With little discussion, the women turn their horses east toward the village. The men, being men, follow the women, though Taglio looks askance at leaving the trail south behind. The rain, however, is quite discomfiting to all concerned, and no one can say they won't like to rest beneath a solid roof and have a warm meal once again.
Within a couple of hours, as the sun disappears and night falls, the group comes upon the stone bridge across the rivulet and enters Sukiskayn. To both Taglio and Rhees, it appears to be under construction, as there are the foundations of a building on the north side and an obviously newly fashioned wooden barricade leading from it on both sides. The southern building, separate from the main hall, looks to have been reinforced from some sort of burn damage. Many heavy logs lie about, partially covered by what looks like very crude clothing, much of it with bloodstains upon it. A yell is heard from what appears to be some sort of observation tower above the main settlement, and within minutes a group of men and women of similar Eastern European ancestry come rushing out to meet you all.
"It looks to have withstood a siege, friend Celt, Si. I guess that the villagers we rescued must have been captured from here. Ah, the cooking fires look inviting it has been a week since I had a decent meal and bed," Tag squirms and moves his shoulder trying to free its stiffness.
They seem clearly overjoyed to see all the prisoners, and you note that Petr looks excitedly about before his joyous face turns to a frown. His wife Darya, though, seems to have found a good friend of hers. Overhearing their conversation, those of you that were present at the initial siege (about half of you, I believe) are led to believe that the woman she is speaking to is the one that she believed the goblins held hostage, leading many of you into an ambush in the woods. That long night, less than a week ago, now seems ancient history. Many of your companions from that time have departed, one way or another, and several of you take a brief moment to think about the whereabouts of Krige, the elven ranger, angry, and with some prejudice toward humans, the soft-spoken Urak-gor, Urkish priest who turned so much of what you though you knew upside down, Matteo, smooth Italian Squire, Marika, amazing prodigy of Athena, and poor Sam, whose body even now rests in the graveyard at this very home.
While everyone is busy getting the freed villagers inside, Rhune takes her horse over to the stables and proceeds to care for him. She speaks to him in elvish and Arabic, "Silverstar. You are a very well behaved horse. Thank you," she murmurs to him as she brushes his silver/gray coat to a shine.
Dakath seeks out Petr and asks him if they have encountered any more trouble since they left. He also points out that there seem to be a lot of those Bat-like creatures, they encountered previously, around the area.
Petr responds that several times, those in the observation tower have reported dark shadows in the trees, but never anything identified for certain. The clan has been very vigilant.
With all this talk of bats, Rhees becomes more than a little curious. He approaches Rhune, "Pardonnez-moi, chere demoiselle
She smiles at him, "The bats that we are worried about we have run into before. The first night we came here there were several tribes of goblins attacking. We managed to beat back some of them and gain entrance to this building. We fought more and managed to kill a number of them before they retreated. However, several bats attacked us a little while later," she says in reply.
Wishing those from the original group that may or may not still live well, the group proceeds into the home, now crowded with people. The woman of the house, now aided by several newcomers, begin setting up dozens of cots throughout the main hall. Gregor's men relocate themselves to the southern building, now much repaired from the goblin attack. The group is honored greatly for rescuing these people, several of whom are considered kin to the Sukiskayn clan, and Petr congratulates you, but the look on his face shows you how disappointed he is to not see his brother among them. The horses are added to those recovered from Fyodorll, and the stable is now quite full.
Before resting, the party hears many ambitious plans about restoring the neighboring settlements. Gregor is very happy to see that three more men from his camp were among the score rescued, more than he thought survived, and he is first among them to begin drawing up a plan to rebuild his logging camp. First, however, the ex-villagers all vow to reconstruct Sukiskayn in thanks for the housing and meals Petr's folk provide. You note from the fresh meat (a full boar!) that the men have been doing quite a bit of hunting lately as well, and thus have enough food to ration out to all the people, though probably not for very long. Those paying attention note that the stores in the tower basement are already being taxed.
Rhune listens to the plans as she attacks the fresh meat and other goodies provided. Seeing that their stores are heavily taxed though she does not eat very much.
Those rescued from the slavers can be seen all through the night celebrating that the group left them all the money in the camp, which they have given over to Petr to compensate him for taking care of them.
Despite the festivities and good feelings flowing everywhere, Rhees seems uncomfortable - he scans crowds and peers cautiously at shadows. More than once he is easily startled by crowd noises. Once again, he appears more like the man you met, timid and uncertain, he avoids meeting people's eyes.
Augustus moves over to Rhees, "I know how you feel...in a way," He says quietly, "They all looked at me the way that you did when you first saw me, but I sense that you are not accustomed to be surrounded by large groups of people?."
Rhees nods in appreciation, "I do not wish to take pleasure in hearing of your discomfort; but, I have had less than pleasant encounters with Catolik knights. They are not fond of the wilds, but I worry about running into them whenever I'm in a settlement. But I gather you have your own differences with representatives of the church. Tell me, have they labeled you a heretic? Is there a schism amongst the followers of Jerbohah? Do..." Rhees catches himself peppering the brother with questions, he pauses to let Augustus respond.
"To my knowledge, the church does not even know that I am missing, for I left under dark of night through long forgotten passages in the Church's central library. Although, they are certain to discover my absence, I know not what they would do about it...as for a division within the brethren of the church, I know nothing..," Augustus replies.
Dakath takes this small lull in their quest to enjoy the comfort of having a roof over his head and a hot meal. Still feeling the loss of Leslie and how futile his death seems to him he finds himself seeking the company of Xania.
He carries two plates of food over to were she sits. "May I?" he indicates the place next to her.
Xania looks at Dakath almost appraisingly.
He sits down next to her and offers her one of the plates. "I know, you're going to tell me how you're not hungry, but believe me this may be the last warm meal we get for a long time to come."
He waits, expecting a chilling and biting quip from her as is usually the case when he acts concerned about her well-being.
Xania takes the plate of food from Dakath absently, looking at him quizzically. "I do not understand why you are so patient with me."
Dakath grins "Didn't you know ? Patient...."
"What do you want?," she asks suddenly.
He looks at her for a moment "What do I want?" he leans down on his elbow "Look around you, see how all our companions are developing friendships, some more intimate than others," he indicates Rhune and Asif. "A bond is developing amongst us, I am sure even you can see that. Why am I so patient?? Because I have a keen eye and miss nothing, at times I have briefly glimpsed the real person you hide from others, it's these rare glimpses that hold my patience."
Xania frowns.
Dakath moves closer to her "There are other things that I want but I'm not going to broadcast them to the world, Xania," he smiles at her.
Xania nods. "Ok, I can see that. But you are not completely as I expect you to be," she looks at him almost accusingly.
Dakath frowns unsure as to what she means "And how would you like me to be?" he asks her.
"I cannot always predict your actions," she wrinkles her brow. "You should be more predictable."
He takes a piece of meat from her plate. "So what do I want?? To be someone you can confide and trust in," he grins before eating the meat "Well as far as you can confide and trust a thief anyway."
Xania looks confused. She doesn't even notice him taking part of the food he just brought her and eats absently as she listens to him.
After displaying a rare glance of his inner self, the mask of the bon vivant returns, "And anytime you wish to come for a walk in the woods with me again, please don't hesitate to ask," he chuckles to himself.
"Hrmph. I could have sworn you asked me to walk in the woods," Xania replies. "That's what I thought you wanted," she looks a bit smug.
Dakath grins at her "That I did.....that I do and the next opportunity I get I will be sure to ask again, I find your company....intoxicating." He looks into her eyes for a moment before smiling warmly at her, "Well, we'd better get some sleep."
Xania grins suddenly. "Yes, I suppose one must sleep ... sometime."
Dakath grins back at her and lies down next to her, watching her face as he leans against his pack. "Goodnight Xania, sweet dreams."
Xania, oddly comforted by the rogue, finds sleep much easier than she expected. Just as she drifts off, her eyes flicker to his for just a moment, and slight, but real smile crosses her face.
More importantly, Mother Kuzma comes out of her tower some time later, obviously prepared for the group's request. She brings Taglio upstairs, telling Forte to wait in the gallery until she is done. Within moments, she has restored Tag's mental state to his physical one, and he is quite amazed to have been thus healed by first a barbarian, and then by a pagan!
"Grazie, mother I am indebted to you," Tag takes in the surroundings and strange potions, salves and pagan artifacts. "Which gods must I thank for this boon? It seems I am part of more than one miracle today."
"That need not concern you. Only concern yourself that I have treated you as one of my faith, and thus deserve to be treated similarly," Her tone does not appear particularly friendly.
Shaking his head in wonder as the old woman shoos him out the door, he calls Forte in to have his injury treated. With similar amazing speed, she magics his still open wound, and it closes miraculously, leaving not a trace. She pats him on the head, "Survived such a wound, more than I expected from you," she clucks at him as she shoos him out the door as well.
"Thank you, kind mother," Forte manages to offer in gratitude, turning his head briefly to look at her over his shoulder as she shoos him out.
Downstairs, Irina (Petr's daughter) notes the injuries sustained by the others in the group, most notably Augustus' hastily patched one, and she begins to chant and casts a healing spell also. Augustus marvels at the power of the acolyte, as his injury disappears completely, as if it had never been.
"Not to sound ungrateful, Mistress Irina..," Augustus examines his face in a small metal mirror. "For I truly appreciate your attention...but, would it be impolite to ask which God bestows this gift of healing to you?"
"The goddess whose good will my grandmother brought from her northern home, Idun," she seems a bit intimidated that the man has spoken to her, though she adds, "Perhaps not the overwhelming spirit that you follow, but she has stood by my side, and saved us all during that horrible night." Gathering her spirits, "In fact, Grandmother said that it was Idun who brought your friends to us, though obviously she has no influence over you," she mumbles with a smile. "Perhaps that is why you did not arrive with the others the first time?" She then dashes off as if she has said something improper.
The young priest continues to marvel at the way the wound vanished completely, then seeming to remember something, he asks, "Oh, I nearly forgot...would it be possible to secure from you the necessary supplies for my healer's bag? I depleted it from the last melee we were involved in."
However, he is speaking into the thin air, as the girl has moved off quickly. He remembers to ask for this again later.
Dakath and Rhune's relatively minor injuries are left untended as they had been relatively well taken care of by Augustus earlier, and the grandmother and her apprentice then begin the laborious process of tending all the injured ex-slaves. She notes with a half-smile that the Priest did "a halfway decent job," taking care of them, but nonetheless rebandages them and uses her own herbs and salves on even the slightest injuries.
Suddenly, a loud noise is heard outside, and Taras' (Petr's elder son) is heard to shout, "Someone's stealing the horses!," Looking outside through one of the windows or rushing out into the clearing, the group can see that a very large horse has managed to free all the horses that you all rescued from the slavers, and he is now leading them across the bridge. Remembering that he did not follow you across the ferry, you briefly wonder how he got here so fast, but must act even faster to keep Taras from leading an attack party after him. Interestingly enough, none of Petr's clan's horses nor the white horses, nor the party's horses, are moving about at all. They simply sit grazing while the others escape.
At the sound of the commotion Dakath swears "How I miss the easy life I once had!!" he shakes his head rising to his feet to move swiftly into the doorway. He blocks those trying to get outside and shouts above the rising commotion "Wait!! Stop!! The horses are not being stolen, merely returned to the wild. Let them be. If it wasn't for those horses your loved ones would still be in slavery. This is the price for their freedom."
The household members, particularly Taras, do not seem particularly pleased with the notion, but are not about to argue with all of you. Taras shakes his head as the horses run off into the wild.
That done, the group decides to take a chance and rest for the night, hoping to recoup some of their strength and set out again tomorrow morning to the south, continuing the search for Stephan. The rain that continues to beat down upon the settlement promises to make the journey equally as miserable as all the last few days have been. Finding space where you may among all the sleepers, the group manages to find a bit of rest.
Once the excitement has settled Tag finds a quiet spot to practice his lute, marveling at how the nimbleness in his fingers has returned. He then sees to Beatrice and takes her a carrot (or other suitable treat). His spirits bolstered he enjoys the meal offered by the grateful villagers, and finds a sleeping pallet with the others. Before going to bed however, he reaches into his pack and pulls out a large object wrapped in linen and goes over to Xania.
"Mistress Xania, may I talk with you a moment? I wonder if I might ask you a favor?," He sits down next to her and unwraps the object. It is an ancient tome. A leather and brass bound volume of vellum, it is worn and scratched and on its cover is a symbol of a staff with a shining light at the head, the name "Barley Nimblehands," is on the cover in brass letters. "A friend....bequeathed this to me," he says. "I have tried to read it, but most of the symbols are strange to me. It is of the ancient arts though I am sure. I know a few of the runes from the reading I have done. This is qestia is it not, for casting illusions, si? I am sure I could learn some of the art with a little help. Will you teach me?" Tag gives the beautiful sorceress a pleading look.
Xania looks at Tag warily as he approaches. Clearly she is in a less than hospitable mood. As he pulls out the book, her attention leaves him completely, other than superficially. She takes the book almost reverently and looks at the cover:
"Have you opened it? Is it magically warded in any way?."
Finally hearing his question she looks at him appraisingly. "I am not a good teacher. I am impatient and oftimes have been called rude. If you will give me access to any spells within, I will attempt to teach you," she hands the book reluctantly back to him, clearly expecting him to not wish her to teach him.
Tag looks at Xania and smiles a cheeky grin, his eyes with a twinkle of mischief. "No the tome is not warded, at least to me, I have pored over its contents for some time already, though I cannot decipher most of it. It would be my pleasure to share its knowledge with you," He pauses and looks more intently into the Sorceress' dark eyes. "Not only that Ice Princess, but if you will consent to teach me, I will compose a ballad to those beautiful eyes of yours, so full of fire. And if I get burnt while being your pupil, so much the better, for knowledge hard won is kept more preciously."
Xania raises one eyebrow at Tag.
He turns toward the book and his tone becomes more matter of fact. "My friend Barley I don't think was a powerful mage, but he was able to scare away some goblins with a spell which made a very loud noise, like a thunderclap, but had no real destructive power. I would enjoy learning that I think."
"The next time we have some rest, bring the book to me, perhaps in the evening. Then I will try and study it and see if I can find that spell. Have you learned other spells?" Xania asks.
"Sure Xania, I'll bring it to you," Tag looks a bit flustered at his usual charms having so little effect. "Err... No... that is my former master Lino could make candles come alight with the flick of his wrist, make inanimate objects move and close doors, etc. He taught me the moves, he seemed to think I had the talent, but somehow things just never clicked for me. He said I needed just a little more worldly experience. Ha! Maybe the last few months would satisfy him."
"Worldly?" Xania asks, smiling at him suddenly with a wicked look in her eyes. "Seems to me you have plenty of that."
Tag takes the book back reverently and re-wraps it in its cover. "'Til later then."
"I look forward to it. I hope you can survive my poor skills as teacher," Xania replies.
When resting Dakath tries to engage Xania in conversation again, but does not have an opportunity.
Once again, Rhune picks a spot near Asif to sleep. And once again those who are on watch will notice that though she starts out several inches away the space decreases over night.
As Augustus makes the rounds on his watch, he smiles at the two young lovers nestled together like spoons in a drawer. He tries to make no sound as he moves on. Pondering on the vow of celibacy he has taken, he remembers the scripture about the bridegroom...and the controversy that erupted at the suggestion that the Savior might have been just that bridegroom, and that it was His wedding. He shakes his head at the thought of such foolish nonsense.
The morning dawns with no apparent change in the weather. The party, feeling in excellent condition, returns to the hunt, hoping that there is still hope to find Stephan after all this time.
Dakath gazes out of the window after a restful sleep "There's a surprise!! It's raining." He throws up his arms and turns to get ready to pack.