Reinald Vulperian | Dusk | 21st of Leaffall 248 A.T.C

Reinald arrives first at the Barnacled Barrel. He orders an ale, a charcuterie board, and then sits in a corner booth reading the menu. A waitress makes an assumption about his visit while adjusting the booth's curtains. He corrects her, saying he's not here on a date.

After a while, Brigitte arrives and immediately clocks the three wolffolk in the back corner. One was in the crowd the previous night, one she doesn't recognize, and the third is... Kaelis, disguised as the wolffolk that she—leaving the thought unfinished. She notes them, does not look again, and makes her way to the booth where Reinald is already sitting. She orders what can only be described as a significant quantity of food.

The conversation that follows is the kind that accomplishes a great deal by appearing not to. Brigitte leads. Reinald redirects. They talk around the missing mayor, around Katrien, around Felix, around the water—and then, bit by bit, they talk about the actual things. Reinald lays out his theory: the water. People getting sick. The Alluran Dam could be the source, the sewers another possible lead.

He mentions Felix. She mentions that she already paid Felix a visit, which Reinald receives in the particular way of someone who realizes they may have accidentally pointed a blunt instrument at a contact they'd prefer on their side... Nothing is said about this directly.

Reinald mentions the necklace from the cave, wondering where it came from, what it did, and that it's now sealed under rubble and probably best left that way. He says this with a tone that tries not to sound too interested in retrieving it.

There is a moment, somewhere between the second fish plate and the realization that salads are genuinely that expensive now, when something shifts. They are not friends. They are not partners. But they are, demonstrably, in the same problem, and both of them are smart enough to know that being in the same problem alone is worse than being in it together.

Then Aveline walks by.

She greets Reinald in an attempt to convey information through subtlety but completely misses the point of subtlety. She mentions that Victoria wants to speak with him and leaves, with Ervin behind her, less than two minutes before three guards push through the tavern's door, flip the counter hatch, and begin demanding an inventory inspection in the middle of the guests' dinners.

The guards demand that all the guests leave immediately, causing quite the scene. As the tavern empties, the head assessor argues with the guard captain, but to no avail. Brigitte and Reinald get a ten percent discount coupon on their way out. On the street, Reinald puts it together: Aveline knew. Ervin must have spotted the guards moving. The visit was a warning delivered in the language of pleasant small talk—Reinald just didn't catch it in the moment...

Reinald and Brigitte say goodbye for now. She says she'll look into a way into the dam. He says the same. They agree to meet in the morning without either of them naming a specific location, which is either a sign of mutual trust or mutual suspicion—or might be both.

Reinald extends his hand. Brigitte takes it...
And just like with Branded, she senses something...

The forest comes back...
The fox drawn on the stone...
She lets go of his hand a beat too late.
They part in opposite directions.
Neither of them looks back...
For now...

Reinald Vulperian | Night | 21st of Leaffall 248 A.T.C

At the Ragnaisse mansion, Aveline is already waiting for Reinald's return. They meet with Victoria, and the three of them move to the library. Victoria reports on Lewys: he is implementing harsher laws, extending custody periods, and adding punishments, along with a document she has "borrowed" from his desk that confirms this.

The conversation is pointed. Reinald suggests that perhaps the raids, the pressure, and the deliberate friction with the lower districts are something closer to strategy, and mentions his meeting with Brigitte and her possible connection to Rhazeth. Victoria is skeptical, but Aveline is interested in a more useful way.

Aveline offers a way into the Alluran Dam. She has legal standing—De Ragnaisse supply contracts cover some of the interior infrastructure—which means she can "arrange" an inspection. She can get Reinald inside. She cannot get him into the arcane sections, but she can get him through the door, which is most of the problem. She proposes the day after tomorrow. Reinald accepts and mentions, carefully, that he would like to bring Brigitte.

Victoria asks a number of sensible questions about whether that is wise. Reinald answers them with the kind of persuasion that acknowledges the concern without fully resolving it, but with some persuasion from Aveline, Victoria relents.

Later that night, Reinald and Roka play chess. Reinald is losing in a way that suggests he is thinking about something else... Reinald takes a long bath. He returns in a large wool bathrobe—Needlethorn Sheep Farm, near the Alluran Dam, the tag reads: Needlethorne, a sheep farm near the Alluran Dam. The same crest, he realizes, as the pamphlet that adventurer Pascal was reading at the Drunken Phoenix. Reinald doesn't give it much thought, but it is an interesting coincidence...

The chess game ends abruptly when Reinald's mechanical arm has a mishap... something which has never happened before. Not too badly. Not dangerously. Just once, knocking a piece from the board. Reinald realizes that this has not happened ever since placing the gem of Roka's LegendKeeper into his mechanical arm...

Röka goes quiet for a moment in a way that is more serious than his usual theatrics. There's something about this Brigitte that he can't place... Eventually, the two end their little squabble and head off to get some rest...

Brigitte Yrsdottir | Night | 21st of Leaffall 248 A.T.C

Brigitte returns to the hideout to find that Vesper has claimed her room. Sonya tries to protest in Brigitte's stead, but it's the kind of argument that is lost before it starts.

When Brigitte asks, Vesper tells her that she decided it was hers and her two escorts, Dust and Guts, throwing Brigitte's belongings into the common area. Sonya protests even further, but Brigitte realizes that there's no point in trying to argue this—not now, at least...

Brigitte proposes a girls' night, suggesting that she crash in Sonya's room.
Sonya helps Brigitte move her stuff into Sonya's room, while Vesper gives a look before shutting the door of Brigitte's room closed.

Sonya's room has gothic-like garlands and a skull with a candle on it, and the particular energy of someone who decorated with intention and no apologies. They talk about the cave incident—the broad shape of it, not all the details. At some point, Gurak knocks on Sonya's door, asking if she's seen Vesper. He has a darkened expression on his face...

The ladies notice that he's wearing something akin to a collar around his neck and carrying something wrapped in cloth that he doesn't explain. He looks at both of them, says nothing that matters, and closes the door. Sonya wonders why he's acting odd. Brigitte says nothing, but gets the picture of what's going on...

Brigitte Yrsdottir | Past Midnight | 22nd of Leaffall 248 A.T.C

Eventually, the two decide to sleep, but Brigitte waits for Sonya to fall asleep and then sneaks out of the room to return to the main hall.

Past midnight, most of the family returns... except for Coldrock.

Branded decides to sit down in the main hall. Sloane wanders off to her room. Beastie almost immediately falls asleep on the ground. Kaelis does not even regard anyone in particular before leaving. Wilt comes in drunk, but Gurak suggests that he go to bed to sleep it off. Gurak then makes eye contact with Brigitte, but she realizes that he's not going in the direction of his own room, seemingly going to another room first.

Besides Branded, Brigitte, and the now fast-asleep Beastie, Rhazeth remains in the main hall. He sees the state of Coldrock's bar and decides to clean it up in her absence. Brigitte gets up without being asked and starts helping with the tables.

After a few minutes, Brigitte tries to start a conversation... but he turns the topic to her. She tells him about the dinner and meeting with the foxfolk Reinald, and their agreement to work together to investigate the Southern Alluran Dam.

Rhazeth does not have a particular opinion regarding Reinald nor the Dam, but wonders how it could be connected to Mayor Harthorne's disappearance.

He asks if she's given anything away about the family. She says no. He says that's good to hear, because they don't need extra eyes on them right now, especially after the incident of last night that involved her... They had to act quickly, which could be problematic. Rhazeth once more mentions that Kaelis is currently walking around as someone else to cover for it.

Rhazeth does not speak with any malice regarding the incident, though he regrets how things turned out... But then he says what he's been working toward since she walked in.

He tells her she needs to fix things with Coldrock, and the others. Not for his sake, but for her own and for the family's. If another vote is forced upon him... he says that he'll have to reconsider his position. He can't let it split them a second time.

Brigitte notes that he says "a second time" with emphasis; there's more to that story, but she doesn't push it. She says she understands why he would have to vote against her; she would do the same in his position. Rhazeth questions her...

Rhazeth
"Do you?"

Brigitte
"Well... To protect the family... Same reason Coldrock voted the way she did."

Rhazeth
"And why some of the others did."

Brigitte
...

Brigitte doesn't know what to respond...

Rhazeth questions how well she even knows the rest of the family; she doesn't know why the others voted against her. Rhazeth questions how much she even knows about Wilt, but Brigitte has no response...

Rhazeth points out that she's been with the family for a year; she knows the obvious things but not the real ones. Not the things that matter. Rhazeth points out that nobody is obligated to share their past, and there's no need to ask... but asking and sharing that past isn't forbidden.

Rhazeth
"You've been here a year, Brigitte. You know what everyone brings to the table. You know what they do. But you don't know what happened to them before this family existed."

Brigitte
...

Rhazeth
"Back in Draketongue, when I was still a fuckin' knight, there was a saying... You have no, you can get yes... If you don't ask, you stay where you are. If you ask, at least something changes. Maybe not always the way you wanted."

Brigitte
...

He then turns to Branded...

Rhazeth
"If you want your glasses fixed, Branded... Then ask."

Branded
"Uhhh... I...."

Rhazeth
"Can you see without them?"

Branded
"Ye... Yes..."

Rhazeth
"Go to bed, Branded. Leave the glasses. I'll get them fixed tomorrow."

Branded
"I... Thank you..."

Brigitte watches Branded go. She stays with the weight of the conversation for a moment, picks up Beastie, and tucks him in somewhere comfortable. Rhazeth presses a coin into Brigitte's hand—gold, with a red ring around it. He tells her to use it at the Drunken Phoenix for a room.

Rhazeth
"Take the room at the Drunken Phoenix tonight. Show them that coin and they'll ask no questions."

Brigitte
"Thanks."

Rhazeth
"Brigitte... Don't involve yourself with Vesper."

Brigitte
"No intention."

Rhazeth
"I have to... entertain this situation for now."

Brigitte
"..."

Rhazeth
"We need to find the mayor. Once we have him back, things can go back to how they were. Until then, keep your head down and keep moving."

Brigitte
"What if we don't find him?"

Rhazeth
"Then think about that when that happens."

She nods. She's halfway to the door when he speaks again. He's not looking at her. He's looking at the bar.

Rhazeth
"Here we are a family, Brigitte."

It lands differently than it would have a tenday ago. He says it the way he says everything. Like a fact. She doesn't respond to it. She doesn't need to. She pockets the coin and walks out into the night...

She heads for the Drunken Phoenix. It is very late, the streets are quiet, and she is thinking about people she doesn't know enough about, which is more of them than she had realized. The red-ringed coin gets her a room that is always kept ready...