Reese smiles over to Leta upon noticing her arrival. She then turns her focus back to Narciso. "Oh, wow, a pleasure to meet you then Confessor." She pauses for a moment. "I know inquisitor Alister." She says, like that might vouch for her. "Singing.." She says like she has some thought that has caused her to trail off for a moment. She then smiles over to Sopie and Gisele.

Killian emerges from the city atop a massive black destrier, which gets left behind as he approaches the grouping of mischief makers..who probably aren't really making much mischief. He's dressed for the road or work, or something similar, but not in his armor for once which is certainly a change for those who are familiar with the man. He walks towards the grouping, with just the owl upon his shoulder rather than his usual entourage of a walking menagerie, offering polite nods and cheerful greetings to some few as he passes. He heads towards Leola and gives her a fond smile as he says, "I came to see if I could help somehow, but fair warning, I'm hopeless with plants.."

Cara arrives in a small pony cart being driven by her lady-in-waiting, both of whom are wearing broad sun hats against the summer sky. It takes two of her guards to get the princess _off_ the cart, mind, but it's a much more practical way of traveling when one is the size of a house. Steadfast, her big black dog, hops down happily and starts padding around the grass, sniffing enthusiastically at all of this Nature.

Armel enters with little fanfare right after Sophie does, because that's a Knights job, to follow the Mercy around, and these two do so more than most. He squeezes her arm as he passes, remarking pleasantly, "Oh I don't know, I look pretty amazing in a feathered hat, if I do say so myself." He looks around, peering for faces familiar or not, and honestly most everyone gets a small nod of polite greeting, for there's a lot of people he knows. He keeps fairly close to Sophie, dressed in his woolen garments and leather gloves, ready to get to work.

"Highness, m'Lady, m'Lord, m'Lady, highness..." etc. This goes on a while. Leta doesn't curtsy but she does bow her head left and right as needed, with much doffing of her fancy hat. There's a pause there for a moment, thinking, "Blessed Aureth." she says, and is quite pleased with herself for saying it. Then she looks around. "I suppose you couldn't - skeletons aren't so good at digging, are they? 'Cause that'd put a lot of good gravediggers out of work, wouldn't it, if they could just bury themselves." she ramble for a moment, then stops herself, and nods to Sophie with a friendly smile. "Oh, just fine, your - Highness? Or should I call you something else, what with the - well, the Mercy thing and all?"

Gisele smooths down her tabard, the brilliant white a contrast to the drag (common) shades worn beneath, all dun and chestnut and ivory. Then she stands, hand-clasped, sentinel without the stern, and ample smiles for offering to those who mark her presence. Reese gets a little nod as extra too, a small gesture sketched in blessing, before her gaze wanders on to assess the crowd.

Dame Alexis Wyrmfang arrives alongside Lord Percephon Telmar. The short Sword of Blancbier (thanks, Ansel) wears simple boots in pale calfskin, a long-sleeved undertunic in white, and a matching set of pants and short-sleeved tunic in Valardin blue with the Wyrmguard dragon in flight emblazoned across her chest. Her gaze is bright as her pale eyes take in the scene, and her lips spread as she looks at all the people and preparations. "Oh, this looks just brilliant. Don't you think so, my lord?"

Aureth spreads his arms wide in a welcoming gesture as he backs away to give the sweeping breadth of his palms to the group. Filling his lungs for the projection of a performer's voice, he stands with an easy smile warming his features, his long hair pulled back in a loose tail, the brilliant white of his Archlector's coat reflecting the summer sun in a way that is wholly incongruous to the task that he has planned. "Hello, everyone!" he says, "And thank you for joining Leola and me here today for this service. Today, we will join together to honor the Lord of the Forest and the Lady of New Beginnings!"

Esoka arrives on foot, dressed down in leathers for work. Though she still carries her sword. The sword is omnipresent. She mixes with the crowd, eyes going to Aureth as he begins his spiel.

Dafne arrives on horseback, on a tall blood bay stallion that may be familiar to some. Her black kitten rides in the hood of her light cloak. One of her guards gives her a hand down, and takes the stallion's reins, leading him aside to calm him in the face of the crowds. The small duchess, black-clad, scans the crowds, and moves toward Cara before pausing to listening to Aureth speak.

It seems that no sooner than Olivia has greeted those who were here preparing when she arrived, a great train of people starts arriving from the city to join them. This is encouraging, though perhaps also overwhelming. She doesn't rush to offer personal greetings to all of them, as she's just another helper, though she does brighten when her cousins arrive. Plural! "Killian!" But just as quickly as he's spotted, she's distracted by the other: "Oh, Cara, let me help!" She rushes up to join the fussing over the temporarily large woman, even though she has plenty of servants for that.

"Ah yes, Inquisitor Chuckles." Narciso nods in recognition to the name given by Reese. "Married to Prince Luca, once Velenosa, yes? Interesting man too. Interesting couple in general, you two make." another grin, and then his dark gaze moves to Gisele. He waves. "Hello Vellichor's Gisele!" Very cheerful. Until he sees Armel. Then he winces, and he looks away, blinking rapidly every which way. Just as suddenly, however, he returns to the tuning ofh is lute.

Cara has joined the Deer Hunt Glade.

Armel has joined the Boar Hunt Glen.

Narciso has joined the Boar Hunt Glen.

Killian has joined the Deer Hunt Glade.

Olivia has joined the Deer Hunt Glade.

Gisele has joined the Hawking Plain.

"I'm married to Prince Nimble." Reese says toward Narciso. She then smiles over to Cara and Killian as tehy arrive. She seems to be in a cheerful mood.

The far taller Percephon walks besides the short Sword, a small hrmph coming from him at her bright eyed remarks. "Yes. Remarkable." His attention is rather upon those gathered around, looking over faces both familiar and not, and it's Sophie he gets a warm nod from the man when she is found. His hands curve behind him, the fingers of one wrapping about the wrist of the other as they walk.

Leola chuckles slightly at Killian "It's intent which matters as much as skill here. I'll be offering support and advice as we go; the Archlector is going to be handling the Faith's words, but I can at least offer some practical aid" She stands up straight as Aureth begins his speech, bowing her head to the various folks about

Leta has joined the Boar Hunt Glen.

Aleksei makes his way in at a brisk step, like he maybe got a late start and is worried about being late. (And, well, he /is/ a little late.) He's in his white leather Archlector longcoat, his oversized puppy Peanut trotting along happily at his heels. "Sorry, sorry," he mumbles, twisting fingers through the mess of his hair and looking a bit harried and haggard.

Dafne has joined the Deer Hunt Glade.

Armel squints aside to Narciso as the man winces in his direction. He doesn't obviously recognize him, so for now, he shrugs it off and looks around for things to dig with and things to place into the holes produced, humming something to himself.

Esoka has joined the Hawking Plain.

Sophie has joined the Boar Hunt Glen.

With a hint of laughter in her lambent voice, Sophie remarks to Leta, "As long as it's civil, I'm none too particular." The good humor grows as Armel passes by, and she briefly returns his fond squeeze, noting, "I have yet to see you in such a hat. Perhaps a friendly competition is in order?" As she starts to follow the Grandmaster, she notices, "Percy! Dame Alexis!" Who are offered cheerful greeting.

Reese has joined the Deer Hunt Glade.

Gisele being hailed by Narciso leads to a glance, a widening of eyes, a little wiggle of her fingers to match his greeting. Perhaps not with the same enthusiasm, those fingers do not sketch exclamation points in the air, but her smile is warm enough. Of course, she tucks chin after and turns away, sidling-- as is her wont-- towards a patch of ground less occupied. A good vantage from which to observe, Aureth's introduction drawing a soft bout of clapping, and Aleksei's appearance... well, she seems inclined to drift, so drifting towards him she'll go.

"Hello, Tempest," Cara waddles over to meet Dafne, taking an extra moment to greet the big stallion with familiarity -- and a touch of wariness, because he's a bit of a jerk sometimes. Her expression is wistful and sad for a moment before she observes to the duchess, "Valkieri would've hated this event. Can you imagine him digging about in the dirt?"

Aleksei has joined the Hawking Plain.

"Prince Nimble! That's a good one, I'll keep it for him." Narciso tells Reese, and then he gets up and himself drifts his way towards... Why, it seems he's heading for the same area as Armel, Sophie and Leta. Oh boy.

Rickard has joined the Deer Hunt Glade.

There's a smile from Killian for Leola, and he gives her a little nod and wave before his attentions drift the direction of the shout from before. He spots Olivia and then Cara, and simply makes his way over that direction with a warm smile for the pair of them. "Are you sure you should be out here in your condition sis?" he asks Cara with a smile and an eyeing of her..err..advanced state of things.

Aleksei is not one for ground less occupied, but Gisele does seem to be his natural person to drift towards in turn, so he ends up sort of meeting her halfway where she's settled near Dame Esoka. He offers Gisele a quick, tight smile, murmuring a quiet word in reply to her.

So, Dagon is here. Or he's decided to show up. Even people who live on rocks in the ocean are allowed to care about trees, right? If you run out of trees, you can't build any boats. The logic checks out. But it's quite a crowd, and his demeanor is not one that suggests overwhelming sociability, and he doesn't rush to make any greetings. But he can probably use a shovel as good as the next man. There's going to be shoveling, isn't there? Finally, he greets the man in charge, maybe to find out about shoveling. "Archlector, your wheelbarrow looks rather overburdened and on the verge of collapse." Or critique his wheelbarrow, as the case may be.

There is a pile of spades. There is a pile of small shovels. There are two significantly larger shovels that someone could probably be classified as dangerous weapons in the right hands. There are a couple of heavy buckets that some pour soul has filled with water and hauled here. And of course, there is a wheelbarrow full of saplings!

Aureth stands with his hands up. He says, "Ladies, gentlemen, everyone; all the faithful. We stand here today on this fine grass, above this soft earth, under this summer sunshine, by the actions of the people of the Compact. We stand here alive to begin anew. The Mother of Beginnings, Lady Death, reached out to the people, and warned us, and asked us to fight in Her defense, and we did. The Silence was struck down."

For a beat, he stands, and then lets his hands drop, and continues a little more quietly, but still pitched to carry: "But it was not without cost. Many fell at the hands of those who served the dark. Much damage was done to our home, and to the land. Yet we are here to do what we have been given the privilege to do. We live, we continue on, and we can begin again." He smiles. "So today, I ask that you join with me to offer thanks to the gods of the Pantheon. Let us show Death our new beginning, and begin to heal the land of our home for Petrichor." He starts to unbutton his coat, one shiny silver skull button at a time. "I hope everyone's come prepared to get a little dirty. Spades, shovels-- Leola, you know more about this part than me, but I totally practiced."

The big stallion sniffs at Cara, nostrils flared. It's not exactly the friendliest of greetings, but it is a familiar greeting. And not a bite. "He's really wasted on me," says Dafne with a sigh, petting the horse's shoulder. "I need a mounting block every time." Her mouth twists, a little sadly, a little affectionately at Cara's words. "He'd have been most put out."

Alexis keeps her attention on Aureth, though she's moving with Percephon towards Sophie and hre crew. Quirking her lips in a grin, looking from the Archlector to - the Paladin of Groves, right. Murmuring up at Percephon. "I hope I get a chance to say hi." A beat. "She's shorter than I expected."

Alexis has joined the Boar Hunt Glen.

Percephon has joined the Boar Hunt Glen.

Armel raises an eyebrow at some Narciso says, and takes the time to set his shovel (for he grabbed one of the larger shovels, of course) to produce a ludicrous hat from his pouch and perch it atop his head. Why? well, why not? His face isn't going into the dirt. He also flicks a gaze to Sophie as he speaks more quietly to those nearby.

"Miss Leola? Ahh, yes. I think she's only a little taller than you." Comes Percephon's reply, as if now the short Dame is his bar for how tall anything is. Whatever else is mentioned is lost in the hubub of activity as the two step over towards Sophie, Armel, and the others.

"The Archlector is right, in that I'm afraid you're going to get a little dirty" Leola's eyes gleam as she gestures, grinning "So I hope you didn't wear your best! Take a shovel, and begin digging - for those who haven't used one, don't overload your shovel, you'll do more" She takes one, and demonstrates; firmly and smoothly sliding the shovel's tip to the soil, pressing it down with her weight, and then lifting, turning it "The holes should be about a yard across - about half that deep in the centre. This will let the tree's roots spread and settle in the new soil" And a bright smile, winking at the group "Hard work is its own benediction; and this is at least a better feeling than the battle."

Leta also grabs a big shovel, and tests its weight and balance as though it were something with considerably more lethal intent. She taps the thumb against the shovel's edge, just to see how sharp that is. And then she goes about - watching other people work, really. She looks clueless.

Narciso checked charm + performance at difficulty 15, rolling 28 higher.

Oh. Aureth's making a speech. Dagon steps back, so he's not bothering the priest for a shovel or harassing him about his dilapidated cart while he's trying to give sermons on the divine. Bad form that. But he has identified the shovel pile, and naturally grabs one of the weapon-qualified shovels. Just in case, obviously. Once he has it, he listens to the speech a moment, to be respectful, and then looks around and starts toward a vaguely familiar face. "Princess," he calls over toward Reese. "Apparently we're digging holes."

Esoka looks entirely eager to get her hands dirty. She grabs a shovel of reasonable size, handling it with the air of one who's done this sort of grubbing before. Armel gets an inclination of her head when she spots him. Though her eyes might narrow with some puzzlement at his many-colored hat. She shovel is hefted back to the patches of earth near Gisele and Aleksei. "Aye. There's so much to rebuild. It feels harder work than the amassing of the armies, in some ways. Or at least less straightforward. We shall see it done, though."

Aureth finishes taking off his ridiculously shiny coat, tightens the queue of hair at the nape of his neck, claps his hands once and rubs them together, and goes, "Right! Shovels!" He picks up one of the spades that no one else has grabbed yet. "If you don't have one yet, let's get these passed out!" He smiles with a bright light in his pale eyes. He takes one of the spades actually, though, and demonstrates by following Leola's directions by cutting into the grass with it, biting into the dirt. "Sorry about that, Duke Tyde, I was busy grandstanding," he says as he looks up in Dagon's direction in a much more conversational tone. "What was it?"

Aureth checked strength + agriculture at difficulty 15, rolling 6 lower.

Reese borrows a pair of glove from Cara because she didn't think of that. She then turns her focus to Dagon, giving him a warm smile that touches her blue eyes. "Oh, Duke Dagon, a pleasure to see you again." She murmurs. "This should be easier than our trip into the forest, at least I think..." She murmurs softly.

Armel checked strength + agriculture at difficulty 15, rolling 13 higher.

Reese checked strength + agriculture at difficulty 15, rolling 6 lower.

Shovels and dirt and trees, oh my! Gisele gives the arm she leans on a small, affectionate squeeze and then disengages from Aleksei. Their little group must be armed, and swords don't count! She's no powerhouse, so it's one shovel at a time, lifted from the ground to be passed on the Paladin, and for herself. It may as /well/ be a sword, for all the ease with which she angles it groundwards. "...hopefully Petrichor counts the thought more than the, ah. Well. This is harder than it looks."

Esoka has rolled a critical success!
Esoka checked strength + agriculture at difficulty 15, rolling 11 higher.

Leola checked strength + agriculture at difficulty 15, rolling 25 higher.

Aleksei gets fingerless black leather gloves stitched with gold thread from a black leather swordbelt.

The spirit is willing, as far as Aureth digging holes goes, but the flesh is lacking. It does not take him long at all to build up a sweat in the warm summer afternoon sun, but he doesn't seem to be making very much headway digging his hole. This seems to be no bar to his enthusiasm, nor to getting bruised grass and smudged dirt all over his knees.

Dafne checked strength + agriculture at difficulty 15, rolling 10 lower.

Leta checked strength + agriculture at difficulty 15, rolling 11 higher.

Killian checked command + animal ken at difficulty 15, rolling 17 higher.

Alexis checked strength + agriculture at difficulty 15, rolling 10 higher.

Dagon checked strength + agriculture at difficulty 15, rolling 2 higher.

Reese doesn't seem to know what she is doing. She works very hard, but she is struggling just to make a simple hole. Leave it to a princess to have no idea how to plant a tree.

Dafne digs! She digs like a noblewoman who's spend most of her life in a library. It'd probably make a dent in a book.

Olivia checked strength + agriculture at difficulty 15, rolling 16 higher.

Aleksei checked strength + agriculture at difficulty 15, rolling 18 higher.

Gisele checked strength + agriculture at difficulty 15, rolling 7 lower.

Reese peeks over to Dafne and gives her a sheepish smile. At least she is not alone with this confusion. "Maybe if we angel the shovels a bit more to the left..." She says, giving her completely wrong advice.

Aleksei shrugs out of his coat and sets it aside, pulling on laced fingergless gloves from one of the pockets. They look like they're for swordfighting more than gardening, but they're gloves. "We can dig a hole together," he promises Gisele sagely, grabbing the shovel she offers him and thrusts it into the earth with clear strength. He is not an expert gardener, but by the gods he can get that shovel in the dirt.

Elsewhere, Narciso can be heard singing and playing his lute, telling the wonderful tale of Happy Goodman and his merry adventures upon the ever-turning wheel. The sights he saw, the people he met, the monsters he battled, the loves he left! Oh none have lived as full a life as Happy Goodman.

Sophie checked command + leadership at difficulty 15, rolling 44 higher.

Alexis argues a little with Percephon, before moving along, with a small one-handed shovel in hand, to study the little plants in the wheelbarrow, and, if she gets a chance, to offer a bow to Leola. "Misstress Paladin. It is an honour to meet you. I am Dame Alexis Wyrmfang, Sword of Blancbier." She clears her throat, cheeks flushing a little. "I just wanted to say that you are an inspiration, mistress, and I strive to be an exemplar such as you."

Leola checked command + agriculture at difficulty 15, rolling 46 higher.

Armel is digging a hole to beat all holes, with Sophie and Leola's urging. He gets his guards to help dig holes for other people. Holes everywhere, with his hat perched atop his head.

Poor Gisele. It's fortunate Aleksei's offered to do this teamwork style. The ground before her seems intent on fighting back against /her/ shovel, jarring her enough that she pauses to look at her hands. Commoner's hands, callous-padded and capable, but /clearly/ not up to this task. "Maybe one long hole and our trees can be neighbors," she muses.

Leta obviously hasn't a clue. She's the other kind of commoner. But she's good at stabbing things with big objects, and the ground isn't dodging. So she stabs it with the shovel, and she's brawny enough to move some earth around as directed.

Olivia is notably not really going to be doing a ton of massive shoveling. She has Killian for that. But she has been training in this sort of thing, however, and so she knows what she's doing, and so she lends a bit of her knowledge to her cousin. Or bosses him around gleefully. Though not to be said she's afraid of getting dirty herself, she does grab one of the smaller hand shovels to do a bit of work with that. Not excavating large holes, but kneeling down to lever out rocks, break up clumps, and otherwise. She's also brought some of her own bulbs and cuttings from her garden in that wicker basket, and so while others go about planting the large trees, she makes small holes for some of these.

Reese checked strength + agriculture at difficulty 10, rolling 1 higher.

Cara appears to be primarily providing moral support from a camp chair while her dog digs, but she's roughly the size of a house and it's a warm summer day, so that's honestly likely for the best.

Aureth checked strength + agriculture at difficulty 10, rolling 1 lower.

Cara GM Roll checked strength(3) + athletics(1) at difficulty 10, rolling 10 higher.

Esoka //attacks// the dirt. Her digging intially looks more like stabbing. But, it gets the job done. She's probably not much for the gentler aspects of gardening, but she can dig big holes for trees just fine. "It's the first turning over the earth that's hard," she says to Gisele with a broad grin. "Once you've got the hole started, it gets easier. And I'm sure the trees will appreciate your good hands, Sister."

Dafne checked strength + agriculture at difficulty 15, rolling 3 higher.

It is only fitting that Aureth is making just the hardest job of his own hole because he overcomplicates everything in his life. He has managed to get beneath the upper layer of grass but the motion of the spade he is using instead of a shovel is mostly slicing off dirt and sending it flying in stupid directions. If he keeps up at this pace, he'll be able to go to the wheelbarrow to get a sapling in a few hours.

"Honestly" Leola looks amused at the group "I can see we don't have many gardeners here. Smooth strokes, people. The blade of the shovel should go in about two thirds of the way - then lean back, use the long handle of the spade to lever the earth out" She gestures with a smooth and casual ease, showing the si - er, nobles, how to do it. A hand leaves a smear of dirt across her cheek as she smiles wanly to Alexis "Dame Wyrmfang. Quite the pleasure" Even as she flushes in turn, her head sinking under the praise "Ah, in truth, I feel I did no more than all who stood against the enemy in the siege; true, I faced Brand, but many others faced the terror of the Bringers without being under the aegis of the gods."

Aleksei checked stamina + agriculture at difficulty 15, rolling 6 higher.

Armel grumbles as he gets a spray of dirt on his face from Aureth's spade, squinting toward the Archlector because he almost got his hat dirty. He bows his head to Leta at some compliment or other, looking pleased as he continues to dig with enthusiasm.

"Don't worry," Aleksei tells Gisele loyally. "I've got you." And he does seem to be rather up to the task of digging out two holes. (Or one very long hole?) Peanut even helps, getting his white paws filthy digging away. Aleksei keeps having to shoo him when he needs to aim his shovel. "Peanut, come on, just--"

Narciso checked luck at difficulty 15, rolling 29 higher.

Reese listens to Leola's instructions and it seems to have helped. She now digs a hole! The princess looks vey proud of herself.

Whether Reese's advice was bad or not, Dafne does better the more she works at it, her shovel digging into the ground as a hole begins to appear. She hums to herself, what sounds very much like a traditional funeral dirge. Dirt smears her dark dress and liberally over her face.

"Hmm?" Dagon looks back at Aureth once he's done. "Oh, I don't think I said anything important. Maybe something about your very, ah, handsome cart there." But he has claimed DoomShovel (tm), and there's work to be done. Still, not knowing anything about digging holes other than the occasional unfortunately necessary grave, the somewhat out of place Thrax will turn to Leola - listen to her instructions, as the woman clearly knows which end goes where - and follow them. And he doesn't even kill anyone in the process. He digs the hole over by where Reese and the other Grayson vassals seem piled up, so he can converse a little, too: "I would very much hope it's easier. I didn't come out looking for an adventure this time, just something to get my hands a little dirty and put in some good work."

Sophie is quite content to quietly encourage Armel and the Knights of Solace as hey dig so many holes. The busy digging of Cara's dog draws her attention, and she flashes a friendly smile at the Grayson, her summer sky eyes narrowing just a touch as if perhaps assessing if the pregnant Princess will be giving birth to a watermelon patch before the day's end.

"I can only use my right arm," Alexis offers, apologetically to Leola. though she's certainly listening to the instructions. And the flush and response gets a bright smile from the Dame. "Well said, mistress. I am glad you have compassion and humility alongside the courage - but, truly, you took on a titantic task, and you rose to the occasion. You are an inspiration." She reiterates.

Reese peeks down at her hole and then lifts her gaze to Dagon, giving him a smile. "I think I got this now. I was going to say it more difficult than rescues, bu tnow I think I got this." She adds. She then smiles over to Dafne. "You look cute with the dirt smears." She says, sounding sincere and a little teasing both.

Aleksei GM Roll checked strength(3) + athletics(1) at difficulty 10, rolling 6 higher.

"He's doing a good job!" That might be the first time Gisele has every complimented Aleksei's puppy. Clearly this event is inspiring and changing hearts and minds, just as it should.

Jaxon, Champion of the Reflection, Tale - The Snow Fox, 5 Velenosa House Guards, A Mirror Masked Woman, Hound arrive, following Isolde.

Killian hmms as he seems to accept that, ultimately, more than one person are expecting him to actually 'work' and he sighs dramatically. He moves over and collects a shovel from the offered supplies and sighs, "if all the trees do badly because I was involved and growing things hate me, it's not my fault.." he opines warningly before he moves to begin attacking the holes that those near Cara are making but not seeming to get too terribly far upon, trying to help out.

Jaxon, Champion of the Reflection have been dismissed.

5 Velenosa House Guards have been dismissed.

Hound have been dismissed.

Killian checked strength + athletics at difficulty 15, rolling 20 higher.

"I don't want to stab him with my shovel!" Aleksei argues back at Gisele with a laugh. Peanut darts around, digging here, digging there. His owner mostly digs in one place.

Aureth sits back on his haunches with a kind of sad amount of progress having been made on his hole, and scrubs his arm over his forehead, his rolled up sleeves baring his fair, lightly freckled arms to the summer sun. He grins a ittle breathlessly, and looks out over the braod swath of humanity and caninity currently involved in digging up the soft, warm earth all around. "If you find a worm, it's good luck," he says. "I read that somewhere. Hey-- when you finish getting your hole dug, go ahead and pick a sapling out of the wheelbarrow! Which I mean, is the finest wheelbarrow the Faith owns, obviously."

Down on her hands and knees digging some of her mini-holes and dropping various bulbs, seeds, or other proto-plants into each one, Olivia is one of the few people who looks like she's totally in her element. She does this all the time! Though Leola, as ever, proves a wonderful guide in improving her technique. She spends a while doing this, but looks up with some surprise as there's suddenly a much bigger hole being dug nearby. Blame Dagon and his doom shovel. It seems they have a visitor, courtesy of Reese, and she looks up from her work to at least greet him. "Ah, Your Grace, hello. Sorry I'm-" Not in a position to curtsey. Then she calls to Killian: "You're doing fine!"

Reese's hound flops down lazy like and doesn't dig any holes. The princess sighs. "Luca is having a bad influence on her."

Vladimir arrives, following Hana.

More than a little late to the gathering, Princess Isolde strides in looking harried. She takes a look around at the scene. It's to get her bearings as to how much she's missed. Hopefully, she's not missed all of the fun. Or the hard work as it seems to be. Reese gets a small wave as Isolde wanders past to grab a shovel. "Good to see you here, Princess Reese."

Rickard has left the Deer Hunt Glade.

Narciso checked charm + performance at difficulty 15, rolling 57 higher.

Reese smiles warmly toward Isolde, upon noticing her. "Oh, a pleasure to see you as well, Princes Isolde." She says, lifting her voice to carry and yet keeping her tone gentle.

Gisele gets the most adorable sapling from heavy wooden wheelbarrow whose single wheel has personality.

"I ... ah, I thank you, Dame Wyrmguard" leola tells Alexis with that same uncomfortable smile, before Reese's flopping hound draws her attention "Ah, excuse me. If you ... do what you can, I'm sure it will be well received" She tells the miniknight, before she approaches Reese and the hound, bending "If you dig" She notes in a soft voice "I am -quite- sure the Princess will be of a mind to thank you later. After all, you do her much honor and reward for aiding her in a difficult task" She scritches the hound's ears gently; standing, and curtsying to Isolde in turn politely

Dafne blinks at Reese. "What?" she says. She reaches up to her face, swiping across her forehead, which only spreads the dirt further, and then blinks again at the dirt on her fingers. "Oh."

Reese gets rose softwood sapling from heavy wooden wheelbarrow whose single wheel has personality.

Leola checked command + animal ken at difficulty 15, rolling 27 higher.

Armel gets sugar maple sapling from heavy wooden wheelbarrow whose single wheel has personality.

Armel puts sugar maple sapling in heavy wooden wheelbarrow whose single wheel has personality.

Armel gets yellow birch sapling from heavy wooden wheelbarrow whose single wheel has personality.

At the request of Armel, Narciso begins to sing another song. The song of Alaric the Shepard... and it is done with such flair, such beauty! Forget epic ballads, forget passionate poems. Alaric the Shepard is where it's at.

Seeing as how Peanut, Aleksei, and Esoka all have this hole-digging business well in hand, Gisele decides to make herself useful. She ventures off to get the trees! Two sturdy specimens for the impressive specimens and... well, the one she chooses for herself is small and maybe a little wilty. Someone's setting themselves up for non-thriving heartbreak.

Alexis gives a final bow to Leola, then a smile and nod to Reese and the doggo, before she moves back to the group she left behind. Murmuring as she returns to the music and the digging, helping Armel some despite the side-eye he gave her, and shooting a grin over at Percephon.

"I think, Princess, this is well within your grasp. And it seems we have good leadership," Dagon calls back at Reese. Now, though, the very tall Thrax notices that there's a much less tall young noblewoman also nearby, made smaller by the fact that she's crawling around in the dirt. Dagon looks down at Olivia, and steps back. "Apologies, m'lady. I hadn't seen you down there. I didn't get in your way, did I?"

For his part, Percephon is all too content to help Sophie oversee the others and the work they put into digging holes. Now and then? He'll helpfully point out to Armel how one side just isn't quite as rounded as the other, and oooh, look out for that stone, which is to say, not all that helpful at all.

Isolde checked strength + athletics at difficulty 15, rolling 10 lower.

Esoka gets red cedar sapling from heavy wooden wheelbarrow whose single wheel has personality.

Dagon gets black basswood sapling from heavy wooden wheelbarrow whose single wheel has personality.

"Enjoying the tree planting?" Isolde smiles at Reese as she takes the shovel and sets about with this hole digging. It's clearly difficult for the slender princess. Each shovelful of dirt seems like a struggle and at one point, she nearly fall out. "This is embarrassing" She mutters under her breath.

Armel actually listens to Percephon, for he is known as wise and intelligent, and obviously that translates to planting trees, right? So he rounds out the hole carefully and moves the rock. Besides, he's having too much fun quipping something back and forth to Sophie and listening to amazing music.

Hana arrives a bit late, with soot smudged across her cheek. Someone, it seems, has come straight from the forge. She pauses near the entrance, looking around to see whether or not any familiar faces could use help with their trees. Leola, Gisele...

Reese giggles as Dafne spreads the dirt smears around. "Even more cute now." She murmurs. She then looks over o Alexis, having a gentle smile of greeting for her. She then looks over to Dagon, nodding in response his words. "Yes, we got this.." She says, but of course Reese needed help to figure out tree-planting. She then turns to Isolde. "Oh, I am." She murmurs. Her linens are not stained with dirt as well as from her armor.

Aureth checked strength + agriculture at difficulty 10, rolling 5 lower.

Aureth continues to sort of amiably flail his way slowly downward in his hole construction and make a mess. He has managed to get literally all over himself.

"Like this, your highness," Dafne offers helpfully toward Isolde, demonstrating her hard-won knowledge with her shovel. Very hard-won, as the dirt all over the duchess testifies.

Aleksei gets red maple sapling from heavy wooden wheelbarrow whose single wheel has personality.

Isolde checked strength + athletics at difficulty 15, rolling 3 lower.

Cara checked stamina at difficulty 10, rolling 0 higher.

Gisele deposits the saplings ever so carefully beside the holes. Two of them, at least. The third, the wilty one, she cradles in her arms. Yes, like a child. And, like an ailing child, she inspects it. A leaf is rubbed between thumb and forefinger, the tension in its branches tested with light pressure. "Petrichor's pup?" she ventures, distracted but smiling when she glances at Esoka.

In trying to look up at Dagon properly, Olivia leans back, and ends up just kind of falling on her butt. She blushes a little, but still smiles up at the man. "Ah, no, you didn't cause any trouble. And you've made a very fine hole there. Why don't you go get a sapling? If you want, and are not well versed in the planting part, I can help you settle it?" She looks over at Reese and spots now that Dafne has joined her, and can't help but giggle a little. "You look lovely with it, Duchess. There's nothing wrong with a little dirt, after all." Olivia, by now, is pretty much a mess, with dirt on both the front of her dress where her knees were, on her butt from her embarassing flop, on her hands, on her face from brushing off some sweat. You get the idea!

Dafne's instructions are carefully followed by Isolde. At least, she tries. But it doesn't seem like the mirrormask princess has much strength in those skinny arms of hers."Duchess, I'm envious of your technique. I think my tree will be dead by the time this hole is dug." She mutters, covered in a thin layer of dirt.

A messenger arrives, delivering a message to Alexis before departing.

Esoka gets her hole of a depth where she can start settling her sapling. Taking a moment more to grin at Aleksei's puppy - because, adorable - before she gets to the work of it. She kneels in the soil, murmuring a few words over the plant as she places it in the dirt. Whatever she's saying isn't spoken in Arvani. Though it has the sound of a prayer to it.

Esoka says in Crownlands shav, "Petrichor bless this ground and the life of this sapling. May it grow strong and restore this land to beauty and glory that would please the gods."

Leola smiles to Hana as she straightens up, smoothing out her skirt "Hana!" She calls, waving "People seem to be enjoying themselves, at least. Come and watch the nobility dig some holes" Her eyes dance with a decidedly amused light

Dagon is just turning back to go and fetch a sapling when the Ashford lady suggests it. "Princess, how are you going? Shall I grab a few more saplings for all of you?" Whatever the case, he goes over to the charmingly disasterous wheelbarrow, and grabs some saplings. Then, with a couple in hand, he returns to HIS hole. There are many holes like it, but this one is his. The sapling is set down beside it. "If you've any guidance, I'll take it," he tells Olivia.

Hana looks around at all the digging, and seems relieved when Leola calls out to her. "Leola!" She hurries over to Leola and those near her, offering a bright smile. "I wasn't sure if I should just start digging, or pick up a tree, or if only specific people were digging holes."

Dafne gets gloomy elm sapling from heavy wooden wheelbarrow whose single wheel has personality.

Armel barks out with a good-natured grumble, "We're not all nobility!" Including himself.

"It took me some time to learn," says Dafne toward Isolde, "but I am sure I am now on my way to becoming a master gardener." She excuses herself briefly to go choose a sapling and returns with a distinctly gloomy elm clasped in her arms. "I like this one," she murmurs.

Killian doesn't even pretend he's going to actually -plant- one of the saplings. He doesn't go near them. The Paladin of Ideals apparently is serious about thinking he's got a black thumb, as he avoids the trees entirely and sticks to the digging, moving around and opening up holes as needed, expanding them, otherwise being 'helpful' in a purely..well..let's be honest, it's probably the most helpful Killian has been lately to most anyone. Him dig good holes. He and Steadfast get on beautifully, the Knight and the big dog digging huge holes, one of which gets a liiiitttle out of hand and ends up large enough to probably bury a few bodies in should anyone have need, and growing deeper and larger by the minutes.

Isolde checked strength + athletics at difficulty 15, rolling 6 lower.

"Killian, are you planting a sapling or a behemoth?" Cara asks dryly, fanning herself with a small folding paper fan. "Come and have some water, at least, before you faint." Her fan stills for a goodly few seconds, before resuming it's lazy work.

"I dug a hole, Hana" Leola gestures to an immaculate example; a yard across, half that deep "If you want to pick one for me, and we can plant it together?" She offers with a warm smile and a touch to the smith's cheek "I'd have us both do it together, after all"

Gisele sinks to her knees beside the hole created by the combined efforts of man and pup. She holds herself still and quiet through Esoka's praying-- respect-- and then leans forward to plant her own. If she offers a prayer, it's silent, conveyed through the care used to cradle the little life in the ground. Hands alone are used to begin scraping soil around the root ball and /elbows/ are used to help keep the puppy at bay, less he undo this round of work.

Aureth checked strength + agriculture at difficulty 10, rolling 1 lower.

Reese checked strength + agriculture at difficulty 10, rolling 2 higher.

Watching Dafne go, Isolde looks down at her tiny hole. It's very unimpressive. She pokes at it a few more times with her shovel and then tries again, lifting up a sad amount of dirt. "I'm starting to think I'm cursed."

Aureth chunks off another hunk of dirt, and then accidentally drops it back into his own hole. But-- you know, he's still muddling cheerfully along. He's almost there!

Leta made a considerably oversized hole, out of sheer religious fanaticism, so now she leans on her shovel, wipes a sleeve across her brow, adjusts her heavy leather gloves, and looks around, trying to follow what everyone else is doing.

Isolde checked strength + athletics at difficulty 15, rolling 5 lower.

"Killian..." Olivia has only now noticed that the man is digging a mass grave, rather than a hole for a tree. "That's a bit... you ought make a few smaller ones." Seeing Dafne coming back with her sapling, she laughs. "Oh, that is just perfect." But now, with Dagon's suggestion, she extends to all of those nearby: "If any of you want a little help in planting yours, I can give it. Really, though, it's not terribly difficult, as the saplings are already alive and growing. You just want to make sure they are well situated in the hole, that the roots can spread out evenly. Then you refill it. But not too much dirt, that you choke the trunk. Just enough to firmly hold it."

Armel leans on his shovel, chuckling after he plants his sapling in the dirt and heaps a bit of dirt all around it to ensure it is stable. He stifles a choking laugh at /something/ Sophie quips, shaking his head as he murmurs something aside to her before speaking more loudly, "Alright, the Gods are a bit more satisfied, and that..Was actually fun. But for now, I really do have to get going, I have a meeting with Baroness Kima for..I don't know, actually. She asked for a meeting." And so he passes the Kindness Shovel (tm) over to the nearest hands before brushing himself off and beginning to set off. "A pleasure, Lord Percephon. Have fun filling all those holes."

Hana blushes a little under Leola's touch, but nods once in answer. "I... okay! Yes, I'd like to plant a tree together. That would be fun!" She rests her hand atop Leola's for a moment, then sets off towards the wheelbarrow with a smile.

Gisele drops the most adorable sapling.

Esoka drops red cedar sapling.

"Too big?" calls Killian as he leans up over the edge of his hole. It's not quite to his shoulders yet. He climbs out and brushes off, heading over towards Cara with a slightly embarassed look, "I did warn you that I am horrible at this, right?" he points out as he retrieves the offered water and takes a few gulps.

Reese drops rose softwood sapling.

Hana gets white foxwood sapling from heavy wooden wheelbarrow whose single wheel has personality.

Olivia gets smallwoods oak sapling from heavy wooden wheelbarrow whose single wheel has personality.

Aleksei watches Esoka and Gisele handle their saplings with religious care, a faint, warm smile crossing his lips; whatever lingering fatigue there is at the corners of his eyes, it seems mostly forgotten in the moment. "Peanut, leave that alone," he calls to the dog when Gisele's forced to keep him at bay with her elbows. And then he finally lowers himself to his own hole, settling the little red maple sapling in the midst of it and starting to fill it back in with dirt.

Aleksei drops red maple sapling.

Armel drops yellow birch sapling.

"Right," Dagon acknowledges the instruction. "Drop it in the hole, fill it up. Don't choke the poor tree to death, make sure it doesn't fall over." These are steps he can follow. In PLOPS the sapling, and out comes DoomShovel (tm) again, pushing dirt back in around it.

"I think a tree like this would be perfect in a graveyard," says Dafne. This is apparently not a depressing thought for her; she accompanies the sentiment with a soft, delighted sigh. She kneels to put hers in her painstakingly dug hole, humming that funeral dirge again, but pauses to consider Isolde's hole. "It's all right," she assures the princess. "Some of the saplings are smaller than others." Possibly not _that_ small.

Isolde checked strength + athletics at difficulty 15, rolling 4 higher.

Dafne drops gloomy elm sapling.

Dagon drops black basswood sapling.

Olivia drops smallwoods oak sapling.

Killian checked perception + medicine at difficulty 20, rolling 5 lower.

Aureth checked strength + agriculture at difficulty 10, rolling 6 lower.

Alexis moves, flushing, from the clustered group she was with. She makes her way to Killian and Olivia and whomever else might be with them, offering a bow. "My lady. My lord." Clearing her throat. "I'm Dame Alexis Wyrmfang, the Sword of Blancbier. I just wanted to thank you for your efforts, Lord Paladin. You are an inspiration, and I will strive to live up to the ideals you represent every day of my life." She promises.

Armel has left the Boar Hunt Glen.

2 Solace trained guards leaves, following Armel.

Hana drops white foxwood sapling.

Dafne checked perception + medicine at difficulty 20, rolling 12 higher.

Aureth hits a rock with his spade and it bounces off. He fumbles the spade and has to chase it before it lands in someone else's hole. "Whoops!"

Deciding to ignore the offer of help from Oliva, Isolde continues to stubbornly dig. This time out of some stroke of luck, she manages to get a shovel full of dirt out of the hole. Progress! She glances at Aureth with a sympathetic smile. "Maybe we should work on a hole together?"

Isolde checked strength + athletics at difficulty 15, rolling 4 higher.

Hana returns to Leola with the white foxwood sapling in her arms, offering a bright smile to the Paladin of Groves. "This one? I know it's called a /fox/wood, so it seemed like maybe..." She trails off, clearly a little embarrassed by her line of reasoning here.

"Sure, why not." Aureth wipes sweat from his brow, which primarily succeeds in smearing more dirt across his face, and gives Isolde a smile full of sunlight. "I accept your charity and mercy in the spirit in which it was offered, Highness."

Leola gives a flushed little laugh to Hana at that "I understand that line of thought, Hana. That works well" She beams and moves to help the smith place the sapling in the hole "Alright. Now, carefully start to shovel the soil in - slowly, let the earth settle around the roots and support the sapling. Once you're above them, you can drop the earth in more smoothly"

Reese focuses on planting on her tree. She got one planted and seems once again very proud of herself.

Killian is distracted by the approach of a stranger, turning briefly away from Cara in the process, "Oh.. Dame Alexis, it's a pleasure," he says, giving a small bow of his head. He looks a bit embarrassed at her comments and smiles slightly, "you are very kind to say so, but please realize that I was but a small part of what happened. There were five paladins, but beyond that we were only able to be such because of the efforts of countless faithful and citizens, and even prodigals and the refugees. I merely had the honor to be a tool wielded by the Compact, against evil.." he grins then and adds, "and apparently the Sentinel found me adequate.." he observes.

Isolde gives him an uncharacteristic grin as she digs."Good! Together, we may actually get one planted before dark." She chuckles. The princess is looking quite dirty herself but satisfied now that she seems to have gotten the hang of digging.

Olivia turns over as Alexis approaches, offering a smile. "A pleasure. I'm Lady Olivia Ashford." Obviously, the other woman knows who Killian is so she doesn't introduce him. Though, looking from the woman to Killian, and hearing the greeting, well, she realizes why exactly she's come over. "Oh, my cousin is very inspiring, to be sure, though not at digging! Unless you have a small army to bury." But then she turns back toward Cara and some of her other friends and family, as there seems to be some fuss.

Since he and Isolde are now working together, even though Aureth is still making fairly pathetic efforts with his shovel, they can manage to get their hole of roughly the right depth and shape to support one of the trees. "Let's hope," he says with a laugh as he hoists a little dirt over his shoulder. "I was hoping to say a few more prayers at this service before the day is done."

Isolde checked strength + athletics at difficulty 15, rolling 8 lower.

Aureth checked strength + agriculture at difficulty 10, rolling 11 higher.

Alexis smiles. "the Paladin of Groves said similar, Lord Paldin," She assures him. "I remain steadfast that to hear of your efforts and your bravery, as an example of the kind of heroism the siege of Arx inspired, remains something we should all strive for." Bowing her head to Oliviia as well. "An honour to meet you, Lady Ashford." Looking with her to the rest of the Ashfords and ex-Ashfords. "Ah. I'm sorry to interrupt," She adds, looking between the group. "I just - you know. I wanted to offer my gratitude."

Hana places the sapling into the indicated hole, beginning to quietly cover it with dirt alongside Leola. It may not be dramatic, but this much she can certainly do to try to help replenish the land.

"I believe in you!" Isolde chuckles. The hole finally seems to reach the proper depth after they both combine their efforts. So, she wanders over to return the shovel and peek into the wheelbarrow. "Which one should we plant?", she calls to Aureth.

Cara checked composure at difficulty 20, rolling 1 higher.

Aureth sits down on his knees for a moment, breath huffing past his teeth as he once more tries to smear sweat and dirt around on his face. "Ahm, I think there's a silvery dark one in there that might be good for you, Princess Isolde," he says, and laughs a little, breathlessly, as he looks around the rest of the assembled.

Isolde gets silver birch sapling from heavy wooden wheelbarrow whose single wheel has personality.

With a few farewells given, Percephon puts down the small shovel he got from the small Sword, and then the scholar starts to head out of the clearing and back towards the city.

"For the love of all the gods, Archlector. Do you need a little help?" Dagon wonders, over at Aureth. He doesn't actually go over to help, though. And it does seem that the man eventually gets it.While teasing the Archlector, though, he catches his exchange with Isolde, and smiles, perhaps not having spotted her before. "Princess, it's been a little while. Do you need any help with your tree?" Princesses get offers of help. But not Archlectors.

Leta gives Narciso's back a worried glance, then shakes her head and heads for the wheelbarrow to collect a sapling. She picks a nondescript little thing, because she's just a commoner and she can't be choosy. "So now I just - put that in the dirt, is it?" she asks as she lugs the sapling back towards her oversized hole, looking back and forth uncertainly between the two.

Percephon has left the Boar Hunt Glen.

Isolde nods back towards Aureth before picking up the silver sapling. It's heavy for someone as weak as her. "I'd love some help, Prince Dagon!" She has a strained smile as she makes her way slowly back towards the hole they'd finally dug.

Killian checked composure at difficulty 15, rolling 4 higher.

Leola helps Hana a little, before she leaves her with the shovel; touching her cheek, squeezing her around the waist a moment - moving to gently check the others and offer advice, supporting words and smiles. Aureth, she lingers with a little - gently offering to move his hands on the shovel and demonstrate how best to throw his weight around. Poor fellow.

"Hey, we're all here helping each other, my lord," Aureth calls sunnily to Dagon. He returns a smile to Leola for her help, and laughs with the slight shake of his head. Then the Archlector pitches his voice to carry so that his benediction may be lifted above all the cheerful chaos of digging and planting going on around the little grove. "We here assembled at this new grove offer prayers to Petrichor for the land," Aureth says, licking sweat from his upper lip, and then lifts a smile into the sunlight, "for the new growth and the health and life of these trees, and for all that is green and growing and alive, and for all our efforts to rebuild and restore the soil and the land that is our home." He scoops up a double handful of the soft, warm, dark soil, and holds it, waiting.

Cara has rolled a critical success!
Cara checked stamina at difficulty 15, rolling 0 higher.

Narciso has left the Boar Hunt Glen.

Gisele lifts her face towards the sky, eyes briefly closing as she draws in a shallow breath. Upon the exhale, her smile blossoms, and carries over into the light in her eyes when she opens them to attend to Aureth's prayer. Something is murmured, voice low and reverent, as she dips to scoop up a handful of her own to hold.

Alexis pauses in her actions to listen to the Archlector, and offers a bright smile to the Ashfords around her as she finds her own handful of soil.

Esoka gets her little cedar firmly planted in the ground. She steps back, dirty and sweaty and beaming at the thing, to eye her work. Short nod. Satisfied. She closes her eyes as she listens to Aureth's prayer, breathing in deep the scent of the forest and turned-over earth. And then exhaling slow. She kneels down again as it ends, to pat the soil. In a rough, encouraging sort of way. Grow, you!

Dagon goes over toward Isolde, shovel resting on his shoulder. If he catches her before the way back, he may even offer a hand with the tree. Because helping princesses carry heavy things is very knightly and chivalrous, oh yes. "It's a very pretty sapling, and it suits you," he'll say of the tree itself. "I don't actually claim to know what I'm doing, but some woman over there exlpained it. You just sort of put it in and refill the hole around it. Not too little or too much. Why don't you hold it steady and straight I can push the dirt in?"

Aleksei tugs off his gloves and tucks them into his belt, now that the shoveling part of things is over. When Aureth starts to offer a new prayer, he smiles crookedly and then reaches to pick up a handful of his own soil.

Dafne takes a step toward Cara, and glances back toward Aureth, torn. She catches her lower lip behind her teeth, and stoops to take up a handful of earth, squeezing it between her small fingers. Her gaze drops to the ground, flicking to her cousin briefly beneath her lashes.

Leta fills her hole, digs some dirt out of it, fills it a little again, then carefully deposits the sapling in the open space. Then she removes her gloves and picks up a handful of dirt, staring at Aureth for a while. Then she looks around, uncertainly, and tosses the dirt into the hole, followed by the rest of it. There! She's done her part.

Alexis has left the Boar Hunt Glen.

Alexis has joined the Deer Hunt Glade.

"There is absolutely no cause for concern," Cara says clearly, loud enough to be heard from her camp chair in the shade. Her lady's maid snorts very softly.

"Thank you. Would have only been more fitting if it was reflective." Isolde teases as she lets Dagon help carry the sapling back over to Aureth and the hole. Once they're there, she holds the tree steady as instructed. "So, how is Margot doing?"

Cara checked stamina at difficulty 10, rolling 1 higher.

Cara checked composure at difficulty 20, rolling 8 lower.

"And as we work here under the sun and the sky by Mangata's grace," Aureth says, and he dumps the scoop of earth over the sapling's newly settled roots once Isolde has placed it in the hole and begun to hold its steady in place so that Dagon can cover it, you know, more effectively than he is with his scoop of dirt, "we give thanks to the Queen of Endings, for all things must end so that they may begin again." He scrubs his hands together, letting a final soft dusting of earth fall over the bole of the tree as he says: "These trees, as they grow in this earth before the walls of Arx, will represent the beginnings of our new lives, as we are reborn to face the new world and all that comes ahead. We kneel beneath their branches and offer thanks to Death, Queen of Endings, Mother of Beginnings.

He goes on with a pitched increase in volume: "Our souls were once as fledgling as these saplings, unformed until Her hands shaped them from her blood, and began them on our paths with life. Here today, we thank her for our lives, old and new, and go forth into new life with the new hopes of the reborn. Our enemies fell, and with them fell the enemies of the Pantheon. We live. One day we will die, and our souls will return to Her, and return to the Wheel. Our children will be born with souls old and new. Revere the Mother of Beginnings, and celebrate a beginning here today."

Hana leans in against Leola for a moment, as they finish filling in the hole for the sapling. "This is nice," she says. "A little crowded, but nice." And then she falls silent to listen to her father's sermon.

"Arghghghg," comes the noise from Cara, a dignified sort of yowl of pain, promptly upon the Archlector's finishing words.

Killian checked composure at difficulty 20, rolling 7 lower.

Dafne lets her handful of dirt fall, and drops to her knees for a moment, letting the leaves of her little gloomy elm brush her dirt-smeared cheeks. "New beginnings," she murmurs, reverently.

And then Dafne arises, and sprints to Cara.

Isolde checked composure at difficulty 15, rolling 11 higher.

Killian calls out, "We need a Mercy!" loudly after that grunt, sounding a little less..composed now. Damnit sis!

Sophie may have let Armel do all the heavy lifting (and digging), but she's more than capable of planting the sapling, murmuring a prayer as she does so. Once that is finished, she glances around and smiles at Leta, approving of the Dame's work. It is short lived, though, because she does overhear Cara, which draws her attention and distracts her from Aureth's prayer. And at the Grayson's "Arghghghg" of an amen, the Mother Mercy is on her feet, heading that way.

As Sophie comes running, Alexis does as she offered - she pauses, briefly, before the Mother Mercy, gesturing to the Grayson princess. "Ah, I think she's having her baby. Babies? She's in labour."

Esoka works her fingers through the soil near her tree as Aureth prays, murming a simple, "Gods keep" under her breath. The clear, loud declaration from Cara that there is no cause for concern makes her eyes flick in that direction. With concern. Her hand immediately goes to the hilt of her sword. But, then people are calling for Mercies and she just mutters, "Oh." That isn't something she can solve by bashing. Probably.

Gisele reverently adds the lone handful of dirt to the rest piled around the teeny trunk of her sapling. A pat is given to merge it with the rest and she rises, hands brushed together to free them of the crumbs. Then heads are turning, and people are running, and she looks too. "Oh," she echoes Esoka. "Ah... someone. Perhaps ought to send word? To the prince?"

Reese looks on all pale-faced and wide-eyed.

Dagon is busy filling a hole. "Do they make reflective trees?" He doesn't think so, but who knows. "My wife and I just had a daughter, so she is still recovering somewhat, but otherwise well," he explains, possibly well timed as some woman starts making horrendous noises a short way off. "Ah, funny thing." Still, he doesn't rush over, but rather finishes with the tree, patting the dirt with the shovel at the end, and nodding at Aureth. "Well said. Sounds as if you've got ANOTHER beginning, er, beginning, over yonder."

Aleksei settles his handful of dirt on his little red maple sapling, but the quiet of the moment is a bit INTERRUPTED by Cara's little outburst. "Uh," he says, peering over at the little crowd starting to surround her. "Ie looks like they've got -- everything handled." Something creased and distracted crosses his expression for a moment before it fades.

Stuck steadying the tree, Isolde looks between Aureth and Dagon. Her expression is one of concern and mild confusion. Then with all the shouting it clicks and she shakes her head. "Poor Princess Cara." She glances at Dagon. "I must come see your daughter sometime soon. Margot and her need to be showered in gifts."

"There's a basket --" Cara heaves a few quick breaths, gulping air, before the worst of it passes and she gets herself controlled, "--in my cart. It should have all the necessaries." It does, actually, as well as a few stout straw-stuffed pillows for comfort and a small hamper of rather nice wine, presumably for the picnic and not for the actual arrival of offspring.

Hana glances over at Cara, and then back at Leola and Aureth as if to double-check that this wasn't /actually/ planned as part of the 'new beginnings' and 'rebirth' ceremony.

Leola listens to the sermon with a smile - which grows increasingly taut as Cara's condition becomes increasingly clear "It is nice, but, ah, we might ... have to ..." Leola tells Hana with a worried smile "I'm sure someone here knows a little of medicine, at least" She looks around hopefully "I mean, I've helped horses, but that's all ..."

Reese goes to get the basket. She can do that much! She darts off.

On his feet in an instant in a rain of dirt, Aureth startles like a hare at the bay of a hound, and turns toward Cara. He's at first alarmed, and then his face washes clean of alarm to be replaced by a delight as plain and pure as the sunlight. "Indeed," he says. "Make sure she has room, give her air, don't all swarm at once," he calls over. "Bless this moment from the Mother of Beginnings!"

Dafne moves to Cara's side, petting her shoulder. "You should breathe," she says. A pause. "I mean, I know you are already breathing or else would be dead. But you should breathe--specially." She nods at this, but she looks worried.

Killian looks around and hears something he can help with, "I'll send Whisper with the message for the Prince," he says helpfully, pulling a scrap of parchment and a small piece of charcoal from his belt and scribbling a small note. He whistles his owl down, tucking the little note into the pouch it has, whispering to the huge white owl before practically throwing her up into the air as she wings off towards the city. He's helping! He also stays -way- out of the way.

Alexis is at a loss for a moment. Then she clears her throat. "Mother of Beginnings, bless," She echoes Aureth, after a moment. And, certainly she has no need to crowd the expectant mother, so for now she's keeping her distance. Moving idly away, and encouraging others to do so as well. Slowly making her way to Aleksei. "Ah, excuse me, Brother Paladin?"

Reese comes back with the basket and sets it nearby. She doesn't know much about childbirth and so she then hangs back, not wanting to smoother Cara too much.

Once the tree is planted, Isolde makes her way over to Cara and Sophie with a concerned look. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Gisele neglects her usual caution for mess. All this distraction, and she absent-mindedly wipes her hands off on her tabard, while keeping a nervous eye on the congregation gathering around Cara. "I think--" she begins, and then bites back whatever she'd been about to say. Her gaze flits towards Alexis before swinging back to the crowd, and then finally locking in on the discarded shovels. Yes. Yes, she can help with that, scooping up to begin collecting them for bearing back to the operation centre that is the wheelbarrow.

Cara has one of the most planning-oriented assistants ever, because there's actually a sort of canvas shade tent in the cart, too, which is easy enough for some of her guard to put up to give the whole endeavor a bit of privacy and comfort. Cara keeps breathing, giving Dafne a wry look that's quickly swallowed up again when another contraction hits. Honestly. Those things are so rude. "Thank you, Dafne -- Oh, yes, please, Laric should know, he'll be so cross that I'm out here --" She frets, gripping the arm of her chair tightly.

Aleksei's attention is on Cara and her group a ways away, because that's obviously the sort of thing you gawk at, so he actually has to blink and pull his attention away at Alexis's approach. "Oh, that's a new one," he says with a bright laugh. "Uh. Blessed Aleksei is fine. Hello."

In all truth, Sophie is more used to performing battlefield medicine than delivering babies, but this still is within her wheelhouse. That Cara's seen fit to back all the deliver necessities certainly helps. "Do we have any means to boil water?" she calls out to Aureth and Leola, seeing how they've organized the event. In the meanwhile, she sees about making Cara comfortable and taking vitals. Those with the skill set to assist, such as Olivia and Isolde, are happily drafted.

Esoka does not look alarmed, but she plainly has //no// idea what to do with herself. She is no midwife. Stares in Cara's direction but does not crowd her. Blinking at Alexis as the woman approaches Aleksei. Who she's still hanging out by. The woman gets an inclination of her head in recognition. "Gods bless this new beginning," she mutters after Aureth is done. At a loss for anything else to say.

Cara relaxes a great deal when Sophie takes charge of things, letting out a great whoosh of breath.

Alexis has left the Deer Hunt Glade.

Alexis has joined the Hawking Plain.

Sophie has left the Boar Hunt Glen.

Sophie has joined the Deer Hunt Glade.

Isolde has joined the Deer Hunt Glade.

Olivia hurries, of course, to dig through the supplies once Reese has brought them and fetches out a few things as needed. Though the general orders are to stand back, she seems determined to be at her cousin's side, helping. A pillow is brought over for her, nudged into place behind her. As Sophie takes charge, of course, she looks a bit relieved too, and turns to her for instruction. "Mother Mercy, I'm her cousin, and I've some herbal and medical training. Anything you need, please, just let me know what to do."

Killian tries to help with the tent setting up, things he's sorta good at. That sort of thing. He lurks then, near the tent, out of the way, with his cloak folded over his arm. He sort of eyes the people who might approach the tent, remaining on hand to help out with anything that might be needed. "Do I need to go get anything? I have Eclipse here, I can ride and retrieve something quickly if needed.." he offers, but does NOT look inside the tent when he offers. When Whisper makes it back, he uses his little charcoal pencil to write another note and sends the owl off again.

Dafne sits at Cara's side, offering her a hand if she needs it. Little does she know what she might have gotten herself into. "I have a little medical training," she says, "but not enough to be of any use, I'm afraid." Worry is still clear on her face.

"Oh yes, you should come and visit. We should catch up in general," Dagon answers Isolde. And... then as people are rushing to deal with the pregnant woman, he seems to take this as a good moment to withdraw. He is not helpful for removing babies. Perhaps his trip outside the city was even timed to avoid his own daughter's birth! Exit, stage... west?

"I have blessed water from the Shrine of Mangata that we were going to bless the trees with when everyone was done patting down the soil," Aureth shares. He turns to go and start hauling one of the buckets. Why is he the one hauling a bucket. You've all seen how wussy he was the shovel, right? But here he is gamely hauling a bucket. Both hands. Covered in dirt. He tries not to slosh any out of the bucket. (There's another bucket right next to it.)

Reese tries to help Killian set-up the tent, she nervously isn't quite sure what to do. She seems more like a male a childbirth than a female.

Stormy, a silvery gray hunting hound have been dismissed.

Justice, an elegant hunting falcon have been dismissed.

Hana watches all of this with mild horror, clearly uncertain if she should try to help, or run to /get/ help. After a moment, however, she runs to her father's side and picks up the other bucket -- she's a smith, she fares better than Aureth does -- following him. They need /all/ the water, right?

Isolde has left the Deer Hunt Glade.

Cara has rolled a critical success!
Cara checked stamina at difficulty 10, rolling 15 higher.

A messenger arrives, delivering a message to Killian before departing.

Leta is just patting the dirt around her tree with the shovel, until it looks like it's been properly patted. Then she puts the shovel away and looks up, following the commotion with a few deep furrows on her brow. "Uh. Well then." she says to no one in particular. Everyone seems to have everything covered, so she just hangs back and stares.

Gisele's smile is soft and quick as she wrestles with the shovels. "Sister Gisele. Gods bless," she bids the western knight, before turning away to return to her self-appointed chores. Shovels dragged off, empty hands returned, fidgeting with a loose fold of her tabard. Easier to pray than fret and so she does, head bowed, words ceaseless and quiet.

Buchanan, a Champion, 5 Armed Confessors arrive, following Laric.

From the tent, there emerges a varying series of sounds over the next while -- all in all, the baby situation progresses rather swiftly. Evidently, Cara was in labor for quite a while and just not...showing it. There's a great deal of ARRRRGH and EEEEEENGH and heavy breathing, water brought in, rags bundled out. Quite the montage! And eventually -- the thin cry of a newborn, yowling its little heart out.

And then a second cry, shortly thereafter, in infantile annoyed harmony.

Reese is overheard praising Aureth for: Trees, lots of trees.

Cara is overheard praising Sophie for: Catch!

Dafne gets trailing willow sapling from heavy wooden wheelbarrow whose single wheel has personality.

Dafne gets black walnut sapling from heavy wooden wheelbarrow whose single wheel has personality.

Dafne gets sugar maple sapling from heavy wooden wheelbarrow whose single wheel has personality.

Reese is overheard praising Leola for: The Paladin who is helping to renew the grove.

Dafne drops trailing willow sapling.

Dafne drops black walnut sapling.

Dafne drops sugar maple sapling.

Killian is overheard praising Cara for: Way to take things WAY too literally.

Reese is overheard praising Cara for: Baby in the Grove of new beginings!

She may only have one arm she's allowed to use, but Alexis is happy to help pick up a couple of shovels, possibly to help move them, once she's done with her chat with Aleksei and Esoka. "An honour to meet all three of you," She offers, with another set of little bows. "I just, ah - well. You know. I wanted to say hello." She's only a little distracted - and smiling - at the sounds of the healthy children in the distance. "I think that's an auspicious sign."

Though the water was originally brought for important tree purposes, Aureth is only too happy to give it over for the use of the sudden onslaught of midwifery. Time passes in a cheerful montage of digging, planting and prayer. The diggers and planters get each of the young trees into the ground, with only a scattering of the remaining holy water to spare to kiss the thirsty roots (someone will get more later). While the birth is ongoing within the tent, all the trees begin their new lives in the earth in sight of the city.

Cara is overheard praising Aureth for: Praise to the Queen!

Cara is overheard praising Leola for: Tending the land!

Hana is overheard praising Leola for: For helping to renew the land!

Aleksei is overheard praising Aureth for: A great event honoring Petrichor and the Queen of Endings!

Aleksei is overheard praising Leola for: A great event honoring Petrichor and the Queen of Endings!