"Seven-hundred forty-eight souls-" Kiriel begins, standing before the guild hall with the members gathered before him. The clouds cover the sky, though they are thankfully not rain clouds today; the world seems dreary enough as it is. "-have gone to the gods, in whose arms they will know everlasting peace. We can only hope such a tragedy befalls our fair city never again. There was no glory in these past few days, but there was some solace. For those we've lost, and for those who gave their blood, sweat, and tears to put these souls to rest. Hail to the dead who sleep in peace, and hail to the living who keep their memories alive."

"HAIL! HAIL! HAIL!" Comes the reply from those gathered, nearly seventy fists raised in unison. Amongst the crowd stands Leur, their own hands balled and high as can be, their voices louder than any other. The camaraderie of the Wild Hunt has started to get to them, 'twould seem.

Kiriel takes a breath and nods as if to themselves. "We will begin taking jobs again tomorrow. For now, rest your bodies and your souls." They walk in, heading immediately to the backroom office. Amadeo nudges Tyrion. "You've been awful quiet, little man. What's bothering you, besides the obvious?"

The halfling snorts "I'm fine, lad. Just...I'm just realizing I miss life back before...Nevermind. Let's get some rest, if we can." He stomps toward the door to go in, as through the streets comes a cry. "Ravenwood! I'm looking for an Amadeo Ravenwood!"

Amadeo turns, confused, and spots a bird soaring through the air. "Ravenwood! I'm looking for an Amadeo Ravenwood!" The voice comes from it again, and he blinks. "Is that...?" He looks closer and laughs, whistling and waving. "Maggie! Down here!"

The bird cocks its head toward him and dives, coming to a gradual hover before landing on his finger. It coos softly and nips him gently as he strokes it. "Hello, sweet girl. I haven't seen you in weeks!"

Black headed and breasted with a white lower body and shoulders, blue and white across its wings and a tail of brilliant sea green, the bird caws at him.

"I'm sorry, my friend. I've been working out of town." It caws again and holds one foot out, letting him take a rolled up slip of paper from its leg.

Anna's eyes seem to sparkle. "Soo pretty! What's its name?"

"Her name is Maggie. She's my mentor's messenger bird."

"What kinda name is 'Maggie'? Sounds like an old woman." Hope jests, and Amadeo chuckles as he undoes the paper.

"Maggie is short for magpie." He feels around in his pocket, pulling out a grape from lunch and holding it out to the bird. Maggie gives the fruit a sharp look and plucks it from his fingers in half a second. "Thank you for the letter." He strokes her feathers softly and watches her fly off before rolling out the paper, which expands to the size of a standard sheet of parchment.

"A letter? By bird? Who does that anymore?" Hope tilts her head.

"Hey, watch it now. Master Yuri is an old soul." He looks over the letter in silence. As his eyes move down it, his expression shifts from a smile to concern. His brow furrows, his teeth clench, and an uncharacteristic rage fills his eyes. After a couple of minutes, he pockets the letter. "I need to go home."

"You good?" Hope asks, concern building on her face as she lays a hand on his shoulder.

"No, I'm really not. I sent a letter to Master Yuri when I was still in Mysthaven. Just wanted to check up on my folks. They're not doing well. A few days ago, some ruffians came to the farm telling them to get out. Dad took a heavy beating and can barely stand up. The other hands scared em off, but they said they'll be back."

"Think it's that guy you mentioned, their former landlord?"

"I dunno. But if my family's being threatened, I'm sorry, but I can't stay here." He rushes into the guildhall. Hope eyes Tyrion and Anna, and they follow him.

Upstairs, Amadeo packs up his belongings. Hope steps in, looking over his frantic movements. "Alright, you heard him. Everyone grab your gear."

Amadeo turns to find the rest of the party getting prepped; Hope pulls her armor on and straps Valkyrie to her back. Anna looks from her staff to her rod, picking up the latter and setting it in a loop around her belt. Tyrion throws his hood up and checks the various pouches on his pack for his tools.

"What are you all doing?" The wizard asks incredulously.

Tyrion shrugs. "We're going to your hometown, right? It's a long journey, can't exactly leave my stuff laying around."

"Yeah, it'd be dumb of us to be on the road and get caught without a way to defend ourselves." Hope straps on her gauntlets and boots.

"I mean, this is clearly important to you, so that makes it important to us." Anna grins, hands on her hips like she's supposed to be wearing a cape with wind billowing around her.

"I had intended to do this alone. You've all got your own things to-"

"Oh no you don't!" Tyrion holds up a hand. "We all agreed we'd travel together until our demons were overcome. And if beating up some punks who bully common folk is one of the steps on that journey, then that's what we're gonna do."

"'One person can do little alone. But together, we can accomplish quite alot', isn't that right?" Anna high fives the halfling.

"You're not getting rid of us that easily, Mister Ravenwood." Hope folds her arms and smirks.

Amadeo stands dumbfounded, looking over each of their faces. Gentle Anna, wise Tyrion, protective Hope. A smile breaks and he sighs. "Alright, but I'm driving."

"Driving? We're getting another wagon?" Tyrion asks, and Amadeo nods.

"I'd like to get one and a couple of horses to pull it. We're gonna need to go fast, and I know how to drive a wagon. Two time Misery Circuit Derby champion, right here."

"Misery Circuit what now?" Hope laughs, slinging her pack over her shoulder.

"The Misery Circuit Derby. Every year, we run a race around the village, and whoever wins gets a prize."

"What's the prize?" Anna's eyes light up with excitement.

"...We're not gonna talk about that." Amadeo clears his throat. "I'll get our ride. Meet me by the south gate."

The sun rises high above as they set out. Two horses, one brown with white splotches and the other an auburn color, pull the wooden wagon. In front sits Amadeo, who fiddles with the reigns a bit. "With as fast as horses like these can go, we should be at Mysthaven by sundown. I'd like to get there as fast as possible, so we won't be stopping in town. It's at least three to four days on foot, so we should be there in two days."

"That's fine, lad. Family's an important thing, and any haste made now is less we have to make later." Tyrion sits back, the little bumps here and there jostling him somewhat.

Anna watches the world pass them by as the cart turns, heading west and up the hill. The sea soon passes from view as they crest the top of the rise and head south. The Ash Grove looms around them, much more pleasant to be around during the day compared to their last trip through.

The elf lays her head back, closing her eyes and just enjoying the warm breeze passing through the air, the sun shining gently down on her face. "So what's your family like?"

"Well, there's four of us. My mom Ruby, my dad Soren, and my little sister Kira. Mom and Dad run the farm with about ten other hands, and with Kira only being a couple of years younger than me, she's been learning how to handle the business."

"What about you? If you're older, shouldn't you be doing that instead?" Hope asks, looking up at the wizard from her position behind him, legs stretched out comfortably.

"I took up learning magic with Master Yuri. And given the circumstances behind my choice, my folks understood. Kira's got a better head for business anyway."

"Which leads me to ask what happened that made you decide to become a weaver." Tyrion changes his position, laying flat on his back.

Amadeo chuckles softly, snapping the reins. "Hope asked a similar question a few days ago about why I chose to study ghosts. They're the same reason. My hometown is haunted by one hell of an angry spirit. In life, her name was Mercy Warren."