As Forte approaches Arkady, Ullar walks next to Sligh. "Sligh, how come that a man with your abilities works in a place like Threshold, were morals are not really an issue?"
Sligh chuckles grimly, "Says the leader of a mercenary band? I do not work here. I work for my master when it is necessary to do so. Wherever that takes me."
"Where did you meet this Golthar guy? Do you have any clue what he is up to, or where you 'just' hired to protect him? Could make you wonder why he needs somebody to protect him; if he didn't do anything wrong why would he need a bodyguard?"
He outright laughs, "Only the guilty need bodyguards, is that your supposition? Would that were the case. I protect him from harm. Many people find his profession distasteful in this religious age. Others wish to steal his treasures, as you all did. That is what I protect him from, though I have done a poor job of late."
"Do you, by chance, know of any fellow named Hrothgar?" is Ullar's last question.
Sligh shrugs, "Never heard of him."
"The wizard has done more to deserve death in my mind. There is little chance to turn him to our cause, si?" Tag approaches Golthar and takes down the wizard's gag to ask him a few questions. He holds one of the man's own daggers in his hand and turns it over thoughtfully, watching the 'body guard' out of the corner of one eye.
Sligh is as wary as ever, but does not interfere.
"Golthar, you are and accomplished kidnapper are you not? First Stephan, then Rhees (although that may have been unrelated), and then Rhune and Amibar. All in search of this map. What does a man like you want with the treasure of Death's Head?"
Golthar looks menacingly at the party, "Rubbish! Kidnapper? I know no one named Rhees, and certainly have held no one captive by that name. Your friend Stephan came to me, told me of an investment I might be interested in. I listened, and found the information to be valid based on my own research into the area. He took a considerable amount of money from me, promising that he would keep in touch. He vanished without a trace." He looks completely sincere, "When my goblin servants told me that another tribe had captured a large red-haired man, I sent someone to investigate, and to purchase him if he met the correct description. He did, and so I had him brought to me. He insisted that I had best turn him loose as he had hired a band of mercenaries that would come looking for him."
He shrugs his shoulders, "I did not believe him, much to my dismay. And so you came to my tower and tried to kill me. I escaped, but in the process lost a great deal more money. Money I believe you took and spent. Was I angry? Of course! The sum stolen from me was astronomical! Fifty thousand florens, in gems and gold! My only hope was to find the treasure that Stephen spoke of. But now he didn't need me any more. He had you, hired with my money, I'm sure. But I was not prepared to forgive the debt, nor the damage done to me and mine by you and yours.
So I followed you. I am not ashamed, I will admit it. However I tried as best I could to bring you to me alive. I wanted my money back, or the map to the golden valley. And yet I was attacked, first by your gnomish spell-caster, then your thief tried to sneak up behind me, surely to stab me in the back. So I used the means at my disposal to capture both." He shrugs his shoulders again, "Did I kill the gnome. Yes I did, as he surely would have me. Would I have killed the elf? Yes, if you did not give me what I perceive as mine. Just as surely as she planned to kill me. You can perceive me as the villain here, but you are the ones that have behaved more devilish than I." He finishes with a sigh, clearly expecting arguments.
"What is your link with the Bishop?" Caboto asks.
Golthar answers, "His vassal, as are all those within this part of the world. The Katolik church is the government, and he is their representative. Direct links? I have none. I chased you to right a wrong. Whatever you have done to befall the Bishop's wrath has nothing to do with me." He seems genuine still.
"Let's get out of here. Will we have to sneak past the gate guards?" Forte asks the others. "Or is there some other way out? And how do we know Sligh here won't just call for the city guards and turn us in?" Forte turns to Sligh. "You won't turn us in, will you? We have kept our bargain and you are not harmed. And neither is your master, slave boy."
Sligh nods, "You have kept to the word of your bargain, other than the death of Jolenta, and I shall certainly keep mine. Your woman and the priest, who I suspect to be a true priest only misled by foul company, have kept my master alive, and for that I shall keep to the oath she laid upon me. I shall not untie my master or summon help for the span of two hours from the time you depart this town."
He gestured toward the north gate, which is not far off. "However, my master is easily recognized by the guards here, and you will surely not be able to depart with him in tow. Either you must risk alerting them and being arrested or you must trust my word and leave me here in town. In either case I will stay with my master."
"Golthar, you may or may not believe me, that is your own right. You and your bodyguard are both under mind-affecting magics, as was Jolenta. Use it any way you want, I just do not like mind-affecting magics. Fate has crossed our paths, and sad enough as it is, we both know that it will cross again." This is the last thing Pietro says, before departing with the rest back to Threshold.
Golthar waves dismissively, "I am my own man." But just for a moment, was that a shadow of doubt crossing his eyes?
Taglio rushes off to the inn to fetch Stephen. He returns after about half an hour, the large red-haired man looking a bit panicked beside him. "I wondered where you all went. I went to look for you and the innkeeper informed me you had gone! I feared that the Bishop might have captured you!" He calms himself, "If you are responsible for that fire," He gestures toward the smoke rising up from the eastern island, "then we had best go now. I was unable to find a guide who was willing to go. We will have to trust the map and hope that the Death's Head does not live up to it's name!"
Plebius looks to the group and says his final farewells," I cannot go with you. Trust me or not, I will do as I say. I will stay here and attempt hold Slythe to his word about not raising the alarm. You have much to consider. It seems that Stephen may need to be held up to some suspicion my friends. Fare well and choose your paths wisely. I cannot say what my future holds, if it be imprisonment or death, so be it. If I am charmed by the Katoliks, I will resist. It would be best if we meet again, for Pietro to detect charms upon me before I am trusted. I will continue the fight with all that is within me."
"Farewell, Plebius" says Caboto. "I have been honored to travel with you and respect your choice to part from this company. I too did not wish the priestess to die. The flames rose too quickly and prevented us both from re-entering the building to save her. A tragedy, as I suspect there was hope for priestess, fanatical though she seemed. No matter. I will remain. The call to thwart the foul Bishop is too strong in me, and the valley beckons. Godspeed and good luck." Caboto shakes hands and then embraces the noble priest.
Plebius returns the embrace and speaks softly to Caboto," Guard your spirit of goodness. Attempt to guide these companions in the right path. Jerboha go with you."
"I too am sorry to see you go. Who will show us Jerboha's true light, when the Bishop's minions are all around? I hope we meet again." Tag too embraces the priest.
Plebius smiles gently to Tag," I too hope to see you again. You will find Jerboha's way within yourselves if you diligently seek it."
Ullar approaches Plebius and shakes his hand, saying nothing, but looking the priest of Jerboha deeply in the eyes.
Plebius holds Ullar's large hand with both of his own, and meets his eyes, "Fare you well Ullar."
After everyone else has left, Plebius addresses Sligh," Sir, I will trust you to your oath until you prove untrustworthy. I do not know the truth of these matters. I am going to continue in prayer for the next two hours over the bodies of the fallen of both groups. After which, I will leave you to your own path, and I hope to make my own. If you attempt to unbind Golthar or flee, I will attempt to stop you." Having said this, Plebius begins to place the remaining bodies upon the fire and continues his prayers, keeping an eye on Golthar and Slithe.
You leave town easily enough. A stable boy brings along your horses from the Inn you stayed at, turning them over to you and standing about for a few moments.
Rhees asks for and receives his spears, which a runner retrieves from something of a storehouse in the middle of town.
Soon you are mounted and on your way. Some miles out of town, you see that this are is not wooded as the southern was, but rather rocky. The south-flowing river flows to the west of you, marking a chasm between the high mountains that rise up almost immediately outside of town. This is an open area, with little in the way of cover, but you see no sign of Tolik and the others.
Surveying the area for friend or foe and seeing none, Rhees asks the others, "Is this where we were to meet the others?"
The look of worry is brief, but those watching him notice it, "Perhaps they were unsure of when we'd be here and didn't want to spend too much time in any one place. Without a tracker among us I don't know how much we CAN do anyway. And if we did find them in trouble, is there much we could do other than get captured or slain ourselves. The safest thing may be to rest and hope our friends find us. I imagine there will be a dissenting view, however, and this time we do have the time to debate without worrying about the city guard or the guild. What do you think?"
Never much of a horseman, Rhees still sits very tensely upon his mount. If it weren't so pathetic, it would probably quite amusing to watch the wrestling match take place between the fatigue pulling him down and the tension pushing him up.
"This seems as good a place as any to rest and wait" agrees Caboto. "Daegwyn could surely track us, if he is able, and we could be easily found by Tolik or Antonia were they flying. I am sure we will be pursued, but with luck the town guard and militia will be busy fighting the fire, allowing us some respite. I feel distraught" he adds, "both agitated and unable to sleep. There is much that happened today to contemplate. For one, the priestess is, was clearly interested in Rhune's Blue Tube. That in itself makes me eager to explore the valley." As he answers Rhees, Caboto eases of his horse, and with an awkward, bow-legged gait, tethers his horse.
"I agree she was interested even though she seemed not to want anyone to know that. But I still think that we need to make contact with the gnolls. Till then maybe we can rest and see what some of these items can do." she says as she cradles her arm waiting for Pietro to complete his spell.
Slowly getting down from her horse, Rhune looks around using all her skills as a thief to see if she can detect anything amiss. Once she as done this she walks over to Pietro, "You wanted to do that other spell on the baby. should I take off the armor first?" she asks with a slightly worried look.
"Dear Rhune, I'm sorry that I could not have been any more specific. I will have to pray, and then preferably get some sleep." Worry for the elven woman shine in Pietro's eyes. "It is not even sure that I will be able to cast the prayer, Hermes will judge that. I think there is a good possibility though that I will be able to do it."
"Oh okay then. You do what needs to be done." she responds clearly a little worried but more concerned for him than anything else.
"We take a risk waiting, for Sligh and Golthar may raise the alarm. We should hide the horses off the main track and camouflage ourselves as best we can, si." Taglio says.
"If Golthar, Jolenta, and Sligh were charmed, then this is the mark of the Bishop, is it not? My guess is that the blue tube holds the key to the Bishop's ability to control minds. Maybe even a way to counter it. Rhune, you have come into contact with the Bishop, si? Maybe your elven nature enabled you to escape his control. The sooner we solve the riddle of the tube, the better.
I say if the others have not found us by morning then we should head to Threshold together." Tag sets to finding a safe place to hide the horses, feeding and grooming Beatrice and then studying his spell books.
Not long after you have set up camp, you see Antonia, Tolik, and Daegwyn moving cautiously along the west side of town. Tolik and Daegwyn look like they are in just as poor a shape as most of you are, though Antonia looks fine.
Forte quickly runs up to the others. "Are you o.k.?" he asks, looking more at Tolik and Daegwyn than Antonia. "Do you have our stuff?"
Taglio follows Forte. His face in a broad grin of relief at seeing the woodsman, the bird man and the vixen alive and well. "Ah, it is good to see you made it. Quickly, we must get off the road and hear your story. We have had many trials whilst in the city. We ran into Golthar and a few of his friends. Amibar is dead." Tag hangs his head in sorrow as he tells this.
Tolik looks up from his position on a crude travoi drug behind one on the horses. He looks like hell. He is covered in dirt and dry mud. His eyes are bloodshot and wild, a sign on lack of sleep. Blood shades his left wing dull red, a startling contrast to the silver of the others. But his good-nature and cheerful spirit seem to be doing okay as he turns to Forte.
With a scowl, he points at Daegwyn's horse. "Yours is in there. Oh, and I'm just lovely, thanks for asking," his voice oozing sarcasm. "Did you boys and girls have as much fun as we did?"
"I asked if you were o.k., first," Forte says curtly. "I am relieved to see that none of you died." With that, the warrior goes to his stuff and adds the stuff taken from Golthar and Jolenta to his pack. He takes his mace out and holds Jolenta's mace in the other hand. Alternately hefting them both, as if balancing a scale, he says, "It is good to see you, old friend," to his old mace. And to the new one, he asks, "I wonder what you do, magical friend?" Holding them both equally before him, he muses, "Would two magical maces be more effective than one...."
Tolik rolls his eyes, somewhat annoyed.
Ullar feels terrible but cannot hold back a smile when he hears Forte talk to himself. Tired, he leans against Zephyr, looking around what news Tolik and the others bring.
Lastly, Forte stows his gear and checks on his horse. He keeps the long sword strapped to his back, and both maces at the ready. His mace is positioned normally, to be drawn by his fighting hand--his right. The other mace is there just as a backup, or can be drawn by his normally useless left hand.
Caboto greets the three. The Florentine's clothes are muddied and there are traces of soot on his face, beard and upper body. He is clearly weary and slightly wounded. "Manus is also dead, slewn by a troll. Rhees we found, he was falsely accused, then freed after public trial."
"We will likely be pursued. We slew some of the Bishops minions, and the guard will surely hunt for us once the fires are out. We put the building in which Manus lies to flame, a funeral pyre" Caboto explains.
"We also learned that the Bishop has cast spells, a charm of sorts on his lackeys. I speculate that it may also help the Bishop find or monitor his subjects." Caboto then seeks out Pietro. "The spell that detected the aura of magic on Golthar, Rhune and Sligh, is that a spell that I could learn? If not, I would like to find or prepare a similar spell I can use".
Pietro smiles for a moment. "I can tell you what the prayer does, but I do not think that you will be able to use it. My powers come forth from the faith of Hermes, and I doubt that he will grant you that after a night of praying," a grin marks Pietro's face as he makes that comment. "He grants me the use of them. Your energy as a wizard are taken from the Universal forces around us, that is something completely different. I can tell you what it does though, maybe you will be able to invent the spell one day. With the Detect Charm prayer, I can tell if a person is under some sort of mind control or influence. This might be a spell or prayer like Charm Person, Hypnosis, or other mind affecting spells or prayers. If I'm lucky, I also get to know the nature of the charm, but I was not powerful enough to do that when I used it."
"We are here," Daegwyn says, his hand involuntarily moving to the wound in his abdomen. "We all have some catching up to do, but I thing it would be wise to put some distance between us and the city first. We had pursuers which may be returning and it appears that no one is really in any condition to fight."
Looking up as the others approach, Rhune's smile fades as she sees their condition. Glancing around at the companions she knows that at this moment they are not really able to do much fighting. As much as she would like to get away from here staying here a little longer or even traveling slower might not be a bad idea. She waits for the others to reach camp before voicing her concerns.
As Pietro sees the three other party members, a big smile appears on his face, though worry immediately shines through it when he sees the condition
Daegwyn and Tolik are in. He waits for them to enter the camp. "Seems that you have had just as much trouble a we had. I'm sorry, " looking at Tolik and Daegwyn, "I have spent all my healing capacities today. I will tell what happened with us when we are riding, because we are not looked upon kindly in Threshold I fear." The elven priest looks around the ragged band.
"We should be riding for a while to put some distance between us and Threshold. After the riding we should leave the road to make up camp somewhere. Preferably we should find a piece of road where we are not going to leave any tracks. Before we enter Death's Head country, I think we should recover first."
Tolik looks at the elf. "Agreed. We didn't have the best time either, you can see. Our assailant will likely be searching to the south, but I'd hate to stumble across him in any case."
"I agree with you Pietro." she says looking at the others, "I hope you are alright." she asks looking at Tolik as she gets up to head for her horse
"Let's ride for a few moments first. I don't want to be any near this village before we start discussing things." says Ullar, while enjoying being back on Zephyr's back and looking at Pietro who started to tell what has happened
Seeing the others mount up, Rhees' head drops against his mount, "Uh! I can't believe I find myself wishing for the comforts of that cold, damp floor of the cell I shared with Hrothgar - a man who wanted to kill me!"
After half an hour ride, Ullar holds his horse. "Besides that I'm tired, I'd like to discuss with all of you what we're going to do."
"I will try to make this as short as possible." Pietro says in a monotone voice, with barely suppressed emotion. "We entered Threshold, only to find out that Rhees and Hrothgar have been taken captive, and thrown into jail. Hrothgar pulled a stunt to call Rhees a wizard in front of a guard. They were going to be prosecuted this morning in public by the Patriarch. When we entered the plaza, Golthar was there as well, with the woman Jolenta who hired Hrothgar. After the trial, Hrothgar was being held captive because he was a mercenary captain. They let Rhees go, because he told the truth, he hadn't practiced any magic in Threshold. Rhune and Amibar tried to look around the square, but got caught by Golthar. We followed a strange lead, as Arkady saved an old woman being run over by a cart. She told him not to go to an old inn in one of the worst parts of town.
Of course we went there in search of our friends. When we entered the inn, Manus immediately got snatched by what I now presume is a troll, because it was able to regenerate really fast. We tried to rescue him, and Arkady here drove the monster back almost on his own. For Manus it was already too late, he died immediately. We couldn't recover, because Golthar was already there with the woman Jolenta and a few goons and mindless. After announcing that we had to surrender, we were talking a bit. He immediately let Amibar we stabbed, which was the sign for a nasty fight. With a Sleep spell we stopped a few goons who changed into rats. I was really lucky with my Hold Person prayer, because I was able to immobilize both Golthar and Jolenta.
After Ullar and Forte took a pretty bad beating, Rhees announced a truce, which the personal bodyguard of Golthar, Sligh, accepted. For Amibar it was too late as well, he died because of the stabbing. We had an argument about what to do with the prisoners, though we could not have killed Golthar, because his bodyguard was still there as well. In the end we burnt the old inn with Amibar and Manus in them, and Forte unceremoniously threw Jolenta in as well. We got our stuff and horses and went this way." Pietro looks up, a small grin on his face. "A walk in the park, what about you guys?"