By the time Urvan has gotten another toga for Gerroldivus and the boy has managed to put it on, hampered by holding the towel to his nose, the bleeding seems to have stopped.  His nose and eye look even more swollen than before, but he grins and says that he is fine.

The pair walk out through the kitchens to the well near the delivery zone.  (The wells are actually on the map, though not labeled or anything.)  The well gets plenty of use, so it smooth and easy to operate, and there is enough kitchen garbage that no one will even notice a light blood stain on the grass.

After Urvan draws a third bucket of water and helps to scrub the fabric, Gerro opens up.  "I got caught somewhere I shouldn't.  It's my fault, really.  That priest of Hera that stays permanently in the guest wing?  I was bringing him a package from outside, dropped at the front gate.  I got to his room and I heard someone moaning, like they were really sick, and a little bit of a scream.  So I opened the door -- you know, those locks don't work very well, you just kind of push a knife in and...  Anyway, no one was sick.  He was, you know, doing it.  ... with one of the chambermaids.  He was holding his hand over her mouth.  When he saw me, he told me to get out, and punched me.  Really hard."

He looks ready to cry.  "But don't say anything.  He told me if I told anyone he'd get me thrown out in disgrace.  I can't go back home, not yet.  I want to be a knight, and my Da won't ..."  He trails off again, obviously realizing he's said too much, but then can't help himself, "You're from Sparta, you know about fighting and everything.  If I get sent back home, I'll have to be a priest, probably Demeter or some other boring god."
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:50, Mon 14 Mar 2022.

Urvan expects to hear that one of the older boys had punched Gerro, that perhaps something had gone wrong in town, But his alarm grows throughout the telling of the story when he comes to realize that the situation is far, far more serious.

In that hazy an incomplete way that children know of adult things, Urvan recognizes why Gerro had been hit. Where he had come from, between rural people, people could get killed over a man forcing himself on a woman.

But he has little idea of how it works here. Everything seems so different.

He remembers himself and is a little slow to come up with an appropriate reaction for his "character", but he is quite satisfied with the way it sounds. "There is no dishonor in it" he tries to say soothingly. "The Priest is a grown man, and we are children. If you continue with your training and you work hard, you will be able to return the blow some day, with interest, and no Priest will dare to strike you then" he assures his fellow Page.

Inwardly however, he suspects that this is the sort of thing Iwo should be informed of.

That the crime was committed by a Priest of Hera in particular is not lost upon young Urvan, who already owes such a debt of pain, loss and suffering to that particular clergy. Part of his mind even flirts with the idea of killing the Priest, in revenge for his parents and the chamber maid.

But it is a boys fantasy for now, half formed thoughts of blood and cunning ambush.

No, he resolves to tell Iwo, to who he owes so much, when he has an opportunity.

He carefully scrubs the blood from the face of Gerroldivus, and as he does so he decides to try to learn a little more about the boy who is slowly becoming a friend. "Who is your father that he would be so upset? Is he a Knight as well?"
This message was last edited by the player at 00:16, Mon 14 Mar 2022.

Gerro smiles sheepishly.  "No, he wouldn't be that upset.  I mean, he called in some favors to get me here, but he wouldn't be that upset if I got sent home.  My da is a Baron of a nice village in southwest Thessaly.  He just doesn't believe in housing knights; he says we're too small.  When the Duke calls to us for support, Da just sends money, or shipments of grain.  He says it is cheaper in the long run.  But I want to be a Knight!  So I have to start as a page, then I will become a squire for one of the knights of the palace, and then I will perform some heroic deed and be awarded a knighthood."

Urvan feels that he has a better idea of the younger boys situation by the time they head back to their accommodations. Being the first of his family to embark upon the road to Knighthood, and having a Father who seemed more inclined to political or mercantile pursuits would probably make Gerro's path more difficult, but he is still nobility, and still very young.

Getting involved in all this, and being injured, will not help.

After Urvans see's Gerro back to the Page's quarters, and when he finds a good time to slip away, Urvan goes to inform Iwo of what he has learned keeping in mind all the while that he will have to be up early to be at the kitchens, then back in time to do his morning exercises and chores.

I was about to say that it is early afternoon, since I was thinking that you went to the library early on the day after you saw Stilwell.  However, you did say above that you would do so that evening.  Everything else works on that timeline, but it does mean that it is fairly late now, almost midnight.  Also, it means that the pages' quarters will be bustling for another hour or so.  If you're going to slip into the secret passage, you will have to wait until they are all asleep. 

With Gerro settled, Urvan wants to go visit Iwo, but the pages' quarters has too much activity for him to slip into the secret passage.  He lies down and pretends to sleep; he appreciates the meditation discipline he learned from his father because he would truly fall asleep if he hadn't learned it.  Finally it seems quiet enough and he slips into the first secret chamber.  After waiting a few minutes, in case he was observed, he opens the door into the passages and slips through, trying to remember to walk as silently as he can.

Iwo opens the door into his rooms within a second of Urvan tapping on it.  He must have been awake, but he is dressed in a rather ridiculous looking sleeping gown.  It is extremely faded; the boy can barely make out that it originally had a yellow and gray checkerboard pattern.  "What is it?" the spymaster asks, a note of concern in his voice.  He waves Urvan to the table and makes two mugs of tea from a pot that had been sitting at the edge of his fireplace.

Urvan tells Iwo about the priest who assaulted and threatened Gerroldivus.  Iwo nods, but he doesn't look surprised.  "I've know that Gratham was not exactly the most devout priest of Hera, goddess of marriage, but I didn't think he had gone that far, so this is valuable information.  Did Gerro know the girl?  I can get her moved to a different area of the palace.  See if you can find out."

He thinks for a minute.  "I don't suppose you know how to pick a lock?  No?  You said that Gerro picked it, maybe he can do it for you.  What I'd like is for you to make some problem in his room, something that makes him request a move.  You see, I don't have eyes into his room, so if we can get him into a different one, I'll make sure he is somewhere I can keep a watch on him.  How's this?  You and Gerro catch a bunch of rats and let them go in his room.  Leave a little food for them so they don't just run away.  They like grain and sweets, especially.  Don't tell Gerro why you are doing it, just let him assume that the rats are fitting punishment; he'll like that.  And don't get caught!"
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:41, Mon 14 Mar 2022.

As Urvan silently retreats from the chambers of his mentor, he reflects upon the fact that he has inadvertently brought even more work upon himself.

He is expected to be a Page, with all that role entails on the busy Palace grounds. It is true that so far the role has been less physically demanding than his life in the country, but it is all still so new, and is considered an occupation in and of itself.

Then there is his first task from Iwo, which seems to have consumed most of his day, although he feels he has made good progress. Although he does look forward to learning more about combat and in learning more from the Knights training there at the Palace, the thought of working with the huge Apollo dogs is still the most exciting prospect for him at the moment.

And then on top of all that, he now has this newest task of trying to evict the Priest Gratham from his current quarters. His head spins with the prospect of tackling them all at the same time, but he has little choice, and they are all worthy pursuits.

As the boy climbs into bed, absolutely exhausted and with maybe four or so hours before dawn, he knows it will be a very short rest before he will need to be up and away to the kitchens to see what he can learn about the boy from is serving in the Kennels, and what sorts of food they may prepare for the menacing animals.

He is practically asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow.

It's a nice chapter ending if this were a book, but in the game the next post is still yours.  Do you talk to Gerro about the plan before heading to the kitchen?  You've already made a successful stealth roll for your kitchen caper, so go ahead and assume that worked and say a little of what you plan to do there.  Let's assume that the boy from the kennel comes to the kitchen, but he has to wait until the cook is done with the breakfast rush before the food for the dogs is prepared, so he is sitting at a small table there eating biscuits and bacon.  You could approach him or just observe, as you like.

Morning, and as predicted, it feels to Urvan like he has barely closed his eyes before the other boys are up and shuffling around in the dim light getting ready for the day.

Bleary eyed and sluggish at first, Urvan tries to catch Gerro as they are all heading out for the day. "I could barely sleep because of that damned rat...we should try to catch him and move him to that Priests room." he suggested with a wry smile. "Or three or four for good measure, the Gods know we have enough of them around here."

-

Later, in the area of the Kitchens, Urvan finally notes his mark, the Boy from the Kennels and which direction he has come from. A glance to the lightening windows gives him a rough time of his arrival.

Urvan opts for subtlety and remain apart from the boy, watching and waiting from an unfrequented passage with a view to the eating area. After the setback the day before he was not keen on his face becoming well known to either of the Boy or Lady Stilwill yet. In his mind frequency seems to count as much as context, and he see's no reason to expose himself more than is needed just yet. He still wants to find out where the boy sleeps after all.

Urvan hopes to find out just what they feed these dogs, believing after all that he had read the day before that scents with be paramount in  earning the trust of Leila in the coming days.

The kitchen is bustling, getting breakfasts out to all the nobles, including, if the buzz among the pages is to be believed, an important group visiting from Crete who arrived just yesterday.  Urvan sees the kennel boy waiting patiently, with one large bucket and a medium one sitting on the table in front of him.  Finally, the cook turns to the boy and says, "OK, I can make your precious food for your precious dogs."  He adds, muttering, "they eat better than most people do."

He disappears behind a door and comes back with three very large steaks in one hand and a balance scale in the other.  He sets the balance on the table, where the boy puts the weights on one side while the cook expertly chops up the steaks.  Bringing the whole cutting board to the table, he carefully measures out some meat until the scale balances, putting that portion into the smaller bucket and the rest of the meat into the larger one.  He brings over what is left of the morning's porridge and goes through the same process, carefully balancing a portion to the weight that the boy sets on the balance, that portion going into the small bucket and the rest in the large.  The process repeats with some cooked green beans, some chopped up carrots, and finally what is left of the fried potatoes.  The small bucket also gets a measured amount of cheese from the big wheel, and three eggs cracked into it.

The boy thanks the cook and heads out the door.  Urvan follows him a few seconds later, in plenty of time to see the boy head into the kennel.  In an odd circumstance, as Urvan slips silently past the door and around the corner, he startles a rat that runs over his foot and into the pile of kitchen garbage whose odor permeates this entire part of the grounds.

Those dogs eat better than I do Urvan thinks to himself as he sees the generous portions of excellent food being doled out. He imagines that the Apollo's must be very valuable, or very useful to justify such a huge expenditure, and he notes the time, contents and where each item is retrieved from.

That is one major task done for the day. He knows what the Hounds ate, and roughly when, which he figures will prove very valuable as his plan comes together.

He is about the follow the boy out when by happenstance the rat crosses his path. He does not fit jd it particularly odd that a rat would be interested in the Kitchens, or the garbage, but he does take the opportunity to try to find something he can trap it in, and does to set about cornering it so that he can begin the collection of ones meant to be released into the Priests chambers.

Making a snare is a Survival roll that is "trained only."  However, if you make a DC 15 Survival roll, where 'aid another' is available if Gerro is helping (this represents cornering one), followed immediately by a successful attack against AC 15, that's one rat caught.  You can do this for as long as you like, so eventually you'll get as many as you like.  However, the longer it takes, the more likely somebody notices and starts asking questions.  Oh yeah, plus the rats get to attack back, but they only do d2-1 of damage, without the normal minimum of 1, so 0 or 1 points of damage.

Urvan realizes that he has no clue how to make a trap, but supposes that these rats are so fat and slow that he and Gerro should be able to catch a few.

It was chaos for a time.

Two young boys, with all the excitement of the hunt and all the vigor of youth bent towards capturing the rats for their own somewhat juvenile revenge plot. Or what would seem like one to most casual observers.

Rats are fast, and nimble and they have very sharp teeth. And the earthenware jug that had been set aside for refill, a vessel that smelled strongly of wine dregs, had a somewhat narrow mouth.

But the boys had the advantage of coordination, and of the unyielding stone walls that they could use to eventually corner their prey.

Urvan was bit twice, the wounds to his forefinger and the web of his hand bleeding freely before he grew wise enough to use a thick rag as a primitive glove.

But the little colony, for there was never a shortage of rats in the city provided five total before they were interupted by a broad shouldered and somewhat plump woman who looked with dismay on the mess they had made. "Hades boy! What are you about? She demanded, before Gerto also slunk out from where he had been off to the side.

"Sorry mum" Urvan exclaimed, his mind racing to come up with an explanation. "We'll clean up the mess, right away, it's just that we needed bait."

He shot a glance to Gerro. "For the falcons. We're after eggs you see. If you tie up a rat in the field with a bit of bright ribbon, you can follow them back to their nests. Why Brennan said that hawks eggs are worth their weight in silver, so they can be trained up by the huntsmen, or any who fancy them as pets." He explained as he clutched the jug that vibrates somewhat with the movements of the angry rats.

Urvan had actually been thinking about the Apollo's and the various training methods he had read about the day before, but mentioning them seemed too conspicuous. Hawks eggs seemed more plausible to his mind.

Secret Roll: Urvan Kron rolled 15 using 1d20.  Diplomacy.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:52, Sat 19 Mar 2022.

I think that was more of a Bluff check than a Diplomacy one, and it is well done.  I'd give you +2 for the description, but you didn't need it.

"You lads and your schemes.  If I had a silver for every crazy plan to get rich that I've heard from 12-year-old boys, I'd be sipping tea with the Duchess.  You get that garbage cleaned up or I'll have words with Zaan, and your hides will be tanned for sure.  I see you there, Gerroldivus, and I know you're the new boy.  What's your name?"  After he responds, she continues, "You get that cleaned up, I want no garbage past this line, and there will be no problems."  Her tone softens a bit, "I know you're good lads.  Just don't make me regret it.  And you two are going to need clean togas before you get to work.  You stink!"  She walks away, chuckling.

Urvan asks Gerro who that woman is.  He replies, "That's Missus Whaite, head of the chambermaids.  Do you think we have enough?  We'd better get this clean."

Thanks! Great stuff.

Urvan nods eagerly and hops to it at Missus Whaite's request, and when she is gone turns to Gerro with a slight smile of satisfaction that it seems they had remained unsuspected.

"I do." Urvan replies somewhat laconically as he turns and gets to work scrubbing.

Five would be enough he felt, without making it too obvious that someone had planted them. The trash also offered ample bits of food that could be used to keep the rats attention for the next week or so. He was already smeared with the stuff...

"Do you know when his next service is?" He asks Gerro very quietly. "He'll be sure to be out then, and if you can get us back into the room..." He leaves it at that with a knowing expression.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:13, Sun 20 Mar 2022.

Gerro shrugs, "I don't think he does services -- he's only in the guest wing, though he's been there forever.  I don't know when he'd be out.  Maybe the chambermaids would, though.  But this is gonna be good, he's gonna flip when he has all these rats all over his fancy clothes, the jerk."

Urvan finds it very odd that there is a Priest who does not preach, a Priest who lives perpetually in the guest wing, a priest who is theoretically retained with room and board because...

Well that is a good question.

Earthenware jug in hand with the rats scurrying inside, Urvan realizes that in their haste they have neglected to really learn anything about the Priests habits, and that they will need at least five to ten minutes to place the rats and their meals in unobtrusive locations within the room.

The Chambermaids are a good idea however, and there was one in particular that was unlikely to turn them in.

"Do you think you would recognize the girl from before if you saw her again?" He asks Gerro.

"Oh, sure, that was Veronique.  I see her at dinner all the time."  Urvan is impressed with the resiliency of the lad, who seems perfectly cheerful in spite of the still ugly-looking bruise on his face.  "We'd better get to work, though.  I don't want Acutus getting on me, again.  Do you think these rats are going to be ok for a few hours in this jug?  Maybe they need some water.  After we've made at least a show of work, maybe we can meet back at lunch.  I'll keep an eye out for Veronique and let her know what's up."  He strips down to his smallclothes and washes up in the basin, then he slips on a new toga and heads out.

"Perfect, we may not be able to finish him one on one, but this will hopefully be the next best thing." He replies with some eagerness as he also began to clean himself up, noticing that Gerro's beating had not slowed his down very much. He could respect that.

"Oh I think so" Urvan says regarding the rats, not really knowing but guessing that rats were resilient little things.

"You're right about Acurus too...I just got here after all. Want to make a good impression." Urvan finds a good spot to hide the jug for now washes and changes, then follows Gerro is hustling off to attend to his Page duties.

Urvan hides the earthenware jug behind his bed, with the dirty togas draped on it so no one will want to look.  The two go out to put on a show of doing their job, making sure that Acutus sees them scurrying around.  Clearly, Gerro is no stranger to getting away with taking a little unscheduled time off and getting away with it.  It does occur to Urvan that there were never any repercussions for his disappearing into the library for several hours yesterday.  In the course of his work, Urvan gets a few odd looks, and he realizes that maybe he didn't wash up as successfully as he had hoped, but there's nothing to do for it now.

A little after midday, Urvan is returning from carrying a cask of ale up from the cellar when Gerro finds him.  "Come meet Veronique," he calls.  Leading him back towards the kitchen, there is a young woman, 15 or 16 years old, sitting at the staff table eating some bread and cheese.  "Veronique, this is Urvan.  He has the greatest idea for getting back at ..."

Urvan cuts him off with a shush.  "Let's not shout it out to everybody, eh?"  The two boys sit down and each grab a hunk of bread and some cheese, too.  It doesn't seem that they can be overheard, here, as long as they keep their voices down.

Urvan is just reaching the point where he is starting to feel vaguely uncomfortable around pretty girls, but he has not reached a place where he saw the poor Veronique as anything more than the victim of an evil man.

As they enjoy their repast, and he reminds the younger Gerro that this is all strictly secret, he turns to Veronique, his posture hunched over, his voice conspiratorial.

"Rats..." he begins. "We want to put rats in Priest Gratham's room." he lays it out simply, making a point as to not elaborate on why. "But we don't know when he is there, and when he is gone..." he lets that hang in the air and looks at the girl, hoping that she proves willing to expand upon the topic.

"Oh," she growls, "Priest Grantham."  Her eyes acquire a wicked glare as her voice drops a register.  "He's usually out by late afternoon on, so he is.  He only comes back to change if there be somethin' going on, like a fancy supper or somesuch.  T'night be the big dinner with those fancy folk from Crete, so he might be coming back.  I can't be sayin'.  But if you can wait till after the supper starts, I can let you in to his room.  He will be gone then, to be sure."

"Perfect" Urvan replies with conviction. "That should work out just fine then."

He considers that this will limit the time the rats are confined together, and the rotting of the food he had set aside for them. What's more it would hopefully clear his schedule quickly, giving him more time to focus on his Page duties and Iwo's task concerning the hound Leila.

It was not that he did not not also want vengeance for Veronique, and in some small way for his parents, he did. But he was also trying to juggle so much that having one less thing on his plate would be a relief.

"We will try to be around our room then, come dinner time." He adds. It would be risky, and if they were caught they would have hell to pay, but Urvan is excited about the prospect of striking back at Hera's clergy and giving the poor girl some small satisfaction.

Once things are agreed upon, he moves on to spend his afternoon doing his page duties, hoping to get them resolved to free up his time for planting the rats, and potentially seeing if the boy who worked at the stables would be in around the kitchens for dinner. Being able to follow him to his own quarters would cross our one more task on his mental list.

Soon after Urvan gets back to work, he is asked by a member of the Queen's guard to deliver a message to the delegation from Crete.  After a few stumbles, he learns that they are in Guest Suite #3, which is directly above the kitchen.  The suite is large enough that it has its own page station, currently unoccupied, and Urvan realizes that the station is close enough to a window to have a view out over the kennels.

After running the Viscount's reply back to the Queen's guard, leaves a note for Acutus to let the head know where he will be working and returns to the suite.  Although the delegation seems quite popular and has several notes to send, Urvan still manages to spend quite a bit of time observing the kennels and the area around it.

The bustle increases in the suite while the visitors prepare for a supper in their honor.  Urvan has just spotted his prey leaving the kennel and heading east when one of the young women in the group calls out, "Oh boy.  Page boy."  Urvan ignores her at first, eager to see where the boy is headed when she calls out more emphatically.  He walks to her and gives her a polite nod.  "I just can't find any ribbon for my hair that is the color I want.  Do you see this dress?  I'm looking for a yellow that matches this fringe right here.  Surely you could find someone in the palace with ribbon of the color I seek."

I'm going to try to remember to write the time of day at the end of all my notes, because I keep forgetting for the different threads and I have to read back to remember.

Tuesday (Ares' Day):  late afternoon.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:38, Wed 23 Mar 2022.

Urvan is, in truth, a little irritated by the request. He had found such a good vantage point, and his timing had been so fortunate, and now he was being bothered about a ribbon of a particular color.

However, he is ostensibly a Page, and Pages certainly run errands such as this, especially for young women.

Once again, and not for the last time, Urvan's farm borne work ethic and natural humility urges him to simply keep his head down and to do the task asked of him.

"Right away" he dips his head and scampers off, heading after the boy who had walked off to the East to start with, the ribbon having to wait a few minutes if he can manage it.

Will see if he can glimpse where the boy walks off to, and after or failing that, will try to track down that color ribbon with Veronique.

Urvan races out the suite, down the stairs, and through the kitchen.  He spot the boy just as he is stepping into a door at the far end of the nearest of the long barracks-looking buildings.  (At AG-37 http://zag.net/Pathfinder/Ellada/palace.png)

Satisfied that he knows where the boy lives, Urvan turns his attention to the ribbon.  He thought that maybe Veronique could help, but he has no idea where to find her.  Spotting one of the older pages at a page station, he asks advice for the quest.  "Seamstress, I would guess.  She has her own room in the servants' quarters, second one on the right.  But she's probably in the family wing right now, doing adjustments."

Urvan heads to the family wing, where, of course, he is stopped by the guard.  In the past, when he had deliveries to this wing, he just gave the note or package to the guard and has never been allowed inside.