Final Preparations

30 DECEMBER 3460

The night was more without incident and for those whose first experience of trying to sleep in a dwarven-sized bed, without much sleep in the main also.

As pre-arranged, they all attend to their personal hygiene and head down to breakfast in the main room at 9.00a.m., with the notable exception of Yaz, both in terms of the personal hygiene and the heading down to breakfast.

The rest of them, however, avail themselves of the massive spread laid on by the innkeeper's wife. With dwarven appetites being what they are, the amount of food is such that even Milly is forced to leave much of hers.

Winnacer speaks as they are finishing off the last of the breakfast:

"Has anyone seen Yaz this morning?" he asks.

The LawBringer's question is answered by a succession of shrugs and shakes of the head all round.

"He's probably gone for a morning fly or something," Winnacer ponders. "I'm sure that he'll be back soon."

Dax looks around:

"Candy isn't here either," he adds.

"Perhaps the pair of them have gone off somewhere together," he adds with a sly grin.

Winnacer looks around at the others, particularly the new arrivals of the previous evening:

"As for the rest of us, I thought that it would perhaps be a wise move if we first went to the Cathedral of Zemnye to summon the assistance of CornerStone Rockrender and then head down to the tunnel so that the rest of you can see where we are going to be fighting tomorrow. We can also get the CornerStone to create the alcoves that we discussed yesterday evening."

"I think that this is all that we need to accomplish today," he continues. "There is the final meeting of the Council of Seven here at 6.00p.m. this evening. I think that it would be a good idea if you all were to meet the dwarves that comprise it. I'm sure that it will be useful for you to meet them and vice versa."

"As for what we all do between checking out the tunnel and the Council Meeting, it's totally up to each of you," the LawBringer adds. "If anyone is up for it, then I would certainly be up for a sparring session so that we can all be aware of our different strengths and weaknesses."

Damene raises an eyebrow at Winnacer:

"Were you still wanting us to get some archery training in - or is that included in the sparring session? I tend to agree with the others that it will be a wasted effort and Dax is the only one who actually HAS a bow, but if you can provide the equipment, I'm willing to try. Who knows? We might be better than we give ourselves credit for."

Milly pauses in her assault on her breakfast plate to say:

"You can't count me in on a practice session."

"I have two short bows and forty arrows," the young Lord responds. "That should be enough for Milly and yourself."

"I think we're already aware of one of the weaknesses in this plan -- Damene and Milly have never used a bow before," Dax adds, concern evident in his tone. "Is it really a good idea to have this be the first time?"

"Pardon me, Winnacer," he says sincerely, "but unless you are the finest archery teacher in Bohavia -- as I certainly am not -- I don't know how much can be accomplished in one day that is going to avail them much in a battle such as you are describing this one will be."

"I'm not meaning to be obstinate for its own sake here," he says. "I agree that perhaps the IDEAL would be to have a row of archers, but the fact is that we don't."

Dax now switches his gaze between Winnacer, Milly and Damene as he continues:

"Don't you all think -- for everyone's sake - it would be better if the plan allowed Damene and Milly to use the skills they have, rather than experiment with new ones at a time like this?"

Winnacer replies patiently:

"Considering that the only skills they have claimed to be useful here is swinging a sword, no. Their job is to keep our magic using allies safe if the position is over-run. But until the enemy gets close enough, they are just going to sit around and do nothing if they do not have missile weapons of some sort."

"Even if they are a poor shot with a bow, they are shooting down a narrow hallway at a closely packed enemy with no friendly troops in sight. There really should not be a lot of room to miss. Unless they start shooting themselves in the foot, they should be alright and will contribute more than just sitting around waiting for the rats to overwhelm them."

"While it may not be optimal, it certainly is better than trying to get them to wade into battle, where they will be quickly overwhelmed and likely killed. It is spellcraft that is going to determine how this battle goes, not a few stray bowshots. Their numbers are probably just too great."

Porter finishes his breakfast, wipes his mouth with the sleeve of his jerkin and gets up to leave:

"Count me out," he says. "I've got other plans for the day. I'll probably see you at the Council Meeting."

He throws a glance at Faewen'il:

"Are you coming?" he asks.

The magess nods and gets up from her seat and then the pair of them head off.

The LawBringer watches them walk out and then turns to the others:

"So if no one else has any plans, then I suggest that we head over to the Cathedral and have a word with the CornerStone."

Not having anything better to do for the day, the others all get their things and then head out of the 'Cask & Bottle'.

The Cathedral is right opposite the inn and so it takes less than a minute to cross over the boulevard and to walk around the imposing stone building before entering through the front door.

They notice that the Cathedral is bustling with life compared to the other times any of them have been in it. As well as the usual compliment of priests, the place is teeming with dwarves. Almost all of them are carrying picks of various sizes and a fair few of them are wearing armor of differing types of style and ages, ranging from buff coats up to half plate. It is quite obvious that the city is well on its way to taking care of its own defense.

The party members make their way through the throng of miners who turn their heads and stare at the Bohavians as they pass by. Several of them point towards them and start barking with their neighbors but, as none of the party members speak dwarven, they have no idea what the dwarves are saying.

As the party members get towards the front of the Cathedral, Winnacer spies Bastioness Zorantha Gneissic, who assisted the party in the assault upon the Temple of Smurt and also in the closing stages of the battle for Zosia's warehouse. As soon as she sees Winnacer, she heads over towards him:

"Good morning," she smiles warmly. "Did you want to see the CornerStone?"

Winnacer nods:

"Yes, if he has a little time free, then we could benefit from his assistance."

"Let me go and see if he's free," she says before heading off towards the back of the Cathedral.

As they wait for the dwarfess to return, the party members look around the Cathedral, watching the brown-robed priests as they lead the miners in prayer. The building itself is an imposing one, most certainly the largest structure within Opava, with the inside of the Cathedral forming a crude hemisphere at least 100' in radius. The whole of the vast dome-like structure is covered in carvings showing the glory days of Opava, depicting thousands of dwarves mining and smelting coal and ore.

They are still marveling at the construction when the Bastioness returns:

"The CornerStone is in a meeting at the moment," she apologizes. "He should be out in about 15 minutes."

They continue to watch the activities within the Cathedral for a while until, right on time, the CornerStone arrives:

"Sorry for the delay," he apologizes, "as you can see, everything's happening here at the moment."

Winnacer nods and makes some introductions:

"CornerStone, I'd like you to meet some new colleagues of mine who have agreed to assist us in the defense tomorrow. May I introduce Milly, Dax, Damene and Candy?"

The aged dwarf smiles warmly at the four of them and reaches up to shake each of them by the hand:

"CornerStone Durian Rockrender," he greets them. "Delighted to have you on board."

"CornerStone," the young Lord continues once the formalities have been dealt with, "I wonder whether we could ask you for your assistance? We were discussing the tactics that we are looking to employ tomorrow and believe that it could be useful to dig some alcoves in the tunnel. Would Zemnye have granted you the gifts to assist us with this?"

Rockrender nods:

"I'm not sure that my powers alone will be sufficient in order to shift sufficient quantities of rock today," he says. "However, with a little assistance, I think we should be able to manage it."

He calls out to some of the priests:

"Bastioness Gneissic, Bastion Megothrin, if I could borrow you for a moment."

The two dwarves come to the CornerStone and he barks to them in dwarven. Rockrender then turns back to Winnacer:

"I think the three of us should have sufficient blessings to help you," he says. "We will have to be fairly quick though, as there is much for us to do here."

"I understand," Winnacer replies. "In that case let us go there immediately."

With that, they take their leave of the Cathedral. They follow the three priests of Zemnye as they head down the boulevard for a couple of hundred yards and then start to head down the wide stone staircase that leads down to the lower levels and then set off across the sixth level, heading for the mouth of the tunnel.

For Milly, Candy, Damene and Dax, the walk across the sixth level is quite a shocking experience. Compared to the top level, which is where the more affluent of the citizens of Opava live and is therefore relatively well taken care of, the sixth level is in a terrible state. The majority of the small houses cut out of the rock are tumbling down and many have graffiti daubed on the outsides in red paint. Several of the abodes are burned out.

They see few dwarves on their journey across the level. Those that they do see are shabbily dressed and coughing and wheezing to themselves. They step over several dwarves lying drunk in the streets, often lying in pools and vomit and/or urine. Every time they pass by a blind alley or corner, they get a glance of shadowy figures that quickly disappear as they become aware of the number of people traveling in a group.

The CornerStone sighs as he sees the newcomers' reactions:

"It is pretty grim, isn't it?" he asks. "The seventh and eighth are even worse, if you can believe it."

They continue on their journey for another ten minutes until they see the west wall of the level ahead of them. As they pass through the last of the abodes before the wall, they see that there is a 50' area devoid of habitation and seemingly a dumping ground for refuse that reeks terribly and, beyond that, a tunnel mouth some 20' wide and 20' high. It seems very dark and rather uninviting to say the least. They can see that there are rails heading into the tunnel mouth. From the flaking timber beneath them and the thick layer of rust covering the rails, they can tell that this tunnel has not been used for a long time.

The young Lord reaches into his backpack and produces his lantern, which he lights. Dax does the same in order to provide sufficient illumination for them all to see inside the tunnel. They all start to head into the tunnel. They can see that it stretches on for quite some way away from the city:

"I'd like to measure it to see how far away it is from here to the end," Winnacer says.

He then starts to count as he takes long strides into the tunnel. They all walk for a little under ten minutes down the tunnel, seeing that the tunnel is narrowing slightly the further they travel. They notice that, although the tunnel is heading in a westerly direction, the tunnel is not completely straight, but curves slightly. They notice, however, that it should not have too much effect upon missile fire, as they estimate that nowhere in the tunnel is line of sight less than 100 yards in total. The roof of the tunnel is held up by wooden pit props, many of which seem to be in a state of some decay. In places, they have crumbled away and the party has to climb over piles of rubble upon the ground. There are cobwebs in every nook and cranny of the tunnel and the occasional rat squeaks and runs away as they are illuminated by Winnacer's lantern.

By the time that Winnacer has counted out 500 yards, the tunnel is down to a little under 15' in both width and height. They continue to make their way down the tunnel for a further five minutes, during which time the tunnel continues to narrow until it is a little over 6' high and wide. They then see that the tunnel comes to an abrupt stop. They can see that the rock here is lighter in color than the rest of the tunnel and surmise that it is at this point that the stream of coal that the dwarves were mining ran out, which is why the dwarves abandoned the tunnel.

Winnacer finishes counting as he gets to the rock-face:

"A thousand yards in total, give or take a few," he says, turning to look back down the length of the tunnel. "That's pretty far."

The CornerStone nods:

"Some of them are even longer than this," he says. "Some of them stretch for miles."

"Anyway," the dwarf continues. "What exactly did you want us to do for you and whereabouts did you want us to do it?"

Once the group is in the tunnels and out of common view, Candy reappears:

"Um, CornerStone? Can I ask you a question? Could a couple of lightning bolts bring this rock down on our heads? You see, a few of us will be slightly down the corridor, and well, we might want them to get back to us someday."

The dwarf shakes his head:

"I would very much doubt that," he replies. "Kozlo is strong, but there are none more powerful than Zemnye who holds up the entire realm above him."

"Mind you," he adds with a lot less pomp, "I shouldn't go burning too many of these pit-props if I was you. If you take more than one or two of them out, THEN the whole thing might come crashing down on you. So be careful."

Winnacer scratches his chin in thought:

"If we set up right around the tunnel mouth, we may be able to shut the mouth with our own stone shaping spells in a pinch. If we set up closer to Opava, we can rely on the ambient light of Opava and have an escape route for the ambushers. But, being that close, it is likely they are going to be more vigilant and send forward scouts through our position."

"I would guess it would be best to choose somewhere in the middle, in hopes that they will proceed normally, instead of being hyper-vigilant as most beings tend to get when investigating new area. It is somewhere in the middle where it is least likely that they'll be employing longer range scouts."

Winnacer checks himself:

"However, without Yaz to help us lay down phosphorescent moss, we have no good way of making sure we have adequate light to help spot them with. So it really becomes a matter of taste."

"Do you guys feel comfortable sitting in the dark, waiting to uncover our light sources? Or do you guys want to be closer to Opava and use their light for sighting purposes?"

Winnacer sighs and mumbles something to himself about Yaz.

"Having a little light around without givin' ourselves away sounds like a good idea," Milly interjects. "Of course that'll profile us nicely for anyone comin' up the tunnel."

"The lot of you will be invisible at the get go," the young Lord replies. "That shouldn't be too much of a worry."

"I guess what we want are two alcoves higher on the walls that we can set a stone cover over," the young Lord continues. "The plug should have a peep hole or two."

"We should place a stone curtain for the ambushers to take cover behind about 100 feet away from the alcoves. That will keep the lightning bolts from even possibly scorching those hidden as such. The real question is, can we erect this curtain and hide it with spellcraft?"

Rockrender shakes his head:

"That's a question for the illusionist, not for me, I'm afraid," he replies. "Zemnye does not deal in such matters."

The dwarf pauses for a moment scratching his head as he considers the situation:

"It's quite a construction job that you're asking for here, what with covers and everything," he ponders.

He turns to Zorantha and Megothrin and starts to discuss the situation with them in dwarven. After a couple of minutes, he responds:

"I think that we should be able to manage it," he agrees. "Now, as for WHERE we make the constructions, Megothrin made the suggestion that you site it about 150 yards from the mouth of the tunnel. It will be pitch dark at that point because of the curvature of the tunnel and so the ratmen shouldn't be so careful, as they won't know how much further they have to go in order to get into the city proper."

"The reason why I don't recommend you go any further into the tunnel is that it is not too far to run should your positions be overrun and you need to fall back in order to regroup."

"Does this sound acceptable to everyone?"

Winnacer looks around at the rest of them. Seeing the mixture of nods and shrugs he turns back to the CornerStone:

"We're happy to go with your suggestion."

CornerStone nods:

"Very well," he replies. "Let's get to it."

With that, they all start to walk back down the length of the tunnel. As they do so, they keep looking ahead of them to see exactly when they start to see the lights of Opava cutting through the darkness. Roughly around the 150 yards mark that Megothrin predicted, they can see a slight glimmer ahead. They step back a dozen or so paces to be sure that no light is visible and then stop.

"So you want the wall here and the two alcoves 100' further into the tunnel, am I right?" Rockrender asks.

"That's right," Winnacer confirms.

The CornerStone nods and drops a rock in the center of the passageway so as to mark the spot. He then paces back down the tunnel until he is exactly 100' away. He then calls to the other two dwarves and they look up at the sides of the tunnel and chatter among themselves.

He then turns back to the party members:

"I'm afraid that the alcoves aren't going to be very comfortable for the two that are in each of them," he apologizes. "The best that we can do is make them 3' high, 3' wide and 5' long. You'll have to crouch down while you're inside them."

"We'll make them 4' off the ground so that you can leap down on them as they pass."

The party members nod their agreement and so the dwarves set to work. All three of the priests produce pieces of clay from their pouches and starts to mold them into rectangular blocks while they chant an incantation. They continue to work on the clay and chant for a full minute before they each press their piece of clay to the wall, with Rockrender pressing his on the right wall and Megothrin and Zoranthor pressing theirs on the left. As they do so, there is a creaking sound as the rock behind where the priests placed their clay starts to melt backwards in order to form a square alcove.

They can see that one casting is not enough to excavate the full amount of the alcoves and so the dwarves repeat the operation. This time Zoranthor comes over to assist Rockrender before they finish their spells and place the clay next to the existing holes on either side. As they do so, the alcoves are formed.

Those that have volunteered to man the alcoves look up at them with trepidation. The idea of spending several hours cooped up in one of them in the darkness is not in the slightest bit appealing.

Winnacer climbs into one of the alcoves to see how easy it would be to maneuver the cover and to see out of. After a few minutes inside, he climbs down, coated in a cold sweat.

"So that's the holes made, now for the covers," Rockrender says, admiring his handiwork and that of his colleagues.

Megothrin and Zoranthor take another piece of clay each and start to chant once more. This time, they form the clay into a thin, rectangular pancake shape, pushing their fingers through in order to form viewing slits in the structure. After a minute, they place the shapes on the ground and everyone looks on as the clay swells in form and turns to solid rock as the covers are formed.

Rockrender looks over to the rest of them:

"I'm going to need a hand from you tall, strong Bohavians in order to get these up there. I deliberately only made then half an inch thick to save on weight, but they still weigh a fair amount."

Winnacer and Rowan take one of them, while Dax, Milly and Damene take the other. The CornerStone was not exaggerating when he said that they were heavy, but between them all, they are able to maneuver the slabs into position. To their delight, they see that the covers fit perfectly.

Winnacer thanks the priests:

"Thank you, that really is an excellent piece of construction."

"Please don't mention it," Rockrender replies with a grin. "If a dwarven priest of Zemnye couldn't handle it, then no one could."

"Anyway, let me make your wall and then we shall have to take our leave of you."

With that, they all head back down the tunnel back to where the CornerStone left his marker. He urges the others to get behind the wall and then takes his clay:

"If it's OK with you, then I will make it three and a half feet high and three inches thick. That way you will be able to shoot and fight over it, but it will still provide something of a barrier as well as cover."

The CornerStone then starts to chant once again while molding the clay into a model of a wall. As he finishes, he places the clay on the ground and they all look on as the clay starts to swell as it grows to cover the entire 20' width of the tunnel up to a height of three and a half feet, as the CornerStone promised.

Rockrender looks at the job with obvious satisfaction:

"A job well done, I'd say."

"Now, is there anything else that we can be helping you with quickly?" he asks. "Otherwise we need to be heading back to the Cathedral."

"I was planning on trying to get some area of effect weapons later today," Winnacer responds. "Have you any ideas as to where I could get some from?"

"Such as?" Rockrender replies.

"Greek fire, nets, caltrops," Winnacer replies, "perhaps some more of Ohen's Holy Powder."

"I could do with some heavier armor too," adds Milly.

The dwarf considers the matter for a moment:

"Well I have no idea where you would even begin to look for nets here," he starts with a shake of the head. "There's not really that much of a demand for them here. All of the fish in the river died years ago as a result of all the pollution."

"For the Greek fire and the Ohen powder, you need to speak to the High Priest of Ohen, obviously," he continues. "I have no idea where their temple is, however. I don't think that anyone other than the priests themselves know that. He will be at the Council Meeting this evening and so I suggest that you ask him then. I suggest that you don't raise your expectations too highly though. Remember that they have one tunnel of their own to guard and will also need to assist those guarding the other 12 tunnels."

"As for the caltrops and the armor," the priest continues, "I suggest that you have a word with the Master Artificer at the Church of Zelezny. If anyone can help you out with metal objects, then it is him."

"Now, will that be all?" he finishes.

Winnacer nods:

"Yes," he replies. "As always, you have been more than helpful. We shall let you go about your business now."

Rockrender nods:

"Please don't mention it. I look forward to seeing you all again at the Council Meeting this evening."

They then leave the tunnel behind them and return to the sixth level, passing through the rubbish as they make towards the stairwell. As they walk through the filth and poverty, Winnacer speaks to them all once more:

"I suggest that we stop off at the Cathedral of Zelezny before we return to the inn. It's on the second level and so we shall have to pass close by to it in any case."

They head back to the staircase and walk up four levels before Winnacer leads them off as they walk across the second level. While not as well cared for as the top level of the city, the second is a vast improvement upon the sixth.

After walking for some ten minutes, they see a large building ahead of them and, from the huge sign of the hammer and anvil engraved upon the enormous iron doors, they realize that this is the Cathedral of Zelezny.

They walk through the doors and into the Cathedral. Inside the Cathedral it is warm compared to the cool and dankness of the rest of the city. They can see that the reason for the heat is the fact that there is an enormous furnace at the head of the temple, in the place where an altar would be in most churches, constantly fed by acolytes who are shoveling coal onto the flame. Several gray-robed priests are hammering on pieces of iron and steel that they take from the white-hot coals.

As was the case with the Cathedral of Zemnye, the Cathedral is crowded at the moment, with hordes of dwarves milling around wondering what to do. Almost all of them are carrying hammers, although several of them have calivers with them as well. As with the dwarves in the Earth Temple, they are dressed in a wide assortment of armor.

Winnacer heads over to the nearest of the gray-robed priests and speaks to him:

"I wonder whether it might be possible to have a word with Master Artificer ArcWelder," he asks. "If you could tell him that Lord Stradheim and his colleagues are here to see him."

"Please wait here a moment," the priest replies and then heads off towards the back of the temple. He returns a few minutes later and beckons them all to follow him.

The priest then leads the party members up some stairs at the back of the temple and opens a door coming from a corridor at the top. They walk in to see an elderly dwarf behind what appears to be a gigantic anvil that serves as his desk. There is a small forge in the corner of the room that makes the air uncomfortably warm. As soon as he sees Winnacer, he gets up, looking highly relieved:

"Ah, Lord Stradheim," ArcWelder says, "I wondered when you would return. I hope that you have come to take that wretched disease priest that I agreed to keep locked up in the storeroom for a 'couple of days'. It's been nearly a week since you left him here and he's been stinking the Cathedral up something evil."

Winnacer gives ArcWelder a weak smile:

"I'm really sorry about that. I really did mean to come back and take him off your hands a number of days ago. But, as you must have heard, we've had our hands quite full the last several days and were in no position to even attempt to return to Opava proper."

"Well I did hear that you had a few problems with the Nyemetz," Dranthor replies.

Winnacer then has a thought cross his mind:

"Perhaps I should have a word with our pestilent captive."

The Master Artificer nods:

"I really would appreciate it if you could do something with him," he replies. "I don't really care what. I just want him out of our store room."

Once the situation regarding the Nemotz priest has been resolved, Winnacer introduces the new members of the party. The Master Artificer greets them all warmly:

"Master Artificer Dranthor ArcWelder," he says as he shakes everyone by the hand. "Delighted to make your acquaintance."

"I can understand that you're very busy here at the moment," the young Lord says, "but there was something else that we wanted your assistance with."

"Oh yes?" ArcWelder responds. "What's that?"

"We have agreed to defend one of the tunnels even though there are just ten of us," Winnacer replies. "CornerStone Rockrender said that you might be able to supply us with caltrops to help in the defense."

The Master Artificer nods:

"That won't be a problem," he replies. "They are very easy to make. I can have them ready for you by midday tomorrow. How many did you want?"

"I had a request also," Milly interjects. "I only have a set of chainmail for my protection that doesn't fit me very well. I was wondering whether there's a chance of getting anything better?"

Milly's request is met by a short sharp intake of breath from the dwarf:

"If you want it for tomorrow evening, then that doesn't give us a great deal of time," he replies. "If your chainmail needs a little alteration, then I think I could have that ready for you by noon tomorrow, same as the caltrops. In terms of upgrading, the only quick option would be to make you a breastplate to wear over the chain. If one of my team works around the clock, then it could be ready by tomorrow evening."

"I must warn you, however, that it will be fairly heavy and bulky. There's not much call for mail and plate these days. Most people are wearing half-plate instead, but that would take weeks to make for you."

"I'm not too worried about the weight," Milly replies. "I don't plan to do no long distance runnin' with it. But if that's the best that I can get on short notice, then that'll have to do."

Winnacer interjects:

"If you would prefer, I could lend you these robes," the young Lord says to Milly. "Although they look like robes, the clothes are, in fact, a set of field plate with a permanent illusion cast upon them."

"In order to activate them, all I need to do is say .. . 'Fabio'."

As Winnacer says the word, the robes immediately morph, with the dark green velvet of the robes becoming stiff and metallic as it shapes itself to Winnacer's body. Within a matter of seconds, he is clad in field plate."

He repeats the word and the armor returns to its former material:

"One size fits all," the young Lord continues. "I have another set of plate that my squire is currently borrowing. I am sure that I could retrieve it for my use and wear that so that you could use this armor."

Milly looks at the robes and then nods her head:

"Well, if it's not too much trouble for you," she replies. "I'm not so used to bulky armor these days and so the robes would probably be easier for me to wear."

"I don't think Milan would mind, as long as he gets them back in one piece," the young Lord replies.

Leaning closer to the Master Artificer, Milly asks in a quiet, hesitant voice:

"How long would it normally take to "let out" some three-quarter plate? Actually some magickal three-quarter plate."

"I realize there's no way it would be done in time for the dance, but just as a work on its own."

The Master Artificer whistles through his teeth:

"Magickal three-quarter plate," he ponders, shaking his head. "Repairing or altering any magickal type of armor or weapons is a very delicate task and only the most qualified of all blacksmiths are able to perform the work without destroying the enchantments contained in the metal."

"Without seeing the nature of the armor, I would not be able to give you an accurate quotation, but it would probably be a matter of a number of weeks rather than days. Employing such a qualified armorer for the task also tends to be expensive. I would imagine that it would cost several hundred gold pieces for such a task."

All goes quiet and the Master Artificer speaks once more:

"So, will there be anything else?"

"No, I think that will be all for now, Master Artificer," Winnacer replies. "I can see that you are busy making your preparations for the battle tomorrow."

"As promised I will go and have a word with our captive."

They all say their farewells to the dwarf and then head back down the stairs to the nave of the Cathedral. The others follow Winnacer as he heads over to a sturdy iron door, in front of which is standing a bored looking priest of Zelezny:

"I'd like a word with the prisoner if that would be possible," the young Lord says. "The Master Artificer suggested that I should."

"Be my guest," the priest says as he takes a large key from his pouch and opens the door.

As it slowly opens with a creak, the first thing that strikes them is the stench coming from the room. Dranthor was not exaggerating when he said that it was disgusting. Inside the room, they see the source of the foul emissions, a filthy looking person with red wheals all over his face wearing soiled black and yellow robes. The Nemotz priest is sitting in the Cathedral's storeroom, in amongst piles of coal and lengths of rough iron. They can see that the priest has kept himself amused by carving many pieces of coal into faces. All of the facings in the carvings seem to be afflicted by terrible diseases and are screaming out in terror.

The Nemotz priest grins sarcastically as he looks up and sees Winnacer standing above him, with the rest of the party standing behind him:

"Well, well, well," the priest says in the manner that Winnacer was expecting, "if it isn't my good friend the LawBringer. I really didn't know that you cared so much for me. And you've brought some more visitors with you as well."

"Anyway, what can I do for you? As I'm sure you can appreciate, I am a very busy man these days."

"I am here to offer you a deal," Winnacer replies, ignoring the priest's tone of voice. "As you may or may not know, this city is going to be invaded by the foul allies of your faith, the ratmen. The whole city is being mobilized in order to combat the threat, but we need all of the assistance that we can get for this, even that as vile as yours."

"So I wish to ask us whether you would be prepared to assist us in this task," he continues. "I must say that, seeing as how members of your faith have proven in the past to be nothing more than evil and villainous, we would need to place you under an enchantment to ensure your loyalty to us rather than the ratmen."

"So what is your answer?"

The Nemotz priest strokes his chin for a moment, popping a few yellow-headed pus-ridden spots as he does so, thinking about the offer. After a short while pondering the LawBringer's words, he gives his response:

"You haven't really given me all of the options," he replies with a shrug. "If I don't accept your most gracious offer, then what is the alternative?"

"As I said, I would spare your life," the LawBringer replies. "I will, however, place you in custody of the dwarves of Opava, to pass Judgement upon you. I will vehemently argue that you should receive some leniency, due to the aid you gave us, but dwarves are known for their stubbornness. But I will do the best I can."

"And if I do accept it, then what would you have do with me once the ratmen have been vanquished?" the priest asks.

"Assuming that I don't die in the process, of course."

"Then I will escort you to Olmutz and present your case to the High Court of Spravedelna," responds Winnacer. "There I will petition that you be granted your freedom to walk the earth under your own custody, citing all of your examples of cooperation with the Law. It is likely you will receive some punishment, but be eventually released into your own recognizance."

The priest takes a while to consider the offer before he eventually responds with a sigh:

"Well neither of the options sound too thrilling," he replies. "But I guess that if it's a choice between being tried by dwarves or tried by Bohavians, then I'd go for the Bohavians. Dwarves can be spiteful little buggers, you know."

"So I shall go for Option B," the priest decides. "But only if you give me your word that you'll tell your bosses that I helped you against the ratmen."

Winnacer nods:

"I give you my word," Winnacer responds. "I shall return here tomorrow with the magess in order that she can charm you in order to ensure your loyalty."

"I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to it," the priest replies with another sarcastic grin.

Once the fate of the Nemotz priest has been determined, they walk out of the room, all glad to be rid of the foul odors in the room and the dwarven priest on guard duty slams the door behind him before locking the door securely. As the priest does so, Winnacer turns to speak to him:

"Please could you pass on a message to the Master Artificer," Winnacer asks. "If you could please apologize to him for the additional delay, but inform him that I shall remove the Nemotz priest when we return to collect the caltrops tomorrow."

The dwarven priest nods in reply:

"Fine," he says. "Just as long as you get rid of the stinking thing soon."

They then head out of the crowded, smoky and sweaty Cathedral back into the cool air of the second level.

They walk back through across the level and ascend the staircase back up to the top level before heading back to the 'Cask & Bottle'.

As it is almost noon by this time, they head into the meeting room once more and avail themselves of lunch prepared by the innkeeper's wife once more. Once the meal is finished, Winnacer speaks once more:

"So, who is in the mood for a little sparring this afternoon?" he asks, "or perhaps a little archery practice?"

Those whom are interested in sparring head to their rooms in order to take their equipment and then head through the back door of the inn into a small courtyard, onto which several residences back. Candy heads out to the sparring ground and watches. She makes no attempt to join in--especially with arrows. When Winnacer appears, he is carrying two short bows and a quantity of arrows.

He hands one of the short bows to Milly. She looks at the bow a little skeptically:

"Ya sure this thing isn't just gonna break on me?" she asks.

Winnacer shakes his head:

"It shouldn't do," he replies. "But I would be a little gentle with it to begin with."

"So Mr. Stradheim," Milly says, picking up one of the short bows, "you're gonna teach Milly how to shoot this little thing? Well I'm ready whenever you are."

"Please," Winnacer replies to the middle aged woman, "call me Winnacer."

Milly nods in acknowledgement.

"As for the bow....."

Winnacer proceeds to run through his basic knowledge with the same patience that he has learned through his experiences with Milan. Milly actually seems quite receptive to whatever Winnacer has to show her about the shortbow. However, he does have to continually correct her tendency to over pull the small bow. Winnacer does, however, find her to be a lot more of an able student than Milan.

Winnacer heads into the stables next to the inn where several of the small pit-ponies are standing quietly and take a few bales of hay which he piles on top of each other. He then takes one of the bows and, instructing Milly as he does so, sends a few arrows flying towards the bales. All of Winnacer's shots are on target, a fact that even surprises the young Lord as he himself has not had too much experience with the bow.

Milly is a little wobbly with the bow at first, but manages to send the first few arrows flying in vaguely the right direction. After spending half an hour with the bow, however, she finds that she is able to get the hang of it, and is able to hit the bales more often than not.

As Milly and Winnacer practice with the bows, Damene and Dax spar together. Dax fights with his longsword while Damene fights with a shortsword in one hand and a dagger in the other. Despite the mismatched weapons, those observing see that the two are fairly evenly matched. Dax finds it very difficult to get through Damene's defenses as she uses her dagger to deflect his thrusts time and time again.

Dax grins often as each fighter effectively nullifies the other.

Damene's expression is blank and seems even more remote than usual.

"First time I've seen you at this," he grins to her during the exercise. "The Radegastians don't know what they missed."

Completely focused on the sparring, Damene does not respond to Dax's comment.

"Just don't make me look too futile, would ya? I don't think our new allies are all that impressed with us so far ," he laughs, not actually seeming deathly concerned with whether they are or not.

Again there is no reply from Damene, not even the hint of a smile.

Winnacer and Milly spend another half an hour practicing with the bows until Milly has had enough of the practice and they put the bows away.

Pulling a well-worn scabbard from her sack, Milly looks it over with fondness:

"Bows I never really could get the hang of, but this..."

She slides from the scabbard a well-crafted longsword. The hilt and base of the blade are worked with gold in a stylized flame pattern.

"...this I know. Don't know why, but it always came easy to me. My Papa always thought it was the funniest thing."

Seeing that Winnacer and Milly have finished with their archery practice for the moment, Dax and Damene finish their sparring session and approach Milly:

"If you're not planning on using that bow for the next half hour or so, then perhaps I could try and show Damene what to do with it?" Dax suggests.

Milly is only too happy to oblige and hands the bow to Damene. Damene proves to be an attentive student of the bow and, as Milly managed, she soon manages to get the hang of the weapon.

Dax is quiet and patient in his tutoring of Damene, and genuinely pleased when she seems to pick up the knack of the weapon quickly.

Damene listens intently to Dax's instruction. She makes no interruptions, except to ask for clarification on some of the finer points of using the bow.

"Good," he says, with a touch of relief in his voice. "Good, Damene. You'll do some damage to these damned rat creatures, I'm sure."

"Just don't fall in love with your new toy and stick with it too long. Go back to the blades when you have to."

As Dax and Damene try out the bows, Milly steps into the center of the courtyard and says:

"Well, come on Mr. St.... Winnacer."

She smiles with confidence:

"Don't be afraid, you won't hurt ol' Milly."

After the first traded blows, it's obvious that Milly has been trained by an excellent teacher, although at times her style seems more natural then learned.

Winnacer considers that, if Milly were twenty years younger, she would easily have bested him. However, as Winnacer and Milly trade blows, she gets the distinct feeling that she's fighting a rock. She cannot help note that his blows are far from the strongest she's ever taken and the LawBringer may be young but is certainly not spry. But what Winnacer lacks in strength and quickness he makes up for in efficiency of motion and patience.

As they continue, it becomes apparent to the young Lord that age and weight have taken their toll on Milly as, after about fifteen minutes of sparring with the rivulets of sweat running down her face and her breath coming ragged, she calls a halt.

"We'd... better stop... for now..." she pants as she steps back and sheathes her sword.

"I wouldn't... want to... tire you out..."

As Milly's heart races wildly from the exertion, the young Lord has barely broken a sweat. As he holds out his hand to help her up, she can just tell that he could probably fight for hours if need be. Like a damned rock.

Kneeling, Milly returns the scabbarded sword to the large sack on the ground. Taking hold of the sack, she starts to rise but stumbles. With a few muffled curses to herself, she attempts to rise a second time and succeeds. Waving off any offers of assistance, she says:

"Well... I'd better be gettin'... cleaned up. Wouldn't want to... meet our party guests... lookin' like this."

Winnacer nods in agreement and heads back into the 'Cask & Bottle' along with her. Damene and Dax also decide that they have had enough for one day and head back inside as well after handing the bows back to Milly and Winnacer.

As the session ends and Damene and Dax head back to the inn, the young woman seems to gradually come back out of herself. Damene is still quiet, but her expression doesn't seem quite so aloof as she listens to Dax's banter.

Dax's mood, however, seems to go in just the opposite direction. About halfway back to the inn, he stops speaking completely, simply stalking back to the building in silence with his jaw set firm.

Once they reach the inn, though, Dax speaks once more:

"That was fine work, Damene," he says, sincerely but quickly, his eyes all business and without a hint of a smile now. "Remember what I said about not staying with the bow too long."

"May the gods be with you -- us -- tomorrow."

Dax then abruptly walks away.

Following them back after watching the practice, Candy almost breaks into a rousing rendition of 'Damene has a boyfriend'. But, instead, she just smirks and giggles a bit.

After the exertions of the afternoon, everyone heads back into their rooms and clean themselves up so as to be fresh ready for the final Council Meeting.

They all start to head down to the room a little before the official start of the meeting at 6.00. They notice that Porter and Faewen'il have returned from wherever it was that they went in the morning. From the fact that they both appear to be in relatively good humor, the others guess that their day has not been too unsuccessful.

Porter walks over to Winnacer as they start to head to the Council meeting to say:

"I did a little digging today, and that son-of-a-bitch Melchior split town four days ago, same time I was in that shithole and you were fending off the warehouse attack. He was headed southwest and was escorted by a company of worgriders. Just in case you wanted to know the whereabouts of a walking dead man."

Winnacer looks grim:

"So the bastards have four days on us? I hope your business here is almost over, because we really need to split town after we beat off these skaven."

"From what I gathered off the late Lord Protektor, the OverLord Protektor is the one who put out the call to find and retrieve this child. The very top of the Nyemetz food chain. This will be more heat than we can handle."

"The last time our company caused enough trouble to catch the OverLord's eye, he dispatched his Aide-de-Camp. We did not hang around long enough to meet him in person, but we did see his Black Dragon fly overhead as we ran for our lives."

"I never believed in dragons much before that, figuring they were something fanciful and extinct that figured nicely into my father's tales. It was quite large."

Winnacer's eyebrows shoot upwards with that last understatement.

Porter's eyebrows match Winnacer's, the mention of a dragon cutting through the rogue's cool facade for a moment.

He coughs:

"Dragon? For the love of the gods. . ."

"We should make sure we are out of here before the OverLord hears news of Baby Yaz's birth," The LawBringer continues. "So, please, finish your business as soon as possible. If need be, we can find ourselves some other gold...I already have a lead on what sounds as if it is a veritable hoard. If this is about pride....well....hurry up."

"Thankfully, I think I know a place where we can hide Baby Yaz from prying eyes. And it's not far from where we can start to pry into the legend of the Black Cat. Or do you plan on going it alone again once all business in Opava is finished?"

Porter answers:

"First of all, this isn't about money. Well, it is, obviously, but only incidentally. I had a contract with someone. They broke that contract. I take that very personally. I merely desire that they fulfill that contract. But anyway, I think I have all the information I'm going to get in this town, so I may be able to split immediately, we'll just have to see after the rumble with the rat bastards. I'll be going with you guys to Olmutz, assuming that's where you're going after this. I wouldn't mind helping Yaz get a little revenge upon the Nyemetz and their cronies. But what's this Black Cat business?"

Shortly after they have squeezed themselves into the tiny chairs, the seven Council members start to arrive, all wearing black masks over their faces in order to mask their identities. As the dwarves settle themselves into the room, they start barking to themselves in dwarven. Faewen'il can understand that they are interested in the new faces that they have not seen before.

Winnacer waits until all seven of the Council members have arrived before he introduces the newcomers:

"I would like to introduce you all to some new colleagues of ours," he says. "This is Dax, Damene, Milly and Candy. They have agreed to assist us in the defense of the city against the ratmen tomorrow."

The dwarves all nod their heads in greeting to the newcomers and then one of them, that sounds suspiciously like the CornerStone that they met earlier in the day, replies:

"We thank you all for agreeing to help us in our hour of need," he says. "Unfortunately I cannot introduce our membership to you as it is a rule of the Council that members identities will be protected at all times."

He pauses for a moment and looks to the dwarves:

"Let us start the meeting by each of us that have agreed to summon assistance to the defense telling the rest as to what progress has been made," the dwarf says. "As for myself, I am pleased to say that the city's miners have made much progress during the past few days. I believe that they are ready to defend the three tunnels that they have been assigned to."

The others then add their own comments to those of the CornerStone's. Zbignor says that the mercenary company is ready to go and all of the dwarves are very much looking forward to the upcoming combat. He adds that he has spoken to Goisil from the Temple of Seela and that they too have agreed to defend another of the tunnels.

The other fighter that assisted in the defense of Zosia's warehouse is the next to speak and tells that the smiths of the city are also ready to defend the city. The priest of Ohen is the last to speak, confirming that his followers are also ready for the task.

As the priest finishes, Winnacer speaks to him:

"We were wondering whether it might be possible to ask for your assistance with some materials?" the young Lord asks. "Some more of Ohen's Holy Powder and some Greek fire could prove to make all of the difference in our defense."

The priest shakes his head:

"I'm afraid that you will have to leave that one with me," he replies. "All of our faith have been working day and night in order to prepare a quantity of Ohen's gifts to assist with the defense, but there has not been as much time as we would have hoped for and we have been limited to the amount of the raw materials that we had on hand."

"I shall see what I can do, but we will need quite a significant amount of material for the defense of our own tunnel as the numbers of our faith are small. What we can spare will have to be split between all of the remaining tunnels and there are a lot of them. Whatever we can spare will be delivered to your tunnel shortly before the ratmen are expected."

Winnacer nods:

"I can understand that the needs of the city are great, but we will appreciate all of the assistance that you can provide."

The young Lord then looks at the illusionist:

"We need to find out what you can do for us tomorrow," he asks.

The 'dwarven' illusionist nods:

"Yes, I know that," he replies. "If it's all the same to you, can we discuss that at breakfast tomorrow? As we're going to be busy tomorrow night, I had planned to celebrate the New Year a day early."

"Winnacer agrees:

"Yes, that will be fine."

There is a pause and then the CornerStone speaks once more:

"So, is there anything else that we need to discuss? If not, then I'm sure that there is still plenty that we all need to be doing before the battle."

Winnacer looks at the rest of them to see if anyone has anything else to add, but it seems as if everyone just wants to get on and finish the exercise as quickly as possible.

The young Lord looks back at the CornerStone:

"No, I think that we are a ready as we ever shall be."

The dwarf nods:

"Very well then. This will be the last opportunity that we have to meet before the battle. I wish you all Zemnye's blessings for the fight tomorrow. We all know what we have to do. Let us all show the vermin that they have made a grave mistake in thinking that they might conquer this city without meeting stout resistance."

The CornerStone's words are met with 'ayes' and a lot of dwarven oaths in response and then the Council Members all head out of the inn leaving the party members alone in the room once again.

It is now 7.00p.m. and all are getting hungry once more. Milly goes and summons the innkeeper and he comes in half an hour later to present dinner for them. As they eat, they discuss the day's activities and what tomorrow might have in store for them.

During the meal, Winnacer approaches Rowan:

"I have been wondering what happened to Joy and her associates at the Temple of Zlodey," he says. "Do you know whether she and her friends are intending to take part in the battle tomorrow?"

"Joy has decided to stay at the Temple for the time being," Rowan replies. "She is still rather annoyed at your intervention on the first day that we arrived here. From what I understand, the Zlodeyites have no plans to take part in the forthcoming conflict."

Once the young Lord has finished talking to Rowan, he then has a word with Faewen'il:

"I have promised Milly the loan of my 'Fabio' armor for the battle tomorrow," Winnacer explains. "I can wear my regular plate mail, but the problem is that it is back in Tall Town and it would not be a good idea to start an altercation with the gate guards at this time."

"I was wondering if it might be possible for you to retrieve it for me?"

The magess sighs in response:

"That's all that I seem ta be for ye these days, nothin but a messenger," she scowls.

"If'n tha illusionist is comin for breakfast tomorrow then it be best if'n ye asks him to do it for ye," she continues. "I be needin ta start the battle with all ma spells in place. Tha illusionist nae be havin any spells that can be causin damage an so it's better for him to be usin one o his spells rather than me mine."

The meal continues for another hour until all are full. With nothing planned for the evening, everyone goes their own ways. Some stay in the room, drinking and chatting with each other for a few hours longer while others head to their rooms, wanting to spend a little time to themselves or getting an early night, knowing that there will be little opportunity for sleep the following day.