Winnacer Gets Pissed

25 DECEMBER 3460

It was a difficult night for all. Porter is still suffering from the extent of his wounds and is unable to sleep well. Baby Yazhua wakes up during the night and starts screaming his head off, waking everyone up until Maria manages to get him back to sleep again. By the time that dawn breaks, everyone is still feeling tired and irritable. Winnacer and Milan fail to appear during the night.

Everyone gets up and Yaz heads out to the entrance of the warehouse in order to make his morning devotions together with the horses. Porter is also up fairly early. Fighting off his wounds still, he dons his old man disguise once more and then steals out of the warehouse in order to see what the current status of Tall Town is. He sees that there are no goblins in Tall Town at the moment, but that there is still a company of goblins checking everyone going in or out of the city. He also sees that there are still roadblocks on the roads in and out of Tall Town. He also sees that Tall Town is very quiet at the moment, with all of the shops being closed, as they were the previous day.

He heads back to the warehouse and finds that Zosia is just serving breakfast to everyone. Porter heads over and speaks to Faewen'il:

"If we're planning on heading into the city today then it's going to need magick to do it; to get in and out."

Porter then looks over at Yaz:

"So what are your plans for the day?"

The druid shrugs:

"Not much," he replies. "I've been planning on trying to carry on with learning to read and also learning some more about herbalism if I can find anyone to teach me."

Zosia looks over at Yaz and smiles:

"I don't mind you helping to read, Yaz," she says. "I also know of a herbalist in Tall Town as well and would be happy to introduce you to her. I'm sure she's not working today but will be happy to set up a meeting tomorrow."

Rowan scowls a little at the druid, obviously a little jealous at having to share Zosia's attentions with anyone else.

Fae shrugs as she finishes off part of her breakfast, dressed from head to toe in black, as is her wont these days.

"I do be havin tha spells far it now."

Porter nods:

"Let's go then. Give me a minute to get back in disguise."

The bounty hunter heads off to his backpack and spends a short while putting his disguise back on. Five minutes later he reappears, disguised as the old man once again. Faewen'il gets up and joins him and then the pair of them head out of the door and into the streets of Opava once more.

For the rest of the day and afternoon, the warehouse is quiet apart from the occasional crying from Baby Yazhua and the slow deliberate reading of Yaz as Zosia shows the patience of a saint, encouraging the druid every time he stumbles over a word.

Rowan looks even more annoyed than ever, sighing to himself at regular intervals while scowling often at Yaz and the Kristus family.

Just after midday, Zosia leaves Yaz for a while to practice a little reading on his own while she prepares a light lunch for everyone. Once the lunch has been eaten, she then returns to Yaz and continues to assist him with his reason.

The afternoon continues without incident and it gets to around 6.00p.m. when there is a knock on the door. Zosia goes out to investigate and comes back in with Porter and Faewen'il accompanying her. There is still no sign of Winnacer, however.

Everyone continues with their activities for the next hour. Zosia once more leaves Yaz to read for himself and then heads off to the kitchen in order to start preparing dinner for everyone. They can detect that she is getting a little tired of acting as housekeeper for you all now. Maria, sensing this, leaves Baby Yazhua with Yosef and helps Zosia with the cooking.

It is fortunate for Yaz that Zosia has a children's book he is interested in. 'Doobie's Adventures #3: Doobie Gets the Munchies' proves entertaining reading for the druid. It keeps him occupied far longer than Will's books did; 'Demonology and Possession: One Witness's Account -- an expurgation' and '101 Ways to Speak Truth Without Words' were hardly what Yaz would call fascinating. He is already looking forward to Adventures #4: Mom Never Made Mushrooms Like These, which Zosia promises she'll try to pick up for him in the morning.

Not long after they have started on the cooking, there is another knock on the door. All are quiet in case it might be the Nyemetz again and Zosia quietly heads out of the room to check upon who it is.

From the main room, they hear the door being opened and the sound of horses' hooves on the warehouse floor together with a metallic clanking noise. A couple of minutes, the door opens and Zosia returns with Winnacer following her in.

Yaz looks up from his book, grinning widely and still chuckling to himself:

"You're late," he says. "How'd it go?"

Winnacer looks at Yaz with cold anger that the druid hasn't had directed at him since he abandoned the party before they were beset by a squad of worgriders. The LawBringer allows his face to speak for him as he proceeds into the room.

Winnacer and Milan speak not a word to anybody as they find some space away from everybody else and change out of their armor. The young Lord and his squire share some quiet words as they tend to their weapons and armor, looking to spend the waning evening making up for a few days of neglect.

Seeing the look upon Winnacer's face, Rowan quickly realizes that coming out with a quip could very well be the last action that he ever takes and quickly retires to Zosia's room for the rest of the evening. The Kristus family keeps well away from the LawBringer and his squire, sensing the bad vibes in the room.

Zosia heads for the kitchen and finishes cooking the meal that she serves on the low table. A little nervously, she approaches the new arrivals:

"Errm ... are you hungry?" she asks. "I've made plenty and so if you want anything, then please just ask."

She then starts to serve the meals for the rest of the visitors to the warehouse.

Fae arches an eyebrow, but doesn't question the good fortune of a nice, quiet evening. She inwardly wonders if Winnacer and the squire got the shit beat out of them or lost the poison or had to bear witness to some atrocity that they couldn't prevent with all their high and mighty-ness.

A slight smirk crosses her face as she sits organizing and taking inventory of her assorted spell components.

She wonders when the poor bastard, not that she had any sympathy for him, would discover that things happened in the world regardless of whether they were 'just' in the eyes of Spravadelna or not. And he, no matter how much he might shine in his goddess' eyes, can't prevent them all.

She had long ago given up the ideal of the world being a good and kind place. Once she accepted that fact, life became so much easier to deal with. There was no doubt in her mind that she would make her own place in the world and that it would be a powerful one; and with such a belief, she found it pathetic that other people couldn't do the same thing for themselves. She couldn't even drum up pity for them. Life dealt you what it did and it was up to you to make of it what you wanted to.

Undeterred by the paladin's cold shoulder, Porter, however, strides over to him. Faewen'il cocks her head to the side a bit to listen to what he has to say. Yaz too listens, interested, head cocked almost identically to Fae's.

"Two goblins got away from the last fight, so they have a description of you and Milan," Porter says. "They may also have the rest of us, as Melchior was taken in by them. I don't know whether he'd report us to them or not, as he may keep his information for the OverLord himself. If we can find him, I suggest we kill him just in case, but that may not be a possibility."

Porter continues:

"Also, I've got a line on my personal business, which I need to attend to. You manage to take care of the poison?"

Winnacer looks up at Porter with cold, unhidden anger burning in his gray eyes:

"Get out of my sight before my anger gets the better of my judgment."

It is then that Porter notices Winnacer's blanched knuckles wrapped around 'Old Bohavia's hilt. The young LawBringer rises to his feet and walks past Porter to the eavesdropping Faewen'il.

As Winnacer walks past Porter, the bounty hunter doesn't falter a bit, retorting:

"Bring it, bad boy."

Winnacer turns on his heel, slowly and deliberately. He steps forward, then slowly places his second finger onto the soft flesh of his lower neck.

"Your life is already mine, for it is only by Spravedelna's grace that you outlived your folly. If you wish me to waste a brief second to amend my mistake, let your pathetic pride speak for you again."

Porter's quick hands flash up to Winancer's finger, grabbing it and pulling it away from him as he says:

"Don't touch me."

"But you keep asking for me to touch you, then you cower at my fingertip," the young Lord retorts. "You asked me to bring it on. I thought you wanted to show me how tough you are. I'm still waiting, coward."

Porter calmly asks:

"What the f*** is wrong with you? Have you lost your mind? If you want to go, let's go. But don't threaten my life and think it's no big deal. You want to antagonize me into attacking you by calling me a coward, that's fine. Call me a coward one more time."

Winnacer places his left hand on his hip and continues to tap 'Old Bohavia; rhythmically:

"You are the most selfish, moronic, incompetent coward ever to run away to leave others to deal with the consequences of your ill-thought actions. You mindlessly harass three men who had committed only a crime of thought. Your unthinking stupidity placed our lives, the lives of many innocent families, and the lives of all of Bohavia at risk of death and worse, and then you have the gall to run away from the consequences. You left it to others to clean up the incriminating mess you left in your wake to pursue baubles like a damned rat. Your craven cowardice almost led to Milan's DEATH and the PLAGUE finding its way back into evil hands. ALL of this after your life was SAVED by the graces of SPRAVEDELNA despite your TREMENDOUS stupidity."

"And, instead of feeling any remorse, you swell up with foolish pride and curse my name. Every member of my family would have slain you where you stand for MUCH less. Even Spravedelna Herself would understand if I was forced to punish a coward like you for such gross negligence of action. Then, as a true coward would, you bait ME and then try to switch the aggressor when called on it."

"So, in case you didn't get me the first time, I think you are one of the greatest cowardly imbeciles ever to curse the face of Bohavia. You should have a problem with the truth of that statement, but scum like you typically lacks such introspection."

Porter smirks in response:

"Well, I've been called a whole lot worse by a whole a lot better than you, so that doesn't really bother me. And this whole 'switching the aggressor' thing - check your memory and you'll perhaps recall that you threatened me first."

With a shrug, Porter continues:

"Now as to the 'coward' part. If you hadn't been flapping your freakin' lip incessantly, we might have all gotten away before the reinforcements arrived. But you wanted to berate me for a screw-up instead of getting your ass in gear. And it was a screw-up, I'll admit that, but only in its poor execution. I should have had all three of those guys wrapped up with a pretty bow, but I blew it. I didn't execute."

Porter's voice gains a bit of an edge to it as he finishes:

"However, it wasn't a bad idea. As far as I'm concerned, it was better than letting three professionals return to the OverLord with the exact specifics of your baby savior and his parents. If they got back to the OverLord, all three are as good as freakin' dead. That's what I was trying to stop. I didn't have time to discuss it with you, because if anything was going to be done, it had to be done immediately. Besides, you would discarded my idea and gone with your own - AS ALWAYS. Frankly, I'm sick of your egomaniac ass having to call every single shot unless everyone else decides it has to be otherwise. You're exceedingly unprofessional about it as well. So bottom line, as far as I'M concerned, you're ACTUALLY pissed because I did something that wasn't according to one of YOUR almighty divine plans. And if you think I'm wrong, ask the rest of them, I'm sure they'll agree that everything always has to be YOUR way."

Winnacer crosses his arms in front of him, a long speech on the tip of his tongue. He checks himself, full of the knowledge that the dim-witted and overall incompetent rogue wasn't listening to anything Winnacer had to say anymore:

"If you cannot tolerate the path of righteousness, then leave. When everything an individual attempts to do fails, it is more than poor execution. It is a failing of judgment. I cannot travel with one that would leave another to deal with the consequences of their poorly thought out actions. I cannot respect one that would shrug off the blood of another when it stains his hands."

"The selfish can see no fault in their thinking and dismiss all conjecture that seeks to reveal that fact. The incompetent blame the inexplicables for what is truly a lack of judgment and still calls himself a professional. The sinner points to the flaws of others when the true fault strongly lies upon himself."

"Thank you for your help, Porter. If you are that happy working alone, it may be best that you return to your former habits. Tend to your precious baubles alone. We'll worry about the things that really matter without you."

"Yeah," slurs Yaz from his spot in the corner. "Like the trees."

He looks up at Winnacer slyly.

"And the Balance...Right?"

Porter shakes his head slowly, hardly able to believe how blinded the paladin was by his religion and his own inflated sense of self-worth. He responds:

"Frankly, I have no idea where this selfish crap comes from. I shelved my personal business for this, I helped you elude the Nyemetz in Olmutz, I crawled through shit and fought ratmen for your cause, I used Booker to help you get through that, which means I don't have him at my disposal today, I set you up with Emsee Hammer, I helped you take out the Nemotz, and I was trying to help your baby savior, but you insist on calling me selfish. Whatever."

Porter gathers his gear up and heads out, saying to Fae as he does:

"Thanks for getting me into this mess."

He nods to Yaz:

"Appreciate the quality weed, my friend. It's about the only thing I'll miss."

He then heads for the door, saying to Winnacer:

"Allow me to sum up how I feel about you. You're an ungrateful f***ing prick. See ya."

The bounty hunter then heads off into the night air.

Winnacer turns his back on the departing Porter and starts to speak with Yaz:

"We've been doing a decent job of that, haven't we?" replies Winnacer. "Protecting Prirodna's interests while serving those of Spravedelna. I think we have."

Yet again, the flaky and seemingly Teflon covered Druid has managed to dodge Winnacer's ire. The Paladin was not sure why, but it just seemed impossible to stay angry at Yaz for long. He would have to try harder next time.

With half of the tension, namely Porter, now departed, Yaz chooses now to be an appropriate time to speak:

"What I mean is... yes. But no. See, I'm doing what Prirodna wants me to do, and you're doing Spravedelna's work. And Maire' has her magic, and that... other guy, what's-his-name, he's got... I dunno what he's got, money-lust or something. And maybe sometimes it seems like we're all helping out each others' causes an' shit because it seems to work out. But that's not true. I don't give a ratman's ass about Justice, and you prob'ly wouldn't take the time to crap on the Balance if you tripped on it in the woods. Which is totally how it oughtta be."

"That's not true at all," Winnacer replies. "As Kesryk said long ago, Spravedelna and Prirodna are akin to cousins. While I may not completely agree or understand 'the balance' I understand that it plays an important role in bringing peace to Bohavia. It was the upset of this balance, played out in the conflict between the believers of Yarovit and Prirodna, that started the collapse of the Golden Age of Bohavia."

"Plus, you do care about Justice, despite your words. Your outrage at the man who cuts down a defenseless tree is closer to a desire to see Justice served than anything else. The two beliefs have their differences, but they are more alike than you give credit."

"Our individual goals are completely separate," the druid continues. "They're worlds apart even. And they're just reasons, not the goal itself. The one thing we ARE all here to do is kick the Nyemetz out on their hineys, which is why we help each other out with shit; it's not some whussy desire to help, say, Maire' be able to practice magic without getting thrown in jail. It's important for her that she do that, but frankly, I don't care about it, as long as at the end of the day she's helping us with the Big Picture."

"My point is... if your big problem with... Porter? Right?... is that he's like, thiefy sewer-boy who only cares about getting paid, then that's shitty. It's shitty because it could just as easily be Prirodna you got problems with, and then you'd be pissed with ME. Or any of us. Porter hates the Nyemetz and that's why he's here, so the fact that he doesn't care about Justice, or that he's kinda scummy, shouldn't matter, 'cuz we've all put aside that shit to do what's really important."

"Porter has said nothing about his feelings about the Nyemetz, besides that he was comfortable working for them," Winnacer replies. "He's not here to aid our cause or do anything more than fatten his wallet, at the expense of others. He's made no commitment to our greater cause."

"If that's true," Yaz says, eyes narrowed, "then you're right."

"But I think we should ask him."

"And I am pissed at you, Yaz. Really angry," the young Lord continues. "Because all three of you ran off about a block away from where all the action took place. Not only left me, but left me burdened with two riderless horses chock full of incriminating evidence, that in good conscience I could not leave behind. But it seems such things matter little to the rest of you."

"What you all did was very wrong, not just because of my beliefs, but because real friends and comrades in arms don't do such things to each other. When we get into messes, we need to get out of them together. To run off is not acceptable."

"I don't remember it that way," Yaz responds. "I remember us saying each where we were gonna go, then you said you were off somewhere with Milan. We coulda hid, we had lots of time. I woulda helped you hide the stuff and horses if you'd come with me into the inn, but you didn't, you left. I wouldn't call that US deserting YOU, I'd call that your own decision to go on your own."

"Maybe your memory would be better if you weren't stoned all the time," the LawBringer replies. "I mentioned that I thought it would be best if we went to Litultovitze for a day or two until the heat died down. But rather than agree or disagree, each of you just took off. It's hard to ask you to help me out when all I see are your backs."

Yaz starts forward in his chair, feet planted in front of him, eyes wide:

"Help you out? Help YOU out?"

His arms flail into the air as usual:

"I'm sorry, where's US in all of this? What about the cause, remember that? Help YOU out! Man, if you think this is your show, think again!"

"And despite what you think of yourself, Winnacer, you do NOT know best. Your plans are f***ed just as often as ours. Litultovitze was a bad plan, as we all saw. And our own decisions to go different ways was the disagreement you were looking for. Why you decided to be pig-headed about it is, like, totally beyond my little brain's capacity, 'cuz it was clearly dangerous for any of us to travel, even for you."

Winnacer shakes his head in disbelief:

"You really wanted to bring the equipment back to the Inn?" the young Lord asks. "After all the trouble we went through to get all the gear gathered and create fake tracks to throw them off? You wanted to go to the Inn even though we knew that the goblins would go through it with a comb?"

"What?!" Yaz retorts. "YOU knew. You guessed! Yeah they went through it later... after we killed 18 of their force. Would they have searched the inn, just because they heard two big bangs and saw some blood on the snow? I doubt it, but even if they did, how much easier is it to take out a few goblins in a room than 20 in the wide open? A whole lot, and quieter too. Had the innkeeper on our side, too."

"No, Winn, your taking off was a mistake. Which is cool, I like mistakes. But F***! Don't pin it on us, man! I just heard you cut down what's-his-name for stupid mistakes, and now... Shit, man, don't be a walking hypocrite!"

"It may be time to have an intervention on your behalf, Yaz," Winnacer replies. "Because you are really starting not to make sense, again."

"The day I make sense to YOU is the day I lie down and await my punishment," the druid replies.

"So...." -- Yaz takes a drag on the joint he's been rolling as he talks -- "if you just threw him out because he's a liability to our whole mission, that's one thing. But if it's for any other reason up in your brain, like where he comes from, or what kind of attitude he's got, then you might wanna think again."

"The damned bounty hunter has been nothing but a liability," the LawBringer replies. "Every battle, I must divert my attention from my own enemies because he mindlessly tries to handle things on his own, always leading to massive injuries on his part. He was brought on to handle locks and traps, which he has continually failed at being able to handle. If it wasn't for divine powers, we would have set off every trap we have encountered."

"His judgment has been repeatedly shown to be faulty, but we have no say as he continues to act on his own, never learning from his mistakes. He has also shown us that he will place our endeavors in jeopardy then abandon us to pursue his amoral goals. His stupidity almost gave the Nyemetz everything they could want, his abandonment in a crisis of his own creation shows his lack of reliability, and his inability to apologize or acknowledge any wrongdoing shows his callous disregard for the lives of others. He is a loose cannon, and we are better off without him."

"But I don't think he meant to put the guards on our tail," Yaz continues. "I think he just screwed up. I don't think he's a liability to the mission at all. So it can only be one thing. And, y'know, really..."

Yaz hesitates as if he's not sure he should say what he's thinking,:

"...the guards wouldn't have known it was us if they hadn't caught you and Milan on the road, sneaking out before the heat was off."

"They didn't catch us on the road," the young Lord adds by way of correction. "They caught us a block from the damned Inn about five seconds after you all ran off. Your great circling the town plan put us right back in the center of things, but none of you had the consideration to see things through to safety."

Yaz waves his arms in the air in front of him as if to erase his words:

"Anyways," he continues. "You're allowed to go crazy and blow up and shit, that's cool, I'm hip to that stuff. But think about it a sec and maybe you'll not think he's such an asshole. He may come to his senses and come back, but he may not, which would suck for us, 'cuz I think we need him..."

"If you feel we need another morally bankrupt and incompetent thief, we can ask Joy for a recommendation," Winnacer adds. "The man is useless."

Yaz is well into his joint by now and appears to be finished speaking.

Winnacer then turns to address the Feisty One:

"Your stooge started this," Winnacer begins bitterly, "so I think it is only right if you put on your badges of treachery and fix things, after the meeting with the Council. There may be other business to discuss with the Nyemetz as well."

"An what STOOGE be that?" Faewen'il says with a snide tone as she looks over to the door.

"Oh dear, I can see tha I fargot tha I am nothin more than yar puppet ta fetch an carry an make thins right afterwards. Sorry I fargot ta mention that to ye Porter... an here ye thought I was just a manipulative bitch with a magical ring an some nice spells."

"My heart cries for your plight," Winnacer replies with obvious sarcasm. "Do such delusions of yourself make it easier to be callous?"

Fae ignores his quip... at least for the time being. Her own sarcastic tone then changes to a serious one as she turns to face Winnacer again:

"But I should like ta set thins a bit straight, LORD Winnacer. I own no badges o treachery. Iffen ye like, I can always go back to Pardubitz an have tha harassment an persecution o tha locals start up again an have a sartain mage removed from tha council where he overhears Nyemetz plans far tha cause. Is tha what ye would like?"

"Could you do that with a clear conscience to spite me?" the LawBringer asks. "Would you really threaten all those innocent lives to try to make a point? If life means so little to you that you can callously threaten it like you have done, you've earned your appointment."

"I can do it as easily as ye sit there an talk o treachery that ye seem ta see in me," Faewen'il replies. "One o these days, someone is goin ta hit ye upside tha head HARD enough ta where ye might just thin ta look at what ye sound like comin from me shoes instead o yar own. Until tha day, a fool ye will remain... an only tha gods take pity on fools."

"I do be a recognized Deputy Witchfinder General far more reasons than ye will ever know," the magess continues, "but NONE o them involve treachery o this gods bedamned cause, ye nimwitted fool!"

"I SUGGEST ye try thinkin thins out a'fore ye go an do somethin as stupid as ye did ta me tha last time ye thought ye knew better."

"I will," Winnacer replies. "But perhaps you too should think about what happened to your soul that last time you thought you knew best. Think about the evil you released into the world because you thought you could handle it alone."

"Ye are such an egotistical bastard," the feisty one responds. "I released nothin on tha world tha war not already thar. My choice, ye F***ING twit, was ta either be possessed like Aneira, dead with Bosco in me body, or in control o me own faculties so tha I could have tha hope ta lay a trap far tha bastard!"

"Or perhaps we could have avoided the whole mess, avoided the whole tower all together," the LawBringer replies. "Gone to Konan and told him of what you knew, so that we could have eradicated the evil without risking your soul."

"I will never know, but it wouldn't surprise me if you wanted it to happen. Deep down inside was so curious that you decided to take the risk, despite the consequences."

"It war NOT JUST MY F***IN IDEA TA GO IN THA TOWER, iffen YE can be BOTHERED ta remember back that far!" Faewen'il shouts back at him.

"An I did lay a trap far him" she continues. "A TRAP THAT YE F***ED UP!!!"

"A trap destined for failure in its design, a failure long before I was involved with it," Winnacer retorts. "The plan was a failure of its creators, not of those forced to make heads and tails of the ambiguous instructions given."

"Oh, and pray tell GENIUS," the magess retorts in turn, "how would YE ha' kept a mind readin LICH from knowin about tha plan iffen he had HAPPENED ta read anyone else's mind, or did ye even bother ta read tha instructions I sent ye about not tellin anyone?"

"Konan hid tha truth from ye far a damned good reason. I even TRIED ta warn ye about it in tha other scroll. I even ASKED ye ta trust me, but tha would ha been like choppin off yar dick and denouncin yar goddess all in tha same breath."

"Then somebody should have told me that a second scroll existed," the LawBringer replies. "By the time I found out about it, it was already too late. Perhaps I would have executed the plan better if somebody told me what was I to do or why I was doing it."

"If you want me to follow your plan, you have to make sure that it gets to me. Which it didn't. You blame me for not trusting you, but I never knew that I should. I knew nothing, yet you persist in blaming me for mistakes in communication that predate my involvement."

"You blame me for doing the wrong thing without acknowledging that I could not know the right thing. I tried to do what was best with the very little told to me by Konan. Perhaps if I knew your letter existed, things would have been different. But I didn't."

"No," Faewen'il replies, "instead ye had ta make Aneira, those mages an me pay tha price far yar incompetence. It seems ta me that ye be gettin mighty damned good at makin other people pay far ye actions....hell... iffen I had such a skill in magecraft as ye do in sidesteppin responsibility, I would simply destroy the Nyemetz in one fell swoop!"

"I have often replayed the incident in my mind, dwelling on the ambiguities of Konan's message and of the events of that day," the LawBringer replies. "In the light of the full story, my folly is apparent. But as I think about my actions in the context of how little I knew, I do not believe I would do differently today."

"I wish this was all my fault. Then I could accept your malice with a heavy conscience, as it is obvious that you need somebody outside yourself to blame for this. But it is not the case, despite how things would be easier for you if they were simply black and white."

"Bosco would ha killed ye all tha night at his tower war it not far me; then where would yar PRECIOUS DAMNED rebellion be?" asks Faewen'il.

"I WILLINGLY AN KNOWINGLY darkened my soul far you an this ungrateful country an ye have tha gall ta point fingers at ME after all this time?"

"So why don't ye just shut tha f*** up about Bosco an me soul and tha whole mess a'fore I really give ye tha taste o a truth tha ye can't handle!"

"Do you really think a show of your magicks would prove you right?" asks the young Lord. "Harming me won't justify all the things you have been through, as you know deep down that they are not truly my fault. Some things may not be worth risking at any price."

"Harm you?" Fae questions, incredulously.

"WHAT THA FUCK GAVE YE THAT IDEA???"

Fae then removes the amulet from around her neck and dangles it at Winnacer.

"No... lettin ye read tha truth far yar own self be FAR MORE entertainin than flingin magic at yar worthless, arrogant skin!"

"But ye be will always be a coward when it comes ta realizin just how bad ye f***ed me over."

"I have already seen the darkness, perhaps it is time to read the text it left behind."

Winnacer takes the amulet from Faewen'il and starts to concentrate on the magess.

Yaz gets up from his chair and crosses the room:

"No! You can't!"

He interposes his hands between them as if that would hinder the amulet's power:

"Not on a friend!"

Ignoring the hand that was between them, Fae narrowed her eyes as if concentrating on something; her eyes burned with anger and hatred in equal measure as the Paladin stood there holding the amulet in his hand.

After a bit of time, her eyes narrowed further and she snatched the amulet back again.

"Enjoy tha truth, ya f***" she said coldly before heading for the door that Porter had stormed out of but a few minutes before and heading outside.

With all said, Winnacer turns on his heels and returns to Milan, who has taken Zosia up on her offer of getting something to eat.

"Come, Milan," Winnacer says.

Milan looks at the young Lord pleadingly but the look that he receives in response makes him realize that now is not the time to ask for anything. He takes another large mouthful from his dinner and then scurries along behind the young Lord as he strides out of the room, back into the main warehouse containing the horses, closing the door firmly behind him.

The evening continues in silence, broken only by the occasional crying from Baby Yazhua. Eventually everyone gets tired after the earlier tension and so they all head off to bed early.

 

26 DECEMBER 3460

Once again the night was difficult. None have beds to sleep on and so the floor of Zosia's warehouse is cold and uncomfortable compared to the comfort of the 'Boar's Head'. Baby Yazhua wakes up at regular intervals during the night, waking everyone in the warehouse and not allowing anyone to sleep until Maria manages to get him off to sleep again. Porter does not reappear during the entire period, but Faewen'il obviously returned at some late hour as the morning finds her in the corner of the warehouse that she has taken as her own.

Due to the interruptions and uncomfortable sleeping conditions, everyone sleeps in for longer than normal. Yaz takes himself off a little before the others rise. Upon walking into the warehouse, the druid sees Winnacer and Milan sleeping in the hay close to the horses. Not wanting to disturb them, Yaz quietly leaves the warehouse and makes his devotions on the riverbank, shivering in among the freezing fog that hangs over the River Opava.

After spending the best part of half an hour upon his devotions, Yaz can take no more of the bitter cold and heads back inside the warehouse to find that the others are starting to stir for the morning. He can smell that breakfast is being prepared and sees that Maria is in the kitchen while Yosef watches over the baby.

Maria brings out the breakfast and lays it upon the table:

"Breakfast's ready," she shouts.

She takes the baby from Yosef and they sit at the table while Yosef starts to dig into the food. Shortly afterwards, Rowan and Zosia come down from her bedroom and start to help themselves also. Faewen'il comes next to the table, bringing her spellbooks with her. Taking a seat as far away from the others as possible, she nibbles at the breakfast while studying the books, not saying a word to anyone.

Yaz joins them shortly afterwards, avoiding the bacon and eggs but eating the porridge and toast with vigor, trying to warm himself up after the period outdoors. As he does so, he chats with Yosef and Maria.

Winnacer and Milan are the last to arrive for breakfast. The others see that Winnacer is wearing all of his plate mail save for the helmet that he carries under his arm along with his shield. Milan is wearing the 'Fabio' armor and he too carries his shield. The pair of them sit on the opposite side of the table from Fae and Yaz and chat quietly together until the meal is finished.

Maria takes the plates away and starts to wash them up in the kitchen. As she does so, Zosia looks to Yaz and speaks:

"So Yaz, do you want me to introduce you to the herbwife today, or would you like to carry on with your reading?"

"I guess that I wouldn't mind meeting the herbalist," he replies. "We can carry on with the reading later tonight."

"Fine," she replies, "but it will have to be after the Council Meeting at 7.00pm."

"OK," the druid replies.

Zosia smiles:

"While you're with the herbwife, I'll get you the book I promised you, 'Doobie #5: Doobie Learns The Difference Between Mushrooms And Toadstools."

She then looks over at the others a little nervously:

"And what are the rest of you planning to do?"

Faewen'il doesn't even look up from her book as she replies:

"I'll be goin' out in a while."

"Milan and I will be staying here until the meeting," Winnacer replies.

"Fine," Zosia replies.

She looks over at Yaz:

"So, shall we?"

Yaz nods and the pair of them head out of the warehouse, checking carefully that there is no one around to see them. As they walk out of the dockside area, they see that Tall Town is teeming with life once more now that the holidays are over and life has returned to normal. Zosia leads him across the village heading for the opposite side. The pair of them keep an eye out for goblins as they go, but there is no sign of any apart from the guard that is still at the gate and also blocking the road. Keeping a safe distance, the pair of them watch the gate guards for a while, keeping well out of sight as they do so. They see that dwarves are being allowed in and out with just cursory glances. However, they see that one Bohavian trying to enter the city is questioned for a moment and then marched off at spearpoint into the city.

As it is no one that either Zosia or Yaz knows, they carry on past a couple more blocks until they got to a small shop:

Zosia points to the sign above it:

"Can you read what that says?" she asks.

"Mrs Veverka's Apothecary," Yaz says with great difficulty.

"Very good," Zosia beams. "You're learning fast. Now let me introduce you to her."

The pair of them walk inside and Zosia is immediately greeted by a pleasant looking woman in her late fifties or early sixties. Zosia introduces her to Yaz and vice versa and explains that Yaz would like to know a little about advanced herbalism.

Mrs Veverka is delighted to help and so Yaz comes behind the counter and accompanies her to the back room that has an incredible smell due to the fact that it is crammed full of a wide variety of herbs.

"I'll leave the pair of you now," Zosia says, opening the door to leave. "I'll see you back home later in the afternoon."

Yaz says his farewells to her and then listens attentively as Mrs Veverka starts to give away some of the finer secrets of her craft.

Back in the warehouse, Rowan returns to the bedroom as soon as Zosia leaves, not wanting to be left around with Fae and Winnacer. Faewen'il reads for another half hour and then closes her book. Without saying anything, she heads for the door and takes her leave.

Winnacer and Milan spend the morning cleaning their weapons while Winnacer talks to Maria and Yosef. After talking to them for a while, he gives Milan a few more lessons with the caliver, although not firing it.

Zosia returns in the late morning, bringing with her a basket of fresh groceries. She heads to the kitchen and starts to prepare a light lunch. After lunch, Winnacer sits down at the table and spends a couple of hours writing letters.

The afternoon passes without incident. Yaz spends until Mrs Veverka's Apothecary closes at 5.00pm with her and then he thanks her for all of her help and takes his leave of her. It is dark by that time and so he decides to take the opportunity to take a few more flying lessons while he is out. Checking around to make sure that no one sees him, he transforms into an owl once again and then takes to the cloudy skies over Tall Town. He spends the best part of an hour soaring on the cold air before he decides that he has had enough for the moment and heads back to the warehouse, entering by the small window in the top of the warehouse that has been left open for him. He sees that Gertrude is still sitting on the rafters above the room and so decides to chat with her until the Meeting starts.

Faewen'il arrives back around 6.30p.m., not looking in the best of humor. She takes her place at the table keeping as far from the others as possible and waits for the Council Meeting to start. Rowan stays in Zosia's bedroom, not wanting to be part of the meeting and the Kristus family goes to the kitchen, not wanting Baby Yazhua to start crying and interrupt the meeting.

There is a coded knock at the door and Zosia heads out to let in the first of the Council Members. The dwarf is masked as before. He takes his seat at the table and waits for the others to arrive. Over the next 15 minutes, there are six more identical knocks at the door and, one by one, the masked dwarves of the Council take their places at the table. They say not a word to each other as they wait for the whole Council to assemble.

Once the last of the seven dwarves have arrived, Zosia closes the door firmly behind her and takes her place at the table. She then addresses the Council Members:

"As you will no doubt remember," she starts, "we all assembled here three days ago to be told about the dual-threats facing our city; the dangers of Nemotz priests poisoning the water supply being the first and the threat of ratmen tunneling into the city being the second."

The assembled dwarves all nod as they recall the previous meeting.

Zosia then looks to Winnacer and continues:

"I would like to hand you over to LawBringer Stradheim now in order to tell you what progress has been made since then."

She sits down and Winnacer stands up. He takes a deep breath and then proceeds to tell the Council Members the full details regarding the party's assault upon the Temple of Smurt, what the party found there, the battle against the priests of Smurt and Nemotz and the finding of the plague box. Winnacer tells that they have taken one of the Nemotz priests captive and that the plague has now been safely destroyed.

The dwarves all nod appreciatively at this talking amongst themselves in dwarven at regular intervals. Several of them ask questions which Winnacer is happy to answer. Zosia watches on quietly as the dwarves ask their questions and Winnacer answers them and waits for everyone to go quiet.

She then rises and speaks again:

"On behalf of all of us, I'm sure that we'd all like to thank the four Bohavians and those of you who were able to provide them with assistance for this most important mission."

She pauses for a moment to allow the dwarves to offer their thanks to everyone in the room, which is only Winnacer and Faewen'il at the moment, as OwlYaz watches from the rafters above.

Zosia's smile then fades:

"However, although that is the first of the crises over with, there is perhaps the more serious of the two matters left to face; that of the impending ratman attack."

"Once again, I'd like to ask Lord Stradheim to speak on the subject."

She sits down once again and Winnacer stands. He is just about to start speaking when there is a knock on the door and a voice from outside speaks loudly in bad Bohavian:

"WE KNOW YOU IN THERE," the voice comes. "SURROUNDED YOU BE. OUT MUST COME YOU WITH HANDS UP AND BRING CHILD TO US."