The trip back to Bree to search for Scanie had resulted in a venture they had not had much time to prepare for. Winnie had promised to research into the walking dead of the Burrows, how to stop the newly slain from raising again, but there had not been the chance to get hold of the resources just yet and now it was too late. Down they went deep into one of the many horrid trenches in search of their friend. The battle down there had been harsh and deadly, Lavandara took the brunt of several bad hits, but showed them just as much as they gave her. Winnie found herself filled with a powerful music in the back of her mind driving her forward, keeping her focused as she drove herself on harder than she had ever before. By the time they got to Scanie she wasnt even sure she was herself any more, filled with some overwhelming need to remain fully focused, her heart pounding in her ears. Quickly assessing the situation and stabilizing her they managed to get back out, following Ryheric's leadership knowing full well he would get them back out. Somehow, that blade in her hand felt right for the first time, and her confidence in her treatment of Scanie was unshakeable.
On getting to the Soothery she was able to assist the Doctor without faultering, and after assess that Lavvie needed to see the Doctor, fractured ribs but not broken, and he determined she was right. Finally her confidence in her assessments were starting to feel more stable. They would have to rest here some time, it was time to do that research, and since that day she moved between watching over Scanie as she recovered and doing just that. Now was the day of the first test of one of several theories. This one theory was the first to come to light, a simple one, but one she was not overly sure of..
The journey out to the Burrows was insane alone, and she knew it, but she had no intention of going deep into it, merely on the outskirts. along the way she needed to catch a small animal, and not kill it. Only after she was sure Scanie was doing well, and she could spend enough time away she rode out. Finding her subject however proved harder than expected. Initially no small beasts showed themselves, then two foxes made an appearance. Stalking one she spent more than half a day trying to catch it without harming it. It dodged and wove and darted all over the hillside, diving into areas and underground. Loosing it over and over, the whole time another seeming to chase after her. Each time she turned to chase the other it darted off and she would turn back to the original, a tiring, frustrating chase that ended at nightfall with a final win, and that other fox watching her acusingly from the darkness as she made camp.
Just as morning breaks she sets off with the poor fox, heading to the edge of the Burrows. Approaching with caution she watches carefully for any signs of movement before approaching the area. After watching till the sun is part way up toward midday she makes her way toward an area she has noticed there has been no movement and take cover behind several large boulders. Only a three hundred yards beyond she has seen some distant signs of movement and so remains as calm and still as possible. There she takes her dagger, raising it and slays the small fox, taking it and putting salt over the body, then putting oil over it to burn the body, she moves away then from it to watch from a distance, moving away from the edge of the Burrows.
Laying on her belly in the grass she watches and waits, keeping her eyes fixed on the corpse of the small fox. The sun rises higher, past the midday point, a little beyond. The body twitches, slowly rising, she frowns deeply, making note in her book. She writes down *Delayed* then a question mark, , she continues with "does not stop the raising, the theory given by Sole Cripsain and Edsmund Lyiarm is not proven correct given materials used, while specific ingrediants might according to the age, I am doubtful this would be the case, suspect this is a tale they made up to give peace to people burying their dead*. She closes the book and crawls back further a good distance before risking standing and making her way to where she has Bilberry hidden. Riding back to town in contemplation of the many other things that are mere threads with little truth or idea of linking toward an answer yet. There likely wasnt one, but she would keep looking.
