#carnival

She shakes her head to Bertrand. "It's okay. It's you. I didn't mind."

A grin of sympathy for Colton, and one of a bit of embarrassment for Zane.

They move on and... then, the mirror betrays them all!

Well, okay, that's a bit dramatic, but as they enter another patch of snowy hill country, they find their target, on one hill....a lantern, dented and leaking balefire, the snow withdrawing frm it... and the half eaten corpse

The deceased figure wears the colors of last year's firebrand. The Imbolc of 2017, some fire never made it. And something led the firebrand astray, and tore her apart.

but the fire lingers.

"Oh...oh, that's why." It's an ugly revelation.

"Oh geezfurk, I feel bad now" Betrand says, squaring his jaw, "But Mister Stodgepole said that a balefire is priceless...and if that's going to go out by Imbolc, we can't leave it there even if it is off the silver. " He takes a deep breath, "No reason to risk the rest of you. I can get it."

"Whatever killed him...it's probably still here." She frowns and looks around.

"After nearly a year?" Kelby draws her weapon and looks about

"Bertrand, wait..."

"If it's territorial, yeah."

the Nocker pauses "Well, don't you think I ought to run out and get it fast then?"

"No...no, I don't."

"Okay...we need to get the lamp and the body to us."

Bertrand scowls, "Well do you have an idea? Because I don't have enough skill to use a cantrip on pure balefire"

She sighs. "No...I don't. I don't think any of us do."

"Maybe now's the time to form a chain...."

"I'll go the furthest out" Bertrand says "I was the one who suggested this. Biggest risk should be mine"

Colton frowns "Wow, does that go against my troll vibes."

"I'll be right behind you. Colton, you'll anchor us, with Zane next out? Kelby, you're in the middle."

"Yeah, I know, Colton...but he also gets to claim the bale that way. I'll be right there if he needs help.

"

they form the chain, and Betrand makes his way towards it, step by step as the chain unwinds. And Bertrand steps towards the corpse, grabs the lantern.... and the half eaten corpse rises. Flickers of green in it's eyes, that green, balefire burning in a now hollowed out skull.

"Oh sweet Bacchus' butthole, it's the Baleful dead!" Zane cries out

Sylvi grabs Bertrand back quickly, and actually tosses him and the balefire back towards the Silver, then starts backing away herself, her blade in her hand.

It clambers forward after the departing nocker. And then it steps onto the silver! Sylvi realizes there's some of the corpse in the lantern... by pulling it to the silver, they have 'invited it'..all of it! So as it grabs The nocker's arm and starts to squeeze, it doesn't seem hindered.

"No!" She yells and lunges at it, stabbing the body repeatedly with her blade.

the Chimerical blade cuts sharp and deep, but the corpse has nothing 'vital' anymore, not liver, not heart...the other trolls join in trying to hack it to bit. It does lose it's grip on the Nocker's arm

"Get it off the Silver!" As soon as it lets go of Bertrand, she gives it the hardest side kick that she can.

A wave of heat surges out from it as it is kicked. And The three trolls are blown back by the pressure of it.

And Sylvi's pants leg is actually on fire!

She grits her teeth and tries to stifle the flame by rolling onto it.

Zane stabs at it, "Don't tread on us! Workers of the world Unite! Liberté, égalité, fraternité!" His glass dagger goes wild.

What he lacks in skill he's making up for in enthusiasm

Colton's glass arm is glowing, but he seems to feel less pain from the heat, and brings his weapon down on the shoulder blade of the corpse. There's snapping sounds

Kelby helps put out the fire on Sylvi.

As soon as the fire is out, she gets to her feet and attacks again, her blade slashing against the thing.

"It will KEEL" Betrand calls out, using glamour on the blade she wields ...and using the words on it as a bunk! The decapitation surprises Sylvi, but yes. The skull lands onto the silver...and the rest of the body separated from it is easily kicked away and off the silver by Kelby's foot.

"Don't kick the head away" Flopsy declares

Sylvi's startled by the highly effective cut, but grateful for it as well, and she gives Bertrand a smile and a salute as she sheathes it. Then she crouches down next to the skull, not touching it, but looking at it. "How's the lantern?"

"Got it, it's safe. But... wow" He says staring at the skull.//Sylvi can see why. Theres bale fire in the skull. Morbid as it is, it would appear not all the flame stayed in the lantern that was partially broken, some leaked onto the corpse of its carrier. And now the green flames dance in eye sockets.

"It's...what do we do? Can we get it back in the lantern?"

Then she frowns. "I should Whisper it."

"The skull, I mean."

Bertrand eyes it, looks at his lantern "The Lantern don't seem hurt just because's only got half.. or maybe 2/3rd."

"Morbid" Zane says in a sing song voice at the idea of willowhispering a skull

"We've got to know who it was, so we can tell his people, or her people." A frown. "I don't know what it'll do to Whisper the skull while it's still got the bale in it. Well...I guess we'll find out..." She pauses, thinking.

She murmurs quietly, "I'm frightened by what I see / But somehow I know / That there's much more to come / Immobilized by my fear...."

((Sylvi rolls 4 dice to Willow Whisper 7,7,8,4 [3 successes]))