Ann moves to stand in front of Rowan's door, allowing Enya to see her, whether she was aware of the cat or not. She planned to go back towards the town, find the others, and learn of the new things they discovered while she was gone. Alas, right now, what she was going to do was stay in front of Rowan's door, allowing the wizard to keep her privacy while ensuring the request was followed. Following this duty was important, and it's not like the next day wouldn't have her back in Amphail proper either way.

All right, so If everyone has done what they'd like to do tonight, I think we can say everyone eventually heads to bed. And, with the partial XP from driving off the red cloaks during the second fight today, you all level up to level 2 at the end of your long rest!!!! Congratulations! By my calculations, you should all have 325 XP.

What does leveling up look like for each character?  Describe what this feels like to you.  You can share as much or as little as you want about the mechanical changes. What I want to know is the impact today has had on your character, and why it equips them to better face future challenges. 

Vedui will return to his room above the Mortuary after a quick check in on the corpse and any work that needs to be done, and will sit in meditation.  While his thoughts turn to death, and indeed the death he has seen, they also turn personal.  In particular on his failure.  He tried to fight his way through, when in fact, there were other options available.  He re-enacts himself in the same situation, and replays other options in his mind, and comes a realization...defense....running....all things he can do.  He was trained for this, and just needs to use it.  This will allow him to choose his next moment more carefully.  Perhaps he has been out of practice too long, not having been keeping up in training and having avoided fighting since he began to run.  His enemy is close now, and he will be ready.

NOTE:  Monk's get a power buff at this point, the ability to use Ki for patient defense and step of the wind (as well as flurry of blows), which would likely have allowed him to make his attacks and still run away in the last encounter.  I just imagine he could always do it but was unfocused or out of practice....

Light spills out from under Rowan's door long past dusk as she throws herself into her research to distract herself from the day's events. The whirlwind of papers around her only grows larger, and at a certain point she summons Enya back in to help grab books, pages of notes, and components when she needs them. She quickly finishes one of the spells she had been perfecting for some time, and makes progress towards a couple others. But, before she can get too far with any of them, she realizes she's uncertain about what might happen in the days to come, and that she might need something a bit more offensive. There isn't much she can practice in the confines of her room, but by the end of the night she thinks she has something worked out. She falls asleep exhausted with two new pages in her spellbook filled with neat runes and script.

Bryn heads to his room ready to sleep after the days events. As he falls asleep he things about the connection between the couple in the woods, the red cloaks, and the cursed flute. Morning comes and he wakes up feeling refreshed ready to meet with Sir Henry and to visit the couple's house in the forest. Flexing his arms, they feel steadier to him (Archery specialization, +2 to hit) though he dismisses it as just getting a much needed good night's sleep. Bryn washes up, dresses, gathers his things together and heads down to the dining area to have breakfast.

During the rest of the day until nighttime, Ann stands mostly still. Things from high to low in that day dissatisfied her. Her own performance in the fights could've seen some improvement, the fact that the rats caused utter chaos in the city with nothing to stop them but adventurers who were in the right spot at the right time and the conversation leading up to her standing there. She was not doing this as subservience to her master, or whatever others may assume. Being here was not a problem for her, and it'd also give a good reputation to her family. That's all she needed.

The day continues, the sun sets down, and Ann is still there. The people of the house go to sleep, but the knight remains stoic. It's only an hour after that when she leaves and heads back to her quarters. Tired but still determined, Ann practices inside the room. She'd gotten a lot of training before, but there were things she only learned after having to fight enemies who genuinely intended harm. She needed to be faster, more agile, even if it's just a burst of energy to finish off a tired enemy, or anything really. So, she keeps on training that, until the point in which she knows the next stab will drop her unconscious out of tiredness, so she drops into bed instead.

Jormund

Heading to a room at the inn, Jormund begins to do his "walk the mail with the Forge-father" ritual. Reflecting on each link of the chain that came into his view today...

He sees in his minds-eye the links of good, solid steel:

... the restoration of order to the town... beings he's met who seem forged to help in the cause: Jared, Bryn, Ann, Quinry, Rowan, Vedui, Harry, Enya the cat, the brethren of Pelor, Argenti... the brewer of Deepdelver's draft... the uses of silver... the fruits that grow in the top-land... dawn... night... forge fire...

He sees thin links and rusted iron bands that hide weakness or cause rends in the mail:

... the red cloaks... rats... disease... the Fish who got away... the cult behind them... the slow & poor protection of the town of Amphail's citizens compared to a dwarven hold... a culture where wizard-tendencies must be self-taught or hidden... the death of a friendly couple who didn't deserve it... top-lander street-planning... rust... distemper...

He see areas of the mail-of-life where the strength of the metal is untested:

... his own bounty-mission to bring Fish to justice... the future plans of the red cloaks... Amphail's town guards... his own metal & hammer... the molten of life... the cast of tool... the anvil where the truth will be found

His day ends in his modest but private room at the inn with his shield set upright in front of the fire, as a sort of focus of meditation. His mail has held.

Jormund is up at dawn "preparing his fire for forgin'." He'll be in the common room at Boris' until it's time to take Harry to Pelor or go and breakfast with Sir Henry, whichever comes first.

Great, so where would everyone like to go first in the morning?

After breakfast, if no one has joined him at the tavern dining room, Bryn will head to the Mortuary.

Quote from Zalmanni >>

After breakfast, if no one has joined him at the tavern dining room, Bryn will head to the Mortuary.

 You see Jormund taking his breakfast in the common space as you come down from your room in the morning. Do you talk to him, or head out on your own?

Vedui will leave the mortuary to head to the tavern looking for Jormund and Bryn before heading off to meet with Sir Henry.

Before he leaves he will check in with his boss at the mortuary....

Quote from Naveyman >>

Quote from Zalmanni >>

After breakfast, if no one has joined him at the tavern dining room, Bryn will head to the Mortuary.

 You see Jormund taking his breakfast in the common space as you come down from your room in the morning. Do you talk to him, or head out on your own?

 I join him and we go over yesterday's events filling each other in on any blanks that we have as a result of the party splitting up in town.

As soon as Rowan wakes up, she tries to locate Ann and avoid her mother at all costs. If possible and if Ann agrees, she'll get out of the house as quickly as possible and head to the location Sir Henry said they would meet that morning.

Ann, with plans of later finding Melina to see that her duties are done, goes to Rowan's room first, to check on her charge from the other day. Only to be caught on her way there by the one she was looking for.

OOC: I'd like to talk this out, in, hopefully, a hidden spot, but I want to confirm the logistics that'd make this possible so I know what I'm describing.

Quote from Pertuie >>

Ann, with plans of later finding Melina to see that her duties are done, goes to Rowan's room first, to check on her charge from the other day. Only to be caught on her way there by the one she was looking for.

OOC: I'd like to talk this out, in, hopefully, a hidden spot, but I want to confirm the logistics that'd make this possible so I know what I'm describing.

 Can Ann and Rowan both roll stealth checks for me?

Ann's Stealth Check: 18

Jormund 

Quote from Zalmanni >>

I join him and we go over yesterday's events filling each other in on any blanks that we have as a result of the party splitting up in town.

"Oh! Ye say they had Vedui... and were makin' away with 'im? Were there 3 or 4? Had 3 on me, plus the rat one. Ah... well, at least I ken ye weren't all just fallin' for their distraction. They had us on two fronts."

"We're gonna need to plan our next encounter with them vermin. They've done too much plannin' and we too little."

As soon as Vedui arrives, Jormund will be ready to go meet Sir Harry.

Rowan Stealth Check: 6

Rowan and Ann, you stumble into each other sneaking around the courtyard towards each other's quarters. No one appears to notice you two.