The shrine fascinated Brother Jacob, he liked to study other religions and compare their beliefs to that of his own. He had seen many deaths due to religion and wanted to find out why humans were so hell bent on killing each other because of different beliefs.

He kept his findings to himself but he had started to believe that there was an underlying truth to all of them one that indicated to the open mind that there was one over riding being that all religions derived from. But to speak such out loud would see him excommunicated at best, burned as a witch at worse.


So on this he kept his own counsel but he studied the shrine before standing and listening to the fishermen " Thank you my friends" he said after they had finished speaking " may God protect you in your daily work and fill your nets with the best his bountiful harvest can provide"

The man snatched the coin from the air and grinned.

" And thankyou, Your Lordship.", the fishermen grinned.




"Uh...yeah...., and you too big man.", one of the fishermen said with a slightly quizzical expression.

They passed a large rowdy tavern called The Crown and Anchor; several men lay unconcious outside the entrance.

"Not likely the kind of place our eccentric companion would visit.  We should keep moving towards the East Gate."

" Oh. Ok then."

The man hunkered back down and drew another shrivelled dried mushroom from his pouch, he placed it under his tongue and waited for the world to fade away again.

Kores turned north and found himself back on a wider street, he walked easily along the way noting that if anything the buildings in this part of the city were even more run down and a number of them bore the scorch marks of old fires.

He passed a particularly unattractive looking throughway on his left occupied by a group of sooty faced miscreants who glowered at him as he passed.

As he moved further north he came to a large open intersection and to the East he could see the city wall and a high arched gate that penetrated it. Two bored looking watch men stood at the gate staring at the sky.

The intersection was lined with a large number of carts and wagons.

In reply to GM (msg # 48):

I'll approach the bored men and ask them for the directions to the temple...

In reply to Kores Varias (msg # 49):

The two men were quite young, with scraggly beards and dressed in what must have been second or third hand gambesons and holding quite aged looking spears.

" Hold it right there!", one of the young men quavered.

" Sorry, thought you were a bogie for a moment there. Gave me a fright an 'alf."

" The Temple? Yes, back'n side of castle it is. You cannae miss it, round the snobs area it is."

" Take care, Sir. Its a dark night tonight."

*Grins*

"That it is, and the quietness helps me think...  Good night gentlement."

Kores is looking for a Bogie, maybe he'll find one near the temple...

They continued walking the harbourside street, and then went north to meet up with the  street they had started on again. They turned east on it towards the gate and walked for sometime the street following a leisurely northward curve.

They stopped to regard the charred corpse of a cat by the roadside when a man stumbled out of a street to the south, his eyes wide and unfocused and his body odour truly appalling even by Glissom standards.

He pointed at Brother Jacob, " The Hanged God! Death is looking for you!"

Kores walked back along the street through two large intersections then turned and headed north, the streets were better lit towards the Castle, mainly due to large pitch soaked baskets of hay on massive wooden poles, but he thought better in the dark.

He estimated he would have to turn west after about ten minutes or so.

In reply to GM (msg # 53):

*Proceeds*
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:26, Sun 12 Aug 2012.

In reply to Kores Varias (msg # 54):

Kores had made his way fully past the castle and there was clear sky on his left shoulder as he turned west and began to walk streets that were now paved with smooth ancient stones rather than composed of mud and gravel.

A number of people were walking towards him dressed in what passed locally for fine clothes, many of them looked happy and excited though they're smiles fade a little as the behold the pale stranger stalking towards them.

In reply to GM (msg # 55):

*Sneers briefly to self before adopting a forced smile*

"Hail!  Where might a man find accommodation in a city like this?  It is late and a man cannot wander these streets til' dawn..."

One of the men patted the woman he was with on the arm and moved to address Kores.

" A man can in fact wander these streets til dawn, I did it many a time as a young blood."

" You can use the third room in my home if you wish, we've had no use for it since father passed."

" A couple of silvers will get your fast broken come morn with some of Mothers apple porridge."

" Foreigner? Albish, yes?"

"That arrangement suits me.  I have travelled from Breylak and new to town.  Lead the way!"

Kores is happy to take them up on this arrangement.  As they're not too sober he'll keep to himself.  Just need someplace more comfortable to rest til' dawn.

Brother Jacob turns to the ranting man with a warm friendly smile on his face " Friend Death has always been looking over my shoulder. I have come to find it comforting .... it is one of the inevitable things in life ... that death will eventually have you in his cold embrace."

He then made the sign of the cross " piece be with you and protect you from the one who seeks us all"

He continues to walk on towards the east gate " I think God has a bad sense of humor when it comes to be" he said to Bael " I think he enjoys seeing me having to confront my past every day of my life..... but I cannot complain I made my choices as a young man and must now repent for them."

He looked up towards the east gate " well I will give our good but slightly highly strung friend another hour but then I will be off to my bed again as I have morning prayer to attend with Father Jefferies"

"What kind of choices can I good man such as yourself regret?" Bael enquired, shivering a little and wondering whether this city's adoration of fire was such a bad thing in this miserably northern climate.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:13, Mon 13 Aug 2012.

Brother Jacob thought for a moment before speaking " In my youth I followed orders, orders that lead to people's deaths, unnecessary deaths. I could have stopped it but I didn't. ...." he bowed his head " I even took part in it thinking orders were there to be followed."

He cleared his throat " Well I learned that orders were the domain of fools and we as a civilized men had to question them or we were not better than the animals in the wilderness. "

He then stopped and turned to his new friend "one day I was so sickened with what we were asked to do that I questioned my superior .....lets just say it did not end well for one of us. It was then I found god.... or maybe he found me..... a soul so tainted with sin that he felt I was a challenge even for him ....."

"I thought religious men were born into the cloth?" Bael asked, having always seen religion as something stable and constant done by other people who knew better than him.

In reply to Bael Haywardson (msg # 62):

NEXT MORNING

Finding no sign of Kores that night the two men retired back to the chapel and took some rest before the morning light through the shutters woke them.

Father Jeffries was already up and about and speaking softly with someone just outside the chapel door.

NEXT MORNING

Kores woke the next morning to the sounds of a busy household, a young woman had been knocking on his door and now she poked her head around the corner.

" Father is to meet you downstairs shortly, Sir."

" I've drawn water and you may wash in the alcove here to the right of the door."

" Good Morning."

In reply to GM (msg # 64):

Kores wok.  He was sitting up against the wall on the bed.  His sleep was disturbed with constant interruptions, nightmares that he could never recall and too much thought.

"Morning."

Kores went through his morning processes, thanked his host, dropped off the equivalent of a typical Inn stay with 10% and headed out after briefly spooning a few mouthfuls of breakfast.  Too much to do, too much on his mind to have any appetite.

Lets go check on the lads with Father Jeffries....

Bael woke up and wandered across the chapel to open the door and greet Father Jeffries and see if there was any work around the church for him to do.  He paused before the door and listened carefully...

When Bael rose Brother Jacob opened his eyes for a moment but then apparently drifted back off to sleep.

The Father appeared to be discussing the disappearance of someone with a distressed male relative.

Bael heard the other man mention Eagle Alley and the Fathers offer to say prayers for his safe return..
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:40, Fri 17 Aug 2012.

Kores made his way back towards the chapel by a slightly more direct route along one of the main throughfares.

As he approached the tiny church he saw Father Jefferies on the stoop talking with a rather portly older man whose face looked red and flustered.

Since the last disastrous return to his home, Bael had been trapped in a grey mire of depression, searching for something to help him feel like he was making a difference in the world and not just a victim of it's whims.  That, or a passable bottle of wine that would help him through the day.

This sounded like an alternative to wine.

He opened the door to greet Father Jeffries.