Dyanna waits for the others after she sets up the mirror in the lab that Balthazar and she shared while figuring out the cube.

The lab itself is a large room with several tables and a few bookcases. The mirror sits in the middle of the room covered by a cloth. Miroslav has ordered several couches be brought to the lab for the comfort of those involved. A table with refreshments has also been set up.

Loukas enthusiastically heads to the Lab when he gets word that Dyanna is ready. He takes a seat on a couch near the Mirror so that he can not only see the image, but see what and how Dyanna and Balthazar work whatever magics they do.

Following Loukas into the Lab Thorn takes a seat at the other end of the same couch, and makes himself comfortable as best he can, which is a bit of a task with this new sword hanging from his belt. Finally he sits back with his mandolin across his lap, though it will remain quiet while he watches proceedings, and with great interest at that.

Zmija enters the lab..."I have returned from speaking with Lord Miroslav...he will not be joining us. It seems there is much work for a new regent. And entire city of merchants wish to bend his ear."

This would be the first time that their Captain is not present for such a meeting. It seemed odd, but this is how things happen. Then an idea comes to him and Loukas asks Zmija, "Perhaps he needs the Woolly One's assistance to advise him on these matters?"

Zmija smiles at Loukas..."Believe that I have offered him assistance...remember Miroslav is a strong follower of Perun the Thunderer. While he respects and even reveres Veles, he has a connection with Perun that is very important to him. We may offer guidance, whether he will accept said guidance is another matter altogether. Regardless, he is strong enough in mind and spirit to tackle such a task without the aid of the gods."

"Oh, yes, I haven't forgotten Miroslav's regard for The Thunderer. I respect that and suppose we have to let him discover why it is The Woolley One is the God of trade. One day after meeting with merchants he'll come crawling to us head pounding asking help in understanding the 36th paragraph. There is a reason Perun sits atop his mountain, far from such matters, eh?"
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 19:21, Thu 15 Nov 2012.

"Methinks you presume to think Miro would crawl to anyone," observes A'kos with a wry grimace.  "Rather he should stake the merchants at the front gate before doing so.  That's where you might find influence, though I would counsel against the use of such...hyperbole...when discussing such matters with him."

He winks at Loukas with a small amount of humor...proud of the use of 'hyperbole', which recently was defined for him by Jaleh.

Dyanna looks slightly annoyed as she stands next to the covered mirror.

"My plan was to wait for Balthazar but I see that he must have stayed out late last night indulging in his hedonistic endeavors. So without further wait."

She pulls the cover from the mirror exposing the scrying surface which for all purposes now is just a mirror.

Ostende nobis imperator John! Speculum, Iubeo te! She speaks in Latin as she steps away and waits for the scrying to begin.

A scene slowly begins to come through the mirror. A throne room. The emperor sits on his throne, deep in thought as he listens to several counselors. He does not look happy. Before he can speak, a man in the robes of a scholar quickly steps forward and raises his hand..."Do not speak another word your highness...there is magic afoot!"

The emperor John quickly stands and his hand reaches for the short court sword on his hip. Guard begin to scramble and surround him. Within a minute he is blocked from view.

Dyanna quickly covers the mirror up with the sheet and says in Latin,
"Occludant tabernam!" to deactivate the mirror.

Looking more than a little depressed she sighs and says,
"Well, that didn't work. What now?"

Loukas was not surprised that their effort was detected. He shrugs as he takes a sip from his cup, "Now, now, let us put this into perspective. We just attempted to view the Emperor of Rome in his Court. Any sophisticated ruler keeps his court mages near so that what we tried to do will not work. The Khan did not know that his enemies has your powers, but we are not the only enemy of John with them.

"No, for this to work we are maybe better off trying to catch him at a less formal time. Or perhaps finding lesser members of his Court who have important or sensitive posts, but not so protected. They can not protect everyone and remember we were able to view Nicephorus once."

Zmija nods his head..."Wise words Loukas. It is indeed no huge surprise, this did not work as would have hoped. Perhaps just waiting till nightfall will give us a let public Emperor to view."

"Would've liked to seen the look on his face if we'd attacked through the mirror," grinned A'kos, though their is a keen edge to his tone as he speaks.  "Fatal assault, undoubtedly, but almost worth the effort."

Zmija looks lost in thought for a moment..."Perhaps not a suicide mission. Some of our group possess strong magic and or physical skills. Even a lone assassin sent through at the right time could possibly pull this off and escape back through the mirror before detected given luck was with them."

"Okay, I suggest we meet back here after sundown. I can try again then, if that is agreeable with the rest of you?"

Loukas rubs his chin as he considers, "I will admit to having concerns about killing this bastard... Please do not misunderstand me. I want John dead. That fuck killed my Uncle among others.

"That said, with his death will our lives be easier? Will the pressure on the Knyaz and the Rus be reduced? For that matter, are we prepared to take advantage of whatever results from the death of the Emperor of the Romans? If not, then perhaps we should not rush into this."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:21, Mon 03 Dec 2012.

"True words my friend. We may wind up with someone far worse if you can even imagine such a thing. Still a single poisoned arrow fired through the mirror or even a fireball...imagine the power this mirror gives to us. What else might we do?"

A'kos frowns thoughtfully, but says nothing.

Uncharacteristically quiet for a time, Thorn has mused over the possibilities granted by the mirror, and now speaks forth.

"Could we not all pass through the mirror? It seems to me that between us we might achieve more than one poor solitary soul...and we might have a greater chance of returning intact, also."

Loukas rubs his chin and sits forward, "Dyanna or Balthazar will correct me if I am wrong, but the Mirror may be used as a 'doorway' between the point it views. Thorn. This is how we killed the Khan... Of course, this means it works both ways, so if the person being viewed is aware of it he may use it as well and come after us."

Taking a sip from his cup he looks around the room, "Zmija is right, I think. We have enormous power with the Mirror. My concern is that the more often we use it the better our enemies will be able to prepare themselves for its use. I suppose my point is that rather than kill John, we ought to use the Mirror to monitor and defeat his schemes against us.

"Doing so would make him seem impotent, which I think would be a far greater vengeance... If nothing else it would make his followers doubt him and might ultimately inspire his own to turn upon him. He might fall as he rose.

"I realize that what I suggest is not quite 'adventurous', but it seems to me that with careful use we might not only defeat our enemies, but strengthen our allies."

"Understand who his closest confidantes are," A'kos suggests, speaking at last.  "Scry them enough to understand who they are talking to, identify their couriers, and set up ambushes so that important communiques get lost en route.  By attacking his lines of communication you take away his ability to know...and leaves him flooded with doubt as to whom he can trust..."

Loukas smiles and nods his head to A'kos's idea, "Aye, yes. Scry the Bureaucrats and Generals when they are not at Court and away from the Court Mages. In the process of doing this we will learn who those couriers are. We need to be careful as we do not want to reveal exactly how much we know as that might reveal how we are doing what we are doing, but yes, Falcon, you get what I am saying!

"These actions would not only make him distrust his Court, but waste resources. As his trust of his followers decreases so will their confidence in him."

Zmija smiles..."I like the way this line of  thought is going. I do not have the same stake in vengeance against the Emperor as some of you do but I would see him fall for his many other crimes that have affected both my family and I. We should run this idea past Miroslav and see what he says. I would suggest that Loukas and A'Kos approach the Regent with this idea sine you two are his longest companions, along with Balthazar who must be satisfying his hedonistic needs right now."

Loukas rolls his eyes at the mention of Balthazar's 'needs' and smirks, "Power and Impracticality -- I am thinking this is the very nature of our friends Philosophy."

He takes a last sip from his cup and sets it down as he stands, "Shall, we A'kos? What say you, Dyanna? Will you join us? Our 'Captain' may not have known you for as long as he has known us, but the wisdom you have shown since joining our fellowship and your knowledge of how the Mirror works will help us present a better scheme."

Dyanna smiles at Loukas, "Yes, I will join the two of you. Let us bring Thorn along as well. He has much to learn about the strange way that we work. He is used to the way Dobrynya works, we tend to do things our own way."

She holds out her hand and says,
"Thorn?"

A'kos stands, adjusts his baldric.  He says nothing, though a frown adorns his face, pensive and uncompromising.  He looks about at those who stay behind, then follows, his hand resting upon the pommel stone of his sword.

ooc: edited for sloppy writing, word usage and a host of other issues I've yet to discover.  Sigh...
This message was last edited by the player at 19:42, Mon 10 Dec 2012.

"Far be it from me to refuse the invitation of a lady."

With an easy smile Thorn rose to his feet, taking Dyanna's hand as he did so, and carrying his mandolin in the other.
"These are underhand, unchivalrous, dubious tactics...it appears I have met kindred spirits indeed! More seriously, you are quite correct, these are excellent notions and should trouble the Emperor no end."

"Wonder how Sir Jean would've received them," A'kos speculates briefly before lapsing back into silence.

"He probably would have charged on horseback through the Mirror and into the Emperor's Court and would not have been around to hear the conversation we had after the Wizard shut it down.

"He looks at Thorn, what does 'unchivalrous' mean, Thorn. Chivalry is something you Franks go on and on about, but I have not really heard anyone define what is meant by it."

Balthazar saunters in, "Sorry I'm late, did I miss anything?"  Upon being told about the events, he laughs and says, "Actually, scrying the Emperor is really not what I had in mind.  We need to discover information about who is at court.  For instance, we should know who takes over in the event he is killed.  The successor could be worse.  What we embark on takes much planning.  I recommend we question Nicephorus further."

"Good question," replied Thorn to Loukas' enquiry. "I am not too certain myself - I have had various 'civilised' people over the years tell me that my behaviour was unchivalrous, and in various situations too. In battle, in duels, with their daughters and sisters and wi-

Actually, forget that last one. That was an error of judgement on my part, alas. To be honest, I've never hung around to find out the actual meaning. Sword-points and lynch mobs keep getting in the way."

"Very well then, I will snatch up Nicephorus and we can meet with Miroslav. Just give me a hour or so to arrange this." Zmija exits quickly.

Roughly an hour later Miroslav, Zmija and Nicephorus all sit in the Regents administration room. Nicephorus looks to have been treated well. He is bound in chains but looks comfortable enough. A moment later, Cuivi enters the room, clearly he has been summoned for his ability to detect falsehoods.

Before Nicephorus arrives Loukas says to the Fellowship gathered, "My friends, let us be careful not to mention the Mirror until after we have finished our conversation with Nicephorus. He is our prisoner, but we have no reason to believe that the Emperor's magi are less clever or powerful than our own. They might use him, if they know he is alive, to learn not only what he knows of our situation, but what he overhears of our own plans.

"So, let us hold the conversation with Miroslav about how we might use the Mirror until after they have returned him to his cell."

When they bring the Greek in Loukas stays seated; however, when Cuivi enters he stands, "It is good to see you, my friend, I hope you had a comfortable night."

Turning to Nicephorus he says, "The bread you eat here is not without cost and there is always rent, is there not, so you are here today to earn your keep."

He glances at Balthazar and continues, "To begin with it has been a long time since your murderous plot ensured that those of us here who are from Byzantium will never go back. Regardless of our desires in this matter, it seems that your Master will not leave us alone. Accordingly, we expect that you will assist us, if  you wish to live out the remainder of your life with any comfort at all.

"I have two big questions for you, my friends may have others...

"The first: Tell us of the Emperor's Court today. We want to know who are not only the major functionaries, but who the chief clerics as magic users are serving him.

"The second: If he were to drink too much wine, fall off of his horse and break his neck, who would step up to replace him on the Throne?"

Finishing he stands arms crossed with his right hand stroking the light beard that covers his lower jaw with an attentive and expectant smile.

ooc: just an aside, i would think Dobrynya and Miroslav would've had a pretty good idea of major functionaries, and lines of succession.  I suspect you're leading in this direction, but the names we want get are those who work outside the established chains of command.  Chief among spies and assassins - those whose networks carry information back to the Emperor.

Nicephorus looks at his feet for a moment and says..."At this time, their is no successor to the Emperor named. There is talk that young Basil is being groomed for the post but he is only fourteen years old, far to young to be emperor."

"As for your first question...the Emperors mages and clerics are far too numerous to name. You can rest easy or uneasy as it may be, knowing that the Emperor John is the Emperor of Rome itself. You will find no more powerful mages or clerics on earth than those who serve him."

Miroslav frowns as he listens to the Greek speak of mages and clerics..."As we expected of course. I do think that Basil would make a fine replacement for John if it comes down to it. He is young, yes but from what I have heard of him, he is a different sort of man, less ambitious and perhaps less militant."

He looks over at A'Kos and gives the Magyar a nod of the head before turning back to Nicephorus..."Now we would know of the intelligence community of Emperor John...what can you tell us?"

Nicephorus again looks down at his feet...only this time he does not look up. He remains quiet.

A'kos moves swiftly forward and let's fly a punch to the man's chin...hard enough to rock him, but not to kill.

He leans down, says, "I've no doubt that punches and kicks are not what you fear worst...but we've assembled enough folk with varied skills to test the limits of your perserverence.  Now answer the question."

A'kos's move surprised Loukas. So much so, that for a moment he simply paused and considered the Magyar's punch as a professional. It was only a snap second later that it occurred to him that he ought not to be giving advice on unarmed combat and he moved forward, "That is enough of that, A'kos. Our guest has been involved enough of these sorts of meetings to understand what he is up against.

"And knowing this he knows that physical pain is not the worst of his concerns."

Turning to Nicophorus, "Now, getting back to the issue of spellcasters in the Imperial Court. I did not ask whether or not he has them, nor how many he has, but whom the most powerful of them are. I want their names. And, of course, the Regent asked of the Imperial Intelligence service...."

He looks at him intently, "Please, understand, man, that you have no advantage here. You will give us the information we ask for without any more foolishness. In return we shall protect you from John.

"If you do not cooperate, let me explain what will happen... We will help John understand that you have given us information. That you were complicit in the destruction not only of his fleet, but his pet the Khan of the Pechenegs and the vast army that our much smaller army destroyed. And then we shall put you somewhere where his agents will easily find you and ensure that they do. Regardless, our actions hereafter will have a signature that indicates they will have been done with your assistance.

"Do you understand what I am saying? You will either cooperate and live out your days peaceably or you will spend them running from the Master you have served so ably up to now."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:27, Sun 23 Dec 2012.

Nicephorus looks up from the ground at both Loukas and A'Kos and scowls. He turns his head to the side and spits some blood and a tooth onto the floor of the Regents hall and says..."You might as well just kill me now then."

Loukas sighs as he looks at Nicephorus's tooth. Looking up with a somewhat apologetic look on his face, "Oh, dear. You really do not understand. We are not going to kill you. My Magyar friend has a rather harsh temper and I apologize for his slap.

"No. We are going to keep you very much alive. You see, sir, you underestimated us long ago and since that time not only have we become rather better at survival and expanded our abilities in general, we have gained friends who have significant powers.

"Powers that give us certain capabilities that you do not not know about. For example, I remind you again of what has occurred in the last week.

"So, here is what shall occur: you will either share with us the information we want or we shall take actions on the basis of the information we already bear and make it seem as if we gained this with your assistance. I am quite serious that while we are set upon destroying John we want to do so thoroughly. It is not enough that he merely dies... He must be perceived as a failure to history."

Loukas smiles and continues, "Do not misunderstand, we do not keep you alive because we like you or wish you any sort of good feeling. No. We are going to use our powers in a rather subtle manner and in doing so we shall make it seem to any who were your friends before you boarded the ship we took from you a few days ago that you have acted in concert with us. That you have been disloyal or maybe merely stupid..."

Holding up a hand, "I will admit that this plan is just coming together. Our actions from here very much depend upon what we get from you. It is really just a matter of how you wish to spend the rest of your life. I assure you that while A'kos has a definite opinion upon how we should deal with you and that would very much suit your own desires, he is alone in this.

"No, sir, I pledge to protect you. I will make your life long. If you assist us the Emperor will learn of your death and we shall move you to some place comfortable and safe for you to finish your years. If you do not assist us, the Emperor will hear a story something along the lines of your having joined the Knyaz and sworn to him. We have a few options before us that will end in some horrible surprises for the Emperor and we will leave sufficient clues that these actions were a result of your scheming. Obviously, at this point I will have failed to make your life long, but I shall have made your reputation last long....

"Is this clearer? I am not toying with you. I am not your friend. I hate you, but I respect you. You have no option here. Either you cooperate or your former Master will believe you cooperated and until you are eventually killed by him we shall do our best to keep Him focused on your treachery."

He turns to the Miroslav, "Perhaps our guest should be given some time to consider matters?"

Miroslav stands and picks up Nicephorus by the back of his collar and shoves him towards the guards..."Throw him back in his cell for the time being."

Once Nicephorus has been taken away he looks at A'Kos and says..."I have refrained from smashing his face thus far. I am glad you gave in and hit him...it looked satisfying."

"So we know Basil is being groomed to be his successor. My suspicion is that Nicephorus himself was the head of John's intelligence community. We have the man we need right here, getting him to talk may be another matter. We will give him a while to ponder Loukas's offer though...any other suggestions short of full on torture?"

"It may be no small surprise that I have some talents that might convince him to tell us what we want to know without even hurting him. In fact he will think that telling us is in his own best interest. I suggest that several of you accompany me to see him and we can get this over with without much effort. If I fail then surely Balthazar has such magic at his disposal as well and he can try."

Loukas rubs his forehead and considers, "I don't think we need rush things here. Let him stew in matters this night. Miroslav is right, though, Nicophorus is head of John's Intelligence service. He is as much to blame for the crimes committed against us as John is... I would like to break him and cause him to cooperate and then you and Balthazar may confirm whatever he gives us using your abilities."

"Check him for poison so that he does not kill himself," remarks A'kos candidly.  "And double the watch - assassins can find their ways into the tiniest of cracks.  This, I know..."

"Good point about doubling the guard, A'kos, though if had poison he would have used it already. We need to be certain that he can not kill himself any other way."

"He would not have killed himself if he thought escape was still possible," A'kos replied with a shrug, confused that Loukas would actually find the one thing to argue about in his statement just so he could counter it.

Boris, the Voevoda (Regent, might as well start using the actual correct term.) loyal retainer or Druzhinnik, nods his head and begins to walk off in the direction that Nicephorus was taken..."I will personally see that the prisoner remains safe from others and himself."

Loukas nods when the Druzhinnik goes to oversee Nicephorus's security. With Boris handling this duty he felt confident that whatever the out of shape, middle-aged bureaucrat got up to, it would be well managed. That is not to say that he is completely relaxed, after all, underestimating the enemy was the quickest way to get beaten. This was why he had appreciated A'kos's agreed with concerns about this stuff.
Wait, what was that he just thought about underestimating an enemy? "An old spy is still a spy!", he heard in his Uncle's voice.

"So, we have nothing to do but wait, then. Anyone up for a game of chess?"

"Suggestive spells are definitely the way to go here."

Dyanna flashes a warm smile at Balthazar and says,

Balthazar has the right of it. Why do we need to wait for anything? We can get the information we need out of him in a matter of minutes with his full cooperation. Why do you feel the need to wait?"

"Because I want to see if he can be broken. This man has been at the center of every plot aimed at us. I know we may use your powers to take the information we want from him, but I want him to give it to us willingly. If we were in a true rush for the information this would be a waste of time, but since we are not I wish to punish the man who killed my uncle, would have killed me, and the rest of the Fellowship."

He looks around his face more serious than it has been in a very long time, "Nicephorus knows this game my friends and we need to convince him that we know it as well."

"Mmm, I understand your desire to draw this out," A'kos said.  "Yet Dyanna and the Hedonite have the right of it, I believe.  The sooner done, the better...for a multitude of reasons."

Loukas shrugs his shoulders, "Reasons such as? We have days , if not weeks advantage and already decided that our purpose is to find ways to begin dismantling the confidence the Greeks have in John. This is a long term game unless we are able to know the precise questions to ask or suggestions to make to inspire Nicephorus to tell us everything we need to know."

He looks at Balthazar and Dyanna, "We did not begin this day  with this plan, so are you certain that you have the correct spells and quantities of them memorized for our interrogation? As we've said, this one is experienced in the use (or working with those who use) these spells. He is likely to know they've been used....

"Look, I realize that this is beginning to sound like my own vengeance scheme -- and I admit that this is most of my intent -- but I think we err if we rush things unnecessarily. Miroslav has agreed so far and as he is Voevoda. If he changes his mind that will settle matters and I shall abide."

"I care not," shrugs A'kos.  "My concern is chiefly that cells are not impregnable, and either escape or assassination seem likely.  John has agents everywhere...the sooner we get what we need to at least begin implementing a strategy, the better."

"It has hardly been five days since we captured him. As far as the Emperor knows he is dead and while you are probably quite correct that Nicephorus has/had agents here, and were wise to remind us of this for Boris to attend, do you think John has the means of immediate communication with all of them? Byzantium is weeks distant, their fleet destroyed, and the Master of His Intelligence service missing in action.

"Those magi in His Court may be powerful, but the power you suggest would have to be either impeccably prepared for this situation or godly. "

"I know nothing of 'power' such as you use the term," murmured A'kos stoically.  "If we are able to peer into his own throne room, however, I must believe John can reach out to any of his minions should cause arise.  Once we opened that window through the mirror we immediately put his spy in peril."

"Frankly, I cannot see why you would argue this point.  Nothing ever has been gained by waiting...and far more has been lost by delay.  But...as I said, I care not.  If Nicephorous is slain in his cell, or finds the means to flee then we will climb ahorse, and ride somewhere to regain the upper hand.  A far more exciting option to me than sitting and hiding in our own fortress..."

Loukas raises an eyebrow, "Will it seem a surprise if I don't give a damn for your 'excitement'? I've made my case about what we should do. My point is that this is the right time to wait and we ought to do so. I'm not suggesting we do nothing for months. I'm saying that we give the man a night to consider the threats made and the realities of his situation.

"That said, it is Miroslav's decision. If he disagrees with me then he will say and we will see what Balthazar and Dyanna may do today."

Again, A'kos is taken aback by Loukas vehemence...yet again he remains stoic in his reply.

"You react angrily to what is only modest and cautious counsel," he replies.  "I fail to see the heart of your anger - I am not, after all, the enemy.  And 'tis not only my counsel that suggests we move with mindful haste - such was given by Dyanna, Balthazar as well.  For my part such counsel is fueled by the belief that the Emperor will move swiftly in retaliation, and it will not be with armies this next time."

"Your anger, your ardor surely cannot be against me?" he continues rhetorically, showing some of the political seasoning reputed to run deep in his family.  "If so, then any offense I've given surely was unintended.  But I wonder if really, as you've already hinted, your own agenda of vengeance perhaps is coloring your vision.  As for me, I will abide Miroslav's words either way...but heed me, Loukas, 'tis not only me voicing this suggestion, so point your ire elsewhere..."

A'kos settles himself then on a nearby stool, his elbow resting upon a knee, his chin upon his closed fist as he awaits further word from Miro.

"I have the spell to charm an individual into trusting friendship memorized.  I do not know the spell of suggestion, but I'm hoping Dyanna does."

Miroslav rubs his bearded chin for a moment as he is lost in thought..."We will let him stew for the night but in the morning we will let Dyanna and Balthazar have him."

A'kos smiles, nods and stands.

"Then I shall retreat for the night to check in on Jaleh.  A good night to you all."

Without further ado A'kos departs.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:12, Sun 30 Dec 2012.

A'kos's words strike true and in doing so give Loukas pause and he raises his cup in salute to the warrior as Balthazar speaks. He is about to say something himself as Miroslav makes his decision, and when the Voevoda speaks he nods.

Looking from Balthazar to Dyanna, "It may be that we will not have to pluck information from him, but distinguish lies from truth in that which he speaks. This will give the two of you an opportunity to better pick your spells regardless.

"If it seems that he is unlikely to cooperate, I have a song in mind that will permit me to influence his actions... If it works it will act not unlike one of your 'Suggestion' spells. I may only do this once a day on a person, so permit me to start things off and keep this ability in mind as you pick your spells.

"Miroslav, I shall keep Boris and his men company tonight and perhaps sing a song or two to our guest."

Balthazar laughs, "I just thought of great torture use for my reduce spell."

"Would you mind if I joined you, Loukas? Perhaps we can share a few songs with Boris and his men? And come the morrow I will go with Dyanna and Balthazar, purely out of intrigue. If none object, of course."

Thorn strums his mandolin lightly as he speaks.

Loukas shrugs his shoulders somewhat noncommittally to Thorn, "If you'd like."

Miroslav nods his approval to Loukas.

The groups disperses with Loukas and Thorn find themselves with Boris and a few others sitting outside the cell that holds Nicephorus.

Nicephorus looks through the bars at the two newcomers with a look of severe disinterest. He yawns and lays back on the couch provided for him.

Nicephorus does not sit up as he says..."So...you two have come to sing me a lullaby?"

Loukas having greeted Boris and his men makes himself comfortable. "Thorn and I have come down to help you while away the hours with our guest."

Turning to Nicephorus he smiles as he strums his Gusli, "I do not care whether you sleep or not you gross fuck. I do wish to ensure that as you wallow in your shame you have an opportunity to recall your failures. Listen to a tune, have a glass of wine and share with us the secrets of your preparations here in our beautiful Khorsun, maybe.", he says with a sweet, teasing wink. Loukas is being ironical as he begins a song of wily, if daft fox named Vasiliy that traps himself in an empty hen house, but he hopes the song will lull a troubled Nicephorus into revealing something of the spy network he had established in the city before the invasion.

Thorn opens his mouth to say something to Loukas about his use of language, but thinks better of it. Instead, he opts to play his mandolin in harmony with the song, and waits to see what follows.

Despite his dismisal of the bards Nicephorus seems drawn into the song. It is not just the words but the music that grabs him as both bard play in unison. He sits up seemingly entranced by the what he hears.

Loukas finishes the song and bows his head with a smile to Thorn, Boris and the guards and turns to their prisoner, "So, Nicephorus, you find yourself as Vasiliy. How will the Emperor attempt to set you free from the 'Hen House' that is Khorsun once he knows you have been trapped?"
This message was last edited by the player at 12:51, Tue 15 Jan 2013.

Nicephorus looks down for a moment then back up at Loukas..."I am afraid his assassins will be coming for me as we had agreed on. Word has surely already reached him and there will be agents here in the city sent to kill me."

He looks down again still entranced by the magic of the song weaved by two bards.

Boris stands when he hears these words and calls out to the guards outside the door.Send Skordavich to the barracks and bring double the guards."

As Boris gave his orders Loukas turns to add, "Please inform Zmija as well. Our brotherhood is rather good at not be surprised. Jaleh and A'kos as well. She knows rather a lot about assasins and will know how they operate to help post your men."


Turning to Nicephorus he smiles, "I assure you that we will do everything in our power to protect you. After all you are our guest! So, how would he have learned so quickly of your capture?"

Boris nods his head. He quickly sends word to Zmija and sends runners out to gather the others here as soon as possible.

Nicephorus replies...One of the Emperors wizards was on the ship witht he high cleric and myself. I did not see him fall but he was nowhere to be seen duringt he battle. I am assuming he used his arcane mode of travel to get the word to the Emperor that the battle was not only lost but that I was taken as well."

As Nicephorus finishes speaking Jaleh walk into the room with a nod as she passes by the guards and Boris. She stops briefly and looks at both Loukas and Thorn, saying nothing before turning to look at Nicephorus.

When Jaleh enters, Loukas greets her, "Ah! Jaleh, it seems that A'kos's concerns regarding our guest's security were correct. Nicephorus is confident that the Emperor will be dispatching assassins to kill him. It seemed to me that since you know something about these sorts of operations that you might have insights for Boris about how to best secure things."

Turning back to the Greek he continues, "It is ironical that your agents are being set against you. Tell us who you expect to be coming after you and where we will find them in the city and we might better impede them."

As Loukas talks, Jaleh draws a strange looking dagger from her sleeve. Two 8" fangs protrude from the hilt and give off no reflection except for a slight glint at each of the tips. She tosses it up and over into her other hand then back again as if testing the weight and balance.

The song has weaved it's wonder, and the Greek was now...more amenable to discussion. Thorn nodded in return to Loukas, and sat back as the conversation developed. Soon after, the woman called Jaleh appeared, and there was an air about her - a sense of silence and yet also the promise of death, for those that would earn such a fate. Thorn returned her look, but his expression was neutral, if one of respect.

He sat and waited for the next developments.

Without so much as a glance back at Loukas and Thorn. Jaleh non-nonchalantly flings the double bladed knife into the chest of Nicephorus. A look of surprise passes across his face before he slumps back down on his couch...dead.

Jaleh does not turn back, she just stands there with her arms hanging at her sides.

Loukas was curious when Jaleh entered and drew her blade. She is normally not show-offy in that manner; however, in the moment he thought maybe she wanted to impress or make an impact upon Nicephorus. Well, if nothing else she made an incision., he thinks to himself in irony tinged frustration.

He moves quickly into a defensive pose, "What other surprises do you have for us today, Jaleh?"

WOW! Really was not expecting that. Though as I think back over what I know of her I realize I should have been. Nicely played, Nestor and Jaleh!
This message was last edited by the player at 18:16, Sun 20 Jan 2013.

Jaleh does not move, nor does she answer Loukas. She stands looking at the dying body of Nicephorus.

In frustration, Loukas looks at Thorn and Boris, "If either of you can help our prisoner now would be the time. I am afraid that there is little I may do. "

Looking back at Jeleh, "I suppose this treachery explains the growing oddity of the last year? Suddenly keeping to yourself? And A'kos so smitten he had no idea. Blinded by his love while we were all blinded by our friendship. May I ask by what means you receive your orders? Well, wait, I think we need to have Balthazar and Dyanna ask these questions.."

He looks more carefully at her face, ready to move in an instant, "You will let us question you, won't you, Jeleh?"
This message was lightly edited by the player at 14:40, Fri 01 Feb 2013.

Jaleh stares ahead blankly. If she even knows that Loukas is talking to her, she is not showing it.

Boris races to check on Nicephorus but it is too late. Whatever poison was used...it was very strong and quick acting.

Boris barks out orders once he leaves the the body on the couch...Someone must let the Voevoda know as well as A'Kos, Dyanna and Ba;thazar!

He nods, "Well, we have already sent a messenger to A'kos and Jaleh, and given how quickly she arrived it seems that she was already on her way here at that time. (I wish that would have occurred to me at the time.)"

Loukas pauses, "Thorn, would you see to gathering the Fellowship? Check on A'kos as well... Bring them here. I shall stay here with Jaleh."

Boris holds his hand up and says, "Stay...I have already sent a man to each."

Loukas shrugs, he is beginning to feel this day, "Ah. Yes, well, at least I remembered that you sent one to A'kos and Jaleh here."

Turning to Jaleh, "That is assuming that he was not deterred. Was he? Did you come here because of the message Boris sent or were you already on your way here by the time we sent for you and A'kos...?"

With a sigh, Thorn turns to Loukas.

"My friend, I fear Jaleh here has been ensorcelled, and is quite incapable of answering your queries, or even reacting to them. Someone used one of our own against us, it would appear. Perhaps the guards can search for a magician lurking somewhere in the fortress? But I fear it may be too late to even catch them."

Loukas shrugs in response to Thorn, but keeps his eyes on Jahleh, "Mayhap. Until our Magi arrive we shall not know for certain...."

He stopped speaking suddenly, though he clearly had something else to say -- an unusual action for the Brother of Veles. He is new to the fellowship, but Thorn would recognize that Loukas is taking pains to be circumspect in the moment.

Dyanna enters the room just as Thorn and Loukas finish speaking.

"Your first mage has arrived?"

She takes in the scene and shakes head once she gets a good look at Jaleh.

"I think our new friend here is correct."

She walks up to Jaleh and grabs her head and looks deep into the woman's eyes.

Loukas nods, not taking his eyes off of Jaleh, "I swear by the Woolly One that I hope you're right, Dyanna.".

Still, even as Dyanna grabs her head, Jaleh makes no move or expression. It is as if she is an empty shell of her past self.

Some part of him is perversely glad that the Jaleh before them is not herself. The thought that after all of this time she might have been an agent of the Emperor would have been difficult. "So... Do you detect the resonance of any magic? How could this be?"
This message was last edited by the player at 05:03, Wed 30 Jan 2013.

Dyanna lets go of Jaleh's head and turns to Loukas. "I have a spell in one of books back in the lab that should be able to tell us something. Just a moment while I prepare it."

Dyanna leaves and comes back just minutes later carrying a large vellum book. She quickly opens to a page near the front of the book and smiles slightly as she sets the book down and begins to quietly chant and perform intricate hand gestures.

Dyanna steps back and turns to those present and speaks.

"There is something wrong here, past the obvious. I would guess that Jaleh was possessed much like Balthazar did with the Pecheneg but when the possessor left, Jaleh seems to have been lost."

"Wouldn't that imply that whoever possessed her was killed? Perhaps Balthazar might better understand since he knows this spell?", Loukas asks.

He relaxes some with Dyanna's analysis of Jaleh's state, but suddenly a thought strikes him, "Wait... Where is A'kos? Something tells me that if his Jaleh suddenly rose from the couch and left their home he would have had something to say about that.

"Boris, put what remains of Jaleh here in a cell and keep it guarded. The rest of us should visit him and make sure that he was not attacked."

So, Dyanna was a mage? Thorn was starting to recognise the talents of his new companions, and although there were clues to each it was always gratifying when one's estimations were proven correct. He watched the Greek woman return with her book and cast her spell, something she did with ease. When the conclusion became clear he stepped toward the middle of the room, ready to be off.

"This does not bode well at all. I agree, we should seek out A'kos immediately."

Dyanna shrugs her narrow shoulders,

"This particular spell is beyond my ken. I can only recognize it from working so close to Balthazar. Surely he will have a better understanding of what has happened. As for going to A'Kos, remember he was summoned just as I was. He must surely be on his way as we speak."

A'kos enters as Dyanna's voice trails off.

"I am here," he says softly, his stance tense, muscles rigid.  His hand sits upon the hilt of his long sword, his palm caressing the pommelstone.  There is about him an air that offers no compromise and the promise of action both swift and definitive.

He makes his way to the bars, stares at Jaleh and says over his shoulder to Dyanna, "I take it she is ensorcelled?"

"I am afraid so A'Kos, but there is more. The spell seems to have been broken somehow or even abandoned. I do not know how this will effect someone in her condition."

"I am sorry for all of this, my friend. It is so peculiar and so, well, fucking Byzantine what has occurred here.

"But still, its oddness raises questions. You left here together, but she arrived here quite separately from yourself. When she left your home did you know she had departed? Knowing what happened between the last time we saw the two of you and now could give us leads to find out who is behind this horribleness.

"And once we deal with that individual we can turn our attention to his master."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 03:26, Wed 06 Feb 2013.

PM

A'kos glanced at Loukas, considered him for a long moment.

"Recall, Loukas, that I was with you and the others much of the night, debating the merits of waiting.  Wait we did...to the detriment of all.  Old adages are such that there's a grain of truth in each - in this truth it seems we found the entire mine.  And now Jaleh is..."

His voice trailed off, and he turned his back pointedly on Loukas to stare again into the cell.  Finally he turned to Dyanna and said, "When I arrived home Jaleh was gone...as was the servant.  Of him, I found no sign other than some overturned pots and such.  I queried the neighbors...most saw nothing, one mentioned a cart and three men, one particularly tall, though he thought nothing of it until I questioned him.  That was where the guard found me."

He offers her a helpless shrug, turns and leans against the bars to stare at the vessel that once was Jaleh.

"Ah, love..."

Loukas realizes his error as A'kos responds and drops his head as, "Of course.... Forgive me, my friend... Damn it all, of course."

He is tired. The combined strains of the day feels like a crushing weight and his missteps through it all do not diminish any of it. "Before he died Nicephorus confirmed that the Emperor's assassins would be activated against him. He expected that the Emperor would be aware of his capture because a wizard that was on his ship disappeared when we seized it....

"So, he confirmed your expectations regarding his safety; however, we could not have known the subtlety of their scheme, I suppose," The tone of his voice suggests that the Brother of Veles thinks that they, He, ought to have actually known or expected or something. The frustration and impotence he is feeling is palpable.

A'kos asks suddenly, "When will the Hedonite return?"

Dyanna shakes her head.
"Lord only knows where Balthazar is or what his has gotten himself into. It could be minutes or days before he shows up. Sadly he is the well informed person in the whole city regarding this type of spell in my estimation."

"We sent a message to him when we sent one to you... What do you think our chances of tracking down the trio your neighbors saw? If they had a cart they can not be far at this point."

"She was not feeling well, a stomach flux," murmured A'kos to no one in particular.  "If only I'd gone with her..."

Dyanna looks at A'Kos and cocks her head to the side slightly.

"Do you not know? Did she not tell you? She is with child!"

A'kos whips his head around.  Speechless, he looks at Dyanna in shock, and range of emotions warring on his face.  Despair wins out, and he turns back to her and reaches through the bars in yearning, a low growl rumbling in his throat.

For the second time this night Loukas is taken by surprise. He glances from Dyanna back to A'kos and begins to speak, but his eyes land upon Jaleh and he stops. His mouth begins to open and just as quickly he shuts it. It is a rare thing, but Loukas finds himself without a single thing to say.

Dyanna shakes her head,
"My concern is for the baby here. If this was a magic jar spell as it seems, how did the caster know he had entered the mind of the mother or the baby? Obvious it possessed Jaleh but then what? Maybe even before? We really need Balthazar."

A very drunk Balthazar stumbles in, "Wha ... " he slurs, and starts again, "Whazza goin on here?"  He catches himself on Akos' shoulder.  "Whazza you all lookin' at?"  His clothes are stained with vomit.

The smell of vomit engulfs A'kos, and he holds his breath against it and other, nominally less offensive smells like unwashed Hedonite and such.  He is not happy.  Even an enlightened heathen such as he can only bare such for a moment, then he pushes Balthazar off him, and steps away in disgust.

"Hedonite...we need you sober!" he commands, the cold, pragmatic part of his mind wondering if Balthazar will actually listen. "Jaleh is in need!"

Loukas sighs and rubs his forehead, "As A'kos says, we need you sober, Balthazar. Nicephorus is dead by Jaleh's hand and Dyanna believes that she was soul-trapped or whatever it is you do. Come man, pull yourself together, because Jaleh seems not to be recovering and she is with child."

Miroslav follows Balthazar by just a few seconds. He hears what has happened and shakes his head.

"This is not how we would have seen this played out but I cannot say that the sight of Nicephorus like this hurts my eyes. Jaleh's condition is another story."

He steps forward and lays a heavy hand on the Magyar's shoulder saying..."We will make this right, no matter what it takes."

"k ... gotcha ... sorry ... just ccccc cast slow or neuter poizzzon on me ... cures doctah feelgud u know?"

Such a stream of revelation had developed that Thorn was quite taken aback, though he adjusted quickly - he was used to acting in a crisis, albeit usually of his own making, and long experience helped him now. So, the assassin was with child? What a turn of events! And these three mystery men in their cart...so much intrigue, which was just how he liked it.

And this must be Balthazar, the hedonite, apparently living down to his reputation - something else Thorn could admire! Introductions would have to wait. As would another song.

"A priest's touch would be helpful," A'kos notes, assuming he's heard the Hedonite correctly.  "Miro, is one available nearby?"

Miroslav steps forward and lays his hands on the Hedonite and speaks a few words in his native language..."Slava Perunu.(Glory to Perun)" Within seconds, Balthazar can feel the stupor begin to leave his body and mind. Clarity and sober thought begin to gain control.

Miroslav steps back..."Remember when were were in the circle of statues in Kiev? I was touched by Perun that day. I will never be a powerful worker of magic but the power of the thunderer flows through me to some degree."

A'kos nods, notes, "Useful, that."

To Balthazar he explains what he's been told in its entirety, ending with the revelation that Jaleh is now pregnant and her body is possibly soulless.

"I'll hunt to the deepest pit of the Abyss should it prove necessary," he declares, though there is a real fear they'll never know what's become of the diminutive killer.

"'Diminuative'? What do you mean, A'kos? This is the servant that was missing when you returned home?"

Loukas takes a sip of mead, "When  Balthazar is ready he will analyze Jaleh's state and he might also be able to find clues as to where she is. In the meanwhile, forgive me, but I am confused about whom we are seeking. Your missing servant seems to have been the Emperor's agent. He seems to have activated or cast the spell that gave her will over to become His agent.

"She told me long ago that she had been hired to kill me and I took that to mean Nicophorus had meant me to die when he killed my Uncle as I was his agent at the time. So, whatever has affected her today, it seems as if they had laid it long ago for activation whenever they needed to use her. Though, this implies we are trapped in something much deeper than we thought....

"These fuckers are worse than I ever thought.", he finishes almost to himself staring into his mead.

"I said nothing about 'diminutive', though I may have thought as much when regarding Jaleh," A'kos replied.  "As for who I seek, that should be clear.  I seek Jaleh's soul."

"As for the servant, he is likely dead now...though should he have proven false and we cross paths again I will have his heart."

Balthazar comes to ... "I'm sorry I let everyone down.  I knew I should have just gone and charmed Nicephorus and been done with it.  But with everything having been so tense around here, I needed to unwind.  Sometimes I overdo it.  It's ... it's actually considered a bit of a virtue amongst my people.  Now, I smell like crap.  I'll be back in just a moment."

Balthazar returns a few minutes later in a new outfit and with combed hair and a clean face.  He turns to A'kos, "I'm really sorry about what's happened to Jaleh.  Magic possesion isn't supposed to leave someone like that.  However, I have heard it is possible that when someone's soul wants to go, instead of being pushed aside by another intelligence, it can in fact leave the body when a possessor enters.  Of course, that wouldn't be Jaleh.  She was happy, right?  About to become a mother ... though I never did see her as the motherly type."

He ponders that for a bit.

"Well, there's two lives at stake here.  The child is not ready to be born, and if Jaleh's soul isn't here any more, we'll need to keep her alive anyhow.  Well, there's only one way to see exactly what's going on with the child and with Jaleh.  I must cast magic jar once more, and inspect their souls.  I will go prepare the spell, and we will meet again in the morning."  Balthazar returns to his chambers.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:38, Thu 07 Feb 2013.

I can't wait!  I'm going to skip ahead.

Jaleh is laid out on one table.  Balthazar is laid out on another.  The gem is placed between them.  It's a bit like that scene from Young Frankenstein.  He casts the spell, and his body goes inert.  The gem takes on a glow, then dulls, and Jaleh's eyes fly wide open.

Jaleh says, "Oh oh my ... it can't be."  She looks around wildly.  "No A'kos, don't get your hopes up; this is Balthazar talking.  I need a few more minutes to commune with the fetus and figure out what's going on here."  She closes her eyes again.  A minute or so later, she starts to strain, gritting her teeth and saying, "Come on, come on, come back."  Then she relaxes.

After a short while, the gem glows bright again, and then Balthazar awakes.  He sits up.  Jaleh remains inert.  He shakes his head.  "Well, shit."

Getting off the table, Balthazar tries his best to explain the situation.  "Jaleh's in there ... she's in the god-damned baby!  According to her, when the invading personality came in, she was lurched out of her body, and took refuge in the fetus, because apparently the fetus did not have a soul of its own yet.  I guess babies don't get a soul until the second trimester.  Who knew?  Anyway, I tried to pull her out of there and back into her real body, but she's melded with the fetus.  As she described it, once she popped into the baby, it's like she got welded in; a natural process that a soul from heaven evidently undergoes when it enters a new baby.  She's stuck in there for the long haul."

Balthazar lets the news sink in.  Then he continues, "We need to keep Jaleh's body safe and comfortable until Jaleh is reborn.  But we also need to make sure no other spirits try to enter her in the meantime.  A continual protection from evil amulet should do the trick.  Cuivi and I can start work on one at once.  Oh, and just so you don't get your hopes up, like every other newborn baby, Jaleh will lose her memory of her past lives.  In fact, she is already starting to forget who Jaleh was.  It's part of the natural process of being born.  The only unnatural thing here is that she didn't come down from heaven, but I guess a soul's a soul.  Now, there's some soul up there in heaven that was expecting to come down into this new body, but won't get the chance."

Miroslav shakes his head in disbelief as he stands by and listens to the Hedonite describe the situation. He frowns as he looks at A'Kos.

Loukas is stunned by what he hears. Soul stealing always seemed like a bad idea to him even when it was being used by his own team and this certainly clarifies his opinion, but a thought occurs to him, "Balthazar, was it possible for you to tell who or how the spell that affected Jaleh was originally cast? You know, was A'kos and Jaleh's servant a Wizard or was he simply an agent with a device that cast the spell or was the spell cast upon her long ago and triggered by a command of some sort that anyone could trigger?"

He pours a cup of mead and turning to A'kos offers it to him, "Here, my friend. We will avenge this. You are not alone."

Balthazar responds, "Without a doubt someone cast magic jar or something similar on her right before she assassinated Nicephorus.  Whether through spell or a device I couldn't say."

Despite the early hour A'kos downs the entire goblet despite the early hour.  He sinks into the nearest chair he can find.

"Then she is lost too me?"

ooc: nifty.  2nd trimester, huh.  i'm glad this isn't a political/religious discussion board.

A sudden frown twists A'kos face.

"I've given her baubles, yet nothing ostentatious.  I recall nothing that she possessed that would allow for such.  Do any of you recall any treasure she claimed during our myriad adventures?  I do not believe it was a gem or jewel that caused this - it had to be one of the men who visited the manor some two days passed.  I will kill them all."

"We must find the servant."

ooc: for the record it's not clear to me at all that the servant is embroiled in this - however, he would seem like a good place to start the search...even suddenly enriched (if the bad guys allowed him to leave), he would not necessarily have the contacts to quickly escape, nor the acumen to remain well hidden within the city.  Sadly, Jaleh's talents would be particularly useful here.

"What we need is a cleric with a commune spell.  Someone get Cuivi."

Loukas leans against a table as A'kos sits, "I don't think that the spell was in a bauble that you gave her or that we found... Rather, I was thinking that if it was your servant behind this he is probably not a wizard himself, but may have had the spell in a device that he was ordered to trigger when he received the order."

He rubs his eyes and stands, "Since we have nothing to go on right now and Balthazar and company will not be able to do anything until tomorrow, I am going to get some sleep.", he pauses and turns to Miroslav, "I'm going to save A'kos from having to say this, Voevoda, but we can not leave Jahleh like this. In a cell. Can we take her to her home, so that he body may at least lay in comfort until Balthazar and Cuivi can do what needs to be done?"

Once a decision on this is made he says good night to everyone and returns to the Monastery.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:18, Fri 08 Feb 2013.

ooc: it's my understanding that we've moved on to the next day.  Nestor, can you clarify?

OOC: We're still the same day. I think Balthazar said he'd need the night to memorize some spells, but from what I can tell only a few hours have passed since Jaleh killed Nicephorus.

It is indeed the next day...the next morning to be exact. Remember Balthazar headed back to his chambers. He just pushed the action along, which was fine by me.

OOC: Doh! Sorry! I find myself a bit confused about A'kos's servant. Is it that he was seen with two or three other fellows and A'kos has already stopped them before coming to this scene or is it that A'kos's neighbors saw the servant leaving with them?

ooc: the neighbors saw the three men as a delivery of some sort, saw the servant greet them, but that was it...nothing out of ordinary - the guy thought that they were delivery men of some sort b/c of the wagon.  for all I (A'kos) knows, the servant is dead in a ditch somewhere.

Oh. Okay. Sorry, I didn't understand that. I'm going to edit my last post to reflect that it doesn't actually make sense to slam the gates and send out the cavalry, because we are uncertain for whom they'd be looking.

And that the next time we meet is the following day. Again, sorry for my various confusions.

"It would seem that the home of A'Kos and Jaleh would be the best place to start looking for clues. We should convene there within the hour. I will send word tot he guards working the gates about a cart with three men, either leaving yesterday or to be stopped today."

Fast forward an hour...all interested parties stand before the entrance to the scene of the crime. Miroslav waits dressed in his good quality but still homespun garments armed with only a seax on his belt. Boris Gorasiavich stands by with ten guardsmen.

Dyanna arrives just a few minutes after Miroslav. She is carrying her magical mirror with her.

"The mirror, it allows me to ask it a question about what it reflects once a week. I am unsure of what to reflect or what to ask. Perhaps we can reflect the house and ask what happened here or maybe Jaleh and ask who did this to her?" Any ideas?"

Miroslav nods slowly at Dyanna. He quickly turns to Boris and says..."Take the guards and fetch Jaleh, be very gentle with her."

He notes the concern on his retainers face and says..."Do not worry about leaving me. I am more than capable of taking care of myself."

Within the half hour. Boris and his men return with Jaleh sitting comfortably (even if she does not know it) atop a small car covered in furs and cushions.

Before meeting everyone back at A'kos's, Loukas spent the hour in the Wooly One's shrine. He does not blame himself for what has happened, but as a Brother of Veles the god of Trickery amongst other things the situation that they find themselves in is, more than merely frustrating. He had wanted to use Nicephorus and play John's own power against him; however, it seems as if that is exactly what had been done to them. The horrible damage that had been done to my friend was merely the crispy crust of this humble pie., he thinks to himself.

When he appears again he is no less subdued than when he was last seen; however, he seems somehow resolved. "How does this work, Dyanna? Must we ask the Mirror to show a specific time?"

Before the action rolled forward an hour, the party would have divided up Jaleh's magic, now that she can't use it anymore.  Balthazar casts detect magic and goes through her possessions, then lays them out in front of the team.  He takes back the ring of spell storing he'd given her earlier and drops it in a pouch.

*****

Back to present time, Balthazar encourages Dyanna to ask the mirror to show the culprit who entered her body via magic jar.  Balthazar has brought his mirror with him as well (normally stored on the Heart of the Oak), with which he can scry on the current whereabouts of the culprit once we know who we are looking for.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:03, Sat 09 Feb 2013.

A'kos refuses to let Balthazar, or any of the party for that matter, ransack her as if she were nothing but a corpse on the battlefield.

"Your job, my friend, is to help to make her whole again...or help me find those who put her in this condition."

He then goes with the guards to gather Jaleh, and oversee their treatment of her.  He leaps down easily from the cart, and gently cradles her when she is passed down to him, in his arms.

Setting her gently down he guides her to the others and says, "The best place to start might be in the pantry, or kitchen as some might call it.  There I found some overturned pans and pots and such, as well as some stains."

Loukas agrees with A'kos, "I understand your pragmatism, my friend, but let us wait for a bit before divvying up her stuff."

Pausing he looks at the Magyar Warrior, "Though, the ring is his and is an item of power that might be useful to him in the coming days."

"Fear not A'kos; we've come across wishes before and we'll find more again.  I vow that the next wish I get, I'll use to restore Jaleh.  In the meantime, I'm okay with leaving her magical possessions with her, except for the ring.  It contains, among other spells, dispel magic, and if we're going up against an enemy mage which seems most plausible, we will need that."

A'kos concedes the wisdom of his friends and relents on that one item.

"While Dyanna sets up her mirror, I suggest we begin to search the house and ground for any clues regarding the events of yesterday."

Dyanna shakes her head as she begins to set up her mirror in the entrance way to the manor.

"The mirror will not show me anything but the reflection of Jaleh. I must ask it a question and it will tell me the answer. The best I can do is get the mages name...is that good enough?"

"That is certainly more than we have now! It would also be useful to know what room she was in when the spell was caste.", Loukas answers Dyanna.

When Mirovslav speaks he nods his head in agreement. He begin putting on his Claws of the Spider, "While you fellows are looking around on the floor, it occurs to me that taking a view from the ceiling might give a useful perspective.

"Also, do you have pets, A'kos? If you do it occurred to me that that they or a mouse or some other creature may have been present last night and born witness to events. I can locate, befriend and communicate with them. Let us have a look around and see if that does not, if nothing else, give us clues as to what sort of beast I might try to speak with..."

If A'kos and Jaleh did have pets that were not penned up or would have been with Jaleh the night before, Loukas will cast Animal Friendship and use the Woolly One's blessing to speak with it.

If not, he will save that and use his claws to scamper up the wall and move ahead using Veles's speed to permit himself to get a view of the rooms they enter from above before anyone else.

As Loukas moves about the house his eye is caught by a small mouse scurrying from the kitchen area.

Dyanna nods at Loukas.

"I agree, knowing the name would be the best possible use of the mirror at this time."

Dyanna leads Jaleh's shell and gently positions her in front of the magic mirror. Once she is placed and reflected in the mirror, Dyanna asks,

"Tell me mirror, who placed the spell on this woman?"

A light wispy voice comes from nowhere saying the name..."Draco Ptolemy."
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:45, Sun 10 Feb 2013.

"Oh crap.  Draco Ptolemy is one of Emperor John's highest councilors.  He outranks me; taking him down would/will be a party effort.  I have my scrying mirror with me; let me know when you are ready and I can scry on him.  Be aware that he may be able to sense being scried on."

While Dyanna is using the Mirror, Loukas notes the mouse. Moving quietly he follows it. As he does so he begins to cast a spell by sing a song to it to lure out from hiding he then begins to speak to it softly.

Without much to offer at the present time - he could scamper up walls and speak with mice if necessary - Thorn merely stood and observed. It was patently not the time for a song, or a tale, when there was this much to investigate and decisions to be made.

Balthazar turns to Thorn, "While we wait, let me inquire good sir if you have an open magic ring slot?  If so, you could wear this ring of spell storing.  It works very simply; you put the ring on your finger and instantly realize what spells it has and how to use them.  When you want to cast one, you command the ring to release the spell's power and how.  When needed, you bring the ring back to me, and I replenish the spells you've used during my morning memorizations."

Ring of Spell Storing:
 1st) magic missile, sleep
 2nd) invisibility, stinking cloud
 3rd) dispel magic

All spells cast at Balthazar's level (9th) and take 5 segments to do so.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:35, Mon 11 Feb 2013.

Dyanna purses her lips and shakes her head.

"Draco Ptolemy was friend of my fathers. I never liked how he looked at me when my father was not around. No doubt a powerful mage though. Even as a child I remember hearing my father talk of his prowess, now years later it must be even greater."

She pauses,

"Wait, what of the cleric, Mericus who we took with Nicephorus? Perhaps he can be questioned as well?"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:57, Tue 12 Feb 2013.

The mouse pauses and listens to Loukas's song. He looks tentative and may bold but for now seems held by both the song and the man singing it.

Miroslav nods his head at Dyanna and says..."Ah yes, we forgot about him. Surely he would be able to confirm if this was the mage onboard Nicephorus's ship.

He turns to Boris and says..."We will need Mericus brought to us."

Once he has the little creature's attention, Loukas, speaks, "Tell me, little friend, did you see a human you have never seen before in this room last night? Or was it the same humans you always see around here?"

The mouse sits up on it's haunches and lets out a long series of squeaks.

Loukas thanks the mouse and invites him onto his shoulder for a ride. Returning to the room where we everyone else is awaiting Mericus's delivery. "Again it seems that you are right A'kos. My little friend here tells me that three men it had never seen before came in, killed your servant and stuffed him into the cistern and then departed after talking 'funny' to Jaleh. May I get some cheese?"

Turning his head slightly so that he could speak to the rodent on his shoulder he asks it, "Did the one who spoke 'funny' use an object or just wave his hands about as he spoke his strangeness?"

"I would remove the man from the cistern - a more dignified buriel than that does he deserve."

Putting thought to action A'kos makes his way to the drain to see what he may find.

Balthazar says, "Just to recap.  The Emperor knows we captured Nicephorus, and had him assassinated.  He knows we tried to scry on him the other night.  He has sent one of his top mages after us.  All in all, does anyone else feel the heat?  Maybe this is a good time to start off after the Grail or Excalibur after all.  We're only going to beat the Emperor with surprise on our side, something we do not have at this time."

"Alright, back to work for now."  Balthazar pulls out his fancy mirror, casts magic mirror, and has the mirror show him Draco Ptolemy.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:08, Wed 13 Feb 2013.

"Before I accept such a gift, let me introduce myself - I am Thorn, friend of the Regent Dobryna. As fate would have it, I possess not a single magic ring, so this will certainly be a boon for me, Balthazar the Hedonite. May I use it wisely."

Thorn places the ring on the middle finger of his left hand, admires it for a moment, then has a thought.

"I am sure the spell of invisibility will come in most useful when...ah...that is..

..never mind."

A'kos grabs a couple of the guards for latrine and body disposal duty.  In so doing he hears Balthazar's warning, says, "True.  Like as not we're dead men - and women - walking.  Yet we fight the good fight.  Of certain I'll not abandon Miro just days after his appointment.  And let John come, see what mettle we are made of...I'll show him my heart is not so easily cowed, and that tragedy amongst our folk will be met with vengeance, swift and fierce!"

An inferno blazes in his eyes as he speaks.

The mouse offers up a few squeaks to Loukas as he accepts a morsel of cheese.

As A'Kos begins to reply to the Hedonite, a figure in the scrying mirror begins to come into focus. In a few seconds the scene in clear. Draco Ptolemy sits alone in a small room reading by candle light. He is an older man with long grey hair, still in good shape. Even though sitting it is clear that he is a tall man.

Miroslav shakes his shaggy head, replying to A'Kos..."Balthazar may be right. It may not be safe here for all of us. Would John be so bold to assassinate the Voivode of Khorsun? Doing that would be a direct act against Sviatoslav. Though he did send a fleet to take back the city, still assassinating a direct representative of the Prince is another matter. My family will be sent north just to make sure they are safe. I will stay here in the city but perhaps it would be a good time for the rest of you to do some traveling? Leave Jaleh here with me A'Kos and get on the back of your horse. We will put her under the care of Cuivi until it is time for her to deliver."

He pauses for a moment and says..."We cannot have this Ptolemy character living here in the city though."

"No we cannot let him live. Before an ything we must deal with him but then perhaps the suggestion of leaving the city for a while is a good one. I too feel the heat that Balthazar spoke of. The emprer may not have as much reason to do harm to me as he does the rest of you but I am part of your group none the less."

Loukas gives his friend another piece of cheese and turns back to the party, "Right. We find Ptolomey before we depart. Ptolomey, by the way, had a bag with him when he cast the spell upon Jaleh, so maybe he used a device to cast it?"

Balthazar focuses on the room that Draco is in, then he snaps his fingers and the spell ends.  "Ready one and all?  Gear up, it's time to go.  If he's still in the city, I'll have him soon."

Balthazar first casts fly on himself.  Then he asks Thorn to cast invisibility on him from the ring of spell storing.  Then finally, he opens his mind to the hidden ways of Hedonite mysticism, and finds the path to the chamber Draco is in.  He flies off in pursuit of that room.

Find the path will last for 90 minutes, so from up in the air Balthazar should be able to reach anything in the nearby vicinity.  Of course, if Draco teleported away, then he got away.  Otherwise, Balthazar will be able to home in on the chamber's locale.  At that point, he will double back for the party.

Keep in mind that find the path only finds the way to a locale; not an object or person, so Balthazar can't use it to locate Draco directly, only the room he just saw.

Thorn uses the unfamiliar ring for the first time, and casts invisibility on Balthazar as directed. He had a few spells of his own, but not magic spells. This was...an enjoyable proposition.

When Bathazar starts casting spell and Thorn 'disappears' him, Loukas begins to ask a question, but stops. Rather he settles in to be ready for the Hedonite's return.

As Balthazar is cast invisible and presumably flies off Miroslav says..."Ok, let us leave from here just as soon as Balthazar returns."

He looks at Boris and says..."Please fetch my kit. I will wait here."

Balthazar returns in a little over a half hour.  Still invisible, he says, "I found the place where we scried Draco earlier.  It's a stone building about a mile due south, about the size of a small house.  We'll need to approach it with stealth, because if he's still there he can probably get away in 50 different ways if we alert him prematurely."

"Well... Beyond my skills in the realm of stealth my Gusli gives me the ability to make myself invisible and to fly as well. Did you see any guards or defensive measures of any kind in your scouting, Balthazar?"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:53, Wed 20 Feb 2013.

"No, and what's a Gisli?"

OOC: Sorry, I misspelled "Gusli" (I've gone back to fix it), but since so much has been going on and Balthazar has often been gone when Loukas has played the instrument it makes sense that he would not necessarily know what is being referred to.

Loukas holds up his Gusli, "You recall Volsu Blüskú, don't you?", he says with a smile, perhaps the first one that appeared on his face for many hours.

"Oh, neat" Balthazar smiles too ... not that you can see it because he's still invisible.

Boris returns with Miroslav's kit just a moment after the Hedonite returns. With a little help form his retainer, Miroslav is armed and armored, looking much the the same Miroslav the rest of you remember, axe in hand, steel cap on head.

"I suggest we make out preparations and head out before Draco Ptolemy moves on."

"Ready when you are," replies Thorn. "I carry here everything that I require. Not so much so it doesn't get stolen, more for making...erm...hasty departures."

"All in the line of duty, you understand," he added, unconvincingly.

Loukas raises an eyebrow at Thorn's remarks, but does not actually comment. To Miroslav he grins, "Ready when you are, Captain!"

Dyanna snickers at Thorn's quip then composes herself.
"I am ready as well though my roll will be slightly different than most of yours."

She looks over at A'Kos and asks,
"Are you alright? I know this has been hard for you but once we down this bastard you should at least feel some relief. Perhaps not enough but maybe we should visit our Lich friend? he may have an answer for your problems?""
This message was last edited by the player at 16:12, Sun 24 Feb 2013.

Having brought the servant forth from the drain, A'kos returns to the kitchen and asks that the body be comported in proper fashion.

"My folk would burn it, and scatter the ashes to the four winds," he says, "though perhaps he would wish for a different burial, proper to his beliefs."

He shrugs, having done his duty, and lowers his head while others make the decisions necessary to move this drama apace.  He looks up from his reverie in surprise as Dyanna addresses so that it takes him a moment to respond.  When he does, he is not angry, rather curt, and to the point.

"I've lost friends since childhood upon the battlefield.  I would not diminish Jaleh's plight, but her soul is alive, and she'll be afforded another chance to walk under the sun.  What slight has been affected is not against her, rather it is against me...and that insult is mortal.  I will find my revenge...or die trying.  Until then, there will be no relief."

"As for the Lich...perhaps that would be as good a place as any to start."

Loukas had stood as he responded to Miroslav, but paused when the word 'Lich' was spoken. The image he had seen in the Mirror had looked like a living man; nevertheless, the point is moot. "You are not alone in this, Magyar. The Company of the Heart of Oak are at your side and I for one will die with you in this effort rather than fail. You will have your vengeance."

"So we move out then! Probably best if those of you who can move unseen approach first...I imagine spells will be harder to cast on him than on a normal man....perhaps he should be flushed from the building? Or should we get close and burst in? Regardless, we discuss this while we travel."

That said, Miroslav begins the walk to the building as directed by Balthazar.


I believe the Lich mentioned is not Draco but Apollonius. A trip to the wise lich to see if he has any idea how to undo this.

OOC: Doh! If I didn't misunderstand something, then you would probably think it was somebody else playing Loukas.

"I have the capability to make myself or one other invisible and may fly and levitate as well as climb just about anything as well. Let Balthazar and I attempt to move ahead and while the rest of you strike through the doors, we will attempt to get in some other way and flank him."

Dyanna follows Miroslav in walking towards the place where Draco Ptolemy is hiding out. She stays well back and says,

"We should be careful with our spells, surely Draco will be able to sense any magic used in his vicinity? Perhaps it would be better to have A'Kos and Miroslav break into the building and hit him hard with both surprise and their weapons?"

Dyanna's proposal brings a thought to mind for Thorn.

"Well, I can actually sneak into places most people cannot, without the aid of magic. I have...certain skills...in these situations. I am not about to state that I can take down such a powerful mage single-handed, but I might give him a nasty surprise, none the less."

Loukas shrugs, "If we are attempting to surprise him, I do not know that busting through the door will necessarily permit that. After all, he may well have barred it magically, no?

"Casting spells here, before we get there will permit us to avoid some detection. Meanwhile, I might use my knowledge of locks and traps to get by whatever mundane means he is using to protect himself and let everyone else in."

"Then let us put such skills to use, both of you," replies A'kos, impatience warring with caution as he considers all sides.

Balthazar casts summon DM

"Droll, Hedonite.  Very droll."

"Poof!"

Soon the party finds itself near the building the Hedonite has lead them to. Not so close as to be obvious on the sem-busy street but close enough to see the door and general layout of the front of the building.

It is a small stone house, most likely one room about 20' by 20'. A single door in the front and most likely a rear exit. Two shuttered windows int he front and a weak wisp of smoke coming from the chimney. Most likely a cooking fore since the weather is not all that cold.

"Which way? Loukas and I might try the roof or windows or the back door, or perhaps a combination. I am not sure if you like to split into groups or no, but a clear plan now would be best of all."

Thorn keeps his weapons sheathed until he knows the next step.

To Thorn, "It doesn't look like there's a second floor, so I don't know if it's worth while going up. Maybe Thorn takes the front door and I'll go around and take the back, since I can get there quicker?

"Since we don't know if there's a backdoor, maybe everyone should stick with Thorn and go through the front door, that way if there is a backdoor, I'll be able to take advantage while you all distract this prick, and if there isn't a backdoor, you'll only be without me until I can run around the building and join you after you've crowded in the front?"

He pauses, "Balthazar did you detect any magic around here when you found this place? Is it possible that this place is warded or maybe he's cast illusions to hide stuff?"

A'kos summons Leo, pulling the small figurine from his pack and placing it on the ground.  When the lion appears he says, "I will see if there's a back door before we attack.  We should be able to do so without much trouble."

Whispering:

"I can use my unseen servant to open doors for us.  Oh, and don't forgot your ring's stinking cloud.  Assuming there's a backdoor, whichever door we choose to enter by, I'll wizard lock the other one."

Leo takes off at a run frightening a few of the folk on the street in the process. Several children and one woman scream and flee...making a good bit of noise.

Leo is back in under a minute standing before A'Kos.

Loukas had been about to speak when A'kos brought out Leo since he knows he is as fast, if not faster than the big cat and won't stand out on the street if spotted; however, given his recent failures and the Magyar's understandable impatience he kept his mouth shut.

When Balthazar speaks, though, he whispers back, "Can your Servant pick locks as well? If not, and there's one on the door I'm happy to let you handle that, Thorn, if you'd like."

When Leo returns with the screaming and panic behind him Loukas grins waiting for A'kos to relay the lion's report, "We'd better get moving..."

"There is a door in back," says A'kos, though there is an element of annoyance in his voice, and somewhat shamefaced at the level of uproar caused by the great cat.

"Right. So, Balthazar Wizard Locks the backdoor and the rest of us go through the front. Thorn, you get first shot at the frontdoor lock, if there is one and check it for traps. He and I will head over first and signal the rest of you less-sneaky lot when the coast is clear. Everyone agree?"

"I think we should ascertain whether he is indeed inside before we proceed.  Anybody have any ideas on how to do that?"

"Knock on the door," replies A'kos.

"Wait, I thought we had already done this? Didn't the mirror and your investigation confirm he is here?

"We could go back to my original idea of sneaking in? I've still got an unused Invisibility spell and both Thorn and I are stealthy without magic.

"Or, as A'kos suggests, we use the chaos on the street as a pretext for knocking... Though, a large party at one's door when one is in hiding wouldn't convince me to answer.

"We've got the Voevoda with us, what more authority do we need?"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:08, Sun 10 Mar 2013.

OOC: I'm going to guess that in game time, at least twenty minutes has passed though.  Probably more like a half hour.

At any rate, Balthazar flies over to the back of the building and cautiously and as quietly as possible casts wizard lock on it.  Permanent spell, after all.  Also, not an attack spell so it shouldn't remove his invisibility.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:51, Sun 10 Mar 2013.

Thorn makes his way to the front door, amidst all the discussions, and checks it for traps as quickly and quietly as he can. If it's clear, he'll try the door very quietly. If it's locked, he'll try to pick it.

Balthazar makers his way to the back door and casts his spell upon it. His invisibility remains.

Thorn easily and silently makes his way up to the front door. He checks for traps and finds nothing, the door does not appear to be locked but he cannot budge it.

Quickly making his way back to the others (again, as quietly as he can) Thorn gives his report.

"The door is held fast, likely by magic. I could attempt to undo the magic with a spell from the ring Balthazar gave me, but I am not sure how successful that would be - and Balthazar may have a better opening spell at his disposal. Either way we should act fast."

Loukas chuckles, "Well, if nothing else we've turned the tables on him -- he obviously figured he'd have a way out the backdoor. Either that or he's expecting somebody."

He looks around at the spell casters (that he can see) and continues, "Can you take this spell down from the frontdoor?"

Balthazar tells the group in a whisper, "I can temporarily nullify our opponent's wizard lock so that you can get in through the backdoor.  Are you ready?"

DM: any windows?

OOC: You mean the Front, not the Back door, right, Balthazar? It's your spell on the Back one, isn't it?

Loukas nods indicating his readiness.

Thorn nods to show he is ready, whichever door they end up going through.

Again, whisper:

"Nope, my spell was cancelled because I discovered the back door was already wizard locked.  Alternately, if we wait until tomorrow, I can prepare passwall and then we can make our own door."

The windows are more like slits than actual windows. not big enough for even the smalled member to go through.

Miroslav shakes his shaggy head...Waiting for tomorrow is not an option. We need to go through that back door right now."

He claps A'Kos on the shoulder saying..."Ready brother?"

Balthazar casts knock when all are ready, then flies over to the front door to make sure egress is not attempted through there.

Reminder to DM that he wears the ring of spell turning.

A'kos grins.

"I do get weary by all the haggling," he nods to Miro, than, putting thought to action he charges through, before Miro can (in effort to protect him from any traps), with Leo at his side and sword in hand.

Thorn will let the front-line charge in first and will then look to slip in behind them, assuming the going is clear.

Loukas follows. He too is impatient to get into the building, but is careful not to cause a 'bottleneck'. Rather he lets the warriors charge and follows closely chanting the Song of the Heart of Oak as he does so.

A'Kos and Leo burst in through the now unlocked door with Miroslav following close behind, followed by Loukas.

It is a one room home, not very plush by Byzantine standards but well and comfortably furnished.

Draco Ptomlemy can be seen sleeping on a couch near the center of the room. The couch is covered by what looks to be a metal canopy. The reason for the canopy becomes quit clear just as soon as A'Kos sets foot into the room as the house itself seems to come alive. The walls pull away and the thatch roof come crashing down showering both A'Kos and Miroslav with debris. A'kos takes a few solid thumps from some of this falling timber.

The house divides in half and while it is doing that each half of the house seems to swing a great rock like hand, one at Miroslav who manages to dodge it and one at A'Kos who is caught flatfooted after being hit by a particularly large ceiling timber. Somehow A'Kos manages to stay on his feet as the great stone fist smashes into chest sending him reeling back.

In just a few dusty seconds the house is gone and two huge earth elementals stand besides the canopied bed with the waking Draco Ptolemy still inside of it.

When the house comes alive, Loukas, who'd been playing his Gisli as they move in accompaning his song, suddenly goes invisible.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:43, Sat 23 Mar 2013.

Recoiling from the battering he just took, A'kos swings wildly at the nearest elemental.

16:30, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 6 using 1d12+5. Dmg.
16:30, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 16 using 1d20+5. To Hit.

"Attack, Leo," he commands in a breathless voice.

Leo attacks with quickness and ferocity:

16:34, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 8 using 1d10+1 with rolls of 7. dmg: bite.
16:34, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 6 using 1d6+1 with rolls of 5. dmg: rear claws.
16:34, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 2 using 2d4 with rolls of 1,1. dmg: front claws.
16:33, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 16 using 2d20 with rolls of 11,5. att: bite.
16:33, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 17 using 2d20 with rolls of 3,14. att: rear claws.
16:33, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 35 using 2d20 with rolls of 15,20. att: front claws.

ooc: okay - so let me sort this out: 2 foreclaws hit for 2 dmg allowing for 2 attacks from rear claws: raking.  One of those hit for 6 dmg.  Then he gets 1 bite - so first bite roll is: 11 - not sure if that hit - if it did, dmg would be 7

Sorry for the confusion.

Thinking as quickly as he can, Thorn summons a dispel magic spell from the ring of spell storing, in order to try to dismiss at least one of the elementals.

The waking Draco sucks down 20 points of damage from magic missiles by the hovering (and well out of elemental slam range) and now visible Balthazar, unless he has protection to the contrary.

09:38, Today: Balthazar the Hedonite rolled 20 using 5d4+5 with rolls of 3,4,4,1,3. Magic missiles on Draco.

Now, this was cast from the Book of Infinite Spells, and there is a 10% chance of the page turning:

09:40, Today: Balthazar the Hedonite rolled 5 using 1d100. 10% chance of page turning.

It turned!

Okay, let's see what the new spell is.  Class of spell:

09:44, Today: Balthazar the Hedonite rolled 19 using 1d100. class of spell.

Blank page, darn.  Balthazar will have to turn it when he returns to the Book.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:44, Sun 24 Mar 2013.

Dyanna quickly lets loose two arrows in the direction of Draco Ptolemy. Her teeth grind in rage as she remembers how this man had treated her father.

23:30, Today: Dyanna. rolled 2 using 1d6. Damage.     23:29, Today: Dyanna. rolled 1 using 1d20.     23:29, Today: Dyanna. rolled 7 using 1d20. attack.

Balthazar, feeling just a wee bit funny about attacking someone waking up from sleep, loudly commands, "Draco Ptolemy, you are ordered to surrender and dispel your elementals at once."

Both A'Kos and Leo tear into the rock-like hide of the elemental. Leo seems to get the better of things but damage is done by both. Miroslav smashes into the other Elemental with his axe, chunks of hard earth fly from the great elementals body but it does not seem to slow him down.

Dyanna misses with both her arrows unlike the magic missiles of Balthazar which easily find their target.

Thorn casts dispel magic from the ring and the elemental engaged with A'Kos and Leo vanishes, leaving only the one fighting with Miroslav.

As Loukas makes his way toward Draco, the tall mage ignores both the missiles and words of the Hedonite and raises his own arms and brings them down violently...a horrid yellow/black cloud descends from nowhere and completely covers the area surrounding Draco. A'Kos. Leo, Miroslav and Loukas are all within the cloud. The elemental can be seen in the cloud, his great arm swings but it seems his fist has connected with nothing but empty space.

"Bad, bad stuff folks....need a save against poison for A'Kos...Miroslav will also need rolled for and IIRC Loukas is immune to poison. Draco Ptolemy is a complete ahole.

Balthazar casts web using the metal posts of the bed frame as anchoring points (from his memory of where they were), covering the bed area completely so that Draco should be captured in the web.

A'kos tries to hold his breath, but fails, and takes in a breath full of the yellow gas.

19:38, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 18 using 1d20. vs. Poison.

Unsure if he's been affected or not, he charges headlong at the second elemental:

19:41, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 15 using 1d12+5. dmg att 2.
19:41, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 10 using 1d12+5. dmg.
19:40, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 16 using 1d20+5. to hit, att 2.
19:40, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 20 using 1d20+5. to hit.

Leo also gets his licks in:

19:44, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 2 using 1d10 with rolls of 2. dmg bite.
19:44, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 2 using 1d6+1 with rolls of 1. dmg rear claw rake 2.
19:44, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 3 using 1d6+1 with rolls of 2. dmg rear claw rake 1.
19:44, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 6 using 2d4 with rolls of 2,4. dmg front claw 1 & 2.
19:43, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 17 using 1d20 with rolls of 17. bite.
19:43, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 26 using 2d20 with rolls of 15,11. rear claw rake 1 & 2.
19:43, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 34 using 2d20 with rolls of 19,15. front claw 1 & 2.

In the swirling cloud, Miroslav can be seen dropping to his knees then vanishing to the ground.

Once his attacks are done, A'kos will attempt to grab Miro and pull him from the miasma.

His spell having had the desired effect, Thorn will try to slip around to the rear of both Draco and the remaining elemental (OOC: assuming it still stands), the better to judge his next course of action.

Loukas puts a hand over his mouth, but since the noxius cloud does not bother him beyond making it a bit harder to see, noting Balthazar's attempts to encase Draco in webs he hesitates, holding his attack to confirm the effectiveness the Hedonist's spell.

OOC: Re-reading things I see that misunderstood Balthazar's post. I've ammended my actions here.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:52, Sat 30 Mar 2013.

you're so gonna get stuck in Balthazar's web... :)
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 13:50, Fri 29 Mar 2013.

Dyanna, fearing to match her magic against Draco, lets another two arrows fly at the mage.

A'Kos manages to grab Miroslav out of the cloud after he attacks the elemental. The big Rus does not appear to be breathing. The huge elemental swings a monstrous fist at Leo, hitting squarely (nat 20!) The obsidian lion is crushed into tiny bits of black glass-like shards...still the elemental looks to be on it's last leg.

Draco is now rapped in Balthazars web, he struggles to free his hands so he can cast a counter spell but remains held tight due to the iron canopy of the bed.

Dyanna's arrows go wide as the cloud begins to disperse due to rather strong winds.

Loukas strikes at the remaining Elemental.

Thorn puts himself in the firing line and also tackles the remaining elemental with his sword, but he lacks familiarity with it.

13:04, Today: Thorn rolled 8 using 1d20+3. attack roll, longsword.

A'kos rushes back to the attack:

09:12, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 8 using 1d12+5. dmg.
09:12, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 21 using 1d20+5. att.

Balthazar floats above the battle, waiting for it to cease.

Scratch that, Balthazar will pull out his scimitars and dive in to attack the elemental.  I'll roll that up tonight.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:31, Wed 03 Apr 2013.

Balthazar flies in behind (if possible) the elemental and slices and dices.  +4 scimitar, all points on offense, in the main hand, and +2 scimitar in the off-hand.

20:43, Today: Balthazar the Hedonite rolled 15 using 1d20+4. +4 scimitar.
20:43, Today: Balthazar the Hedonite rolled 3 using 1d20+2. scimitar +2.

20:44, Today: Balthazar the Hedonite rolled 7 using 1d8+4. scimitar damage.

15 from a 9th level magic-user hits ac4, and if he gets the +2 for striking from behind that gets to ac 2, which is what he needs to hurt an elemental.  In that case, he does 7 points of damage.  The off-hand attack misses completely.

Edit: Balthazar also does a flying charge to get an additional +2 to hit.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:20, Thu 04 Apr 2013.

Once again, Dyanna lets two arrow fly at the mage. This time he is caught in the web spun by Balthazar's spell. This time her aim is on.

01:29, Today: Dyanna. rolled 6 using 1d6.
01:29, Today: Dyanna. rolled 1 using 1d6.
01:28, Today: Dyanna. rolled 20 using 1d20.
01:28, Today: Dyanna. rolled 15 using 1d20.

Both of Dyanna's arrows thunk into the body of Draco Ptolemy just a moment before the great earth elemental crumbles to the ground after the combined attack of Loukas, Thorn, A'Kos and Balthazar.

Desperate and in horrible pain, Draco tries to free himself but the more he struggles the deeper he finds himself caught in the web and the metal canopy. The cloud now is completely dissipated.

Draco looks to be on his last legs after the two arrows hit him but still he struggles. It is clear that he will most likely die from his wounds if not killed outright very soon.
This message was last updated by the GM at 13:42, Sun 07 Apr 2013.

Dyanna points at Draco with the end of her bow and says to A'Kos,

"It is you that he wronged most. Kill him."

Loukas says nothing. He agrees that this is A'kos's decision and more importantly, now that the cloud has dissipated he looks for Miroslav. Assuming their Captain is still there on the floor, that his 'disappearance into the cloud' was a figurative rather than literal thing he moves to his side.

Balthazar is concerned likewise with Miroslav.

A'kos sheaths his sword and draws a dagger, holds the tip of it in Ptolemy's mouth.  He lays his left hand on Ptolemy's head, curing him 8 points of damage.

"I will cut out your tongue if you try to cast a spell," he says calmly.  "How do I reverse the spell you cast upon Jaleh?  Tell me, and I shall free you to my friends' tender mercies.  Do not, and I shall drive my dagger into your brain."

Given the situation Thorn has everysympathy for A'kos, and he watches intently as the warrior gives Draco Ptolemy his options. Inspecting the rest of the chamber could wait.

Draco calmly looks at A'Kos and says..."My magic is gesture and I cannot cast even a simple spell held like this. Please lower your blade. If you free me we can work something out that will bring your beloved Jelah back to you. She served her purpose. My goal was to kill Nicephorus, not your woman."

"Her spirit lives regardless," shrugged A'kos, and in an act of cold methodology he plunges the dagger into Ptolemy's eye.

He ensures the mage is dead...turning away he moves swiftly to the still form of Miroslav and asks, "How is Miro?"

Balthazar's mouth gags open in shock at the violent act.  After a few moments, he recovers himself enough, and starts the pillaging of Draco's stuff.

(NOTE: Technically, A'kos couldn't have gotten close to Draco to do what he did because of the web, but boy was that cinematic!)

Unable to help himself Thorn stares open-mouthed as A'kos plunges his dagger into the sorceror's eye, ending his life. Apparently interrogation was not necessary, but given the circumstances the bard could well understand the warrior's actions. Eventually he turned away, nodding grimly, and began to search the room for traps, hidden objects, and anything of note.

Both A'Kos and Loukas kneel next to Miorlsavs body. He does not appear to be breathing.

Thorn finds nothing of interest in the rubble that was the home of Draco here in Khorsun. Balthazar takes a set of bracers, two rings and a broach from the corpse of Draco Ptolmy.

Balthazar is stunned at the apparent loss of Miroslav, and urges the party to rush the warrior to a cleric or druid who can cast slow poison.

Besides that, Balthazar will spend the next few days identifying what those 4 magic items do, as well as hunt around the ruins of the man's cool house for his spellbook (locate object should do the trick).

When Loukas realizes that Miroslav does not seem to be breathing he does not pause despite the feeling of desperate woe that comes crashing down upon him. No. He is a Brother of Veles. The God of the Underworld is his god, but he is also the Trickster. The Negotiator. This is was a time for a deal and Loukas we not going to let this stand without the effort a Superior Master of his order could make. No. A Brother of Veles does not stand when he can dance and if any time calls for a bit of dancing it is this one.

So, before Balthazar can actually say anything, and without speaking himself, he jumps up and dashes at full sprint out of the house.

With just a few minutes, Loukas returns with Zmija in tow. The senior monk kneels down next to the body of Miroslav and quickly shoves a clove of garlic into the lifeless mouth. He then places his own forehead against the ground singing..."O Volos, zamedlit' yad v etom cheloveke. Ya Zmija vashi vernyye slugi umolyayut vas."

He then stands and cries out arms raised..."O Volos, istselil etogo cheloveka!"

Loukas's Tenor voice accompanies Zmija's singing, dancing around the cleric's baritone and as he sings he dances in place his legs flashing out as his arms clap rhythm above his head.

As both Loukas and Zmija sing and move around the still form of Miroslav, the ground begins to rumble slightly and even seem to get warm. Miroslav's body arches as the healing power of the god of the Underworld of Nav flows into his body.

His body drops back relaxed tot he ground and a shallow shudder runs through it, afterward he begins to breath shallowly.

Zmija again kneels by Miroslav. He looks up..."He will live. It is only because of his iron constitution that he was able to pull through. He will never be quite as strong as we was before this but will still be more than most men."

With the rumbling of the earth and the visible power of the Woolly One coming from the underworld into Miroslav's body, Loukas's body and voice continues to dance around Zmija's. When the Cleric/Monk speaks the Monk/Bard's voice is still humming and as he stops he also brings his head to the ground. He speaks a prayer of thanksgiving, kissing the floor before standing.

He lets out a breath, sort of a sigh, "My only problem with what you did, A'kos, is that I did not get to do it. Well done, my friend."

Glancing around at his other friends, "How about everyone else? Everyone okay? If that fuck had killed Miroslav, I do not know what I would have done.", there is a peculiar plaint in his voice. Loukas is still a young man and there are times in which this is more obvious than others; however, his speech is not melodrama, but honest potential despair at the idea of the loss of one whom he has come to see as a sort of father figure.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:35, Sun 14 Apr 2013.

"I am fine, and an admirer of your ideas of instant justice and retirbution. We cannot play lightly with these devils."

Thorn is relieved to see Miroslav will pull through, even if the doughty warrior is weakened.

"We should burn this warlock's body and scatter his ashes to the four winds," mutters A'kos.

Zmija nods his head in A'Kos's direction. "You are correct of course. Who knows what foul magics have been set into play by his death. My suggestions is that his head be removed as soon as possible to stop any number of possible outcomes. We should then burn the body and head and spread the ashes about as you said."

Balthazar says, "Oh boy, I can't wait to see what you guys do to me when I kick the bucket."

Loukas turns to Balthazar, "You? We shall carefully drain the blood from your corpse and then distill it into what will either be a wonderous libation given not only your heroic intake of such, but the skill with which you choose that which you take.

"I expect it will go for a good penny somewhere or another."

Then he gives a leering wink.

A'kos sets to decapitating Ptolemy.

Zmija laughs and smiles at Loukas and Balthazar's exchange then looks back seriously as A'Kos removes the dead wizards head..."The last thing we need is a Lich named Draco Ptolemy roam the streets of Khorsun by night!"

Moving things ahead a bit...

Zmija takes care of the the corpse of Draco Ptolemy. He assures all that the mage will not be returning.

A few days of rest and Miroslav is up and around. He is still not well but there is a city that needs to be run so he does his best. His body is wracked with coughing fits but even those are fewer and far between as he begins to heal more and more every day with help from the cities various healers including Cuivi.

Balthazar examines the items found and comes up with some answers and identifications.

Miroslav calls the group together in his private office.

Masha has a small lunch laid out for the invited guests. Miroslav is not yet present but Masha is more than capable.

Balthazar announces to the group, "Here's what I found on Draco's body:

• Bracers of Defense - I badly need these, but if someone else wants to lay a claim speak now.
• Ring of Spell Storing - I have not yet learned what spells it carries.  I believe all someone has to do is put it on to learn.
• Ring of Regeneration
• Brooch worth 10000 gold

"I would take the brooch, and keep it for our daughter," said A'kos, solemnly.

Loukas assists Zmija with Draco's body. Otherwise, he meditates and attempts to come to terms with what has occurred in the past few days.

When Miroslav's summons arrives he is ready for it and departs directly. When he arrives he has a smile for Masha, but is reserved. The 'bounty' from Draco is impressive, "Yes, take the broach for your daughter, A'kos.

"As far as the rest of it goes, I do not feel comfortable taking any of this. It is not that I would not find any of them useful, but... I invite you all to take what you think might wish to have of it."

"I would that you held this for when Jaleh births our child," A'kos says to Masha, handing her the brooch.  "It shall be my gift to my daughter, or to you should I not return.  I ask you raise her as well as you may should that come to pass."

He passes the brooch to Miro's wife prior to his arrival.

ooc: of course this assumes everyone's okay with this...

ooc: Wouldn't a parent want his child to have a ring of regeneration?  I can just see it now.  "Oh dear, that wolf bit off your leg?  Well I hope you learned your lesson about being outdoors without permission.  Now don't you worry; it'll grow back."

ooc: I'm guessing the thought is that we're going to need the ring of regeneration at some point.  And 10g's wrapped up in a jewel is a pretty nice inheritence if I die, I'm thinking.  But I hear ya...  ;)

"I would like the regeneration ring, if the possibility exists. I rather like the idea of healing in that manner. Besides, I already have some bracers and a ring of spell storage, and two would simply be greedy."

Whatever the outcome of the other items, Balthazar gets rid of his leather armor and puts on the bracers.  He sighs in relief at finally having some protection!

Masha smiles and takes the broach from A'Kos..."Of course I will hold this for you. ALso I know there was some talk of some of you leaving...if you do leave would you allow me to bring Jaleh here to be cared for?"

Miroslav makes his entrance. He still does not look well but he looks infinitely better than the last time any of you saw him. He seems to be nagged by a persistent cough and his breathing is still not quite right.

He looks to those gathered and says..."I thank you for coming here today to discuss our future plans. It is clear that the company of the Heart of Oak is not safe here in Khorsun...what do we do about this?"

"Yes, Masha, I...we would be honored if you took care of her and the babe," A'kos replies.  "Thank you."

"I get the feeling, brother, that Khorsun itself has become a very interesting dot on the Emperor's map.  Seems calling the levies in to man the walls a prudent course of action, even though it will put pressure on your populace.  The other alternative is having the populace man the walls - you can offer this to them if they complain about raised taxes."

"I agree with A'kos, Miroslav. The Company is certainly of note to John, and I expect that he will not relent in his desire to revenge himself upon us after the serial defeats we have wreaked upon him. However, remember that all of this began with this city. To the extent that we keep his attention upon us we may distract him from Khosun, but the strategic significance of this place is certain.

"Two things come to my mind on this matter. The first is that should we depart upon some adventure he will 'follow' us or at least attempt to destroy us while we are on our quest -- that might be a good thing as it could relieve some of the pressure you are under here and give you time to strengthen your defenses. The second is that the minute we are away he will send his forces here in order to take advantage of your comparative weakness. After all, he knows that it was our band more than the city's army that defeated his last invasion.

"So, rather than wander off on some quest that will take us away from the Great Sea, why not focus on John? Why not pick some target that is important to John and his empire? Offense is the best defense, no?"

"To Loukas's point, what target seems most likely to draw his attention away?" said A'kos.  "What point is of strategic military, economic or political significance to him that he would discard his ambitions in this direction?"

OOC: Still waiting to hear what the latest ring of spell storing holds.

Dyanna purses her lips and pouts briefly.

"I must admit I had my heart set on visiting the great library once again. I understand what you are saying though and i agree. What would divert attention away from Khorsun, the Persians! We are small fish compared to the Persians in John's eyes but i must admit that is Prince Sviatoslav mobilized a force and sent it south that he might view his northern neighbors as he does his eastern."

"You make a good point, Dyanna. It was John's efforts to diminish the relations between the Rus and Persians that began all of this, was it not? He feared the strengthening of the friendship between the Rus and the Persians... Perhaps we might offer our assistance to the Persians?"

Turning the Miroslav, "I think I must sound naive here, Voevoda. If the Persians were to begin threatening that would distract the Basilius and potentially relieve pressure on Khorsun not to mention we Rus. If the Persians and we acted together we might begin to whittle down the borders of Byzantium from North and South and this would make John's position ever more tenuous."

"Further, the likelihood is such war would carry on for generations to the south - undoubtedly John would see the Persians as the more dangerous enemy, allowing you and your liege to strengthen your position...perhaps for generations."

Miroslav sits rubbing his chin for a moment. He then looks up and says..."Perhaps a visit to the Persians is in order? But why would they help us? Is the idea or "Your enemy is my enemy" enough to make them take up our cause?"

"I do not know if it is a matter of asking them to help the Rus so much as it is offering to permit them to let the Company of the Heart of Oak help them. After all, the plot that brought together we of the Heart of Oak is the same that was aimed at their cartographer, was it not? If our efforts on their behalf help focus John's attention away from Khorsun and the Rus that is merely an incidental thing.", Loukas responds with a sly smile.

"I'm not much of a politician or tactician.  I also don't have a long attention span when it comes to unpleasant matters.  I'd love to go after the Grail now."

Balthazar's head starts unconsciously following passing ladies in the street as well as he says this.

A'kos glances at the Hedonite, and a small grin appears.

"I admire your singular focus," he said with a small chuckle.  "Perhaps both quests can be one and the same.  This Jesus was a Nazarean - what better place to search than the middle east...with a short stop in Byzantium to see what the political climate might be."

"Well, let's see about that."  Balthazar casts fly and invisibility and heads up into the sky, then uses his Hedonite find the path power to obtain the direction of the Holy Grail.  Did they have compasses back then?  If so, he'll take a reading.  Either way, he'll also carefully note the landmarks that designate the direction to be travelled in.

Note: the invisibility spell is just in case someone is lying in wait to assassinate.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:41, Wed 29 May 2013.

"I don't think a stop of any sort in Byzantium is wise. I mean, I suppose walking into the enemy's lair under his nose is daring, but whether or not it is worth the risk...", Loukas responds to A'kos. Otherwise he awaits the Hedonite's investigation.

"Has the Caliph ( I think that is right) ever been made aware of the original plot that you all were caught up in? It involved the murder of one of his officials yes? Would it not be wise to give the whole account to him?"

His head spinning, Thorn stands silently, waiting to see how the various threads spin out.

While I have a few minutes to kill, let's also see what the next page in the Book of Infinite Spells is.  Balthazar turns the page and ...

10:02, Today: Balthazar the Hedonite rolled 33 using 1d100. type of spell.

Cleric spell.  Let's see what level:

10:02, Today: Balthazar the Hedonite rolled 10 using 1d10. spell level.

That means roll a d6 instead.

10:03, Today: Balthazar the Hedonite rolled 4 using 1d6. spell level.

One random 4th level cleric spell coming up.  16 of them in UA.

10:04, Today: Balthazar the Hedonite rolled 13 using 1d16. 4th level cleric spell.

A 13 is ...


Spell Immunity

Miroslav rubs his chin for a minute with a scarred hand before speaking..."I agree, a trip to Byzantium would not be safe but a trip to see the Persian Emperor? That is another idea. He looks in the sky towards where Balthazar had flown and says...<Royalred>"We will see what our Hedonite friend discovers before deciding anything."</Royalred>

Balthazar floats back down and speaks invisibly, "This Grail is hidden magically I believe - which also implies it is likely heavily guarded.  I will definitely need all of you to help on such a quest.  I got the vague impression that it lies to the northeast, but how far I do not know."

DM: Before we depart, we need (a) ring of spell storing info (b) xp (c) master points.

Loukas rubs his chin and looks back to Miroslav when Balthazar reports his findings, "'Northeast'? That's not quite the exact opposite direction of Persia, but it's awfully close to being so."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:47, Thu 06 June 2013.

"Persia...by way of Moscow," grins A'kos.

"I can take another reading in a week.  If we travel somewhere far enough and we have a good enough world map, we can triangulate its coordinates."

OOC: Been watching too much Star Trek.

Miroslav looks lost in thought for a moment. He then looks up and says..."Dyanna and I will take a journey via the mirror to visit the Emperor of Persia and lay out the facts. This may take some time and I don't dare leave Khorsun headless, so Dyanna must stay here with her mirror to provided access to quick travel. The rest of you may follow the trail set out by Balthazar. I suggest you leave at the break of dawn tomorrow.

"Will work up the info for xp, mast points etc tomorrow AM.

Dyanna looks down with a sad expression but then looks tot he others and says..."I will be able to open a portal to get you further on your first leg of the journey."

She then looks at Miroslav and nods her head in understanding.

Loukas accepts Miroslav's decision with a nod, "As you will. Fare thee well, Captain, and be careful. We'll look forward to seeing you soon."

That this will be their first journey without Miroslav is not lost on him. It is a rather sad moment but he does his best not to let the emotion show.

Thorn will ask Balthazar if he could re-stock his ring of spell storing before they leave (specifically invisibility and dispel magic).

But of course!  Also, we have a new spell storing ring that we are waiting on the DM to supply information about.  Hint, hint to DM.

Michael, who has been living in Khorsun for as long as the rest of the party and has been working as a research aide and servant to Balthazar since they first met, quietly enters the chamber and walks to Balthazar handing him a note. He quickly and quietly bows out of the room.

Balthazar frowns.  "Good news, bad news gang.  The good news is that this ring holds 3 spells, and they all kick ass.  The bad news is that I only know one of them myself at this time, which means I can only restore that one on a regular basis.  That one is ice storm, which you saw me use in the last mass battle to ruin a cavalry charge.  It also has an icicles variant that you can decide at the time of casting to do more direct damage.  The other spells allow distance spying and short range teleportation."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:10, Fri 14 June 2013.

Loukas has only passing interest in the Ring of Spell Storing since he is not bearing it. He is interested in more practical matters and arranges for the travel, camping, exploring gear they will need. Arranging it all through the Monastery he inquires with Balthazar, "So, we are heading northeast. Am I correct that we will go on land and leave the ship behind? Have you any idea of how many days travel we shall be?"

Balthazar tucks the ring into his belt pouch for safekeeping.  "Yes, let's get some horses, and some men-at-arms to accompany us to care for them."

Miroslav nods his head..."Travel with too many will only slow you down but a few retainers should be taken along. I have one in mind, a childhood friend of mine from Kiev, Onfim is his name, a scribe an linguist who might come in handy during your travels in distant lands. A fair hand at weapons as well if I recall correctly. He has relocated here in Khorsun a few eeks ago after hearing of my position."

"Onfim will make a very useful addition. I agree that we don't need too many men-at-arms. Perhaps one or two to deal with your horses? I'll not bother with one, myself.

A'kos steps up to Miro and clasps the man's forearm.

"Strength and honor...my friend," he says, and there is an expression of profound sorrow to know his comrade in arms will be leaving the party to take on greater responsibilities.  "May the Four Winds blow favorably during your reign here, and may they grace you on your travels."

ooc: watched gladiator recently, followed the next night by Conan.  Makes for good dialogue.  Sort of...

Should be back at it full time the week after the 4th of July - visiting family that week.  Thanks for hanging tight with me - its been a challenging time for me, in a good way.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:17, Fri 21 June 2013.

Miroslav silently nods his head as A'Kos speaks. By his expression it is clear he would rather be going along than playing at diplomacy. He sighs and says..."Keep an eye on Loukas and Balthazar for me...I think their type attracts more trouble than us honest warrior folk do. Make sure to pick them good rough mounts as well. We cannot have their arses pampered on this trip."

Miroslav then looks to the ever present Boris Gorislavich and says...""Fetch Onfim...I am sure he is in the library."

In reply to Miroslav (msg # 324):

Loukas grins and laughs at Miroslav's jibe and turns to Balthazar, "Ha! Better not bring those men at arms to mind the horses. We'll need something to keep A'kos' distracted on your horses."

Turning back to Miroslav, "A'kos can get me any mount he wishes, because I'll only be using it to carry whatever extra gear I need. Veles's blessings makes me fast afoot than even A'kos will be on his glorious steed... Which is probably on of the best reasons not to trust me, eh?"

His grin is challenging, but the glint in the monk's eye reflects the fun he is having. He and Miroslav have always been different, their Captain has at times been like a father to him and he respects the man's pragmatism and common sense when dealing with things. The results of which have led to the Fellowship of the Heart of Oak's survival and success and his own rise to the position he is in today (regardless of his blood relations). Of course, this leads him to concerns about how they will all work together without their Captain's cool, wise head. Damn me, if I have got to watch myself. It's one thing to Master the arts of the Woolly One, but it's all meaningless if you don't have the wisdom to navigate things. Zmija would say that such is the meaning of mastery... Okay, let's be careful and not poke our own eyes out with our sharp tongue!, he thinks to himself.

A few minutes later, Boris returns with a man who looks a few years older than Miroslav but still hale.

He enters the room looking ready to travel already in his leathers and carrying a back pack. Bowing his head he addresses Miroslav..."You have sent for me my lord?"

Miroslav smiles when he sees Onfim..."Yes my old friend. I have a task for you. You will accompany my friends to the ends of the earth to retrieve the Grail...maybe you have heard of it...regardless, I need to to act as a translator and such, since they will be traveling far and wide."

He then looks to the group and says...""This is my old friend and even child hood tutor...Onfim. Let yourself be known to him."

Loukas steps forward, "It is an honor to meet the mentor of our Regent and Captain. I am Loukas Ouranos, Master of the Brothers of Veles and proud singer of the Song of the Fellowship of the Heart of Oak."