A Different Haunted Mansion (D&D, see plotting thread)

[Elsa]

Elsa awoke from an odd dream. It faded quickly as she tried to recall what had happened. She just knew it was strange.

Standing from the chair she’d fallen asleep in, her book fell to the ground, forgotten in the wake of the dream. It was very early in the morning, but she wasn’t tired anymore. At the same time, she knew it was too early for her to go downstairs for breakfast, so she tidied up the hotel room. Maya and the others had repeatedly offered to clean up Elsa’s room for her, but she politely declined. She was living there, and they had numerous other rooms and guests to take care of. She felt it was only right if she cleaned up the room herself.

Elsa worked from room to room, picking things up. She’d become rather sloppy since Oliver’s disappearance. The Parrs had moved in, for a few days, until Helen had informed her that they’d found somewhere else. Then Elsa had stopped caring so much in the privacy of her hotel room.

Dishes were drying beside the sink, the bed was made, curtains drawn. A discarded towel on the bathroom floor was one of the last things Elsa needed to take care of. She picked it up and heard a dull thunk as something hit the ground. Elsa placed the towel in the laundry hamper that Maya would collect later and glanced back to see what had made the noise. It was an orb.

Elsa eyed it warily, not sure how it had gotten within the towel. She’d just used the towel the night before, after her shower. And the orb certainly hadn't been there when she'd gone to bed. As she stared at it, a manor appeared, followed shortly by a man with three faces.

Startled, Elsa picked up the orb to get a better look at the man. A blue-gray smoke surrounded her as she touched the orb, completely obscuring her view of the bathroom. Elsa dropped the orb, but it was too late. She was in a different place.

[Basil]

Basil emerged from the washroom in an exceedingly cheerful mood, shaved and dressed and feeling every whit as good as he looked. Until, that is, he saw it. A sphere of some sort sat upon the bed he had only just vacated. It was larger than his head, smooth, and perfectly featureless. Someone had been in his rooms.

An enemy, was his first thought, an enemy has planted an explosive! But even in that moment, Basil could tell it was not ticking. Nor was there a fuse. In fact, the thing was too large to have fit through the door. Then how...?

Magic! The truth hit him like a thunderbolt. Potentially even more dangerous than explosives...

What was wanted was an expert in magic, like that youngish fellow he'd met on that boat ride. Until then, Basil would scrupulously leave the thing alone.

Except...it changed. From somewhere in the depths, an image was formed, of a two-storied manor house with lattice-worked verandas and a fountain in the front. The mouse peered more closely. The house was abruptly replaced by a human head, a human with three faces!

The image was shocking, to say the least, and when Basil started backward, he had the bad fortune to lean upon the bed, which was enough to cause the sphere to roll toward him. The instant it touched him, it emitted a cloud of smoke which, when dissipated, revealed a scene that was definitely not Basil's hotel room.

"Oh, drat."

[Mateo de Alva]

Mateo had been known to give Captain Swann-Turner space and on the side actively seek hotel rooms other than her ship before her and her husband's random disappearance even, in the same way others of this place apparently did. Just in being considerate. Of course the section this place called Mexico in a very familiar accent at times had been the best choice and most reminding of home. Maybe that was also a bad thing.

At any rate, he had had said hotel room long enough to know what belonged in it and didn't. The orb was most certainly out of place and very attention grabbing, especially for one who dealt with magic, as Mateo returned back up to his room he all but froze in the doorway and then stepped through carefully and slowly, gingerly both shutting the door and setting down his bag, gaze locked on the item though not by any of its power but more his own worry.

It didn't look like anything Fiero or any of the magic users he'd known of would use. Someone here was a very real possibility, and they could use whatever they felt like and he wouldn't known what it looked Iike. Touching the orb was most certainly a very bad idea, Mateo didn't need this told him, but at the same time, there was little other way to figure out what it was. He went to carefully lift it, and of course that was when all the stuff happened. He saw a brief glimpse and image of the mansion and odd person within the orb before he seemed to be coughing in a cloud of smoke and then...well he had a feeling something would have happened even before he saw he was right.

No matter how many introductions to others magic he had, it was startling. Mateo gave a small cry and dropped the orb, turning about. "Oh no...how'd this happen this time?" he wondered aloud and to himself.

[Elsa]

And a different time. The sun was high in the sky, either midmorning or midafternoon, she wasn’t sure.

Elsa mentally checked herself over. She was unharmed, and her nightgown was drastically different. Gone was the loose blue gown, in its place a different fabric. She wore a metal corset—thankfully not too tight—and trousers. Instead of a cape, she had something resembling a partial skirt, made of a deeper blue than she was accustomed to. A long ice-blue sword hung at her right hip, designed for easy access with her left hand. She also had metal wrist-guards and knee-high black boots. Her hair hung in its usual braid at her back.

She could still feel the cold well within her that she knew was connected to her power. Elsa summoned a small snowflake in the sun, watching it glisten in her hand as it melted. Yes, her powers still seemed to be intact. Good. With as many strange things as were going on, she was glad to have something familiar at her whim.

She finally took account of her surroundings. She was near a town. It looked like it had once been prosperous, but it was now run down. As she walked down the main street, she noticed a lot of abandoned buildings.

A sign outside of the only open inn—called the Pixie and Dixie Inn, according to the sign swinging above the door—caught Elsa’s eye. It advertised a troupe would be entertaining at the inn that evening. It was still early though, so Elsa decided she would return later. She had no way to keep track of the time besides looking at the sun, so she would stay outside.

Elsa returned to the edge of town, where she’d arrived at. There was a vague familiarity about her sudden transportation, and she wondered if it had happened in her dream. While she was here, alone, she drew the sword and examined it. She didn’t learn anything, except that it felt very natural in her hand. She swung the sword a few times, trying to get a feel for it.

As Elsa spun through a cutting swing, she spotted smoke on the ground nearby. It was the same blue-gray color that had surrounded her, so she approached, with caution.

When the smoke cleared, Basil was standing there. Relief clearly showed on Elsa’s face as she called his name. ”You’re here too!” At least there was someone familiar here.

Another cloud of smoke caught her eye, and Elsa turned to see Mateo emerging next. ”Mateo, too!” Something told Elsa that the young wizard didn’t know much more than she did herself.

Elsa returned her sword to the sheath, not entirely comfortable with having it out yet. She suspected she would use it before she, Basil, and Mateo could return home. ”Do either of you know what’s going on?” She thought she knew the answer, but it didn’t hurt to ask anyway.

[Basil]

Basil was instantly upon his guard. The sound of his own name caused him to whirl round in a half-crouch, but he relaxed when he saw the speaker.

"Queen Elsa!" She, at least, meant him no harm. Basil had only time to observe that the young royal's mannish costume was far less becoming to her than her usual attire, when another familiar face appeared from a cloud of familiar smoke.

Do either of you know what’s going on?

Basil could only shake his head and answer, "Nothing good, I'll wager." It was then he noted that his own garments had been changed for a long, loose shirt, leather trousers laced up the sides, and boots that covered his knees. A cloak and hood completed the ensemble, all of which appeared rather the worse for wear. He snorted to himself, wondering why the queen had been granted armor and a sword, while he looked like a disreputable vagabond.

"Who will appear next, I wonder?" Wherever they were, it would not hurt to have some allies about.

[Mateo de Alva]

Mateo turned two more circles, still coming to familiarize himself with his surroundings and what had happened, as the smoke finally and fully dissipated. He didn't get as full a look as Elsa had, but still noted the town which seemed on the edge of where they were, and trees on the other side

He then next heard Elsa call out before he turned her way and saw her. "Que--Elsa?", he recalled that at their last practice session and as she'd made friends she'd told him to drop the title, but it still almost came off of his ingrained manners and trying to be cordial. He say she was dressed differently, but a glance showed he was too. His robes held the same familiar red color but even his grandfather's passed down one hadn't been like this! Longer, more sweeping and...since when had his Tamborita turned into a staff?

Upon waking closer, he noted even that mouse from the cruise as dressed oddly.

”Do either of you know what’s going on?”

Somehow Mateo had hoped Elsa would, not that he would blame or think she'd had anything to do with it, but having been here first, though that was shown to just be how it fell out. Actually he was surprised she didn't expect him to reversely. "Uh...no, I...would think it sounds odd except it's probably familiar?", he hazarded to ask before going on, "There was this orb suddenly in my room and it transported me here, I didn't recognize the make or anything about it, must be some other new magic user or...something".

[Elsa]

((Hey, Maggie, they can’t see the manor from where they’re at. It's hidden behind the trees. Just so you know.))

”Well, I don’t know where we are, but I did go into town a few minutes before you arrived. We should be able to get more information there. There’s some sort of performance at the inn, in a few hours.” Elsa glanced at her sword. ”One thing is for sure—we’re not in the parks anymore.”

Elsa paused, considering Mateo's words. ”I found an orb, too...” she started. ”I saw a manor in the orb, and then a man with three faces. And when I touched it, there was smoke, and I was suddenly here.” She shook her head. Mateo was still learning as a wizard, so Elsa wasn't entirely surprised to hear that he hadn't recognized the orb he'd found.

”Do you think we should wait here a while longer? In case someone else shows up?” Though, there weren’t many places to go in the area... There was the town, and there wasn’t much to do there. Many of the buildings were abandoned. But around them was farmland, and a few miles on Elsa saw a forested area.

[Basil]

There was that wizard fellow, just the chap Basil had been thinking of. Unfortunately, he knew nothing useful about the mystical sphere--correction, spheres--they had encountered.

"...or something," repeated Basil. That was just about the last thing he needed: another magic user for an enemy.

I saw a manor in the orb, and then a man with three faces.

"Ah, you saw that same image, then. Curious that we were not transported to that place..." mused the detective. Pondering it would do them no good at the moment; what was wanted was data. And they would get precious little merely standing about.

”Do you think we should wait here a while longer? In case someone else shows up?”

Although that idea had merit, the detective was fairly itching to be busy about...something. Waiting here would be akin to torture.

"Allow me to suggest an alternative," he began. "Let us explore that village instead. If we leave a marker of some sort, any of our acquaintance who might appear after us will know where to find us." Basil began casting about for suitable stones to lay out in the shape of an arrow.

[Mateo de Alva]

Mr. Basil seemed to have about the same concerns with some unknown magic user who had already started off by messing with them, if the tone of his repeat was anything to go off of. His point on their not being transported there was also a good one and a curious point.

I saw a manor in the orb, and then a man with three faces.

Mateo gave a nod, "Same, or what I could tell from a quick look before being transported"

"Ah, you saw that same image, then. Curious that we were not transported to that place..."

Followed by more speculation by Basil and Elsa, as to if there were others and if they should look for them or not.

'Yeah...if it's an actual place and not just...a further trick of the magic, though...as to others not being here maybe they did get zapped but at different spots than us", there was little to say this couldn't have happened much as they three were here, though Mateo hoped this wasn't so widespread a problem.

"Allow me to suggest an alternative, Let us explore that village instead. If we leave a marker of some sort, any of our acquaintance who might appear after us will know where to find us."

Mateo also didn't like the sound of just leaving when others could arrive just as confused, but then Mr. Basil's further words solved all of that!

"Right, a marker, something easily seen too...but not too much...", the young wizard pondered, then glanced to his staff, "Hmm...if this thing works the same as my Tamborita...Un Mortoloz Jaqirano", he tried pointing the thing, with an amending to the same spell that usually brought many circling figures of the Avaloran creatures, to try to make one that would sit. Only it didn't work.

Mateo shook his staff and let out a sigh, "It...just isn't working", not the staff, he knew, the spell, the words wouldn't work right or something. He knew even his amending for one would have still done something, but the way this magic seemed set up he couldn't...get to it. The thought both made sense and didn't. Mateo sighed again, "Sorry, I...don't seem very useful right now".

He shook off the slump though, since it was clearly atleast still his job to help both Elsa and Basil, whatever else was different here, that had been his mission before, helping friends and 'the good ones', and it still was. Plus...the beginnings of an idea was niggling. He just had to try a different spell, like an actual maker. Well, or, if anyone else had ideas too.

[Elsa]

”Perhaps, to get home, we have to find the three-faced man and the manor,” Elsa suggested.

Nodding at Basil’s words, Elsa gestured to the town. ”I actually didn’t talk to anyone when I passed through earlier. I admit, I was more interested in finding something familiar, than seeking information.” It was a good thing, as far as Elsa was concerned. She might’ve missed Basil and Mateo’s arrivals if she had lingered in town.

The queen placed a gentle hand on Mateo’s shoulder. With a small smile, she said, ”Nonsense. We’re all in a new situation, and we’ll figure it out. Just because this didn’t work, doesn’t mean that no spells will. You must have the staff for a reason.”

She waved a hand, conjuring a sign in the ground. It pointed to the town, and etched into the arrow was a simple message. If you’re from the parks, go find Elsa.

Elsa led the way, taking them up the main road to the inn. The sign advertising the troupe was still there.

Tonight at the Pixie & Dixie Inn

The North Bend Troupe

Featuring

Songs and Stories

by

Harzinon the Minstrel

The Amazing Magic

of

Arbenobos the Mystery Mage

Humor and Amazing Feats

by

Rifin “Red Cat” the Juggling Idiot

The sign was pretty straightforward. It was hand-painted, but well-done, in a simple manner. ”Shall we go inside?” Elsa asked her companions.

There were four other buildings nearby along the street that didn’t look abandoned. One was clearly a church of some kind. A large building bore a sign on the wall, but the writing was too small to see from where they stood. From the third emerged an armored guard, while a younger man not wearing armor entered. Above the door of the fourth there was a sign that read Daunn & Dematir Merchandise. There were clearly a few open buildings farther down the street, but it was impossible to tell from here what they were.

[Basil]

Perhaps, to get home, we have to find the three-faced man and the manor

"A very dangerous habit, crafting theories without data." Not that Elsa's suggestion was impossible, or even improbable. But it was far too soon for such surmising.

Basil watched the youth's attempt at spell-casting without comment. Was this his usual level of expertise? The mouse made a mental note not to expect overmuch from that quarter.

Once a satisfactory sign was in place, the three made their way into the village, Basil all the while scanning the surroundings, taking in every detail. The young queen lead them to a public house. A swift glance at the signboard was enough to acquaint Basil with the coming entertainment.

Shall we go inside?

"There is little doubt that this will be the high point of this week's social calendar. I shouldn't wonder if everyone in the village was present at the performance. An excellent place to gather information." And the mercantile and other buildings would still be there for investigating when the entertainment was over.

As he stepped into the darkened room, Basil noted from the corner of his eye an armed soldier emerging from a structure down the street. That could indicate trouble for outsiders such as themselves.

[Deleted]

"Vi! Can you bring your hamper over for laundry day?!" Helen yelled out for Violet to hear while she was taking her own hamper from their room. The auburn-haired mother just finished cleaning and organizing the kitchenette after cleaning the bedroom. She needed Vi's help to assist her with her own hamper for laundry day. As she turned to move the hamper out of her room, something out of place caught her eye. She sighed whilst raising her brown eyes to the ceiling, wondering if she were ever going to finish with the cleaning of the suite before she trudged on over to the object on her bed.  Raising an eyebrow curiously at the item, Helen had a hard time placing where this even came from. "Ugh..Violet.."  She murmured a soft whine of complaint to herself, wondering if she must have bought some merchandise again and left it. Upon catching some sort of figure on it, she picked it up to examine it closely, hoping it was worth whatever money she must have put into this thing. It seemed like a three-faced man and what looked like an old house.. 

In a blink of an eye, she found herself no longer in the room, but actually outside. "What the-?!" She exclaimed in shock before noticing the large bow in one of her hands. "Huh? How did-?! What just happened?!" Glancing about herself, she noticed that she wore entirely unfamiliar clothes.  She wore black leather pants and a light khaki brown tunic underneath with a brown leather armor tied around her waist on top. Finally, a dark green hooded cape, which covered most of her auburn head. "This isn't even my suit!" Her super suit didn't even look remotely like this one. Edna would never approve of the hooded cloak hanging loosely behind her like it was some kind of cape. As a result, Helen decided to wrap it around her neck to let it hang to the middle of her back. Besides, how did these clothes even get on her in the first place? Glancing down at her knee-high brown leather boots, which were no longer the black leather ones that she wore with her super suit, she found a short dagger tied around one of her legs. Then, her eyes trailed back at her large bow in her hand, where she noticed her black gloves (which she was used to from her old costume) and leather arm guards strapped around her arms, which she reasoned would protect her from the sting of the arrows. Wait. How did she know that? Well, that wasn't important right now. She needed to first figure out what was going on. 

Helen was accustomed to being stealthy in her days as Elastigirl when she would try to infiltrate an enemy building like she did at Nomanisan, but this felt entirely different. Sure she was able to tell general direction of an island based on the smoke from the missiles, but this was a lot more intricate. She began to notice details on things, such as the rocks that were led astray and the grass being pushed to one side. As she moved towards them to examine them closely, she noticed more broken little twigs and grass being pushed to one side. There were people here, along with what looked like mouse tracks? And they were headed in that direction up ahead. Whatever that came from, she was not about to question it now. She usually trusted her intuition when it came to surviving. That was when she encountered the sign that caused her mouth to drop: Go find Elsa. Elsa was here! Then maybe those mouse tracks must have been Basil's. Narrowing her eyebrows in determination as a smirk formed on her face, Helen swiftly headed towards the village at the direction where their tracks were headed. 

Upon reaching the village, Helen was no longer out in the wilderness and knew that it would be harder to track the people now. It was kind of incredible to think that a village would make her feel so.. out of her element, but it was exactly how she felt. She would have to come up with some way to find them. All of the sudden, a raven landed on her shoulder. Helen would have swung at that thing out of reflex if it weren't for something within her instinctively making her remain still instead. The raven cawed as it stared into her eyes and it felt as if there was a silent exchange of understanding, like the kind of moments where she would look at Bob and they would just know what each other were thinking. Helen suddenly thought of Elsa, a picture of her forming in her mind. How hard was it to find a platinum blonde haired lady in a braid? She silently wondered if she would be able to find some help in locating her. She needed to know what was going on here; but more importantly, she wanted to make sure Elsa was safe too. The raven cawed once again, and suddenly took off from her shoulder to fly high up in the air, hovering just a little above her. It sounded like she somehow convinced the raven to have him lead her to the group of people she had been tracking because it seemed like he wanted her to follow him. Blinking incredulously, she couldn't help but utter a soft laugh. "No, that's impossible. I-I can't be..Easy girl.. keep it together..I mean.. getting animals to help you that don't even talk? Even that's a little far-fetched..isn't it?" Helen muttered to herself under her breath, trying to talk some sense into herself. Sure, she could understand Basil and Gadget because they spoke her language.. but animals that don't talk? That was suddenly taking it a bit too far... right? And yet, despite trying to talk herself out of it, every fiber in her being told her to follow it. Deciding that it would be the same thing as walking aimlessly, Helen uttered a sigh and hoped that she wouldn't regret this before deciding to walk to the direction that the bird was headed towards. If this turned out to be a wild goose chase, she was going to officially hate birds forever. 

[Mateo de Alva]

”Perhaps, to get home, we have to find the three-faced man and the manor,”

It sounded very likely, which for some reason only made Mateo slightly doubt the thought even as he agreed. It sounded too easy, for how magic usually worked, but it was worth a shot and why not! Mr. Basil seemed to think not.

Mateo was sort of glad Elsa hadn't lingered too much in town either. He and Mr. Basil would have still arrived shortly behind each other and figured out things from there, but who knew how long it would have then taken them to find her.

Whatever Mr. Basil might have thought and not said on the failed experiment, Elsa meanwhile fit the Good and Encouraging Royal category same as Princess Elena back home.

It was a lesson they'd both had to learn, and especially as Elena got used to having a magic scepter, Don't focus on what if you don't, focus on what if you do!. This world obviously worked in some different way, and maybe rather than fight that he didn't know it he should give in to that intuition that seemed to be trying to fix that.

Still...he hoped this new staff wasn't capable of destroying this new world or such...

Mateo smiled at Elsa and with a sigh, stood straighter again, "You're right, Elsa, thanks". The young wizard didn't go on to overstate how far he felt maybe his intuition was leading him right...in case it ended up not true again.

As they made their way to the village, the young wizard soon acquainted himself with how to walk along with the staff as little in the way as possible, and really it made a good walking stick though he was still far to young to need one. Hmm maybe that was why older wizards sometimes took to the trend. He didn't spare too much focus pondering this, though, since there was the city to take in as they walked, though arguably he took in less of said detail than Mr. Basil. In some ways it looked more like Avalor...except dreary and dirty.

"Shall we go inside?"

"There is little doubt that this will be the high point of this week's social calendar. I shouldn't wonder if everyone in the village was present at the performance. An excellent place to gather information."

Mateo wasn't sure if this place had a social calendar, or if they would call it such, but at any rate Mr. Basil had a point and he nodded, "Plus watching how the locals go about things might give us a feel for how we're supposed to proceed, and maybe why we're here though that's a stretch". Or maybe not. And if this local wizard did make an appreance, like the sign said, maybe Mateo could learn some of how the spells around here worked, though he knew not to count on that.

[Elsa]

Basil’s comment regarding theories and data was rather lost on Elsa. She didn’t know what he meant by it, at all.

They made their way to town, Elsa occasionally glancing behind to see if someone else had arrived.

Elsa nodded again at Basil’s words. The town seemed to be less busy than it had once been, if the number of abandoned buildings was anything to go by. ”I wonder what happened in this town,” Elsa mused quietly.

Larovik was used to strangers entering his tavern. The Pixie & Dixie Inn had once been the jewel of Ambroth. That prestige was why it was the only inn left open in the town. So when the door opened to reveal two shadows, Larovik put on a smiling face and set down the rag he’d been using to wipe the counter with. "Welcome!" he boomed. It was still early for the night’s show, but he had no problem getting the duo set up for the night. Burgo was helping the North Bend Troupe get everything unloaded from the wagon, and the only other customers at the time were lost in conversation at a corner table.

With a warm smile, Elsa approached the counter, trusting Mateo and Basil to be close behind her. ”Hello,” she said to the man.

"What can I get for you? A room for two? Maybe a late lunch, or some ale?" She looked like one o’ them religious warrior types, and Larovik wasn’t sure if she’d take his offer for alcohol or not.

”Oh, not for me, thank you. I don’t drink.” Elsa remembered all too well her last encounter with alcohol, on the cruise ship. Elsa noticed the man’s face fell, and Elsa felt bad. She didn’t have any money, that she knew of. A brief pat-down along her sides revealed a pouch beneath the partial skirt. It wasn’t heavy, but she thought it might have enough to get them through, at least for food. They could probably sleep outside of town if they needed to. She could easily craft them a shelter.

"Oh," he grunted, recovering quickly from the disappointment. He had some Ambroth Pilsner fresh in from the local farmers, as well as some of the more expensive Southern Burgundy and Elven Chablis wines, but he knew the people of Ambroth would whittle it down quick enough. "You?" he asked the fellow standing next to her. He looked a bit young, but Larovik knew that if he was out wandering with the beauty next to him, he was old enough for a drink.

”Actually, we were hoping you might be able to tell us something about the three-faced man,” Elsa explained gently, hoping the man wouldn’t be too offended.

[Basil]

Basil pulled himself further into his cloak as he crossed the threshold, desiring to pass with as little notice as possible. Although the fact that he was clearly the only rodent in the room might make that difficult. Perhaps he ought to stay completely out of sight; but frankly, the thought of secreting himself into someone's pocket for the duration wasn't at all palatable.

The innkeeper seemed cordial enough, though that would be necessary when dealing with potential customers. Basil noted his arthritic hand, the scar under his chin, and the fact that he'd had a row with his wife earlier that morning, before turning his gaze upon the patrons of the place.

What can I get for you? A room for two?

Basil made a dismissive sound in his throat; apparently he wouldn't need to worry about concealing himself, as he was all but invisible to the locals.

Actually, we were hoping you might be able to tell us something about the three-faced man

Now the sound heard was of a slap, namely of a hand slapping one's own forehead. Revealing everything to the first person one met was hardly the way to begin an investigation.

[Deleted]

The auburn-haired ranger meandered through the village, glancing about to find any indication for what kind of place this was. Unfortunately, most of the buildings seemed abandoned. A sigh escaped her lips as she glanced up at the raven hovering above her. It seemed strange to be following a bird, but something inside of her felt like this might lead to somewhere of use. After all, birds wouldn't just hover like that for too long, being so careful not to move too far ahead. Helen hoped Vi would be okay without her until she returned, though perhaps this magic also had a time span of it's own.. kinda like the parks. That thought was the only thing that seemed to reassure her anyway. 

At last, the raven landed on the rail to the steps of the porch to a house. "Elsa's in here?" Helen asked softly of the bird as she stared up at the worn-down house, slowly moving up the small steps of the porch. The raven cawed and then took off again. Helen wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing that it suddenly left, but she decided it was best to look for Elsa and she might as well start with the house that was in front of her now. With a few confident knocks on the door that she hoped were loud enough to hear, she only hoped that this wasn't a waste of her time. 

[Mateo de Alva]

Mateo followed along behind, thinking along the same lines as Elsa, or upon another glance, he felt bad that for a bit he had perhaps assumed too much of the condition to just how the town was, but not the...vacant emptiness. Hmm...maybe part of why they were here? That seemed a bit presumptuous and...forming facts and data, as Mr. Basil had said. Still, Mateo believed there had to be some reason.

He followed Elsa and Basil (or kept out of the mouse's way while walking and with his robe) into the tavern, and to the greetings of a very boisterous inn owner. They sometimes were. Over cordiality if business was slow and all. Mateo smiled, atleast until he asked about rooms and...ale. There were too many assumptions to correct, and Mateo felt he would come of sounding...less..than the wizard he was here should if he said he didn't drink also, but it would put their Company, such as they were and maybe were meant to be, in jeopardy if he over extended whatever his tolerance was. Even around Avalor, wine wasn't cracked out until the very very good occasions and only the "older ones" partook. "Same", Mateo smiled after Elsa's answer and as the fellows gaze fell to him.

Well now that they no doubt looked like the oddest troupe ever...

[Elsa]

Liluth had lived in the town of Ambroth for all of her life. Her husband, Conall, had made the village council, and she couldn’t be happier. It had been his dream since he was a young child. And as a member of the church, she and her husband had worked very hard for Ambroth for decades. Her only regret was that it had taken so long for the town to elect him.

Liluth was getting ready to go to the church, in fact, when a loud knock sounded at the door. Frowning, Liluth made her way to the door. She wasn’t expecting company today. Conall was in the main hall today; it was his responsibility today to sit there and answer any questions regarding the village. Liluth’s friends were already at the church, waiting for her to get there.

Opening the door, Liluth saw a young woman standing there. She looked like she might be part of the druidic sect that was camped a few miles from Ambroth, and Liluth couldn’t help but wonder if she had been sent to confront Conall about his new position. Those druids were upset there wasn’t someone representing them on the council. Not that Liluth had anything to do with that.

"Can I help you, dear?" Liluth asked the woman, tugging lightly on her white braid. Ambroth saw the occasional adventurer, but they never came to this house. They stopped at the Pixie & Dixie Inn or the main hall. Though, the younger woman did look like she might’ve come from the druids’ camp...

~~~~~

Larovik frowned. He could (grudgingly) understand why she declined the ale, but the boy? Hmph! Did they even want a room? They'd both dodged that question. Trying to hide his disbelief, Larovik shook his head. ”Don’t know nothin’ ‘bout a three-faced man. Doubt anyone around here does. There ain’t no three-faced man in Ambroth, that’s fer sure.” After a moment of thought, he added, "Harzinon might know." He gestured at the stage, currently empty. "Part of tonight's show, he is. Three coppers per person, if yeh want to see it. He normally comes 'round after and yeh could ask 'im then." Maybe they were just cheap, that was the real reason they'd declined. If so, they'd probably say no to the show, too, and then ambush the North Bend Troupe after the show was over.

Elsa frowned thoughtfully. Harzinon was the name of the minstrel in the show, she knew that much. Perhaps he would know something about the three-faced man. She glanced to Basil and Mateo, "What do you think? We could stick around that long, get some answers..." Elsa didn't have any better ideas. "And in the meantime, we could explore the town a little."

[Basil]

Although listening to every syllable, Basil took the opportunity to examine his own person. He had neither his pipe nor his magnifying lens, indeed, not so much as a pocket handkerchief. His worldly possessions appeared to consist of a tinderbox, a long knife, and a very fine set of jemmies and burglary tools. Basil carefully secreted all these items in his innermost pockets in time to answer Elsa's question.

What do you think? We could stick around that long, get some answers...

At last she was consulting him!

"By all means. I daresay this Harzinon chap will be worth meeting. As to the fee..." He had not a shilling to his name in this world. "...I believe you will find some coins in your purse, if the jingling sound is any indication." Why couldn't these wizard fellows simply create coin with a magic word or two?

[Mateo de Alva]

Mateo got the distinct feeling that they really stuck out now, and as both he and Elsa declined the local brew. Well, but then they'd already been sticking out, no matter how much they looked the part. The young wizard nodded along as the inn keeper described this Harzinon that might know more about the business and would be making an appearance.

The coins required did sound like a sticky spot, but otherwise Mateo was for the plan also and nodded, "Yeah, sounds like our best bet for finding out what's going on around here", Mateo answered, then noticed the last bit of what Basil had said, of course it made sense to notice any jingling that would denote the presence of coins...wait, no it didn't, that was very very detailed fact noticing, yet at the same time Mateo was abashed he hadn't noticed anything. But eitherway, if they had the coin for the event, and he didn't think he had any on him. Mateo discretely patted some pockets. Nope.

[Deleted]

The hopeful smile that Helen wore as the door knob turned and the door began to open for her instantly disappeared upon catching sight of the elderly woman that wore her white hair in a braid. Unless this happened to be Elsa's long-lost grandmother, the raven officially proved to be useless. Nope. She was never trusting birds ever again. That raven better not show it's face around here.

"I-I'm sorry I uh -" Helen glanced behind her, suddenly finding herself stuck in this predicament where she had to explain herself. She suddenly preferred not to say that a bird brought her here, so she decided to make the most of this visit and get some more answers. "I was wondering if maybe you could tell me a bit more about this place? You wouldn't happen to have some kinda map of this place, would you?" The auburn haired mother smiled warmly at the elderly woman, hoping that maybe she lived here long enough to provide some information that would be of some use.

[Elsa]

Liluth smiled warmly. An adventurer then. Or someone new to the druid camp. ”Oh, sure,” she told the girl; everyone in the town was a girl to Liluth. Everyone except old Saida, that is. ”You’re in Ambroth,” Liluth started, disappearing inside the house for a moment to grab a pack. It was overflowing with fake flowers, and Liluth didn’t offer a word of explanation. She closed the door behind her, and gestured. ”I’m on my way to the church, dear. Walk with me and I’ll answer what I can.

“Ambroth used to be a busy town. Things have quieted down in the last 20 years. We had lots of travelers—adventurers like you, minstrels, traveling caravans full of luxury items—until that evil Lord Drestyn, spit on his soul, scared ‘em away! It’s all his fault.” Liluth’s voice grew angrier as she spoke, until she realized just how irritable she’d become. Lord Drestyn was a sore subject around Ambroth. She remembered the girl’s second question. ”If it’s a map you’re after, Larovik at the inn has one on his wall, of the world. His guests like to use it to show where they’ve been. Daunn and Dematir have maps of the surrounding area for sale. The Main Hall has a map of the town itself.” Liluth prided herself on knowing these things. Though, really, having lived in the town her whole life, she would’ve been embarrassed if she didn’t know them.

~~~~~

Larovik squinted at Basil, then let out a hearty laugh. To Elsa, he said, "Good trick, that! Got a mouse all trained up, and yer wizard friend using a spell to make ‘im speak." He shifted his glance to Mateo. "Gotta tell ya, though, we don’t usually allow spells within the town. I’ll let this one slide, because it was a good laugh. But yeh need a permit fer it next time."

Elsa hid her reaction to the man’s response. She gave him a restrained smile, hoping Basil wouldn’t make things worse by saying something else. She knew he was insulted in the least, but hoped he would be smart enough to keep his mouth shut. No doubt he would have words to say when they left the inn. ”Three, then,” she told the innkeeper, pulling the pouch from its hiding place. He may not see Basil as a person, but Elsa did.

She had eight copper pieces, fourteen silver coins, and quite a few gold. She figured it would be enough to get them some food as well, in the evening. She considered her earlier thought on sleeping in the field instead of the inn, but with this they may not need to. Idly, she wondered how much the others carried.

She pulled out a silver coin, hoping it would be enough. The man took it quickly, handing her a copper piece in return. So, ten coppers to a silver. Easy enough to remember. ”We’ll be back later,” Elsa told the man, leading the way through the door.

[Basil]

The innkeeper began to laugh, which was not really unusual; this breed was often gregarious, even jolly. Good for business. But that didn't excuse the man's next statement.

Got a mouse all trained up, and yer wizard friend using a spell to make ‘im speak

"What?!" 'Trained up'? Did he think Basil was some sort of pet?!? "How dare you, sir!" Actually, posing as a dumb animal would be a useful disguise. But Basil was too insulted to care at the moment. And the fellow had the nerve to laugh! Basil hated to be laughed at. It got his ire up so far, there was no coming back.

"I'll have you know, my man, that I happen to be an English gentleman with a proper education. A sight better than yours, I'll wager."

Someone really ought to stop Basil about this time.

[Mateo de Alva]

Mateo looked a bit bemused at the bar keeper's description of Basil, and merely just smiled back, not refuting or taking credit as he wrongly assumed Mateo himself had anything to do with it (If only he could magically make animals talk! That did sound like quite the trick, hmm, was it even magically possible...). All this only passed by distractedly, what really drew Mateo's attention was the comment on magic having to have some license here.

He was about to try to say he'd try to remember that, or something of the like, even as he'd turned to follow Elsa with a nod to the inn keeper to thank him for the information, but Basil was beginning to get very very agitated by the insinuation of talking mice, a bit too much so no doubt and with the comment on education! With a smile, and since he was supposed to be responsible for the whole thing anyway the way this man perceived it, Mateo stepped forward and (fervently hoping to be forgiven later by what he'd seen of how Basil took things) stopped Basil up as dignified as he could manage, "Uh, that'll be enough of that trick today, so sorry", he smiled to the bar keep again, deceided any further trying to explain would only upset Basil more by what he'd have to pretend was true, and so just turned and followed Elsa.

"Sorry", he said, letting Basil down, "but we are supposed to be laying low, and I don't, well, anyway", the young wizard backed out of all out saying that Basil's actions and words had been ill advised. Understandable yes.

[Deleted]

”You’re in Ambroth,”  

Helen parted her lips when the lady opened the door, replied with the name of the town that they were in, then suddenly disappeared into her house. "Ambroth?" She murmured to herself, searching her brain for a city by that name, but nothing seemed familiar to her.
Then again, she wasn't a geography major either. It must have really been a small town. 

The auburn mother's thoughts were interrupted upon seeing the woman come out again with flowers and beckoned her to walk alongside of her on the way to church. The superhero-turned ranger felt a little bad for interrupting this poor woman's day, but she didn't have much of a choice seeing how most of the buildings looked abandoned. "Thank you so much for doin' this, do you need help with carrying any of that?" Helen offered to assist in dividing the load of flowers between the two as she briskly walked alongside of her in order to keep with the woman's pace. What did make her feel better was that the woman was providing her with some more information about what happened to this place, and if anyone would know anything, she supposed it would be her. "Lord Drestyn? Is that why this town is looking so abandoned?" She added gently with a question in the tone of her voice and a slight sheepish smile in hopes that the town's description was not too brash, looking around the deserted buildings she passed whilst walking alongside of her. "Wait a minute. But if he scared most people off, why were you able to stay? Did someone finally beat him?" Helen's inner superheroine spirit was hopeful that someone put an end to the villain that was causing so much misery in this town. "Oh, I'm so sorry, where are my manners?" She placed a hand over her eyes out of shame for not having proper manners. Here she was, interrupting this woman's day and she couldn't even introduce herself. "I was so wrapped up in tryin' to find myself that I didn't get a chance to introduce myself. My name is Helen. What's yours?" She extended her hand to take her free hand with a warm smile.

Upon being given options by the woman in regards to maps, it astounded her that there were other people still doing business here. The auburn woman dressed in green bit her lip to ponder on which option she should take. "Well, I don't think I want a map of the world just yet.. Can ya point me in the direction of Daun or Dematir? And maybe also the town hall? I might stop by there later.." She figured either of the two aforementioned locations might give her an idea of where to get more information next.