#bergen_county

Symon , being a sluagh, knows a LOT about the Assassins... he sure as hell knows about the explosion, even the sluagh who weren't near it got ringing ears for a minute or two, thunderstorms and explosions? NOT QUIET

Gerd and that pup squire handled the bomb. Good. But he hears that Dagmar tangled with their redcap. And the one thing he cannot learn is.. is she hurt?

He'll have to check on her to be sure it seems

Dagmar herself is planted in the healer's tent - a dent in her armor - and keeping an eye on the sleeping dog.

Symon does NOT hustle, nor bustle. He's not some boggan. But he does saunter up at a faster than usual pace. A glare up at Dagmar through the greasy hair that hangs over his face. "What was it NOW?" He demands, insomuch as a whisper is able to?"

Did the Thane see the symbol of the Pillar of the Mountain on Symon? or did he not see Symon at all? Either way, Symon gets into that tent without a mention to ask his question of Dagmar

"A big hoopla. Some... what's it.. Ranters? They tried to kill the Count - and Kerri, too, as collateral damage."

"Somehow, god help me, Gerd & Connor stopped it."

He scowls. "Yeah. I've heard of them. Noble-hating rebels. 'The fish rots from the head' sorts. Kerri could have been a target too, you know. Not as high value as the Count, but she's a member of the new commoner nobility and that's not exactly their favorite either, from what I've picked up."

Grunt.

"They didn't give a shit who they hurt."

"And that cap threatened Connor."

"How the hell did Sabrina and scrappy doo get caught up in this?"

His eyes widen at that last. "Is it still in one piece?" The redcap.

"Gerd stumbled on them, and Connor found her... after they had her all tied up." A brief smile. "He saved her. He's a hell of a kiddo."

"Unfortunately." Snort. "Vali froze her and hauled her off."

"You know, if she accidently gets broken when frozen, it's not your fault if she bleeds out when thawed." Reasonable.

"Oh, tempting."

"Connor's my squire, right? I took an oath."

"That means you get to hulk out in his defense, right?" He looks a little disappointed. "I'm sorry I missed it. I was talking to this Nocker who runs a Warhammer 40k campaign and suddenly my head was ringing..."

A wince. "Oh, yeah, I bet that shit was painful loud for you."

"I'm not sure I entirely understand how the magic storm happened."

"Wasn't that part of the plan? Makes sense, explode your incendiary, but you still gotta be close enough to verify that the target was nixed. Then the storm to cover your escape." It makes sense to HIM.

"Dunno. Could be."

"And they would have gotten away with it too... if it wasn't for those meddling kids. I keep sayin, that's gotta be a Motley name."

"Ha! Well, Gerd, Jack, Lily and Connor are kind of a set..."

"Gerd's in a kind of tough space, between the kids and us, y'know?"

"Careful, I don't know how well Gerd would like to be grouped with the... yeah, that." Nods, they're on the same page.

"You didn't get hurt though?" He eyes her over. "They'd better be footing the bill for any healing."

"Bitch dented my armor." Grumble.

"I hope she chipped a tooth."

"Should have dented her head." A grins.

"I knocked her a good one."

"good." He glances over at Gerd and pup. "And I thought it was going to be boring this year."

"Well, samhain seems more your style than pennons." A pause. "I'm sorry Nadeen was being a bitch earlier."

"She's off flirting with that Ailil now."

He starts to respond, then blinks at that. And has to roll back a little. "I was gonna say... don't worry about it. I thought about it and... I guess... it's kinda okay. Like, at least she's being authentic. It's better than a false smile hiding how she feels. Animosity I can take. Better than acting like a phony."

"...but, uh. Aren't you two, like, a thing?"

Shrug.

"She needs a freehold, yeah?"

"And Calanthe bugs me way more than Aiden."

He frowns. "And you're OK with her cozying up to some random fuck with a title and a fire? He's AILIL. They're like, supposed to be political masterminds. What if she's getting played? More... it sounds like you're the one getting played." A scowl. "So her plan is- what, she gets a barony and you get to be a side-piece?"

Shrug.

She chews on a hangnail. "Ain't like.. dunno.. ain't like we're married, right? I don't even think I want to be that."

"But it just seems... you know, shitty to you." He shrugs. "Maybe I just don't get it because I have that, dunno, loner mentality. But it damn well doesn't seem RIGHT." Thoughtful. "You should ask Kerri. She's knows this shit."

"I dunno."

"You matter. As yourself, and not just as a... an accessory. If it's to Nadeen or anyone." He scowls, and looks away, a bit embarrassed.

"I mean, I like Nadeen. She's got to sort of work around what she is - like, Dirk is gonna be a redcap, and she's gonna be a Varich, and, like, I turned out a HUGE square..."

"And, like, if we were a thing before... " Brow furrow. "Doesn't that mean we gotta, like... I dunno."

"If you like her and you're having fun or whatever, then yeah, fine... but if you're getting stepped on on her way to the top?" His eyes narrow a bit. "Don't let anyone treat you like that. Even if they don't "mean to". I don't care what tie you had in the past."

And he reaches out to jab at her with a pointy fingertip. "You ain't a square. You're a bone-crushing Hulk with Thor's hammer and Hawkeye's humor but without the bit where he's kinda a douche."