Faewen'il & Xavier Return

Winnacer then turns to Yaz:

"Perhaps you could send Gertrude out in order to see if she can detect any sign of them?"

Yaz nods in agreement and then walks to the stable where Gertrude has taken up temporary residence among the rafters and calls the bird down to him. The two of them then start to walk out of the town, through the gap in the walls around the town, with the druid cawing and whooping to the bird as the two of them go, much to the astonishment of those he passes by, who are obviously of the opinion that he is totally mad. This is a reaction that Yaz is quite happy to foster, a great deal more preferable than having to explain himself to any patrols that the townspeople might alert to him.

He notices that the snow has now stopped falling, leaving a couple of inches of snow blanketing the town and its surroundings. The temperature has risen to a few degrees above freezing and the snow is starting to melt in certain places, but is certainly not going to be clearing any time soon.

After ten minutes, the druid and the owl have passed through the town walls. Gently, with a few more reassuring screeches, he launches the bird into the air and Gertrude starts to fly due west as fast as her wings will take her. He watches the bird fly off and continues to watch her until she is out of sight.

Not wanting to return to the wretched town immediately, he then wanders into the nearest grove of trees and kneels down in the snow to ask Prirodna for some guidance.

Once outside, meanwhile, Kokal adjusts his cloak around his neck, then follows Aneira's footprints in the snow until he finds her walking just within the town walls. The priest's mind is racing over what has just transpired in the inn as he walks up to her:

"I 'ope I'm not disturbin' ye too bad, priestess," he says when he gets within noticing distance of Aneira. "Y're prob'ly love t'be alone with weather 'ike this."

Aneira remained silent lost in thoughts of her own.

Kokal turns to look in the direction of Pardubitze over the snow-covered landscape.

"Can't say I blame ye a bit on tha' point," he muses quietly. "E'en a war priest can appreciate some kinds o'peace, y'know."

"Don't min' tellin' ye, though, th'this business 'bout Faewen'il is disturbin' me," he continues, still looking out toward Pardubitze. "If all that Lord Winnacer an' that damned scroll says be true, then the poor lass must be 'saved, eh? Fer 'er own sake, yea, but fer many others' too, it seems."

This seems to get her attention. She turns and focuses on him while he speaks.

"But knowin' 'bout such thins is beyond m'poor mind, an' I don' rightly know what t'think of all this," continues Kokal. "Know ye anythin' 'bout whether this evil mage 'as 'er in 'is grip? Seems th' lass might be more .... comfortable ... with ye then most ' th' rest o' us?"

"She has said it has not," Aneira replies. "Unlike the rest of you, I choose to believe her."

Aneira's words were cold as the snow under her feet.

"I 'aven't chosen t'believe anythin' yet, milady," the Padre replies, matter-of-factly, "'cept th' I don' know. What would I know of such thins? An' I 'ave not been lookin' t'convict anyone o'anythin' in this mess -- Don' ye do it fer me, if ye please."

Aneira starts slightly, in a softer tone, she says:

"This is true. It was wrong of me to accuse you. However, I truly believe that she is not possessed and that Winnacer was wrong in his actions. They upset me much as she was sorely hurt that day."

"I know it," Kokal says, with genuine sadness. "But t'is only 'cause I 'ave seen such thins 'afore. I guess th'others 'aven't an' tha's why they didn't know it. Still should 'ave come clear pretty quick, though, I'd thin."

"Yer right th' Fae should 'ave been treated better after what those scum did t'er an' tha' Lord Winnacer did not. Even tho' I thin' it t'was 'cause 'e was too consumed 'bout the possession, 'e was still in th'wrong in manhandlin' the poor girl as 'e did. I don' know 'ow tha' can be made right, but it's up t'him t'do it."

'I would like t'believe th' lass is in no danger, an' tha' Lord Winnacer's fears n'suspicions be mistaken, but 'e -- an' th' High Priestess, too -- seem convinced of it, an' would seem t'know such thins. An' if the lass says no, seems t'me th' it could be th'evil inside 'er .. if it IS inside 'er..." he adds with a twinge of frustration, "...jus' tryin' t'protect itself an' keep it's 'old on 'er. Could it not be?"

"We can guess ourselves to death on this one," Aneira replies. "I believe her. I thought Hana said there was no taint on her, but Winnacer had her 'cleansed' anyway."

Aneira spits out the word 'cleansed' like it is a word of the lowest kind.

"But I thought the priestesses said they'd only do th' ritual if Faewen'il consented to it?" the Padre questions. "The lass did not seem t'much object, e'en seemed a'times like she WANTED it done. An' if the evil mage was in 'er, I'd thin' 'e would make 'er fight agin' it t'save itself. 'Less it knew the rite would not work or somethin' .... Ah, damn! There's th'guessin' again. An', even if she did so, was there time before the goblin patrol came?"

"I don' wan' t'believe worse o'Faewen'il -- an' even if the lass does 'ave that evil inside 'er, I don' know 'ow it c'n be 'er fault. But I don' want t'let that stop me while she needs 'elp I might be able t'give an' comes t' 'arm ... or MORE 'arm? .... or 'arms anyone else. 'Ow could I live w'that?"

"Is it right to help those that do not request it of you?" questions Aneira in response. "Should you be allowed to foist your help on others, merely because you believe it to be right?"

Aneira asks this in all sincerity, obviously curious as to what his answer will be.

By this time, Kokal seems to be talking to himself in softer tones of angst, looking out over the snow again without noticing whether Aneira is listening or not .... or even still there to hear. He is still debating as he starts to drift back toward the inn.

Aneira watches him go with no emotion on her face. None at all.

"I believe it is always right t'elp ye friends an' comrades, priestess, 'specially if they are in some state tha' they can't 'elp 'emselves," Kokal says, without turning back to look at Aneira. "But I don' wish t'force meself on Fae. There's been 'nough o'tha' sort already."

"Th' best'd be t'ask HER ... but if th'mage IS in 'er listenin', tha'd not be wise, I s'pose. I don' know what is best t'do, or worse t'do. 'Nothin' may be th'answer t'both."

"May th'gods guide our choices."

Kokal resumes heading back to the inn.

Bennett too folllowed Aneira's footsteps from the inn, wanting to speak with her. Upon seeing that Kokal is already speaking with her, Bennett observes them from a distance. Upon seeing Kokal depart, Bennett heads over to speak with the ice priestess:

"Lady Aneira, if you would? May I speak with you?" Bennett starts.

He seems very awkward.

Aneira turned but did not stop:

"Bennett, I am not in the mood to talk with you at this time. Please leave me be."

Bennett shakes his head sadly:

"No, I won't do that. Not until you listen to what I have to say. You don't owe me anything, but I would hope that our companionship alone would merit this much."

Aneira turns around and stops. Her teeth are gritted:

"Say what you will then."

She seems extremely angry and perhaps embarrassed that someone should see her this way.

Bennett smiles in his most comforting fashion, which ain't too much:

"I realize you must be upset at Winnacer, and defending him is certainly not my intent here. I am your friend, remember that if nothing else. I wish to speak with you about the words I said in my fevered state. I can understand you not wishing me to intrude, but I feel I must explain myself."

"This is not the best of times. Can it not wait?" Aneira replies, regaining some control even as she stands in the blessing of Zima.

Bennett nods:

"It can, of course. But even if you are not willing to speak with me about this matter, I would not like for you to be alone. Not a matter of not trusting you in any fashion, but I would very much like to accompany you wherever it is you are going. It has been dismaying to me to have our group split up so much recently, and I would find your companionship comforting. Perhaps we might discuss something else, if it is all right?"

Aneira frowns:

"Like what. I am going for a walk. It may be a long one. And while I do not feel the cold. You will."

Bennett smiles a bit, vainly attempting to lighten the mood:

"Indeed I will, but your presence warms me enough that it is all worth it. Perhaps we can talk about something harmless while we walk? I promise that I will not attempt anything untoward. You have never spoken much of your background, other than to say your town was burned. I would know more about you, if you are willing to discuss it."

It is clear that Bennett is not leaving.

Aneira rolls her eyes:

"Why would that interest you? It doesn't even interest me. It is an old story. Years old."

Bennett looks at her pleadingly:

"And yet it is a story I would like to hear nonetheless. Perhaps it would help to calm you from your anger at almighty Lord Winnacer."

He smiles a bit, obviously striving for any crumb.

Aneira decides to answer, hoping that it will make him leave:

"It is not a fairy tale, Bennett. It is just a simple tale. My mother died when I was born. My father tried to kill me-though I am only guessing this part. He then killed himself. I was raised by Ilya, priest of Zima in the village. He was a good teacher. He died three years ago."

Bennett looks downward:

"I am sorry to bring up such painful memories for you. I just assumed that your family died when Kurtek attacked your village. What makes you think that your father tried to kill you? To have such a lovely child as you would seem to be the answer to many father's wishes."

The pained expression in Bennett's eyes reveals he chose the wrong course, but stubbornness and something else prevents him from stopping.

"I was found in the snow outside the house by the midwife, who arrived too late." Aneira continues. "I would assume he was trying to kill me leaving me there. Zima had other plans."

Bennett shrugs his shoulders just a bit:

"Perhaps he loved your mother so much that her death drove him to madness? Such things have happened. Love of a woman will drive a man to do many strange things......"

Bennett hesitates just a moment, then seem to firm himself up:

"I am only out here to tell you that I meant all that I said when stricken with the disease. You may not wish to have anything to do with me, as I certainly do not deserve such a wonderful woman as you, but nonetheless I cannot help but feel some spark returned when I look into your eyes. I am not asking for the world, but if you would merely consider me, perhaps as a future companion...."

Aneira listens to him speak, her face shows nothing.

Bennett's voice trails off awkwardly:

"I do not pretend to understand your feelings, but I promise that if you wish me to never speak of this again, I will not do so, and I will stop bothering you."

It's almost possible see tears in the shaggy man's face. He seems most desperate.

Aneira looks at him, for a brief instant he sees some kind of reaction in her eyes. But it is quickly stifled. She turns away:

"That would be best. Put all thought of me out of your head, Bennett. You will be happier if you do."

Bennett sighs:

"Perhaps I will never be happy again."

He then is quiet for a moment again, but still does not stop:

"And yet I have not received the answer I wanted, yes or no."

He smiles for a minute, seemingly somewhere far away:

"I think that your voice does not speak your mind in this thing. Give me time, and perhaps I will change your voice as well."

That last is not a question:

"May I walk with you?" he asks as if the conversation had not taken place at all. He seems strangely contented.

Aneira looks confused:

"I do not understand you, Bennett."

Bennett smiles:

"Then, for once, we are even, fair one. Often the realities of a thing are more in their perception than they are in more obvious terms. I have discovered this to be the case, and I think I would like to find out. You will not be rid of me so easily."

He seems to grow happier with each passing moment, and Aneira might just as well have told him she wanted to have his baby, for his reaction.

Aneira shakes her head:

"I was planning on walking out to look for Fae and Xavier. I do not want to leave them."

Bennett nods, still smiling:

"Then I would accompany you, though how the meeting with Fae, knowing what we know now, will go, is certainly going to be interesting. Shall we gather the others, or just go alone?"

Bennett's preference is clear.

"I have no use for the paladin or his lackey." Aneira replies. "How can he say he is honorable and still have that scroll. It is..."

She grows very angry again:

"No, we should go back."

She rubs her head briefly.

"They will get here soon. I will not leave here without them."

Bennett frowns:

"Why.....?"

He then cuts the thought off and follows the lady's lead. From this point onward, he can be seen very often looking in Aneira's direction, a look of almost childlike fondness in his eyes, and he is rarely far from her side.

Aneira stays outside in the cold, waiting for Fae and Xavier to show up. She is in no hurry to go back in with Winnacer or Will. She looks at them as little more than dishonorable curs.

Bennett calls into the inn from outside, asking for some warm brandy for himself and Aneira, and assuming she will not drink anything warm, ask her if she'd like anything.

"Iced tea?"

He drinks both glasses of warm brandy, smiling at Aneira in a most disturbing manner. He then continues with the chit chat:

"So, what are your plans once we get to Olmutz?"

She wants nothing. She stands there and attempts to ignore him.

Finally, she looks at him:

"Have you not been here the whole time? I seek others of my faith. That is likely the only place where I might find them."

To her somewhat sharp remark, he simply smiles and replies:

"Of course. I just wondered whether you planned on leaving us once you found them. I know that your interests and ours are not particularly the same, but I would like to know what your future plans might be. I am starting to understand there are more important things than the revolution. Perhaps I might accompany you?"

Once again, it's almost a statement.

Aneira looks at him:

"I do not know what I will do."

She looks as if she wants to say more, but stops:

"I don't even know what I want to do."

There was a subtle emphasis on the word 'I', that might be missed by Bennett.

Bennett looks into her eyes, deeply, and the almost fanatical devotion glimpsed therein could scare any sane person:

"Perhaps I can help you decide what you want to do? Even if you won't accept my love, I would not have you harmed. I can be a most effective bodyguard."

He seems to be headed straight off the edge, and his comments are frighteningly intense.

Aneira looks at him, but does not seem troubled by his intensity so much as some internal struggle of her own:

"I ... do not ask this of me, Bennett. I cannot handle it right now. Please."

Her eyes look oddly tormented:

"Just pretend I do not exist for now. I cannot give you anything you want."

Bennett nods, smiling:

"I ask nothing of you, and know that you have already given me all that I want, for now. Whatever monsters chase you I will be here to fight them off, and maybe out of that something deeper might be found."

He nods his head:

"Yes, I will accompany you, wherever you may go, and you will have to kill me to be rid of me!"

He smiles broadly, and moving very swiftly, he seizes her hand and kisses it roughly:

"How about that?"

To Aneira's best guess, it seems that Bennett may very well have lost his mind.

She jerks away from him as if she has been burned. She turns away from him and does not look or speak with him further. It is obvious that she is very, very upset.

Back in the bar of the Cartwrights' Arms, time passes horrendously slowly as the hours go by without any sign of Faewen'il and Xavier, nor any word from Yaz and Gertrude.

Yaz arrives back early in the afternoon. He doesn't seem too worried that Gertrude has not yet returned:

"I told her to go all of the way to Pardubitze and back if she didn't see any sign of them before then. She'll find her way back. Don't you worry."

Seeing everyone hanging around getting more and more worried, Jihan starts up a more practical conversation:

"I took a look at the wagon earlier this morning. It seems to be fine for our use. It didn't appear to be much more than six months old."

Bennett nods:

"If we use my plan, then the wagon will be a necessity."

He sees what the willingness of the group is to go to the Temple, now rather lacking, but puts the plan forward in any regard:

"Okay, short but simple, we pose as the Nemotz priests, use their horses and wagon, leave the cages in it with whoever wishes to pose as captives inside. If we could boil the GermSpreader's armor in hot water for about a day, one of us could wear it, myself if no one else is willing, and then three others don false robes of the Nemotz and the remainder stay in the cage. That should get us to the Temple safely enough, as they'll be looking out for the group we killed to return. What with the snow and all, we could probably manage to get inside before they knew what was up, then kill whoever is guarding the door and work our way through the complex. Even if we are revealed, it's probably better than just trying to sneak in. What with this being a fairly persecuted religion, I imagine they'll be on the lookout for hostile assaults, but it should make them less wary if we look like them."

He shrugs:

"It's just an idea."

He then turns to Yaz:

"You think those horses would know the way back home if you asked them? We'll need that even if we don't go with my plan."

"That might work," Kokal says, with sincerity. "'Ow will we 'count fer th' missin' ogre guards?"

Jihan sighs:

"I'm afraid that we're going to need to be able to solve more than that problem, brother," he responds. "I'm afraid that I burned the robes of the Nemotz along with their bodies immediately after you left to go to the Cathedral. I'm sure that the armor of the GermSpreader is still there, although itwill be badly damaged by the fire now. Also, I didn't think that we would have any further need for the cages. That's why I sold them to the blacksmith's shop yesterday. If we need them desperately, I suppose I might be able to buy them back off him. It wasn't as if I got much for them in any case."

"It could not hurt to bring all of those things with us, even if they have been a bit charred," comments Winnacer. "But before we dedicate ourselves to any plan we must carefully investigate the entire area. We still may be best served by infiltrating them entirely by surprise."

The conversation ceases and everyone goes back to worrying once more. It gets to late afternoon and dusk starts to fall. They are then all interrupted from their thoughts by the sound of tapping at the window. They look up to see that it is Gertrude, attempting to get into the closed inn.

With a look of relief writ large upon his face, Yaz rushes to the door in order to let the bird in. As he opens the door, Gertrude flies to his shoulder. The druid then sits close to the roaring fire in an attempt to warm the cold bird and then starts to shriek and caw at the bird for a moment. As the rest of them crowd round them in order to here what news the owl has brought, they see a look of relief come to the druid's face:

"It's OK," he says with a smile. "They are on their way. They were still 10 miles away from here when Gertrude saw them, so I would imagine that they still have a fair way to go. However, they should still be here before the end of the day unless anything untowards happens on the way."

At hearing Yaz' words, the great relief that everyone feels is almost tangible. The heavy atmosphere lifts and all start to relax a little.

Jihan immediately goes off to find Blanka, who is preparing dinner for you all in the kitchen:

"Apologies for the delay," he says to her with genuine emotion. "However, I'm glad to say that our colleagues are now on their way and so we should be heading off to retrieve Mirek and Zuzana at break of dawn tomorrow."

Blanka looks relieved at this, thanks the elf for his words and then continues to prepare the dinner.

At around 8.00, she starts to serve the dinner and they all eat heartily, knowing that it will be only dry rations and the results of the squires' culinary skills that they have to look forward to for dinner over the next several days.

Food always seems to have a way of grabbing Gronk's attention. His eyes light up as the food is delivered to the table. Heartily doesn't come close to describing how Gronk eats, perhaps voraciously would be better. He can again be seen pocketing pieces of dinner here and there, especially any bread. He is talking as he eats, whether in common or dwarvish noone can tell because of the amount of food in his mouth as he talks.

As the dinner plates are cleared away, none of them can help from looking at the door, waiting for a knock that will indicate the return of Xavier and Faewen'il.

Gronk picks all of the 'left-overs' off of each plate he can reach as they are taken away.

It finally comes just after 10.00 and Blanka immediately gets up and goes to open the door. It is with great relief that they all hear the voices of Xavier and Faewen'il as they walk through the hallway and then see them entering the room.

The party see that the pair of them are looking a little tired, but in good spirits, in fact, Faewen'il is looking to be in better humor than the others have seen her in for quite a while.

However, this is not what attracts their attention.

Rather, it is her clothing.

Unaware of the fact that they are now gaping at her in astonishment, they see that she is wearing the uniform of a female Witchfinder. The well-tailored dark brown tunic fits her snugly, brought in with the tan belt from which several pouches hang. She is wearing a long length brown skirt, split to mid thigh so as to allow ease of riding. Beneath the skirt can be seen the thigh-length riding boots made of soft, supple brown suede.

Upon her head she wears the trademark flattened conical hat with a silver buckle at the front and in her hand she carries one of her many Witchfinder's rods.

As they look more closely, you see that the edges of her hat, epaulettes and the sleeves of her tunic are embroidered with silver thread, the same markings that Dalibor Zitny, the Deputy General who caught them coming out of the Library of Kitry in Pardubitze, was wearing. In addition to these, she also has the symbol of Pardubitze consisting of a white horse's head on a red background upon her collar and her sleeves.

Fae's appearance strikes a funny note with Gronk. He begins laughing so hard that he falls out of his seat and begins rolling on the floor.

"Ain't ya just full o' suprises now, little lady."

Bennett's reaction could at best be called apathetic. He seems not surprised that Fae is wearing such a uniform, nor does he appear to give it one iota of thought. He is clearly tired of the group being corraled to the wishes of one young girl who clearly is not interested in pursuing the goals of the entire group.

Winnacer smiles as he sees both Xavier and Faewen'il arrive, meeting Xavier with a hearty handshake and Fae with a warm smile:

"You two had us quite worried. I trust that your helmet has been returned, Xavier."

Winnacer then turns to Faewen'il:

"An interesting look. But I thought that you were dead set against dressing the part of a magess. Are you truly the Witchfinder Deputy of Pardubitze now?"

Knowing that there would be little rest, she answered his question, the relaxed air about her slowly evaporating to be replaced by the tenseness that they had become accustomed to:

"Yes... I am."

She waited for the inevitable comments to follow.

Gronk just shakes his head as he continues:

"'en da gods be 'elpin' da Nyemetz. 'ey was bein' in 'nough trouble when ya be da enemy. Ain't nothin' gonna 'elp 'em now 'at ya be one o' 'em. Ya know da sayin', 'With friends like yous, who be needin' enemies.'"

Aneira makes no comments at all. She looks slightly relieved to see that Fae and Xavier have arrived, but makes no special effort to greet either of them.

Jihan does one of his typical awkwardly silent greetings, absorbing the changed appearance of Faewen'il as if he was not surprised. He does breathe a sigh of relief as the pair enters the door, and dashes off a tear from the corner of his eye, which he quickly conceals by turning his head to peer out the window at the drifting snow.

Yaz checks out the new threads, then shrugs and turns back to his much more interesting conversation with Gertrude.

Will looks at her with a faint smirk:

"Excellent, another inside the establishment."

He then goes back to his tutelage from Oldrich, humming tunes and taking pointers from the old bard.

Faewen'il didn't react to his comment outwardly. Whatever thoughts she might have had were well hidden behind the indifferent look on her face.

Xavier strides forward, a look of extreme mirth upon his face:

"Vell, mein freunds, have you not seen a Witchfinder before? Rodengast help us... Rodengast help us all........"

Xavier, unable to keep a straight face at his comrades shocked faces, breaks into loud laughter.

Gasping for breath, Xavier manages to say:

"Faewin, mein liebe, have you ever seen anything so funny in all your damn life? Like fish gasping for air on der banks of der river, every damn one of dem."

Upon regaining his composure, Xavier puts his hand on Faewen'il's shoulder and says:

"Come, let us wash the dust out of our throats vith a cool cup of wine, and let these mullets get some air into their lungs. Then ve can talk. Or vould you like dem all arrested?"

Xavier again breaks into laughter as he escorts Faewen'il with great manners to the table. He takes two goblets, pours some wine and hands her one before raising his own in a toast.

"Mein Liebe tu leben"

Faewen'il seems to think nothing of Xavier's closeness to her, in fact, she seems to be enjoying it somewhat, as she gives him a brief smile as he walks with her over to a table. After removing her cloak from her shoulders and laying across the back of a chair, she accepts the wine from him and joins him in the toast.

Once the reintroductions have been finished with, Faewen'il and Xavier sit by the fire in order to warm their cold muscles. As they drink the mulled wine that Blanka brings them to help with the warming process, Winnacer relates to the two newcomers the horror of the Nemotz and asks to hear their ideas.

When all ideas have been discussed, Winnacer looks to everyone before speaking:

"It is obvious that both Xavier and Faewen'il are weary after a hard day's ride. With the extra day that we have spent here, I think that we need to be on our way at first light so as to reach the Nemotz laboratory as quickly as possible. I therefore suggest that we all reassemble here at 7.00 so that we can leave right after breakfast, at first light."

"Let us all now retire to our beds as this could be the last comfortable night's sleep that we are able to get for quite a while."

All nod in agreement before finishing their drinks and then heading off up the stairs in order to enjoy one final night of comfort.