Thadeus looks like a regular traveller, in woolen pants, long tunic and cloak. Only his staff is slightly unusual, with its flattened top end and its silver-mounted clear glass.
Ealhstan left Clover with the mules and is dressed in traveling clothes, like Thadeus, more a townsperson than a noble if the quality is anything to judge by.
Before the peasants get close, Ealhstan points toward the graves and asks, "Sickness?"
Thadeus remains silent for the moment, choked up by anger and memories as he looks at the ruined homes, destroyed by supernatural forces under the control of the Diedne.
Since only Thadeus and Ealhstan said they approached, I assumed that threatening Gifts and weapons were kept a little in the background for the time being.
«War!» answers the peasant. «Warlocks from Galloway Hill.»
“Ah! Yes, of course,” and Ealhstan glances at the burnt and destroyed cottages closer to the center of the village. “What could they possibly want with the destruction of a village?”
[OOC: let me know if you’d like a guile roll for this feigning of ignorance.]
Yeah, guile roll is good. It takes only a 6+ to make the right impression, but 9+ to get through a few more exchanges, and 12+ for a longer conversation.
«This time?» He eyes Ealhtstan suspiciously. «We were caught in the crossfire. They came for the English wizards, staying a little too near us.» He pauses before he asks, «and what brings you here?»
"Warlocks from Galloway? English wizards? Tough place you live in, friend," says Thadeus. "Anyone else still living here anymore? We were just making our way north, and thought this was a good place to cross the river."
He shakes his head, "That a lot of graves out there. Hope you didn't lose too many family."
«It has been tough indeed,» they confirm, «and many good men and women have been lost. I hope we have seen the worst of it now. Word is that many warlocks have fallen too, and the rest fled. The English wizards went after them, after they lost one of their own. I don't think anyone won. I think they just destroyed each other. Just as well. I never trusted those English wizards either.»¹
«Crossing the river will cause you no trouble up here. Plenty of fords. It is not like downriver where you may even have to pay a ferry man to take you across.»
¹ EDITed to add missing text
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"Have they been back? Those warlock and wizards, I mean? We were thinking of setting up camp and rest our horses a bit. Journey's been hard on them. And us as well, who don't have horses. Wouldn't want to pick a dangerous spot."
«This is the most quiet place on Earth. Nobody pays much attention to two lone peasants. The last we heard was lord Fergus¹ marching on the warlocks, but even that was before we sowed the fields in Spring, and it was at least two days West of us.»
¹ Area Lore: Loch Leglean 9+ or AL: Scottish Lowlands 6+ to recognise the name.
Thadeus looks attentively at the peasants, gauging their honesty. It is not that they appear to be lying, but they must be deluded, as in denial. They may have lived here peacefully, but only by shutting their eyes to the next village. The war is around the corner, and if they were sane they would admit that it is only a question of time ...
"Well, good luck to you, friends. We'll be on our way."
Thadeus and Eahlstan return to the main group to share what little information they have gathered.
«Good day, then,» says the peasant, taken aback. They watch as you leave to rejoin the party.
Cath'rinne listens to the report, perched on a tree a safe distance from the village. "What you just learned seems to contradict or complement what we learned before. In the south, they told us the Diedne did a ritual and monsters rose from the ground to attack the village. Here they tell us some Diedne were slain in battle, and fled. How do you reconcile the two? Did they die here, or did the battle occur elsewhere? If it occured elsewhere, do we have any idea where this battle supposedly occured?"
"I don't trust these two villagers. They are hiding something. Wouldn't surprise me if they were in league with the Diedne. I suggest we move on carefully and watch for a tail."
Hamish listens as the others report what they've hard.
"I don't know anything about this Fergus. Could be any number of people. Fairly common name, really."
The tall soldier looks at Cath'rinne and Thadeus.
"Battle can bleed into battle if one army has the spine to put on the chase. Could be that's all rooted in a kind of truth. Master Thadeus is right: let's watch for the watchers. If there are Diedne still left, they're going to be at Wicker Hill. That's where they will feel strongest"
So the party has decided to withdraw from the village. Where do they go and where do they make camp?
Reflexively, Thadeus looks around, scanning the area around them, as well as the graveyard.
Scanning the area, Thadeus comprehends patches of magic aura. Small patches are scattered around. They could be lacunæ in a divine aura, but there is a lot more of them than you have seen in any other vilage. Between the church and the graveyard, there is a larger area of magic aura, but this is speckled with non-magic lacunæ. The graveyard and the altar are notably non-magic, except for the big stone-cross which has a magic aura.