In Imnesvale, that night was peaceful, with no further trouble on any side. Unfortunately, that meant that any attempt to draw out the shadows had been unsuccessful. Even when Aerie had taken up a watch at the spot behind Minister Lloyd's house, mustering her small voice to shout and dancing about the cabin wall, neither wolf nor shadow had appeared. Perhaps the undead plaguing the village had been sated with taking Myrick's life, but regardless, the Company's theory on fighting the shadows spent the night untested.
Still, they got an early start the next morning, perhaps hoping to get to Merella's cabin before the mysterious stranger from last night did.
"Never hurts to know the lay of the land as a bit of insurance," Yoshimo had said, and Lidia had found wisdom in that.
With the day rising, some of the residents of Imnesvale had already arisen with it. Oftentimes, the tenday after Greengrass was regarded as the ideal time to do the spring cleaning, in the hopes that the warming days would dry the linens and the floors that much faster. The residents had a nice day for it, too, overcast but bright, as though the sun had veiled itself merely out of shyness.
The Company followed the road that led out of the village square, which turned and arced its way around the field that served as a cemetery. Only one man was there; Moreno was keeping a silent vigil among the dead, his tall frame making him seem like a silent statue among the oblong dirt mounds surrounding him.
Lidia asked the others to stop for a short delay and went over to him.
The man was standing at the end of a long row of unmarked graves, eight in all. The flowers from yesterday's Greengrass ceremony, which shone brilliant yellow even as their petals drooped, were scattered atop each one.
He looked as though he'd spent a sleepless night, his rough wool shirt smeared with dirt and sweat, and his large, callused hands layered with a thin sheen of sweat. He was silently pondering something in front of one grave in particular.
Lidia kept a respectful distance from him at first, until noticed and acknowledged her with a nod, and then she approached him, standing at his side in front of the second-to-last grave in the row.
After a long silence, he finally spoke. "These were all good people. Merill, Elly, Carver, Cora, Barrett, Leonard, Tristin, and now Myrick." He said the names slowly, gesturing down the line of graves. "All taken too soon."
"This is Tristin?" she asked. "At the Greengrass feast, there were many toasts to his name."
"Yes," he said, with a bit of pride. "Good kid. Never picked up a weapon before last fall. He took to wielding it like a duck to water. Had a stout arm, but the Sythillisians got him." His face fell. "Kedward, he…he was proud, though it's cold comfort to him. We'll pass the hat a few times, get some kind of memorial here."
He said nothing for a moment, until he said, as though to himself, "I should've headed north instead of staying here. But these folks…"
"You've been organizing them," she said.
"Aye," he said. "Got them in the mess, now to get them out."
Another long silence passed as she weighed what to say next. She decided that a bit of directness might be best. "Tell me about the Baron," she said.
"A puffed shirt who's muscled in where he don't belong, but there's naught else to tell," he said stiffly.
"Those fields near his manor," she said. "What happened to them?"
Moreno turned to her, slowly, with his eyes telling of extreme wariness. "What can I say? You're naught but a chit of a girl, but you're too bright to be one of the Baron's attack dogs. What are you and your people? Hired swords sent to kill us off?"
"I'm here on behalf of the Order of the Radiant Heart, and I was sent as a mediator."
"So you say," he said with a shrug, "but word has it they don't truck with magery."
"This assignment was mine," Lidia said, "and my friends are here to help me. As yours have done to keep Imnesvale together."
"We've no choice," he said. His voice became suddenly animated, the anger creeping in again. "The Baron's put us to it, trying to run us out."
"If that's the case, the Order's only been given half the story. When that meeting happens, I'll discuss it."
"By your leave, miss, discuss it all you like. We'll continue to fight. We will oust this pretender. Violent talk, but there is little left we can do."
She took her leave, his words weighing heavily in her mind long after she'd gone.
From there, Gorion's Company followed a wide trail that passed between a forest and the two cliffs near Imnesvale. After a couple of hours, the road and branched off: ahead was the main road, and off to the right, a thin dirt trail that almost disappeared into the woods. At the fork in the road, a thick oak stood and it carried a carved wooden plaque with a unicorn's head — the symbol of the forest goddess Mielikki. Below was an arrow pointing to the left, and this was the road they took.
The went half a mile down a thin trail that disappeared and reappeared in the woods, winding around fallen trees, through short, grassy undergrowth, and over a stream. Tucked behind a stand of ash trees, a cabin stood, protected by one of the cliff faces on one side. The cabin was hewn from stout logs, well-built and well-kept; unlike the ramshackle shacks that had dotted the landscape, all indications showed that someone had lived well there, at least until recently. This was Merella's place, and it looked as though the owner had never left.
At least, at a distance. A closer glance of the door revealed that it had been violently forced open.
The only resident of the grounds was a man sitting on a nearby tree stump, his strong, dark brown hands cleaning and repairing a section of mail. He was hunched over the piece, his black eyes intent on his work until the Company approached. Nearby, leaning against the cabin, was his weaponry: a sturdy bow and quiver, as well as an odd, gently-curving sword in a black sheath.
The man looked up, and he hailed them. Lidia immediately recognized the voice as belonging to the hooded man who had talked to her last night; the only difference was that he had traded his dark blue cloak for a brown-green one that allowed him to blend in the budding forest. But, she noticed, he kept a safe distance away until he'd gotten a good look at all of them.
He got to his feet, and at his full height he was nearly as tall as Minsc. The man approached them, bowed, and said, "As you said last night, introductions are past due," he said. "My name is Valygar Corthala. I was hiding near Imnesvale, but no longer, for the danger has become too great." He gestured to the house. "We can start here. It's a mess."