"i'd be interested in meeting this witch." Griff say's with interest. "Im use to bad rumours and gossip."

He'll glance at Ludwig. "Anyways, the deal sounds good to me. We can pitch someone in to help and make sure you get a decent lunch. In exchange the bridge gets fixed!"

'Sounds good,' Kaspar nods. 'We'll be here once you settled things with Gitte and the council. In the meantime, if you want to see Agatha, just follow the path east. I'm sure you'll be underwhelmed when you find she's actually a good sort.'

'By the way,' Ingo pops up, 'us fellas are going to the lake this evening, along with some people from the village. You're welcome to join. There's be ale!' he says, knowingly winking at you. 'Just don't tell anyone who's older than you, especially the Bundels or worse, your folks.'

After you say your goodbyes, you follow the road leading up to where Agatha supposedly lives. After following the winding road through the forest, you finally come across a clearing filled with knee-high grass and flowers of various colours, pink and blue and red. A rickety hut stands in the middle of the clearing, made of old wooden beams and topped with a thatched room. You don't see anybody else at the moment...

"Helloooo out there!" he calls out, wandering vaguely towards the door.

"Hope she's still not around, and not... hiding right behind you Ludwgi!" He practically shouts at his brother in alarm. "Ha, no. Appears she's not there after all."

'Oh, but she is.'

The creaking, raspy voice not five inches behind Griff sends a shiver down his spine. As you turn around, you see what your brother has been staring at- a short, wizened old woman woman, with eyes dark as the black mud you waded through on your way here and dirty grey hair, unkempt and wild. Her wrinkled face seems almost leathery in texture and her breath almost makes Griff keel over.

She is wearing a brown dress underneath a white apron, which is stained brown, black, green and red. Looking at you from undeneath thick eyebrows, she squints with one eye while the other is open wide.

'Outsiders, eh? What do you want?' she cackles, while moving past you, a basket filled with odorous herbs and mushrooms in her arms. 'Want to turn someone in a frog, or make a girl fall in love with you? Can't do either, but that seems to be what your kind keeps bothering me for.'

(Can I identify any of the fungi or herbs in the basket as she walks past? Curious if she's gathering edible mushrooms or the other types, but mushroom identification like this would be pretty difficult so it's more like, do I notice that she's got a bunch of ones that look like psilocybin or poison mushrooms or others. Same thing with the stains on her smock, can I tell if the stains are ones that are old and layerd or is she actually someone who takes care of her clothes but they're stained because that's what happens when you work in the garden or alchemy lab and they're stains that have tried to have been cleaned but defy soap, if you know what I mean.)

"I wouldn't think that the town would suffer you to live here if you could turn people into frogs...or the town would be full of frogs and you." Ludwig chuckles at what he thinks is wit, "But we're not here for any black magics."

Griff does his absolute best to not jump and/or wet himself. Wasn't expecting that!?

"We also just spoke to Kaspar, who spoke most highly of you!" He add's rallying somewhat. "We just wanted to meet some of the locals while we were around, and thought we'd start out here."

"Way, way out here."

While Ludwig is no expert on herbology, he knows enough about common plants to recognize a few of the herbs and mushrooms in Agatha's basket. None of them seem dangerous- in fact, folk wisdom dictates some of them are cures for common ailments such as the flu. None of them are known for being very tasty, though.

As for the stains on Agatha's clothes, they seem to be both old and new. On the whole, the woman does not give you the impression of being overly concerned with cleanliness, and the stains are likely caused by her job's demand to crawl about in the mud and undergrowth.

'Well, you are certainly brave,' she cackles, gesturing for you to follow her inside. When you step through the door of her cabin, the pungent musk of a hundred different herbs and animal parts, in various states of freshness, almost makes you gag.

'I am Agatha Krutweit,' she introduces herself, not bothering to extend her hand. 'I'm sure the townspeople have told you all about how I butcher animals at night, and dance naked in the light of Morrslieb. All hokey, of course- no dancing with these old and tired bones,' she says. 'Oh, but they are quick to forget their fears and superstitions when old Nieglen comes a'knocking. Then, they are at my doors, begging for salves and ointments to cure their rashes, poxes and worse.'

She sighs. 'Its a lonely life, but a fulfilling one, holding back the sickness. No doubt the town would be dead thrice over if not for me.'


[OoC: one matching result on the Brains test to identify the mushrooms, two matching results on the Brains test to identify the stains.]

"I can imagine that." Griff replies honestly. "Although Kaspar and his friends certainly seem to respect you for it."

He'll wander around, peering at the herbs and whatnot just to get an idea of what's going on. "With a task like yours you must hear plenty of things from the townsfolk one way or another. My brothers and I are up visiting family, and it seems things are a bit more... tense then we expected."

He pauses and seems to remember he hasn't introduced himself yet.

"Griff Altbreit, at your service maam."