PREVIOUS: 024: Granny Dearest
Jagal almost seems to explicitly wait for Lucya to start searching more ludicrous locations before showing himself again. He's a little dizzy, but he does his best to stand casually. Going up and down trees and buildings isn't usually enough of an effort for him to worry about, so he's sure he's fine.
JAGAL: "Sooo, tavern next?"
LUCYA: "Well, aye, but--"
Lucya watches him sway on his feet with some concern.
LUCYA: "...'Twill be as good a place as any tae take a break, I s'pose. Ye need a lift?"
Though she suspects she knows the answer already, she offers her arm again.
Jagal raises an eyebrow. He's... almost tempted, but only almost. He's been carried around way too much today. And it needs to be his idea in the first place to not be humiliating, so this won't do it for him.
JAGAL: (already walking past) "Yeah, I'm good."
LUCYA: "Suit yerself..."
The residents of Mossgrove seem to pay marginally less mind to the odd pair as they make their way back to the Sunflower Inn. The sun is starting to approach the horizon, but it's not quite late enough for the dinner rush, either-- the only people at the bar right now are Freida herself and a certain perfectly ordinary tobacco farmer.
FREIDA: "Lucyaaa!" (stooping down a bit) "And Jagaaal.~ Back tae empty me cellar, eh?"
Jagal narrows his eyes at the stooping, but only for a moment.
JAGAL: “Long as I’m not paying, sure.”
Hunched over the bartop, the other patron at first seems too lost in his drink to realize it’s no longer just him and the bartender.
COLUMB: “…but my wife, she wouldn’t even think of swimmin’ anywhere she can’t see the bottom of…”
Columb pauses, then turns to see the newcomers. Though he actually just has water in front of him, he looks perfectly surprised to see them there.
COLUMB: “Well, imagine runnin' into you two here! Taking a, uh, breather? Before the next big trial day, I mean.”
LUCYA: "Ms. Freida, Mr. Columb..."
Lucya bobs her head politely.
LUCYA: "I am here tae pick up Pendry's clothes fer her, but... Mayhaps, one drink!"
FREIDA: "A'course, dear."
Freida tips her glass at Jagal as she sets it down to start mixing Lucya's poison of choice.
FREIDA: "But I'm wise tae thy tricks now, wee laddie! Nae liquor 'less ye pay fer it."
JAGAL: "Oh, what did I ever do to you? I'm not getting paid 'til after the trial, you know."
Jagal will just sulk and sneak something when nobody's paying attention.
COLUMB: (shaking head) "Ain't that a doozy... Funny, though, kinda looks like ya got yourself a new shirt?"
JAGAL: "Ah?" (looking down to check) "Just a spare I had."
COLUMB: "Ohh, I gotcha. Get somethin' on it? Happens to me all the time. Boy, the cleanin' bills I've gone through for this old coat here!"
JAGAL: (nonchalantly) "Oh yeah, got stabbed a couple times this morning, you know how it goes."
Jagal lets a beat pass, wishing he had a drink to sip for effect.
JAGAL: (snorts) "Yeah, just spilled some lunch. Sure would be something, though, wouldn't it?"
COLUMB: "Gee whiz! We got enough people gettin' stabbed already, I think."
LUCYA: "Already?!"
FREIDA: "Mm, what's this? Have ye been holdin' back the goods?!"
COLUMB: "Aw, geez."
Columb runs his hand through his hair and shakes his head.
COLUMB: "See, I'm tryin'a be a good member a' the jury and keep my ears all stopped up—!" (prodding his ears to demonstrate) "But people keep talking, and, well, I'm just weak to it, I guess..."
JAGAL: (still looking for his chance to swipe a drink) "Talking about what?"
COLUMB: "The, uh, other guy." (gesturing) "Baerli the Sober. Finally found him down aways, sounds like."
FREIDA: "Hm?! And he was stabbed? With what? Where was he?"
Freida leans in close, though there's no one else in the room and she's not exactly lowering her voice.
LUCYA: "Ms. Freida, ye dinnae have tae worry yerself with this..."
FREIDA: "I'm nae worryin', I need information!"
🎲 Jagal rolls to Secure an Advantage, then to Gather Information. The first roll is a strong hit, and the second is a strong hit with a match! Two 1's on the two d10's. We've been generally interpreting higher-scoring matches as more serious and dramatic and lower-scoring matches as goofy, so this is gonna be as goofy as it gets...
Columb blinks and leans back a bit, but not enough to keep the distance constant here.
COLUMB: "Well, they dunno what, exactly—wasn't still there—but probably not just a normal knife. Got him right in the neck, too."
Columb taps a spot over his own jugular.
Jagal pauses briefly in... whatever he's doing behind Freida's back to squint at the location before resuming.
COLUMB: "And the poor guy himself was in the river. Good thing he got caught up on somethin', or they never woulda found him so soon."
JAGAL: (beside Columb) "Caught up on what?"
Columb blinks again and scratches his head.
COLUMB: "Some, uh, bridge, I think it was."
Jagal settles back into his seat, hands under the counter, and nods. Lucya grimaces as she feels her own neck in the spot Columb points to.
LUCYA: "That sounds right, aye, fer where we first saw the ghostie..."
FREIDA: "Auh, sounds nasty! What'd that laddie ever do tae anyone?"
LUCYA: "They didnae... bring the body back, did they?"
COLUMB: "No—no, too much hassle. It was time to just leave the poor guy alone, sounds like. Hopefully his, uh, spirit can rest easy now, yeah?"
While Columb is speaking, Jagal swigs his own drink and returns his hands to their position below the counter.
JAGAL: "Hopefully!"
LUCYA: "Aye, I hope so... AUH!"
Freida does a double take.
FREIDA: "Where'd ye get that, ye lil-- y'know what? That's on me. Not watchin' me stuff... Hmph!"
LUCYA: "I am so sorry, Ms. Freida..."
FREIDA: "Nay, nay, just make sure ye take him with ye on yer adventure afore he can run up his tab!"
JAGAL: "Where'd I get what?"
Jagal innocently raises his empty hands, but he can only hold out for a moment before laughing. He dips to pick up the mug again and finishes it off—at least he didn't get much?—before setting it on the counter.
JAGAL: (saluting Freida) "I appreciate your barkeep's honor. But, probably oughta get back to the other adventure, yeah."
JAGAL: (to Columb) " 'less you got any more info?"
Columb has been busy ducking above and below and past the counter trying to piece together what just went down. It takes Jagal a few tries to get his attention again.
COLUMB: "Huh? Oh, oh." (settling back onto his seat) "No, that's about all there is."
LUCYA: "Thank ye much fer thy help, sir! And I must nae forget, Ms. Freida, I am tae take Pendry her embroidery..."
FREIDA: "Aye, aye, I've got it right back here. Tell her I said hi!"
Freida aggressively takes Jagal's mug back and disappears into the kitchen for a moment.
COLUMB: (waving it off) "Oh, don't mention it. Good luck with the investigation. I bet you can get to the bottom of this."
With Pendry's flowerful skirts in tow, Lucya parts ways with Jagal again. She returns to Granny's to deliver the goods (no sign of the suspicious herbs when she looks over the place again), then makes her way back to her family's estate. As they feast on Ada's pierogis and she catches Brajan up on the events of the day, Lucya's will falters...
She bundles up a little pierogi in a handkerchief to take to her wayward companion. It'll be cold, but serves him right!
Her wayward companion is currently outside the general store, lurking at the window. It'd be easier to gauge the view of the fallen shelf from here if he could remember which one it was. As it is, he's mostly just ducking out of Keela's line of sight anytime she paces past.
JAGAL: (muttering) "Sun's down—how much longer you gonna stay here?"
LUCYA: "Ye talkin' t'me?"
Lucya isn't exactly sneaking, but she at least has the common sense to not walk up directly to the front door.
JAGAL: "!"
Jagal jolts, daggers drawn, before he manages to register it's just Lucya.
JAGAL: (sighing) "Why would I be talking to you?"
Jagal checks the window again and scowls.
JAGAL: "Lady still milling around in there. I am—" (makes a pinching gesture)—"this close to rustling up a distraction just to get her out, but I don't want her coming back after."
He just sighs. Patience...
LUCYA: "Auh, I thought ye saw me! I'm sorry..."
Lucya peeks through the window briefly.
JAGAL: "She is a dutiful madam, aye. Did ye eat supper?"
Jagal grumbles indistinctly.
JAGAL: "Yea—Uh."
Jagal squints for a second, struggling to figure out what supper's got to do with Keela, before eventually sussing them out as unrelated statements. But even then, it takes some thought.
JAGAL: "...No?"
As sure as always.
LUCYA: "Figures...! Against my better judgment, I have brought thee a pierogi."
Though it doesn't look very big in her hand, the potato-and-cheese dumpling she hands him is the size of a small hamburger.
While Jagal hadn't yet cobbled together a definition of "pierogi," the cold lump retains enough of a smell to quickly clue him in. He swipes it before she can change her mind.
JAGAL: "You should act against your better judgment more often."
LUCYA: "...Are ye sure ye're feeling alright?"
Jagal peers inside again before shooting Lucya a look.
JAGAL: "I'm not made of twigs and dry leaves, princess."
LUCYA: (huffs) "I mean it! Granny's magic, there was..."
She leans in a little closer, her voice approaching something resembling a whisper.
LUCYA: "There was something weird about it! I could feel it! I'd nae seen it in person before..."
In another lapse of judgment, she tries to poke his stomach in the spot where he was stabbed.
JAGAL: (unconcerned) "Yeah, it doing anything was weird."
Jagal unconsciously glances down at the wound in response. That makes it a lot easier for him to dodge back from Lucya's curious poke.
JAGAL: "Okay in what world would that be necessary."
LUCYA: "Nay, listen-- yer nae lying t'me, aye? Ye feel okay? Did ye swipe any a them herbs she was using?"
He seems to be feeling well enough to jump out of the way, so she lets him be for now.
LUCYA: "It didnae feel like healing magic, was the thing... Nay, like--" (waggles her hands) "Auh! Made me skin crawl! But if ye're alright, then..."
JAGAL: (gasping) "Me, lie?" (suddenly flat) "No. I'm fine."
Jagal retrieves a coin for the usual routine.
JAGAL: (scoffs) "If an herb could do that, I'd know about it already, thanks."
Jagal watches her demonstration with an eyebrow raised.
JAGAL: "Doesn't all magic feel like that? 's not just a little plaything without consequences—whatever you're usin' it for."
LUCYA: "I know that! 'Tis nae me first ritual..."
She's still sulking a bit about not being taken seriously, but decides to let the matter drop for now. She'll just keep an eye on him.