Party 3

Near the Fortress of Argynvostholt | Morning:

Ezmerelda blinked at Thia's shift in language, smiling as she replied in kind, <"I doubt they will, but there are some that wander this land that would. Myself included, if you feel you need to use me as a middle-person to hide your voice."> Returning to common she listened to the rest of the conversation, "Whenever you all feel ready to continue we can be on our way -- there's little daylight in this place to begin with, best we don't lose what we've been given."
 
Luna River Crossroads | Late Morning:

Leaving the spectral dome, it fades away as soon as Ezmerelda steps out, heading towards her wagon and checking over the horse that pulls it, offering a gentle head rub to the beast. Motioning for everyone to gather themselves, offering to carry things on the wagon, the group sets out.

The dirt road is soft and at times causes a struggle for the wooden wheels, but Ezmerelda and her horse seem accustomed to such issues and rarely does it take too long to get their pace going once again. Sounds of birds here and there echo out among the trees, a few times small squirrels or rabbits dash across the path, but nothing of note seems to happen otherwise. The time passes, eventually bringing the group to a more established and maintained road as the wagon turns to the right, towards Vallaki.

After awhile, the road comes to an X intersection, with branches to the northwest, northeast, southwest and southeast. The lower half of a snapped wooden signpost thrusts upward at an angle near the eastern elbow of the intersection. The top half of the sign, featuring arms pointing in four directions, lies in the weeds nearby.

However, Ezmerelda pulls up short as she softly clears her throat, attempting to get the group's attention. Lingering near the broken signpost are three men who seem to be laughing and enjoying themselves, the smell of pipe smoke in the air, and a heavy wineskin being passed among them.
 
“You know them milady?”, asks Fargrim realizing that Ezmerelda stopped the wagon in the vicinity of three men.
”Or do we need to prepare for a fight?” , He whispers to her while holding his heavy steel mace.
 
The men’s dress and behavior reminds Naivara of the Vistani men. Her previous mistake of pointing out their useless violence makes her hesitant to say anything to them. Ever. They aren’t the type to try reasonable conversation or attempt logical agreements. She purses her lips. She will not speak.
 
“No need for violence here Fargrim. We have enough of that on our hands already.” Azgard spoke softly, trying not to offend him.
Azgard remained in the wagon, hoping to not make eye contact with the men, as he noticed Ezmerelda seemed a bit on edge about them.
“Is there something we should be worried about Ezmerelda?”
 
Luna River Crossroads | Late Morning:

Shaking her head, Ezmerelda answers Fargrim, "No, I don't know them at all, which concerns me considering the time I've spent among the Vistani. Not all of the caravan travelers are friendly, so I advise we be on our guard. They'll likely try to hail us, but perhaps they can be used for information all the same."
 
Thia looks out to the Vistani, but doesn't see anything immediately threatening about them. She trusts what Ezmerelda has to say though, she seemed to know a lot about this land. "Yes, l-let us c-continue on. If they s-stop u-us, then w-we can deal with i-it. If they s-seek to h-harm us, then w-we can d-deal with it." She puts slightly more emphasis on the last part, then looks away and nervously messes with her hair. "If t-they w-want information f-from us, I don't t-think we should t-tell them too m-much. Best we j-just go a-as q-quickly as possible. This whole s-situation is c-concerning..."
 
Luna River Crossroads | Late Morning:

Nodding, Ezmerelda clicks her tongue, encouraging the horse to begin moving once more, plodding along the route. The conversation from the men grows louder as they become closer, and as the wagon looks about to pass them, the driver making a point to avoid their gaze, one of them reaches a hand towards the reins and causes the horse to pause.

Dirty teeth stained by wine are visible as they smile, two of the men circling the wagon while their apparent leader speaks, a slurred speech from drink, but still a Vistani accent: "Ah, brothers, look what has landed in our lap! So many beauties, truly a gift of the mists this night!" The others laugh as he continues, "It would be a true shame were they to be lost to the mists once more ... we could offer to guide you all," he raised a hand, rubbing two fingers together, "... if the price were right."
 
Thia frowns when the wagon is stopped by the man. She looks out to them and speaks with the barest minimum of a friendly tone. "We a-actually know w-where w-we are going, we've t-traveled this p-path a few t-times. We a-are also on s-something of a schedule, s-so if you would p-please let u-us be on our w-way t-that would be g-great. We k-know how to h-handle ourselves." She doesn't make eye contact with any of them, not wanting to give them the wrong idea. She was also prepared to make her point clear if they refused to listen.
 
Luna River Crossroads | Late Morning:

The one holding the reins stares at Thia as she works through a sentence before laughing to his fellows, "Hah! This one tries to act brave, but listen to her teeth chatter in fear!" One along the back of the wagon looks around as if trying to pinpoint a sound, but the quick spell Azgard attempted is too weak in its casting and the noise of a carriage barely travels through the morning air.

Placing the ends of the reins in her lap, Ezmerelda meets the speaker's gaze, "I give a friendly suggestion, drink off your wine elsewhere. You're in no state to be anyone's guide as it is -- even if we did pay you, then what, you take two steps and pass out in a boozy doze?"

The speaker snarled as he looked at her, "You think I can't manage anything like this?" He placed a hand on the hilt of his blade, "Could always test me and find out -- Vistani are at their best with a hint of wine upon them!"
 
Thia narrowed her eyes at the man as he commented on her stutter. That was already the second time today that someone said something about it, but at least Ezmerelda was nice when she said something. She contemplated casting a fireball near the men to scare them senseless, but the logical side of her took over and said that she needed her spells for the upcoming events of the day. Instead, she waved her hand and paralyzed the main Vistani man who was creating such a hassle. <"I have lived your entire lifespan already, and I will continue to live long after your bones turn to dust. Do not dare say that I am afraid of someone like you, you are nothing to me."> She stared daggers into the man as she spoke in fluid elvish towards him, not particularly caring if he understood it or not, it was mostly for herself anyways.

She leaned back in her seat and collected herself for a moment before switching back to common. "You d-disgrace yourself e-every moment you c-continue t-to act like this. T-Think about how this w-went for y-you the n-next time you want t-to antagonize g-girls you b-believe t-to be helpless." She glanced over to Ezmerelda and quietly cleared her throat. "Let u-us c-continue on, let's hope t-this didn't take too m-much of our t-time."
 
Fargrim disturbed by the vistani men constant annoyance, gave a warning to them in the form of a dark clouded sky. When they reach for the hilt of their blade, lightning cracks in front of them.
Fargrim’s voice then booms with the help of thaumaturgy,
The goddess doesn’t have a lot of patience for the likes of you. I can pray to her so that her storm doesn’t strikes you if you let us pass and be on our way.”
 
Luna River Crossroads | Late Morning:

Frozen where he stood from Thia's spell, the man couldn't even react to the sudden lightning strike that shattered a nearby tree, sending splinters through the air and the smell of burnt wood lingering. The other two that had circled the wagon reached for their weapons, hands shaking as they watched their leader stand frighteningly still by the horses.

Eventually the spell ends and he gasps, releasing the reins so quickly the one horse jerked its head away from the action. Hand on his chest he glares at Thia, then makes a small motion as the other two come to stand behind him, glancing upwards at the circling storm.

"Fine," he slowly announces. "Be on your way, but we shall tell the King of this land of those who antagonize his subjects. Then we shall see who doesn't have time ... and who has no patience." Stepping out of the road and back to the sign he waves an arm forward, "Be wary, travelers, for this is not a kind place."
 
Outskirts of Vallaki | Mid-morning:

Still keeping an eye on the trio as the caravan continues, eventually they are out of sight, but Ezmerelda doesn't seem to let her guard down. Any time birds leave their trees or something shifts in the forest, her attention snaps to it. When the village comes into view she sighs, "Sorry for being so jumpy, but as I'm sure you all know, definitely can't be too careful around here. I'll pull up the cart a little near the edge of the woods so we can go in on foot, if you still wish to do so, Thia."
 
Thia nods to Ezmerleda and responds to her. "Y-Yes, I s-still think this is t-the b-best option." She begins to cast a spell, and after a brief moment her hair transforms into a fiery orange color that flows down her back, her eye color goes from blue to emerald green, and her clothes transform into a noble looking dress. <"Any conversation we have will be in elvish while I look like this, you can be my speaker for me during this time if needed."> She spoke to Ezmerelda in her perfect elvish as she took her hat off, making sure to adopt an elvish accent as well, and she took a deep breath to settle herself for what they were about to do. <"I'm ready whenever you are.">
 
Vallaki | Mid-morning:

Nodding to the changed Thia, Ezmerelda works on tying the horses so they can't wander too far and gives the other three a wary smile, "With luck, we shall be back shortly."

Leading the charge, the woman stepped towards Vallaki, the guards appearing to be on edge from events not too long ago and look as though they were going to stop the pair but ignore them seeing they only seem to be wearing dresses. The town is eerily quite this morning, few bother to wander the streets at all and many windows have been drawn shut. Ezmerelda looks around with a level of sadness at the state of the place, and turns to Thia quietly, <"Did you have a source for the dress in mind? Or merely try to find a dressmaker and go from there?">
 
"Thia, Ezmerelda, would you keep an eye out for some materials for me? I'm looking for a handful of charcoal, incense, and herbs, maybe 20 gp worth. Fargrim and I can watch the wagon while you are out."
 
Thia can't help but feel she was responsible for the state of the town, but it couldn't be helped. It's not like she was completely at fault either, Lady Wachter was the real person to blame. <"I saw a dress shop around here the last time we stayed in this place, plus the Abbot told us we could get the dress here as well. I'm sure if we walk around we'll find the shop."> She looks into her coin purse and does a rough count of everything she had. <"I should have enough money for a good dress, enough to make a Abbot happy anyways. I also have a set of silverware I can sell at a general shop if we pass by one.">
 
Vallaki | Mid-morning:

Ezmerelda gave a short nod to Thia as they walked, murmuring back, <"Hopefully we don't need to sell that, sometimes goods like that can be better as barter instead of coin.">

Taking some time to ask around, the pair eventually land at a small shop called The Red String. Stepping inside, the fabrics on display are dull and coarse, a few simple dresses and nicer shirts hang along the walls. Behind a counter sits an older woman, her gaze focused on the needle before her, working on what appears to be a tear in some leggings. The faint jingle of a bell causes her to look upwards at the two that enter, her tired voice calling out, "If you need me, let me know dearies. I know some prefer to browse a'fore they decide on fabrics, an' I don't have many to offer t'begin with anymore."
 
As she scans her eyes around the room, Thia quickly realizes that finding a wedding dress might be harder than she initially thought. She didn't really think about how available something like that would be, but maybe the shopkeeper had one in back. She glances to Ezmerelda as she approaches the counter, with the expectation that she would translate what she was about to say if needed. <"I require a white wedding dress, if you have one available. It doesn't need to be anything too fancy, but it needs to be nice enough for the special day. It's for a friend, but I can be her stand-in if fitting needs to be done, hopefully that's alright."> She spoke to the shopkeeper in elvish and gave her a small smile. If she had a dress already available it would be perfect, but they should also have the ability to wait for one to be made if that's what was required.
 
Vallaki | Mid-morning | The Red String:

Translating as Thia speaks, the older woman looks back and forth between the pair. Setting her things down she scratched her head, "Mm ... unfortunately that might be too much for my 'umble shop, dearies. Anything that nice is not of'n found in my wares, but ... the Lady of this town had a gown. She might still, and may perhaps be convinced to pass it on."

Ezmerelda translated it back to Thia to keep up the charade, adding, <"You all had difficulties in this town to begin with, do you think it'd be possible to speak with any of the nobles that remain? Perhaps thanks to your appearance ...?">
 
At the mention of the shopkeeper’s inability to help, Thia breathed out a quiet sigh. She wished it could just be that easy, but it looked like they would have to jump through a couple more hoops. She turned her head to Ezmerelda as she quietly spoke to her in elvish. <“Lady Wachter was the biggest issue we’ve had with nobility in this town, none of the other nobles were as...upset at us. We should be fine as long as I look like this as well.”>

She looked back to the shopkeeper and did a small bow to her. <“Thank you for your time. We would love to talk to the Lady about her dress, where could we find her?”> She gave a small smile as she asked her question back, hoping to receive an easy answer.
 
Meanwhile outside of Vallaki

Fargrim let a sigh while poking the bonfire to keep it burning. The cold air of Barovia can be unbearable without a fire. He then look at the party.
“While we wait for them to came back why don’t we share some story around the fire?”
 
Naivara hasn’t had much to say today, feeling so low and depressed, wondering if she was doing more harm than good to this small group of friends. She looks up in surprise at Fargrim’s suggestion, her heart warmed by the invitation.
I would love that. Please. Tell me.
 
"Well Fargrim, my stories are much too dark, even for myself. I was a bastard child of a mother who didn't want me; thrown into a society of people who also cast me away. When I found this group of travelers, I was alone. This is the only family I know now."

Azgard paused and realized Fargrim was probably looking for something a bit more cheerful, so he smiled.

"Why don't you start?"
 

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