards people. Like Ian.

Ian gets onto the roof and takes a moment to struggle to his feet, and that's what probably makes him such a good target. He hasn't entirely found his balance by the time the thing is on him, but he draws an alaricite blade out of the cane that's still tucked in his belt like... Well, like someone drawing a sword. He's just in time to bring the alaricite sword and the body of the cane up in a crossed formation, like sword and parrying dagger, warding it off long enough to get his footing back.

Reigna has rolled 1 3-sided dice: 2

Reigna GM Roll checked dexterity(5) + melee(4) at difficulty 15, rolling 24 higher.

Merek checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 45, rolling 24 lower.

Ian checked luck at difficulty 15, rolling 7 higher.

Rysen checked luck at difficulty 15, rolling 7 lower.

Quintin checked luck at difficulty 15, rolling 20 higher.

20 inflicted and Rysen is harmed for moderate damage.

Ian checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 15, rolling 23 higher.

Merek takes out his sword, while he moves to circle about the people on the ground while he sighs a bit. He has made his tactical decision to protect those there, confidence in those that are fighting upon the roof for the moment. He takes out a dagger which he turns about to throw. He then manages to trip while he does and makes a sound as it flies to accidentally hit Rysen while he tumbles on the ground.

"Ian, the fast moving one -- she's human! Or has enough of a human face and body to count!" Delilah's voice rises above the conflict, and she turns back swiftly to Olivia. "The limbs were somehow connected to her own, like they were welded together." Fallen in behind Jyri, he serves as a barrier to her since no one likely expects her to be an expert with a blade, do they? If so, they're mistaken. "Aim for the joints if you can!"

25 inflicted and Ian is unharmed.

This time the scything lash hits, but the bladed bit scratches leather and not skin. There is a hiss, a flash of old, yellow teeth and a huff of rank breath, and with that, the creature... woman? Starts to move in an evasive pattern, seeking to retreat.

The dogs are barking - Jyri calls to them to quiet and they do, instead lying down near him with ears perked forward, growling at the abomination up there on the roof. He stays near the non-fighters though, watching the fight up there with some tension.

Olivia watches the battle with great concern, clenching her hairpin

It's a fucking lot of blades Ian's trying to knock aside, and at one point, his sword engaged in beating back one of them, he just goes ahead and blocks a strike with his fencer's spaulder like he's using a buckler. "It couldn't just have been a crazy person," he grumbles. "For once."

Leta's still in the alley, sword in both hands, the blade resting over her shoulder as she holds her ground near the somewhat less armed folk still nearby. She keeps her narrowed eyes on the edge of the roof, waiting, trying to make out what's going on. "Uh. What's going on?" She calls out, unable to see much from her angle, then takes a few backwards steps for a better look.

Chase, a Silent Reflection in grey hooded robes, 1 Templar Knight guards arrive, following Vayne.

Chase, a Silent Reflection in grey hooded robes, 1 Templar Knight guards leave, following Vayne.

"Feel like attacking that woman trying to escape? Blocking her if you can?" suggests Delilah to Leta. "I'm not helpful this close up; I am far better with a bow, I fear."

Rysen checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 35, rolling 51 higher.

Reigna GM Roll checked dexterity(5) + dodge(5) at difficulty 15, rolling 78 higher.

Olivia checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 30, rolling 21 lower.

Hearing Delilah, and feeling a sharp pain in his leg, Rysen grits his teeth. He is unarmored, and bleeding, but the battle fury of the North is upon him, and he leaps forward with the battle axe crafted by Sir Merek in hand. Taking advantage of being unarmored, Rysen slashes viciously at a load bearing limb, but the creature's movement is swift and awkward, and Rysen is unable to make contact with his foe.

Given the fact that she is outnumbered, the creature decides that this is not to her advantage. Rysen's blow came close to striking one of her limbs and that alone is motivation enough for her to stop with the trippy contortionist's motions and get to the serious business of actually moving quickly. With a few nauseating twists and bends, she is oriented for running on all fours and makes quick work of the roof top, running at full speed to the edge of the building and leaping onto the roof of the next before slipping off the side at high speed.

Sword drawn, Quintin follows Ian's lead and aims to protect those in the alley below. Since the creature is scrambling off, that means he doesn't engage it. He looks, for a moment, tempted to give chase, but shakes his head instead. "How much paperwork is this going to involve?" he calls to Jyri.

Jyri watches everything with a stoic expression - he's not someone easily rattled. He pushes the visor of his helmet up and squints as there's a leap and the monstrous woman disappears out of sight. "Well," he notes. "That ain't no spider," he notes helpfully. He calls back up. "You alright up there? And I don't bloody know, but probably a whole damn book. I'll try and make someone else do it."

Ian sheathes his alaricite sword back into is cane once the er, whatever runs away. "I have no idea how to fight that thing. I think we'll need arch -- You have a knife in your leg." Captain Obvious to the rescue.