Thankfully Caler Myrfddin’s emissaries came to Tancourt with their own hoods. Rain dripping past their eyes, running down their horns, as they tried to figure out who was in charge. One can imagine that one of their number called over to a peasant who had seemingly been flutily digging a trench in the mud. The peasant would’ve been dressed in leather, pig’s skin, their hood large over their tallow colored blanched face. The emissary would’ve asked, where is your lord? Where is the King? And, wonder what they would’ve thought when the peasant replied that he just worked for a Tanner. They all just worked for Tanners. Then who to invite to the Feast? Oh, no need to worry about that, the peasant would’ve replied. Being seen in Tancourt, the rumors and hearsay would spread like a flu. The gossip spreaders who mattered would come to the feast, because the feast will have to be reported on, and they were all afraid of missing out. Even if they weren’t Hissfell herself, they will need to pretend they might be if they ever wanted to take the front page. One imagines that the emissary was incredibly confused and disgusted. What was this place? It wasn’t madness, it was just grimy.
By the time they would make it back to their dinghy, they would find that the peasant spoke true. The rumors had brought a veritable who-is-who of Tancourt to wait for them. These personages did not seem more impressive than the peasant. They were dressed in waxed leather, and if the stitching was tighter, more elaborate, or the wax finer or the leather skin and hoods were made of more expensive heifer – who except those that live in the mud would notice? Instead, wealth and importance could maybe ascertained by the company’s weight. Not all of them were morbid, but one could easily see who was well-fed.
Regardless, the full cast of those who would journey towards Caler Myrfddin was:
Tanner Finchley and Matron Finchley.
And their Daughter Arabella Finchley
Tanner Hound and Matron Hound
Widow Strikesink
And her hated brother-in-law Tanner Strikesink
Tanner Dampwood
And his husband Gene Dampwood
Reginald Pemshatter
And his mistress Matron Pemshatter
Matilda Pidgeonsbriar
Apothecarist Victor Blandheath
Sunpointer Truth Bash