Both A'kos and Loukas are too late to get any damage into Solovei before he escapes.

When Jean speaks, Vladimir looks sadly at his fathers body still laid out on it's slab, unaffected by the happenings in the room. For a moment he looks very much like the near child he still is. His father dead, as is his mother. One brother left alive who surely wants to kill him. His only close relative left is the regent, Dobrynya miles away in Khorsun.

He looks up to find the face of Ilya, smiling at him...that was a good sign. Ilya was the best of the boyars and his approval would go a long way.

From outside a strong wind can be heard if not felt a little through the open windows of the palace. A scraping sound of stone on stone can be heard from above. A second or two later standing in the large open window, upon the deep sill stands the Baba Yaga. In her hand she holds two small clay pots. What may pass for a smile is on her face...she glances once at Yaro and for sure it is now a smile.

"Are you here to torment us some more with your wiles, woman, or are you here to help?" asks A'kos through gritted teeth.

In reply to A'kos, the Falcon (msg #80):

Loukas's frustration is palpable as the Nightengale escapes. At the same time his erstwhile strike inspired his badly wounded body to remind him that it may well be for the better. He was taking a breath and re-centering himself when he heard A'Kos's words and turned to notice the Baba Yaga. The was she looked at Yaro was discomfitting, albeit not as much as it likely is for his friend, but he does not speak. Doubtless she would be demanding compensation of some sort from Vldimir, he wondered whether they would need to take steps to protect him from her...

Balthazar is about to say something witty to his captured opponent, when Baba Yaga shows up.  Reflexively, Balthazar switches all of the defender's power to defense and awaits her word.

The hag smiles again when she sees everyone going on the defensive..."No need for all that. I am here as a friend to the young Prince."

She steps down from the window and into the room saying to Vladimir..."It is not yet your time Prince."

She approaches the slab where the Knyaz has been laid. Taking one of the containers she drips a few drops of what looks to be water onto the dead mans lips..."The water of death." she says quietly.

The color of the dead man changes form a gray to a vibrant living color but he does not breath. She takes the second container and lets a few drops fall from it onto Sviatoslav's lips..."The water of life." She looks again at Vladimir and says..."Just as  I did with you."

Sviatoslav takes a deep breath and sits up violently only to fall back on his elbows. His bleary eyes scans the room. He sees his heroes, new and old plus the Baba Yaga and most importantly, his son Vladimir.

"Vladimir! You are alive and here before me of are we all in the land of the dead?"

The young prince bows his head to the hag then rushes to his fathers side..."No father, we are here in Kiev, alive but there is much that you need to know."

He looks ate the others in the room and first says to Ilya...Please, see to the captives now. I will need to talk to my father alone."

To his rescuers..."You have done more than it is possible to thank you for. Please follow Ilya out and he will see that the palace staff takes care of you. Rest, bath and later we shall feast in honor of the Knyaz."

He turns to speak to the Baba Yaga but she is gone. No one saw her leave but she is gone. A second later you can hear the scraping of stone on stone from the roof.

The birdman's escape still rankles A'kos.  Angrily he cleans off his sword upon the cloak of one of the dead, then slams it home into its scabbard.  Frowning in concentration he touches his hand over one of his several wounds; amazingly the flow of blood is staunched, and the wound, though not fully closed, still looks much less severe than before.

After listening to the boy's request, he finds Ilya and says, "I'll need some healing, and a long, hot bath."

Turning he grins lasciviously then and asks, "Are you coming, Jaleh?"

When the Baba Yaga drips the waters upon the Knyaz Loukas stands quietly taking the scene in... It is all so peculiar, so fabulous... So... Rus. He is filled with a sense of pride. He's not sure why exactly, after all what has occurred in the past few months was not only convoluted, but rather perverse in its own way; nevertheless, that Sviatoslav and Vladimir live despite everything that has occurred is not merely a relief. It's just weird.

There is something in this weirdness that he finds invigorating despite his deeply damaged body. After Sir Jean's shouts and when the High Prince speaks he goes to one knee and bows his head in respect to father and son and in a tenor voice begins to sing a peculiar song that a follower of the Rus gods will know is a koan to Veles. Veles the supernatural force of earth, waters and the underworld, who is associated with dragons, cattle, magic, musicians, wealth and trickery...

In a nutshell, everything that has occurred here seems touched by the Bearded God. They defeated a Lord of Elemental Air (Take that Perun!), were challenged by magical creatures and tricks, enabled the Knyaz to be brought back from the underworld by the great witch... Actually, come to think of it from what he can tell (and he hardly knows the whole tale) everything that has occurred seems wrapped in trick after trick after trick... Masterfully and artfully done, he thinks laughing to himself as he sings.

Finishing he stands and bows once more before turning to join his friends. They have earned some relaxation. There is greater pride in his step than there had been before, but despite that there is a marked humility on his face.

If I needed proof, I have received it. Now that I have received it I can not help but sense his eyes upon me. It is time to grow a beard, I think. I better practice the singing too...
This message was last edited by the player at 14:51, Sun 21 Oct 2012.

Sir Jean grinned and spoke quietly with some irony, "Sviatoslav, Knyaz of the Rus is dead! Long live Sviatoslav, Knyaz of the Rus!". There was great relief but none of the challenge that had been in his tone last time he had spoken in a similar way.

"Truly the Almighty works in mysterious ways."

He cleaned Coffin Nail carefully, slapped the wounded Miroslav on the shoulder, and then followed the others from the room.

(Drat, looks like my post from the commuter train yesterday didn't make it.  Oh well.)

You are all ushered to see the large number of clerics and healers already gathered in the palace. The combination of divine and mundane healing has you all feeling much better in just a few hours. A few of you, Miroslav, Jean an A'kos are still a little worse for wear but all the healing that could be expected has been done and there is still some natural wait time before all of it kicks fully in.

A few days pass and finally things are returning to normal in Kiev. But this time there is a renewed sense of hope.

The Knyaz has called you all, in your finest garb,to assemble with him on a hill in the very heights of the city. When you arrive you see hundred of people have already gathered...they all watch the waiting Knyaz with great anticipation. Young Vladimir stands by his fathers side and all the major boyars of Kiev also are in attendance.

Sviatoslav turns to the crowd and raises his arms shouting..."People of the Rus, I yet live! As does my son Vladimir!"

He lowers his hands and continues on n a lower voice..."As a symbol to represent our new beginning, we have erected this temple!"

He gestures and shrounds are removed from six statues on the hill representing a handful of the Rus gods: Khors, Dazhbog, Stribog, Simargl, Moskosh and the largest, Perun. Before each statue is an altar, some already heaped with gifts and sacrifices.

He sees the forming look on Loukas's face and says loudly..."The statue of Veles has been placed in the market, as was suggested by the clerics of Veles."

The Knyaz then turns toward the party..."To the heroes who found Vladimir and saved my life, I give to you the symbol of the Gods of the Rus." The crowd goes crazy as the Knyaz steps forward and begins placing ornate amulets around the necks of the party. These are large circles with a double eagle of solid gold in the center. Jewels encrust the outer circle and the eyes of the eagles. Later you will find out that each of these amulets has a worth of roughly 5000 gp

"These amulets are my own personal crest. Where these when in the land of the Rus and you will be known as favored by the Knyaz. You will want for nothing."

Jean stood, straight as a rod and resplendent in his finest armor and clothing, and proudly received the award from the Knyaz.

"An honor your Majesty."

Stepping back he bowed his head slightly and crossed himself.

Before too much time has passed - so the next day after the battle - Balthazar wished to use locate object to see if he could track down some of the badguys that got away.  He asks Viktor if any of them wear something that would uniquely identify them.  Then Balthazar would use that as the focus of the spell as he flies around the city.

Assuming that does not bear fruit, we can return to the present ceremony.  Balthazar is deeply flattered.  "Thank you, Sviatoslav.  This means a lot to me."  After the ceremony, he uses the amulet to try to get access to all the spellbooks the city has to offer.  Time to acquire some new spells!

After the battle Loukas quickly recovered from his wounds thanks to divine healing and meditation, which he gained by excusing himself from his friends and going to the Temple of Veles. In the days that followed he meditated and consulted with the priests and then explored Kiev. This was his mother's birthplace, and although he no longer has family here that he knows of he still feels a profound sense of homecoming. No doubt that sense of homecoming was heightened by the even more greatly profound sense of calling he has gained from these latest adventures. During his tour of the city he looks for a tailor. Not only because he traveled lightly and his clothing has taken rather a beating in the past several weeks, but he feels as if his outward appearance ought to begin to reflect what is going on inside himself. When they are finally summoned to the Knyaz he appears in black robes of the finest quality wool with gray threads woven into intricate patterns throughout it. There are black leather belts tightening the robe around his upper and lower torso that permit him to move with ease despite the luxuriousness of the cloth. There are patterns woven throughout the robe that seem to change depending upon the light he stands in and his movements. Additionally he has several days growth on his chin that is finally beginning to actually look beard-like.

The ceremony was humbling, though it was a bit embarrassing when Sviatoslav caught his apprehension at Veles's lack amongst the gods at his shrine. Embarrassing, because Loukas has always assumed he was subtler, cooler than that. As if he needs more evidence he isn't... Well, at least I know that the Knyaz is paying attention to me... What would father say?

When the Knyaz places the amulet around his throat, Loukas bows his head, and glances up looking Sviatoslav in the eye, with a wry glint, whispers something  before bowing obeisance again.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:38, Fri 15 Apr 2011.

A'kos shows up in a dark blue gambeson; those among the companions note is as the garment won by Jaleh in the contest of throwing knives vs. axes.

He nods brusquely to the king as he receives his reward and murmurs, "Many thanks."

In all he spends a great deal of time observing events and wondering what next was in store for him.

Dyanna bows her head as the Knyaz places the amulet around her neck. She looks up at him and smiles saying "It is an honor your highness." She then looks at Vladimir and offers a small smile.

Yaro arrives with the others at the ceremony but hangs back. He realizes that he was a newcomer to this venture. He will gladly accept offered rewards but does not have the audacity to approach his Prince and request them.

Sviatoslav motions for Yaro to step forward. He hangs a smaller but still impressive amulet from the youths neck..."For your assistance." he does the same for Ciuvi.

Cuivi hobbles to the Knyaz, his demeanour towards the older ruler is clearly one of guarded respect in contrast to his earlier judgment on the young prince.

No sooner is the amulet around the neck of the old man and courteous thanks given, than the audacious trophy disappears amongst layers of hide and fur. A humble, stooped beggarly old man is all that the world sees.

Once the ceremony of the amulets is complete (please add the amulets to your inventory. The lesser amulets are worth 3000gps) Sviatoslav stands in the center of the statues, near the statue of Perun the great thunder god of the Slavs.

A high level Cleric named Gleb steps forward and says..."Each of these statues have been blessed and offer something beneficial for each of you. I would ask each of you to stand before a statue of your choosing to receive a divine blessing and gift. I understand that some of you may be Christian and this would go against your ways...there will be no insult if you choose not to accept."

The statues (all carved in wood):
Perun - the largest central statue, a large warrior holding an axe and a bow and arrow
Mokosh -  a regal but old woman spinning yarn
Stribog - a warrior whipped by unseen winds
Dazhbog - a warrior on a chariot
Khors - A man whose head looks like the sun
Simargl -  a winged dog
Veles - a wooly old man (located in the market)

Gleb motions to the statues and says..."I would be happy to answer any questions.

Loukas nods when Father Gleb makes his offer and smiles acceptance. He has no questions. Knowing enough about the Rus gods and to whom he feels a certain connection he does not stay around to ask or listen to whatever exchange will occur. Rather, he respectfully bows to the High Priest, and steps away from the group to head into the market.

A'kos studies the statue of Stribog; the sculpture of the warrior embraced in the grip of unseen winds strikes his particular fancy.  He comes forward; once beside it, he crans his neck and looks up to study the beings face.

"The four winds strike at you, yet you remain firm," he murmurs in fascination.

Not religious, nor irreligious either, suddenly he descends to bended knee.  Crossing forearms and resting them there he bows his head in silent supplication and offers thanks.

Dyanna goes before the statue of the spinning woman and hangs her head in respect.