In reply to Titus Blackwell (msg # 826):

"Go ahead, my lord. I will remain behind a short while to clean up the mess, then join you presently."

He nods meaningfully at the runes, and brandishes his trusty stolen shovel.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:53, Fri 24 July 2015.

"I will help," Enrei stands and offers as the shovel comes into play.  He was curious what Brennan and the Nor had said to each other, but it seemed rude to just ask.

In reply to Enrei Omal'i (msg # 828):

The Nor doesn't make a sound as Brennan carefully approaches, then sets and splints his arm.

The demonspeaker is unconscious.  He sleeps breathing shallow slow breaths.  Apart from that and the lump on the side of his head that is forming from the blow he took, there is the arrow wound to his shoulder.

In reply to GM (msg # 829):

Titus straightens his back.

Very well, Orim.  I will take your report in the morning.  If you feel you have gotten everything out of the Nor then you may release both him and the archer.  As far as that one there I will leave to your discretion; bring him; question him... whatever you like.

Though I'd try not to kill him this time... just a suggestion.

I bid you farewell.

He says completely neutrally.  With a flourish he flicks his cape, turns on his boot heel and walks into the darkness.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:31, Mon 27 July 2015.

In reply to Titus Blackwell (msg # 830):

Uldaf downs a mysteriosu flask from his pack

[Healing Draught]

Before looking to the lagging Brennan.

He won't let me do what he needs to be done. He's not man enough.

So what's left to be doing here before we move on, and where is it you think we're moving on toward?

"We are only needing to clean mess," Enrei answers Uldaf, pointing to Brennan's shovel and not entirely sure what they're cleaning, "And then moving on toward meet mister Flynn," Enrei reminds his companions, not entirely following along after the cover Titus had provided them.  "Unless you want to wait for this one to wake up," Enrei nudges the demonspeaker with a foot, "maybe you can be friends since you won."

In reply to Enrei Omal'i (msg # 832):

As he walks away he tosses casually over his shoulder

Bring the horses and the gear, we will look through them in the morning to see what is useful.

In reply to Titus Blackwell (msg # 833):

Brennan nods as Titus walks away, then walks over toward the runes with Enrei. Shovel in hand, he begins to speak with the larger man in his own language.


While speaking, he begins to use the shovel to obliterate the runes.

In reply to Brennan Otthild (msg # 834):

The writings and drawings in the dirt do not put up any resistance to being dug up and wiped away.

Enrei nods at Brennan's instruction.  Then he stands a bit dumbfounded without a shovel of his own.  After a moment an idea strikes him and he walks over to his liberated axe abd pulls it free of the earth.  At first it looks like a severe case of the wrong tool for the job, but after a few swings with various angles of approach he's hacking clods of earth loose and making quite a mess of the circle.  This was quite different from how he was normally instructed to clean up and Enrei quickly finds himself enjoying the job.

In reply to Enrei Omal'i (msg # 836):

While Uldaf looks for opportunity, it's clear the archer has no intention of letting Uldaf carry out his grim duty.

Fine. Let the blood be on his hands.

Are we ready to depart?

In reply to Uldaf Asbjorn (msg # 837):

Once the circle has been demolished, Brennan sees to the acquisition of the bandits' things. Barring complications, he loads the demonspeaker onto a horse and leads the other one back to the mill along with Enrei and Uldaf.

Enrei looks back at the two men they let go, "Will they be okay?" he looks at Brennan, "I don't think the man with the hurt arm knows how to speak like this," he observes.

In reply to Enrei Omal'i (msg # 839):

"He doesn't," Brennan responds. "He only seems to speak Nor. Theirs is a strange culture, I think. Different from ours. He was expecting more unpleasantness than he received."

He relieves the archer of 4 of his 8 arrows, but allows both of the archer and the Nor to keep a small club or knife on their person along with a little food and water before sending them along their way with a warning:

"We're taking the horses," he says to the pair of them. "This is not because we are thieves, but because we don't trust you, and it will slow you down. I'm sure your lord will be happy to provide you with new ones, if he's as good a master as you claim. We are also taking this demonspeaker, so as to avoid having him immediately summon some horrible retribution upon us or this land's people. Go in peace, if you value your lives."

That said, Brennan is pleased to lead the horses, prisoner, Uldaf, and Enrei back to the mill.

In reply to Brennan Otthild (msg # 840):

As the members of the party walk up to the mill with prisoners you see Titus entertaining a small group of guards....

...and there they were one man with an axe, one man with bow, another on his knees speaking to the ground.

Titus continues a highly stylized tale of their bravery.

As the rest of the team walks solemnly up the road with the horses and the demonspeaker slung over them Titus smiles and waves cheerily.  He favors the guard who saw them on their way out with a smile and an exaggerated wink.

Told you that you should have come with us. 

Titus cuts off his tale and bounds over to his friends.

That was perfectly timed.  I cut it off right before the climax, all they know is the odds were stacked against us and what the camp looked like.  They will fill everything else in for me in more fantastic detail than I can expect.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:39, Mon 03 Aug 2015.

Enrei stretches his arms wearily, "Do you want to move him, or is okay to sleep on horse?" Enrei prods the demonspeaker gently as his eyes wander toward the building he'd earlier found a bed in.

In reply to Enrei Omal'i (msg # 842):

More sleep the better.

In reply to Uldaf Asbjorn (msg # 843):

The guards, two mill workers with knives and shovels as weapons, question Titus intently on the heroics of the team, but Titus leaves them hanging.  The sight of a prisoner and grievous injury round out the effect of Titus' storytelling and they are suitably awed.

The horses are allowed into a small stable by one of these men and you are offered a dry space to sleep in the hay nearby.

(OOC:  There are likely a few hours before dawn, will you continue a guard or leave it in the capable hands of the two miller's men?)

In reply to GM (msg # 844):

Uldaf crashes into a pile of hay and is asleep within moments of returning to the mill, the unbearable events of the night before having clearly taken their toll.

They'll wake me when they're ready to leave; they don't know where they're going anyway..

In reply to Uldaf Asbjorn (msg # 845):

Brennan, too, will find a place to fall asleep, after making sure the demonspeaker is secured nearby (and not left on the damn horse).

In reply to Brennan Otthild (msg # 846):

There's not much left before dawn.  I'm all for letting Uldaf sleep... he's had a rough night.  Do we want to set a watch?

Once his man-lifting services are no longer needed Enrei follows Uldaf's lead looking for rest.  At Titus's question he lets out a small grunt, but it's not clear if it's meant as a response or just the sound of a large man settling in to bed.

In reply to Enrei Omal'i (msg # 848):

In apparent answer to Titus' question, the rest of the group creates a chorus of sound snores.

(OOC:  Titus, stay awake or sleep as you will, nothing in particular will happen tonight, though if you choose not to sleep you'll be exhausted the next morning.)




Dawn breaks over the eastern mountains.  Before its rays can splash against your eyes and rouse you from the straw heap, the sounds of early-morning work are already in full force.  Clothes are rinsed beside the well, scrubbed and hung to dry on long lines.  The fires are filled and lit for cooking and the miller's men open the doors and begin lining up empty sacks and hitching the mules for hauling.

The miller, however, does not make an appearance in the morning, keeping the door to his house tightly shut.  Of all his daughters, only Lilly is allowed to sneak out to fetch water from the well and to empty the chamber pots.

You all awaken where you fell asleep, with nothing bad having happened in the night.

Enri, somehow, wakes up soaked to the bone in salty water.  Anyone who looks at him, including him, will note that he now has a bluish aura around him.

If you check, the demonspeaker is still asleep.  You can try to wake him or leave him as is.

Godrick and Arule soon appear, with Lump toting equipment behind.

At some point they apparently bartered for some small loaves of fresh bread, butter and a few hunks of dry goat meat.

Lump lays these out on a stump between the mill and the road with as much care as he can muster.  From somewhere, or someone, Titus has acquired a bottle of wine brought all the way from Hyrium.  Thus you have a simple yet satisfying break to your fast.

Lump, as always, sits quietly to one side chewing.  Godrick too sits by himself but Arule plops himself down in the middle and regales everyone between bites of the glory of the Dream of Heaven and all it has in store for those who follow God's path.

CROSSROADS:  As before, you have some choices to make.  Continue to the rondesvous with Flynn for your pay, or stick close to the mountains and continue north.  Or something else if you'd like, it's up to you!

You'll also need to decide what to do with the two horses and the Demonspeaker.

As Enrei wakes he doesn't immediately register that he's soaking wet, instead being rather annoyed at the straws sticking to his dampened form.  It's only when the dripping moisture on his nose drives him to wipe the water off his face that he recognizes the familiar sensation from his time at sea, "I am all wet," he observes, "but we are not on boat," he continues to inform the others.  He tilts his head as if trying to remember something, "Was First Man all wet?" he addresses anyone willing to answer as he stands and wipes off whatever clinging bits he can.

In reply to Enrei Omal'i (msg # 850):

"All wet?" Arule asks in his slow drawl.  "Can't be sure as I understand your question."

Arule chews his bread and thinks for a moment.

"Might be," he says, addressing the rest of the group more than Enrei, "he's talking about the first rains?  They say in the Dream of Heaven there is always rain in the mountains, that flows soft and sweet down into the valleys below.  Water so pure and good you can scoop it from the rivers in a chalice and have no need for wine."

Arule looks to the bottle Titus provided.

"In the Dream of Hell it never rains, so they say, yet one is always wet.  An endless and chilling sea of inky blackness, too thick to see through and as still as death itself.  Those there lie half submerged, chilled to the bone by that sea, while the pillar of flame far away burns your exposed flesh on the other side."