Chittering, Chattering & Arguing

 

19 DECEMBER 3460

Due to the interruptions of the night and the fact that only a few of them slept particularly well due to the amount of alcohol consumed during the previous evening, no one is in too much of a hurry to raise themselves the following morning.

Yaz rises just before 8.00 and heads out of the inn in the half-light in order to make his morning devotions. He heads a short way from the village so as not to be seen, heading in the direction of the fissure to check that nothing's going on. All seems to be as he left it, however. While he is making his devotions, Gertrude flies over and comes to rest on the druid's shoulder, silently waiting for Yaz to finish. Once he has done so, he starts to head back to the inn, squawking with Gertrude as he goes.

Joy prefers the relative warmth of her room at the inn for making her devotions. Once she has finished, she heads down to check on the door to the cellar. All is as she left it previously left it. Listening carefully at the door, she can just hear some sad squeaking from somewhere below.

She heads to the main room of the inn to see that the others are already there. Not trusting the local produce now that they know the details regarding what is causing the villagers' many illnesses, Milan has retrieved some of the party's road rations which the innkeeper's wife has cooked up for them.

Several of them are nursing sore heads as they silently eat breakfast. Rowan's injuries are not self-induced, but he is still quite badly injured from the night before.

At exactly 9.12, Timex Quartz-Movement comes in to the room, dressed for action, as he is wearing chainmail and carrying a crude mace consisting of a large piece of granite on a wooden handle.

He smiles weakly, before starting to cough violently:

"Greetings," he starts. "I trust that you had a good night's sleep?"

"Well, not really," Winnacer starts. "The rat-beasts struck again last night, at a carriage pulling up at the inn."

Timex looked shocked at the news:

"Again?" he coughs, looking shocked. "Are you alright?"

Winnacer nods:

"All of us survived the encounter, taking out all of the ratmen into the bargain. Rowan was quite badly injured during the melee and myself and Rowan's cousin, Joy, were also injured slightly. Alas, three of the passengers on the carriage were slain before we had chance to intervene, a dwarf and two humans."

"That's terrible news indeed," Timex replies, wiping his running nose. "Where are the deceased?"

"We put them in the stable for the night," the young Lord replies.

"They need a decent burial," the priest replies. "My brother should be able to see to the last rites of the dwarf, but we have never buried a Bohavian here before."

"Then I shall perform the ritual," Joy interrupts. "Though I doubt very much that they are of my Faith, they are of my people."

"Very well," Timex nods. "Before we leave to start searching for the fissure that these abominations came from, I shall tell my brother to get the congregation to prepare a burial site for them."

"My brother should also be able to see to your wounds as well, so that my meager healing ability can be left for any emergency that we may face."

"Actually, we already know which fissure the ratmen came from," Aithne says. "We were able to follow their footprints back to where they came from."

Timex seems pleased by the news:

"That is good," he says. "That should save us a great deal of time by not having to investigate a number of different caves."

"That's not all," Yaz adds with a grin, "we managed to take one of them alive. It's in the cellar."

"Here?" the priest questions, looking quite alarmed. "Is it safe?"

"It shouldn't be a problem," Joy says. "I placed an enchantment on it and so it now considers me as a friend."

"I'm planning on getting it to answer a few questions once we've finished breakfast," Yaz adds.

There is a pause in the conversation and Winnacer speaks again:

"We need to start to discuss how we are to tackle this investigation," he says. "As we know that the fissure is just half a mile from here, I don't think we need to take too much with us. I believe that two horses should be sufficient to carry our equipment there and to carry back anything heavy that we might find there."

"I think it best if Milan stays in the village, as this is likely to be a dangerous exercise and the lad has seen little of combat."

"From what I saw of the fissure, it looks as if it is going to be very narrow," Aithne adds. "The entrance didn't appear to be more than three or four feet wide. I would imagine that, unless it widens out much after the entrance, then we shall be traveling in single file for much of the way."

"I can't believe that there's going to be any light in there either."

Winnacer nods:

"We have three of us that can see in the dark right now; myself due to the helmet that we were able to retrieve from the Nemotz Temple, plus Aithne and Yaz. And Brother Timex makes four. What would be interesting, I think, is if we can figure out a way so that we can forego a light source, at least initially. I would think that we may want to scout ahead without light."

"As for the order of travel, then I will volunteer to go first, but I'd prefer to have someone good with a blade right behind me," the young Lord continues.

"If no one else is volunteering, then I can go second," volunteers Rowan. "I can't see in the dark though."

Winnacer looks at the swashbuckler with a scowl, unsure as to whether Rowan's presence to his rear is more or less preferable to having a ratman there.

"The priestly members of our group will hopefully be safe at the rear of the group," he continues.

"However, one factor that we need to take into account is that the ratmen or Nemotz may have protected the route to their lair with traps. The Nemotz Temple had a number of traps that we needed to traverse, one of them taking the life of our former expert in the ways of stealth."

He looks around at the others in the party:

"As this is the first time that I have been underground with many of you, I am not sure how we are going to combat this possibility."

There is another pause and then Timex interjects after sneezing loudly:

"Let me leave you to continue making your plans. I will head back to the Chapel and summon my brother. I shall return in approximately thirteen and a half minutes."

With that Brother Quartz-Movement leaves them to continue.

The planning session continues for a further 13 minutes and 34 seconds until the door opens revealing the two Quartz-Movement brothers.

Rolex coughs loudly and then shakes them all by the hand:

"My brother told me of the events of the night," he says. "It is a terrible business indeed by the sound of it. He also told me that some of you have wounds that need to be seen to?"

Winnacer, Rowan and Joy all nod.

"Well, we can't have you heading down the fissure in anything less than perfect condition, so let me take a look at you."

He sees to Rowan first of all. He casts two major healing spells upon the swashbuckler, bringing him close to full health. One more minor spell has him feeling fighting fit. The dwarf then turns his attention to Joy and, after just one major healing spell, she is totally healed as well. He finally turns his attention to Winnacer and just one minor spell is sufficient to bring the young Lord back to full health.

Once all have been healed, the Bastion gets up to leave, coughing as he goes:

"I shall now go and arrange the villagers to prepare for the burial of those that are fallen. Good luck upon your venture into the fissure. Please take care to look after yourselves, and my brother, during the delve. Litultovitze has seen enough of death for one week."

Rolex waves to them all and then heads off to the stables.

Breakfast has now been finished and Yaz lights up some tobacco in paper:

"I guess now's as good a time as any to have a word with Joy's new buddy," he says.

Yaz makes off towards the cellar, with Joy and the rest of the party following on behind him. Rowan listens at the door, hearing just some faint squeaking from below. Cautiously, he throws the bolt and then opens the door a crack, with Chanticleer in hand in case the ratman might pounce. However, such precautions prove to be unnecessary, as the ratman is huddled in a corner of the cellar. They notice as they walk down the steps that the place smells terrible, as the ratman has soiled the cellar during the night. As it sees Joy, it gets to its feet and nervously shuffles towards her.

Yaz grins and takes some of his holy weed in hand and then begins to cast towards the vermin. He says an incantation that none of the others have ever heard before and then gestures towards the creature. As the druid finishes, the ratman's squeaking changes in tone and, unbelievably, it starts speaking in simple Bohavian:

"Thrisk want be with mistress," it chitters in a deep, but still squeaky, voice while looking towards Joy. "Thrisk love mistress much. Thrisk hungry."

Yaz grins as he looks towards Joy:

"So, it's all yours now. He should be able to speak Bohavian for the next hour or so, so there's no rush. Just try and keep your questions simple. He's no alchemist, remember."

Joy smiles at the ratman happily:

"Hello, Thrisk. I'm so sorry that you had to stay in here last night, but would you do me a quick favor before I get you some food? I just want you to answer some questions for me and my friends. I'd be so happy with you if you'd try your best to give us correct answers. Right after that, I'll get you cheese or something to eat."

She raises an eyebrow at the others.

Thrisk seems to be delighted at getting some attention from Joy. He starts to wag his tail excitedly:

"Cheese good. Thrisk want cheese. Help mistress will Thrisk do."

Joy smiles in response:

"That's very good of you. Thrisk, these are my friends. They will ask you some questions and I would very much like you to answer them for me. By doing so, you will be helping me very much and will earn your cheese."

Thrisk continues to wag its tail:

"Cheese good. Mistress good," he repeats.

Joy then stands back in order to allow the others to ask questions. Rowan is the first to come forward:

"Here, Thrisk, let's play a little game," Rowan says, squatting down.

"Game good," Thrisk replies. "Thrisk like play games."

Rowan draws a simplistic outline in the dirt that covers the floor of the cellar, which quickly takes the form of a house's layout.

"This is where I live," he says. "Here are hallways, rooms, the entrance... everything. What does YOUR home look like, Thrisk? Can you draw it for me?"

"You home funny," Thrisk chitters.

Rowan then falls to his knees and starts to draw a very long wavy line in the dirt. He gets up and proceeds to draw a long line that stretches halfway across the floor of the cellar. He then starts to draw a large oval shape, but soon runs out of space in the cellar to fully complete it. He then points to a spot towards the center of the oval:

"This where is nest of Thrisk," he says proudly.

Rowan nods and turns back to Joy:

"I think that lot of other questions might be too complex for his rat brain, like how many vermen there are," he whispers to her. "We could use comparisons, like "Are there more of you than there are of us?", which there certainly would be, but the larger the numbers involved the less likely he is to be able to communicate or even grasp the concepts involved. Asking who their leader is, or how they're armed or organized, would probably just sound too suspicious considering the fact that it's just a charm enchantment that you have him under."

"I'm not so sure that asking such questions would prove to be so fruitless," Winnacer replies. "From what we saw in the Nemotz temple, some of these 'half-wit rodents' have managed to build weapons of destruction that far surpass those of human build. They also have shown the use of complex tactics in battle and have engineered a number of fine traps that killed many of our party. I believe they should be able to count."

"I shouldn't think that there is too much danger of breaking the charm spell. After all, Joy has already told it that it is only as a favor for her."

Winnacer looks up and speaks to the ratman:

"Thrisk," he starts. "How long have your people been living beneath the village?" he asks.

"Always," Thrisk squeals in response. "More time than no-furs live on top of ground."

"What about the Nemotz?" the young Lord asks next. "How long have they been living with you?"

Thrisk just looks at Winnacer curiously, cocking its head slightly in confusion:

"What Nemotz?" he asks.

"No-furs," Winnacer tries again. "How long have no-furs been with you?"

Thrisk still appears confused:

"No is no-furs with skaven," he replies. "No-furs live only on ground."

Winnacer seems to be quite surprised by the answer. He pauses for a moment and then continues:

"How many of your people are there below?"

"Lots and lots," Thrisk replies. "More skaven is below than all no-furs in world. More skaven than Lord Skritchit even can count."

"What different types of your people are there? And how many of each type?" the LawBringer continues.

"Most strong are black-furs like Thrisk," he says quite proudly. "No is so many of us. Most is brown-furs and slaves. Some shamen are there also. Less more than blackfurs. Packmasters with ratpacks and ratogres no is much. Assassins few is like you and your friends. Few is too brown skins with fire sticks and fire hoses, but each have more than you. Few is brownfurs with glass balls."

"What type of magick have the shamen?" Winnacer asks next.

"Big magick say shaman," Thrisk responds. "But see little have I. Lord Stritchit and shaman live in caves below main cavern. Never us to go down can we."

"So what do all your people do there?" the young Lord asks.

Thrisk looks confused again:

"This our home," Thrisk replies with a shrug. "We eat, drink, fight and make babies there."

"And how are your people organized?" Winnacer adds.

Thrisk still looks a little confused:

"Lord Skritchit is big boss. He very clever. He tell what to do to shamen and shamen tell rest of us what we do."

"How is your home protected?" Winnacer asks next.

"No have many visitors us," Thrisk responds. "Way from surface to home very long and not safe. Must make no noise when go through caverns because many creatures live in tunnels and would kill us. Is easy to be lost in tunnel from surface to home. Must follow marks in roof of tunnel or will never find home. Still is much danger to go to surface. Many skaven die by make trip."

"Is one guard post at end of tunnel before big hole. Is very boring work as no one never come. Wait quiet must we to attack from above and side. Only best have job of guard posts, black furs, fire hoses, glass balls, shamans and assassins all wait in case no-furs one day will come."

"So is that the only form of defense?" Winnacer asks. "What about traps?"

"Tunnels many danger have from monsters and dangers from roof and floor," Thrisk replies. "Is danger both to skaven and no-furs both."

"Are there any other ways of getting into your home?" the LawBringer asks. "Any way around the guard post?"

"No," Thrisk responds. "Is only way in. All must pass through guard post. Lord Skritchit make sure no-furs no can get in."

"Can you show us where the guard post is on your drawing?" Winnacer asks.

Thrisk scurries back to the marks that he made on the floor. He points to a spot on the wavy line around five inches from the start of the oval shape and then returns to stand before Joy.

"How about light there?" Winnacer asks next.

"In tunnels is only black," Thrisk replies. "In home light come from warpstone in walls, floor and roof of cave."

"What about Opava?" Winnacer continues.

Thrisk looks confused again:

"Know not who is 'Opava'," he says.

"Could you get us into your home past the guards, so we can meet your friends without them attacking us?" Winnacer asks next.

"No-furs enemy of skaven," Thrisk replies. "No-furs good for only slave and meat. No is way to home that not go through guards. Think not can do."

"What sorts of monsters are in the caverns?" the young Lord continues. "Can you describe them?"

"Many not have I see," Thrisk replies, "as no more would I be. But I hear talk of many monsters. They say is spikes from roof that fall and kill. Monsters look like floor there is that swallow skaven to death. Monsters that eat metal. Big bats that is more big then even rat-ogre. Plants that spit. Big bugs and big spiders. But worst of all is flying ball with one eye. Kill many skaven has ball with one eye."

As the skaven speaks of the monsters inhabiting the fissure, Porter gets a bit edgy. His experience had been generally limited to hunting humans, and the occasional humanoid. The rat spoke of actual monsters - creatures that would fight completely different than any human, or probably possessed powers worse than a freakin' mage.

Porter was really beginning not to like the whole idea.

"Why were you outside last night?" the LawBringer asks next. "Have your kind been going outside a lot?"

"Thrisk go because shaman say must," responds Thrisk. "First time for Thrisk go up to ground. Not like it much."

"What kind of slaves do you have down in your lair?" Winnacer continues.

"Weakest of skaven only good for slaves," Thrisk replies with something resembling a sneer. "Used in mines and for serve shamen. Some no-furs did I see below that go to cave of shamen. Not see any more then."

"What is a ratogre?" the young Lord finishes, not sure if he wants to learn the answer.

"Ratogre make by packmaster," Thrisk replies. "They very big. More big even than Thrisk. But very stupid they are. Must to have packmaster to keep control of them."

"Stay away from ratogres does Thrisk. This is why Thrisk not dead now."

Winnacer sighs and then turns his attention from Thrisk to the others in the party:

"Well, at least we found out quite a bit of useful information from him. It's a shame that it wasn't the shaman that we were able to befriend. I'm sure that he would have been able to give us some more precise information."

"So what should me do with him now?" asks Joy.

"Let's just lock it back in here for the day," suggests Yaz. "We might need to ask it more questions later if we don't finish off this place today. Let me go and get some more cheese."

The druid departs and returns a few moments later with another half-wheel of cheese, which he hands to Joy. Thrisk is starting to get all excited again as he smells it. Joy once more tosses the cheese into the far corner of the cellar, and Thrisk forgets all about her for a moment as he bounds over in order to get at his breakfast. This gives the party members plenty of time to vacate the cellar, bolting it securely before he ever realizes that they've left.

Porter asks:

"You sure you don't want to bring him along? I doubt he knows much more than he's told us, and with all those things crawling around in that tunnel, I'd rather have his ass up front."

Winnacer continues to play with this thought, taking some time before responding to Porter:

"It's a double edged sword. He really may be our ticket into their lair, if we can somehow convince him to aid us. If he was to run ahead of us, telling his story of watching his cronies get butchered, the gate patrol would be likely to lower their guard for a few minutes, as they would be intent on our ratman here. Then we could rush through and hack them to pieces, or charm them. It's a pity that Faewen'il is not here, as if we could just alter our appearances to look like the ratmen ourselves and let this rat guy do the talking, we'd be in the clear."

"The question is, are we secure with the strength of the enchantment that he will not even accidentally tip off his cronies to our existence, especially since we will not be able to talk to him for much longer? Can we think of a better way to bind him to us? Or describe a way to have him do what we need him to do without having him realize what he's doing to his littermates?"

Winnacer shrugs:

"It's a tough call. I'd certainly be happy with him guiding us down the correct pathways, but not at the expense of letting the guards get the jump on us. Do you guys want to try to convince him to distract his friends when we try to break through? It could work, but I have trouble placing my fate in a ratman's hands."

Porter offers his opinion:

"Personally, it sounds like he may not even make it all the way down the tunnel. The rats are even afraid of the place. We got crap falling from the ceiling, floors that are going to eat us alive, and some big eyeball we got to worry about. I figure, put that rat bastard out in front and he'll be the poor sucker who gets it first. If he makes it to the end of the tunnel, we worry about him then."

Aithne sighs:

"Well I'm not having any of that. I refuse to have anything to do with using prisoners as bait or torturing else or anything else that might be considered by the rest of you as being Just."

"I agree," adds Joy. "I'm not going to have him do that while he is under my control, as it looks as if we would be leading it into certain death. Besides, it'd be a damn nuisance if that charm wore off."

Porter shrugs:

"Well, it looks like I'm outvoted on this one. Personally, he's just a rat bastard and who cares if we lead him into a trap or worse. For those of you who give a crap about good and evil, he's obviously an evil son-of-a-bitch. But whatever, when a giant eyeball eats me instead of him, I hope you guys feel really remorseful at my funeral."

Porter smiles to indicate that he's really not offended, saying:

"Alright, rat-boy stays here. Let's get going."

Winnacer sighs:

"It was never my intention to use it as a trapfinder, but rather as a passkey. But if no one has any ideas as to how to keep it under control, then I suppose that we had better leave it here."

"So, I think that we might as well head straight for the fissure now," Winnacer adds.

They all head up to their rooms and retrieve their equipment and then reassemble outside the inn. Winnacer heads off to the stables and comes back leading the draft horse and his own medium warhorse. They then start to head away from the village, heading for the fissure.

It takes them just 15 minutes to reach the fissure, passing the three ratmen corpses that Yaz and Aithne finished off between the pair of them. Aithne looks at the area around the opening into the ground to check to make sure that there are no new tracks since the previous evening, but all is exactly the same as it was the previous night. They all walk up to the fissure and peer inside.

They see that the opening is indeed fairly narrow and that it is as dark inside as they had feared it would be. They can also see that the corridor descends quite rapidly, turning to the south as it does so. The floor of the corridor is very damp and it looks as if it is probably fairly slippery as well.

Once they have all seen what the tunnel holds, Winnacer turns to the others:

"So we need to finalize our order of travel. As I said, I agree to take the point position. Although it appears to be fairly cramped in there, I don't think I should have too much problem swinging my sword."

Rowan is the next to speak:

"I'm still OK with going second," he adds. "If Yaz goes somewhere in the middle and Aithne brings up the rear, then we have those that can see in the dark pretty well spread out. It also means that the spellcasters are protected from either front or rear attacks."

"I'd prefer to go somewhere towards the back too," says Porter. "Perhaps I can go just before Aithne."

"I can also keep an eye on Rowan and his cousin from there," he mutters under his breath.

Winnacer thinks for a moment:

"I was hoping that perhaps the four of us that can see in the dark could perhaps go ahead of the others, so that we did not give away our position away."

Aithne smiles:

"Winnacer, unless you decide to dispense with your platemail, then I think that we might as well forget attempting to make any kind of stealthy approach. From the look of the narrowness of that tunnel, you're going to be rattling around in there so much that they'll hear us coming a long time before they see any lantern."

Winnacer nods with acknowledgement at Aithne's words:

"If we just knew where the guard post was, we could perhaps use a silence enchantment upon the party and douse the light sources before we got too close. If they have the flame machines and poison globes sitting in wait, we can be a lot of trouble if we let them get the drop on us."

Winnacer thinks about it for a second:

"We may also need to change our formation as we get close to the guard point. After seeing Aithne's speed, it may be best to put her at the head to bust through their defenses and tie them down, so we can all make it through the narrow aperture hastily. Something to think about when the time comes."

Aithne replies:

"Though I do not mind going first into the fray, my speed is of little use in a cramped tunnel where my fighting style would be at considerable disadvantage. Still, if you would prefer me to take that risk, I will do so. And, of course, I would be honored to have Rowan close behind me."

She flashes a grin at Rowan as she speaks.

"Those charm ensorcellments also seem to work rather well," Winnacer continues. "In any case, we need to devise a way to get past what sounds like their one strong defensive point, either by circumventing it or getting on them before they have a chance to respond. Anybody have any other ideas?"

"They do not seem like much at fighting, sure we can take them as easily as we did last night when drunk and not at our best," replies Aithne.

"I was thinking of rotating you up front when we reach the end of the tunnels," Winnacer says, pointing to the rough map. "At this point, the tunnel mouth opens wide, where it seems that the ratmen will be lying in ambush. While you may not think much of their fighting ability, it will not matter if they turn the fury of their flame-throwers upon us. Stuck in the narrow passage, they can slay all of us without a chance to get at them. These machines are not like anything you can imagine, causing hideous injury despite magickal protections against fire. We are done for if they can pin us down there."

"If you were moved up to the front at that last part of the trip, we could douse our lightsource and silence the party. Then you could run through, relying on your speed to get you through the opening before they can react and hack down the firewielders, allowing the rest of the party to gain entry to this bigger cavern and fight besides you."

"I'll take the lead for the rest of the excursion. But if I get stuck in my armor at the front where the skaven can concentrate their attacks, nobody will be able to get through."

Aithne blinks at Winnacer, confused:

"So, in one breath you say I will have plenty of room to run through them doing much damage. In the other you say there is danger of you getting stuck. This makes no sense to me. If the danger is your getting stuck, my movement is to no avail, leaving me virtually defenseless."

"Er, where will you be?" she asks. "Even if we douse the light source, you will have been heard. Sound carries quite a way in a cave. And I don't doubt they will be ready for us."

She pauses for a moment, and then continues:

"So, let me get this straight. You wish to lead until we get to some point where you feel the attack will be imminent. Then you wish me to take the point when the danger is most likely to occur. This includes machines that spew fire and my only defense is that, assuming they have not simply set up a blockade, I MIGHT be able to run through them before they burn me or slice me to bits."

Aithne smiles:

"And, of course, I am sure they can see me better in the dark than I can see them. Speed does not make me invisible, assuming I can use my speed, which I am doubtful about."

"Like I said, you want me to assume the risk. And I have said I will do so. However, I want someone I can trust at my back. Right now that would be Rowan," she adds.

Winnacer gives Aithne a bored look:

"Let's try this again. If we use quieting magicks and douse our light sources, they will not hear or see us coming. The magicks can silence even platemail. It should not be a problem, unless our priests forgo the sorcery."

"The flame machines require two ratmen to operate. They fire a short-range burst that is devastating, but the weapon is basically useless at point blank range because of the danger of setting fire to the wielder and the contraption. I'm betting they have one or two of these machines aimed at the entrance."

"Now, if I'm up front, I probably cannot move quick enough from the narrow passage mouth into this larger chamber here, where the machines are likely to be, to keep them from getting off a shot. Are you following? However, if we get the jump on them, you can use your speed to engage the fire wielder in melee before he can bring his hose to bear. Without the ratmen being able to hold us back with the flame cannon, the rest of us can charge into the larger chamber. But unless we can take out the flame machines right off, they can hold us back in the narrow passages indefinitely, and maybe even hit us from the rear if we get lucky."

"From what you've shown us already about how you attack problems, I'd prefer to leave you in the back. But your skills are probably the best at handling this particular problem, unless we use magicks to circumvent it. Without the spellcasters' input, however, we need to think of contingency plans. I admit that we are not sure of what we are going to face, but we are not going to be able to discuss it when we are close enough to truly understand the situation. So if you feel that you must detract from my words, then suggest something else. Being amusing to yourself here is not going to keep us alive in the caves."

Winnacer looks gravely at Aithne:

"I would never ask another to assume risk I was not willing to take upon myself. What I suggest is what I believe would be most beneficial for our party's success. If you disagree, then we will have to find another way. Your insolence is not needed nor appropriate."

"And neither is yours, sir," Rowan says. "A little grace and respect for others would not be unbecoming, LawBringer. I understand that I have offended you in the past, which I suppose explains your unceasing animosity towards me, but why you see fit to belittle others here when we're all trying to accomplish something is beyond me."

He puts up a halting hand, and continues:

"Please, do not bother telling me I am an impudent cur, or some such other insult; it gets us nowhere. There is a task at hand, and I would think it politic for all of us to deal with the situation without taking matters to heart."

Aithne turns and says, more gently:

"Please, Rowan, this is between the LawBringer and myself--at least at this point. I can fight my own battles. And while I appreciate the constant support and friendship you have shown me, Winnacer needs to be able to accept me on my own terms or he needs to tell me to go. Either way, it has been an honor and a privilege to fight at your side."

Brother Timex looks on coughing quietly to himself and appearing to be having second thoughts as to whether accompanying the party on this mission was such a good idea after all:

"Well whoever is finally going at the front had better have some way of dealing with rust monsters. Their touch can destroy anything made of metal, you know?"

"Rust monsters?" Aithne questions. "Oh, this gets better and better. I think I'll just lead from the start. At least they won't have the element of surprise on us then. The only non-metal weapon I have is my quarterstaff, no doubt also useless in tight quarters. Perhaps you should take the rear, Winnacer--oh no, that wouldn't do. Then you might get stuck and block our exit."

She laughs.

"So, shall we go?"

"We'll go," Winnacer replies dourly. "I'll take the lead, Porter will take up the back. Rowan should stick by Joy, as it seems they've fought by each other's sides before and likely know their mannerisms. Yaz and Brother Timex can follow suit. And Aithne, you go where you want. It seems that nobody can tell you anything, so suit yourself."

Aithne looks at Winnacer. A long and careful look:

"Let's see. I agree to do as you ask and you have a problem. I disagree and you have a problem. I suppose, you pompous ass, that you are so used to getting your own way in every possible situation that you cannot handle the thought of being disagreed with or another questioning your motives."

"Also, though there is not time for you to listen to my words, there seems to be plenty of time for you to spout off condescending speeches in which you insult my intelligence and treat me as if I were a very small child."

"There seems little time for you to listen to my words either," Winnacer interjects. "I do not mind disagreement or argument, nor do I believe you should blindly follow me. But when all you do is level insults at my character and motives instead of helping to solve the problems ahead of us, it becomes very hard to take your words seriously."

"Winnacer, I have treated you exactly as you have treated me," Aithne replies, her temper clearly flaring up. "I agreed to your plan and I disagreed with your logic. I simply don't feel my speed will be of use because all they have to do is have two ratmen at the tunnel entrance as guards and my speed means nothing. While magickal silence may get us to be quiet to this, it still cannot render us invisible. And, I would suspect the ratmen have a keen sense of smell. This also is not affected by silence. I have rendered you no more insult than you have rendered me."

"All I want is to figure out a way to get through what looks like something that is going to be well defended," Winnacer continues. "There is a good chance we will not have a chance to discuss tactics when the ratmen are upon us. So I've made suggestions. You have disagreed without offering counter-suggestions. The gist of your words to me is, 'what you've thought up is rubbish, you are a coward to boot, but don't ask me for a better plan'."

"No," Aithne replies, shaking her head, "the gist was, I don't agree with your motivations, and the fact that you want to change positions where there is the most threat implies to me that you are worried about your person or your armor or both. I have only known you a week. For all I know, you are a craven coward. Your actions so far have not shown me other than you will avoid a fight at all costs. Since I have not seen your strategy in action, nor any of its success, I really don't have much other opportunity to formulate an opinion."

"I'm not so arrogant to believe that what I suggest is without flaws," the LawBringer continues, "but it is the best I can think of without input from the rest of you. Perhaps it is fine with you to deal with problems as they come up, but that's not how I work. I like to plan before the problems start. I would like some help, but little is forthcoming."

"Why would any offer a counter plan when all they know is that they will likely get ridicule from you?" Aithne questions. "I mean, why bother? I actually tried to give you my own reasons for my being up front all the time--the fact that I am much less susceptible to surprise than any of you--but you have made no mention of that. I suppose you find that stupid as well."

"For some reason, you do not seem to be able to get past the incident at the gate," Aithne continues, "proving that LawBringers must hold a grudge to last until the end of time. I have not yet had a chance to apologize to you for that and I do so now. I admit, I do not know what happened to me. I have had experience of the rage that fuels my heart when I see Witchfinders, but I have never lost time and found myself in another place entirely. If that had not happened, I would have killed the Witchfinder and you would not have found yourself in the bad situation you did at the gate. Though that situation was totally beyond my control, I do apologize in the faint hope of us trying to work as a team, something you do not seem that interested in."

"End of time. Don't you mean three days ago?" questions Winnacer. "Perhaps you can smile through what happened, but you almost got us all killed for no reason."

"Like I say," responds Aithne, "while I would take responsibility had I succeeded in my charge on the Witchfinder, I will NOT take responsibility for whatever controlled my mind in such a way as to make me forget what I was doing. And, I never asked you to come to my aid. If my mind is going in such a way that it can make me forget that I am attacking in full stride, then you would have been better leaving me, as I am of no use to anyone. So do not make me responsible for coming to my aid. That was fully your choice."

"Despite what state you say you were in," the young Lord continues, "your impetuousness brought the full attention of the Nyemetz upon us, which could have been easily avoided. I am trying very hard to put that behind me, especially the part where you were insisting that I risk my squire's life and put the Opava mission at jeopardy instead of following my own heart. Spravedelna has no place for the reckless."

Aithne blinks in astonishment:

"I suggested you put your squires life in jeopardy?! I suggested you not leave a trail of blood to your sister, where I'm sure the Nyemetz would treat her far more harshly than anyone else! The group suggested a plan that the majority thought was good and you walked off in a temper tantrum. I just wanted to go along with it. Reckless? You are the reckless one. You would have led the enemy to your sister's temple or to Prirodna's followers."

"It is odd that you cannot forgive me a mental lapse that cost us no more than some easily replaced horses and gear, yet you can forgive much worse crimes committed by your other companions," she continues. "I have told you that I could not control the mental lapse that cause me to hesitate in my task to destroy the Witchfinder, yet you will not forgive it. I assure you, my lapse in memory was no more controllable by me, nor my rage at Witchfinder's would that have worked, than lycanthropy is in your friends."

Joy, who is watching this whole thing with fascination, murmers to Rowan:

"Witchfinders? Lycanthropy? How did you get involved with these people?"

"Not a... um... not a good time right now...," Rowan mutters in reply.

"If you want me to trust you and your judgement, you have to earn it," Winnacer continues. "It takes more than three days of quips about me to do that. I am more than willing to try, especially because I can see Spravedelna smiling upon you."

"Yes, and you have to earn it also. I know no more of you than you of I," replies Aithne.

"I have given you my reasons for disagreeing with your logic and you have chosen to ignore them," she continues, "or make fun of them. Again, you seem to enjoy that a lot for someone who is supposed to command respect from others. I suppose the only thing you understand is someone blindly accepting your orders."

"I have taken note of your disagreement and have attempted to modify the plan accordingly," the young Lord replies. "You seem to be concerned with the noise of my armor and I suggested that we use magic to silence it when we approach. I do not think that is ignoring you. You worry that I am making you take undue chances, but you forget that we are just talking here. If we cannot get the drop on the guards, then I agree your speed is going to be worthless and the plan a failure."

Aithne nods:

"Yes, that is what I was trying to point out. Why could you have not said this before? I am not unwilling to take risks. A warrior's path is death; and I accept that."

"What you seem to be missing is that I want to figure out a way to ensure we do get the drop on them," the LawBringer continues. "I don't play things by ear, I plan ahead. That's how I follow my heart. Like I said before, I do not let others take risks I would not take. If we do not get the drop on them, I plan on drinking my potion of fire protection and leading the charge in if we have no other options. But I want to focus on preventing us to need such a desperate act."

"I follow my heart also, Winnacer, though you may not believe it," responds Aithne. "What my concern was, is that I am unsure my speed will be such the asset you think it is. And that you, with your heavy armor, would be able to hold off against a couple of the enemy killing them easily so we could all get out in the open. Whereas I am nearly defenseless in this situation. Still, I have agreed to do so, because I am not afraid to die--I picked a pretty stupid career if I were--and I think my resistance to surprise would aid all of us."

"Unfortunately," adds Aithne, "I was raised to be my own person, and perhaps your reasons, by what actions I have seen of you so far, seem to me to be more in the interest of protecting your skin or armor than in logic. Still, I acceded to your request."

"By what you have shown me, I feel you are reckless and tactless," the LawBringer replies. "But I am trying to see past that so I can work with you as well. You beg of me not to leap to judging you, but you cannot help to do the same to me. This hypocrisy is not fair and weakens your words."

"Were I not reckless, you would likely be dead at the hands of your fallen companion," remarks Aithne. "Perhaps I am quick to rush in at times--if I had done so at the gate, we would have gotten out with no trouble. As you say, my quickness can lead to surprise. So what may seem to you as reckless to me is a strategy, that, when in the open, can be used to deadly affect, unless prevented. Winnacer, this strategy cannot be foolish in some instances and not in others. Or it is foolish here as well."

"Frankly, I am tired of your attitude toward me, Rowan, and his cousin Joy, who though you do not know, you have treated as if she is somehow tainted by his blood," Aithne continues. "If you truly want to help Bohavia, you should be able to overcome these things. I have told you my motivations for traveling with you. Yet, even I am hard-pressed to think of why any would serve Bohavia at your side."

"Winnacer, I ask you now to put this behind us. Treat me with respect and I will treat you with respect also. It is that simple. Better yet, treat us all with respect. I apologize if my own brand of humor upsets or angers you. I have found in my lifetime that humor sometimes helps me get around things that are dangerous by letting me be amused rather than afraid. I did not think I would have to explain that to one that has the benefit of a god's wisdom to see what is at the heart of a person."

"You wish respect without giving any," Winnacer replies. "I treat you all with the respect you deserve according to your actions. Spravedelna knows what you all have done. I am quite tired of many things as well, but I know that sometimes you need to grin and bear the personalities of others in order to do what is good. That's why I can look past the sins of all of you, in order to do what is best for Bohavia. That's why I've tried to let many things slide, which you seem unable to do. Working together is about earning respect through action, not being granted respect for being on the same team. It's also about tempering one's beliefs in order to work with others, both of which I have not seen you do, yet I struggle with daily."

"I treat you with the respect you deserve according to your actions also," says Aithne. "Showing no respect for your companions and rushing off like you are throwing a tantrum in a combat situation does not leave me with much respect for you. Kicking a man while he lays bleeding on the ground does not engender much respect for you. Telling another you will aid him in beating up a wounded man instead of letting them fight as equals does not give me much respect for you."

"If I had not let things slide, I would no longer be traveling with you," she adds. "But I care about Bohavia enough that I wish to try to work with you and your self righteous attitude toward the rest of us. But I ask of you what you would ask of me. If you have a problem with me or my actions, tell me directly. Don't imply it. Don't continue with the snide comments. For it is your lack of respect for me that has caused my lack thereof for you. I try to show each person respect and civility until they show they are not worthy of it. And, until you began to treat me as the dirt beneath your feet, I showed you respect as well. Questioning your actions, but not making fun of them--as you have done mine and others."

"It is also presumptuous of you to involve others into your argument," Winnacer adds. "They can speak for themselves."

"I will always stand up for wrongs I feel done," Aithne replies. "Whether to myself and others. You may as well tell the Bohavians that you cannot fight for them. I am not bringing them into the argument, in fact, I just asked Rowan to stay out of it. I am just telling you that I feel your behavior is selective in a way I do not understand. I do not ask them to back me in any way. I am just pointing out what I feel is a wrong."

"Isn't that what feeling with one's heart is all about?" Aithne questions.

"In the interests of party unity, if you feel that you cannot work with me, I will leave, just say the word," Aithne continues. "Because I am interested in helping free Bohavia and of wiping evil from the land, I will leave you without qualm, knowing that I can find a way to serve her elsewhere. Also, I am truly interested in serving the greater good, not just in always getting my own way. So, the choice is yours. In this one thing I will do as you say, without question. Shall I stay or go, Winnacer?"

Aithne looks at him calmly. There is no trace of either humor or anger in her face or eyes.

"I've been trying very hard to work with you," the LawBringer responds. "I believe it is you who have a problem working with me. This is not like working alone, we need to consider the whole over any particular part, as our success depends on it. If you wish to comment, then say something constructive instead of just pointing to holes without offering ways to patch them. That's just petty."

"I would say the same to you," Aithne answers. "What, should I just refuse to do what you want without giving my reasons? I agree, perhaps my humor was not to your taste. But neither is your condescension to mine, and we each use what emotional weapons we are familiar with. And, I feel that pointing out flaws in a plan is crucial. The way to stop them is to have you remain in the lead, since you are less vulnerable than I in that position. However, there is the fact that I am unlikely to be surprised. I feel that is a good reason for me to risk the lead position."

"There, that is as concisely as I can put it," she says, calm once more.

"I need your help and Bohavia needs your help," the young Lord continues. "They may not always be one and the same, but they are in this case. A place in the party remains open to you. You need to decide if you can work with all of us rather than simply following your own heart. The beliefs of one cannot dictate the means by which a group works."

"Winnacer, you have just repeated to me what I have said to you," Aithne counters. "If you will at least listen to the intent behind my words, even though their presentation is not to your taste, you will understand that I am not working against you. I am just thinking aloud. I find that by making light of a deadly situation, it is easier for me to handle. This does not mean that I do not take it seriously. This does not mean I don't take you seriously. I am just trying to think of a viable alternative that is less deadly to most of us."

"In this case, I see it being pretty equal in risk whether you or I take the lead. If I am given a chance to run out into the open, your strategy will be good. If not, then ... well, at least you will not have to work hard to get over my lifeless corpse," Aithne smiles grimly.

"And, I would not want us to be surprised, though I can wish that I had the gift to find traps as I am more worried about those, actually, then the ratmen. Fighting at least I understand. Traps are quite beyond me. So, as you have said I can take any position I wish, I will take the lead. I would still prefer Rowan to be behind me."

She holds up a hand to indicate that Winnacer listen to her for just a moment, an ameliorating gesture:

"I have seen him fight and he is very quick on his own. He is more able to get out of a tight spot quickly, and, since I have fought at his side twice now, I think I have a better sense of his style, than I do yours. Also, if we can get into a wide space, perhaps he can use his whip to somehow disable the flamethrowing device or its operators."

"And, unlike you, I do trust him. At least until he proves I cannot," Aithne says looking directly into Winnacer's eyes, unafraid of the Fear he could turn on her.

"So," Aithne looks at all of them, "does this make sense to anyone? I apologize for arguing with Winnacer here, but I truly believe we need to clear the air here. Can we go on? May I have Rowan as my second, if he is willing?"

"Certainly," Rowan says, eventually sensing that a snippet of their conversation has subtly been sent his way. "As capable as you are, m'lady, it would be most ungallant of me to let you face peril alone."

She waits patiently for agreement or disagreement from the others.

Joy looks thoughtfully at Aithne. After a second, she says to her:

"I think I can help you a bit. One of my god's prayers enables me to bless people so that they become shadowy and harder to see clearly. Later, before we come to this place we need to go, I can cast it upon you."

Porter looks exceedingly bored and increasingly impatient with the entire discussion. He mumbles to himself:

"This is why I work alone. Wouldn't have it any other way. The freakin' little bitch must have permanently messed up my skull for me to still be here."