Posted this in the Almanac as well, but below is the sum of your pooled knowledge

The last true strongholds of paganism in Europe run from Pomerania east until Lake Chudskoe in Russia.  The area between are lushly forested, dotted with deep swamps, and blessed with very bitter winters.

The people who live in these lands aren't well known to their western and southern neighbors, though the Byzantines traded with them through the Russian river system.  You have heard the names of the major tribes as Livs, Letts, and Estonians.

The Church turned it's attention to the area around 1170.  They sent missionaries and established small churches.  They began working on converting the various tribes in the area.  They met with little success.

Then a new bishop, Bishop Alfred, founded a bishopric in the town of Riga. He also invited crusading orders to enter the area.

Currently, an independent crusading order named The Knights of the Sword has established a headquarters in Riga near Alfred's under construction cathedral.  They began operations 15 or so years ago.  Word is the Knights of the Sword have stabilized a good amount of the area around Riga.  But that the Church's influence is still rather dim.

Riga has grown in importance however.  The crusades brought traders, and the traders have discovered how handy it is to have a functioning port on the voyage to Lake Chudskoe and Novgorod.

There are rumors of some internal conflict between Bishop Alfred and the officer corp of the Knights/Sword (KOTS going forward).  But the source of the conflict, if a conflict even exists, is unknown.  It is known that the KOTS seem to be struggling.  Their recruiters are scouring every major port in the north, trying to drum up recruits.  And word on the street is a couple of the larger merchant houses have cancelled some contracts with KOTS.  But this is just gossip.

Emrys relays what he knows and adds, "Gustav isn't likely going to be too friendly talking to another magi given how things were left between him and Amis.  I'd appreciate if you could ask him what happened and where Amis may have gone Alfred."

Returning his attention to Calliope the magus adds, "Well as I said you are welcome to travel with us as we are sure to deal with other magi in our journey.  I can't promise they'll be helpful but if you don't find answers during this quest I am planning on setting up a covenant in the near future that you'd be more than welcome to stay at.  Just have to find the right spot and while the work won't be easy as it is at Fengheld the offer is open to all of you."

Vellum regards you Calliope, then shrugs...which is apparently something talking cats can do.

"Any who aid me in finding my errant human can take part in the reward.  I am not choosy about who gets the job done as long as it gets done.

"Now.  When we find Gustav, I think it may be best if he not know I am about.  He and I did not get along well.  Do you have any questions about him?  If I can answer them, I will."

---

Two days later, you are all on deck, blinking in the dawn of an overcast day.  A cold, wet drizzle is dousing the ship.  But while the sailors grumble, they move with speed and accuracy.  Port is just ahead.

The ship has been hugging the coast for the most part.  But a while ago, the lookout cried out that he spotted Riga.

It's not Hamburg.  Either in size or depth.  A wooden palisade surrounds the town, but it appears that it's slowly being replaced with a stone wall.  A hillside is dotted with peasant shacks.  Farther up the hill, the buildings become more cosmopolitan looking, though they seem painfully new.  You'd guess the fancier buildings had only been built within the past five years.

At the top of the hill, it looks like a cathedral is being built.  It has come quite a ways.  If the weather is good this summer, it should be completed by the fall.  It won't be grandiose.  Germany is full of much more ornate houses of worship.  But it looks like it will be fancier than a town of this size probably needs.

The captain walks up to Affare, doing his best to ignore Emrys and Calliope.  "We should be docking within an hour.  I ask you get all your gear.  It'll be best if you deport as quick as you can.  If any of your things are missing, let me know and I'll settle with you before we dock."

And with that he turns away, barking out orders before any of you have a chance to ask him anything.

The sailors have given you and your things a wide berth.  So there is nothing missing.

You can stop one of the sailors if you want to ask them anything.  But the questions best be short.  Even if they are avoiding you, they are busy.

I'll let you flag a sailor if you have any questions about Riga.  If not, we will move forward on Thursday.  Thanks

Emrys gets his things together and checks with the others.

You gather your luggage quickly.  Everything seems to be there...

Affare settles with the Captain while the sailors bring the ship into harbor.

You notice a larger number of ships in port than the town size would suggest.  As you pull closer, you can see the other ships are mostly filled with soldiers.  Commoners in poor armor and knights in shiny metal boxes.  The armed forces seem to be boarding rather than deboarding.

At last, the ship comes to rest and the gangplank is thrown down.  The Captain eyes you, willing you to move quickly.  You do.

The first thing all of you notice about Riga is the smell.  It's crisp and clean.  Hamburg smelled like every other city.  Piss and shit and decaying meat.  But Riga smells like the ocean wind.  It's very pleasant for most of you.

Most of you.

The area of Riga you are in has a Divine Aura of 1.  Please make note of it when using magic

A few words with some passersby gain you some information.

First, the Knights of the Sword are based in an area near the new cathedral being built on top of the hill.

Second, a small army is being sent east to Estonia.  Some of the missions established there have had some trouble.  And the Knights are going that way to secure the missions.

Lastly, the name "Gustav" meets with shrugs, shakes of the head, or someone saying, "Oh yeah.  I know him!"  When, from their description, they don't seem to know him at all.

Need a game plan.  Finding some lodging first?  Heading up to the cathedral?  Hanging out in the market place?

"Let's secure a place to stay first," Emrys thinks a bit, "Alfred can check with the knights for Gustav then."

The Emrys Conversation:

Calliope nodded.

"I don't necessarily expect you to wave a magic wand right away to be able to help me. This was a curse laid on me by a god, that as you say may have altered my essential nature as you put it." she replied. "If your theory is true, then that explains why my spirit seems to reject outside magic, since the divine shard within me takes up all that spiritual space instead." she continued.

"I suppose we can leave the blessing and curse thing for now, but I figured you needed to know about my lineage if you'd have any possible chance of either helping me or at least giving me additional information about it later. It gives you a good reference point, anyway." she said.

She then considered.

"Speaking of which, I'd like to talk to you more about my prophecy about you. Namely, if you happened to know what the "boar that was never sated" is? I believe it is someone or something on your side though, not that of your fire-wielding unknown enemy. And why there would be tunnels in your head that connected you to the cave of thunder of the enemy? Those, besides your identity of course, are the most vivid parts of the prophecy. So I'd like to try and identify the boar next. The tunnels too, if you know something about them, or perhaps if they are some sort of metaphor or something from your magical order? Or could it be a spell, like the spears from the earth?"

To GM/Vellum:

Greetings, Vellum." she said, giving him pets if he wanted them but otherwise trying to restrain herself otherwise, although she could not totally conceal the fact she thought he was kind of cute.

"Can you tell me more about this Gustav fellow that we're going to Riga to look for? I know you said you didn't have the best relationship with him, but it seems you care about him to some degree anyway. I figure the more I know, the more I can potentially prophesize about him later. No guarantees, but if I meet him I can try to actively scrutinize him with my prophecy, but it usually mainly only works when elements of danger or risk are involved but it might still give you more information than you had before. But the more you can tell me, Vellum, the better." she said, giving him more pets if he had let her earlier (and not otherwise).

OOC: Because every crazy lady needs a lapcat, right? :P

In the Present, Arriving in Riga:

Calliope nods at Emrys.

"Yes, we need to secure accommodations first. It might also lead us to more places to find Gustav. I'll also see if there's anything I can do to help find him too, but I'm not actually a dowsing rod. But I'll try." she said.

She then whispered lower to Emrys.

"By the way...you know how I told you that sometimes I sense...some sort of power or aura or influence near Christian churches? I feel it here too, all throughout Riga, although its very faint. I don't actually understand how it all works though. Does your order have theories on it? Perhaps it has something to do with the influence of the Church in the area somehow, but the mechanism is fathomless to me. I didn't feel this in Hamburg, though, oddly."

"Holy sites and certain people tap into the realm of the divine," Emrys replies, "Like crusaders and cathedrals."

He struggles to think of how hermetic magic theory explains it and comes up short, "Place auras are aligned to one of four realms.  Magic, faerie, the divine, and infernal realms.  Magic is primordial and is tied to beings like the titans.  Faerie is more story-like and tied to dreams of men I think.  Gods like Zeus come from the realm of faerie I think.  The Divine is from God and virtue... the soul I think?"

Alfred looks at the city, considering if heading straight to the knights' headquarters is the best course of action.

"I'll go consult with the knights. Maybe they know something about Gustav?" he wonders.

"You won't know where to find the rest of us afterward Alfred," Emrys replies, "Hopefully we can find a place we can stay quickly then you and maybe some of the others can go see the knights and we can met up latter."

Emrys Conversation:

She nodded.

"That makes sense then. At least I'm not seeing things." she replied.

"I'm not so sure that the gods are the same as faeries, though. I mean you yourself said the titans were more from the magic realm, and the gods are descendants of the titans, yes? And you also said you believe Apollo's Gifts were also magic-realm-related too, yes?" she replied. "The gods and Titans certainly didn't need man to dream them up, nor did they just spring from a Forest mushroom circle or something."

"But that aside...I'd like you to tell me your thoughts on the Boar, like I just mentioned. This is important, Emrys." ask asked, suddenly firm.

To GM/Vallum: See the above post (just don't want you to lose sight of it in the conversation flow)

Emrys thinks a bit and shakes his head, "I don't recall anyone with boar heraldry, boar-like qualities, a literal magic boar, or a metaphysical one.  Maybe we haven't met the boar yet?"

Vellum's whiskers and tail twitch when you ask him about Gustav, Calliope.  "You shouldn't make assumptions O Seer.  I am not fond of Gustav at all.  But he was useful."  The tail settles down.  "But you are correct.  Information is a fair request.  Gustav looks a bit like our friend Alfred here.  They are brothers.  Gustav is slightly shorter but a bit broader across the shoulders.  He has a scar running across his nose to under his right eye.  He was cut across the face defending Amis from a goblin once.  It's a long story.

"His hair is maybe a shade darker than Ser Alfred's, but is a bit grayer and thinner on top.  He was starting to bald.  He has several scars, but aside from the one across his nose, the most prominent is one down his left arm, from shoulder the knuckle.

"He is not able to eat yogurt.  Cheese is pretty tough on him as well.  What else would you like to know?"

---

Riga is large enough to have an inn.  The Sainted Miss.  It's rather drab, but the inside is at least warm and doesn't smell too bad.

I'm going to handwave things along a bit

Affare negotiates two rooms in the Inn for Emrys and himself and one for Calliope.  The common room has ample space for the rest to bunk down.

Alfred, you notice that there are a number of soldiers in the Inn and in the market.  A couple of knights are hanging around a smithy, waiting for their horses to be reshoed.  One of them has the livery you believe belongs to the Knights of the Sword.

You overhear some of their conversation.

"So nothing at all from them?"

"Not a damn word.  Fucking heathens won't give up a bit of Tarbatu.  It's the third time now we've lost it to them."

The first one shakes his head.  "Damn.  Sounds like sweeping mud with a broom.  How many have been lost?"

The second one spits on the ground.  "That's the damn of it.  From what they say, the heathen took some hostage.  We aren't sure how many.  But we expect it's a third of the garrison."

"As far as old gods and new," Emrys pushes the limits of his magic theory, "I'm not sure entirely.  Titans are more like primordial forces, not just 'titans' but it could be the spirit of a place like a volcano or well.  Objective where faerie is subjective as the dreams and stories of men.  Maybe like... um....the Plato's allegory of the cave that we only see the shadows of the true thing?"

He thinks a bit longer and adds, "Faeries are more reactive to men and live in their stories.  Men didn't need uncaring primordial gods so they invented stories to replace them, put them in their place, imprisoned them.  And the Divine, God, seeks the betterment of man and salvation of souls, it stands above primordial forces and the glamour of the fae."

Alfred, you move past the two knights awaiting the shoeing and head up the hill the town is built on.  From what you can overhear, the Order of the Sword's base is near the top, near where the cathedral is under construction.

When you arrive, you see a line of long, low halls set off to the side of a square.  There's a lot of activity over there.

A queue of soldiers is lined up before a table.  Apparently that's the recruitment queue, as none of the soldiers wear livery or are well equipped. Most look like second or third sons who just stumbled off the farm.

You seem three men, standing in a circle talking amongst themselves.  Each has livery of a red cross suspended above a red sword on a field of white.

This



The Knights of the Sword.  You've found them.

There are several men around you can approach...

Need to know what you will ask them please.  Thanks

---

Emrys and Calliope, you are in one of your shared rooms, chatting about the mystic.  Affare and Wulfgang, you are sorting through your luggage, making a list of any supplies you might want to pick up.

Karl comes limping along, knocking on both doors quietly to get your attention.

"Begging the pardon Masters.  There's some kind of business going on.  Some of the sailors from the ship were asking after us in the front room.  They saw me, and they all beat it out of here on the quick.  I didn't like it an' thought I'd better say something to you."

"You think they mean to cause us trouble Karl?" Emrys looks for confirmation and then back to Calliope, "Maybe we should relocate and get a message to Alfred?"

To GM/Vellum:

Calliope nods, and gives him more pets as she responds.

"Hmmm...that is a very good description of him. I suspect that, given the level of detail you provided me, that if I see him in a vision that I'll have a good chance at recognizing him now. Thank you, Vellum." she said.

She considered.

"By the way...I've been meaning to ask, but um...where do you come from, exactly? Like you're obviously a magical talking cat with at least human-level intelligence. And not only that, but you're well-spoken and eloquent. A puuuurfect gentleman, if you'll forgive my saying..." she continued, followed with a chuckle.

"But seriously? I've been so curious about you since we first met. Not only are you an eloquent talking cat, but you don't seem affected by by um...aura for lack of better term, same as Emrys. Which just makes me want to learn about you even more."

---

To Emrys/Mystic Conversation:

She considers.

"Well...I suppose the moral of the story here is that despite the fact we both have a connection to some greater magical force of some kind, that it doesn't mean either of us fully understands how it all works. Gods and titans, titans and talking cats. They are a greater mystery to us it seems, but  that doesn't mean it's not good that we're comparing notes like this, or trying to use dialectic method to figure things out." she said.

"So we'll agree to disagree about the nature of the gods, since if Apollo's divine gift registers as magical rather than faery to you, then in my mind that means the gods are closer to the titans rather than being fae. Although that certainly doesn't mean there aren't fae who may try and trick mortals into thinking they are gods. Or perhaps not purposefully trick, but perhaps are accidentally viewed that way by some humans? And don't get me started on demons. Nasty things. But that's another conversation." she continued.

She then considered about the boar.

"Well let's focus more on what we do know more of. The boar, in this case. In this case, if you're unfamiliar with who or what it is then perhaps it is a person or beast that you will be encountering sometime soon-ish in your journey. On the plus side, it means your impending doom is not immediately upon us since the vision cannot come true without the boar and others I saw first coming into your circle. But note that it isn't the boar's fault. On the contrary, it felt like an ally to you. So don't push the boar away when you meet it." she said.

"And then there's the other vivid parts. Like the bad man, who I now wonder might not be some sort of enemy mage or something now that I think about it, was burying a hand or something in sand. Like in a large sandy area, like a field or beach or something but that part is unclear. And then he was in a cave, that had a lightning storm in it while he was hurling fire in the same way you hurl spears from the earth. But there were tunnels in your heads and the boars, and the bad man was somehow using them to devour you. So I think a key to staving off your demise is to figure out what tunnels in your head mean, and how you can close or seal those tunnels." she said.

"Above and beyond being on the lookout for the boar. I saw others with you in the vision, but they were vague and indistinct. Not important, like you and the boar were. The boar was as clear as you were, and it was fighting by your side."

---

To Everyone/Recent Warning from Karl:

Calliope was going over various miscellaneous travel details with Emrys. Things like supplies, and orders and tasks to delegate to the Grogs, and so on. She also was chit chatting with him about the knights of the sword a bit - she didn't know much but what she did glean from her knowledge of canon law she contributed to the group's collective knowledge.

And then Karl knocked on the door, and gave them warning about the suspicious behavior he saw from the sailors.

Calliope frowned.

"Emrys? I don't like that. It seems a bit fishy, no pun intended since they are sailors." she said.

"Let me try something. Sometimes, I can actively channel my powers, especially if I'm personally in danger but not only. But since I'm involved heavily in this trip of yours now, it may work better. Let's see..." she said as she closed her eyes, and muttered to herself faintly in Greek, to try and focus herself. Something about Apollo, and danger, and gift of sight. It was hard to make out, as she was mumbling under her breath, but her eyes seemed to suddenly move and twitch back and forth unnaturally under her closed eyelids as she did so...

OOC: She is making a premonitions attempt. The roll factors in her specialty of herself potentially being in danger as she is travelling with the troupe. But she's trying to divine for dangers and inconveniences regarding their trip and especially the sailors and their boarding that ship the next day. Because it's so close to when they'd board the ship, the difficulty is probably lower than normal too. If it's mortal peril that is immanent the difficulty is like 3, and the difficulty increases with a reduction of peril and an increase of time if I'm reading the rules right. I'm hoping that, due to the time being only within a day or two most likely at most, that even if it's lower peril the difficulty will be reduced enough to be manageable.

23:44, Today: Calliope Podarces rolled 11 using 1d10+9.  Premonitions. – 11
 

Vellum hasn't "purred" much from your petting Calliope.  And you think he groans at the purr-fect joke.

But when you ask more about him, his reaction seems odd.  He leaps off your lap and perches on a table.  Looking you over, he finally responds,

"My people are a specific lineage of cats.  We are descended from great kings and queens of a distant land.  We allied ourselves to the magi of the Order of Hermes because it suited us.  The whole story is rather long.  And frankly, I am not comfortable speaking of it.  Perhaps if we grow closer as associates...but for now, I trust that you will lend your powers to my cause.  Thanks for the petting."

And with that, he starts to ignore you.

---

You try calling up your "feelings" Calliope...

I am reading the rules about Premonitions the same way you are Calliope.  So you will get a result. One word of warning though:

quote:

But she's trying to divine for dangers and inconveniences regarding their trip and especially the sailors and their boarding that ship the next day

Technically speaking, you guys aren't leaving on their ship the next day.  You arrived in Riga this morning, and your trip with them is ended (at least as far as any of us know at the moment).  So if I were that kind of SG I could say "Well you aren't going to be on their ship the next day, so no dangers sensed".

I'm not that kind of SG though.  So I'll give you your results based on the first part of your stated parameters:

quote:

But she's trying to divine for dangers and inconveniences regarding their trip and especially the sailors...

I know that sounds ticky, but some SGs get particular.  And, at least in my opinion, virtues like Premonitions work best when you keep the parameters as vague as possible.  Premonitions is only meant to provide vague information.  If you try to get too specific with it, you give the SG opportunity to muck around with you.

Sorry for sermon.  Now back to the game

Calliope, you start to feel cold.  There seems to be a buzz in your ear.  Many whispering voices, though what words they say you can't make out.  They're then gone.

Suddenly, the left side of your face erupts in pain.  Almost as if you've been struck by a club there.  A numbness begins to spread from that area down your body.  It's especially bad around your wrists and ankles.  As if they are bound by the cold iron.  Your nose fills with the smell of blood and sea air...

Then it's all gone.  But you get a vague notion that none of you will get much sleep tonight.

"Oh not trick," Emrys quickly replies, "Literal faerie gods, Zeus and his family, countless others.  From what I understand they are their stories, not pretending or tricking man by taking up a role.  But the dreams of man made manifest living the roles in the stories that they are a part of."

When the beautiful woman enters a fugue state for a moment, Emrys begins to move forward to help but it passes as swiftly as it appeared.

Vellum:

"Understood, and fair enough. I hope we can talk more some other time." she said as the cat slinked away.

---

GM/Premonition:

---

Emrys:

"I...I don't know fully, the nature of gods and fae. I have studied all realms, but..." she said, in a bit of a fugue, before snapping to attention. The woman grasps one of the sides of her face suddenly, and lets out a soft groan of discomfort. Except, there is no actual damage or anything wrong with her. She kicks out suddenly once with her legs, before pulling them back to normal position.

"Ugh....ugh that wasn't pleasant. When I actively channel my magic, it isn't always unpleasant but the premonitions are less vivid unless I can channel well, which is a hit-or-miss thing these days. But in this case, I think the answer literally and figuratively hit me." she said to him, suddenly. Practically - and literally - unable to contain this warning to herself any longer as her curse kicked in.

"I...I felt like I was clubbed in my face, and then thrown in shackles and stowed aboard a ship! I didn't see it, but I felt it for a moment! So I'm not totally certain, but I think those sailors are going to try to harm us tonight. Call it a vague notion, if you will, but we're not sleeping well tonight. Which means I might take a catnap now just in case." she said.

"Emrys? We can talk about blessings and curses, gods and titans, lore and philosophy later. But I sense danger of some kind from my premonition, and I don't feel comfortable staying by myself right now. I don't mean this in any unladylike manner, by the way. But convention be damned...I believe if I sleep alone in my room tonight, I'm going to be kidnapped at the very least! If not the rest of you. And let me remind you that if they take me away from you, I won't be able to help identify the boar if we encounter it." she said, suddenly and firmly and voice full of worry.

"Do you have some sort of protection magic or something, or perhaps the ability to lay a ward or at least set a trap just in case? Hell...maybe a spell to magically lock the door to this room?

I will let y'all make whatever preparations you wish.  Then the sun will go down.

Let me know if there are questions please.  Thanks.

Emrys thinks for a moment, "Well I might be able to stop anyone but one of us from opening the door or the like easily but it'll be harder do to the divine protection about Riga."

"I'll try to enspell both doors but I think you're right about being alone," the Makhai nods, "We'll try to get some rest in one and set a watch for trouble."

Emrys informs the others both about the likely danger and change in arrangements before making preparations.

Calliope had a cot or something moved to Emrys' room, along with her stuff. It would be safer with him nearby than on her own right now, given her premonition.

She also had a chair brought in to Emrys' room if one was available, she she could use to help wedge against the door too, just as a fallback in case the divine aura interfered with Emrys' protective magic too much.

So noted all

Emrys, you manage your wards on the doors.  Though you yourself will have to be the one to open them.

Your rooms are down a short hall connecting the kitchen and the common room.


Let's do this:



Am I safe in assuming you guys are holing up in Room 2?

And is everyone clumping in Room 2?  How/where do you want the grogs to guard?

Thanks

Barring further input, Emrys has their small band set up in room 2 with the grogs setting four hour alternating watches of three (two at table one at door).  Felix, Karl, Leonard for first group, and Wulfgang & Evzen (and Emrys) for the second.

"We're expecting trouble," the magus says, "But what sort or why I'm not sure.  What I've done to the door should slow them down but if they are determined it won't stop them.  Just keep your packs handy in case we have to escape the local authorities."

Emrys is taking a shift huh?  Interesting...

The common room swells with people until about an hour after sunset.  Then it begins to empty out.  A number of soldiers remain, drinking.  But patrols of Knights come through, rousting them out and sending them on their way.

The gruff older woman who seems to be running the place tells you if you want any more beer or mutton stew, speak up now.  They'll be going to bed soon.

The tables, save the one you are sitting at, are pushed against the wall.  Seven men not in your group are paying to sleep on the floor tonight.  They run the range from sailors to itenerants of some kind.  They glance at the lot of you, but say nothing.  The candles are extinguished and soon the only light in the common room comes from the dying fire in the large hearth against the far wall.

The second shift comes up.  Emrys, Wulfgang, and Evzen, you trade out with the others, sending them back to the room.

---

Inside Room 2, Calliope, you have a troubling dream.


You wake up blinking.  The servant named Karl is seated nearby.  He smiles at you and points at a water skin, apparently asking if you want a drink.

You're actually hungry.  Wasn't the kitchen just on the other side of the door and to the left?

You feel really hungry.

---

Emrys and Wulfgang, it seems like the night might just pass by without incident.  The front door of the inn just seems determined not to open.  And all the men sleeping on the floor seem to be doing just that.  Sleeping.

Maybe this is much ado about nothing.

But just in case, how about a Awareness/Per check from ya'll please.  And if one of you would roll for Ezven as well please.

Thanks

Wulfgang shifted his weight idly as he sat in his chair. The night was still and sedate. The door hadn't moved since he'd taken over the watch, nor had any of the men on the floor shifted more than was normal for those sleeping. They stirred and grunted, turned over, but remained in place. Nevertheless, Wulfgang was determined not to be slack in his duties; the watch was not to be taken lightly, and it would not be him who missed a moment to execute his duties.

Emrys watches quietly into the night.

15:26, Today: Emrys rolled 3 with the Ars Magica stress die.  ezven awa/per.

15:26, Today: Emrys rolled 4 with the Ars Magica stress die.  emrys per/awareness

Calliope wakes up suddenly, eyes wide-open in fright, although she isn't hysterical or losing grip on her sensibilities or anything. Mostly, anyway.

"Ugh. What the heck..." she said, closing her eyes again and rubbing the sleep out of them, before looking at the nearby Karl more normally now. She didn't feel quite normal, that's for sure.

"Ugh. Oh, Karl? Yes...ugh I'm so freaking hungry even though I ate dinner a few hours ago." she said with a weary sigh.

She'd have absolutely beelined for the kitchens, if it wasn't for her own fear and wariness keeping her in check. Especially with the visions looming on her. She took Karl's waterskin and drank some, before returning. She began to look more rattled again, but she was visibly forcing herself to remain composed.

"A large object will fall from the sky. The wood will will crackle and sunder, as the fibers and splinters come apart..." she said suddenly to Karl, worriedly.

OOC: And Karl, not having Parma or some other equivalent reason to the best of my knowledge anyway, thinks she's talking crazy again. Sadly. Although since they've been travelling for a few weeks now at least he knows she probably doesn't mean ill or anything by it. Maybe she's on the rag or something and talking nonsense?

"Karl? Where's Emrys? Something's going to happen soon but I can't leave this room or it might all come true." she said, as she scrambled to grab her "currently active" olive sample jar and took several Olives out and ate them, to stave off her hunger a bit.

"If I stay here, I might change the future. But the wood and splinters will part. But better than to be in chains! I have to get Emrys. NO! I have to stay here on this bed. It's all I can do to try and change it!" she said, borderline hysterical (but not there yet) but eating her way through the fear for the most part, as she popped yet another olive into her mouth.

"Don't mind me, Karl. You won't believe me anyway. Just watch the door, while I stay here sitting on the bed." she said, as she had her backpack ready to go. This time, her demeanor suddenly shifted from near-hysterical back to an almost stoic, resolute calm.

Yeah...she totally was on the rag or had the vapors or something, combined with broken sleep. Yes, that had to be it. Poor Calliope...best to leave her be.

You did that perfectly Wulfgang. And as such...

Wulfgang and Emrys, the night starts to drag a bit.  Your own eyes feel a little heavy.  Even the snoring and sweaty-man smell from all your fellow travelers in the front room isn't helping.

Wulfgang, something catches your ear...

---

Karl blinks at you Calliope, clearly not sure what to say to any of that.

Felix coughs politely into his fist and says, "Uhm...Miss.  Should we get Master Emrys for ya?"

Before you can respond Calliope, you notice something about the door latch.

Wulfgang reached with one hand, his head never moving, tapping Emrys on whatever limb he could reach first. He needed to draw the man's attention to what was happening without breaking the spell of silence draped over the moment.

All of a sudden, the preternaturally alert Calliope bolts upward and becomes alert. Thankfully, what she was about to say wasn't prophetic but instead was "merely" the result of the more passive perceptiveness her blessing provided her.

"Karl. The door! Look! Someone's trying to wedge the bolt open with a dagger!" the pointed suddenly.

"Get over there and hold the door bolt down! Now! Don't think, Karl, just act! Go!" she commanded suddenly! She knew that physics would make it much easier for Karl to push down on the larger, longer bolt than it would be for dagger-man to push up with a thin, small knife.

Calliope then also sprang into motion! She took the knife off of her own belt and decided to try something. She took her own knife, and stuck it through the space in the door under the dagger, and angled upward though so that the end of her blade would cut into the hand of whoever was on the other side who held the dagger, while keeping her own hand safe! since she's do it all in one sudden, thrusting stab motion before pulling her own knife back. While certainly she was trying to harm the perpetrator on the other side to dissuade them, her real goal was to get them to cry out in surprise and increase the chance of Emrys noticing.

After that, while Karl held down on the bolt, either way as part of an effort to generate noise and attention she would start pounding on the door to her room to cause a commotion and further try and attract Emrys!

Emrys looks over to Wulfgang from the touch on his arm wonder what is the matter.

Wulfgang subtly directs Emrys' attention towards six men skulking down the hallway, crouched over, knives out. The first one was trying the door of the room the others were sleeping in, which was apparently not opening.

Emrys careful moves and seemingly stops for a moment.  A look of annoyance crosses his face as he seems to concentrate a second and just briefly shimmers.

Felix reacts much faster than Karl, who still seems a little hobbled.

Felix pushes down on the bar as you launch yourself forward <purple>Calliope...

Certainly a chance that will work.  Let's leave it to the dice.  Make me a combat roll Calliope.  Let's see how well you do

---

You had just made contact with one of the men Wulfgang.  Sorry for the confusion. 

As you concentrate Emrys, three of the men in the hall launch themselves towards you, Wulfgang,and Evzen, apparently intent on taking care of you before you try to stop them from doing whatever they are doing at the door to your rented room.

We are in combat.  So we are on Init.  Let me know what your Init. is please.  The three goons are closing on your table Emrys and Wulfgang.  But you can all get in one round of action before they arrive.

If one of you wants to roll attacks for Evzen, please feel free to do so.


Let me know if there are any questions ya'll

Emrys tries to move defensively.


Evzen attacks-

00:12, Today: Emrys rolled 9 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Evzen attacks with the pointy end +10 polearm
This message was last edited by the player at 05:13, Sat 13 Jan.

Calliope angles her knife, and slices upward in a quick and sudden motion through the door crack, trying to cut at the enemy's hand...

00:49, Today: Calliope Podarces rolled 8 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Stress Die

So dex 1 + brawl 1 + knife 1 = +3. 8+3= 11

Calliope, you feel something solid through the knife.  Then there's some cursing and the dagger that was coming through the crack falls.  Felix looks down at you as, behind you, Karl picks up a bow.

You all hear someone on the other side of the door shout out, "Break it down!  We don't have time to fuck about!"

---

Emrys, you do your thang as Evzen and Wulfgang move to bottle up the hallway.

Two of the three rush forward, while one of the hangs back.  He raises a bow.  Fires!

And manages to shoot through the air the false "Emrys" is standing.

Evzen thrusts forward with his poleaxe.  This causes the two rushing forward with knives and cudgels to falter.  Actually stagger back a step.  They didn't seem to expect you guys to be so well armed.

Also, they botched their init.  So yeah.

The three by the door seem to be about to try to bash it in.  You hear one of them yell, "Break it down!  We don't have time to fuck about!"

You can hear the other occupants of the room rousing themselves...

So to summarize:

One attacker has a bow and would have nailed Emrys if not for Wizard's Side Step.

The two on Wulfgang and Evzen botched their Init.  So they lost a round of actions.  Wulfgang, when you post, you may post two actions.

Calliope, you know there are some guys outside who seem to be planning to kick in the door.  Or bash it in.  If you wish to, you may take actions for Felix and Karl (see their entries in Grog Pool) and make any rolls you deem fit to.

Questions?

OOC: Okay...gonna change things up a bit. It looks like Felix has no combat ability what so ever (although has some decent armor as does Karl) unless I am mis-reading his character sheet, while Karl has no bow nor bow skill but instead is great at polearms. I can still use Felix though as another body though. So going to adjust tactics accordingly.

Calliope had to act fast. She wasn't sure how much the door would be able to resist a concerted effort to kick it down or bash it in, but with the bolt in place again since she got the one attacker to drop their dagger, it meant the door could hold at least a bit.

And a bit was plenty enough to quickly cook up and implement a plan.

"Felix? Karl? Listen to me and get ready." Calliope commanded quickly.

Both of you move the bed that's to the left of the door (ooc: the one down below the door, so left from her perspective) to the right, so that its fully blocking the door. They won't be able to just kick it down easily that way. Then Karl, get your polearm, and get ready to attack any of them that become visible if they try to break the door down instead, or that may try to clib ot even trip on themselves and fall onto the bed!" she said.

"Felix? You will be on the side of the opposite the door (ooc right of the bed on the map which will be right of the door once they pull it up to block the door), and simply push against the bed and thus, against the door in the process to make it harder for them, and hopefully stall them for more time for Emrys. I, meanwhile, will grab the larger of the blanket or sheet off the bed and will be waiting to the left of the beed after you guys move it to block the door (so where the bed originally was) and if somehow one of them manages to break through the door enough where they can climb onto the bed, or the tip onto it not knowing its there, I'll throw the sheet onto them to make it act as a makeshift net and bind them up and blind them while Karl hacks away at them. Once the bed no longer helps, you will switch to using your dagger, Felix."

OOC: Ok, so on the picture...things go in this order:

1.) Karl and Felix (and Calliope will do what she can to help if able, otherwise she will begin to get the sheet off the bed meanwhile) will move the bed that is in the lower-ledt part of the room under the door up a bit, sao it blocks the door.

2.) After the bed is moved up a bit in front of the door...

-Calliope will move to the "bottom" of the bed where the bed initially was, and will be waiting with her sheet ready.
-Felix will move to the right side of the bed and use his Athletics to push the door leftward, helping further brace the now re-bolted door. This should buy at least a round or three, but regardless we're trying to stall for Emrys.
-Karl will be on the North-East corner of the now moved bed, using a ready action with his polearm to strike the first enemy that becomes visible through the door if they damage it so badly the enemy can be seen. Calliope is fully taking advantage of the length of his weapon to offset the bed being there, where as the bed will be a hindrance to the enemy still.

3.) Later, once the enemy breaks through and tries climbing or crawling onto the bed from the hallway, she will throw the sheet onto the first enemy who comes through onto the bed which will bind/blind/confuse them, hopefully stall their movement, and make them a sitting duck for Karl's polearm attacks.

Emrys touches one of the slats of wood he gathered earlier and sends it flying at the bowman.

02:57, Today: Emrys rolled 16 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Piercing shaft of wood 10 (+6)

22 casting total

Piercing Shaft of Wood hits automatically, not sure on size of shaft he was able to gather.  2 ft piece of firewood or branch is +8 dam and a staff sized is +10.  If he has to rely on his satchel of whittled sticks those are +5

Evzen steps in with his polearm trying to keep the attackers at bay.

03:27, Today: Emrys rolled 8 using 1d20.  ezven polearm +10

Attack total 18

Defense 6
Damage +10

Felix and Karl move like men on a mission.  On the other side of the room, Leonard rolls out of bed.  He blinks, but picks up his sword and shield.

Calliope, see my note on the OOC thread.</purple>

You can hear some shouts and a bloodcurdling scream come from the other side of the door.  And it stops shaking.  The two fellows get the bed in front of it during that respite.

---

You send the shaft of wood hurtling through the air and into the bowman's chest, Emrys.

<orange>You would have been able to get some wood for the fire.  So +8 on damage.  I rolled it. Trust me.  You want me to keep my roll

The bowman screams in agony and falls over.  One of the others takes the brunt of Evzen's poleaxe.

From behind, the three attacking the door stop in horror at what happened to the bowman.

"This is gone to hell!"  shouts one of them.

"We have to hurry!  We get no coin if we don't come back with her!"

From behind you Emrys, you can hear the other men in the common room scrambling to their feet, pulling out weapons, and demanding to know what's going on.

OOC: Thank you GM for the clarification! I will have Felix stand on the "bottom" part of the where the bed gets moved to, next to Calliope. If they break down the door, she will throw the sheet onto them and them step directly backward out of melee range, while Leonard will interpose himself between the attackers and her and while he will try to attack the intruders, his primary objective is to protect Calliope as her bodyguard and he will use his shield and turtle if he has to.

Calliope sticks to the plan, and quickly commands Leonard to wake his butt up and look alive, and to follow a bodyguard plan that she had incidentally prepped him of beforehand. So he was ready to go at a moment's notice and geared up, despite having woken from a Catnap. Because that's all it was, was a recharge rather than them truly sleeping normally.

"Leonard? It's time. Get your large rear over here and make sure they don't get away with their ungentlemanly behavior towards me! The ones I warned you all about are here! But we'll show them!" she said firmly as she got her sheet at the ready.

"Erm? Yes yer um...ladyship? Mistressness? Um...getting to it Miladyness!" Leonard said as he forced himself to alertness quickly. He had his armor on already had the shield and sword right by his bed, so he grabbed them and quickly came across the room to stand near Calliope protectively. Once she threw her sheet and stepped back, he would become her human wall...on his honor and on his life!

The other two grogs were already in position. They had been travelling with Calliope now for a short while now, and had begun to get used to her presence in the party as a sort of "protected noble guest," even if she was kind of weird at times. It did help though that she was really pretty and intelligent and interesting, when she wasn't being feisty or weird of course. And they too would not suffer the dishonor of letting either her or Emrys come to harm before they did! And so Karl and Felix waited determinedly at their positions with as much stoic anticipation as Leonard did.

With his temper up the short Czech shouts, "Kidnappers!" as he viciously swings again.

01:53, Today: Emrys rolled 9 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Ezven polearm +10 attack.

Attack total 18

Defense 6
Damage +10

The magus stays behind his comrades in a defensive stance but stays aware of the other men in the common room behind him.

The door to their room looks faintly silvery but fades in but a moment.

Your fellow lodgers seem to react to the word "kidnappers" Evzen.  They start to cry out and rush towards the hall, at least some of them.

The scoundrels who were attacking you lose heart and start to rush backwards, except for the bleeding bowman and one whome Evzen just poleaxed unto his keester.

Calliope, the door flashes silver a moment.  You can hear what sounds like the sounds of retreat in the hallway.  Then other men's voices.  Whatever's going on out there seems to be moving away from the door...

Two of the scoundrels have been captured.  The other four are trying to rush back into the kitchen.

Letting them get away?

Calliope is unsure if it is safe yet for them to move, but so far it seems like the Oracle Counter-Ambush plan was working really well! She'd have to praise Emrys and the grogs later, when things settled down. Maybe even buy them some drinks or something.

The safest thing to do was to stay put for the time being. At least for a little bit more. She silently motioned for the grogs with her to hold steady for now.

OOC: Not going to second sight the door, because I and Calliope recognize that silver flash as Emrys' magic. I recall he had silvery themes going on last time when she was inspecting him and am wondering if that's a sort of "tell" or "resonance" his magic takes. Something to ask him about later. As for the present, the Calliope-portion of the party is going to remain turtled for now. Next round, if it isn't obviously safe like Emrys knocking at the door or something, she'll use premonition or something to try to "re-scan" for her immediate safety. But for this next round, we're staying turtled. She doesn't want her group caught up in tall the sudden movement in the hallway either.

Emrys looks down the corridor as he follows the rush to the kitchen.  He stops if he spies the kitchen door and stares a moment.

Furious at the scum Evzen stalks forward with his polearm at the ready.

05:03, Today: Emrys rolled 6 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Evzen attacks with the pointy end +10 polearm.

Attack total 16

Defense 6
Damage +10

OOC: Okay, if this is still accurate, Wulfgang has a fellow in front of him and buddy is too close for archery, so knife it is!

Sweat beading on his brow as he stared down his opponent, the diminutive Wulfgang brandished his knife. Tucking low into a stable crouch, he sized up the man in front of him and waited for the opportune moment before lashing out like a viper with a vicious blow!

In reply to Emrys (msg # 50):

So noted on the turtling Calliope

Your foe cries out in pain and then falls over completely Evzen.

Wulfgang, you make what you think will be a brilliant lunge.  But one of the roused fellows in the common room who is rushing forward manages to bump you from behind and throws off your aim.  Your opponent scuttles backwards.


That offending bumper and four other men go charging down the hall, trampling the downed bowman and slipping on the bloody spot that Evzen has made of his opponent.

The other scoundrels hit the kitchen door, trying to pull it open.  Which they can't for some reason....

Emrys...

You suddenly feel someone grab you from behind and spin you around.  It's one of the few lodgers from the common room who didn't charge forward.  A disheveled looking merchant and two other similar looking merchants behind him.

They've spun you around Emrys and are peering at you suspiciously.

"You look like you're one of those bastards.  You bastard."

"I'm a lodger with the men fighting the thieves!" he says in a higher surprised tone than he hoped to.

01:31, Today: Emrys rolled 2 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Charm (com +3, -3 for Gift) who me?>.

With other patrons involved Evren takes a bit more care with his polearm at guard as he approaches the interlopers with menace, "Which one of you kokot want a poke next?!  Why are you after Calliope?"

Affare, you blink yourself into wakefulness after a dream about being back on board that ship during a storm.

You wake to find Leonard perched over you, sword and shield ready, and your bed now sitting in front of the door to the room.

Outside, you can hear lots of commotion.  There's no sign of Emrys, but Calliope is nearby.

Speaking of...

Calliope, you can hear someone...sounds like Evzen saying your name out loud.

Meanwhile...

Emrys, the merchant scowls and calls out, "Hey!  We got another one here!"

He starts to reach out as if he's going to grab your arms and pull them behind your back.

Wulfgang, with you man down, you glance back at Emrys and see that going on.

Evzen, the other lodgers have surrounded the trapped scoundrels.  Three of the men are facing them off with blades drawn while the fourth one beats on the door.

One of the ones facing you lot down mutters, "I knew this shit job wasn't worth nothin'.  Blast the captain."

The old crone who runs the inn shuffles out from her room, waving her hand and slapping at everyone's backs.

"You lot!  Stop all this!"

The scoundrel trying to get out of the door sees her and shouts, "You old hag!  Did you set us up?  We paid you good coin!"

In other words...everything is complete chaos inside the inn at the moment.

Emrys tries to avoid the man's grasp as he springs back towards the door to their room, "Could use a little help out here!"

03:01, Today: Emrys rolled 2 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Brawl (dodge) +4 (dodging grab)
This message was last edited by the player at 08:10, Sat 20 Jan.

Evzen casts a angry glare at the proprietor before threatening to skewer the bilge rats at the door.  Scumbag innkeepers were one thing the former wandering soldier didn't miss from his days wandering the roads of Holy Roman Empire.

With a sneer he mocks the kidnappers, "Good thing for us the greedy old hag had no problem selling you out for a bit more coin.  Tell you what, surrender.  You tell us everything and you get out of this alive.  Or you can die choking on your own filth."

03:15, Today: Emrys rolled 9 with the Ars Magica stress die.  evzen guile +5 (guile com).

So 14.

03:07, Today: Emrys rolled 7 with the Ars Magica stress die.  pole arm (if kidnappers try to attack) +10.

Attack total 17

Defense 6
Damage +10

If they decide to make a go at them, Evzen hacks one.  If they don't and the old lady tries to run he sweeps her to knock her off her feet if possible (no damage)
This message was last edited by the player at 08:53, Sat 20 Jan.

Calliope considers.

"Well gentlemen? It sounds like our Oracle Counter-Ambush worked like a charm. I think it's safe to open up and go meet back with Emrys." She said as she stepped back a bit.

"Affare? Time to get up and make sure I stay looking pretty. Felix and Karl? Move the bed back to where it was and then get battle-ready again. Leonard? Get your shield ready and open the door. If Emrys is right out there, pull him into the room behind you." she said as she issued new commands to the grogs.

OOC:

Felix and Karl move the bed back, while Calliope and Leonard step aside. They then once again resume battle readiness.

Affare gets up and gets battle-ready, presumably.

Calliope steps back more into the room, while Leonard takes the defensive lead and opens the door. If Emrys is in reach, Leonard grabs him and pulls him into the room behind him from the hallway.

Affare sits up slowly rubbing his eyes.  ”Huh?  What’s that?”

Affare, your comfy bed is suddenly scooted violenty back across the floor.  You have just enough time to register the world moving before the door to the room is thrown open and Leonard charges out.

Emrys, you manage to sidestep the grasping hands, but your back hits the wall.  The three men surge towards you.  But over the tops of their heads (they are all rather short), you see Leonard come barreling out of the bed room.  He meets your eye.
If anyone would like to post Leonard's actions as part of your response, feel free to do so please

Calliope and Affare, you follow Felix and Karl as they charge out after Leonard.  You can see the situation in a fell swoop.

Three of your fellow lodgers seem to think Emrys is part of the kidnappers and are trying to corner him.

Evzen and the other lodgers have four of the currs corraled against the kitchen door.

Two of the kidnappers are laying on the hallway floor, bleeding.

The Innkeeper is yelling for everyone to stop.  Which no one is doing.

You can also hear someone pounding on the barred door.  Apparently the noise from everything has alerted the guard, who are trying to hammer their way in through the common room's front door.

Evzen, the four you have corraled throw up their hands.  "We surrender!  Go easy now!"

Affare beholds the seemingly worldwide roughhousing like a virgin who has stumbled into a brothel.  All those books didn’t get him ready for this!  Although he had seen his fair share of brawls traveling the Rhine with his merchant parents, it was always at a safe distance.

Even after getting shot with an arrow, the coarseness he was being exposed to still shocked him.  But he supposed he would get over that.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:11, Tue 23 Jan.

"Wise choice," Evzen says motioning with his pointy stick, "Set your weapons down and step away from the door over there and we'll have a quick chat."

The Czech man-at-arms demeanor changes as they comply (assuming they do), "Let's the basics so everybody can catch up.  You bribed the innkeeper here to let you in through the kitchen so you could kidnap the lovely lady in that room over there right?"

He waits a brief moment for an affirmative response before moving on past that fact, "Just to confirm things, you were paid to snatch her by the master of the Lady Sleeps in.  He tell you what he wanted her for or did he just see a few coins if he sold her in another port?"

Evzen looks sympathetic as he observes, "Don't really blame you but I like my women a little more curvy and a lot quieter."

23:28, Today: Emrys rolled 4 with the Ars Magica stress die.  charm (5) +2 com= +7

11

specialty (witty putdowns)

Emrys moves behind Leonard and tries to avoid being grabbed by the other inn patrons for now.  He's not cowering.  Seriously.  He's just avoiding tactical complications.

23:54, Today: Emrys rolled 4 with the Ars Magica stress die.  brawl (dodge) +3 (dodging +4).

Leonard nods obediently at Calliope, before barreling out into the hallway.

Karl actually moves to interpose himself between Calliope and the door, taking Leonard's "place" as her direct bodyguard just in case. Calliope herself did not feel quite safe going into the hallway yet, but listened on now that the door was open.

"You! He is my lord, not some vandal! You will not touch him!" Leonard tried to say. It was intended to be firm but civil, but it came out as a strange fiercely loud whisper-croak due to his damaged voice.

Leonard didn't wait for the others to respond though. He bee-lined right to Emrys, and grabbed ahold of the man firmly and pulled him physically behind him. Realizing afterward that he just manhandled one of the leader-figured of the party, Leonard looked apologetic suddenly as he croak-whispered-spoke more gently this time.

"I...apologies, milord. Her um...ladyship? She...commanded I fetch you no matter what. But didn't mean to be rough with you, sir. But she's right your safety comes first before my dignity." he said, as he turned to look back at the men who were trying to grab him.

Felix, the servant with his customer-service skills, ran out by Leonard too and immediately tried to de-escalate things.

"Oh goodness gracious! Our apologies for any misunderstanding, gentlemen." he said to the 3 merchants who were suspicious of Emrys.

"As you can see behind me, we're staying here at this inn just like you are, and Milord here is certainly not a kidnapper. But thank you, though, for trying to help us protect the inn and the ladies who are staying here." he said, throwing their aggression back at them but in a way where it was clearly obvious he was telling the truth. Like the open door to the bedroom was the proof in the figurative pudding that they were legit if anything.

He then pointed accusatorily at the actual kidnappers who the other grogs were subduing.

"So you have my respect for trying to protect an innocent woman. But those thugs, good gentlemen, are strangers who tried to break into our lady's chambers, affront her dignity, and kidnap her. Hells! They may have even wanted to kidnap some of you too for all you know!"

“Everything she says is true,” Affare throws in, trying to be helpful.  He stops there before continuing to see how they react.  The gab was a gift that was often best used sparingly, after all.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:13, Tue 23 Jan.

One of the four kidnappers chuckles at your quip Evzen. His fellows glare at him.  He just shrugs.  "Oh come on. It was funny...

"An' yeah.  You got it all pretty right-"

"Gos'..." growls one of the others at him.

"Gos" shrugs again.  "What's the point in keeping quiet now?  Them knights are gonna stick pokers up our asses if we don't talk.  Me?  I like my ass as it is."  Gos turns back to you Evzen.  "Except it wasn't really our captain.  I mean...yeah.  he's the one who told us ta do it.  But someone paid him to tell us to do it.  And no.  No idea who.  Just know it wasn't the Captain."

Meanwhile, at the other end of the hallway...

Leonard and Calliope's intervention, followed by Felix and Affare's assist seem to have mollified the three merchants.  Though that may be because Emrys is now hidden behind Leonard

One of the merchants hurries off and takes the bar off the common room door.  Guards begin to pour into the room.

A knight follows them in.  He's a tough looking older fellow who looks like he's seen a few crusades.  He stares at everyone then holds up a hand.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!  We'll talk to. Each.  And Every. One of you.  But we will do so in order.  So nobody move.  Get those men on their knees back there under arrest."

It seems everyone is going to have to give a statement...

Emrys, Affare, and Calliope.  Wulfgang, you too.

I need to know what you three want to tell the guards.  You guys may make statements as any of the Grogs if you wish.  Your call.

Questions?

Emrys tries to stay unobtrusive by staying in Leonard's shadow.  When it's his turn he tells his interrogator, "My comrades and I were passengers on The Lady Sleeps In out of Hamburg.  Karl noticed a few sailors scouting out the inn today while they were making arrangements with the innkeeper to pay us a visit tonight.  From what one of them said, Gos, the captain was paid to send his men to kidnap Calliope.  We didn't know what they were up to at the time but thought it would be safer for some of us to stay alert throughout the night.  The sailors came through the kitchen door just a short while ago and made a beeline to Calliope's door and tried to break in.  We stopped them and they tried to run."

01:23, Today: Emrys rolled 8 with the Ars Magica stress die.  communication +3 (-3 gift).

The magic blocking the kitchen door has a duration of two minutes.

Evzen tells a similar story and elaborates on Gos' information, "They thought the innkeeper ripped them off since they bribed the old hag and found us prepared for them instead.  I'm sure Gos wasn't lying, messed his friends up pretty bad and they were expectin' an easy job.  I can see why the Captain of The Lady Sleeps in would want to grab the woman...she's exotic and pretty...sure to fetch a high price, but don't know who would pay him to snatch her since we just arrived in Riga.  If it was someone local that wanted her ya figure they'd use local boys to do the job."

01:44, Today: Emrys rolled 6 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Evzen charm (witty putdowns) + com (+7 total)
This message was last edited by the player at 07:01, Wed 24 Jan.

Calliope and Affare?  You want to take the fifth for the guards as to what happened?

Thanks

Affare tries to keep his story as consistent as possible with what his companions have already related, assuming he has been able to listen in.  Otherwise, he basically tells the truth, but tries to keep things vague as possible as to their true mission.

Calliope also keeps her story as consistent with the others as possible, but of course says nothing about her prophecy being the reason they had the heads-up on this. She will firmly admit that she heard the men in the hallways who were trying to break down her door clearly say that they were on a job to kidnap her.

She also will tell the guards that not only Emrys and the grogs/companions were helping protect her, but so were the kind residents of the inn's main room as well.

Thanks.  I never like to assume what a PC will or will not say to those in authority.

The knight pulls your group aside after your statements are taken.  He looks you all over, arms folded, spending quite a bit of time glaring at both Calliope and Emrys

He shakes his head.  "From what is sounds like, this whole incident starts with you lot getting off a boat.  Yeah, I know you were the ones who were being attacked.  But just because you're on the receiving end of a sword doesn't mean you didn't put yourself in it's way.

"But you haven't done anything wrong.  At least that I know of.  Yet."  Another glare at Emrys and Calliope

"So let's get into the details, shall we?  What are you doing here in Riga?  How long will you be here for?  And when was the last time you took Holy Communion?"

Emrys resists the urge for a biting remark and manages to simply reply, "We are travelling with our comrade Affare who has come to Riga to find his brother who has taken up service with the Knights of the Sword.  We haven't taken up full communion since Hamburg."

Calliope frowned then.

"You are supposed to be a knight. So...shame. On. You. For insinuating that a woman like me would ever willingly put herself in the way of some ruffian's sword. Do I look like a warrior to you?" she said suddenly with a scowl, while showing him her dainty arms. They were not the arms of a warrior, but of a soft feminine woman.

"And seriously it's night time as well. What you're doing is blaming the victim. I get that it's your job to be suspicious of everyone on principle alone. But there's some lines of decency you just shouldn't over-step, especially as a knight. I look to people like you to protect innocent people like me from thugs like them." she sad, pointing incredulously at the thugs in the kitchen. "You are my protector. Even if you don't like me personally, I know you still are my protector. So it is a figurative slap in the face to be spoken to like this right now. Your guards are one thing, but you're a freaking knight for crying out loud! I respect knights, but also hold them to the highest moral standards. People like you are the ones I count on to be different - in a good way."

She then pulled out a rosary and held it in her hands.

"And you are being extremely unprofessional right now, asking us about communion. Especially at midnight, in the middle of an inn filled with people. This is the sort of thing that only a priest is supposed to be asking us about. I don't feel comfortable at all talking about matters of faith to a group of armed men. And also, in front of an inn full of people at midnight. If you really must know, I was hoping to visit the local cathedral here tomorrow morning after breakfast to ask a priest to give me communion and some life advice from the Bible since we've been travelling. But these thugs really put a damper into that."

Oh my God, Affare thinks.  They'll burn us!

"That is a very good and noble question, sirrah,"he interrupts. "And indeed, technically it is true that we haven't taken full communion since Hamburg.  However, this is acceptable, according to....(something something) Diet of Worms... (blahblah) according to Emperor Constantine and.... (yadayada)The Collected Wisdom of Pope Lester..."

Affare uses his knowledge of Church Law to baffle 'em with BS.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:25, Sun 28 Jan.

Interesting.  And excellent roleplay on everyone's parts.

Affare, please give me a Church Law/Comm roll.  Thanks.

The officer listens to all of you with a rather bland expression.  He cocks an eyebrow when you question his authority to ask about communion Calliope.

"I have authority from the Bishop of Riga to keep the peace and the authority from the Brotherhood of the Sword to find the heathen and save them.  By whatever means necessary.  And so, yes.  I do have the authority to ask when you took communion last.

"And I must wonder, My Lady, if you were not aware what is going on in these lands.  But I'm guessing you don't."

He listens to you Affare and chews the inside of his cheek.

He then asks, perhaps a little too languidly, "This brother you are seeking?  What's his name?"

Calliope grew quiet all of a sudden. As if something was bothering her, but also as if she were contemplating something.

But then, she decided that perhaps now was not the best time to push it too much with this knight. She could tell she hit a chord, in a good way, on calling him out as a knight but she equally could tell that she shouldn't push the church authority angle much either. So instead, she'd lean on the knightly angle while going more soft on the Church one.

Clutching her rosary visibly on her hand, she nodded and continued.

"My good knight. I apologize if I came off as unnecessarily contrary." she replied to the knight, this time in a softer, more civil tone of voice.

"You must forgive me. As I mentioned, I am a traveler and circumstances have forced me not to take communion recently. I am also weary, and it is midnight and I was almost just abducted by thugs. So I hope you can find it in your heart to look upon me more softly." she continued.

"And no, I am not a local to Riga so forgive me if I offend any of your local traditions and rules. That is actually why I was hoping to go to the church tomorrow, to learn more about the Church in this area while finally being able to get a chance to rest my weary feet a bit and take communion again." she said.

She then considered.

"You mentioned the bishop of Riga before, right? Do you know if he will be available at the local cathedral tomorrow morning? I'd love to not only receive communion, but take the chance to learn more about the faith from someone knowledgeable and renowned in the church like a Bishop. There are several chapters in Luke right now as well that I'm struggling to interpret properly as I compare them to John, Mark, and Matthew and I'd love to bother the Bishop for a few moments of his time to walk me through those Bible chapters and explain them better to me. Could you please tell me more about the Cathedral and Bishop so that I may properly seek out communion tomorrow without being absolutely clueless?"
This message was last edited by the player at 04:11, Mon 29 Jan.

Emrys is quiet as Affare answers as he occasionally glances at the bowman with a log sticking out of him.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:11, Mon 29 Jan.

Someone put a sheet over the guy with the log in his gut Emrys.  It just looks...wrong.

The Officer listens with a blank expression to both of you Calliope and Affare.  Then frowns when Affare begins to discuss the implications of a ruling eight years ago by the Bishopric of Trier regarding the detention of the smuggler of holy icons.

"How do you even know about that?  Alright, alright.  I see your point.  I suppose I do not have enough to detain the lot of you.  However..."

He smiles at you Calliope.  It's not entirely a crocodile smile.  Not entirely.

"Since you are without lodgings.  And since you would like to meet with his grace the Bishop, why don't you all accept the hospitality of my order tonight at our barracks?  You can meet with the Bishop tomorrow morning and receive communion at Matins.  Fascinating you can read.  Anyway.

"Why don't we go up the hill now?  Hmmm?  Shall we everyone?"

Matins for those non-Catholics is essentialy sunrise prayer service.  Communion will be handed out afterwards.

Any objections to going to the barracks?  Or anyone think there's really a choice here?  Of course, you can take whatever action you wish.

We will move along tomorrow. Will give ya'll a chance to react/post any actions you wish to take before he leads you up the hill to the Cathedral and barracks.

Thanks.

OOC: No objection.

when Calliope takes a step back and assesses things more rationally, she realizes they aren't actually trying to jail them or anything, so much as keep an eye on them for better or worse. And in their legit defense, probably to also put them under true honest protection to make sure no other kidnappers try anything during the night. And she kind of wants the protection right now after what happened.

And at this point, Calliope thinks it's probably safer to cozy up to them while also treating them like knights and soldiers and expecting to be treated as citizens. Basically, she wanted to try to play up to their better natures and not grate against their baser ones. Where as if we try and resist them on matters of church authority, or make it seem like we know the kidnappers, then I think we'd have problems.

Calliope smiled at the knight-commander.

"I absolutely can read, and write for that matter, in approximately three different languages for that matter. And I enjoy reading the bible in the different languages that I know, although I find the Latin translations to be the best I've come across so far. Which is good because most priests and Bishops know Latin too, from my experience." she replied.

She then, of all things, suddenly gave the knight-commander a curtsy of sorts.

"Why...now that's the gentlemanly conduct of a knight! I absolutely not only accept your offer of hospitality, but graciously thank you for it as well. I'm reminded of that bit from Leviticus. Oh what chapter and verse was it again? 17? 18? Oh....that's right, it's chapter 19 verse 24: You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." she said, as she took her rosary and pocketed it.

She then smiled at him.

"Thank you for your care and generosity, commander."

Emrys nods, "Let's get our things then."

The hill Riga is built on is surprisingly steep.  But it also offers a rather magnificent view, both of it's bay and of the town below.

There's quite a bit of activity, especially down near the docks.  You can see torches as men scramble all over a couple of ships, apparently loading crates.  And as you walk up the hill, you pass quite a few men walking down it.  Most are in armor, weapons on belts and sacks heaved over one shoulder.

Most of them glance your way, but none show more then a fleeting interest.  They all seem to be in a hurry.

You come up over the lip of the hill and arrive at the cathedral.

It's still under construction.  At this point, there's still too much undone to imagine what the structure will eventually look like.  But at least by it's scale, it looks like it will be huge.

There are several long houses, shoddily built, lining the other side of the cathedral square.  Your guide leads you to one of them.

Inside is a dry space.  Some pallets have been laid on the ground, and a small fire is burning in a fire pot.  The fire pot is making the room smoky, but it's also doing a nice job of driving off the chill.

"You can sleep here.  Tomorrow, you'll meet with the Bishop.  I'll have some men posted in the hallway.

"I'll have some wine and bread brought to you in the morning.  You'll hear the bell a half hour before prayer service starts.  It'll be in the chapel by the building site.  Just follow everyone else.  Don't be late."

He leaves, shutting the door behind him.

Moving us on

---

As the officer stated, finding the chapel isn't an issue.  The bell rings in the oh-dark and you find large groups of men leaving the row houses and heading to the other side of the square.

The "chapel" is just a slightly larger row house but with only a small platform in it.

Knights pack themselves into the building like ants pack themselves into an anthill.  They seem quite devout.  When the officiant comes in and the prayer service begins, they fall quiet to a man, and preform the rites and rituals with a heavy gravitas.

As the final prayer is intoned, a priest walks to the make shift altar.  You can tell right away this must be the bishop.  Not because he looks holy.  It's just that his robes are obviously expensive.  That might even be fabled silk lining the vestment on his collar.  He's not as old as you might have expected.  At most in his mid thirties.

He goes to the altar and performs the rite.  Then he and a a couple of other priests begin to administer communion.

If you are not taking communion, let me know please

Emrys and Calliope, when you approach to receive the Host, he frowns at you.  But you are given communion and blessed all the same.

An hour afterwards, you are brought to a small chamber.  There are two rows of rather uncomfortable looking benches and a small table up front.

After you are sat, and food brought (when he said "wine" he meant watered down swill and when he said "bread" he meant the bits no one else has eaten for two days), you are given to wait a few more moments.  Then the door opens and in walks the bishop.

He nods at all of you, and waves a hand to admonish you to finish your meal.  "Don't stop eating on my account.  It would be uncivilized of me to get in the way of my guests being fed.  So please.  Eat up.

"I am Bishop Berthold.  Bishop of Riga and the new territories.  I heard the particulars about what occurred last night.  No need to go over those details again.  But I am curious.  You told teh knight in charge of peace last night that you were seeking one of the Brothers.  Pray tell:  what are magi of the Order of Hermes doing, looking for one of my knights? Hmmm?"

In case this is still needed...

01:42, Today: Affare Acisculu rolled 10 using 1d10+4 ((6)).

"I am Emrys, filius Custennin ex Miscellanea," the Makhai returns the bishop's introduction, "I was commissioned to locate another member the Order.  Gunther, the knight in question, was his protector and travelling companion of late but after their last journey they had some sort of falling out.  Gunther quit his position and traveled to Riga to join the Order of the Sword.  The magus gone missing."

Emrys' eyes reflect the fine dyed garb of the bishop as he looks over the cleric, "I've come to Riga to ask Gunther about the magus for some clue of where I might find him or what sort of trouble he's made for himself."

01:54, Today: Emrys rolled 7 with the Ars Magica stress die.  communication +3 (-3 gift)

Is Alfred still here (either player or character) or did he ghost and the PC dropped?

Alfred returned to the group late the previous evening, having spent time trying to ask the Brothers of the Sword about Gunther and how their campaign was going. He didn't appear to have found out much.

OOC: Still here, but I was trying to read up on what my character might remember of Gunther and before I knew it we'd got a whole page of other things happening.

Calliope raised a curious eyebrow at this exchange. She didn't expect the Order of Hermes and the church to be so familiar with one another. But at the same time, the Order was no "normal" group of mages but instead an actual organization that spread across the medieval world. And the Church was fairly ubiquitous as well. And from what she can see, literally and figuratively, God tolerated magical realm activity far more than he did Fae and Infernal. The key example being that Emrys could cast that wood spear spell still despite being inside Riga's divine aura.

Then again, there was so, so much more that she did NOT understand about the Divine Realm than what she did. Any time she learned something or made a revelation, she then had several more questions. But now was not the time to focus on philosophizing ab out this.

She remained quiet for now. She had questions for the Bishop, which would be easier now that she knew that he knew about the Order of Hermes which meant that he also must have known about non-infernal magic to some degree as well. But first thing first: they had to get a lead on Gunther, and her prophesizing could only do so much when used in this regard. Getting more outright clues and information from the Bishop was by far the most helpful possible thing...and was also a hidden secret reason why she also chose to be compliant with the Knight while subtly moving their previous conversation into the direction of meeting the Bishop. Although certainly it was nice to be able to sleep the rest of the knight knowing that if any other thugs tried to kidnap her, that they'd get mowed down by a barracks full of knights.

For now, she continued to eat what she could in order to keep up her strength, and remained quiet to let the Bishop respond.

Good to see ya Alfred.  Welcome.

Things have been a bit crazy yeah.  Let me know if you need a recap please.

Thanks

The Bishop cocks an eyebrow.  "Gunther?  There are too many knights for me to know any particular one by name.  But hold on..."

He goes to the door and asks someone out in the hallway something.  He comes back, and then as if the previous exchange had never happened, he offers you all a plate of sausages and bread, then begins making small talk, asking about your journey here and how Hamburg is doing.

After a few minutes, the door opens and a knight walks in.  He's a rather gruff looking fellow.  The Officer you met before looks like a milk maid next to this guy.

Bishop Bertholdt raises a hand and gestures towards him.  "This is Master Aubrec.  He is one of the commanders of the Brotherhood.  Ser Aubrec, this is Master Emrys...er...Custeninn.  Of the Order of Hermes."

Aubrec doesn't quite scowl at you Emrys.  But he almost does.

The Bishop gestures at the rest of you. "He and his companions are seeking one of our knights.  A fellow called Gunther.  Sound familiar?"

Aubrec doesn't answer right away. Instead he scans the rest of you.  Calliope, you get a scowl.  Affare and Wulfgang, you and the others get a cursory look but nothing else.

But when he looks at you Alfred, his eyes linger.  He finally says, "If this Gunther is any kin to this man, then aye.  I think I know who they are after."

He turns to Bertholdt.  "He was in the detachment that went to Lais."

Bertholdt opens his mouth in an "ah".  He then looks at you.  "My condolences then.  Your colleague may be lost.  Let me explain.

"Lais is a small village in the east.  Really not far from the border of Novgorod.  We sent troops to escort a priest there about two months ago.  They were to build a church and fort.  Begin the work of saving the people near there.

"But..."  He sadly shakes his head.  "...some are resistant to the good we do.  They prefer darkness.  The detachment was attacked.  We haven't had word from them in a month now."

"Alfred here is Gunther Gustav's brother Master Aubrec," Emrys tells the captain, "Do you recognize any family resemblance to the Gunther Gustav you have in mind?"

Emrys nods to Alfred.

23:35, Today: Emrys rolled 8 with the Ars Magica stress die.  communication +3 (-3 gift).
This message was last edited by the player at 21:24, Thu 01 Feb.

Affare suppresses a snort and tries not to let the derision show on his face as the bishop tells them he’s too stupid to remember the name of any individual knight, and then introduces them to Sir Aubrec.  Life did have its little pleasures, and one of them was laughing inwardly at fools who had somehow stumbled into positions of power.

Calliope also somehow managed to keep her mouth shut at all of this despite how ridiculous it was becoming. Like how the bishop seemed confused that people were not super open to being converted to Christianity when said conversion was being led by an army of armed men and not just some friendly priest, . missionariee, and wandering mendicants who were more respectful of other people's cultures.

And how they were barely given scraps of bread and swill yet once the order of Hermes and other political things came into play then all of a sudden they were being served sausage and nicer food.

However... She would not dismiss this bishop entirely. Somehow this man who looked like he was in his thirties was in an extremely powerful position in Riga. And she could still sense the Dominion aura of the whole place. Weak as it was, it was prevalent. And she wondered if this bishop actually held his own kind of wisdom and insights? Maybe he wasn't very good with day-to-day things but he knew more about the spiritual?

And So while the men folk talk more, she took the opportunity to partake of the more quality food stuffs that were served to them because keeping up her strength and health while traveling was important. And after they were done talking about missing nights and so on, she was hoping to take the bishop aside to speak to him privately... In confession even if she felt necessary to ensure his discretion.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:08, Thu 01 Feb.

Aubrec nods.  "I wouldn't say they are the spitting image.  But Gustav has the same face and eyes.  His nose is broken in different places though.  But yeah. It's pretty plain they are related."

Bertholdt steeples his fingers and sits back in his chair.

"You need to find this Gustav?  I can imagine the concern you good Ser," he nods at you Alfred, "Must have towards the news of your brother disappearing.

"But there may be hope.  As I said...we don't know for certain the entire garrison was wiped out.  I believe we are sending men out there to investigate and retake the village.  Isn't that correct Ser Aubrec?"

Aubrec slowly nods.

Bertholdt smiles.  "Well then.  Mayhap you'd like to go with the detachment we send?  You can look into it yourselves.  And if we work together, then both your expedition and ours should be able to arrive at Lais safely."

Calliope: We can run your private conversation with the Bishop as a side course during this thread, or you can send me a PM.  Whichever works better for you

Emrys nods, "Yes of course.  But we've only just arrived in Riga and will be in need of supplies if we are to depart with your detachment and aid them as well in a timely fashion..."

Affare nods approvingly.  Smart move, Emrys.

Bertholdt smiles...almost grins...sitting forward, elbows on his knees, hands clasped together.

"Ah!  So you agree we can work together!  Splendid.  And yes.  We can outfit you with some goods and armaments."

Aubrec kind of frowns at that. But he doesn't voice an objection.

Bertholdt waves a hand.  "Have one of your people meet Aubrec this afternoon.  They can work out the supplies.  I believe the ship for the coast is heading out in the morning.  So please get some rest until then. Unless you had some questions?"

Emrys nods to Felix, the former potboy and now cook would know what they needed for provisioning, "Tell Evzen what you need for supplies."

He then checks with the czech, "Evzen, Karl I think could use some outfitting and perhaps Wulfgang...do you need any more arrows?  Warmer clothes too perhaps.  Be sure to check with Calliope and Alfred as well."

Returning to the immediate matter, Emrys asks, "Bishop Bertholdt how many people live at Lais and what are the local people like?  Do they have some leader stirring up trouble?"

"We could also use some... books," he says, although he already knows how ridiculous the request will sound.  His mind is already scrambling for a rationalization as to why they would be necessary for this mission.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:55, Tue 06 Feb.

Bertholdt laughs at the mention of books.

"We can outfit you for war.  Not peace.  Sorry."

If there is any kind of equipment you may want, please raise a hand.  If not, I will assume you guys get restocked on provisions, arrows, and the normal "campling/fighting pagans" equipment.

Calliope?  You wanted to talk to the Bishop?

Anyone else?  If not, we will move on tomorrow

Thanks

OOC: Understood Boss. We can cover the Bishop side-conversation on the side in a PM or something.

As for provisions, please assume that Calliope takes advantage of this offer to see to it that the party's general provisions are restocked (including things the grogs and menfolk may overlook, but she certainly has the organizational skills to help act like a quartermaster of sorts for this party), but she also will get a bar of soap if one is available, feed for the horses, etc that the others may not be thinking about. She will see to it that their wagon gets any maintenance that it needs too, and their horses shoed and fed etc as needed. She will fully take advantage of the Bishop's hospitality after everything they were put through.

She will make sure that she gets a writ of passage from the Bishop allowing her and her companions to travel freely through all territory that the Bishop has influence over as well, just as a failsafe to help offset any effects Emrys and her magical airs have.

Oh, and She also would like a ranged weapon like a short bow or cross bow (and arrows) or something that would be easy for a woman to use. Something that maybe a combat grog or companion could help teach her the basics of. She'll never be a combat monkey, but I'd like her to at least have maybe a dot in bows or something. She has -1 strength but +0 dex and +1 quickness so while dainty, may be able to help in certain combat situations from afar.

”Books can be tremendously useful in fighting a war,” Affare puts in, although he knows it’s a lost cause.  He supposed the written word would always be something that was appreciated only by a select few.

The stars are still out when you are woken from your slumbers.  The Brothers of the Sword are ready to go.

You assemble in the chill morning dark back on the docks.  Wulfgang and the others work to get your provisions stored on the ship, while the "big four" of Emrys, Affare, Calliope, and Alfred are called by Master Aubrec to meet with the Knights.

Aubrec leads you to two men.  One dressed in mail and the other in the simple robes of a priest.

"Allow me to introduce Father Johann and Ser Tomasso Rossi.  Ser Tomasso will be in charge of the soldiers.  Father Johann will lead conversion efforts.  Consider them in charge."

Aubrec seems to have little else to say and steps back.

Ser Tomasso is fairly blatant in his frowning at you all, but offers a nod and a polite, "Welcome to the expedition."

Father Johann seems a bit more congenial.  "Greetings.  The Bishop gave me the details," he says glancing your way Emrys and Calliope.  "Forgive me my ignorance please.  I've never interacted with any from the Order.  So I am not familiar with any protocols.  So if I am rude or ignore some protocol, I beg you please correct me.  I thought the more learned of you, and of course the lady, may be more comfortable sharing quarters with me."  He laughs.  "It's not a lord's bed chambers.  But they do give me a roof to shelter under."

Calliope nods and works with Aubrec as best she can to help coordinate the finalization of the provisioning for "her" party. Her skills as not just a scholar but as a business woman from a noble house were shining through as she helped optimize the preparations for "her" group as best she could, and in a way that didn't cause friction against or hinder the preparations of the soldiers and knights and such. It was in these non-combat ways that Calliope's assistance to the party really became apparent. You know...above and beyond her counter-ambush helping save them all from being beaten and/or kidnapped in their sleeps and such, of course. Facilitating the others so that they could be more awesome was a form of enlightened self-interest on her part, but enlightened self-interest was still enlightened, as her mother always said. And Calliope genuinely liked this group and was investing a lot of trust in them, as they were in her.

When the more congenial Father Johann came to speak with her and Emrys, she looked at Emrys once and then nodded.

"Why...thank you for the kind courtesy. I agree with you that it would be a good idea for Emrys and myself to room with you on this expedition. Partially for comfort, but there is also a mutual protection aspect as well and if something were to happen like bandits or what not. It will also be easier for both your people and ours to rally around the three of us in case of an emergency if we have this arrangement too, so I think it's in everyone's best interest for us to have a direct partnership right off the bat." she replied.

"Oh, and one other thing Father Johann. The neat thing about me is that I'm both "the lady" and among the most learned among us, so I promise I'll be far more interesting and exciting than I will be a ditzy body taking up space." she added with a grin.

"And I'd love to discuss Church Cannon law, and perhaps more about the Riga region and geography and such as well with you. And don't forget things like history and economy. I know the area is still developing, but I'm insatiable in my curiosity."

"That would be fine Father Johann," Emrys nods, "Hospitality is always appreciated.  Hopefully we can arrive in time to aid those in need at that village."

Emrys looks to Ser Tomasso Rossi, "Our men are prepared to leave."

Johann smiles and nods at you Calliope.  "I have to admit my knowledge of law is woeful.  I was one of those who spent more time on the scriptures than the codices.  But I will do what I can to be a good discussion partner."

Rossi simply says, "It will be best if you keep to the cabin please.  I think it would make the trip more pleasant for all of us.

"We will sail east and then south, down into Lake Chudskoe.  There is the possibility of pirate attack, but if that happens, we will handle it.  We'll be on the ship for two, maybe three days.

"We'll dock at a village on the shores of Chudskoe, then head north and west, into the interior.  There's a village called Dorpat which is our base of operations in that area.  From there, we will march a day and a half to Lais.

"Questions?"

"How big is the garrison at Lais supposed to be?"

Calliope nodded, and also fielded her own questions.

"And what you give us a general overview of Lais? What are the people there like? If you're going there on a conversion mission, then what is their current religious system? How about their economy - how developed are these people?" she asked.

"I am still learning about the German and Riga regions, so for something like Laid I definitely know nothing about the part of the world that is that far North-East of the Mediterranean. I want to know more about how the people of that region live." she asked. Because innerly, she did so because maybe some types of conflict can be resolved without the blade but that required knowledge and awareness of what you were dealing with.

Heck who knows she might wind up in a situation where she, of all people, ends up having to try and de-escalate a conflict between the crusaders and the locals or some such. Or at least, to keep her party out of the crossfire as best as she can.

Johann smiles, perhaps a little sadly.  "Lais.  And Dorpat...The Bishop is hoping to make the region around Dorpat a bishopric.  It is the most...friendly...of the villages."

He sighs, then begins.  "Well.  As to the military matters, I will tell you what I know.  Dorpat is fairly well fortified.  A small chapel has been built.  And the village now has walls around it.  Crude, but walls.

"The natives are pagan in heritage.  They worship various gods and spirits.  Conversion has not, on the whole, gone well.  I have not been to Dorpat or Lais.  But in other villages I've been to, I have found the best way to engage with the natives is by finding out what concerns they have.  I was able to share some knowledge of herbs with some of the locals in one village for example.  That helped me start conversations.  And that helped me to save some souls.  It's one reason why I've been assigned to Lais.  The situation there is..."

He glances towards the open doorway, and then lowers his voice a bit.  "There has been some fighting.  I do not know all the details.  So what I am about to tell you is mostly gossip and second hand news.  So I beg that you weigh it's worth in that light.

"The farther east one goes, the more resistant to the message the natives are.  Part of this is due to circumstances.  Around Riga, the natives saw benefit from trade and commerce.  So the Gospel has been easier to feed them.  That isn't the situation to the east.  Without some tangible benefit, the natives are not as willing to receive our good news.

"There's also the issue with the city of Novgorod.  They are merchants mostly, the Novgorodians.  And they ply their trade up and down Lake Chudskoe.  But as you may guess they do not follow Rome.  They follow a different Petrarch.  So there are tensions between them and the Brothers.

"But there are also tensions between the various native villages.  They are not a peaceful people.

"Lais and the area around it are particularly violent.  And..."

Another glance towards the doorway.  His voice goes lower.  "...there's rumors that they do not worship just foreign gods.  They worship devils in Lais."

Emrys nods, "Thank you.  We'll just have to see what sorts out but infernalists must be stamped out."

When he gets the chance, Affare asks Father Johann about a wicked new game he has heard many tales of, having been introduced from the Islamic world.  It involves a 64-square board and pieces symbolizing members of the nobility, and is sometimes played in monasteries and other institutions of worship.  He has long wished to learn how to play it.

If he knows nothing about it, he'll try to spark a conversation about church lore, perhaps the histories of certain popes.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:45, Mon 12 Feb.

Johann shakes his head Affare.  "I'm not familiar with many games I'm afraid."

But he's happy to speak about the Church.  He seems to have a great faith in his faith.  Though when specific personalities are brought up, he seems to just smile and not have as much to say.

Overall, he's a pleasant enough conversationalist, though he seems rather simple in his world view.  He believes in his vocation.  That about sums up Father Johann.

---

Moving us on

The soldiers stay away from your crew as much as possible.  The sailors seem competent.  The voyage is fairly uneventful as you hug the coastline and continue east.

The late afternoon of the following day, the lookout cries a hallo.  Ahead, a river seems to be emptying out into the ocean.

"That's the river!" cries one of the sailors.  "We'll be on Lake Chudskoe soon as soon is."

The sun sets and the promised crossing from ocean to fresh water lake occurs during the evening's second watch.

It's a little before the moon sets that something odd happens.

Calliope, you suddenly feel a tug.  It's as if something out on the lake is pulling on the edges of your dream.

Emrys, you feel something too.  Though you have a bit better idea what it is.

If you go onto deck to look, the crew on the shift seem surprised to see you, but make no move to stop you.

Peering through the evening dark, you can see the shore line of Lake Chudskoe.  It looks like there's a small island just off the shore that's coming into view.

Whatever it is that's pulling at the two of you...it's over there it seems.

Calliope goes quickly to find Emrys. This isn't quite a prophecy, but so hopefully the others believe her some, but she could quickly see things getting weirder and more potentially prophetic so beelined to Emrys since he was the only one who was so far fully immune to her curse.

"Emrys. Emrys!" the young woman said as she tugged at his arm suddenly, insistently.

There's something...tugging at me. It's not quite a prophecy or a vision, but it's triggering all of my supernatural senses!" she said, as she took him by the arm and guided him to the side of the boat that was facing the island.

She pointed to the island in the distance.

"There. It's There! I don't know what exactly it is, but it has enough presence in the world to tug at the edges of my waking dream. You need to warn the others to be on guard. Or tell Affare and put him to work on dealing with the Knight Captain while you and I deal with the priest and our group. The problem is I don't know if whatever out there is benign or malevolent."

Emrys smiles at Calliope's excitement.  He put's his hands on the railing as he stares across the water.

"It's probably a little of both," the Makhai replies to her concerns about the nature of the presence, "But what you feel is a powerful aura surrounding that island.  Just want to be sure which realm it is aligned too though..."

The waters of the lake seem to almost shimmer and reflect like a mirror for a moment as Emrys looks on.

01:03, Today: Emrys rolled 12 with the Ars Magica stress die.  intellego 4 + vim 6 +1 Sta = +11 fatigue spont (sense aura alignment).

Affare fidgets nervously as Calliope recommends him for the task of dealing with the knight captain.  He supposes it’s his job to serve as the party’s face, but that sounds like an unpleasant chore.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:18, Wed 14 Feb.

The ship is moving cautiously in the dark. And though it doesn't come close to the island, you can at least make out some details of it.

It's not very large. Maybe 25 paces across. Perhaps a 100 or so lengthwise.

It's low too.  Barely jutting out of the waters.  You see one lump that's a bit higher then the rest of the island at the northern end of it.  But otherwise, you'd almost swear you were looking at a sandbar.

But one thing you both notice Emrys and Calliope and anyone else who's come up on deck...

The smell of onions.

There's a scent of fresh onions wafting across the lake from that direction.

Ser Rossi seems to be a little more approachable than you thought he would be Affare.  Though that seems to be when you try to speak to him alone.  If Emrys or Calliope are with you...well...

Calliope also attempts to try and see if her supernatural senses can further discern the nature of the mystical phenomena that is tugging at her from the island. Perhaps she could compare notes with Emrys, if he was able to sense the nature of the island too.

20:43, Today: Calliope Podarces rolled 12 using 1d10+8.  Perception + Second Sight.

Note: 12, or 13 if her invisible things specialty applies.

Emrys says aloud, "Moderately strong magic aura, not fae or infernal at least.  Extends across the water and weaker on the shoreline.  Will want to get a close look at it latter...definitely."

His hands gripping the rail he continues to study the small island for a few minutes before letting out a breath.


waiting 2 minutes
21:57, Today: Emrys rolled 16 with the Ars Magica stress die.  intellego 4 + vim 6 +1 Sta = +11 fatigue spont

Calliope, maybe you aren't sure what to look for here.  But other than what you already sensed, you can't get any better feeling from it at the moment.

Emrys, you aren't feeling anything other than what you've felt before.


The ship sails past the island.  And soon it's lost in the distance.

About an hour later, you see lights along the shore.  It seems you're coming to a larger sized town.

"We'll be debarking here," says one of the soldiers (to any of you except Emrys and Calliope).  "We'll need to disembark as quickly as possible.  Once we've got all our gear off ship, we'll quarter for the rest of the night.  And then head out as soon as it's dawn."

He stares at the dark woods bordering the lake.  "This isn't good country to travel at night."

Emrys nods as he hears the soldier's alert before making sure he's ready to disembark quickly when the time comes.  He checks with Affare and the others, "Might want to be especially alert of the locals.  Some might be behind the troubles they've been having."

“What did you make of that island?” Affare asks when he and his companions are out of earshot of outsiders.  ”That smell was, shall we say… interesting.”

"Maybe a magical creature that smells like onions?" Emrys speculates to Affare, "Or onions that might be a source of vis."

Calliope raised her eyebrow at Affare.

"I thought you were a non-magical member of the Order, so how were you able to sense that there was something supernatural residing on that island?" Calliope asked, surprised.

The town is a little less rustic then you would have thought.  The dock is a fairly elaborate affair for a village this size, probably able to accomodate two or three ships at a time.

The knights begin to unload in an orderly fashion.  One of them approaches you Affare.  "Have your people follow this lad here," he says indicating a squire.  "He'll lead you to the church.  Your party can bunk down in the stables. We don't want you lot causing trouble with the villagers."

He doesn't seem interested in any negotiation or discussion.  Simple turns and walks off to help unload.

The squire glances fearfully at Emrys and Calliope, then motions for you all to follow.

A few locals are moving about.  Men shambling to the docks to either man fishing boats or to help tend to the new ship.  The village is otherwise still, growing darker and more silent the farther you get from the shore.

The church is a rustic looking chapel built of wood.  Not grand at all, and painfully new.  Compared to the other buildings of the village it stands out like an arrogant sapling in a grove of old trees which has grown too tall in it's haughtiness.

The squire leads you around the back of the church and to a stables.  He pulls open the door for you and nods for you to go inside.  "I'll bring you food and water," he mumbles.  Then rushes off.

The barn has the usual animal smells.  A couple of tired looking horses and an old cow are stirring awake from the interruption.  But otherwise, you seem to be alone.  There's at least plenty of hay bales for you to use as bedding.

The squire comes back with a wine skin and a sack.  "Only got bread and turnips.  I'll come for you an hour before we're set to head out."

He turns and scuttles away, shutting the barn door behind him.

I will let ya'll post reactions.  If you just want to settle down for the night, all good.  I will then move us on in my next post.

Thanks

Emrys finds a place to eat and then organizes a spot to sleep that night in preparation for what is bound to be a long day.

Affare winces as the stench hits him.  No need to be magically sensitive to detect that.

He passes on the turnips and tries to get some rest, first checking his hay for urine.

You all manage to get a few hours of sleep...


Much, much too soon, there's a banging.  Someone knocking on the barn door.

"How'd you lot bar yourselves in there?  Hold on."

You can hear what sounds like a bar being taken off the barn door and dropped into the mud.  The door swings open and a squire, a different one than the one who brought you, pokes his head into the barn.

"Uh...good sers?  M'lady?  You ready?  We'll be moving out on the hour."

You assemble near the landward gate of the town.

Right away you notice the soldiers seem tense.

Father Johann melts out of the crowd and cheerily waves at you.  He's changed out of his robes and into a peasant's dress.  Rough shirt and trousers with servicable looking boots.

"Good Morn!  Hope you managed a few hours of rest.  We...uh..." He glances at the crowd of soldiers and then sighs.  "First, I managed to purchase a couple of pairs of servicable boots from some of the farmers.  If any of you need better footware, I'll be happy to lend you a pair.  We're going to be moving fast.

"Word came.  Dorpat was attacked two days ago.  The attack was repelled.  But there were supposedly devils involved.  Large black wolves that left bloody paw prints.

"We're going to move quickly.  It's a two day march to Dorpat, but we're going to try to cover it in one.  This village is Werbek.  We'll follow a river west to Dorpat.  Once we assess the situation, then Ser Rossi will determine if it's safe to move to Lais.  But the first priority will be securing Dorpat.

"I...uh...doubt Ser Rossi will have time to address any questions you may have.  So please let me know if you do have any.  I'll try my best to get you answers.

"It's going to be quite a day.  Do your best to keep up.  I'll be right beside you."

Questions?

If not, I would like everyone to make me the following rolls please:

One simple Athletics/Stam test please.  0s count as 10.  No botch roll necessary.

One stress Athletics/Stam test please.  Roll a 1, reroll and double the result.  Zeros are possible botches.

One simple Awareness/Per test please.

One stress Awareness/Per test please.

So four total rolls.  Two of them are stress rolls.  Two are not.

Please let me know if you have any questions.  Thanks

Alfred is too busy dealing with the strains of the march to notice anything. In fact, some kind of nagging pain gets to him - was it something he ate?

OOC: 13:56, Today: Alfred rolled 2 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Alfred Per+awareness. – 2

13:56, Today: Alfred rolled 3 using 1d10-1.  Alfred Per+awareness. – 3

13:55, Today: Alfred rolled 0 (possible botch) with the Ars Magica stress die.  Alfred Sta+athletics. – 0 (possible botch)

13:55, Today: Alfred rolled 14 using 1d10+5.  Alfred Sta+athletics. – 14

So 14 on the first athletics roll, possible botch on the second - how many botch dice?
He get 2 and 3 on his awareness rolls

“I certainly do have a question.  Why were we locked in last night?  This sort of treatment is not what we signed up for.”


18:11, Today: Affare Acisculu rolled 11 using 1d10+4.  Stress awareness/per. – 11

18:11, Today: Affare Acisculu rolled 11 using 1d10+4.  Simple awareness/per. – 11

18:10, Today: Affare Acisculu rolled 5 using 1d10.  Stress athletics/stam. – 5

18:09, Today: Affare Acisculu rolled 6 using 1d10.  Athletics/stam. – 6

This message was last edited by the player at 23:12, Mon 19 Feb.

Emrys glances to Wulfgang with news of the attack and possible devil dogs.  The grog had a reputation for having a keen sensitivity for those sorts of things and he suspected he would be indispensable.

21:17, Today: Emrys rolled 7 with the Ars Magica stress die.  awareness/per.

21:16, Today: Emrys rolled 3 with the Ars Magica stress die.  athletics/stam (+1). –

21:16, Today: Emrys rolled 4 using 1d10.  simple awareness/per.

21:14, Today: Emrys rolled 1 using 1d10.  simple athletics/stam (+1).

Johann seems surprised at the news you were locked in Affare.  The surprise seems genuine.

"I...don't know.  I..."  He scratches his cheek.  "My apologies.  I was able to get accomodations from one of the peasant families.  So I didn't know where they put your party.  I...uhm...honestly don't know."

There's a short sharp whistle from the front of the crowd.  Johann startles and looks up.  "That's the signal.  We need to line up and get ready to move out.  You all come with me..."

And so the march begins...

Calliope and Wulfgang, please post your rolls when you get a chance.

The troop moves forward quickly.  It's not a jog, but by the time the sun has bruised the horizon to rose and purple colors, some of you already have aches in your legs.  It doesn't help that the ground is soggy.  Apparently it rained the day before and the earth is still damp.

"This country is quite boggy," Johann helpfully conveys to you.  True to his promise, he's kept up with your group.

The soldiers follow a river to the west, hugging the bank.  It's easy to see why they didn't try to take boats upstream.  The river seems swollen and angry.  And it's festooned with downed trees and rocks.  The march is making quicker time.

You stop around noon.  Affare, you notice the soldiers seem to be acting a bit skittish.  They seem to be carefully watching the forest side of your column.  Guards move up and down the column on that side, constantly keeping a watch to that flank.

No one's mounted either.  There are horses.  But they are being lead by squires.  No one is actually on horseback.

Johann returns with a sack of dried cheese, some cabbages, and slices of dry bread.  "Best I can come up with.  Have some please.  Does anyone have any knots in their legs?  I'm good at getting those out?"

Alfred, I will let you know about the botch when it comes up.  Thanks
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:28, Tue 20 Feb.

Emrys gets something to eat and keeps silent about his physical discomfort.  He suspected he had a lot more travelling to do in his immediate future and that he should get used to it.  His appreciation for redcaps grew as the journey wore on.

Four Rolls:

19:28, Today: Calliope Podarces rolled 8 with the Ars Magica stress die. – 8

19:27, Today: Calliope Podarces rolled 6 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Awareness/Perception Simple. – 6

19:25, Today: Calliope Podarces rolled 7 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Athletics/Stamina Stress. – 7

19:25, Today: Calliope Podarces rolled 4 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Athletics/Stamina simple. – 4

Okay so I declare an alertness specialty that may apply for the awareness rolls. Her rurnning specialty in athletics doesn't apply, so her -1 stam and 1 athletics cancel out so it's all the die roll for the athletics rolls (she really relies on her horse and when when without, helpers when she has to travel). This is why there are slashes in her Awareness results, so GM can make an informed decision.

So Simple Athletics she gets a 4, Stress Athletics she gets a 7, Simple Awareness she gets a 16/17, and stress Awareness she gets an 18/19. Apparently, this lady performs better under stress!

---

She goes right up to Father Johann and backs Affare up.

"Yes...normally, when you bar a door, you're supposed to do it on the inside, not the outside father. This behavior is simply inexcusable for knights and soldiers of the Church!" she said harshly, a bit more irritated than normal since she just woke up and didn't have a chance to really freshen up yet. "I don't blame you though; I suspect they did it on their own initiative without running it by you first, since you're the only other person in this battalion who has the authority to contradict a certain surely knight commander and get away with it."

She later grabs Emrys by the arm, and lets him escort her a bit.

"Emrys, we need to talk. I had some sort of really strange dream again. And it was about wolves, trying to claw their way into a log cabin. I don't have any context though, nor do I know if they are real wolves or metaphorical prohpecy wolves, but I heard their howling and their claws scratching at the door and the wood. But they couldn't get through, so they started to try and climb the walls to get in through the smoke holes in the roof! It was frightening, but then I woke up."

Emrys listens carefully and nods, "Probably real wolves.  Or rather magical or infernal wolves but we'll have to keep a careful watch and maybe prepare some defense."

Johann looks ashen faced at your tirade Calliope.  He then scratches his chin nervously.  "Well...uhm.  Actually...I don't.  Have the authority that is.  The crusading orders hold to their own hierarchy.  I can make requests of them. And they'll usually oblige me.  But...I can't issue orders per se.  On this trip, Ser Rossi has the authority."

As the rest break comes to an end, and you all wash down the last of the bread and turnips mmmmmm....turnips, a squire comes to speak to Johann.  And you guys as well, though he mostly speaks to Johann, Alfred, and Affare

"Beg pardon Father.  Ser Rossi's issued new orders.  Your party is to travel single file stayin' as close to the river as possible.  We're moving out now."

And before there's much time to ask a question, the column starts moving.  Now it's a jog.

The reasons for the orders come clear soon enough.  The armored soldiers have formed a wall on the forest side of your column, obviously as a means of protecting those of you without mail or shield.


It happens after about an hour.  A call comes up from behind you.

"THE HORSES!  THEY'RE AFTER THE HORSES!"

Men in the forest are firing arrows into the line, apparently aiming for the soldiers providing guard to the horses.

The horses are starting to buck.  You can't be sure if any of them were struck. But they seem to be acting as if all of them were hit in the volley, rearing and whinnying in fear.

Just then, a loud, low howl comes echoing through the woods.  It sounds like only one wolf.  But the volume of the howl is enormous.  And it seems to fill up the very air around you all...

The arrows came from the north.  The howling...could be from any direction.

I'll pause here to give you a chance to ask any questions, take any action, etc.

OOC: 2 Questions...

1.) Can Calliope somehow give a warning, or tell Affare to tell a warning, that she is sensing people following them from the woodlines? I figure it might give the crusader troops some sort of small defense bonus or something. Maybe, lol.

2.) I have an animal handling 1 skill with a specialty in Horses, that maybe she can use with her presence 2 to try and sooth the animals. Can Calliope somehow leverage that, or is the sense of panic far too encompassing in scope and unnatural for such a thing to matter?

At first sound of trouble Emrys seems to stop a moment before looking for the source of the trouble.

19:58, Today: Emrys rolled 7 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Wizard's Sidestep 10 ReIm  Obfuscated Casting (HoH:S 34)

20:04, Today: Emrys rolled 3 with the Ars Magica stress die.  awareness.

Calliope:

You can certainly communicate within your group as you are all standing near each other.  Let Affare or Wulfgang or Alfred know if you want them to signal a nearby soldier.

As to the horses, you can certainly rush over to the handlers to try to assist.  Keep one thing in mind though:  you have Magical Air.  So while you do have Animal Handling (Horses) you also have a -3 on all interactions with animals.  So you'd be at a -1.

Your own mount is used to you.  The Knights' horses would not be.

The howling stops and you can hear the sounds of men raising a battle cry.

Then a dark shape is rushing though the trees.  It's the size of a horse and covered in black, bristly fur.  It looks like a giant wolf, but somehow scragglier.  Rougher in appearance.

The wolf seems to have come out of nowhere.  It is suddenly slamming into the defensive line, tearing a clawing.  You can hear men screaming.

The attack is going on maybe fifty paces away.  But even from where you are standing, you can feel a thick wave of what can only be described as malevolence.  The air around this wolf seems like it's filled with sharp edges and thick spikes.

Another wave of arrows is coming, this time it's targeting the area you're standing in.  A soldier in front of you takes one in his shoulder, but otherwise, the shots go wide.

The knights are moving, but there seems to be some uncertainty as to where they are meant to go.  Some are charging into the woods.  Others towards the wolf.

Map!

Feel free to pick a Grog if you like and direct their actions.  If you wish to get involved in the melee, remember to state an action and give me an Init roll.

Questions?

Remembering what happened the last time he got involved in combat, Affare tries to stay OUT of it.  But he keeps his eyes open for ways to help without exposing himself to unnecessary danger.

Emrys' eyes seem to shine brightly for a moment.

Evzen sets up with his polearm ready to defend his charges.

I will wait until tomorrow to update to give any one else a chance to react.  Thanks

OOC: Understood GM. I'm gonna skip on the animal handling thing for now. I didn't think her magical air affected animals, only humans, and it's too dangerous to be doing that right now as her skill is lower than her aura mod.

She will tell the party that she senses people out in the woods, but it seems the soldiers and knights had the good sense to set upa  shield wall so I think we're fine as is to continue.

While Calliope wanted to try and use the shortbow the bishop had given her (I totally need to update that on my sheet lol but I keep forgetting, and I'm tired so maybe tomorrow), she was not actually trained and certainly could not handle a mass-combat situation like this. The best thing she could do was to remain a non-combatant and thus, make herself less of an obvious target for the enemy.

Which means she could try and use her foresight defensively. Not just for herself, but perhaps it can allow her to give Emrys, the companions, and the grogs a heads up or advantage. Or possibly sense some sort of maneuver of the enemy and she can have Affare go warn the knights, as they seemed to like and respect the man more than just about anyone else in their group right now.

She stayed by Emrys and the priest for now, and called upon her divine blessing of prophecy and foresight to try and learn as much as she could about the immanent danger to herself, her group, and then the overall expedition legion itself in that order.

"Oh God and gods, please show me the way..." she muttered to herself as her eyes glazed over suddenly...

01:05, Today: Calliope Podarces rolled 15 using 1d10+9.  Premonitions.

Okay, so this is how Calliope really works in fights. Is she helps set up or avoid ambushes, like she's done for the group already. But in real-time she can also use premonitions to try and get a read on immediate danger. Possibly, anyway. The difficulty is on 2 scales: time and urgency. As we're in the immanent time and the urgency is dire if not potentially lethal, the difficulty is thankfully super low at like 3 or something. However, that only is a basic success. If she succeeds by 3 over the difficulty she gets more information on the nature of things, and if she rolls higher she gets even more information.

It's not very fleshed out, but that's ok. I've been playing it off the hip with you GM and so far, it's been working. She rolled a 15, so that should be plenty to not only cover herself and the troupe, but it should probably give you plenty of leeway to give extra information about the legion as well. My OOC intention/prompt is: "can you tell me any information that can give us and ideally the legion troops an advantage over our immediate enemies, and possibly even turn the tables on our foes?"

Fair enough Calliope.  And that does come in handy.  Because...

Calliope, you get a burning sensation along the back of your neck.  The side of you that's facing the river.

That little voice in your head tells you to turn around.  And as you do, you can see archers lining up on the other shore.

They are men in rough clothing.  Their faces have been rubbed with dark clay and their hair has been plastered with wet moss.

The far shore archers are still lining up.  But you can tell you only have a moment before they begin to fire across the river and into your flanks.

Everyone else seems to be focused on the wolf.

Speaking of which...

The wolf slices one solder with a large paw.  It then snaps at the man, catching his head in it's mouth.  There's a sick sounding wet scream and the soldier goes limp.

The other knights slam into the wolf from behind.  It growls and spits out the soldier it was biting.

You may take any actions you wish. 

OOC: Excellent! This is the sort of thing I was hoping for. Thank you!

"Oh crap crap crap! Emrys! Quick! Shout out to everyone and the soldiers that there's camouflaged enemy archers across the river, and that they are getting ready to shoot at us!" she said as she immediately looks for cover.

"Grogs? Big 4 members? Get into defensive stances or behind cover, now!" she commands. "You don't have to believe me, but you do need to mind me even if I don't make sense! Hurry now!"

If there are any wagons, or even something like a dip in the ground or an outcrop or fock or a lone tree she can hide behind, she will. But if there's some sort of wagon nearby she'd prefer that as it has the most cover.

Failing that, she gets behind Leonard and commands him to raise his shield toward the river and get into a full defense stance. If he questions her, she simply says "just do it, dammit!" to him since there's no time to sit down and explain it. And while the curse may make it harder for him to believe her, it doesn't take away his loyalty to her or his ability to follow orders. Especially after what she did for them at the inn.

OOC: Quickly shouting out a warning to everyone, but especially asking Emrys to re-echo her warning. Commanding the grogs and pleading with companions to take up defensive stances or to take cover - whichever is more viable. She sure takes cover or hides behind Leonard and forces him to raise his shield and do full defense.

Trusting Calliope's abilities Emrys shouts, "Archers far bank!"

Emrys glances about quickly for a suffiecently sized shaft of wood before looking at the other bank for a target and letting the wood fly.

21:06, Today: Emrys rolled 7 with the Ars Magica stress die.  piercing shaft of wood target 10 (+8 need 2).


Evzen focuses on protecting the group, attacking any hostiles that approach with his polearm.

Affare tries to find some cover in order to shield his not-so-formidable self.

Calliope and Affare, you take to the dirt, seeking the best cover you can.

Emrys, you are fortunate in that there is a decent sized log you can launch not far from you.  It whizzes through the air, hurtling across the water, and slamming into the gut of one of the archers on the far bank.

The other archers over there start to panic at this unexpected assault.

The knights tear into the wolf.  It yelps and jumps backwards, trying to get over the line of attackers.  But the knights and soldiers are moving quickly to hem it in.

The arrows launching from the forest have stopped.

It seems the attack is winding down, though the wolf is still up.  But there are a bevy of soldiers and knights attacking it.

The archers on the far bank are starting to scatter back into the woods on that side.

Let me know if anyone wants to do anything.  If not, we will move to the aftermath of the attack.

Thanks

Calliope with have Leonard keep his shield raised and facing in betwseen the forest and river now, so that he can defend against any stray arrows from either direction. As he does this, both he and Calliope start to move towards Emrys while essentially taking full defense/dodge actions, if that is a thing in this system.

The other Grogs will also start to make their way to Emrys as well, unless another player wishes to over-ride that in which case I'll not contest control, except for Leonard. I'm keeping a vice-grip on Leonard and his shield right now lol.

Emrys looks around a moment before pulling a whittled stick from his satchel that flies from his hands nearly immediately toward the wolf.

03:16, Today: Emrys rolled 2 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Piercing shaft of wood (+8, +5 damage). – 2

03:14, Today: Emrys rolled 5 using 1d10.  perception (log)

The wolf screams as a chunk of wood flies into it's side.  It twitches and twirls, falling over.

As it lands, you can all tell it seems to be getting smaller.  No.  It's like the dark fur is sort of bleeding off the wolf's frame and slinking into the river.

The wolf twitches and convulses, more of it running off.

Soon, all the fur and darkness are gone.  It's a man.  A naked man whose body is painted with blackish looking mud.  Odd symbols have been wiped into the mud.  Blood is pouring out of the man's nostrils.

His lips have been cut off.

And he's dead.  He's bleeding from various cuts along his back and a stake of wood through his gut.

Emrys approaches the skinchanger and kneels down to examine the body.  His eyes shine in the sunlight as he looks at the muddy runes.

12:44, Today: Emrys rolled 6 with the Ars Magica stress die.  IntVi (+11) spon nonfatigue (detect magic)

so 17/5= 3 Intellego Vim

Alfred follows up, his longsword drawn. He had not been as brave as he could, keeping out of battling the monster and keeping back to defend his friends.
"Wait, where has the wolf gone?" he asks.

Calliope grabs Leonard by the arm and half-drags him with her. No way was she going anywhere without him and his armor and shield right now. They walked a bit closer to the wolf, but not as close as Emrys.

She then considers a bit, trying to assess what she sees based on what she knows. But she equally is trying to see if here blessing can confirm that they are (relatively) safe now nor not.

"Good God, what a mess..." she muttered as she concentrated.

23:21, Today: Calliope Podarces rolled 16 using 1d10+9.  Premonitions.

23:26, Today: Calliope Podarces rolled 9 using 1d10+8.  Second Sight

23:22, Today: Calliope Podarces rolled 9 using 1d10+2.  Lore.

That 16 ought to easily cover her attempt to "re-scan" the area for their general safety level (lol).

About the Lore check. Her base is intelligence +1 she has magic and fae 2 and infernal 1, with a curse specialty in all of them. So based on what the GM determines is the most applicable to thtis situation, her result is at least a 9 if its infernal-based, a 10 if magic or fae based, and a 10 or 11 if curses are somehow involved. So result of 9-11 depending on GM adjudication. But she's trying to examine the wolf and determine what the hell it is and what happened, etc. Especially if she can also figure out what realm it's in.

The second sight is a simple roll to try and go along with the Lore roll to try and provide more information potentially, like what realm of magic is at play, more about it to help inform her lore, etc.

I have to go back and read up on Second Sight Calliope.  As it deals more with visual stimuli.  So I don't think it will help much in this situation.  But your rolls and Emrys roll will give ya'll all the info you could glean at the moment.

A soldier overhears you Alfred.  He nods at you as you come up and then juts his chin at the dead man.

"I heard tell a' demons like this.  But didn't think I'd live ta see one.  This fellow was the wolf.  They say a village 'round these parts worships a great devil who turns 'em into wolves."

You both over hear this Calliope and Emrys.  And from what you can tell, that may be more apt than not.

The runes are not anything either of you have seen.  Except for one.



Affare, you recognize it as well.

It's the alchemical symbol for sulfur.

The other symbols appear rougher.  More primal in make up. Almost like they are meant to represent a series of ritual claw marks on his body.  As well as a few that seem to be symbolic of a wolf's head and maybe one that looks like some kind of winged creature.

There's a bad air about it.  There's a feeling that discomfort and coldness.

Affare stifles a giggle which has come through no bidding of his own. "That is the symbol for, ah, sulfur.  Pardon me... but it has always reminded me of something it shouldn't." He turns away, red-faced.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:00, Fri 01 Mar.

"There is a taint of evil in the magic that was used on this wretch."

Emrys looks around and picks up a stick or two before glancing at the other shore.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:15, Fri 01 Mar.

Ser Rossi walks up.  He's bleeding from a gash on his cheek, but he simply wipes the blood off the back of a hand and stares down at the dead man.

"The devil can take his own.  Let's get this burning.  Once we're sure he's well on his way to becoming ash, we'll move out."

He glances at the lot of you.  "I understand you gave us warning and assisted with your..."  He glances at the shaft of wood sticking out of the man's gut.  "...gifts.

"You have my thanks."

He turns and starts barking out orders...

You can still speak to him if you wish.

Anything else you want to do before they light him up?

Returning to the body, eyes shining Emrys taps him with a stick.

Calliope tugged Emrys' arm suddenly.

"Oh my Gosh. I can actually see the taint. It's faint, but...well, I've studied the basics of Infernal lore just for times like this, to try and help identify and counteract certain kinds of curses. But I've never actually seen anything like this before." she muttered to him.

"But...this isn't a curse, though. It's um...how to best describe it? It's some sort of pagan or tribal magic, that also has a bit of infernal taint mixed in it. It's almost like something is corrupting the tribesmen here. Maybe the knights weren't just being over-zealous. Maybe there really is some sort of devil or something at play here, behind the scenes?" she said with a frown.

Calliope then turned to Affare and whacked him on the arm! *whack*

"Affare! Shame on you! And really, now of all times?!" Calliope said, chastising the man. She then turned and looked at the symbol, and continued.

"Even if it does look a bit like...like..." she stopped, and blushed a virginal blush slightly as she refused to finish that sentence.

"AHEM. I can't make out all the other runes except the Sulfur one, but the whole thing is some sort of tribal ritual that was slightly tainted by something infernal. But with the infernal, only slightly is plenty enough to rot the whole thing." she added.


She then turned to Rossi.

"Your thanks is much appreciated, and is warmly accepted. I know you have...varied feelings about our group, so I especially appreciate you expressing gratitude regardless. It is very chivalrous of you, and we were glad to help." she said to him.

"I don't sense danger across the river anymore, but we're literally and figuratively not out of the woods yet. Are you okay yourself, Sir Rossi?" she asked kindly.

Affare goes from indignant to yeah-she-gets-it faster than sulfur burns.  "See?  See what I mean?"

Emrys, whatever had caused the transformation seems to have run off the body.  Like rain water off a roof.  There's nothing left.


Rossi stops and hears you out Calliope  He then gives you a nod.  "Thank you My Lady.  I...have a distrust of wizards. But that doesn't mean I believe all are evil.  It's just...difficult to put aside pre-conceived notions.  I will be fine.

"Just please keep your...uh..."eyes" open.  Let us know if you see anything else.  We need to step up our pace to reach Dorpat.  I am anxious to know why they were willing to attack us here.  Even with the ambush and the demon, we were clearly a superior force.

"I am worried about what prompted this attack."

He starts to call for the column to proceed as some of the men quickly set the dead man ablaze.  Father Johann gives the dead men a quick last rites.

Going to move us along a bit

---

The march is even more exhausting as Rossi urges his troops to move faster.  In a few hours, you begin to see thin columns of smoke in the distance.

"Those look to be the normal smithy and cooking fires," Father Johann manages between labored breaths.  He passes around a wine skin in case anyone is thirsty.  "I think we will find the town as it should be.  At least I hope so."

It takes another hour before you are within sight of Dorpat.  It's a dumpy town, obviously a village that has recently been forced to grow.  The houses seem hastily put together.  A palisade around the town is of felled timber sharpened into points.

Parts of the palisade wall bear the marks of burning.  There are bodies littering the ground before the gate.  You can see some soldiers in the livery of the Order walking amongst the bodies, gathering them up and moving them to a large pile of the dead, probably in preperation for burning them.

Rossi looks worried for obvious reason.

Johann crosses himself.  "God please give mercy on all lives lost this day.  Do any of you know medicine?"

Calliope nods and is appreciative of Rossi now.

"I think the main thing is to remember that most beings with magic aren't necessarily tied to the infernal. However, like normal men beings of magic come in both benevolent and not-so-kind varieties. So I think the most important thing is to judge people of magic like Emrys on the basis of their own merits, more than anything else. Just like we should with normal men. Jesus always taught that we should give one another some grace, yes?" she replied.

"The Bishop, in his kindness, helped remind me of that before we departed. God bless the man. That's why I've been doing my best to give you and the soldiers the benefit of the doubt lately. I know the presence of magic agitates people, but like most things it can be overcome with companionship, community, and good communication. I only hope you and the other soldiers try and work through it with us, and get to know us better as people. As individuals. No more locked barn shenanigans. But in return, I'm going to try to get to know you all better too!" she said thoughtfully.

----------------------------------------

Later, when they arrive to the village

"This is...is is terrible. All of it. I understand why it must be this way, since this is a village that is undergoing development still. But...Gosh I feel for everyone here, both villagers and crusaders." she said aloud with a gasp as they took in the sights before them.

She turned to Johann.

"I actually know the rudiments of Medicine. I'm no surgeon, but I learned some basic medical techniques to help myself and others during travelling, but also to help care for injured workers and such back home, or at least to be able to ask more intelligent questions of full medical professionals." she said.

"I...I may be a noble lady, but I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty if I can help even a little bit."

Leonard has some Chirgury (treating burns) 2.

"I'm not sure how much help I'll be but I might be able to soothe some pain," Emrys volunteers.

He takes a moment as he looks at the carnage then back to Father Johann, "Lead on."

For those who would like to be of assistance to Johann, please make either a Medicien/Int or a Chiurgy/Int or other appropriate roll. Simple test.  Just so I can judge how well your efforts go.  Emrys, so noted on your magical efforts.

As your column approaches the town, the gates open and a few riders emerge.  Quickly, Father Johann and any assisting him with the wounded are lead to a small house near the center of town.  The wounded have been heaped there.  Most seem to be victims of the typical arrow or burn.

Two men though have savage slashes gouged into their chest and necks.  The wounds seem to have a sort of reek to them.  It "feels" similar to the wolf you saw before.  And the wounds could very easily have been made by the same creature.

The story emerges as the afternoon drags on:

A week ago, a sortie was made against Dorpat.  Just normal men sneaking in under the cover of darkness and firing arrows.  It wasn't anything too onerous.  The same type of attack went on for a few more days.  But two nights ago, the attack was much more savage.

"We couldn' see much.  Cos it was pitch black as the devil's arsehole...pardon my language.  Clouds was coverin' the stars and no moon in the sky and what not.  But when they came this time, they tried ta burn down the palisade!

"Turned out that was just a distraction.  Two big wolves somehow climbed the wall on the opposite side and started tearin' through the town!  We barely got 'em cut when they started screaming like cats gettin' buggered by horses...pardon my language.  It hurt my ears ta hear it.

"We got lucky, God be praised.  Ser Hosea and Ser Clemence there," the soldier retelling the tale indicates the two men suffering those evil seeming wounds, "They went at them devil wolves like true, brave Christian men!  It was a fight I'll remember the rest a' my days I tell ya.  They won with the help of tha archers.  But then the church caught fire and everything got even more chaotic.

"I never been in a fight quite like it.  Never I tell ya."

As a side note, I will answer PMs tomorrow.  I'm on a bit of a tight schedule tonight.

Questions?  Thanks

Emrys surveys the damage as he does what he can.  "Invgite aut perite," he says to himself before commenting to Affare, "Hedge witch dealing with a demon I'd bet.  Definitely with a cult.  I've only just passed my gauntlet but I'll try to find and kill them.  House Mercere provide you with some defenses or do you know of any redcaps in this region?"

Affare, you know that this region is considered...at least at the present...outside the Order.  The Baltic region is a bit of a no-man's land between the Rhine and Novgorod Tribunals.  You're not aware of a Redcap that travels through it.

Calliope did her best to help the soldiers bind their wounds when she could. She was no medical professional, but she did as much as she could to use what knowledge she did to help the soldiers get mended up some as much as possible.

01:53, Today: Calliope Podarces rolled 5 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Chirurgury.

She then frowned at Emrys a bit as they were told the story of the wolves climbing the wall. That meant that her vision about the wolves climbing the walls of cabins to come down through the open smoke-holes in the roof was not an allegory, but was quite literal.

"Emrys? I need you to warn Rossi and Johan, as well as our party in general, that grates or something need to be put onto the roofs of these cabins that we sleep in tonight. I don't know when, but I believe VERY soon - possibly tonight even - those wolf-men things are going to try to slip into the village at night and try and climb the roofs of cabins so they can come in through the smoke-holes in the roofs. I saw it in a vision recently, that they'd try to do that to a cabin our group was sleeping in. Which means they could also try and do it to the Crusader troops too!" she said worriedly, as she tugged at his arm urgently.

"Something like a grate or something is needed for those smoke holes! But as they are now, they are open to the sky and the wolves can slip through them and into the soft, juicy insides of the cabins!"

You are all exhausted by the time the sun sets.  Between the march, tending the wounded, and the news about what has happened, the mood of the soldiers and the villagers is very tense and nervous.

Rossi has spent the day getting the fortifications strengthened.  He's had soldiers draw in water by the barrel full, making repairs to the walls and houses, and generally getting ready for a long night ahead.

And it is a long night.  A long, tense night.  Made all the worse by nothing happening.

There's not a sign of a raider at all.  There are several false alarms when some sentry spies movements at the tree line.  But ultimately it turns out to be a deer or a branch moving in the breeze.

Those who didn't sleep through the night wake up even more exhausted the next day.

Rossi calls for a meeting.  You are all invited.

He, his officers, Father Johann, and the senior surviving members of the Dorpat garrison meet in what used to be the headman's house.

"Our orders are to secure Lais.  But I cannot ignore what is going on here in Dorpat.

"My fear is that, if Dorpat is under threat, then so is probably Lais.

"I think the heathen have elected to not attack us due to the fact we now have more men here at Dorpat.  But that means they will probably turn their attention even more to Lais.

"Apparently there's been no report from Lais for over a month now.  Whether that means Lais has fallen or something else..."

Rossi doesn't finish the thought.  He studies the ceiling for a while and then turns to look at the lot of you.

"The man you're looking for...this Gustav.  He is...or was...in Lais.  Am I safe in assuming you will be continuing there?"

I inform Emrys that I’m not aware of any Redcaps operating in this area.  If he has any other related questions, I put my full knowledge at his ready disposal.

Then I try to apply my meager skills to help the wounded.


21:19, Today: Affare Acisculu rolled 14 using 1d10+5 ((9)).

This message was last edited by the player at 02:20, Fri 08 Mar.

"Yes, we'll be continuing to Lais," Emrys states plainly, "How long could Lais hold out if they were forced to stay in their outpost?  How regularly were they supplied and how bit is their garrison?"

Rossi glances at one of his officers.  The man steps forward to answer your question Emrys.

"Lais had a detail of fifty men, including four knights and three sergeants.  They last received provisions a month and a half ago.

"Lais is a village.  Though the rye crop wasn't ready for harvest at the time of our last communique, harvest of beans and oats should have been brought in.  As long as the palisade hasn't been breached, they shouldn't be starving at this point."

Rossi nods then turns back to the lot of you.  "I need to fortify Dorpat.  It's our main stronghold in this area of the land.  I am going to send a detachment to bolster Lais.  Two knights and twenty of my men.  Father Johann will go with them of course.

"We'll follow once we have Dorpat secured.  But...truth to tell that will be some time.  Because even if the bastards don't attack us again, we have to send word back to Riga and wait for more troops.

"You can go with the detachment or wait here.  I'm afraid that's the best I can do at the moment."

---

Thanks to your efforts, only the two men who had the wolf wounds died.  Everyone else lived.

"We'll go with the detachment," Emrys says before looking to the grogs, "Make ready."

Calliope tugged Emrys' sleeve.

"Emrys? Could you please give Sir Rossi my warning before we head out? The one that he needs to be wary of the smoke holes in the roofs of the cabin because the wolf-men can climb sort of like cats, and may be planning to ambush them at night? Like to put a grate or something up?" she asked, with concern.

"Sir Rossi," Emrys speaks to the knight, "The wolfmen will attack at night and climb the walls and then get on top of the cabins to come down the smoke holes.  You may want to position spear points towards those holes and use pitch and broken pottery or sharp scrap metal to create another obstacle for them so those sleeping inside have some warning."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:05, Sat 09 Mar.

Calliope looks at Emrys with grateful silence.

She had kept her promise to the Bishop, that she'd not only try to give Rossi and the soldiers some grace and realize they are multifaceted like she is, but also help them in her own way while travelling with them. It took a few weeks, and a terrifying fight against a wolf and some archers, but they were managing to get him and the soldiers to finally push past the gift/magical air auras some and humanize one another. And after all that work, she didn't want to leave only for those vile wolves to eat them up or something while they slept.

In this way, she hoped it would let the Crusader force turn the tables on the enemy a bit.

Rossi frowns at the news, but then scratches the back of his head.  "Damn spawn of the pits.  Of course they could do something like that.  Much thanks for the heads up.  God watch over your travels.  I hope we meet again.  And all a' us safe."

I need to rejigger something.  We will head to Lais tomorrow.  Thanks

"God be with you Sir Rossi," the magus looks to the others then back to the Knight of the Sword, "Might only be one or two witches behind this from what I've seen.  Other than those in the Order, those with the Gift usually cannot tolerate one another for long.  We'll try to kill them if we can."

Rossi gives you an odd grin.  "May their souls find peace in Hell's embrace."

---

In a few hours, you are all standing by the gate of Dorpat, lining up with another, though this time much smaller, column of soldiers.

A knight strides up, giving you the usual scowl you've all started to become accustomed to.  But he bows and is polite at least.

"Greetings.  We haven't met yet. I'm Ser Hovard.  I'll be in charge of the relief effort to Lais.  Thank you for your assistance."

He seems as taciturn as Rossi, and simply says that and no more.  Or perhaps he's just eager to get underway.  Because within ten minutes he is calling for the column to advance.

Father Johann falls in beside you.  "Thank you again for your help with the wounded yesterday.  I would be exhausted by now if you all hadn't pitched in.

"Hovard is a good man.  I understand he came to us from a crusading order in Iberia.  One of those fighting the Moors.  It would be nice if we could do without the fighting, huh?"  He laughs, and glances around as you all begin to enter into the forest again.

"I must admit I am having some fear.  I..."  He shrugs.  "I guess I just wish I was as brave as I needed to be."

The rest of the march is rather quiet.  Almost too much so.  The soldiers are on high alert.  Every rabbit jumping or bird taking off noisly from a tree branch seems to spark an alarm.

You have to camp that night.  The knights order you all to pack close together.  You're almost sleeping atop one another.  Hovard points at the soldiers along the outside, sleeping with their shields in their hands.

"If arrows come in, those men will raise high the shields.  Run to get in their shadow.  Ambushes in an area like this will be bad business for us."

Shortly before midnight, some wolves howl in the distance.  The camp is more or less on alert until dawn.

Tired, you all start to march as soon as there is enough light to see by.  Blessedly, Lais comes into view by mid morning.

Or maybe it's not a blessing at all.




The village sits atop a small bluff overlooking a creek.  A half-finished stone tower perches on one cliff.  Johann had told you the Order was planning on building a castle here, but construction had only begun.

The town proper sits on the other side of a clearing.  A wooden wall surrounds the cluster of shacks.  Some houses sit along the edge of the bluff, serving as fishing shanties.

There's no sign of struggle.  There are crops in the fields near the wall, almost groaning under the weight of cabbages ready to be harvested.  The gate to the town is open.  There's not a singe or mark of soot along any of the buildings.

There's also no sign of life.  Not a soldier.  Not a villager. Not even a dog or a goat or a chicken.

You don't even see any birds.

Lais seems to be deserted.

Calliope felt unnerved at how silent and peaceful the Lais scenery was. Normally, one would want such peace. But this was unnaturally quiet. Like, no animals. No little kids running around, no women going to the market, etc. That sort of thing, that even in a slow, peaceful, sleepy hamlet or something would be indicative of life and human civilization and community. But this felt off.

She could only wonder what was really going on here. She hadn't had a full-on prophetic vision since the wolf attack, but she could still try and actively focus her blessing and see if she could pick up any hidden dangers or things they ought to know. Especially since now, after her secret meeting with the Bishop, she was for the first time entertaining the idea that God wanted her to have her gifts. And it felt only right to try and use them to help the Crusaders whop were kindly escorting them, as well as her own party.

She stopped a moment and focused intently, trying to call upon her blessing actively to see if it could help her sense for potential danger in and around Lais.

23:56, Today: Calliope Podarces rolled 5 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Premonitions.

Well I forgot to put the +9 modifier in there, so that is actually a 14 on a Premonition attempt to do a "danger scan" and get information from you equivalent to that of a 14 roll result. With a roll that high, she should be able to grasp information on things influences that could harm not only her and her party, but the Crusaders too as she considers them allies now. Like any time she uses this ability, she isn't sure WHAT she will actually learn but she figures any little thing can help act as an advantage against their enemies.

"Wulfgang," Emrys says quietly, "Take a look around.  Tracks, marks, anything."

Affare helps search for tracks and other signs of recent activity, although he has no expertise in such matters.  Still, an extra pair of eyes may be prove useful.  While he looks about, he is careful to remain aware of his surroundings in case a new danger suddenly manifests.

Havor mutters a curse under his breath and orders everyone into the town.

Calliope and Emrys, as you get closer to the gate, you can feel a sort of sticky feeling to the air.  It's like a miasma that settles over your skin.  It's not pleasant.

The shacks are shut tight.  No fires are lit.  All the hearths and stoves are cold.  There aren't any buckets of fresh water.

The livestock are missing.  Their pens are empty, mucked, and tightly shut.

The church is one of the larger buildings on the eastern side of town.  The door is shut tight and appears to be barred on the other side.  Havor is about to order it broken in when a soldier calls out from the west side of town.  Something's been found.

A goat is staked to the palisade wall.  It's hung upside down, the stake driven through her udders.  It's abdomen has been cut open and split, so that the ribs fan out like wings.  The blood was used to draw some kind of circle around it on the wall.  Some of those symbols again.  Including the one for sulfur.

Wulfgang, your fingernails start to turn black as you get closer to the goat.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:09, Wed 13 Mar.

She turned to the others.

"I don't sense that we're in any immediate danger. Us nor the crusader troops." Calliope says.

"Mind you, this is still a pretty bleak place and it's obvious a lot of weirds things are going on. But I'm not sensing any archer ambushes, or a horde of wolves behind the doors of these houses, and so on." she continued.

"With that said, the church feels slightly safer to me than anywhere else in the town does. I would like to to go take a look inside, and see if I can sense the presence of God here, as well as try and determine how strong that presence is." she added.

She considered, and turned to Hovard and Father Johan.

"Sir Hovard? Father Johan? I don't think we should break down the door to the church, if we can at all help it. The Church feels safer to me than the rest of the town, so it probably wouldn't do if we damaged it. Unless there's absolutely no other way to get in." she said.

"I think we should try to knock or get the attention of whoever is in there first. If the door is barred, that means someone is probably inside still."

She then noticed the commotion by the slaughtered goat.

"Oh my Word! How terrible!" she gasped.

Emrys looks at the door for a moment and touches it as he bends the wood away to unbar it.  Leaving the Church investigation for latter he walks over to the scene of the goat 'sacrifice'.  His eyes look more silvery as he looks at the dreary area a long moment in silence.

Calliope looked at Emrys.

"Thank you, hon. I'd have really felt bad if we had to actually destroy that beautiful door." she said.

She then looked at the goat sacrifice blood circle thing on the exterior.

"Jesus...what were they thinking?" she mumbled.

She looked closely at the grisly sight, seeing if there was anything mystical to sense. But also, seeing if she could glean anything academically.


14:01, Today: Calliope Podarces rolled 2 with the Ars Magica stress die.  infernal lore.

14:00, Today: Calliope Podarces rolled 10 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Second Sight.

Well her Infernal Modifier is +2 (int 1 + lore 1) so not sure how she could roll a 2 when her mod is 2 lol dumb roller must not have added her mod. So that means she has something like a 4 on the infernal lore roll, but it is a 5 if curses are involved somehow.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:05, Wed 13 Mar.

Calliope, this may be the first time you've actually seen the results of an infernal rite. Because you do feel pretty confident that is what this is.  What it was supposed to accomplish, you aren't sure.  But...

Emrys, you struggle a bit...


When the bar on the door of the church comes off, the door swings open slowly.

Inside, you find two young girls and a soldier.  All three seem to be passed out.  Their brows are covered in sweat as a fever rages through them.  the soldier is missing his right arm.  It looks like it was badly cauterized shut and infection already seems to have entered into the wound.

"Infernal magic...it's starting to fade already but overtime it will work on your mind and gnaw at your courage," Emrys looks inside the Church and enters.

Walking to the unconscious soldier he touches him, the light coming through the cracks of the church almost takes a silvery hue a moment before returning to normal.

He pauses a moment, taking a look around about any other details about the trio he can determine when he approaches again and his eyes flash as they reflect the sunlight.

She nods at Emrys.

"I can see the infernal energy there too, although couldn't tell what it does. I've studied this a little bit since I'm interested in ways to break various curses, for reasons you know already. But it's all been theoretical and books. I've never encountered this kind of thing before now." she said.

"Can we have the soldiers clean it up and burn the goat? Would that disrupt the effect early, rather than them having to wait for it to dissipate on its own?" she asked Emrys.

After they opened the church doors and saw the 3 unconscious people, she frowned.

"These people need immediate treatment! They have fevers now! I fear their lives could be in danger, especially the soldier, without proper treatment."

She turned to Father Johan.

"Can you help get some crusader medics to come here? You and I can try to work with them to treat these three and at least give them a chance."

"I might be able to destroy the goat and erode it's effect but I need a few minutes to rest," Emrys explains, "And I think the soldiers will be a bit reluctant to touch the damned thing in any case."

Father Johann glances at you Emrys when you talk about the goat.  "I can perform an exorcism on it.  Hell can't stand up to the power of God after all.  But for now...these three.  I don't want to lose any more lives."

He seems to be a fairly adequate medic.  And there are a couple of soldiers skilled in cauterizing wounds.


Johann and one of the soliders bled off some of the infection from his arm stump but Johann shakes his head.  "I have some general poultices.  And a decent amount of herbs.  But...I don't know that I have anything strong enough.

"I think we need to reopen his  wound.  Or maybe take what is left of his arm.  But I don't know if he can survive that.  Can someone look back through town?  We need anything that can fight infections.  Honey. Garlic.  Any kind of herb or anything similiar.  And lots of it."

She looked at Emrys.

"Didn't you tell me you had a spell that was basically the equivalent of a magical band-aid or something? something you can cast on them to buy time for the Father and I to work with the medics to get our herbs, poultices, honey, tools, and so on so forth all set up? I even will donate a bit of Olive juice if need be since the vinegar in the preservatives is probably a good makeshift disinfectant if we don't have enough alcohol from the town." she asked.

"And do you also know any magic that helps in the recuperation process?"

"It's a very minor aid to help them recover and it will help them for a month," Emrys says softly, "And I've already put the magic on the soldier.  Just need a five minutes and I'll have the benefice on the other two as well."

He works with the other two very briefly with the light in the church taking a slight silvery hue as he touches them for a second.  When he's done with whatever he did, the magus looks to the others, "Let's go search the settlement for any medicinal aids."

Emrys offers to aid in the search, as he has considerable knowledge of medicine in general and drugs in particular.  His experience as a ‘field medic’ has been rather limited so far, however.  You can only learn so much from books.

Calliope nods, and thanks Emrys. She also, in an attempt to bolster his confidence some, lets him know that even a "minor" spell like his is a great asset to mundane men if it can aid in a month of recovery time, and that he should be proud (in a non-hubristic way) he was able to help this way. Not to mention, it showed the Crusader troops that magic wasn't all about offense magic and such.

She, in turn, would use her literally ungodly Perception to aid the troops in looking around the town, be it for medical supplies or any supplies for that matter, or anything else of interest. She knew that times like this were what she was supposed to use her abilities for in-so-far as helping their Crusader allies.

Speaking of Perception, let's see some rolls for that herb hunting please.  Awareness/Per most likely, though if you think you have another ability that fits better, you may roll that.

Also, are you leaving the goat to Johann?  Or do you guys want to do anything with it?

Thanks

"I suppose you're right," Emrys admits with a sigh, "It's just others can mend flesh and bone outright I wish I could do more."

Emrys leaves the goat to Father Johann as he heads to search for something useful.

02:23, Today: Emrys rolled 9 with the Ars Magica stress die.  perception +0.

Affare flatly denies have done anything with the goat.

19:09, Today: Calliope Podarces rolled 9 with the Ars Magica stress die.  perception + awarenes

I can't tell if the roller added hermodifier properly, so she got either a 9 or a 17 depending on how you look at it. Let's just say 9 or 10 if alertness plays a factor in helping scrounge for supplies.

Going out into the fields, you do find the villagers had planted some helpful herbs.  Garlic especially.

Some of the soldiers are outside, examining the fields.  You look around there and quickly see what they are curious about.

The field is covered in tracks.  A large number of them seem to be heading away from the village and into the woods.  The tracks couldn't be more than a couple of days old.

It's as if a large number of people recently decided to leave the village and head northeast.

Emrys helps gather some herbs as he looks to Wulfgang, "Note anything more about the tracks?  I think we should follow them after we tell the knights and deliver these supplies."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:48, Fri 22 Mar.

I will give Wulf a chance to answer and then move us along tomorrow.

Thanks ya'll.

Wulf studies the tracks for a long time.  He finally comes back to you Emrys

"Well.  The people left going south.  And I think they left as a group.  Most of the tracks all seem to be made about the same time.

"The woods to the south are...there's this path and it's not right.  It's like this swath of badness.  I can't explain it any better than that.  Sorry.

"And yeah.  That's the way all them tracks are going."

Calliope nodded.

"I also see the tracks, and I agree with your assessment of the situation, Wulf." she said.

"I cannot tell if they willingly went or were forced or lured to go, but I will say that I did not notice signs of a struggle back int he houses we investigated." she said, as she bundled some garlic and herbs she had found and tied it to some foodstuffs she scrounged from a few of the homes. Better to let the Crusaders have it than let it spoil and go to waste.

"And I don't even need to use my second sight to tell you that forest is bad BAD news." she added.

"I think we can investigate it, but we need to return to the Crusaders and Johan and update them first, and hand off these supplies. We need to be on bard with them and we need a plan, even if our missing wayward knight might be in those woods somewhere cavorting with wolves and Lord only knows."

Emrys nods to Wulfgar, "Yes, lets to return with what we found and see if there's anything more we can do to help the survivors as well as let Father Johann and the soldiers know about the tracks.  Maybe their minds were bent to obey the infernalists."

The goat has been taken down and Johann is praying over it, splashing it with holy water, and reciting from the Bible.

Hovard takes your report in the Church, and the medics take the supplies off your hands.  He frowns when you relay your findings.

"Damnation.  I hate to say it, but I think I would rather have found them all slaughtered than this...no.  If they are alive, then there's hope, right?"  He glances towards the three on the Church floor.

"Johann and the medics think the girls will pull through.  The soldier...that'll depend on how tough a bastard he is.  But he strikes me as someone who is pretty tough.

"I suppose the prudent thing is to wait one more day.  Hope one of them comes out of it.  And is able to give us some information.

"But part of me wants to go charging after the villagers.  I am afraid the longer we wait, the more danger they will be in.

"Thoughts?"

"They should know we're here," Emrys offers, "But it might take them a little time to gather to attack."

He looks to the Church, "My guess would be that everyone outside of Holy Ground had their minds ensnared by the infernalists and led away like sheep.  I also suspect the demonic goat ritual was performed here to weaken God's divine protection of the Church...Father Johann perhaps should hold communion as soon as possible or whatever rites he deems appropriate to cleanse any lingering infernal taint."

The Makhai looks to Hovard, "I think most of them that were led away are probably still alive for now.  Had they been slaughtered and displayed here for us to witness...that would have been demoralizing.  So they have some other purpose for taking them.  Though I don't doubt some terrible fate awaits them if we do not act soon but the pagans should be a little distracted by us now than working to prepare some horrid mass blood sacrifice."

Emyrss eyes shine in the light, "I think we should find out how those three were barricaded in the Church alone and what happened if we can.  So I'd agree, waiting a day I think would be prudent and hopefully one of them will wake up.  I can't speak how to defend this place but bivouacing any who aren't acting as sentinels inside the Church I think may help prevent infernal magic from touching them."

“It would be very helpful if we knew when the diabolists plan to sacrifice the villagers, or otherwise use them for whatever ritual purpose they have in mind.  But unfortunately, we don’t.  I do agree that if they merely intended just to kill them, they would have done so already.”
This message was lightly edited by the player at 04:47, Tue 26 Mar.

Hovard keeps studying the wounded.  But he nods slowly.  "As much as I want to go hunt whoever this is down...I agree.  Going into battle without as much intelligence as possible is foolish.  And we can't afford to be foolish.

"I'll speak to Father.  Let's all plan on staying close to the Church tonight outside of sentries."

---

Father Johann comes back a little before sunset, tired and sweating.  He smiles wanely and gives everyone a communion service, but soon passes out.  He seems to have been moving more or less on will power since this afternoon.

One of the medics rouses you all a little before midnight.  One of the young girls has woken up.  The other medic is feeding her some weak broth.  She coughs but manages to get it down.  Her eyes dart around at all of you.  Particularly you Emrys and Calliope

Feel free to take over one of the Grogs if you wish in order to speak to her.  And that is directed at everyone.

Thanks

"Perhaps we should take as step back," Emrys whispers to Calliope, "Our presence may be too disturbing for her to speak freely."

Emrys heads out of the Church for some night air but stays close to the entrance.

Evren kneels in front of the girl and hands her his leather flask for a drink, "You must be thirsty.  Drink."

He roots in his satchel and offers some cheese and a hard baked biscuit as well, "Slowly.  I've Evren by the way.  We fought some of those wolfman devils getting here and we're going to finish the job but you can help us by answering some questions."

Evren gives her a little time as he watches her response.  The short Czech's demeanor surprisingly gentle considering his usual default manner with his fellows who learned to fear his cutting witticisms and mercurial  temper.

The former wandering pikeman continues, "Let's start with an easy question, what is your name?"

Listening patiently he follows with, "Tell us what happened here as the troubles began to start."

Evren guides her through the story to how she came to be barricaded into the Church, trying not to push her too hard as she works through what were traumatic circumstances before he follows up with more questions.

14:06, Today: Emrys rolled 5 with the Ars Magica stress die.  (Com +2, Charm +5)

Calliope follows Emrys out.

The little girl coughs, but manages to eat and drink Evzen

"...Olga..." she finally mumbles.

Her big, soulful eyes dart around, finally coming to rest on the soldier.  "Is Mister Gregor gonna be okay?  He looks sick.

"Momma told me and Jelena to hide under the bushels.  The wolves came again.  Then all the Daddies started arguing.  Someone did something bad with Auntie Kadri's goat.  I don't know what.  Me and Jelena weren't allowed to see it.

"Then the man on the horse came back..."

She shivers, shutting her eyes, and shaking.  "...I don't wanna be here no more.  I want my Momma and Dada. But they went with the man on the horse."

Evren looks to the fallen soldier and back to Olga, "Mister Gregor was hurt badly but our healer helped him.  He's a sturdy as an ox too so he'll pull through."

The short man tries to comfort the girl, "We're going to get your family back but we have to know some things so the man on the horse can't take us away.  You were told to hide in the bushes when the wolves came, did Mister Gregor bring you into the Church?  How did Mister Gregor get hurt?"

After she answers he finishes with the question, "Where their other strangers besides the man on the horse helping the wolves?"

11:58, Today: Emrys rolled 8 with the Ars Magica stress die.  (Com +2, Charm +5)
This message was last edited by the player at 04:20, Sun 31 Mar.

While the others question the child, Affare looks around, making sure nothing is sneaking up on them.  You couldn’t be too careful when devil-worshippers were around.

Calliope, in the meantime, decided to take a look more inside the church. She had sensed before that this was the safest place int he town right now, but she still wanted to get a ley of the land. As well as make sure no more evil goat messes and such were around.

Alfred listens intently to the young girl's answers.

Affare and Calliope, make me an Aware/Per check please

The girl shudders a bit.  But she mutters to herself, "...be brave...", swallows in a dry throat, and begins.

"Daddy told us to hide in a basket.  But Olga said everyone would think to look for us there.  She said we should hide in the Church.  Under the bench at the confessional back there."

She wanely points in the direction.  You can see that the way the confessional is built, there's a large gap under the bench where the supplicant would sit.  Two small girls could fit in there easily.

"Then there was all kinds of yelling.  Olga told me to be quiet.  But she went to peek out the door of the Church.  So I did too.

"All the grown ups were out by the gate.  There was a man on a black horse.  The horse looked funny.  Like it was on fire, but it was black.  Looking at it made my head feel funny.  All my aunts and uncles were dragging their kids to the gate.  I didn't see any of the soldiers.  They had gone out to fight the wolves.  But then Mr. Gregor came running up.  The grown ups all tried to catch him.  But he was too fast.  He came through the door.

"And the grown ups came up to the door, but wouldn't come through it.  They all had their eyes closed.

"Mr. Gregor was all cut up and bleeding.  But he shut the door and barred it and told me an' Olga to hide.

"I heard Momma and Papa.  They kept calling for me an' Olga to unbar the door and come out.  But Mr. Gregor told us they weren't Momma and Papa.  And that we should hide.

"Then I started feeling funny.  Olga said she had been feeling funny since supper.  Cos the soup tasted funny.  But I dunno.  I put a lotta garlic in my soup.  So I can't ever taste anything."

Evren offer what little comfort he can to the girl, "You were very brave and clever.  We'll try to make things right again."

He offers some more to drink and eat before standing and turning to Sir Hovard, "No doubt Gregor knows more if he awakens but seems like the evening meal was either poisoned or somehow cursed by the devil worshiping witches."

The little Czech casts an angry glance out the once barred church doors, "Though we know now they can't cross God's threshold.  They could have easily battered down the doors and taken them but they were stopped."

Alfred shakes his head.
"This is a most sinister turn of events. I'm glad we're in the company of strong soldiers and wise people."

[OOC: Somehow Alfred rolled a 9 despite his stunning lack of Awareness skill]

The little girl nods here head feebly.

Alfred, something about her story catches your attention.

00:40, Today: Calliope Podarces rolled 8 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Perc+Awareness.

I didn't add her +10 mod, so that is an 18. 19 if "Alertness" comes into play.

Calliope perceives her surroundings...

Calliope, you notice the soldiers outside seem on alert.

It only takes stopping one passing by the find the cause.

The man lowers his voice and says quietly, "One a' the fellas with good eyes spotted someone.  Out in the tree line.  We're bein' watched.

"Ser Hovard is sending out some guys to try to ambush whoever it is.  We're just trying to figure out how to sneak our guys out without being seen."

Emrys stays near the entrance of the Church while the others speak to the survivor.

Calliope relays what she learned to Emrys, letting him know they are being watched from the outskirts of town.

"Emrys? Do you have any magic that could aid some of the soldiers in being able to try and ambush whoever is out there watching us? Like something to make them unseen or more sneaky?" she asked.

"I'm great at finding things, but not so much at keeping them hidden."

Emrys thinks for a moment then says, "Well it after sundown.  I could make some men see as well as a cat can in the dark and then make the sky a bit hazy or reduce the moonlight itself to darken things up a bit."

"Let's go see Sir Hovard," Emrys says as he seeks out the knight in charge and offers his help (telling the knight what he plans).
This message was last edited by the player at 07:51, Thu 04 Apr.

"Be careful", Alfred warns. "The girl mentioned her aunts and uncles dragging their children to the door - it sounds like adults are vulnerable to whatever madness took over people's minds, while the children were unaffected."

Affare stands near the entrance to the church and keeps an eye on things, since Emrys has gone to talk to Sir Hovard.


In case it’s still needed:

18:19, Today: Affare Acisculu rolled 5 using 1d10+1 ((4)).

If hearing is involved, he should get an extra +3 for Sharp Ears.

This message was last edited by the player at 22:19, Fri 05 Apr.

As Emrys meets with Hovard, Affare, you hear something.

It sounds like something sliding across the mud.  At first you think it might be a dog or a cat, digging around under one of the shacks.  But then you remember you haven't seen an animal since you got here.

The noise is coming from under one particular house.  Calliope and Alfred, once you see Affare paying attention to it, you can hear the sounds too.  It seems a couple of soldiers have noticed it now as well.

It's coming from under the house.

Most of the houses have a dug out area under them, you assume where livestock like chickens are kept.  From this dug out "cellar" under this particular house, you can hear the sounds of something being dragged over the mud.  Or at least someone trying to drag something over the mud.  The sounds indicate a halting effort.  As if whatever is being dragged is too heavy for the bearer.

Upon examination, there's a hole in the base of the wall.  Large enough for an older child to wiggle in and out of.  Peering through it, you can see someone in the darkness down there.  Trying to push a heavy basket towards the hole and not doing a good job of it.

Emrys nods after speaking with Sir Hovard.  He turns to the group of men he is sending out to capture their watcher and touches them a moment.  Then does the same for Evren, Wulfgang, and Leonard.  Their irises look a little silvery as he tells them to follow.

Marching outside the magus instructs the men, "We're going to move to that treeline under the cover of a fog.  Wulfgang, unless I'm mistaken your eyesight may be enough to guide us but we'll have to be quiet."  Emrys seems to concentrate again for minutes.

Finally he pauses and takes a breath and eventually coaxes a thin fog that just seems to roll out from him.

"Okay," the magus says in the fog, "Let's go for a walk.  Quietly..."

Anybody else want to go or need anything?

Eight targets (including himself) for Eyes of the Cat needing a 1, or 4 to 9.  2 minutes of rest between each roll to recover fatigue.

00:16, Today: Emrys rolled 7 with the Ars Magica stress die.
00:16, Today: Emrys rolled 12 with the Ars Magica stress die.
00:16, Today: Emrys rolled 8 with the Ars Magica stress die.
00:16, Today: Emrys rolled 3 with the Ars Magica stress die.
00:15, Today: Emrys rolled 4 with the Ars Magica stress die.
00:15, Today: Emrys rolled 12 with the Ars Magica stress die.
00:15, Today: Emrys rolled 16 with the Ars Magica stress die.
00:15, Today: Emrys rolled 24 with the Ars Magica stress die.
00:15, Today: Emrys rolled 3 with the Ars Magica stress die.
00:15, Today: Emrys rolled 4 with the Ars Magica stress die.
00:15, Today: Emrys rolled 3 with the Ars Magica stress die.
00:15, Today: Emrys rolled 7 with the Ars Magica stress die.


00:35, Today: Emrys rolled 18 with the Ars Magica stress die.  stamina +1 .
00:34, Today: Emrys rolled 8 with the Ars Magica stress die.  maintaining the demanding spell.
00:34, Today: Emrys rolled 6 with the Ars Magica stress die.  fog.
00:34, Today: Emrys rolled 0 (possible botch) with the Ars Magica stress die.  maintaining the demanding spell.
00:33, Today: Emrys rolled 7 with the Ars Magica stress die.  fog.
00:33, Today: Emrys rolled 3 with the Ars Magica stress die.  fog.
00:26, Today: Emrys rolled 4 with the Ars Magica stress die.  maintaining the demanding spell dammit;-).
00:26, Today: Emrys rolled 4 with the Ars Magica stress die.  fog .
00:26, Today: Emrys rolled 2 with the Ars Magica stress die.  maintaining the demanding spell.
00:26, Today: Emrys rolled 18 with the Ars Magica stress die.  fog.
00:26, Today: Emrys rolled 2 with the Ars Magica stress die.  maintaining the demanding spell.
00:26, Today: Emrys rolled 9 with the Ars Magica stress die.  fog.
00:25, Today: Emrys rolled 5 with the Ars Magica stress die.  maintaining the demanding spell.
00:25, Today: Emrys rolled 4 with the Ars Magica stress die.  fog.
00:25, Today: Emrys rolled 2 with the Ars Magica stress die.  fog.

Takes 40 minutes total for Emrys to put Cat's Eyes on the folks going and then get the fog rolling.

He keeps the grogs close (following Wulfgang), and tries to be quiet

00:44, Today: Emrys rolled 0 (possible botch) with the Ars Magica stress die.  grumble stealth botch. –
00:43, Today: Emrys rolled 0 (possible botch) with the Ars Magica stress die.  stealth +3

Are you kidding me???  Uh...Emrys has Luck if that makes a difference.  Fuck you too dice roller;-)  LOL

00:44, Today: Calliope Podarces rolled 2 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Premonition. – 2

Okay I have no idea what's up with this roller. I put the 8 modifier for her Perception+Premonition in so it's physically impossible for me to roll a 2. Guess that means from now on it's establish I'll only be rolling stress die and will add the mod manually.

So she gets 10 (11 if it endangers her) result  on a premonition attempt to do a "danger scan" on the person crawling around beneath the building. Basically, I want to determine if it's a friend or foe ideally and any other details are gravy.

Calliope hears the movement beneath the one house that some of the others are hearing, and tries to determine if this is a threat to them or not.

Calliope, you get no funny feeling about whoever this is.  At least from the whatever-it-is-inside-your-head.  Your nose is giving off all kinds of warnings.

From the hole in the wall comes a rank odor.  Like...well...shit.  But really old shit.  That's been left out for a while.  And through the shadows, you can make out a form.  It's incredibly thin.  Emaciated.  You realize it's an old woman.  She's trying to push a small bale of hay in front of the hole, but is too exhausted and probably malnourished to do it.  She doesn't smell too clean.

The soldiers seem a little taken aback.  "How did we miss her when we swept the village?"

---

Emrys and Wolfgang, you head out...

Well. At least you didn't botch on the spell rolls.

Before we get to that botch, see the map below.  The X is where the soldiers think the watchers are.  I made a best guess on how you would want to enter the tree line.  Does that look about right?

Thanks

Yes.  Path's fine

Reaching the eaves of the forest, Emrys pauses just a quick second before resuming following Wulfgang under the dark boughs.

00:47, Today: Emrys rolled 5 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Wizard's Sidestep (mastered- obfuscated casting)

In reply to Emrys (msg # 227):

Affare covers his nose and mouth and struggles not to vomit as the stench hits him.  What wretched squallor!  He remains behind Calliope and allows her to take the lead.

She let Affare know that she didn't sense any danger from the woman. Which meant that she really was a hidden, weak, dirty old woman who was in desperate need of a bath, food, and medical attention!

She insistently tugged on Affare's arm and had him escort her to Father Johan, and she told him about the situation and asked him to have some of the guards and medics help retrieve the woman from the building and prepare to give her food and care. Calliope herself would help with the bathing of the old woman.

Having considerable medical knowledge of his own, Affare offers to assist in the old woman’s care.

It takes three of the soldiers to pull the old woman out of there Calliope and Affare.  She kicks and screams and bites (well...gums in her case).  The soldiers are scared she'll hurt herself, so they end up having to knock open a bigger hole in the wall and carry her, a man holding each arm and both her legs, to the church.

Olga seems surprised to see her.  "Granny Edna?  I thought you got eaten."

Granny Edna is too busy kicking and screaming to pay much attention to Olga.  Or anyone else for that matter.  She is covered in filth.  You would guess she's been hiding in a manure pile somewhere.  Which may explain why no one found her.  She seems more than half crazed as she attempts to flail her weak, spindly arms.

Most of what she's saying is nonsense.  Incomplete words and guttural noises.  But you do manage to understand one thing.

"...they'll be back by midnight!  I can hear the horse's hooves!"

---

Ready for that botch Emrys?

Your party makes it to the edge of the wood Emrys and Wulfgang.  The spell with their eyes is working perfectly.  Everything seems more clear in the little moonlight that makes its way through the fog.

You gather your magic and bind it around your image Emrys.  As you finish, an arrow flies right through it, smacking into the tree behind you.

It seems like the watchers have good eyesight too...

The soldiers grunt and start to charge at the position...

charging as well?

Emrys looks back the bath of the arrow for the bowman and sends the staff he was carrying shooting out at them (or an enemy target he can see).  He picks up another sizeable piece of wood for a follow-up.

00:28, Today: Emrys rolled 6 with the Ars Magica stress die.  per/awareness (spot bowman). –
00:26, Today: Emrys rolled 5 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Piercing shaft of wood (+7 MuHe mastered, +10 damage).
00:20, Today: Emrys rolled 3 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Initiative (quickness +0).

I try to calm the old woman down enough to perform a cursory examination.  Can I tell if she has any broken bones or other serious injuries?

Calliope frowned.

"The poor thing has been through so much, and she probably saw and witnessed infernal things that no old god-fearing woman ever ought to." she said to the assembled Crusader forced who were present as well as Affare. Addressing everyone in general, really.

After having travelled with her for such a long time, she could tell the Crusaders were beginning to get used to her Magical Air. They weren't as thoroughly domesticated as the Order of Hermes party was, but it was a huge and pleasant improvement since they first arrived in Riga and she was fending off kidnappers while hiding behind some very confused grogs. They were actually talking to her now, and not trying to lock her inside barns at night and such! She even turned some of them onto olives too! Perhaps she could organize some sort of trade with the Church sometime down the line? You know...after they dealt with the Headless Horseman and demon-tainted wolf-men and such, that is. One thing at a time!

However she still didn't fully understand how her power all worked, but finding a way to dampen or at least work around her aura without damaging or messing up her blessing was a long-term goal of hers. Especially since so far, especially with the Bishop's input behind closed doors, God seemed to be abiding her having her powers too for some reason. Something that made her even more happy to help the Crusaders as well as the Hermes party if she could.

She turned to Affare.

"I will try and help the medics handle her and get her bathed. But that aside, I am going to try and see if there's anything I can do to trigger a greater-prophecy or vision and get us more information. Well, that and scope the village out for more clues. As you've seen by now, my blessing lets helps me notice things even if they aren't premonitions and such. I'm just scared I might figure it all out and with Emrys away, no one is going to believe me because of the damned curse. Well...I suppose that just means I have to be creative if I have to cross that bridge. But the Crusaders should be used to me enough by now to help me. Thank God...literally. Perhaps you, Father Jonhan, and a few Soldiers for an escort can take me around the village more thoroughly, as well as help me re-check the church too. After we clean that poor old granny up first, though. I won't leave another woman in that state, especially an old woman!"

Affare, the old woman doesn't seem to have any serious injuries. But she is starving.  And probably dehydrated.  But more than anything she seems in the throes of lunacy.  You wonder if she might just be a mad, old woman.

She's crying in some odd language, which you think is the local one.  Olga was speaking German, so you could understand her.  But this old woman only seems to know her native tongue.

Do you speak Estonian Affare? Didn't think so.

But as you think about it, the old woman did say something in German earlier.  The soldiers must have been teaching the villagers.  But now...it's just all the local tongue.

Calliope, what do you want to do first?  Look around the village some more?  Or try to see if you can learn anything else from your curse?

---

The shard of wood you send flying Emrys skewers a fellow right in the chest.  You see two other men bolt from his position, heading into the woods.

The soldiers curse and give chase.  One of them goes to secure the watcher you struck.  The other soldiers split, as the two men go in different directions...

It's a chase.  If you want any of the Grogs to follow, I need you to tell me who and whether they are going after Man A or Man B.

Will also need an Athletics/QIK test for whoever you send after them.

Thanks

OOC: Let's look around the village now, as well as more inside the church, since that could potentially trigger visions or lead her to clues with her sonar-like perception. I'm thinking there might be clues as to internalist connections and ties inside the village somewhere, like maybe one family was secretly cultists or spies etc. Or there was other traces of the bad guys left behind we haven't found yet that could potentially give us more information.

The grogs glance at the magus and act when they see his nod.  Wulfgang bends his bow trying to slow down the second man if he has a shot (Man B).  If he doesn't have one he joins the other two in chasing the first man down (Man A).


Wulfgang
03:48, Today: Emrys rolled 3 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Wulfgang Man A or chase (don't see B...qui+ath +0). –

03:47, Today: Emrys rolled 2 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Wulfgang Man B leg bowshot to slow him down (+9 attack, 10 damage).

03:45, Today: Emrys rolled 32 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Wulfgang Man B initiative (long bow -2). –

Leonard
03:44, Today: Emrys rolled 8 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Leonard- Man A Quickness + Athletics (+4). –

Evren
03:43, Today: Emrys rolled 7 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Evren botch?

03:42, Today: Emrys rolled 0 (possible botch) with the Ars Magica stress die.  Evren- Man A Quickness + Athletics (+0).

Emrys moves over to the wounded man with the other soldier as the others go in pursuit.  If the man is reasonably secure he touches him withdrawing his staff from him as it glows faintly with a silvery light as it's pulled out of his body.

The man is still wounded but his wounds seem closed enough that they aren't worsening or gushing blood.

04:08, Today: Emrys rolled 6 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Bind Wound 10 spell (crco 9...anything but a botch).

04:05, Today: Emrys rolled 7 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Initiative (+0).

I see if I can find some water for the old woman.  But if I find some, I make sure she sips it rather than gulping it down.

The old lady tries gulping the water from the canteen you give her Affare.  But you manage to get her to sip.

She blinks at you and mutters, "Kas sa kaevasid hõbeda välja Olfred?"

Olga has wandered up, clutching her blanket around herself.  The little girl listens to the old woman and shakes her head.  "She thinks you're Uncle Olfred.  Her son.  She thinks all the daddies in the village are Uncle Olfred.

"She wants to know if you dug up the silver Mister Affare."

---

Evzen chases, but steps into a small gopher hole, twisting his ankle slightly Evzen will have the Lame flaw for the next couple of days

Leonard thunders forward.  One of the soldiers keeps stride, and the two begin to catch up to Man A.  Man A seems to be a villager of some kind.  And he seems to know these woods.  He dives under a bush, scrambling to come out on the other side of it.

The soldier yells for Leonard to go around the bush and then dives under the bush himself, pursuing Man A directly.

One more Athletic/Qik for Leonard please

Wulfgang lets fly.  The shot doesn't quite strike Man B, but it does graze him.

Man B yells out in pain and staggers.  It's enough that the soldier who was after him is able to tackle him.  The soldier and Man B go down to the ground...

Emrys, you stride up to the wounded man, closing his wound.  The last soldier follows, holding the man down.

The wounded man sucks in his breath, staring at you.  He finally says, "Sa oled siis kurat?"

The soldier frowns and sort of half glances up at you Emrys and then mutters, "I can only speak a bit a' their ramblings.  Ser.  But...he seems to be askin' if you're a devil too."
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:31, Fri 19 Apr.

Leonard circles round the tree tries to get close enough to lay a paw on the man.  It'd be over if he could just grab him.

23:57, Today: Emrys rolled 2 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Wungarr Athletics-Quick (+4.

Leonard, though Leonard is Wungarr sized;-).  Leonard is pretty confident he outmatches the Estonian as a wrestler.  He just has to make sure he doesn't get stabbed.

Emrys shakes his head no as he says, "No."

Speaking clearly as he can and slowly he looks over at the soldier for any signifier he is a crusader (shield device or cross) and puts his hand on it, "I work with the knights."

23:59, Today: Emrys rolled 9 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Emrys Comm +3 -3 (+0). –
This message was last edited by the player at 05:22, Wed 17 Apr.

Evren limps back to Emrys while Wulfgang tries to move up in support of Leonard in case reinforcements show up.

Your man is wily Leonard.  Just as you begin to descend on him, he dodges sideways, managing to stay just out of your grasp...

...and manages to dance right into the grasp of the soldier who's coming up out of the bush.  The soldier snatches the man's ankle and pulls.  The man isn't going down.  Pinwheeling and trying to stay upright.  You can tell he's about to kick down on the soldier's arm and try to dance away.

Make another attack please for Leonard

---

The captured man glares at you Emrys.  "Sa viskasid minust nuia läbi.  Ja sinuga on midagi valesti.  Kuri."

Leonard grabs at the man so he can bring his size and strength to bear.

01:25, Today: Emrys rolled 5 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Leonard- brawl attack +6.
01:24, Today: Emrys rolled 4 with the Ars Magica stress die.  Leonard- Initiative (+1)

11 on brawl

For now, I ignore the old woman’s ravings and continue tending to her.  I ask the little girl if she can help me get the old woman cleaned up, at least a little.

Emrys looks at their obviously unhappy prisoner under the boughs of the forest's edge before speaking to the soldier, "When the others are secure, we'll bring them back to Sir Hovard.  His wound will still need tended to but I'd rather not tarry here any longer than we have to in case the devil worshippers attack."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:46, Fri 19 Apr.

Your man finally goes down Leonard.  The soldier scrambles out of the bush and between the two of you, you get the watcher under control.

The soldier you're speaking to Emrys looks puzzled.  <gray>"Aren't these fellows devil worshippers?"</gran>

Without waiting for an answer though, he turns and starts yelling for the others to get a move on.

You all return to the village.

---

Affare, Olga nods and tries to help, though she's not of much use really.

But by and large, you get Granny cleaner.  Probably cleaner than she's ever been in her life.

She continues to rant and mumble.  Olga glances at you.  "She wants to know if you want some manhavat."

A soldier-medic who's bringing you a bucket of fresh water and some clean rags says, "It's a sweet.  Like a sweet porridge."

Emrys checks with Sir Hovard first, "Don't think these are cultists.  Might be locals who weren't here when the rest were taken."

The magus temporarily turns his attention to two of the three prisoners laying a hand on the one he sent a shaft of wood into.

Calliope yips loudly in surprise suddenly, as she bends down to the dirt, and she yips again and stumbles - seemingly in pain - into the wall of a nearby shack near where the sacrificial goat had been, of all places. In that general area, anyway.

"Oh God! Oh no oh no oh no. Something bad is going to happen, probably tonight! That's right the old woman thought the headless horseman was coming back tonight! And I think she's right! But none of you are going to believe me if I warn you though, because I'm cursed. Cursed I say! Blessed to see things you cannot, and cursed to be impotent about it!" Calliope says loudly, to her soldier escorts, in a bit of a frantic but ultimately controlled sort of panic. Calliope had long learned how to prevent herself from going truly hysterical at times like this, but that didn't mean she still didn't express herself. Lord knows, sometimes she had to.

"Oh Jeez...blood and dirt and fire...no! That's not important. It's the mud and the river! That's the clearer part of the vision! And the hoof of course." she said, aloud to no one in particular and everyone in her escort in particular. she shuddered a bit as she said this. Partially from the vision and partially from a moment of anxiety over if she can "trick" people into believing her or at least get them to follow her orders blindly regardless. It worked before several times, but there was always a risk someone would mess it up. Her included.

The poor crusader soldiers. They had travelled with her long enough now, and known her long enough now, to know that the woman sometimes aided them in the strangest, unnatural but seemingly God-endorsed ways, as she has ore than once helped them notice things, prevent ambushes, and so on in ways that were as strange as Emrys' at times. Yet, she took communion and did morning prayer, and even the Bishop seemed to endorse her when they had departed. So they knew she wasn't infernal or anything like that. But yet...by God was she still weird! Weird and useful and utterly incomprehensible at times, even despite her sharp and keen insights.

A couple of the soldiers went to try and steady her after she fell into the wall, unsure of how they could help or what they could do. Because she was acting crazy, yet also was equally a person of great importance in their expedition, and was relatively understandable when she wasn't prophesizing. They just sighed in stoic silence, doing their escort duty. One of them made the sign of the cross.

"Ugh...Soldiers? I'm sorry...forgive my outburst. This is not going to be a pleasant night. But it's still late afternoon or early evening, so we have time to prepare. Come...please take me back to Father Johan and Affare. I need to see a map of the area, and now!" she said.

OOC: Calliope and the soldier escorts are heading back to the Church area, or the town hall...whatever is being used as our and the Crusaders' "headquarters" while we're here. She tells Johan and Affare that she's had another vision of disaster, but that they shouldn't bother trying to believe her or even asking her about it because they just won't believe her because that's how things worked with her. But instead, she'd demand they and the Crusaders helped her review a map of the area, as well as go over any geographical scouting reports they have. With particular focus on where rivers are relative to the town...

The river symbolism was more clear to her than most of the other parts of the vision, she she's going to start researching with that in mind. Maybe the horseman will appear bear a river bank or something, and if she can figure this out they can prepare an ambush etc is my thinking. But first, she needs to study the local maps and get the crusaders to share scouting reports with her.

You begin to bind the magic around the man's wound Emrys.  But...

...something's not right...


Meanwhile, back at the village.

The soldiers are all giving you odd looks Calliope.  It's the kind of look you get from bystanders who are trying to decide how much of a lunatic you are.

But still you are with the wizard.  So they aren't completely dismissing you. Yet.

One of the soldiers, a young man who's probably been given the duty to babysit the crazy lady and try to calm her down, brings a small, crudely drawn map.

The village sits on the edge of a creek.  You already knew that.  The village itself is set on a small bluff.  And it seems to be completely on higher ground.  So...you don't see how the creek could flood it.

Maybe the vision isn't about this village?  Maybe another one?