[IRP] The Dead One Calls

[Swift_Assassin]

"Enjoy the rest of your day," Shad said as he left with Satsume. No need to be rude after all. Even if Shad had been speculating the worse, the man had done work for his men in the past. Shad began following Satsume out of the smithy, leaving the man by himself.

The smith looked down at the counter and took a deep breath. He followed with a long sigh, before heading to a store-room in the back. He opened what appeared to be a cupboard, which was in fact a weapon rack. He placed the hilt near an empty space on the rack. "Don't think about it. Don't...don't think about it." He said to himself as he closed the door and went back to his work.

Satsume seemed like he was on edge too. His talk of making a plan was nice and all...but Shad had a plan. A bad plan, but a plan. In fact, he still had a plan, but only Eli was privy to it. As much as Shad trusted the others, he trusted that they'd care too much about his well being and keep him from doing this plan. Not that Eli wouldn't do the same, but Eli had the skill set for this scouting plan. A librarian, a mage, a healer, and a noblewoman lacked the skills while Satsume's armor is a bit too loud for their silent approach. "You've all heard my idea. My head hasn't really cooled enough for a reasonable plan," He paused, before looking up at the tower of the castle higher up the mountain, partially obscured by trees. "And I don't see that happening as long as I can see the castle."

When the returned to the inn, Satsume went looking for Cecily. Shad found Taika seated nearby, so he sat with her. She had a sizable drink with her. She was struggling to keep her head up. She perked up upon realizing Shad was there. "Oh, Shad. Welcome back."

"Strong stuff?"

Taika laughed, as she drank some more. "Not really. I think the last couple of days is just hitting me all at once. I started feeling really tired after I started drinking this." She commented as she took another sip. "The inn keep made it for me. We got into a discussion about family, and well. It kinda depressed me, considering my partner's recent passing." She looked down into her drink, about half full, then began downing the rest of it in one go.

"Hey, don't go doing that. That can't be good for you."

She slammed the glass onto the table and leaned back in her chair. "Nothing about the last few days have been good for me. At least let me have this...for now..." She replied before seemingly nodding off. Shad couldn't believe that Taika was this exhausted. She should have been in a better state than any of them. She did no fighting, after all. Shad eyed the inn keep, cautious about his generosity. Shad left Taika where she was. They shouldn't be gone for that long.

Satsume reappeared and spoke with the inn keep. Shad followed him out. He seemed to be grumbling a bit. "Is this what I put Marcus through? I'm so sorry." Shad said under his breath as a bit of a joke. Which as it lingered in his memory, brought back the graphic sight of Marcus to the forefront of his mind. His mood rapidly soured due to poor timing of his own joke. Thankfully they met up with the other relatively quickly. He looked around and saw Maisie walk back into the inn. Where did she go? A question for later no doubt. "Probably the inn. They were headed towards us, after all. What else could they really have here?" He looked around briefly, thinking on that last point, before asking, "Where did you go?"