The old man nods a greeting to each as he says..."I am Pelles, the Lord has told me of your coming in my dreams...please come in."

He goes to a small cupboard and produces several cups and grabs up his small teakettle and begins pouring..."Mushroom broth...you'll accept my hospitality yes?"

PM

In response, Balthazar says to the party, "You know, I'm a little freaked out that the Lord has taken notice of us.  Somehow, I just thought ... well apparently we have a destiny folks."  It's rare to see on Balthazar's face, but he is suddenly very serious and thoughtful.



Balthazar laughs, "Actually ... not yet.  I think we need to establish the situation.  We seek the Holy Grail.  Who are you, and what is your role?"

The old man smiles...I know what you seek! You are not the first but hopefully you are the last. As for who I am, I told you my name was Pelles...some have called me the Fisher King but I have given up fishing in the river many years ago when I left my home. As for the Grail, part of it is with me always but that part is intangible.The physical Grail was stolen centuries ago my followers of the Mad Arab. I may be able to lead you to it."

Loukas finally breaks his silence, "The 'Mad Arab', you say? Can you tell us about him? How could an artifact like the Grail be stolen?"

Pelles looks sad for a moment then explains..."It was stolen by the followers of Abdul Alhazred the Mad Arab...they were very powerful. I could not stop them...but this was long ago. They needed the Grail to revive the Mad Arab."

OOC: Awesome!

Balthazar sighs, "No common courtesy these days, that's the problem.  After they revived ol' Abdul, they could have returned it, but nooooo.  Well, we will certainly partake of your hospitality now." Over food, Balthazar asks for more information about where this Mad Arab and his clan might now reside.

"Why would they return it?" asked A'kos.  "It is a Christian relic, and my understanding is that the Arabs do not view the Christ in the same divine light.  Better, to them at least, that they should keep it from the church in Rome."

Yves accepts Pelles's soup and listens to Pelles's response to Balthazar's and A'kos's questions.

Balthazar enjoys his stew for a bit and adds, "Sir Jean would have loved our next mission.  Because we're stealing it back!"

A'kos laughs.

"Roderychus as well, my friend!" he said.  "The two would likely be foaming like wild dogs to retrieve the artifact."

Pelles shakes his head and laughs lightly...
"The grail is no Christian relic like the stories have told. It is old, older than Christ. It is one of the four treasures that fell from the heavens onto the Scythian planes centuries ago. It was brought through the Holy Land where Christ himself drank from it and into Britain by the early migrating tribes. It is the cauldron of Bran from the Welsh stories. The Christian church has claimed it for it's own but I know the true history of it."

Balthazar perks up in attention.  "4 treasures from the heavens ... cauldron of Bran ... ancient artifact ... this is awesome, Pelles!  Tell me more.  What were these 4 treasures?  Who was Bran?  What do you know of the whereabouts of the other 3 artifacts?"

Balthazar turns to the party, "I was planning on us going after Excalibur next, but these artifacts might trump that.  Still, Excalibur may help us succeed at obtaining them, and I would love to see A'kos wield it."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:54, Fri 17 Jan 2014.

Lukas takes a sip of his soup and asks, "Perhaps we ought to focus on one quest at a time?"

"The Falcon would wish to wield such a blade," counters A'kos heartily, his grin wide.

Pelles smiles at the question..."The four objects are a plow, a yoke, and axe and the bowl. ALl golden and of greatest maic. I know nothing of the other three. I can only assume they are lost to history but the bowl is likely in Damascus or better said in a hidden City of Pillars under Damascus with the Mad Arab himself."

"Damascus? We shall need the Heart of Oak after all!  What can you tell us about the Mad Arab and his followers?  If he stole the Grail from you he must be clever in his madness, but what else do you know of him to help us return it back to you?"

Thorn also takes a bowl of hospitality and listens eagerly to the tales being told and legends spun - just what a bard is made for!

Pelles stands and says, "Yes, Damascus and there is no better time to head south than right this moment."

He heads over to a chest and pulls out a leather pack and begins loading up his meager possessions getting ready to leave.

He looks at the others and says..."He will be waiting for us no doubt."

Bemused at the sudden change in the man, A'kos said, "Now?  We've only just arrived.  How do you propose to travel?  Night draws nigh, and we've been traveling some time."

Loukas was also surprised by Pelles's joining them. Given the man's legendary stature he rises, "I hated my father and always suspected he was talking about himself when he said that one must respect one's elders. Now I think I understand what he was saying."

Turning to their host, "If it is important that we go now, we will, but The Falcon makes a good point, Master. Traveling at night is unwise unless you have some means to aid our travel."

Balthazar is wolfing down his soup and the look on his face says it all - comfort first, quest second.

Finnegan laughs at seeing the elder Pelles get up and get ready to leave.  With a broad smile he adjusts his pack and says, "I'm ready, as always!"

Pelles smiles at both the Magyar and the monk and reaches into his vest. A moment later he produces a number of small white feathers..."Just get me to the river (less than a mile away) and we can be on our way. These wonderous feathers will help us!"

A'kos casts a befuddled frown at Balthazar, and shrugs.

"Surely some magecraft in the works.  I, for one, cannot see how feathers might help us."