#also i googled it and feeding people ashes is indeed illegal under modern law :relieved:

[ulircursed]

Amid all the gloom and doom, there have been rumours of a pop-up ice cream parlor come to lighten the mood. Trouble is, it’s a fairly exclusive set-up, and is never seen twice in the same place. Maybe you’ve been lucky enough to receive an invitation, or have a friend who can show you the way. The Ice Creamatory welcomes all who should find their way. But as you leave, delicious treat in hand, one of the letters on the sign falls, revealing the shop’s true name: The Ice Crematory - which begs the question: just what have you all actually been eating…? Better go stop the shopkeeper from running if you’d like to find out. [Grants Riding +1]

Andrei had attributed the ashy texture to the fact that the parlor had been set up in the secluded area behind the smithy, an assumption he is quickly learning had been made in too much good faith.

It started with the crash of a ceramic jar shattering on the ground, another clang, and then a few seconds later, a shrill scream. Already a few dozen paces away with ice cream in hand, Andrei turns, expecting an assault or altercation of some sort. Instead, the queue before the ice-cream cart had broken apart, mutterings quickly turning louder as fingers are pointed in the direction of the cart and its owner. Andrei thought he heard 'is that human??' and 'guess it's good nutrition...' amidst the flurry of noise.

Then there are more shrieks from the crowd as a horse neighs, and the owner cuts through on horseback, scattering the crowd and passing mere feet away from Andrei as he crashes down a side road.

What...? Stunned for a moment, he stands for a moment too long — long enough to capture the attention of the nearest customers. "Hey, you're from the monastery, aren't you? Do something about this!!" One of the villagers demands of Andrei suddenly. "I—" Caught off guard, Andrei finds himself at a loss for an accurate response. Not affirmative, perhaps, but at the same time, he couldn't quite deny his ties to the monastery at this point.

(It is the only place in the world he is still allowed to belong, is it not?)

The crowd doesn't give him time to answer, anyhow, pointing him in the direction that the owner had ridden off in. Setting his tainted ice cream down among the other discarded, Andrei turns away with nothing but a noise of vague acknowledgement, heading towards the direction the man had ridden off in.

Really, he had no obligation to do this. While it is appalling that the customers, himself included, had been fed... that (and why, he had no clue. it couldn't be about nutrition, that was absurd), it is also a crime that is difficult to prosecute, and that is if they manage to find the perpetrator at all. And considering the gathered people were so quick to shunt the duty off to the first monastery-affiliated individual they could find, it is likely none of them exactly held much hope for a resolution either.

The road ahead is nearly deserted when he turns onto the path leading towards the stables, save for one lone figure in a dark hood. In broad daylight as well... Odd, certainly. Could this be the owner himself, giving up the escape after just a short ride? Narrowing his eyes, Andrei approaches the figure, until he ends up close enough to reach out a hand, whirling him around—

"Wh— Knoll." Recognition colors Andrei's tone as the hooded man's identity becomes clear, one of his opponents from the 'game' of the month past. He quickly lets go of the other man's shoulder. "...Have you seen a dark-haired man on horseback riding through here?" he asks after an awkward silence. There is no harm in asking, and if he manages to complete the task thrusted upon him, perhaps it could be a show of good faith among the Knights...

(No, best not to think that far.)

@pryings

ashes to ashes