#rivervale_lodge

A pensive expression. "Mountain...."

"Yes?" He rumbles patiently.

"You remember that boggan from Firnost? Mr. Stodgepole?"

A frown and he puts down his glass. "Yes."

She notes the change in his expression. "You and the Chieftain, and even Mom...you've all sort of warned me to stay away from him. What's that all about?"

Torin raises a brow, curious.

Gerd also sits down.

Frank is still a long moment.

Very long.

"Where to start?" He muses, almost to himself. "He's... a dangerous man. He is not what he seems. He will do anything..... anything..... to achieve his goals. He is patient. He is ruthless."

She frowns. "And his goals...are bad?"

A telling silence before he says. "I now believe they are."

"At least.... his methods are. The end justifies the means."

Her brow furrows, and she looks at all of them before taking a breath and sighing. "I don't know. But.... he was there."

"Where?"

"At the Farmhold. Today." A tense look.

Frank sits forward. "Bill..... Stodgepole was at the DeBuke Farmhold today??" to clarify.

Gerd raises a brow "This is bad?"

Sylvi blinks at the Mountain, who rarely looks that intense. "Um...yes."

He sits back, thinking. "Do the DeBukes know?"

"I...think so? I mean, Spencer knows. He saw him. And he was visiting somebody...June Maude, I think? Caesar...you know CC's son?...is the dad of some of the babies on the way....so...that kind of makes Mr. Stodgepole their...I dunno...step-grandfather?"

"The DeBukes have pretty tight security." Torin tries to reassure Frank.

Frank looks.... stunned.

She blinks. "You...didn't know about the babies?"

Gerd says "I thought he knew too. "

"Three sisters...all pregnant...with Caesar as the dad." A little bit of a blush. "SallyMae probably knows more."

"The dad for -all- of them?!!?" Frank looks a little purple under his beard.

Torin's reaction is to make a toasting motion with his coffee

Frank clears his throat and takes a sip of cider, resetting.

"Y-yeahhhh..." Sylvi shifts away a bit.

Gerd says in a whisper to Sylvi "This is where he kicks you into a pit and yells 'madness, this is sparta' all because you were the messanger"

"And this Caesar is Miss CC's son." He is confirming the pieces. "The Satyr singer."

"Sounds like" Torin says "Is Caesar a bad fellow?"

"I don't know him."

"He's not a bad guy" Gerd says "I met him once. He's a wrestler, kind of famous.. pretty rich. He helps fae. Buys property and rents it cheap .He's the one who bought the apartment Etsie is at"

Frank massages his temples.

"Sorry, Mountain...but...I thought you should know."

Frank nods. "Yes. It is best I do. Thank you, Sylvi. Can you give me any more details?"

"Um." She pauses and thinks. "I...well, he seemed totally okay with talking with me. Like, he didn't seem like he was hiding. I don't know much more, though."

Frank nods. "Can I asked what you spoke about?"

She blinks, trying to recall. "Um...I don't really remember. I didn't want to talk much to him, really. I was...I mean, pretty much just what I told you, I think. About the babies. I don't really remember much else. He had a basket....?"

A thoughtful grunt.

"Want me to snop around? I can flash to Kansas City and nose about..." Gerd says

She looks at Torin: Should I not have said anything?

"No, absolutely not. I will talk to the Chieftess."

Torin looks reassuringly at Sylvi. he apparently thinks she did right.

The old man says "Sylvi has good instincts I think to bring this up. Better to learn now than during the birth of the babies in question."

She gives Torin a small, grateful grin.

Frank nods. "I'm glad to know about it, Sylvi, even if it does bring up more questions."

"Yessir, Mountain."