In reply to Alexander (msg #99):

Alexander's words rang through Loukas's head. He had never considered himself naive, but with the realization of the depth of the treachery that the murderer described... He glanced at Miroslav to see if the big Rus heard and understood. The hand holding his long sword itched and it took all of his will to resist using it. But just in case he pressed down once more on Alexander's neck to remind him of his plight and said, this time in Greek, in a voice loud, but tinged with a deadly chill, "You say that this entire attack was staged by the order of the Logothetes tou Dromou? That he never intended for the Persian to arrive in the lands of the Rus alive? That everyone aboard our ship was hired as pawns to die this day in  in the Basilius's service in an attack he had actually planned?"

"Such treachery must be unmasked. We must take those two back to Constantinople and present them to the Emperor himself."

Jean went about, ensuring all enspelled opponents were securely bound and gagged.

Hearing about some treachery, the knight looked among the fallen for any proof or evidence of such could be found.

A'kos looks at the prone bodies and considers slitting throats.  Instead he strokes the Arabian's neck and calls to Jean, "Frank, are you going to stand watch over them until help arrives?  Perhaps you could pray for them - I wish you good luck with that, fool."

Miroslav says to Loukas..."I speak Persian well enough to get the answer but thank you for switching to Greek...I think he speaks the truth. He should die either by your hand or be handed over to Sviatoslav for deeper questioning."

The Rus then looks to Roderychus and says..."Doubtless the Emperor knows of this plot...nothing is done without his knowledge. DO not forget how he gained the throne..by treachery! Against his own uncle no less! If we go back to Byzantium knowing what we know, we will be killed. Better to travel to tell Sviatoslav of this plot. We are almost in his capital now."
OOC: DOn't read to much into Miroslavs speech. I am not trying to steer the party here just present the facts and his opionion on them. If the party wishes to return to Byzantium it can very well do so. Even though he resides in the Byzantine Empire he is still a loyal Rus.

Jean can find no evidence other than the words of the charmed Ithacan farmer.

Dobryny and Thorfinn begin arguing again on the ship. One of the crewmen begins to take Armin's gear and put it on the beach.

"I think you grasp the situation well young Loukas...but there is no need to kill me as I am already dead. You have learned that the Rus were Greeks conscripted into service...once news of this reaches the Rus there will be war. I have failed just as these Greek farmers have. Armin is dead but the ploy is discovered. Why not let me flee into the mountains with these captives you hold?"

"The traitor Alexander speaks well, once Sviatoslav hears about this there will be war and the plot will have worked. We cannot know if the Emperor knows about this, but if he does not, then he is the only one who can avoid a greater incident and punish those who engendered this plan. It will be difficult returning to Constantinople now, but it is the only path to avoid war."

"What say you, murderer? Does the Basilius know of these plots or was your master acting independently?"

Alexander squirms underfoot again and says..."Of course the Basilius knows but by all means go alert him to his own deed! You will join the faux Rus for when they arrive back to the dock, they will be put to death to keep them quiet...their only reward a quick death."

He then cocks his head under Loukas foot and looks to Roderychus..."Oh yes there will be war, you are most correct but not the war the Basilius planned on!"

Loukas's young mind was flooded with emotions. A wiser, mature mind might've done otherwise, but it was quickly clear to him what his next move must be. "My uncle, whom you tell me you have killed, gifted me with this blade, which he called, Akribis Alitheia*... I wonder if he would've said after giving it that name and seeing matters as they lie today? In his name, murderer, I give you both the truth of my feelings and its sharpness." Before anything else can be said he pushes the sword with all of his enraged strength into Alexander and twists it to send the man to the hell he kept mentioning at the beginning of their 'pleasant' conversation.

OOC: *Using the internets I came up with these words as "Sharp (or "Accurate") Truth"... Since I know neither modern nor ancient Greek I may be terribly wrong in my translation of the phrase, but I'm going to pretend that is what Akribis Alitheia means and I will thank you to play along with me unless you know Greek and can find me a better translation!
This message was last edited by the player at 21:25, Thu 17 Sept 2009.

Miroslav approached Loukas and lays a hand on the shoulder of the younger man saying..."He would not have lived long enough to divulge so much information if it had been my kinsman he had slain. I thank the Gods you have more willpower than I."

The big Varangian captain leans on the rail of his ship and calls out to those on the beach..."We sail in five minutes! TO those of you who werepassengers...I am sorry but here we part company. Come aboard and get your gear. I'll have no part of this business. My ship and crew will lie low now at distant ports. I leave you with your intrigue!"

The paladin seems to have taken a hard blow realizing there is no way to avoid the shedding of blood.

"Such is the truth, those who hold the power in Constantinople have acted horribly and shamefully in the eyes of God. Many will suffer in consequence of their sin. Sviatoslav must indeed be warned as you said, Miroslav, so the truth may come to light and, maybe, we can diminish the evil consequences of this treacherous deed."

"Wait.  Our only evidence of these allegations are the words of the prisoners.  We have no proof to show the emperor, if we wanted to show him, other than their words.  Perhaps letting them go is not a good idea."

Jaleh gathers up her gear and heads for the shore. As she throws her sea chest on the sand she says "Wait, there is more. I was paid to kill Armin if the raiders fail to do it. Of course I am no assasin so I planned on just keeping the money and taking off but as it stands I am in as much danger as the rest of you. For the record I do not know who paid me. Things like this are usually handled through messengers and middlemen."

"Perhaps we cannot know if the Emperor has a hand on this plan, but at this point does it make a difference? Even if we arrive safely to Constantinople and somehow manage to speak to the Emperor how will we prove that these men killed the persian and not the raiders we thought them to be? Would that not sound like an excuse from men who failed at their task? The diplomatic incident is consumated and the Emperor, guilty or innocent, will have to act upon it. If we want to stop, or diminish, the conflict, I see more chance of success in alerting some of the other two parties involved, either the rus or the persian."

After a brief pause, Roderychus completes "But maybe Sviatoslav is not the one to be warned after all. Once the news of Armin's fate are spread the plotters scheme will have worked. If we convince the persians of what has passed, though, we may be successful in turning this around. If that turn of events forces the Emperor to turn back to polithics and diplomacy war may be avoided in the end."

A'kos eyes Loukas shrewdly.

"Young Loukas," he says, "we've other ways of interrogating where I am from - you were precipitous in killing Alexander...which is unfortunate.  Like as not the others know nothing - dupes to a plot that is greater than their ken."

Taking the reins of the Persian he walks slowly toward Storm's Wind.

"As for me, it matters not," he shrugs.  "I'll go where the rest will - even back to my own lands if need be, though some there would be wroth to see me.  I've the suspicion that opportunity for grand deeds exist in which ever direction we go - though I would caution against retreating until we have more information.  To return now would lead to too many questions, and place us in intrigues I've no desire to become embroiled in."

To Jaleh he grins, "Little woman, you are a terrible archer...perhaps you should stick to your charms."

"A'kos..you are correct but I magine even you would only last so long if he had slain your kinsman! Still we must decide where to go. For one I think the only clear choice is Sviatoslav. let him know the truth so he may send envoys to the Persians and let them know of the Byzantine Emperors scheme...to go to Byzantium now would be suicide, Persian is too far so in my estimation we can only go to Sviatoslav who is but a day or two  away from here."

He then looks at Thorfinn and scowls..."It also looks like we will either have to set off on horseback and foot since Thorfinn is fleeing...there is the third dragon ship of the fake Rus. We will be undermanned for sure but I am assuming Loukas will join us and Jaleh as well. We might even get a few of these farmers to man the oars as it looks as if their life is void if they return home....what say you all?"

Jaleh smiles at A'kos's comment but does not reply. Instead she responds to the Rus. "Yes I will not sail further with Thorfinn. He gave leave to any who wished to stay behind. I choose this path and will continue on."

The young man's face quickly goes goes from stunned grief to rage, "Interrogate? To what end?" he blurts out. "The murderer said he was working for the Logothetes tou Dromou and that the Emperor was aware of this plot. What more is there to learn? Welcome to the world of international politics! You have been pawns! The Basilius did not wish for this Armin to complete his tour. You were cover for his true intentions! He does not wish for the Persians and the Rus to grow closer together, nor does he wish for the Persians to know more about territory he considers rightfully his own. Are you all really so naive?"

It looked as if he would continue his enraged shouting, but he gained control of himself and glancing down at Alexander once more he yanks Akribis Alithei from the body. He then begins rifling the corpse to see if the man bore anything that would shed even more light on what is already, to Loukas's mind, a rather clear matter. As he does so he continues, still seeming not to speak to any one person, but to everyone, or maybe, the dead man himself, "What is the point of returning to confront the Basilius? He will either take vengeance upon us for mucking up his rather complicated, expensive plot directly. OR deny it all and kill us later... That is, IF we manage to get to him at all... My family has served the Basilius for generations... My uncle did not trust the man who bears that title today, and with these actions it is clear that he was correct. I can no longer serve John."

When he is done searching the body he cleans his sword in the sand, wiping it on his own cloak rather than the assassin's and turns to Miroslav, "My mother was Rus. Up to now I have held my father's Greek in greater esteem, but perhaps it is time I learned more of her people?"

Standing, his face flushed from the pace at which he has been speaking and undertaking these little tasks, not to mention the situation in general, he continues, "Though, to tell you the truth, I doubt your Sviatoslav will prove to be any purer... Nor do I doubt that he will need us to inform him of what has occurred here any more than the Caliph will. Why not take that dragon ship and then strike out on our own and damn any king?"
This message was last edited by the player at 19:29, Sat 19 Sept 2009.

A'kos stares hard at the youth, "Who knows to what end?  A lesson for you though, dead men will not answer questions.  And I know enough of these affairs to know that I want nothing to do with them.  That is all you need to know of me."

He pauses then, then a smile creases his eyes, "But your suggestion to strike out is a brave one indeed, for one so young, and I approve of such.  A path unlooked for by those who would pull our strings, and one that might allow us to become the fly in the ointment of their plans..."

Shrugging he says, "Unless anyone has anything better to suggest?"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:01, Sun 20 Sept 2009.

Jaleh's eye go wide upon hearing the suggestion from Loukas and the agreement from A'kos. She slides up close to the Magyar and says "Yes the life of a pirate would suit me fine."

Miroslav shrugs his wide shoulders and says..."The life of a rover and raider does have it's strongpoints but I urge you to come with me to inform Sviatoslav. He is quit unlike the Basilius and is a soldier above all else. If we wish to strike out on our own after that then I am fine with that. I can easily pilot this ship to his capital better and faster than Thorfinn could have gotten us there."

Roderychus ignores the talk about lawless and piracy and speaks to Miroslav
"You say Sviatoslav would be able to alert the persians in little time. Well, that could be the most effective route. What you say, brother Jean?"