[WFRP] The Waters of Life

[TheSummoner]

Feeling the shift in the winds of magic, Lothar glances at the boy for a moment, but does nothing to respond. Is he trying to get himself killed?

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Lothar isn't standing with the rest of the group. He actually started to go the opposite way once he saw you drawing the crowd's attention.

[BlueMagnusStorm]

Siegfried keeping a close eye on the crowd draws his axe readies himself for trouble before speaking "I think you all better do as he says. Where I have the skills to save life, Heinrich's an expert at taking it away."

[Thragka]

Lothar's oath drew another odd look from the closest peasant, but the crowd's attention was on Heinrich's massive blade. There was a pause, and the nearest villagers drew back from the pit fighter, sending a small ripple through the crowd.

Émilie had a shocked look on her face at Valerie's revelation, and the anger drained from her eyes. Simon couldn't understand her reaction; as far as he could tell, she seemed honestly confused by what had just happened.

"She admits it ..." the priestess said, but the conviction was gone from her voice. Edgard stepped up to her.

"She admits to bein' what she said - a magister." The word was unfamiliar to him, and his Breton accent stumbled over the Reikspiel syllables, but the elder was in control of the situation now. He spoke to Émilie calmly but firmly. "She's from the east. She didn't run away from the fey, she did what her people do with their magical types. She's no witch, and she's done nothing wrong."

Edgard stepped away from the priestess, turned around to the other villagers.

"And the lot of you better get back to work!" he scolded. "You listen to me, now. I'll can't be having with this talk of witches. I'll not abide going around scaring honest folk over children's tales of things that go bump in the night. Émilie was wrong, for once. Weren't you?" He raised an eyebrow at the priestess. For a moment she looked as if she was going to get angry once again, but then she nodded.

"I was, thank the Maiden," she said.

"There. Now off you all go," said the elder. Not everyone seemed happy with this turn of events, but the mood had cooled down, and most of the villagers turned and went about their business elsewhere.

"I didn't know you were a wi- wizard," Abel said carefully to Valerie. His hand had not moved from his sword. But before he got a response, Edgard had deftly stepped from the priestess over to the group.

"Sir Abel," he said with a quick bobbing motion that probably would have resembled a bow if his spine had been fifty years younger. "Monsieur l'apothecaire Siegfried. And the man with the very large sword, whose name I do not recall. I think you are here to help find Jean? And mam'selle Not A Witch, I think perhaps you should come with me too." He waved across the bridge; by the nearest pig-pen, Siegfried and Heinrich recognised Luc and Claude from last night, and pacing restlessly by their feet were a pair of squat dogs. Small, but sleek (if dirty), these mongrels were no noble's hunting hounds, but they still looked like they'd be good at tracking through the forest's tangled undergrowth.

Heinrich might have been about to disappoint the elder, but before he did, a strangled shout from behind caught the group's attention. Two dirty and exhausted-looking men had just entered the village from the east with one dirty and exhausted-looking horse. Their clothing would have marked them as young nobles, if it did not look like they'd spent the night being chased through the Forest of Ardens. On second glance, only the man on foot leading the horse by the reins looked dirty and exhausted; the man in the saddle was as pale as a ghost, and as he wobbled from side to side only the fact that he opened his eyes when his companion had yelled for attention marked him as a member of the living - for now.

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Sir Hector's here!

[TheSummoner]

Lothar brushed away the dust from his fall and made sure his things were in order. His hat had been knocked off (and by the looks of it, stepped on), but otherwise things were as they should be.

Too much excitement already. I'll not be staying here long. He pitied the girl. Perhaps she did have the benefits of proper college training, but that would be little help when the villagers' blood began to boil again. He didn't fancy his own odds of surviving much longer than her if he stuck around. While he thought he might be able to hide his accent, his vocabulary was far too limited to pass off as a native Brettonian.

The shout drew Lothar out of his thoughts. He turned to watch the new arrivals.

[Perius]

"Hang on, Gui," Hector murmurs, patting the man's lower leg. He's exhausted, but a quick glance tells him his friend is in a far worse condition, kept only in the saddle by the strips of bloodied cloth Hector had used to tie the wounded noble to the stirrup-straps the night before.

"HELP, I SAY!" he roars, waving his hand in the direction of the gathering ahead. "We're at Remy, Gui," he says, voice dropping to a soothing tone. "There's a Grail Chapel here, and a castle. You'll be seen to. Just hang on." Gui doesn't respond, lolling loosely in his seat, and Hector bellows again.

"HELP!"

[BlueMagnusStorm]

Siegfried upon seeing the man and the call for help rushes over to them. As soon as he reaches them he takes a quick look at the other man before speaking"I may be able to help, I possess some healing skill. Quick tell me what is wrong with him?"

[Perius]

Beneath the blood and dirt caking his face, Sir Hector beams broadly at the offer of assistance.

"Thank the Lady! We were attacked during the night - bandits on the forest road. I chased them off, but Gui took a ball to the gut in their ambuscade and has been like this since. I tried to stem the bleeding with a cloth shirt pressed against the wound, but without help I fear he will not last long - "

As if in confirmation, the wounded man lolls sideways in the saddle, causing Hector to dash out his arm and steady him. "Whoa there, Gui! Stay with us!"

Then, turning his head to Siegfried - "I do not know you, sir, but if you help the poor lad I will count you a true friend."

[BlueMagnusStorm]

"I'm Siegfried, an apothecary travelling in these parts. Help me get him off this horse and I'll see what I can do for him."

[Thragka]

Gui moaned painfully as Siegfried put a hand under one armpit. Hector did his best to support his fellow knight's back as the pair guided him off the horse. With every move, the injured man made a faint, keening noise, like a wounded dog. He seemed only half conscious, his eyelids flickering, but his stare was glazed and blank. As Gui swung his leg over the horse, they nearly dropped him - but then Émilie was there, too, and with her help they got him down to ground level.

"Into the inn," the priestess said gruffly. As Hector and Siegfried suspended Gui between them, she hurried ahead, quickly clearing the table that Ronsard had set for Lord Forsard and beginning to tear the tablecloth into strips. The innkeeper protested, but a cool gaze from the priestess silenced him.

The wounded knight was laid down on the table. He coughed, droplets of blood splattering down onto his tunic. The shirt wrapped around his waste was sopping wet with blood, stained darkest in a small, roughly circular region a few inches to the left of his navel (Siegfried guessed - the wound itself was hidden by Gui's shirt and tunic).

"I'll get my things," said Émilie, before stepping back outside. She hitched up her skirts and practically ran for home, unconcerned with how undignified her gait appeared.

Across the bridge, Lothar and Heinrich heard Edgard give an exasperated sigh. "Siegfried is busy, then. This is bad timing, but I do not think Luc and Claude can afford to wait. Sir Abel, you are still going with them?"

Abel frowned, looking over at Valerie. "I am uneasy about leaving Mademoiselle Hellsing here without a chaperone. No offence to your people, Edgard, but this place is not safe for her."

The elder nodded sadly, also looking at Valerie. "No, you are right. I've only calmed their tempers, for now. She needs more protection than a commoner can give her."

"Lord Forsard ..." Abel suggested, but Valerie shook her head. The knight errant sighed. "Then I think you should come with us." Meekly, Valerie shrugged, and then nodded.

"Go, then, go! Time is of the essence," said Edgard. "Go with Claude, and one of the dogs. I'll send Luc after you with monsieur l'apothecaire, when he's done here." Abel nodded, turning back to glance at Heinrich.

"Do you intend to join us?" The knight raised an eyebrow at the pit fighter.

[Perius]

Siegfried and Hector

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"There Gui, you're safe now. Just - stay with us."

Stepping back from the wounded man, Hector wipes his forehead with the back of his hand and sighs in relief.

"Well, Siegfried the Imperial apothecary, I don't know why you're in these parts but I thank the Lady that you and the Shallyan are! I lost Carloman in the woods, and I don't intend to lose a second. If there's anything I can do to help - ?"

Anxious not to get in the way, he hangs a bit back from the improvised operating table.

"I'm Sir Hector de Quincey, by the way, but do feel free to call me Hector," he adds, magnaminously.

[TheSummoner]

"I guess the inn is out of the question then..."

Lothar mumbled to himself - in Reikspiel, he really needed to break that habit - as the priestess headed that way. He had hoped to get some information about the surrounding area and a bit of food in his stomach... Maybe even a bed for when night. After what had already happened, he was reluctant to rely on the hospitality of the villagers, but it was still preferable to being anywhere near that woman.

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Lothar is going to try to find someone to talk to about the surrounding area and recent events. If they'll let him, he's also going to mooch a meal from them. If they're really feeling generous, he'll try to convince them to let him sleep on their floor.

Gossip roll if necessary.
(1d100)[74] vs 31 Fel

[ZeltArruin]

Heinrich frowned at the question, but shrugged his admission. "Yes, yes, let us find the scary thing in forest," He said with a sigh as he waved his hand in the air. Upon hearing more Reikspiel, Heinrich's ears perked up as he turned towards the stranger.

"Another Imperial, eh? Good to meet you, mate? It's been far too long since I've used Sigmar's tongue in more than passing phrase," the pit fighter said, a boyish smile on his face.

[TheSummoner]

Lothar

Lothar turns when Heinrich speaks.

"Oh... I hadn't expected anyone in these parts would understand me."

Moron! Idiot! Careless dolt! he thinks to himself. Watch your damned tongue, even in these parts a slip of the tongue could be disastrous. Even as he berates himself, he keeps his expression friendly.

"My Breton is still quite terrible, I'm afraid. I find myself slipping back into Reikspiel far more than I mean to."

[BlueMagnusStorm]

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[QUOTE=BlueMagnusStorm;14984555]"Nice to meet you Sir Hector. Though I do wish we could have meat under better circumstances."At the mention of help Siegfried pauses in thought for a second before replying"You could see if you can find anything that would be suitable to use as bandages for the wounds." Siegfried then proceeds to try and treat the wounded man.

[Perius]

Siegfried and Hector

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Hector nods.

"I'll do my best."

Outside now

Hector stands in the door of the inn, casting a curious look at the gathering of men and women with the hounds on the other side of the bridge.

However, he says nothing, instead taking his horse by the bridle and leading it up to the stable to tie it up. That done, he glances back across the village, hopeful of seeing the Shallyan reappear, potentially with some bandages.

[Thragka]

As Sir Hector stepped outside, a horse burst out of the stable at speed, seeming barely under the control of the man on its back. The rider managed to guide the beast towards the bridge, leaning forward along its neck - and then arrested its canter suddenly with a frantic tug on the reins as Émilie stepped back out of her house. The priestess didn't even seem to notice that she'd nearly been run over - in her arms she carried a sack filled with bandages, a couple of scary-looking cleavers and jars of dark, viscous unguents. She waddled at speed back towards the inn, almost tripping over the end of her robe a couple of times.

As the rider waited for her to get out of his way, he looked down at Lothar and Heinrich. He scowled, and then interrupted in Reikspiel tinged with a Marienburg accent.

"If you had any sense you'd keep your mouth shut and get out of this hole as soon as possible. Bloody peasants'll string us all up for not yapping like they do." With that, he clicked his tongue, dug his spurs into his mount's flank, and horse and rider took off along the west road.

Sir Abel coughed. He was glowering at Heinrich, impatience etched into every feature of his face.

Inside the inn, Siegfried cautiously tore away some of Gui's clothes and the makeshift bandage. The pistol-ball was just visible underneath the ragged layers of quivering flesh - thankfully, it appeared to be in one piece. For a moment, the apothecary seriously debated trying to retrieve it with his fingers; thankfully, Émilie returned before he'd worked up the courage. Taking a look at the wound, she reached into the sack she'd brought with her and retrieved a set of tongs no longer than her middle finger.

She stood over the wounded man for a minute, and Siegfried noticed that the hand holding the silver-black utensil was noticeably shaking. The priestess sighed, and handed the tongs over to Siegfried. Avoiding his glance, she held Gui's chest down, instructing the innkeeper to do the same for his legs.

Siegfried slowly probed the wound - Gui groaned, the horrible wounded cry of something inhuman that could not think; only hurt. It was all Ronsard and Émilie could do to keep him on the table. The apothecary grappled at the bullet and found purchase with the tongs on the second attempt - he pulled it out as smoothly as he could, but not as smoothly as Gui would have liked from the sound of it. Then, as the wounded knight shuddered and took frenetic, gulping breaths, Siegfried watched Émilie daub the wound with a foul-smelling poultice from a jar, and helped her wrap a long bandage around his abdomen as tightly as they could.

The knight's chest rose and fell slowly - he was still alive, for now, but unconscious.

Lothar

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The screams from inside the inn echoed on the Winds of Magic as Shyish suddenly howled through the village. The Purple Wind carried away some of the light of the sun, its deep hue clouding Lothar's vision momentarily. It calmed as the final scream died away, but left a lingering pool of violet miasma slowly revolving around the inn, and a smell that spoke of barren earth and rotten meat that caused Lothar's stomach to twinge.

Simon

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Each scream from within the inn echoed in Simon's otherworldly senses as a purple wind howled through the village. It brought with it an earthy smell - but Simon noticed, uncomfortably, that when that faded, the sickly sweet stink of rotten meat remained. Just on the edge of hearing, beneath the screams, he thought he could hear low, deep chuckling from inside the inn.

[TheSummoner]

Lothar

Lothar nods after the rider passes.

"Might be he's right. There's nothing good in this place for us Imperials."

He shudders visibly when he hears the first scream and stares at the inn long after the noise had ended.

"Definitely time to get leaving."

[Perius]

Hector starts to a halt as the horseman clatters out of the barn, hand instinctively reaching for his axe as he tenses in surprise. Shaking his head at his own jumpiness, he watches in horror as the horse almost tramples down the Shallyan priestess: he's seen small children sit in the saddle with more skill than this rider is showing.

"If you can't handle the horse, don't bloody ride it," he mutters to himself, pulling his own steed into the stable to tie up. He's looking for something to attach Tancred's reins to when he suddenly pauses, brow creasing in thought. That horse didn't look at all happy with that man in the saddle, and the man definitely seemed to be in a rush to leave...

Returning to the taproom, he waits until Gui stops screaming and Siegfried straightens up from the table before stepping forward.

"How bad is he - will the boy live?"

And, once he's satisfied that Gui is not dead yet - "My thanks. I don't mean to trouble you, but I hope you weren't keeping a roan horse in the stables - someone just rode off on one and, by the sight of it, it wasn't a happy pairing. Might be a thief, I'm thinking."

[ZeltArruin]

Heinrich

Heinrich sighed as the knight gave him an exasperated look. "With all this and you still want to helping peasants? Certainly just us is dangerous, no?" The pit fighter said, swinging his hand towards the inn, the other Knight, the fleeing man, just trying to take it all in. "I will go still, just patience please," He went on, conjugating his words poorly as he moved towards the inn.

He turned back towards his fellow imperial and offered a grin. "Flee, perhaps, but I am bound by coin to see if I can free my employer from this backwards justice system," He offered in imperial before heading towards the inn earnestly.

[TheSummoner]

Lothar

Lothar laughs.

"Bound by coin? If he has already paid, there is nothing to be gained. If not, you are not likely to ever see that coin. Mess with their idea of justice and all you'll do is get your own neck in the noose as well."

[ZeltArruin]

Heinrich

"Eh, we'll see about that. He's innocent and wrongfully detained. If we can save him, there's no harm in trying," Heinrich replied with a grin and shrug, his attitude about the situation unfitting, given how Brettonia worked, Lothar was likely correct.

[Thragka]

Behind Heinrich, Sir Abel was seething. "We cannot afford to wait if a man's life may be in danger. Herr Siegfried can help prevent that here, but I can do nothing - so I must be useful somewhere else."

The knight errant crossed the bridge, turning back to look expectantly at Valerie; the apprentice wizard, though, had her gaze focused on Simon.

"Simon?" She still sounded nervous from the heightened tensions of the crowd. "I'm ... I'm not sure what's safest."

[BlueMagnusStorm]

Siegfried takes a quick glance over the man's wounds before responding to Hector "His wounds are very serious. I've done all I can for him. He's alive for now but in his condition I'm unsure how long that will last." At the mention of the horse Siegfried pauses for a moment before responding "I don't think that we were but i'm not sure. Yes it seems most suspicious indeed."

[Perius]

Hector shrugs, the weariness from his long journey through the night rapidly overtaking him. A man stealing the apothecary's horse was news, a man simply unable to ride his own horse somewhat less interesting.

"Well, so long as you know. I thought it curious. For the present - INNKEEP!"

He bellows up the staircase, flopping down onto a bench next to the table on which Gui lies.

"Madam priestess, monsieur Siegfried, I hope my companion will live at least long enough to thank you himself. As for I, I would rest here awhile and say a prayer of thanks at the local Grail chapel before continuing my journey. Let me get you something in thanks for your kindness?"

And, turning again to shout at the staircase, "I SAY, INNKEEP!"

[Thragka]

Émilie curtsied, which was quite a sight in the expansive priestly robes - they flapped and rippled for a few seconds before settling down. "Thank you, monsieur," she said, "but I think I'll excuse myself. Siegfried," she muttered cursorily on her way out.

The innkeeper came hopping down the stairs, taking them two at a time. "Yes m'lord!" He paused, took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "How may I help you? Ronsard's the name, at your service."

Outside, Simon somewhat reluctantly followed Valerie and Abel across the bridge. They spoke briefly to one of the villagers by the hounds, and then he and the three of them began walking purposefully across the small patch of open land between the pigpen and the trees. The pigs were rooting around in the undergrowth at the forest's edge, supervised by a thin, tall, and completely bored-looking man, who watched them pass into the shadow of the wood with a blank gaze.

Lothar wandered away from the bridge, trying to strike up a conversation a few of times - but his accent and mangled Breton marked him as an outsider, and the locals who'd seen the showdown between the priestess and the elder were having none of it. Most were polite enough to acknowledge him before they retreated at speed. One or two through a couple of throaty oaths in his direction, staring daggers at the gradually dejected Imperial.

It was by the few abandoned market stands that he noticed the young woman with the brown curls dangling from beneath her hood staring at him. She had a twinkle in her eye as a middle-aged woman shooed him away. When he caught her look, she smiled and cocked her head - it wasn't the warmest invitation, but it was the most welcoming any of the villagers had been so far.

[TheSummoner]

Lothar

Lothar smiles back and approaches the young woman. His horrible Breton would never allow him to pass as a Brettonian (or atleast not one who hadn't taken a serious head wound at some point), but he did his best to hide his accent all the same.

"Excusing me please. Am only have arrived here recently. Could perhaps tell about this place?"

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Speak Language test to try to hide his accent.
(1d100)[54] vs 48 (38 int +10 for Mimic)

[Perius]

In the inn - Siegfried, Hector and - ? - Heinreich?

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"Ronsard! The man lying on this table is very noble, very rich, and very nearly dead. The local Shallyan will be tending to him during his stay; if he dies through your neglect, it'll be the worse for you."

He smiles.

"I, on the other hand, will only be staying one night. My horse is in your stable, and wants fodder; I will take breakfast now, and then go to offer thanks to the Lady for my deliverance at your local chapel.

"That'll be all for now."

[ZeltArruin]

Heinrich sighed at the Knights imperiousness and nodded slowly in agreement. "Yes yes, Sir Abel, to the peasants then," He said, falling in with the knight, uncrossing his arms. Heinrich assumed this task would likely be a little safer than remaining an outsider in the insular little village, and who knows, perhaps there would be some connection between the beast in the woods and the missing wagon.

[Thragka]

Siegfried and Hector

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Ronsard didn't seem to know how to respond to the threat. His eyes practically boggled as he looked down at the unconscious Gui, wondering if he was neglecting the knight without realising it.

"Yes monsieur ... perhaps you would be so good as to help me carry him upstairs to a bed? I wager he'll be more comfortable, and, um, well it's not fitting to have him lying in the common room ... Boy!" he called to avoid trailing awkwardly into silence. A young lad appeared around the corner, bright eyes drinking in the scene from the middle of his dirty face. Ronsard nodded in the direction of the stable.

"There's a new horse needs feeding. Then set the table for monsieur's breakfast."

The boy hugged the walls as he passed them, disappearing through the stable door. Ronsard very carefully slid his arms beneath Gui's shoulders. He was looking nervously at Hector - waiting for his approval as much as his assistance, it seemed.

~

Lothar

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The girl - she couldn't have been much older than sixteen - narrowed her eyes as Lothar fumbled his way around the syllables. She seemed more curious than anything else.

"There's not much to tell," she said after a brief pause. "Welcome to Remy-sur-Orne, the dirtiest hole in Bretonnia that I have the bad luck to call home. We're a market town - or we were, anyway," she said, gesturing around at the empty stalls. "But our gracious viscount scares away honest traders, and these days, people here ... well, they are not very tolerant of strangers. As you saw." She nodded back in the direction of the bridge.

"Nowadays most travellers pass through at speed as they go between Couronne and L'Anguille. We live off the trade between the cities, and from the mining villages further up the Orne ... but the river is less healthy than it once was. So people grow hungry, and poor, and mutter dark words." She put on an extremely forced smile. "A charming little village. Again, welcome!"

The girl curtsied, that false grin still plastered across her face.

~

Heinrich

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Catching up with the group that had crossed the bridge, Heinrich fell into step with the knight and the peasant. Valerie and Simon hung back apprehensively. Unease was clear on their faces whenever Heinrich looked back at them. The dog happily led the way, bounding purposefully from tree to tree. It stopped intermittently to sniff at an interesting clump of undergrowth or mark its territory, but Claude would quickly click his teeth at it, and the hound would get back to the business at hand.

The forest was less threatening in the daytime. Above, the occasional chirp from birds in the treetops helped ameliorate the sense of isolation. Still, there was an ephemeral quality to the woods. Sheets of light seemed to hang in the air when the sun's rays punctured the layers of foliage overhead, illuminating the small particles of dust that hung motionless in the air - until the search party passed, and set them all a-whorling. The thick scent of vegetation filled Heinrich's nostrils. It wasn't unpleasant, but heady; once or twice he caught himself getting lightheaded. His stomach rumbled. Memories of folk tales came to mind, of woodland elves that would entice hungry humans with otherworldly food ...

Before long, the dog had led them back to the same spot they'd been in the night before. Heinrich recognised the fallen log that Luc said he'd tripped over, and the thicket of spiny brushes with the branches all bent askew. But now the dog seemed a little confused. It darted back and forth, from gnarled bushes to mossy log, taking a tentative few steps in one direction, then bounding across the grass to stare in the other.

Watching its back-and-forth trail, Heinrich managed to convince himself that it almost looked like there was a track passing through the patch of earth the hound was orbiting. Someone or something had passed through, either from east to west, or west to east ... and the dog didn't seem to be able to work it out.

Claude had noticed too. He pointed out the suggestion of a track in a slow sweep of his hand for the benefit of the others. He caught Heinrich's eye.

"I think we're going to have to guess which way to go next," he said. The words were quiet. He was not eager to disturb the scene.

[Perius]

Hector and Siegfried

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Hector grins, his face splitting into a gleaming white smile.

"Thank you."

Taking Gui by the legs, he helps Ronsard manhandle him upstairs to a bedroom, laying him carefully down on whatever bed the innkeep has available. Groaning with the strain, he gets up and stares down at his wounded companion.

"They mucked you up bad, my friend," he murmurs, his mind momentarily retreating to the bloody ambush the night before. Then -

"The Shallyan should do most of the work, but - if you could point me in the way of your local Grail chapel, I would say my thanks there after breakfast."

And then, he thinks, I'll hunt some bandits.