"But Akitos told us that most people were specifically told NOT to pursue us," states Forte. "What if we're doing something that will help the Bishop. If there's something important that we find in Death's Head country or Threshold or wherever, the Bishop may be waiting for us to do the hard work. Then, he'll send everything he's got after us to retrieve it." The warrior turns to Rhune. "He wants that blue tube. But he doesn't want you killed. Why? Maybe he can't open the tube, either. But someone - or some *thing* - can. And maybe the answer to that is in the mountains past Threshold." He slaps his large hand down on the table. "Damn! There are just too many 'maybe's and 'if's!"
"Life is Maybe's and If's Forte. We just have to learn to live with the fog of knowledge that life spreads across our eyes. Maybe we can control the amount of unknowns by shaping the situation to our benefit. who knows??" Arkady interjects.
"I agree. As to why he does not want me dead, I have no clue. Perhaps that whatever is in the tube is something that only and elf can wield, or decipher." she says finishing off the plate of fruit, cheese, buttered and honeyed bread, vegetables and oatmeal and mug of juice, looking over at Ullar's plate and the piece of seasoned potato, "ahmmmm.......you going to eat that, Ullar?"
With a big smile Ullar passes his plate to Rhune, giving Forte a big wink.
"Thank you Ullar." she says with a smile as she tucks into the seasoned potatoes, eating them all. it is not till she is done that she looks up to see him looking at her with a grin. A crimson flush rises to the roots of her ears, "What...is something wrong? I was hungry." she says to them.
"Nothing, nothing dear." says Ullar, while sucking in his upper lip to avoid breaking out in a smile again.
Totally embarrassed now she pushes the plate away and just sits there sliding closer to Asif and tries not to look at Ullar. Wondering what could be so funny about her eating more than usual. After all she has been excited all day long. she has a wedding to get ready for and she WAS hungry.
"I never thought of that. Maybe that golden spot in the mountains is an elven stronghold....." Forte's voice trails off in thought.
"I doubt that, but we'll never be sure until we open it.." says Ullar with a smile.
"However, the Gnoll in Florence was the first target of the crossbow- men. I tend to be on Forte's side regarding their state of civilization. Hopefully we can find one who speaks common or elvish, for that seems to be our biggest problem; communicating. Anyone an idea on that issue?"
"What I'd like to do is to find out as much as possible regarding the gnolls. Perhaps the village elders here have some information, or perhaps somebody in our group knows more about these creatures, for I've only encountered one, and that was at the meeting in Florence." the ex-gladiator says.
"I don't know that much about gnolls. In fact the first one I had seen is that one in Florence as well and he seemed pretty civilized which is not what I had heard. I would be willing to talk to some of the villagers about them and see what I can find out." Rhune says sipping the fruit juice she had ordered instead of ale.
"Maybe the 'Death's Head' gnolls aren't as un-civilized as people think," conjectures Forte. "If they're like the other gnoll you saw in Florence, they could be allies against the Bishop. If we get information about the gnolls, we need to confirm it somehow. People have been told we're all murderers, but it's not true....mostly," he finishes, a little sheepishly.
Arkady starts momentarily but then returns his gaze to his food. His ears and neck are a bright red.
"Ullar, can you tell those of us new to this group about the meeting you speak of? And as for gnolls, I have never even heard of them before you have mentioned them." Ratlin asks.
"Sorry Ratlin, I certainly can." says Ullar, nodding an apology towards the mage.
"It was about 5 weeks ago when a bunch of people gathered up in Florence. If I recall correctly it was June 6th of this year, 1456. The meeting took place in a nice forum, decorated with Roman pillars and stuff like that. We all had to take seats, although it was that crowded that some of us had to stand."
"Anyway, a man introduced the reason why we all gathered and then a Gnoll started to speak about his master, who knew Jerboha from an earlier date when Jerboha didn't have that much power. Something changed as Jerboha found some kind of magickal thing and he gained power as more and more humans started to adore him and became..." Ullar pauses for a brief moment before slapping himself against his forehead, ".. SLAVES!"
"That is it! Some highly placed men in Jerboha his clergy have an item which turns humans into mindless slaves, as where the power or energy from their minds floats to Jerboha who rewards the clergy with more powers. That must be the way things are going. Those slaves we've fought before, they are just the product of that magickal 'thing' the Bishop and probably his colleagues have! The Gnoll told us, just before he got shot that we had to regain that 'thing' and that the place where that thing was hidden was located on a map... inside the tube! There is a map inside of it!" exclaims Ullar, fully exited.
"That is what I remember as well Ullar. The Gnoll said that it was a place more than anything." Rhune agrees.
"Look, I'm not sure about that thing which turns humans into slaves and thereby provide Jerboha with more power, but I'm absolutely sure that a map is inside this tube." Ullar asserts.
"That might be just what is inside here." Rhune says thoughtfully.
"Then all we have to do is get it open and see what the map says." Ratlin says simply.
Looking over at Ratlin, "That is what we have been trying to do. Unfortunately none of us can open it and so far everyone we have come across or met have not been able to open it either. I was kind of hoping that we might be able find someone here that could open it. I was going to try and mention things to the dressmaker in the morning when I go for my fitting. Maybe just say that I have found a tube that seems to be sealed and if she might know of someone who could open it." Rhune says.
Pietro looks at Rhune, "Last night, I had an idea about the tube. One of my prayers enables me to get some information about an event that is linked to a certain event, or in this particular case, and item. I think it will be useful to use that prayer on the tube. One of the things I need for the prayer, is 1.000 gold pieces worth of gems and a few sticks. Don't worry, the gems are still there after the prayer, they will just be used as a conduct for the energy Hermes gives me. It will take some preparing, but I can have it done tomorrow in the morning. What do you think?
"I doubt it if we still have that much gems left, but it's certainly worth a try..." says Ullar, really curious what kind of spell Pietro has.
"That could be helpful if works, Pietro. I still have a couple of gems. I don't know how much they are worth but I am certain we could find some gems that might fit the bill. Any information about the blue tube would be very useful." Rhune says.
Tolik nods. "It would make sense. I remember the first time when you told the story, one of the parts that caught my interest was the foreigner guards that were ordered to attack you, right after you fled when the gnoll was killed. If I remember your story correctly, you said one took an arrow from his allies as he chased after you, and the other got tangled in a spell. But as I remember you telling it, you made it sound as if they acted this way in some small defiance."
Ullar nods while continuing to listen to Tolik.
He scowls at his lack of ability to express what he means. "As if they had to follow orders, but still had free will to choose how to follow orders and so they chose methods that would allow them to disobey. Oh, I don't know...But it seems like they were unwilling slaves, like I would suppose some sort of artifact would do... I mean, it seems to be an example to support your theory Ullar."
He bites his lip trying to figure out a better way to show his opinion, but can't figure one out so instead looks around the room to see if anyone understood any of what he was talking about.
"It must be something like that. However, we also encountered slaves who were more than willing to get us. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that those guards back in Florence were foreigners, instead of Italians."
"To make it even more interesting, when Silus, Krige and I were captured and in one of the Bishop torture chambers, we escaped with the help of one of the African guards present there, called Juma. He still had his tongue and showed us the fastest way out. If it wasn't for him, I'd be toast right now. He mentioned something about 'mojo' but I still don't have a clue what that was."
Ullar rubs his temples, trying to remember what exactly happened. "No, I DO know what it was, or is. Mojo is magic. He said that we had much mojo, since Silus was able to command their leader to untie us. And the hat man, which I assume is the Bishop, didn't put mojo on those African guards, for they pretended as if they couldn't speak. So it just might be the case that those African guards were no 'mind- slaves' at all."
Rhune looks thoughtfully at the elf, "I was a little busy at the time trying to get away but after I got caught in the entangle spell, I did manage to see some things. And you are right. the guards that tried to help, I don't think were like the ones that we have fought. They were not mindless, at least not yet."
"When we arrive in Threshold we have to be cautious as well. I hope we can get names of any contacts there who can be trusted for I have a feeling that some bounty-hunters reside in that place and that the bounty on ours heads would be very appealing to them. So, to summarize things, I'm curious if anyone has information on these gnolls, and if anyone has some ideas how we can keep a low profile in Threshold. From there we have to come up with a plan how we are going to travel to the source of the river, get save passage through Death's Head country and find some leads to the area on the tapestry. So, there are a lot of uncertainties, but is there anyone with other suggestions what we could do to avoid the Bishop?" Ullar asks, while looking for reactions.
"The only thing I could think of would be to have one or two of use head into Threshold and scout it out. That would leave me out unfortunately as they have a very good description of me and amidst a lot of humans elves do stick out. I could try help disguise some of some sort, a hair dye, some dark stain on the hands and face. There must be someone in the village who could help better with that. We could try and find out. As for avoiding the Bishop. Well I don't know. Somehow I don't think we can." then lowering her voice, "Maybe when we leave here we can sort travel in a different direction, say make a show of a public decision deciding not to go Threshold. Then once out of sight head that way." Rhune says, taking a bit of vegetables.
"You're right," sighs Forte. "There's no way we can avoid the Bishop. And he's going to manipulate the situation so that we eventually have to face him on his own terms. Our one advantage will be to make him face us on *our* terms, and not until we're ready to do so."
Ratlin speaks up, "We could disguise ourselves and pass ourselves off as Bounty Hunters as well. It's a long shot, but it might work."
"That might work, but as Tolik told us, the rest of the other group is joining us. So that would leave us with a group of ten or more persons. As far as I know, bounty-hunters operate mostly on their own, so I don't think they are going to buy that..." replies Ullar.
Tolik sighs. "Yes, there is that problem, then there is the additional problem that we don't exactly look like bounty hunters. Ullar, Forte, and Arkady could doubtless pass, Asif perhaps but he is a bit far from home to be believable."
His eyes scan the group, brows furrowed in thought. "Rhune would be a stretch, and the rest of us doubtful. Amibar and I would have the hardest time. Amibar doesn't exactly cast the proper feeling for that sort of job, no offense meant Ami. And, well, I had a hard time dismissing question about myself, even while covered in my cloak and using my magic to conceal my true self."
Ami nods to insure Tolik there is no problem, almost toppling off his mound of pillows once again. " None taken, Tolik," he says once he's regained his composure.
With unhappy look in his eyes at the memory, he adds, "I hate to always be the one going against the grain here, but I can't stand to let the questions go unasked."
"Then we pass ourselves off as a traveling Condotierie of mercenaries. We certainly look like a ragband of cavalry for hire. That is gonna be our best disguise. Maybe we could all slap together matching tabards or something to help with the deception??" Arkady says as the thoughts start to click and his mind awakes from it's torpor.
"That sounds reasonable. Anyone a problem with that?" asks Ullar. "I don't think it's necessary that we all have matching tabards, but if we can find them we'll have a much more professional appearance."
"It's just an inexpensive way to create the illusion." Arkady replies. "Perhaps we can instead get a badge or something that we can display openly. A pennant or painted on shields??"
Pietro joins the discussion, he has been listening pretty intently to the discussion. A lot of the information being given here is totally new to him. "I like the idea of a company, it is the only cover which is believable in these parts. Maybe we could use a bandana. These are cheaply made, are very obvious. One slight advantage is that a bandana will also take away some of the features of the face, so it will help create a disguise for everybody. These are especially useful for us elves to hide our Spock ears," Pietro adds with a grin.
Rhune looks at him with a puzzled expression, her fingers straying to her ears, "Spock ears?.....who is this Spock person? And can you hide my silver hair and lavender eyes?" she asked him.
"Never heard of Spock? But a bandana would only work for those of us with out helmets. I personally would rather have steel than cloth on my head in a fight. I already come close to dying enough with out giving up armor." Arkady chuckles.
"I know what that's like - you're wise not to give up any armor you have," Forte chuckles back.
Pietro chuckles for a moment. "It is a children's story in the elven community I grew up in. Spock was a human wizard sage. One day, he was all of a sudden fashioned with really pointy ears, just like we elves have. The tale was going around like wildfire, and the rumors were numerous. According to the story, he was investigating an ancient elven tree city. A few elves came and warned him that he was meddling with things that he couldn't comprehend. He ignored their warning though, and after spending the night in a tree in the city he woke up with the pointy ears. He left the elven city, never to return again. The tale is told to make sure that children don't poke their noses in places that they are not wanted. I don't think the tale does just that though, children always tend to stick their noses where it doesn't belong."
Rhune giggles at the story. "that is something I have never heard about. It is a good story though."
"If we follow this course, we will need a name. Any ideas?" Ratlin adds.
"Compagnie de Susikyan?? Nozhi Druugi?? What do you all think?" Arkady twirls his moustaches and then rises and begins to pace around the taproom.
"I don't think we want to use Susikyan in the name. It may make a few leads that we don't want followed if you get my meaning." Ratlin replies. He glances at Rhune briefly and looks back at the Russian, glad that his mood seems to be brightening.
"Compagnie de Sukiskayn is off, since it will attract too much attention to Petr and his clan. We need a 'common' name, like 'the Mighty Mercs' or something." says Ullar, frowning while thinking of a decent name.
Arkady's pacing increases as he rapidly talks to himself in Russian. Finally he stops and looks at the group. "I've got it!! Svobodnie Compangie di Itali. Free Company of Italy. What do you think?"
"You got my vote!" replies Ullar, while picking up the facial expressions of the others party members.
"Horosho!! So what do the rest of you think?? Come on speak up! I can handle your answers." Arkady is charged with energy as he speaks. "Some of you may be worried about not 'fitting the bill' of a mercenary. Well I have seen many companies who employ mages and trackers and archers and other non-cavalry warrior types. This gives the mercenaries the flexibility and power to take on any situation. We fit this bill perfectly. We've got muscle, magic, brains, prayer and flight!! How much more of a versatile condotterie could we be??"
Tolik sends Arkady an incredulous look. "Uhh, there is NO way I'm gonna be running around like this." He waves his hand back at his wings. "How many of my people do you think there are running around? No, I'd be a dead give away for the rest of you, not to mention the fact I'd probably end up in a cage someplace or worse. No thanks, as soon as we leave here I'm putting the cloak back on."
"HMMM. I hadn't thought of it that way. But I still think that if we put you in some stage armor with wing holes and do some cosmetics we could declare you an Angel of War and really have a ..........well never mind, it's not a very good plan." Arkady looks a touch embarrassed as he says this last bit.
"Actually that is a very good idea. And if they wonder why the wings move, it can be an enchantment of sorts, like one of Ami's illusions." Ratlin grins, amused by Arkady's idea.
"Ain't no way..." Tolik begins. "I'm not doing that. I relied on my cloak before I met you, between that and my magic I'll be fine." He pulls his cloak tight around his shoulders and pin it in place, then puts up his hood, leaving him with a mysterious, but not extraordinary, appearance.
"Like I said. It's not a very good plan. Sorry." Arkady sighs with resignation as images of the unit being led by an Angel of War and their enemies fleeing runs through his head.
"Why not? If we clearly state that we have one or two spokesmen and that the rest should keep a low profile, I don't see what the problem is. If you fold your wings around your back and wear a cloak, they're not that visible, are they? And what if we end up in Threshold by nightfall?"
"Unfortunately, such is nearly the way we are described by the bishop," says Amibar. " At least as I gathered from Akhitos." Sitting on top of some pillows placed on his chair, Ami isn't very comfortable at the dinner table, and constantly fidgets in his seat, almost toppling off once or twice, making for quite a comic scene.
Pietro grins at Arkady. "I may not be much of a mercenary, but if I use the hood on my hooded cloak, I will at least seem mysterious. It may be an idea to give the illusion that we are having a few prisoners. This way we seem to be with less people than that we actually are. People questioning our believability can have a big surprise if our prisoners start fighting as well."
Tolik pauses for a moment, then tones down his voice. "I still don't think we can pull this off, but I'll do my best to help. Perhaps we could put the symbol on the horses? That would draw us all together, and would help to support your cavalry unit disguise."
"Perhaps a crescent moon, with a sword plunged in one side and exiting the other, but not appearing in the middle. No particular reason why, but it would be easy enough to do, and could be done with a single color, making it a simple task. And it is aesthetically pleasing, with a certain enigmatic quality. What do you think?" concludes Tolik. He sounds a bit unsure of himself.
"Or a outline of Italy with a blade through it like you suggest. That would tie it in with the name. Well??" Arkady twirls his moustaches some more and waves to Stubbs for a drink.
"Could the blade pierce a festering boil representing Florence?" asks Forte, with only the slightest hint of anger in his voice.
Arkady chuckles at Forte's humor but continues to pace and sip his drink.
"Can't say I was ever a big geography fan, we had some good maps but I didn't every really take the chance to give them much more than a glance. Can you draw it?" asks Tolik of the Russian.
"Given a map to look at ...yes. If I have to free hand it we will have to hope my memory is as good as I think it is." Arkady chuckles and the yells to Stubbs. "Merry halfling, have you a peninsular map??"
Stubbs looks over the bar, "No need for maps here, my friend, but give me a minute and I'm sure I can find something."
"As long as it states a clear message, I'm fine with it. Now we need someone who can create them, or can you Arkady? I've seen you drawing before." Ullar asks, looking at the warrior.
"Right after Pietro checks your ears for battle damage man. I just said that if I have a map I can recreate it exactly. If I have to go free hand it may be a little rough as it has been several weeks since I last saw a full map of Italy. I can draw our Badge Lord Ullar and the Free Company will ride from this elven haven like a vengeful wind to smite down the evils of the mountains before turning to blow it's cold vengeance on the Bishop." Arkady's excitement reaches a crescendo as he orates the path of the company.