Gerald tried to lean away from Isma as his cheeks were aggressively smooshed.  His puckered lips made him look like a very toothy koi. "I nof yeilfing." His lips waggled in rebellion to the unwanted touch.  As soon as Isma's touch loosed, he used his arm to brush away the appendage and stumble back a half step.<br/><br/>"Excuse me for being skeptical of a witch being part of your party. From what I understand, they have a long history of illegally using magic and blowing people up. Your point, though uncomfortably delivered, is valid to some extent." He grumbled, turning his ire filled gaze towards Isma and offering Yulia a more respectful and neutral appraisal. "Ms... Uh... Yulia, correct? You are a part of the team, just as the rest of us. Despite the known risks of hedge magic, the people of this valley need all they help they can get."<br/><br/>"Jester, next time you have a point to make, talking to me directly is more appreciated than unwanted physical contact." He said, shooting the jester a glare.<br/><br/>He looked flustered at Yulia's winning smile and a batted eyelashes. Gerald looked away pretty woman, not sure how to respond.  Instead he focused on Seras' commentary and question.  "If you are skeptical of Telweather's morality, I can assure you that he isn't a cheat.  I've known him for a while and myself and the villagers don't find him lacking.  Though he wasn't always the Elder, that's a more recent development.  He's a stand-in until a new Elder is decided during at the Winter Festival."<br/><br/>Gerald cracked the first smile the group had seen and snirked at Seras' joke.  "That... Might be a fair prediction now that you point it out.  There does seem to be a bit of unwritten history in the town about large dogs."<br/><br/>"As for your concern about making a base camp, I can ask around the locals to find a space you can occupy for cheap or free. The inn does start to bite into funds after a while and won't facilitate a large number of people if it exceeds capacity.  Do you want my help with the dog, or should I look into this for you?"<br/><br/>Gerald canted his head to the side, causing locks of silver to cascade down his robe's shoulders. A hand lifted to stroke his chin while he contemplated the sky.  "She's a fine smith, you shouldn't be wanting unless you want something fancy.  Don't expect them to be selling full plate mail, but the rest you might find there or in the market in the center of town."<br/><br/>Distraction and flushed cheeks returned as Vafi approached and offered her own apology. "I-it's fine, the Jester wasn't wrong." He explained, too timid to look at her, afraid he'd end up staring or worse, embarrassing himself in front of her.  He combed back his hair with one hand and flashed a confident grin, at least as much of one as he could manage in front of a gorgeous knight. "I need to work harder to get along with the team."<br/><br/><hr/><br/><strong>Seras gets to go shopping!  She's able to buy anything a decent sized town would allow.  She's able to find the "essentials" she's looking for.<br/><br/>Yulia is able to prepare her spells! If Seras wants to "help" (whatever that might look like), then roll (roll+bond) to maybe give a hand in an unexpected way.<br/><br/>Seras (and the group if they have opinions) can tell Gerald if to go secure some kind of base, or help with animal control.</strong><br/><br/><hr/><br/>The graveyard a mossy stretch of hill next to the village, cloaked in a dying morning fog.  The green hill rolled up to an almost scenic view of the village, if you weren't aware of the large amount of dead people behind you.<br/><br/>The graves are dug with little plan or reason of location.  Haphazard and lacking any vision would be a kind way of describing it.  Most graves were unmarked except for the excess of grass growing in spots.  Some had more thought put into the grave plots; some had large stones to mark the head and even some were decorated with armature carved pictures of animals and people, sometimes names were found for the more literate people left behind.<br/><br/>A few Celtic Crosses marked some of the more prestigious tombs, those were in a line.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><strong>No dog here it seems. If you want to look around for a dog, then roll Discern Realities.</strong>