Those that wish to go with Balthazar gather round ready to go along in search of the tomes Balthazar seeks.

Loukas complied with Balthazar's plans for both departure and dress and was prepared at the appointed time. As soon as they had the opportunity he said to Zmija, "You have my curiosity, my friend. What is it you wish to discuss with me?"

Before leaving, Balthazar takes a hair sample from each of a mule, light horse, draft horse, and war horse, and tucks each into a separate one of his many pockets. He also catches a live spider and secures it in a small jar with tiny air holes poked in the cap, which goes in yet another pocket.

*************

Balthazar tracking:

5th level m-u: 4 2 1
1st) cure light wounds***, detect magic, light, magic missile*, mount, sleep*, spider climb
2nd) deeppockets**, invisibility*, knock, locate object**, melf's acid arrow, stinking cloud*
3rd) dispel magic*, mirror image (2nd level spell memorized to higher slot)

* ring of spell storing
** ring of wizardry
*** spell-like ability from master points

Active: deeppockets (~11 hours remaining)
This message was last edited by the player at 20:08, Wed 31 Mar 2010.

"You weren't getting ready to leave without me, were you?" asks Dyanna coyly.  "Of certain I will have need for similar such research to expand my own base of knowledge, and would accompany you."

She is ready, her longbow and the rest of her equipment at hand.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:51, Wed 31 Mar 2010.

"Ah, excellent!  You were spending some quality time with Sir Jean, and I didn't want to interrupt.  The plan is pretty simple.  We are going to find the library, there is probably one that is clearly the largest of all in the city.  Once there I will cast locate object to find a spellbook, and off we go."

Edit: I nearly forgot about Michael again!  He will certainly accompany us as Balthazar's personal bodyguard.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:35, Wed 31 Mar 2010.

"A sound plan," she shrugs, but leaning forward she whispers to Balthazar:

Balthazar replies in a whisper to her first:

Then to all, "You should all know that the magic of the deck has proclaimed that I will receive a boon if I defeat my next enemy.  If the situation arises during our mission of stealth, I ask that you allow me the chance to make good on that without undue interference."

As they begin to follow Balthazar Zmija talks to Loukas..."You may or not be aware of my order...it is the Order of Volos or Veles as some pronounce it. Like most c;erics and monks, I have some communication with my patron. Sometimes it is subtle sometimes it is like Sir Jean's fist to the mouth." He laughs at his own joke there.

"I believe I have been visited by Volos in my dreams as of late and in those dreams you are always present. You are often a member of my order in these dreams and Volos smiles upon you when you are. I can't help but think there is some reason you are in my dreams like this...some great omen perhaps but not the spoiled raki drank the night before.

I would like to offer you an apprentice position in our order and act as a direct mentor to you of you are interested."

Dyanna looks back at Loukas, grins and replies to them both, "A brother of martial discipline, eh, Loukas?  I wonder how such would suit you, though no reader of the gods' designs am I.  Good luck with your choice!"

With that she prepares to follow Balthazar into the city.

"If we come upon this foe, can I ensnare him with mine own enchantments to assist in your boon?"  she giggles as she asks, and is a bit flighty for the moment with anxiety at the coming foray into harm's way.

Loukas smiles at Dyanna's jest, but the look on his face is before and after is rather bemused, "You do me honor by considering me worthy of becoming your novice... But, I am not a religious man, Zmija, as Dyana has suggested. I was raised a Christian, and though I heard tales of the Rus gods from my mother, I am afraid I do not recall much of them. Are you sure you wish to have an ungodly man like myself as your apprentice?"

"I haven't a clue how much you can help.  Let's figure it out when the time comes."

Balthazar addresses the assembled group, "We make for the University Library, next to St. Elijah's Church.  Let's ride!"

Suggested riding order:

Balthazar and Dyanna
Zmija and Loukas
Michael
This message was last edited by the player at 00:33, Fri 02 Apr 2010.

Balthazar and Dyanna ride side by side leading the way south into the heart of the city. Loukas and Zmija hang back and talk quietly as they ride.

Michael brings up the rear and does so uncomfortably. He is definitely not used to riding.

They are not more than a few blocks from the safety of Dobrynya's camp when they encounter a small troop of nine mongrel Pecheneg mercenaries mounted on steppe horses an armed with falchion and short bow. They seem to be as surprised as you are and their leader grunts out of guttural commands in the language of the Pechenegs which only Zmija speaks. They all draw their swords and begin waving them overhead. The leader advances and points at Dyanna and shouts again in his native tongue.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:56, Tue 06 Apr 2010.

"He first said that we needed to give him all of our belongings and he would let us leave...he then got a better look at Dyanna and changed his mind. We are to leave the woman with his as well...needless to say, that is out of the question!" He translates to the others.

Swords and no bows, eh?  Good.

Balthazar frowns and shrugs with an air of resignation in a "you've got us, guess we're screwed" gesture.  He turns to Dyanna as if he's whispering soothing words to her to explain the situation so that she'll cooperate, but in reality he is casting sleep from his ring on the Pechenegs, making sure he gets the leader (but not any party members).
This message was last edited by the player at 21:29, Tue 06 Apr 2010.

Gathering what the mongrel leader's intent was, Dyanna readies a spell as Balthazar casts his.

To the mongrel...the Pechenegs drop from their saddles and onto the ground. A few of the horses also succumb to the spell cast by the hedonite but for the most part their mounts disperse in panic.

THe leader of the small band lies face down in the dusty street snoring loudly.

When the Perchangs are noted Loukas draws his bow. When Baltazar and Dyanna cast their spells he begins loosing arrows. All the while contemplating the words he and Zmija had exchanged up until moments ago.

Dyanna drops quickly from her horse and draws two daggers.

"Quickly now," she says in a quiet voice.  "We've little time, let us dispatch the vermin with swiftness."

Balthazar makes sure he is the one to dispatch the leader, hoping the magic card of the Deck is satisfied.

As Balthazar goes straight toward the ostensible leader, Dyanna's route is more circuitous, beginning on the flanks and working around one by one.  As blood spatters she finds it to be more messy as well.  As she slices the life from each mongrel she checks their belt pouches as well...

"Mayhap, Loukas, you can gather their weapons?  Could be a pretty score, and if luck holds there are some enchanted items as well."

Loukas remains where he had been after firing arrows into the fallen Perchangs, but is careful not to fire at ones near Dyanna. Once finished, "Loot them if you wish, Dyanna, but it is a waste of time to grab what little they have. Let's get moving quickly."

Wiping her bloody dagger on the cloak of the last mongrel she looks at Loukas and shrugs.

"Aye...I seem to have forgotten our recent spoils," she notes with a wry grin.  "Wealth come too fast - I still am that poor girl at heart.  Still, seems a waste to leave free wealth, and the coin at least we can keep, even if only a modest sum of silvers."

She slices throats first, then check pouches and packs quickly.

"And what of the horses - perhaps more for Dobrynya's army?"
This message was last edited by the player at 12:45, Sun 11 Apr 2010.

Moving quickly to recover whatever arrows are recoverable he glances at the horses, "Most likely they may be of use, but bringing them along with us will hardly enable us to move as covertly as we seem to need to."

Zmija moves around the bodies at an alarming speed checking the purses with the others...this lot was definitely among those that had been doing very well. Only 200 gps can be recovered and all their equipment is of the mundane sort.

"It is just a matter of time before these horses will be rounded up by the men of the Knyaz...we leave them for later. I think I see our goal up ahead...we should move out and be done with this quickly!" As he speaks he points at a large building int he distance which is clearly a church.

Balthazar suddenly stands straight up as he feels the magic of the Deck pulse through him.  After the sensations cease, he does a little happy dance and impulsively kisses Dyanna on the cheek, then blushes when he realizes what he's done.  He gathers his composure and says, "Yes, let's make our way to the Library in haste; we've dawdled here long enough."

*************

Balthazar tracking:

5th level m-u: 4 2 1
1st) cure light wounds***, detect magic, light, magic missile*, mount, sleep*, spider climb
2nd) deeppockets**, invisibility*, knock, locate object**, melf's acid arrow, stinking cloud*
3rd) dispel magic*, mirror image (2nd level spell memorized to higher slot)

* ring of spell storing
** ring of wizardry
*** spell-like ability from master points

Active: deeppockets (~10.5 hours remaining)
This message was last edited by the player at 17:32, Mon 12 Apr 2010.

Just a few short blocks and the university is clear...the Church of St Elijah looms behind it and the building looks as if it has been sacked by the Pechenegs but still stands. The doors hang off the hinges...but there is no sign of life.

Dyanna jumps in surprise as Balthazar suddenly squeezes her.  Her heart races, her hand falls to the hilt of her dagger as unwanted memories force themselves from boxes long thought shut in the corners of her mind.  She steps back as Balthazar releases her, then composes herself, then turns and stares to where Zmija points.

"What of the library?" she asks, privately hoping that no one hears the tremor in her voice.

"Well, first we should find a safe place to stow our horses."  Balthazar looks around for the best place to do so.

The University and the library look looted but clearly the Pechenegs had no need for books. The main door of the library is also off it's hinges so the horses can be brought inside the building.

Loukas dismounts and deals with his horse quickly. He'll be moving carefully and quietly in an attempt to avoid attention should they stumble across more Perhcengs.

Dyanna follows Loukas indoors and leaves her mount with his.  She follows him more carefully, an eye behind her for Zmija and Balthazar.

"Come, Mage, your treasure awaits," she says quietly all the while looking up at bookshelves for anything that might be familiar.

"Indeed it does."  Balthazar ties his horse up along with the rest of them inside the library's foyer.  "Michael, find a place to hide and watch the horses.  If anything comes by, give us a shout and come running."

Then Balthazar takes the group to roughly the center of the library and casts locate object, looking for a spellbook.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:44, Wed 14 Apr 2010.

Dyanna follows behind, her eyes wandering over the rows of books and scrolls upon the various shelves.

"One could study here for the remainder of their lives and still be well short of completing all the works stored within these walls," she murmurs aloud.

She sighs, then and adds, "I've not that much time - hopefully the librarians placed similar tomes within reach of each other..."

A stack of four books on a shelf just about twenty feet away begin to glow with a faint dweomer.

Zmija points at the glow and says to Loukas..."It looks like they have found what they seek...this is a good time for us to talk further and I can begin to explain how you must adapt your skills to that of the skill set of my order. We already have much in common but there are certain secrets that I can begin to reveal to you that will become of great use to you given your advanced experience in the physical arts."

In reply to Zmija (msg #35):

Loukas glances once again in the direction of the glow and then turns back to Zmija. He had never heard the term, "physical arts" before and there was something about it that he found quite appealing despite the fact that he really had no idea what it meant. Nodding, "Right. No time like the present, as they say. I think you must have much to explain to me. My uncle always complained that I was a poor student, but I shall endeavor to disprove his claims and, perhaps, please his spirit in doing so."

"Ah, Sir Mage," smiles Dyanna as she looks at the glowing tomes.  "It seems you've found a trove!  Let us see what we may!"

She approaches the tomes, though has a care not to disturb any until Balthazar can join her.  She looks for any sigils or sign, or marks that would identify the tomes on the bindings (without touching, of course).

"Watch for any hidden traps!" she murmurs to herself thoughtfully, wondering how one would go about disarming such on arcane tomes...

After some scrutiny it is clear that there are no traps. In fact it looks as if these books were set here out of place. Perhaps abandoned by a scholar when the Pechenegs looted the building.

The four books do not look terribly old or terribly thick but that does not mean they do not contain much worth.

Balthazar stashes them into his magic pocket and looks around to see if his spell detects more such books.  "I've got 5 cubic feet of space in this pocket, so don't be shy, if you see something valuable, grab it and hand it to me."

After a thorough search it is decided that the library contains no other spellbooks. Some spent scrolls are found but presumably the spells themselves were transfered into the spell books found.

There is nothing else of worth here besides books...and a lot of them at that.

Balthazar asks Zmija to go run and check on Michael and the horses to make sure they are okay.  Then he, Loukas and Dyanna start looking at the occult books to see if there are any references to the Cube.  If this were a Call of Cthulhu game, it would be time to make a Library Usage roll!
This message was last edited by the player at 20:00, Mon 26 Apr 2010.

Zmija bolts from the library with alarming speed and is back in less than a minute with a report that Michael is safe and taking care of the mounts just fine. He joins the others in a search.

I have actually taken your CoC advice and gave everyone a chance to spot something here in the library. Obviously the two magic users being the most book type of characters have the best chance.

Dyanna continues to search until she hears the others call her back.

Approaching them she asks, "Did you find anything?"

Having traveled with Zmija, Loukas was not surprised by the man's quickness, but it did occur to him as he watched the Rus monk move with such speed that following the precepts and practiced they had been discussing would enable him to do the same. It was both a thought both exciting and intimidating, but mostly the former.

Being in this state of mind he found himself rather less interested in the books than he was in the conversation that he'd been having with Zmija. Unless he is encouraged by the Rus to assist Balthazar and Dyanna he will attempt to pick up the conversation with him where it was left off when he went out to check on Michael.

"Nope."  Balthazar notices that Zmija and Loukas have gone off by themselves.  "Except this book on erotic massage.  It seems I could learn a thing or two from this."  He shows her some of the drawings of the advanced techniques.

"Perhaps you can practice on yourself," Dyanna says, offering a wry grin.

Turning away then, she continues, "When we settle in this eventide I'd like to discuss our discoveries."

Zmija pops his head back in the library from his talk with Loukas..."I heard Dyanna mention eventide...this will be upon us soon. I suggest we finish up here and be on our way so we are not caught out alone in the dark."

"Alright everybody, let's finish up."

Back to home base.

"I'm ready," replies Dyanna, following with Balthazar as Zmija exits.

Balthazar keeps an eye out for anything obviously valuable while on his way out.  Still lots of room in his magic pocket.

The five leave the library area and head back towards the north gate without incident. The streets are still deserted but there are sounds of battle tot he south it seems.

With in a half hour or so the party arrives back at the head quarters of Dobrynya...Loukas and Zmija have been involved in a deep discussion all the while.

It looks like the others are enjoying the hospitality of the future Regent at an outdoor feast. The only ones who seem to be missing are Jaleh and A'kos.

Sorry a bit of a rush post but at least it gets us mostly back together. I did do the random checks to make sure your return was not just a blatant return for games sake though.

In reply to Nestor (msg #51):

Balthazar asks Dobrynya and Zmija if they think organizing a search party to go after Jaleh and A'kos is warranted.

"We will give then one more hour and if they do not show up, we will search for them yes?"

Balthazar nods and remains tense, worried about his companions.

"Perhaps we should retire, Sir Mage, and begin the examinations of Pyotr's Bane," murmurs Dyanna to Balthazar with an arch look.  "A look at our discoveries from this day might be in order."

"Indeed, I am keen on that as well.  I hope we don't have to interrupt our, um, studies, for a rescue mission, but if we do, Dobrynya knows where to find us."

Balthazar retires with Dyanna into seclusion, where he pulls great treasures out of his magic pocket.

We will keep Dyanna and Balthazar here in this thread. Remember they have a makeshift lab set up in a building by the North Gate.

I just had a thought.  If Zmija is up for it, Balthazar casts invisibility on him so that he can easily go into the city and look for the missing duo.

Her arms crossed, and with a wry grin on her face Dyanna says, "I'm truly here to study, Balthazar."

With that she steps forward to examine the items, adding her own find, the book with the Cube on the face, to the pile.

"As I said, an interesting discovery," she smirks.

A smirk on his face as well, he replies, "I've no doubt of that.  The only question is what you'll be studying."



Balthazar gives in, grudgingly, "Well, I guess we do have a lot on our plate then.  I can't wait to find out if my favorite spell of all time is in one of these magic tomes.  Ever since I was a little boy I've wanted to fly."

Dyanna offers a raised eyebrow at the confession and giggles.

"It would be an interesting sight.  I too am interested in the contents - perhaps there's hope that I'll find some dweomers of interest in my own search."

"And this," she continues, pointing to her discovery.  "A user's manual?  In Persian, I believe?"
This message was last edited by the player at 23:27, Fri 07 May 2010.

Michael the Greek pops his head into the lab for a moment..."Is there anything I can get for you?"

Remember the book is in Persian...Dyanna can speak Arabic.

"That's very kind of you to ask, Michael.  If you could fetch us a bottle of wine from Dobrynya's stores and 2 glasses, that would be great.  I'm about to do a lot of reading out loud and my throat is going to get dry."



No worries, here's Balthazar's language list from his character sheet:
LANGUAGES: Greek (common), Latin, Arabic, Persian, Slavic, Turkic, Magyar,
Hebrew

Balthazar takes the book from Dyanna, curls up next to her, and starts reading aloud.  When Michael returns with the wine, he pours an equal amount for her as for himself, and bids Michael a good evening.

Taking the proffered wine Dyanna twirls the goblet and settles herself comfortably next to the learned mage.  She listens and sips and listens some more, all the while listening intently to the mage's words.  From time to time she gazes at the cube, her thought digesting the information from the book.

Of sudden their companionable nearness sinks in and she glances at Balthazar from the corner of dark eyes, and grins.  She follows the tenor of his voice and waits for an appropriate stop before asking, "What thoughts thus far, Sir Mage?"

Balthazar reads the book...PM:)

OOC: Balthazar: Dyanna's asking your thoughts on what's been read thus far...fyi.

"Well, it seems that we are just going to have to try pressing each face of the cube if we wish to know where it goes; there doesn't seem to be any other way.  I, for one, see no rush to do so.  At the very least, let's learn our new spells first.  Also, there still is one other find in my pocket."  With that, he reaches into his magic pocket and pulls out a bouquet of a dozen roses.  "For you, " he says blushing, and hands them to her.

Assuming she receives them graciously, he says with surprise while looking into his pocket, "What's this?  More?"  He pulls out a pair of chairs, a small table, a set of dishes and utensils for each of them, and at the very last, a delicious smelling bowl of bread pudding that he places on the table.  He serves some pudding to her, then some to him, and asks with a decadent smile if she'd be interested in feeding one another.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:11, Sun 09 May 2010.

A frown flashes, but then she shakes her head ruefully and offers a wry grin.

"I should have known," she replies.

She accepts the flowers, sniffs them delicately, then sets them aside as she sits at the table.

"I am flattered by the attention, Balthazar," she says mildly.  "I am quite capable of feeding myself, however."

Her eyes sparkle in amusement as she says this.

"I love bread pudding," she murmurs appreciatively, noting the scent of cinnamon wafting from the dish.

After enjoying a small taste she says, "I hope you did not stain your robe!"

He pulls out a vase from his pocket, already filled with water, to set them in.



Unperturbed, he gushes, "I am smitten with you, Dyanna."



"Actually, I must confess this particular dish is not my cooking.  I had not the time to prepare it; I asked Dobrynya's chef to make it while we were away on our mission."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:21, Sun 09 May 2010.

"Ah, my courtesy to the chef, then," she nodded, continuing to eat.

She enjoys the treat in silence, then looks at the Mage with a half smile.

"I am flattered by the affection, Balthazar," she says after a moment.  "Truth be told it is all a bit much.  But you are certainly a man that I admire greatly.  Yet my life has not been so genteel that a man's advances are warmly received."

She pauses again briefly then adds, "I tell you this not to rebuke you, yet to tell you my mind is on other matters this eve.  Furthermore, I challenge you, if my heart is to be given, it must be earned...and not by attempts at pleasures fleeting such as you espouse."

Balthazar leans back into his seat thoughtfully and says, "I sometimes forget that people without Hedonite training aren't as easily able to shunt other thoughts away and focus on the here and now.  I hope you'll forgive me for appearing so callous, after all we did shed blood earlier this day.  I should also tell you that I am not so much trying to win your heart as to thoroughly enjoy your company for as long as we travel together.  I am married to a wonderful woman.  We met really young and were of similar minds - both being Hedonites - so we decided to separate for 7 years, see the world, sow our wild oats, so to speak, before settling down and starting a family.  We're 4 years into the tour.  We get together every Christmas and Easter, and she's having similar adventures.  So I've got 3 years left before I'm changing soiled underclothes and birping babes on my arm.  That's not much time to get to learn 9th Order spells, is it?"  He laughs.  "But enough about me, if you would like to talk about what is on your mind this eve or about what has made you hostile to a man's advances, I'd be glad to hear it."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:53, Mon 10 May 2010.

Dyanna's grin widens as he tells his tale.

"A pact worthy of a good man!" she exclaims when he is done.  "My respects to your wife - I should be so lucky to chance to meet her someday."

"As for what to talk about, I'm in agreement with your thoughts, that the books are of great interest to me now.  I should dearly like to see if any of them contain spells that I could, perchance, learn."

"And for the scribes, Balthazar, I am not so cold as to refuse an indulgance now and again!  The bread pudding was a treat.  You have my thanks!"

Leaning forward over the table Dyanna kisses the man lightly upon his cheek.

Balthazar gives out a contented sigh when she kisses his cheek.  Then he says, "Well, since I don't have read magic memorized right now, I can't look at any of the magical books until tomorrow.  If you have the ability to do so, then please do not let me prevent you from it.  I think I'll go turn in.  Goodnight."

Dyanna grins as the weary mage heads to bed, then opens the first tome and settles in for some time of intent study.

Dyanna finds that only one of the books that were taken form the library is illusionist oriented but it is a fairly thick book.

This is what she finds...for her eyes only:P:

Well, the next morning Balthazar memorizes read magic and has a gander at all the other books.  Just to be safe, he takes each book separately to a secluded spot so that if it blows up with explosive runes as he starts to read it, at least the other books won't be damaged.  And hopefully he survives the damage it causes.

Dyanna awakes and makes her way back to their impromptu study area.  She smiles upon finding Balthazar already at work, amused by his frown of concentration.

"Up already, I see," she notes.  "Some good finds, I think, though it may be some time before I'm capable of using them to good affect.  And your studies...have they been fruitful?"

Balthazar manages to make short work of the books he is studying without even blowing up once.

"Well, it seems I only found one 3rd level spell in all of that.  Oh well."

Balthazar adds that spell to his spellbook.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:03, Sat 29 May 2010.

"So what next, Sir Mage?  I don't suppose there's anything we can get into as we wait for the rest of the teams to return tonight," says Dyanna.

"Well, if the DM doesn't return, I hear the South of France is lovely..."

Sorry to leave you two hanging...I am forcing this chapter of the game closed this week with some wrap up posts.