From The Vine To The Silver Unicorn

They each make their own way to the inn, taking roundabout ways in order to ensure that none of them are followed. The 'Silver Unicorn' is only a five minutes stroll from 'The Vine' by the shortest route, but the majority of them take roundabout routes in order to avoid the major streets and thus any more Nyemetz patrols, which makes the journey for each of them rather longer.

During the entire escapade with the goblins, Faewen'il had said nothing. She had not even so much as bothered to go out the window with the other priestesses. Her trip to their new place of hiding was made without incident; those who traveled with her saw that she didn't bother to hide herself too much, nor did she seem to pay any attention to the Nyemetz that were about.

With Fae safe, Jihan grows much more subdued, peering at her periodically with a sideways worried gaze. He stays with the group leading her towards the Unicorn, being especially vigilant for the presence of any wandering patrols and giving due warning of such.

Aneira walks to the new inn with nothing more than the clothes on her back. She remains silent for the most part, only speaking up to add that Zima did not grant the power to hold people in place either. Her hand went to her new holy symbol often, as if drawing strength from it.

After half an hour, Winnacer, who was the last to leave The Vine, arrives in the reception and sees, to his great relief, that the others are all assembled there, with no one having run into any Nyemetz patrols along the way.

"I've booked some rooms for you all and have also obtained a back room so that we can continue our discussions in private," says Magda as she sees Winnacer's arrival.

"Excellent," Winnacer replies. "Let us each store our excess equipment in our rooms. After our earlier encounter, however, I recommend that everyone keep their weapons close at hand, just in case we have any more unwelcome visitors."

"I'd say so," says the Padre, his shield again strapped over his back under his cloak and his star back in the pack he took it from in the Vine.

"That platoon wasn't ... isn't ... the only one looking for you."

"Keep my longsword for now," says Ithridiel. "I am sure that getting some better weapons will be one of your top priorities and so you can return it once you have something better. Also, if anyone wants to borrow my back-and-breast later, they're welcome to it."

Winnacer nods:

"Thanks. This blade strikes as true as any I've used before. I shall try my best to keep it safe until circumstances will allow for its return."

"For those of you that still are needing armor and weapons, we've smuggled in such for the foot that you are, of course, welcome to," the Padre adds.

"Though, perhaps the execution spectacle tomorrow might lighten the security around the Witchfinder Building, that we might arrange to get back your best things .... if they're still in there, that is."

"Remember that the Witchfinder Building is actually ON the Great Square, which is where the execution is planned to take place," reminds Magda.

She shakes her head sadly:

"I can see that this could be a major problem for any rescue attempt. The Witchfinders are going to be able to watch the events unfolding from the windows of the building. They are going to be very difficult to deal with while they are in such a position."

"I picked 'ese up in Bent's room," Gronk says. "I didn't figure he'd be needin 'em for a piece."

Gronk holds out 'Heart of Gyur':

"Iffin any o' yous could be usin 'is you be welcome to it, 'least til we meets up with Bent again."

Each one of them then departs to their rooms in order to drop off their excess equipment. Oldrich and Ithridiel bring up Fae's chest and deposit it in her room. They notice that the inn is not such a fine one as 'The Vine', but at least it is dry and warm and a good deal more comfortable than a tent or a Nyemetz jail. Jihan goes to his room and spends a fair amount of time readjusting the straps of his battle harness such that there are no obvious protrusions of weapons from it when he has his black cloak on. He detaches his throwing dagger bandoliers from across his chest and reattaches them to his belt, with the daggers being in behind, then switches his shortsword sheaths from an upwards draw to a down and back draw in behind. He straps on daggers to his upper arms and hangs his folding shortbow on the side of his wide belt beside another sheathed pair of daggers. A quiverful of 20 arrows is attached to the other side.

Once their belongings are stowed away, they walk down to the private room. Once they are assembled, Hana starts off the conversation:

"Before we start any more discussions, let us see to your wounds, just in case we get interrupted again. Also, the senior priestesses have other duties to attend to today and so let us not delay them for any longer than is absolutely necessary."

They agree and so Hana and the senior priestesses start to go around the room, chanting and laying hands upon all those that are in need of healing.

Gronk makes sure to position himself so that the Dwarven priestess heals his wounds. The dwarven matron starts cackling with laughter as she sees Gronk's eagerness to be seen to by her:

"So it's you again is it, young 'un?" she laughs. "This is getting to be a rather regular exercise for me havin' to patch you up like this. You should take a bit more care of yourself in future."

"Iffin 'ats da quickest way ta get ta see ya, 'en I'm more 'an willin ta get knocked 'round a little bit." Gronk says as he smiles at the priestess.

"Well you don't HAVE to get yourself beaten to a pulp in order to see me," the Priestess replies. "You can always just pop round for a chat if you feel like it. But don't go gettin' any fancy ideas into your head, young un!"

The healing process takes nearly ten minutes to complete, with Hana in particular casting spell after spell, going through each member of the party in turn healing the injuries. By the time they have finished, all of the priestesses are looking drained and tired, but their efforts were successful in healing them of all damage.

Muttering thanks, Jihan finds a seat somewhere in the corner and slumps down, arms crossed and anxiety writ upon his face.

Hana wipes the sweat from her brow upon finishing:

"Well, that was a lot of hard work. Please try and look after yourselves now, at least for the rest of the day, as all of our healing powers are now spent."

"Aye," Padre Kokal sighs. "I yet have some meager healing skills left today, but Radegast's followers have not the same favor for it as Spravedelna's, to be sure."

"I'm sure that Padre Commander Kalupecky would be none to happy if he heard you saying that," Hana replied with a smile. "Please remember that the priestesses are some of the most experienced clerics in the city and they had expressly asked Spravedelna for a multitude of healing spells during their devotions this morning in order to take care of your wounds."

Her expression turns more serious as she looks towards all of them:

"It is very lucky for you all that we were with you at the time that the goblins attacked. Were it not possible to obtain our attention quickly, then both Jihan and the Padre would have been in very serious trouble indeed."

She then turns to the other senior priestesses:

"Thank you for all of your assistance. You may now return to the Cathedral in order to continue with your other duties."

With that, the four priestesses all take their leave.

Gronk catches the Dwarven priestess's eye as she leaves and gives her a big wink.

She starts cackling with laughter again and waves him away:

"I've told you afore, young 'un. I'm old enough to be your grandmother. Go and find a nice young girl for yourself!"

The other priestesses start to giggle at the situation as they make their way out of the door.

"I trust you are feeling better now, comrade?" Padre Kokal says to Xavier. "Radegast and the revolution could hardly stand to lose one who serves their cause so valiantly."

"Danke, mein freund," Xavier responds. "Better men than the Nyemetz have tried to put me in my grave. Age may weary me, but my heart remains strong."

"Yar, mein freund, hurt I may now be, but my faith and spirit remains strong. I have suffered worse, as it is I can still stand. In Rus, I once took a wound which vould have taken me away to Rodengast's hall if it vas not for the vork of a priest of Zima. Rodengast vorks in mysterious vays. Any vays, ve are blessed vith the power of Rodengast this day. Despite grievous odds against us, ve still live, the flag of Rodengast flying high...... Ahhh, by der gods do I have urgent need to quench a thirst. Vill yer join me, mein freund, in a goblet of spiced wine? This inn is known for it."

"As it ever shall for a warrior who has the strength of Radegast behind it, Xavier," the Padre says, briefly and subtly touching his morningstar to the Saxon's heart.

"Come, there is much yet to be done before Radegast has his day here."

"Yar, Padre, ve have much to do," the Saxon agrees. "Vith Rodegast's blessing, I shall visit an old comrade from Rus this day, who gave his arm fighting the heathen. Sgt Yakov Zhukov he vas then. Now he is an apothecary. He shall hopefully aid Yaz in acquiring vhat he needs. I pray also dat something comes of our efforts to regain our equipment. Much is of sentimental value to me. I own little, but my helm, for instance, has protected my scon for 16 years. I vish it back. It is little of vhat remains of my original regimental armour as a Knight Commander of my fighting order. An order now extinct."

As the party gets settled after arriving at the Silver Unicorn, Padre Kokal seeks out Aneira:

"I owe ye my thanks, priestess, for ye help back there," he says. "Ye use of that ice sword of yours is truly impressive. Pray tell me, does ye goddess grant it to ye often?"

Aneira looked at the Padre as he spoke to her. Her cool blue eyes reflected no trace of emotion:

"Daily, if she is pleased with me."

She stared at him without blinking, remaining silent after her answer.

"Ah, yes.... well, of course," Kokal replies, his eyes and face hardening at the unexpected response from the priestess.

"Then my thanks ye have, and I shan't bother ye with 'em again, " he says, then turning to join the conference in the private room, without pausing to wait for any further answer from Aneira, but muttering a bit to himself as he goes.

As the priestesses are leaving, Winnacer thanks them all for their assistance. Then, once they have left, he opens up the discussion regarding their next course of action:

"One of our main tasks for the day needs to be attracting as much support for our rescue attempt upon whoever it is that the Nyemetz are planning to execute tomorrow."

"I would very much like to get the Churches to ask their clergy for volunteers to mix with the crowd during the execution and cast offensive spells at the Nyemetz, such as those spells that are able to hold such people as Kurtek and friends in place. They would not be asked to identify themselves and should bolt if found out. However, their surprise attack will let us cut down the top Nyemetz officers quickly, providing that the spells function well."

He looks around at the clerics for support:

Hana looks a little uneasy at the idea:

"What you are asking the priests to do sounds reasonable, but is not totally without danger. Therefore, I cannot force any members of the clergy to take part in such a scheme. However, I will speak to them all individually and ask them whether they are willing to take part in such an action."

"Another problem, however, is that Spravedelna does not grant us the power to hold people immobile in the way that clerics from some other faiths are able to do. Spravedelna does, however, provide us with the means of manipulating fire in such a way as to mesmerize those that are looking in that direction for a short period of time. I believe that this would serve a similar purpose to holding them."

Winnacer nods at the news, not completely happy with Hana's reply, but understanding the reason for it.

Aneira remained silent for the most part, only speaking up to add that Zima did not grant the power to hold people in place either. Her hand went to her new holy symbol often, as if drawing strength from it.

"As for the Radegast clergy," Kokal offers, "I, of course, cannot presume to speak for the Padre Commander, but the Church has always supported the idea of revolution and bringing about the fall of the Nyemetz, so I will be only too happy to do my part in asking Padre Lukas about providing the aid you request. The scum keep a close eye on us, as they rightly see us as a threat, so any direct action by the Commander isn't likely. But I am confident that he can find some way for us to provide aid. Bear in mind, though, that our best method for meeting the enemy is the sword -- my recent performance notwithstanding --not the spell."

The Padre forces a pained smile at the memory.

"We also cannot hold our foes immobile before we strike them. But the foot will be at our disposal - though again, more useful with sword than with any magic, admittedly."

Jihan shakes his head mutely at these developments, a small frown playing out across his features:

"Without an easy way to neutralize the Witchfinders, this may turn out to be a much more difficult exercise than we believe. We all saw how easily they immobilized us at the Library. Even dispersed among the crowd, the danger is very great. If only we had Flint here to do something about that building of theirs... A bold, but perhaps necessary, move will be to do something to tie the Nyemetz spellcasters down. A raid, or fire or something, even a bunch of fog in the square to impair their vision... Maybe some stone shaping enchantments like Yaz has at the supports of the building... Whatever it is though, it'll have to come quickly..."

"As well as clerical aid, magely magick is likely to make the difference between success and failure in this exercise," Winnacer continues.

He looks towards Faewen'il a little nervously as he says this, but does not address her directly.

"Therefore, I believe that it could be very useful for us to meet with the Master Mage that Ivo Konig told us about, Petr the Pompous. His services would be an invaluable asset in this exercise if we can persuade him to assist us in this mission."

Xavier looks up with a distasteful frown upon his face, but says nothing.

Jihan refrains from commenting on the last pieces of speculation, his gaze towards Fae watching for any sort of reaction.

The LawBringer then pauses for a moment and looks around the room:

"So these are a couple of tasks that I believe we should be looking to perform today. I would very much like to hear from the rest of you to ask what ideas you might have, and to reach a consensus as soon as possible."

"The execution is due to take place in a little over 24 hours' time, which is not long. We thus need to ensure that we invest our time wisely."

As the group finally gathered after the arrival of Winnacer, Faewen'il simply sat in the corner of the room and stared at the floor again; only bothering to speak in her disinterested voice after Winnacer had said his bit and the Padre spoke:

"Please excuse me for speakin me silly, worthless thoughts in yar presence. But ye honestly expect Petr ta help after what happened with Horvath an with tha Nyemetz crawlin all over tha city lookin for us an any other excuse ta cause problems?"

Fae shakes her head, sighs and resumes her vigil of observing the floorboards. Jihan shakes his head when she finally does reply, sighing once again and bringing a hand up to his head to cover his eyes.

The Padre too reacts to Fae with an expression that is a mixture of sadness, sympathy and disgust, trying for a moment to find her eyes but readily returning his attention to the others' deliberations when it becomes obvious the magess is intent on the floorboards.

Faewen'il's tone visibly bothers Winnacer, but his tone does not reflect what his body portrays:

"We can only try. If his ego is as large as they say, perhaps we can use his sense of self - importance to help him see our way. If we are to succeed, he could gain a considerable number of things, from financial to arcane to political powers; things he could never have under a Nyemetz regime. We can offer him a chance at personal greatness without needing to be morally bankrupt. Maybe he will respond favorably to that."

"With da priestess takin care o' her church, an' iffin da Padre can take care o' da war church, we can be workin on gettin 'at pompous mage ta be helpin us," suggests Gronk. "I'd like ta touch base with 'em Dwarves Bent got friendly with. 'ey just might be whats we needs ta arms us up right good."

"Was it you who be introducin 'em?" Gronk asks of Hana.

"It was Magda who made the introduction, actually," replies Hana.

"If you would like an introduction to Mr. Blackhammer, then I would only be too pleased to oblige," adds Magda.

Gronk shakes his head in the affirmative:

"I thinks it would be much helpful ta get some supplies from 'im. Bent talked 'bout several dwarves bein ready ta fight. We sure could use a few more strong arms. As soon as ya can 'range it I would like ta meet 'im."

"Very well," Magda replies. "As soon as we have finished making our plans for the day, then I shall take you to Mr. Blackhammer's forge in order to make an introduction."

Considering the problem of reclaiming the party's confiscated weapons, the Padre's brow knits in thought, before he hits on something:

"Perhaps, if someone among us could enchant an officer of the garrison -- and perhaps one or two rank-and-file lackeys -- he could be sent to the building under supposed orders to take the confiscated weapons elsewhere for examination and disposal, but could instead then bring them to us?"

A look of great joy comes over Xavier's face.

"Yar, mein gott, vhat a great use of sorcery. Now dat vould be funny, der bastards bring all our possessions to us. It is vith sorrow dat I miss der sword of our departed comrade, Zsolt the Pannon. His sword has an thirst for Nyemetz blood vhich I intend to quench."

"We must not take for granted that we can solve all our problems in one fell swoop here," Jihan adds to the others' comments. "There're just too many things out of our control that can affect the outcome, for better or worse. This is going to be the most difficult job we've ever pulled off, if indeed we can do it. We should figure out what we're going to do after, to take advantage of the confusion that will result... A raid on the Witchfinder building perhaps, or a break into the inner city and a surgical attack on key members at the Protektor's manor..."

Shaking his head in frustration, the elf utters a familiar refrain beneath his breath:

"Just too damn many things to worry about at once... and no time to do it..."

"Let us set our minds to the tasks at hand," Winnacer says, trying to arrive at a final plan for the day.

"First is the issue of equipment. We need to draw up a short list of gear that we must get our hands on before tomorrow. Armor, weapons, ...err.... Yaz's holy botanicals and so forth. The Padre offered aid here, but perhaps Gronk can also make some inquiries if he is to try to elicit the dwarven allies that Bennett spoke about. About the weed...," Winnacer looks a bit abashed, "I wouldn't know the first thing about getting more of it. An herbalist perhaps? A florist? Hopefully we will not need to deal with the Diamonds."

Xavier looks up and says:

"Mmmm, Winnacer, mein lord, I may have a contact to solve this. A few years ago I spent a week or so here doing a job. I had cause vhile I vas here to seek out a herbalist in, ... mmm ....vhat vas the street....... ah I remember it vas Acorn Lane. Dere vas a well stocked apothecary dere. I remember it vell, for der man had lost an arm vhile serving in Rus and spoke a little of mein tongue. His name vas Herr Yakov Zhukov and a great store of herbs did he have. Der smell of some of his herb vas not unlike dat of your holy herbs, Yaz. Der man may be vorth looking up."

Winnacer nods and then continues:

 "About our more potent equipment, it seems an all out raid would be ill-advised. We need to save the bulk of our strength for tomorrow. Using mind-altering spells to make allies of the Nyemetz has potential, but I fear that only Nyemetz that rank as high as the Witchfinders would be able to gain access to them. We can try to charm a low ranking Witchfinder, but that involves many serious risks. It may be worth the risk, however."

"We also really need some more information about the staging of the execution tomorrow. Perhaps a charmed Witchfinder can provide us with such information if we choose to attempt that route. It seems we will also need to put our ear to the street to see if we can put together a guest list for tomorrow's festivities. Some of the charmed sergeants may have some of this information, if we decide to risk approaching them again. Troop numbers, positions, and where exactly the Lord Protektor, Dalibor, and Kurtek are going to be during the proceedings would aid us considerably in planning any type of attack."

"For some reason, my mind keeps going to Sylva, as if by contacting her and swaying her to divulge her secrets could answer many of our questions. It certainly goes against any conventional wisdom nor do I have any wonderful ideas how to implement this." Winnacer looks at Will. "You know her best of all of us. Is this just a waste of time to even ponder this avenue?"

Will shakes his head in response:

"It would be wrong of me to say that I understand all of her motives, so I cannot answer the question with any degree of accuracy. From what I understand of her, it seems that she is loyal to the Nyemetz and is focussed upon her task of rooting out any resistance to their rule. However, from what we have seen, it looks to me as if she is not devoid of all humanity, which is why she saved the lives of the squires. I believe that she thinks of herself as just doing her job."

"I can't say whether or not she would aid us. All I can say is that it will be a difficult task for us to get at her. From what I understand, she is staying at the Witchfinder's Building at the moment as a guest of theirs."

"Somebody will need to bring word of our plans to the Foot and the churches of Kitry and Radegast," Winnacer continues. "Any volunteers would be appreciated in our efforts and we will need their leaders to help coordinate and plan for tomorrow."

Winnacer shakes his head.

"I just wish we knew what was being set up tomorrow, for they are sure to be planning on trapping us."

Winnacer ponders for a second:

"It may be worthwhile to run a diverting attack today. Something on a small scale to make them believe that we still struggling to resist but unable to mount any serious threat. Make them overconfident. Perhaps the worgs would be a good target for the day - if we can do it from the shadows."

"We also need to see if they really have Bennett. If they don't, we need to find him. Padre, you mentioned going to find him instead of me. Do you still plan on seeking him out? If not, then I will."

"If it's not him," Aneira interrupts, "do I hear you correctly in that you are prepared to risk the entire fate of the revolution on strangers?"

Aneira looks at Winnacer in disbelief, then shrugs.

Winnacer looks at Aneira, his eyes flashing:

"To do otherwise cheapens the Vows I made to the Lady I serve. If I am willing to take action to save one man from the gallows, who found his place there willingly through revolution, I should be more motivated to save seven from death that are innocent. The revolution exists to serve the peoples of Bohavia, not for the people to serve it. What type of people are we if we just allow others to suffer for our actions when we can intervene? Or would intervene if it was one of our numbers? There is no Justice in allowing innocents to pay for your crimes."

"There are times when Injustice must prevail in the moment in order for Justice to win out in the long run."

Faewen'il mutters something under her breath out of his earshot. Those nearest to her, barring Winnacer, hear it though.

"As iffen ye would know tha moment even iffen it hit ye in tha face..."

"But if we are considering making a move on the execution to save a friend," the LawBringer continues, "we have no excuse why not take the same risks to save those whose only crimes were being unfortunate to be in the same city as us. Perhaps you would be comfortable with their blood on your hands. I can never be, no matter who they are."

Faewen'il, tired of listening to Winnacer preach, got up and began to drag her chest across the floor towards the stairs and her room; not caring that much of the skin on her legs was exposed to view in the process.

"When I was ordained to my position," continues the young Lord, "I vowed to protect the people of Pardubitze to the best of my ability, to serve the public and promote Law within the city's limits. To turn my back on the citizenry and allow them to be murdered for actions that I took is against all that I believe in and all that I swore to do. If I can turn my back on those that I swore to protect, Spravedelna can do the same to me in my moment, or our moment, of need. Be careful of devaluing the lives of those we do not know personally, for it is those same people that we are fighting to free. It is those strangers whose generosity may one day hide us in their stores and houses or keep their tongues quiet when the Nyemetz come searching for us."

"The heart of the revolution lies in the citizens of Bohavia, not within us. We can only hope to stir it to life and help it grow in an organized manner."

Aneira says calmly to Winnacer:

"'Yes' would have sufficed, Winnacer. We really don't have time for speeches right now. Way too much to do, don't you think?"

She shrugs, clearly not understanding his views.

"My goals are simpler, as I am a simple person," Aneira adds. "Kill Kurtek."

She then waited for an answer from Padre Kokal about Bennett.

"I only thought it best for me to go find your dissatisfied comrade because the Nyemetz patrols were not looking for me last night as they were you all," the Padre says. "That is probably still the case -- since the Nyemetz are surely still seeking you all and none of those damned goblins escaped The Vine to put me with you -- and I'm still willing to go look for Bennett, if you wish it."

"But if you want me to do any convincing in getting him back with you, you'd better send your words with me somehow. After seeing the effect that having he and Winnacer together may have on the cause, I wonder if it will do more harm than good. One war at a time is enough, I think ... and you may yet have more than that here even without Bennett," Kokal continues.

"Perhaps it would be best if Bennett pursued the cause on his own path .... though it is surely not my decision to make," the Padre says, cautiously, before hastily leaving that train of thought.

"Enough! If you want him found, I am willing to look."

"But tell me how I can best help, because I was expecting to go to the Church to aid in the organization of the Foot following their arrival and see about getting arms for those of us who need them. Perhaps the senior priests might also have some information on the planned Nyemetz presence at the execution which they can relay to us. But, if I'm going to scour the city for Bennett, these things will be delayed, and perhaps we cannot afford it?"

Once the other discussions have petered out, Jihan walks over to Winnacer:

"I know a bit about merchants..." he says, "Well, I guess that's a bit of an understatement, I was practically raised by them..."

Looking far off, he blinks and shakes his head a bit, refocusing:

"My Frank costume was pretty much destroyed..." he continues, though he has reincarnated the sack hat from somewhere or another, green plume and all, "and I don't want to be circulating around the city in the day time any more than I have to, as elves are generally suspect, so I'd like to accompany you to meet this Petr. I won't be able to find out anything useful that the WSM couldn't unless I get over the wall to the inner city, which is pretty much impossible in the day time. Later on perhaps..."

The elf peers up at the LawBringer then, his eyes saying that there is more he would discuss, but chooses not to at this time.

As the floor went quiet once more, Hana spoke up:

"It seems as if there are many tasks that need to be accomplished immediately. As I have said in the past, I am willing to assist you wherever possible. As well as asking the senior priests and priestesses whether they are willing to risk their lives in order to assist you, I shall also meet with Head Librarian Konig at the Library of Kitry to ask what assistance he may be able to provide. I am convinced that the Library is still being watched, but the Nyemetz would dare not harm me, as they cannot afford to upset all of Spravedelna's followers in the city."

Winnacer nods in agreement:

"I also have another request of you, Priestess Valechkova. Would it be possible to borrow a set of Spravedelna's robes for the event tomorrow."

Hana thinks for a moment and it is easy to see that she is a little nervous about the request:

"If you wish for them, then I will not stop you, as you have the right to wear them. However, I must say that it makes me a little nervous if you were to be seen wearing them while performing these actions."

"The Church of Spravedelna, and that of Radegast and Kitry as well, have an uneasy relationship with the Nyemetz. They would certainly prefer to close down all of the Temples and to throw us all in jail, or execute us. However, they know that this would be a very risky action, as the followers of each faith would most definitely not take such actions lightly, and it could easily throw a large proportion of the populace into revolt. Such blatant actions from a member of any of these churches against the Nyemetz would be a gamble for both us and the Nyemetz."

"I shall let the decision rest with you, however," the High Priestess finishes.

"I shall go to meet with my comrades," Ithridiel says. "We are not going to have sufficient time in order to attract any type of a following before tomorrow and so I think that we need to change our short term objectives. We shall go back to listening in the inns and taverns rather than speaking. Perhaps we can obtain a little information regarding the events of tomorrow that we can all use to our advantage."

After about half an hour, Fae comes back downstairs dressed from head to toe in her black tight-fitting blouse and pants with her hair braided in a tight single braid behind her. In her hands are two tomes which she unceremoniously dumps on the floor at Winnacer's feet, heedless of their value and age. She then goes back upstairs without a word as to what they are for; not meeting anyone's eyes in the process.

"By the gods, hasn't this gone on long enough?! Obviously the priestesses' efforts were well-received," the Padre blurts out,before catching himself.

Most everyone hears her mumble to herself as she walks up the stairs.

"I can see we got another dim-lit second story..."

"Oh, can ye now?" Kokal says. "It's a wonder ye can see anything with yer eyes glued to the floor like they been."

Faewen'il continued to the top of the stairs, pausing briefly as she called out behind her.

"I would na want to offend Master Winnacer or ye other rightly folks by meetin yar eyes, now would I?"

"Though I must confess, I see more clearly now, so I should be grateful."

"Nay, apparently ye prefer to offend by NOT meeting our eyes," the Padre spits back in exasperation.

"I offend ye all na matter what I be doin... so what be yar point?" Fae offers in response as she stands at the top of the stairs.

"I'm not presuming to know everything about this lass an' the rest of ye," he says to the rest," but if our plans for how we're proceeding lay heavy on 'er, I'd say we have a serious problem."

Yaz stands watching the scene leaning against the wall, his arms crossed, grinning like a Cheshire:

"If you think we got a problem, Padre, maybe we do. Then maybe we don't. After all, we got this far. And that's her nature -- that's what she's about, right there, shouting down at you. F***, I'm just glad she's back to normal. I was worried about her last night, being raped and everything. I'm worried no longer!"

He laughs.

"Now, if YOU can't work with her, then maybe there IS a problem, like you say."

Yaz smirks, and his eyes glint mischieviously.

Gronk finally gets fed up with everyone taking shots at Fae:

"Why don't yous all just shut yers traps! Da little lady be havin more balls 'an da whole group 'ere just by puttin up with all o' yous shit! Iffin she weren't gonna be helpin out I be sure she'd be done b'now. Let 'er be an' gets on with yous work."

Gronk turns to Aneira and Magda:

"Be we ready da go?"

"More than ready," replied Aneira, ignoring the Padre's ignorant remarks.

"Pardon me, my vulgar friend," Kokal says to Gronk, "but it seems to me that all I've seen since last night is the rest of ye falling all over yourselves trying to help her with any number of, I admit, sore trials -- body and soul -- an' her acting like a petulant child in response. I ask ye, where is their room for such foolishness in our current tasks?"

"I have heard, and do not doubt, that this lass' power could make the difference in our cause ..... and it makes her a prime target for the Nyemetz as well. And that is why it puzzles me that she is not seen to more diligently ..... and why she does not, for her own part, seem to care if she is."

"I almost think ye to be sorry we did not allow the goblins t' take ye at 'The Vine', that ye might find the oblivion ye said ye seek," he says in Fae's direction.

Fae stood at the top of the stairs and listened to the Padre blather about her, though she couldn't help but reply back to him regarding this comment; her voice just as disgustingly sweet and unFae-like as it had been since the night before:

"Ah, but Master Winnacer would not have me released so soon, for I have not yet made amends. An how ungrateful would I be iffen I expired a'fore such an event... so ye need not ha' feared for me... I would ha' fought ta live in me wretchedness some more."

It must be a tribute to the strength of Winnacer's will that he does not roll his eyes as Faewen'il speaks. He turns to Kokal, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder, and speaking softly:

"Enough. Save your words for Radegast. The ones you say now will only fall on deaf ears. Have faith that unity will come out of need, as it has in the past."

"Has unity come out of HER need?" Kokal replies softly, still a bit exasperated. "But think not too much that the past guarantees something of the future. Because a wall stood the last ram may mean nothing for the next. But ye right -- perhaps now is not the time, and perhaps I am not the one, t'put this t'rest."

"Seems obvious t'me that the lass 'as been more than half-dead since her violation by the Nyemetz scum," he says to the table. "An' I know next to nothing of the possession of 'er soul that the rest of ye are going on about .... but I know this: It isn't likely t'get any better ignoring it, bein' afraid of 'er tongue, or 'er hating ye or whatever keeps ye all pussyfootin' 'round 'er. Since las' night, she's been going about like she could care less if she nor anyone else lived or died. So how comfortable can ye expect me t'be putting anyone else's lives in her hands?"

"But ye all probably think ye have more claim on her well-being than my poor self," Kokal shrugs in exasperation, getting up to leave. "Why listen t'anyone else ... even the lass 'erself, it seems."

"I shall see to what help might be got from the Padre Commander and the Foot, an' see ye back at this place by the hour agreed on. Godspeed to us all."

"Hey. Coke-man," Yaz calls, taking a thick splinter of wood from his mouth as if it was a joint. "What I've learned, here, with the rest of this gang, is that some people figure it's their nature, and hence their divine right, to tell other people how they should be and what they should do. But what I've also learned, y'see, is that it's bullshit."

Yaz is making his point now by jabbing his wooden fag substitute in the air at the priest:

"If you got some gift that makes you critical, great, be critical, criticize, do it all the time, 'cuz it's what you were made to do. But you start being critical of what other people are going around doing like they were made to do, and you're over the line. Nature doesn't make mistakes, Kokal. Fae's no mistake. And her being with us like this ain't no mistake either.

"Like I said before, I judge a tree by its fruit. Even Winnacer here, who's like you, judging everything he sees, especially Maire', has got a pretty good relationship with his scimitar and chopping people up. And he likes to keep things organized, planning this rebellion of his. Good fruit.

Going to leave when Yaz spoke up, Kokal listens quietly to most of his speech, but not all of it:

"Oh, it's Winnacer's rebellion is it!?" he finally bursts out. "Well, then, thank the gods he and the rest of ye have come to show the rest of us our 'true natures' in it!"

"Whatever have we all been doing these years without ye?!?!"

"Show yours, Kokal," the druid responds. "Do what you were made to do, not any of this shit."

"Damned right, there!" the still-incensed Padre replies, and exits.

Jihan picks up the twin tomes delicately, peering at them intently and then up towards Faewen'il. Guessing the intention behind the 'gift,' he hands them to Winnacer to examine:

"For Petr, I'm guessing. Another sacrifice for the 'cause'..."

He accents the last word strangely, without real malice or malintent, but tinged with emotion.

Winnacer can do little but shake his head as he sees the departing lass:

"Well it would seem as if Faewen'il has her own agenda for the rest of the day," Winnacer says, shaking his head. "I believe that it is time that we also decided upon our individual activities for the day."

He starts to look around the room at each of the people there:

"So Priestess Valechkova is going to speak to the senior priests of the Cathedral of Spravedelna to ask for their assistance, and will also meet with Librarian Konig to see if there is any aid that he can give us."

"Ithridiel is going to meet with the other members of the WSM and try and find out as much information as possible that might be useful in our mission tomorrow."

"Jihan and I will be going to meet with Petr the Pompous to see whether it is possible to elicit his aid in saving the citizens."

"Gronk, Aneira and Magda are going to meet with Glorin Blackhammer to see if Bennett is there, and also to see if the dwarves are able to assist us in our endeavors."

"Xavier and Yaz are going to the apothecary to see if they can obtain some more of Yaz' holy weed."

"The Padre is going to the Temple of Radegast to see what aid they can give us, and to find out the situation is regarding the Foot. If we're lucky, he might also be able to procure some extra weapons and armor for our use as well."

"And Will and Oldrich will remain here so that Will can learn more about 'the Vibe'."

"Is that all agreed upon?"

Everyone nods their heads in agreement:

"Very good," Winnacer responds. "Let us all meet back here no later than 7.00p.m. Everyone please take care. We cannot afford for any of us to get captured once again."

With that, each of them file out of the room and head off on their assignments.