Savil shudders. "Ugh. I hoped it'd look better than I remembered. I don't know why I thought it might." 

:Because it's been ...months? And things get better with time?:

When she's finished the lullaby she starts in on Ain't Misbehavin'.

Savil scowls at the damaged keep. :I need to go in there and talk to someone: She doesn't move, though. 

It turns out she doesn't have to. A woman steps out onto a rebuilt front porch; the wood shines crisp and new and strangely out of place with the rest. "...Herald?" She marches toward them, hand on her hip, and it turns out that she's even younger than she looked at first glance, maybe twenty-one. "Herald-Mage Savil, is that you?" 

:Stay back: Savil sends to Lucy. Hopefully Vanissa Frelennye, Lady Holder, isn't going to object to Wilbur's unusual height any more than the farmers or innkeeper did. 

Lucy not only stays back, she skitters away far enough that the woman can't hear her singing, while still being close enough that her above-human hearing can eavesdrop on said woman's conversation with Savil. 

"It's me," Savil says, slipping down from the saddle and walking over. "I came to speak to you about," she hesitates, fidgets with her sleeve, "er, it's kind of an awkward question, but - I need to go have a look at the area where your cousin died. Tylendel, I mean," as if that wasn't obvious. "I'm doing some research on how a Final Strike works, and, um, it's very important that I go and look at what's left out there." 

(She's rather proud of that tale. It sounds vaguely plausible even to her. Vanissa doesn't know anything about magic, she shouldn't have any reason to object.) 

The stranger stops. "Huh." She doesn't seem upset, though, just curious. "How fascinating. Um, if it's relevant at all, we did try to bury some of the remains?" 

Oh that is good to know. Visions of vaguely occult chemistry setups dance in her head. 

"What?" Savil says, going still.

Vanissa shakes her head. "I mean, there wasn't much left or anything. But - I mean, it's kind of silly, really, but I went out the next day, as soon as it'd cooled down enough, and I found the closest part to the middle, and I scraped up all the ashes I could find until I had an urn full, and we buried that. Is that helpful?" 

Savil wouldn't know. :Lucy, is it?: she sends. 

:Very!:

"Yes. It is." Her voice is a bit choked. "Some of my, um, traveling-companions are further back – we can camp, but would you have room to put us up?" Surely Lucy can't stay invisible with Vanyel hidden in her tentacles forever. At the very least, he needs to eat at some point. 

:Hey, Vanyel, no specifics, but we got some good news.:

:Oh. That's good: He probably doesn't want to know the specifics. :Um. I don't really want to go out there: he's assuming they've reached the keep and– no don't think about it, :but I am going to have to use the privy at some point: 

:Ohhhhhh yeah that is a thing normal people have to do. I can run back a ways and put you down and run back here when you're done?:

:Um how far would you have to go before it looks - not like the thing happened?: It's been smelling burnt for a while now. He grits his teeth. :This is really stupid. I can't hide the whole time. I should just try to get it over with: 

:I doooooooon't think trauma works that way. Uh, a ways, but it's not that far at speed.:

:All right you can do that: It might be stupid but he also really doesn't want to un-hide yet. :What about when I need to eat?:

:I think I smelled some blackberries.:

Blackberries aren't really a meal but then again it's not like he's very hungry either. :All right: 

She reaches a part of the forest that has not been obviously touched by fire if you are a human, puts Vanyel down, and goes haring off for blackberries. And other edibles if she identifies any. Not mushrooms, though, she can't reliably tell the human-edible ones apart from the ones that are only safe for her consumption. 

Vanyel relieves himself, and then sits on a fallen log and hugs himself and tries to think about literally anything other than the current mission. And wishes Yfandes was there. 

Lucy returns. 

:Blackberries! And some wild raspberries, too, I dunno about you but I love those. Uh, not that you should save any for me, I'm not hungry, I can eat lotsa stuff humans can't.: