Recent Changes - Search:

Would You Make It Shallow, So I Can Feel the Rain -- Keary, Davin

Index | HomePage | GameLogs | MarshendGameLogs | Would You Make It Shallow, So I Can Feel the Rain - Keary, Davin

(Events continued from Back from the Marshes)

Leaving Catriona with profuse consolations, Keary made arrangements with Davin to meet at a particular spot in Marshend; as the moon began to rise, he arrived at the spot with a folded burial cloth and an armful of digging tools.

Almost immediately, three figures crept out of the trees. One was unmistakably Davin; the other two were members of his troupe, tough, wiry men both.

"Which one?" said the older, a dark man with a rasping voice.

As they started to dig, Davin drew Keary aside for a minute. "Will Gabriel be appearing in the village soon?" he asked quietly.

"He'll have to," Keary said in the same hushed voice. "At least once, to arrange the sale of the inn and make other arrangements... why? Have you heard something?"

"There's rumours," said Davin, "that he's scarpered - that he knew something about the fire. And they're looking suspicious at all us Giants. It would help us all if Gabriel could come back for a bit."

Keary nodded. "All right. Gabriel will come tomorrow, to pick up the pieces of his life, and set himself on a little trip. North... farther north. If nothing else, he'll put the rumor of setting the fire to rest."

Davin nodded. "I think that would be as well," he said. Then he moved forwards. "They seem to have found something."

They had dug down quickly - the earth was the thick heavy peat of the marshes - excellent for preserving corpses, in point of fact. Now the two Giants were more carefully cleaning earth from what seemed to be a swaddled human form - for few in Marshend were wealthy enough for coffins.

"Excellent," Keary said, and bent down to move the bandages around the face, look at how well her skin had survied the time in the peat. He seemed immune to how it looked.

The corpse inside was a little shrivelled, and mummified by the peat - but the features suggested she had been a young woman.

"Will she do?" asked Davin. "How do you mean to convince folks with her?"

There was something to consider - preserved in peat, the corpse might well have become as flammable as a peat log itself.

"Yes and no," Keary said, turning over the body. "Looks passable, but I want to end up with a charred fluid-filled bag- not a piece of kindling or a pile of ash." He looked up at Davin, which had to be a rare occasion for the dwarf. "I'll have to force in some water, maybe with some of the smith's bellows. It doesn't have to be perfect. We burn the body then, so that the outside is not recognizable. When Gabriel goes in to inspect the inn tomorrow, he'll make sure there are witnesses to him finding that huntress's corpse." He grimaced. "It'll work, but more complicated than I'd like. I like simple plans better."

Davin shot a look at him.

"What's your Smith here like?" he asked. "Could you trust him with ... you know?"

Keary shook his head. "Not at all. But it's late, he doesn't sleep at the forge, and Pride works as his assistant- when he doesn't help run things at the inn." He made a strange face. "Didn't help run things, I mean. We don't need the big forge bellows. Just a hand-bellows."

"All right," said Davin. "The Giants will look after the lady here - and bring her to the inn. You and I can go to the smithy together and get the bellows if you like. You know the way best, I'm sure. Are there any ... private ways we can take to the inn?"

Keary smiled. "There is one, near the water, that they can take the body through. Once we get into Marshend, though, we'll just have to keep quiet and hidden. Fortunately, the smithy is close to the inn."

By now, the Giants had the corpse secured, and they were all able to assist in refilling the grave and replacing the turf that had covered it. It was hard to see how convincing their efforts were in the darkness, but Davin expressed the hope that they had done well enough to allay suspcion.

"Now," he said, "lead on, Master Keary ... to the inn and the forge."

"Right," Keary agreed, checking on how things were done, then turning to lead them.

It was a long way, at the moon had risen far into the sky when they reached the nearest of the Song and Sheep's secret entrances. It was close to the water, which meant they had to unpack the body off the cart so that they wouldn't get it stuck in the mud or leave very obvious tracks.

The inn was a burned out shell, but it seemed no-one had yet investigated it thoroughly. One reason for this might be the gaily painted carts belonging to the Giants that had been stationed to one side of the ruin. The inhabitants were alseep, it seemed, their campfire all but burned out - but they constituted a guard of sorts.

Once the directions had been given there, Keary led Davin to the side of the building. He pointed. "There, then there, then there," he whispered, and they moved to the smithy. The building had a good iron lock on the door, but a simple one; Keary was forced to produce his lockpick tools again, but he looked confident as he started to work. "Keep an eye out," he said to the Giant.

Davin nodded, but it seemed the streets were quiet. Keary was already inside the forge when the door opened, and Davin slipped in to join him.

"Does your village boast many armed men?" he said quietly. "Because there seem to be some wandering around now. And they're heading for where your inn used to be."

Keary cursed wearily, with a fluency that suggested that he'd not led the most pristine life. "No, it doesn't," he said. "It must be more than just scouts looking for Catriona. There's a big force out there, somewhere. They're turning up everywhere, and I don't like how they seem to know what's going on." He nodded to Davin. "You need to warn your people? If they can be a distraction for a little while, I can sneak in and get done what needs to be done."

"I don't think they're all working together," said Davin. "If they were, they'd be serving one House. But what I think you have here is a reward offered which is attracting every lowlife from south of the neck. Someone has wind of ... something. And it's making him or her very nervous.

"And I warned the Giants already," he added. "They had a watch out - though you didn't see her as you passed. But if you want a distract ... " He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Do you have anything particular in mind?"

Keary smiled. "The dance of the wolf-woman, of course. You know, the one where several people cover themselves with animal skins and dance all around while a huntress tries to bring them down. You know, that one."

As far as Keary knew, there was no such dance.

Davin shot him a fulminating glance. "I'll see what I can manage. When you here shouts ... prepare to run to the inn ... I'll meet you there - my men will have the body on place."

He waited for Keary's agreement.

Keary nodded. "Thanks," he said. "Be careful."

The Giant shot him a ferocious grin. "You can count on it, innkeep. Just see if there's any wine you can save against my coming in to you."

He slipped away ...

The minutes crawled by almost like hours ... with Keary stranded alone in the forge.

Then, abruptly, there was a sound.

Der-um.

A pause - then again. Der-um.

A rollung beat on a heavy drum.

Der-um. This time, there was the clap of hands - or perhaps it was some other part of flesh being slapped.

Der-um. And the clap.

Der-um.

Then the screams started - with a ghastly, high-pitched wail.

This was enough to widen Keary's eyes. "More than I expected," he whispered to himself with a smile; but he crouched and made his way as quickly as he could to the Song and Sheep.

Once inside, he found out how badly the place had been damaged by the fire

Some attempt had been made at clearing up in the main area, but it was clear that the best thing to do would be to pull the ruin down and start all over again.

As he entered, two sooty, grimy faces peered at him over the edge of a partition - the two Giants who had brought the body here.

"Bad business, Innkeep," said one. "But you have the Giants on your side."

They seemed to feel this was a major saving grace.

"We've laid her through here," said the other, gesturing towards an inner room. "No-one's been in here yet - as far as we can tell."

"All right," Keary said, and started looking around. Barrel of water here- no, that one had burst. That one, too. A small cask of brandy that had burnt to ash. Wine... yes, that was it. The wine had boiled and was ruined, but still would do. He took a tap and a mallet that had survived, broke open the end of the barrel, and watched dark red wine spill into the charred floor.

"Once I do this," he said as he set the bellows to the hole in the barrel, "We need to set the body on fire. Should burn fine. Gabriel will come by in the morning and discover her."

"All right," said one of the Giants. "What should we do?"

At this point the door swung open, and Davin slipped in, mopping his brow with a large red kerchief. His lips were strangely pursed - and though for a kiss.

He started to speak - and a low wail emerged - like the unearthly sounds Keary had heard in the streets. The other two Giants were grinning as Davin shook his head and pulled something out of his mouth. His lips returned to mormal proportions.

"All well?" he asked.

Keary shook his head and grinned. "So that was it," he said. He punctured the corpse's body with the tip of a knife, then jammed the end of the now-full bellows into the hole.

The Giants looked away - even Davin looked a little shaken.

"So far, so good. After I do this, we can leave and set the body on fire. Gabriel will be here tomorrow and can find it, bring it out. Then a nice proper burial and everything." He glanced around. "Someone will pay for this. Beyond the men who actually did it. The man who ordered it. Someday."

"A worthy plan," said Davin. "Now - while you finish here, we'll see if anything left her is drinkable, shall we?"

The two Giants nodded in relieved agreement.

Keary waved around. "Down here, directly under the inn, I doubt any of this is good. See that tunnel where we came in? Go in further, take the side passage to the right. There's a room back there with barrels, even a wine rack- take what you think is palatable. If you would, pack up the bottles on the bottom rack in a box with some straw for me. Keep one or two."

They all disappeared with alacrity. It was unclear whether they were more anxious to find the wine, or to avoid Keary's grisly activities. The length of their disappearance suggested the latter - unless they were being very vigilant in their sampling of the wine.

Keary shook his head, refrained from making chomping and smacking sounds that could be heard down the hall, and went on with his task. "What has to be done, has to be done," he said to himself, like a mantra.

And finally, when he had arranged things as best he know how, he righted the barrel, made a makeshift torch with a surviving chair-leg and strip of cloth, then used that brand to set the body on fire. He carried the torch with him as he then looked for the others.

The Giants - including Davin - had decided to conduct a taste test on the wine that had survived. Quite a lot had, judging by the empty bopttles on the floor - and the larger number thay had stashed inside sacks to be carried to safety. They were in a mood of some mellowness.

Davin looked at Keary.

"All done?" he asked. "Do you want to stay at our wagons tonight, or do you have arrangements of your own?"

"I don't," Keary said, thinking that 'drunk' might be more applicable than 'mellow'. "If you're offering, I'll stay. I can check on Catriona in the morning, after the drama."

The four of them left the tavern, seemingly unobserved. Davin chuckled as theu crossed the muddy street to where the wagons were drawn up together in a loose circle around a central fire.

"You villagers will think there's an invasion of marsh boggarts here! Three of the Giants have orders to lead those sellswords a merry dance - if they can set them along a path into the ghost fens, so much the better.

"But now, here is warmth and comfort - and Anniketta with some warm stew for you to enjoy."

And indeed, Keary could see the beautiful woman who had asked for shelter at his inn. She seemed th to half-lying on a mound of rugs near the fire, but she was tend a pot that had been set over it on a tripod. When she saw them all, she nodded, her expression grave.

Perhaps Davin had told her what their mission had been.

Keary gave her a lopsided smile as he sat down near her. "It seems our positions are reversed, my Lady," he said. "It's my turn to ask for food and shelter, at least for tonight. I didn't do such a good job of it, myself."

She smiled back at him, warmly. "These things will happen. I fear at first it was my presence that had brought disaster upon you ... but now ... I am not sure. I might be accounted a valued addition to a lord's stable, but would my petty pursuer really go to such lengths to obtain me? I suspect not."

She bent to serve him with a bowl of richly fragrant broth.

"And I suspect you may know something more of this matter too."

"Perhaps," Keary said. "But it leads to things better left unsaid, knowledge that is dangerous to the listener. Would you really want to hear something like that?" He smiled a little. "Would I want to put you in that kind of danger?"

"Danger is no stranger to me," said Anniketta. "And we are, perhaps, putting ourselves in danger by helping you. I will not say that has earned me a right to know but ... if I am to die because of this, I'd like to know that the reason I died was worthy of my death.

"But the secret is yours, not mine. How is the broth?"

Keary smiled and glanced down for a moment, said, "Very good, thank you." He paused. "You may very well be in danger, because I'm not going to cut and run until certain people are safe... there is a woman, one whom I promised to help. For whatever reason, there is a price on her head. I don't know why; it doesn't matter. She may tell me, someday. But the word is out, and every sell-sword who thinks he has the skill and the balls to get her is doing so."

His smile turned brittle. "In doing so, they've ruined my own interests in this town, and that makes things personal."

But Anniketta was looking pale. "This woman," she said a little breathlessly, "is it me? Is that what Davin wouldn't tell me?"

Keary shook his head. "I don't think so, my Lady," he said. "I know who it is they're looking for, and it's not you. I don't know how spirited your own pursuers will be, but hers is a completely different issue." He frowned slightly. "Won't tell you?"

"Davin is my brother," said Anniketta calmly. "Since we were children, we have shared everything. Almost everything. But he refused to tell me what happened in the Ghost Fens. That tells me he thinks the knowledge is dangerous."

Keary didn't speak; he just gave her a slow nod. He ate a little more soup, glancing at her as he did so, keeping her in the conversation.

The talk moved easily on around the gathered Giants of Pentos. They spoke of places they had visited, and things that had happened to them - tales told to raise a smile or even laughter. As the fire began to die down and the Giants sought their beds in the wagons, Keary was aware that Anniketta was watching him, saying less and listening more.

"You're a hard man to make out, Gabriel, she said at last. "An innkeep who has lost his livelihood - but you seem ... angry, yes. But ... not in a way I would expect. For have you not lost all? Somehow ... I think not."

"I do have another place to go," he agreed. "Business used to be more... chancy. I had a lot of time and effort and money invested here, and this means that I'll have to leave. I don't like it, but I've found myself in worse circumstances."

Anniketta gave a low laugh. "I find that hard to believe," she said. "But one thong I'll tell you - don't underestimate the people here, Gabriel. They like and esteem you - and they'll help you build again. You may travel far before you'll find people who hold your interests to their hearts like people here. Or do you wish to be a lone wolf?"

"It's not that," Keary said. "I... just prefer that the whole town doesn't know all of my business, that's all. If I rebuild, they might. I had enough trouble, last time. And with the word out, who knows how long we'll have bounty hunters coming in here? The curious, the desperate, the greedy. This town may get too hot for my taste."

Anniketta leaned back a little in her improvised seat and looked at him through half closed eyes. "You could always travel with us," she said suddenly. "If you've a fancy to wander ... "

"I may take you up on that offer," Keary said. "It sounds very tempting... but I promised to help that... woman... first." He smiled. "And I would never find the one responsible for ordering my inn burnt to the ground. Those men who actually did it, they weren't alone."

Anniketta nodded. "But you might be surprised at the places we go, you know - and where we gain admittance."

Her hand lifted to touch his cheek - and her dark eyes were intent on his face. Suddenly, she smiled. "I won't press you further now - but it is something for you to keep in mind.

"Now - will you bed down in one of the wagons, or would you prefer to sleep underneath?"

Gabriel nodded towards the rest of the camp, where it was obvious the women slept in the wagons, and the men underneath. "I know I'm a guest, but I'm happy to keep with tradition," he said. "I have to be up and moving early- many errands to run. Including getting some of the heat off of the Giants of Pentos."

If there had been anything more to her invitation, it did not show in the smile she gave him.

"Certainly," she said. "If you'll help me into my wagon, I'll pass some blankets out to you."

She pointed to the covered wagon - doubtless brightly painted but just dark now in the middle of the night.

Gabriel smiled in response, held out both arms in a kind of invitation, and picked the injured Anniketta up to carry her to her wagon.

"Does your leg feel any better, my Lady?" he asked as they moved.

She glanced up at him. "I'd not care to walk a mile or dance a jig, but it serves well enough for other things," she said. As he set her down on the boards, he saw that she was favouring her stronger leg even as she said, "Let me find those blankets."

"Sure," Keary said. He smiled. "He's your brother? It showed a lot of trust, that he chose my inn for you to stay. Ah, if you don't mind me being forward, is there someone else who might be, ah, unhappy at the thought of me carrying you?"

She was quiet for a moment, busy at a linen chest, and then she turned, the blankets in her arms.

"No," she said quietly. "No-one at all."

She held the blankets out towards him.

Keary found himself being strangely formal when he took them. He made sure to touch her hands as he did so.

Hers seemed to tremble slightly but she did not draw them hastily away.

"Thank you," he said. "And obviously, if you need help with anything, I'll be right here for you." He smiled. "Sleep well, Lady."

"And you, Sir," she responded, with the ghost of a smile. Then she turned and moved with a dragging step deep within her wagon, moving beyond the bright soft hangings.

Only a few hours left to sleep, but Keary found himself thinking very hard about something he had considered off-limits... as well as worry about Catriona, and all the things he had to do in the morning... sleep caught up with him quite unexpectedly.

The camp started to wake up around him - he smelled the campfire being set to going, and Giants calling rtop one another as they set to tending the horses and breaking their fast. Soon he saw the legs of giants wandering to and from past the wagon he was sleeping under, while a creak from above his head suggested that Anniketta was rising too.

A particular pair of legs passed, hesitated, and then Davin bent down and peered under the wagon - he did, after all, have less far to bend than the rest of the Giants.

"Mornin' Master Innkeep. How was our accommodation?"

Gabriel yawned and stretched. "Pleasant, thank you. Despite a long night, and the anticipation of a longer morning." He looked around. "I may want to check on... certain canines... after the business in town. Not that I have any worries for them, but..." He shrugged.

"Well don't ask me to do that for you," said Davin hurriedly. "Though I'll take a morning message to the Septa if you wish."

"Please," Gabriel said. "One less worry for me. Check on them, if you would, and let them know that I'm all right." He glanced upward. "Your sister will be all right, herself? Able to travel with you, after all?"

Davin shook his head. "She shouldn't," he said. "At least, not far. I'm thinking that before we head south, we might go round the lake to Clearwater, Lord Draupaud is sour-faced enough, but the wine is good and the people friendly. You could ride with us, or wait and join us when we again head South."

Gabriel couldn't help but glance upward at the wagon above him. "I won't be that long," he said. "I'll travel with you."

Davin looked at him thoughtfully. "Very well," he said. "There's some bacon cooking - and we'll be heading out around mid-day. We'll call on the Septa as we go.

"What do you want to do about your direwolf?"

"Both of them," Gabriel said, and grimaced. "Damn. Harder than handling one alone. I should meet you when you prepare to ride South, after all."

Davin nodded. "It'll be as you choose. But we could use the protection of a couple of direwolves as we travel, it seems." He shot a sidelong look at Keary. "There seem a lot of dangerous people around at the moment - and not all of them are part of my company."

"I can probably handle Mist," Gabriel said, his expression brightening. "But I can't say quite the same for Keir. Is that an offer? How are the rest of your group going to react to direwolves trailing them?"

Davin chuckled. "We're travelled with a lady who grew a beard three foot long, and once in Highgarden we were in company with two girls who had only three legs between them, and they were sealed tight together in their flesh. A direwolf will make them wary, but not surprise them. And, like me, they'd welcome the protection."

A creaking of the wagon above suggested that Anniketta was preparing to descend. "Davin?" she called.

Davin glanced at Keary. "Unless you want to stay and help, I suggest you grab some breakfast and be off," he said. His tone was not unfriendly, but there was a certain note of caution there.

"I am kind of hungry," Gabriel said, blandly, and rose to head over to the cooking fires. He looked back over his shoulder. "I'll find you before sunset..."


As soon as Gabriel appeared to examine the ruins of his tavern, concerned townsfolk drifted over to offer help and support.

"You'll rebuild, won't you, Gabriel?" asked Sara Megsgirl. "Marshend wouldn't be the same without your inn." She gave him a sidelong look. It was well known that Sara Megsgirl was no better than she should be and had long coveted the position of barmaid at the tavern.

"You leave off begging for work till there's work to be had, my girl!" said Jemmy the Frogcatcher. "Gabriel - do you need a hand clearing up the mess?"

Gabriel nodded, silently looking up at the wreckage, trying to look concerned and devastated at the same time.

"I... don't know when I'll rebuild," he said to Megsgirl, loud enough for many others to hear, and of course having no intention of rebuilding. He glanced at Jemmy, said, "My thanks. The upper floor looks worse than I thought. I was hoping, well. Maybe there's something salvageable around the bar and down in the cellar."

"Want to have a look?" asked Jemmy. "I'll go with you ... "

Sara Megsgirl looked disappointed and said, "Perhaps I could look around the storeroom."

"And see what she can help herself to, most like," muttered Jemmy.

"I'll need all the help I can get," Gabriel said pleasantly. "But, obviously, we need to be careful. I don't want anything collapsing on anyone. We'll need to stick together."

"All right," said Jenmmy agreeably. "Lead the way."

Sara pouted - clearly this did not fall in with her plans at all.

"I'll come," said Davin, who had caught up with them. "You may need someone who can squeeze into small spaces, innkeep."

Gabriel's eyebrows nearly reached the sky, but he nodded. "Glad to have you, actually," he said. "Come on, everyone." He took Sara's hand like he would a lady, to help her up the front steps, then led them through the ground floor.

He made all the appropriate noises and gestures, looking more angry and shocked than anything, and he hoped that it was convincing considering that he had been there already.

There was a lot of rubbish and detritus to clear, only a small portion of which was salvageable. But they were all filthy with smeared ash by the time they reached the entrance to the cellar.

"Something might have survived there, Gabriel," said Jemmy hopefully.

"I hope so," Gabriel said. "I didn't hold out much hope for what was up here, anyway. Let's go on down and spread out."

It was, in the end, Sara who made the grim discovery. Efforts to shepherd her away from the sight had been frustrated when Davin discovered a selection of maps in a leather case that had been remarkably undamaged by the fire. He had said nothing of any losses that the Giants might have incurred during the fire, but his exclamation of pleasure on withdrawing the maps whole and safe suggested how valuable they must be.

"Here," he said to Keary. "Have a look at this - the whole northern section of the Kingsroad all carefully delineated."

It was as they were looking at it - and Keary could see significant gaps around the Long Lake - that they heard Sara's long, shrill screams.

Keary smiled, tracing the map- there were, after all, very few people who could fill those gaps- when Sara's screams turned his head around.

"What the devil..." he said for the benefit of any casual listeners, and ran towards the source of the screaming.

Sara was standing at the entrance of the room where Keary had earlier left the corpse - and she was screaming again and again as she stared at the pitiful shape on the floor. When she saw Keary, she ran to him and huddled, trembling and sobbing, against him.

Jemmy, who had come too, was white-faced.

"What ... who was that?" he gasped.

Gabriel's arm had automatically gone around Sara when she came to him, but he maneuvered her over to Jemmy before he knelt at the corpse.

He picked once or twice at what was left of the clothing. "This was what that girl, that redhead was wearing," he said. "Catriona." Suddenly, he turned his head and stared at the others. "Did anyone see her come back into the building? Or seen her since early yesterday?"

Jemmy shook his head. "I didn't even know she was back in Marshend," he said sadly. "Poor girl."

"Ah," said Davin solemnly. "Poor girl. Should someone get the Septon?"

"Did she worship the Seven?" Gabriel asked. "I guess it doesn't matter now... but as I remember, she had a huge wolf with her. Like Keary has. If that thing is running around loose... I need to get word to him." He scowled. "Ahh, it breaks the heart." Hopefully, his reputation of hitting on every female within the sound of his voice would bolster the image of a man who thought his chances with the scout were much better than they really were...

"Do you know where Keary might be found?" asked Jemmy, looking a little worriedly at the mild-mannered innkeeper. "He's a dangerous man, by all accounts ... you don't want to cross him ... "

"I'll get the Septon," said Sara, her voice thickened.

She turned and hurried away.

"Methinks she won't be as endeared to me, after what she's seen today," Gabriel said sadly. "Ah, well. I wouldn't worry about Keary too much, Jemmy... I've talked to him, many times. After all, who does everyone come to for the rare little needful things in life?" He smiled, which then faltered. "Well. Someone else, probably, when all this is said and done. I seem to have lost almost everything."

Jemmy moved towards him, and awkwardly patted Keary's arm. "We'll help as best we can, Gabriel. It was a good inn - but we'll all help to build you a better one."

Gabriel smiled weakly. "I do appreciate the thought," he said. "I may let Humble handle the aspects of rebuilding, if any- after all that's happened, I'm thinking of a holiday. This," and he made a sweeping gesture that included both the body and the burnt inn- "is too much."

Jemmy nodded slowly. "Aye. I understand. We can take care of things here for you - the clearance and ... the burial. When you return, we'll have a new inn built for you, Gabriel, as fine as the one you lost."

"And I'll look forward to enjoying an ale there the next time the Giants of Pentos are in the North!" agreed Davin heartily.

Gabriel stood, and looked away from the body. "Tragic," he said. "Just tragic. I wonder what she was coming back to find..." He made a show of looking around. "Whatever it was, I doubt it survived... well. Perhaps there might be some blankets or cloth that are still down in the cellars. Let's wrap the body up and take it out of this gods-forsaken hole."

This was soon done, and the body laid on the grass. Davin suggested that the female Giants of Pentos could tend it, but Jemmy indignantly refused - the village women, he declared, would prepare the body - or what was left of it - for the Silent Sisters.

Sara had disappeared - probably lest she be asked to help.

Gabriel kept his promise- at least, in that while the body was being moved out for the crowd to see and comment upon, he made several comments to Davin in front of witnesses. Statements to the effect that he wouldn't know what to do without the Giants' help, and that he was sorry for the rumors circulating, and that the real culprits were obviously landless bastards who came far and wide to find this poor woman before them. No doubt, he surmised loudly, these people without moral or conscience had nothing better to do than cause trouble in Marshend... of which Gabriel himself was the first, and most obvious, victim of their malfeasance.

There was sympathetic murmurs all around, and some of the older women bore off the poor corpse "to see what can be done for her". It was clear that anyone enquiring for Catriona in the village now would be shown no more than a grave.

"Are you going to the Septa's cottage now?" said Davin quietly when they had been left comparatively alone.

Gabriel nodded. "Be a good idea to let them know what's been done, and firm up the plans from there," he said.

Before he could say more ... there was a disturbance as a group of riders made their way into the market place.

As one of them looked around, Davin let out a long, low whistle. "That's Dothraki ... but he doesn't look like one ... "

(Events continued in A Mummer's Herald)


WinterChills WinterChillsGameLogs Marshend

Page last modified on October 03, 2006, at 07:05 PM