Betula stands, rising smoothly on the balls of her feet, and begins pacing an enlarging spiral which begins around Brother Pine. All the while keeping her focused attention on her mystical sense, on the spirits around her, occasionally and briefly pausing to give some particular thing of note more focused attention.
[George, feel free to narrate what she has paused to examine that may be of note based on her Second Sight roll of 10 (11 where her Spec in Spirits applies though that may not make a difference since EFs are usually on the multiples of 3)]
There are many minor spirits, all looking very anxious. They dwell in trees, flowers, rocks, etc. I suppose she stops to talk, but they are not very talkative. Cunning, rather than intelligent, they do not seem to know very much, except that they are scared of the intrusion in the forest.
Betula quickly has to give up the spiraling. The terrain is too rough, except for the narrow patch along the river. Thus she is quickly brought to the clearing with the covenant's manor house, which looks brand new and slightly smaller than she remembers. The only sound to be heard is the waterfall, where the river goes off an edge behind the manor house. There is another, old and derelict building just by the waterfall.
Others may have seen this already, if they explored instead of just waiting.
And as Betula scans the area, Cath'rinne has had her rest.
As Cath'rinne gets to her feet, a black cat, comes out of nowhere, less than ten paces away, and jumps into a tree, to find a place on a branch with a clear view of the grave and the magæ.
[OOC: Remember, as long as Cath'rinne concentrates she is seeing my visual sensations. I'm unsure how long that may be without needing a roll for it. I forget if spells like mean she sees both her own and mine or merely mine.]
Betula tries to learn more about this intrusion they fear, Asking variously how it appears, what it is doing, where it is, what direction it came from, and other basic questions that a being without human-like intelligence may understand and notice.
«Digging. Tearing spirits away,» is the most informative response Betula is able to extract.
Everybody sees Betula wandering towards the door of the manor house, or if the manor house is behind a tree or a mound, that she wanders into a clearing beyond. Before she gets to the door, what does everybody else do?
Turning and pausing at the question. Her eyes looking a little out of focus but also seeming almost backlit like a cat's. "The house... it is not the same as I remember," she says a little spacily. She turns back to where she was headed before and continues.
Benedict watched curiously as Betula talked to the tree - he'd never talked to a plant, he wondered what it was like.
As the conversation with the tree ends, and Betula reports, he listens with interest. He knows nothing of Diedne and druids, but he respects any pagan practices. When the magi decide to despoil the graves, he spits on the ground in disgust and walks away, ignoring the dirty looks the grogs give him for not helping, shifting to bear form and heading off to the hilly area to inspect the various caves.
The caves are generally just shallow openings or cracks in cliffs and slopes. Benedicts finds two or three which are large enough to give dry beds for two or three people, and at one of them there is remains of an old fireplace. There is no sign of recent use though.
Will he try to be back with the party when they enter the manor? Or will he roam on his own?
He will take whatever time it takes to explore the hilly area completely, including checking for any scents of recent travelers, then rejoin the rest of the group.
As Betula was chatting with the tree, and with the ordeal with the ghost, Ruedi was always near, ready to give her a steady hand, or to support her. It was heart-wrenching for him to see her suffer, though he knew not what her magic could do, and the more he learned, the more he grew to love her, for her love, and sensitivity.
After the incident is over, he will whisper to her "Is there more information we need to get? maybe I can talk with the animals of the forest to find out who's currently living there?" As he points towards the manor house.
"Yes, yes... the animals may pay attention to different things. I must try to think like a tree to understand the tree. So stable and unconcerned about so much. Very apt."
Other than Benedict the Bear and the Black Cat, there aren't many animals to be seen, unless he goes walkabout like Benedict.
The main door to the manor house is open. When Betula knocks and shouts for attention, a short, corpulent man appears, well dressed with a scarlet tweed vest over a bleached shirt. It has been a while, but he reminds a little bit about Edwin, who was apprenticed to one of the senior covenfolk when Betula left.
«Welcome to Castillum Viridian,» he says ceremonially, and looks the crowd over. «I am sorry, we are not very well prepared for visitors; there have not been many lately; but do come in. What has brought you here, if I may ask?»
While you answer, or don't, he shows you into a hall with long table with seating for 15-20 people.
Benedict went walkabout. Please let me know of anybody else who did not go with the crowd. You may also make new second sight rolls. Please quote them without aura modifier. Betula's was faerie; is Turold's magic?
Obstetrix was shaken by the events at Lux Draconis. She couldn't fathom what could shatter the Magic Aura of the mighty covenant, and if the Diedne could do such powerful magic, then maybe her House should have joined the fight against them, for such magic what abhorrent.
She knew that her magic wasn't well suited to the investigation of dead bodies, and the death in the area caused her to retreat into herself, as it was antithetical to her desire to heal.
Ruedi will walk around to try and find an animal to chat with, while doing his best to keep within eye shot of the manor house, in case Betula needs his assistance.
While Betula opens the grave, Ruedi finds a couple of squirrels playing in the tree. Does he approach them?
Later, Ruedi spots the cat, but that's when everybody else follows Betula to the manor house, and his attention is drawn to what Betula is up to. Will he return to talking to animals when they go inside?