Rallying The Dwarves

They start to walk towards the hillside, heading for the open iron doors. As they get closer to them, Winnacer speaks to Rolex once again:

"Do you think that we are likely to have any problems getting through the gate?"

Rolex shakes his head:

"I would doubt that very much," he replies. "The Nyemetz don't really care about it so much. As long as you don't act suspiciously, then they should have no reason to stop you. A lot of people passing by wander in to have a look at what it's like inside."

"They don't usually stay very long once they've found out," he adds with a sad smile. "Just act as if you're curious travelers and you should be fine."

Bearing Rolex's advice in mind, they pay no attention to the guards as they approach the gigantic gates, walking through acting as if they are curious as to what is inside, which is not at all difficult, as they are. The goblins on the gate, which they see are all armed with shortbows, pay little attention to them either. They appear to be more concerned with trying to keep warm against the freezing cold temperatures outside and those that are keeping a watch are more interested in looking inside the city than out.

Having passed the gate without incident, they head on into the city. As they walk through, the city does not appear to be quite as miserable as they expected. They walk down a wide boulevard with a high ceiling, lit at the sides and in the center by flickering torches. It is still fairly dark inside the city, but visibility is not a problem. The streets are lined on either side by shops. Despite what Rolex says, the shops seem to be as busy as any other city that you've been to.

"The top level is the wealthiest area in Opava," Rolex explains. "It's really not too bad at all. It gets worse the more you descend. Needless to say, the eighth level, at the bottom, is very bad indeed. Or so, I've been told. I've never had need to go down more than a level or two."

They carry on walking towards the cathedral. Several of the dwarves they pass look up at them with curiosity, particularly at the two half elves, but no one makes a big deal about it.

It reminds Rolex to have a word with Yaz and Aithne:

"It might be advisable for you two to hide your faces a little if you are planning to go down to the lower levels. You are unlikely to have any problems on the top levels, but they are quite xenophobic down below."

Aithne nods and pulls the hood up on her cloak. There had long been enmity between her father's race and the dwarves, but she had been lucky not to have been a victim of that prejudice up 'til now.

In addition to the numerous dwarven pedestrians, they see a few of them riding on small carts pulled by tiny, but sturdy ponies, hauling goods along the boulevard.

Porter looks around and then speaks to the others:

"Look," he starts, "I can't see what good I'm gonna be to you sitting and listening to another priest spouting off. That's not the way I usually use to find out what's going on anyway. I'm heading down to find some of that information that I promised you. I'll meet you back at 'The Boar's Head' before curfew."

Rolex shakes his head:

"You don't have to worry about curfew here in Opava," the dwarf interjects. "Day and night just doesn't have the same meaning to mountain dwarves as it does to Bohavians."

He smiles weakly:

"Opava used to be described as a city that never slept, as the forges and mines worked around the clock. Now the joke is that it's the city that never wakes."

"They never bother to close the gates either," he continues. "They are so heavy that it takes 100 dwarves more than 10 minutes to shut them, and so they don't bother closing them except in the case of a real emergency. I doubt that they have been shut since the Nyemetz invasion."

As they continue to walk, fascinated by the look of the dwarven city, Rolex comes up to Winnacer and has a quiet word with him:

"I noticed that you hid the signs of your goddess after your encounter with the coachman," he starts. "That is probably a wise move. Apologies for not having told you earlier, but Spravedelna is not held in high regard within the city."

"It is true that the dwarves in general tend to worship the old gods more than the new, but Spravedelna in particular has found little favor. From time to time, missionaries visit Opava to try and find converts, but they have found little success. As you have surmised, the population has become very bitter about their lot in life as a result of the dire situation in the city and so it is, perhaps, not difficult to see why the concept of Justice is not an easy one for them to grasp."

"Perhaps all they need is a change of fortune," Winnacer replies. "It seems that one is coming, whether they like it or not."

"Getting poisoned and turned into zombies, or hacked to pieces by ratmen is probably not quite the change in fortune that they were hoping for," Rolex replies a little wryly.

Winnacer nods appreciatively:

"There is nothing like a foreign threat to pull a community together. Victory goes a long way to restoring a city's pride. Now only if we can ensure that we are victorious here..."

After a few minutes of thought, the LawBringer approaches Joy privately, his face vaguely apologetic.

"Hi there Joy. Do you mind if I can have a few brief words with you?"

Joy's face reflects her suprise, but she nods slightly.

"I realize that you've sort of been caught up with our problems without really having a good understanding of them," Winnacer starts. "I also know that my problems are not particularly your problems, especially considering the wide difference in our ethos. So, I would like to take a few minutes to answer any questions you may have about things, as you deserve to know what is going on as well as any of us."

Joy's response is tentative:

"Well, I can't think of anything right now, but if I do, I'll be sure to ask."

"I'm counting on it," Winnacer replies.

"I also wanted to implore you for your help here," the LawBringer continues. "Spravedelna's word gains respect in most circles, but I believe that Opava may not have a receptive ear to Her supplicants, no matter if it is in their best interests or not. It seems that the citizenry have much more respect for the mantle that you wear."

"I was hoping that perhaps you can make some inquiries for us at the local place of worship here. If the parishioners of Zlodey do not know the whereabouts of our quarry, they likely will be able to put you in touch with those that do. Considering the lack of organized resistance in town, the various underground crime syndicates may be Opava's best hope for providing military organization quickly in light of the impending ratman invasion."

Joy nods with a slight smile. She replies:

"This fits in well with my own plans. I'd hoped to visit the church soon so that I could be more in touch with Zlodey. He probably misses hearing anything but my desperate plea for help nowadays. Are you looking for a meeting? I don't know if I can arrange that. I'm sure you can imagine that my friends would not exactly be pleased to meet with a sword of the law. If I have your word as a devotee of Spravedelna that you will not act against my fellow priests and brethren using my information, I will try to gain some information for you."

"As long as they take no actions that I could not ignore, I promise to withhold Judgement for now," Winnacer replies. "I would think that they would know better than to break the Law in front of a stranger, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"You'll be walking into a group of known thieves and possibly hearing them speak of actions that might be held against them," Joy replies. "I stress that this information can NOT be used against them. I might be banned from my church and my god might never hear my prayers again. Imagine how you would feel if Spravedelna never listened to you again. That's a loss I couldn't deal with for the sake of any or everyone. Should you hear something, I must have your word you will not bring judgement against them, nor will you admit to being a LawBringer. It might not only be my religion that I lose, but my life also."

Joy's face pales drastically as she thinks of the church's reaction to bringing a paladin there might be.

Winnacer looks sympathetic:

"It is a heavy mantle that we both wear, that of the responsibilities of faith. I will ask you to warn your comrades to watch their tongues in my presence and I will do my best to avoid interfering myself in their business. Spravedelna understands that we must work with what we have to provide for the overall good. I just ask that you make some proactive measures for my comfort as well."

"I'll see what I can do," Joy says doubtfully to Winnacer.

"You might be surprised to hear this, Joy," Winnacer continues, "but I have worked closely with criminals in the past. The Blue Dragons out of Hradetz speak highly of me, despite my position. The Law exists to provide an outline to maintaining Justice, but it is in the hearts of men themselves that create it. Even the thief can work for Justice in his or her own way."

"I would definitely appreciate your help. It may be best to 'forget' my position in the Church of Spravedelna for the time being. They may feel more comfortable meeting with Lord Stradheim rather than LawBringer Stradheim."

Joy stares speculatively at the LawBringer. She asks:

"Your family name doesn't have any connection to ruling or laws, does it? If the name is held in high regard for righteousness, that might be difficult too. Please don't think I'm trying to prevent this meeting, I do want to help you. I detest the idea of this city being ruined. I'm just afraid for my life in this situation."

Winnacer laughs:

"I don't think that my family name will be a problem here. Although it would be nice if it was a problem."

"The fate of Opava may lay more within your hands than within mine," continues the young Lord. "I pray that you find yourself ready for the challenge of saving the populace."

Winnacer pauses for a second.

"I also want to apologize for my cold greeting when we first met. I cannot deny that I have burning anger at your cousin for his inconsiderate handling of my sister, but it really should not reflect upon you. It is hard to separate such things sometimes, but that is why we are human, I guess. Anyway, you've been a pleasure to travel with so far and I just wish to make amends for previous thoughtless actions."

After thinking this over, Joy nods and says in a wry tone:

"I wouldn't overly worry. At this point, I'm quite becoming used to cold greetings from this group. Well, perhaps I also have been slightly harsh in turn, though I'm sure you can imagine how I would feel seeing the one kin who ever defended me being kicked after receiving numerous wounds. I will be pleased to forget all this, however, since arguments between people who work together serve no purpose. As mother often said, 'Civility is the soul of Nobility.' "

"It seems your mother was a wise woman," Winnacer replies. "I hope your manners can withstand this group, for mine have deteriorated terribly since I started traveling with them."

Joy pauses at the memory of her mother and says:

"Becoming angry only makes those who have tried to anger you happy."

"If they have the capacity for happiness, that is," the young Lord replies. "I worry that some of us have lost that ability over the last few months."

Winnacer shakes his head.

"Did you know today is my birthday? I've reached my twentieth year today, and I'm going to spend it hiding my identity and skulking around a city unfriendly to my ideology. Not much of a celebration."

Looking somewhat depressed by his outburst, Joy exclaims:

"Oh, surely it's not that bad."

She looks at the ground for a second, before saying:

"Well, happy birthday."

"Thank you for your time and for your help. It is really appreciated," Winnacer finishes.

After walking for 15 minutes, they see that the boulevard leads to a huge building cut into the rock, with the boulevard circling it on either side. They can see that the building is covered with incredibly ornate carvings all over it. It stretches up to the roof 50' above the boulevard. It is quite obvious that this is the Cathedral of Zemnye.

Rolex leads them through the large iron doors of the cathedral and they enter. To Winnacer, Yaz and Aithne, they see that it is quite similar to the temple of Zemnye that they visited in Olmutz, although on a much larger scale. The dwarven clerics attending to their business inside look up and greet Rolex warmly. He speaks to one of them in dwarven. Faewen'il understands that he is just asking to speak with the CornerStone. The cleric disappears and comes back a few minutes later, beckoning Rolex to follow him. Rolex, in turn, beckons them to follow him.

They all follow the dwarven neophyte and Rolex up some stairs towards the back of the Cathedral. The stairs lead into a warren of passageways above the main chancery. The dwarves lead them up higher and higher until they reckon on being some 100' above the bottom of the Cathedral. The neophyte opens the door and bids them all to enter.

The CornerStone's office is large and spacious, appearing to be quite empty. They see the CornerStone sitting at the far end of the office, sat behind a massive table of polished granite. From the fact that the CornerStone's gray beard flows nearly to the floor, they can tell that this is not a young dwarf.

CornerStone Rockrender gets up from behind his desk a little painfully and walks over to greet Rolex. The craggy face of the CornerStone breaks into a smile as he starts to talk to the Bastion. He glances over at them while greeting Rolex, but does not speak to the party members until he has finished speaking to Rolex. The two dwarves chatter away for the best part of five minutes, leaving the others to stand around waiting for them to finish. Faewen'il can understand that the CornerStone is asking Rolex what brings him to Opava and who the Bohavians are. Rolex gives him a quick summary of all that transpired in Litultovitze and the reasons as to why the party has come to Opava.

They can all see the CornerStone's eyes widening as Rolex tells him of the situation. His pallor was already fairly gray to start with but, as Rolex finished filling him in on the details, the CornerStone appears to be quite white with shock. He walks back to his desk and slumps back into his chair.

Rolex turns to the party:

"Please be seated. I doubt that this is going to be a very quick meeting."

He indicates towards a number of polished stone stools around the CornerStone's desk. They all take a seat.

The CornerStone is silent for while. He is holding his head in his hands, obviously letting all that Rolex told him sink in.

The fact that the CornerStone has not acknowledged their presence yet is making Rolex a little embarrassed and he coughs obviously, nodding in their direction. Rockrender takes the hint and starts to apologize:

"I'm terribly sorry," the CornerStone says in a gravelly voice. "Where are my manners? I was just a little alarmed by what the Bastion had to report."

"I am CornerStone Durian Rockrender," he continues, "I'm very pleased to meet you all."

He starts to shake them all by the hand. Winnacer introduces himself first of all, and then the rest of them do so also. Once all of introductions are out of the way, the CornerStone speaks:

"The Bastion has given me all of the information that he has regarding why you are here. It is obviously a very serious matter indeed and so I will obviously do all that is within my power to try and assist you in putting a stop to this heinous crime."

He looks over to Winnacer:

"Bastion Quartz-Movement tells me that you have some questions that he was not able to answer. I will attempt to any questions that you might have."

Winnacer nods and then starts to ask the questions that Rolex was unable to answer:

"While we are here," Winnacer starts, "I was hoping that it might be possible to meet with some metalsmiths, which I have heard this city is famous for. Rolex said that you might be able to provide an introduction to the Head of the Church of Zelezny, who Rolex says is sure to make contact with such smiths."

CornerStone Rockrender nods sagely:

"That shouldn't be a problem at all," he replies. "Dranthor ArcWelder is a close personal friend of mine and the churches of Zelezny and Zemnye work closely together. I shall write you a letter of introduction before you depart. I am sure that Dranthor will be able to put you in touch with the right dwarf for the job."

Winnacer nods and continues:

"I was also interested to know the composition of the Nyemetz forces here. Rolex said that perhaps you might know."

Rockrender nods again:

"Yes, I do know," he replies. "There are around 300 troops garrisoned in the city, all of them goblins. The Nyemetz tried putting orcs here, but they had trouble in getting through some of the more confined spaces in the city, a situation that the local population took great advantage of. That's why there are only goblins here now. The great hatred between goblins and dwarves is something that the Nyemetz use to their advantage."

"In addition to the regular troops, there are a number of shamen and witchdoctors. The 'Lord Protektor' is actually a goblin witchdoctor of great repute, supposedly. Very few dwarves have ever seen him. He tends to keep to his own affairs, not wanting to bother with the problems of the city. There's also a couple of companies of worgriders that patrol the outlying areas garrisoned in 'Tall Town'."

"As you can see, the Nyemetz are really not so much of a threat to us as they are in other places. However, Opava has more than enough problems of its own to contend with."

"My other question was regarding the existence of underground organizations within the city; a resistance movement, Thieves' Guilds and the suchlike."

"As for Thieves' Guilds," The CornerStone replies, "There are two of them in operation in the city from what I know. 'The Crips', as they are known, have control over the top three levels of the city, while 'The Bloods' have control of the bottom four. The level in the middle is controlled directly by the church of Zlodey and is thus considered by both sides to be neutral."

"I really wouldn't know how to contact either of them," he continues, "not that I have any desire to do so."

He throws a glance at Joy, looking at her a little distastefully:

"If you really wanted to try and contact them, then I suggest your 'colleague' speak to the 'church' of Zlodey. I'm sure that they will know how to contact both sides."

He looks at all of them, particularly Winnacer:

"I advise you to watch your step in dealing with them, however. They are not to be trusted."

He pauses for a moment:

"As for a resistance movement .. ."

His voice trails off. He glances around the room at all of them, obviously feeling very nervous. Faewen'il's hands reach up for her amulet as it's obvious that the CornerStone knows something. Before she has need to use it, however, Rockrender speaks:

"If I tell you this, then I need to have your sworn agreement that you will not mention this fact to anyone - anyone at all - for whatever reason."

He looks deep into their eyes, particularly Joy's:

"Do I have your agreement?"

"On my father's honor," replies Aithne, enjoying the irony of swearing to a dwarf by an elf's honor.

Rockrender obviously does not share the xenophobia of most of the city as he smiles politely back at Aithne, nodding his head.

Fae speaks her answer in Dwarven, glad to have a chance to practice the language again. The last time she had had any practice was around Tharnald and Darry.

"Solid rock bear witness that it so being long-beard."

Both the CornerStone and the Bastion look highly impressed at this, having met few Bohavians who have taken the trouble to study the difficult dwarven tongue:

"Your heart is more precious than a 17-carat diamond," is the rough translation of Rockrender's response in dwarven.

"I swear upon the Tome of Law itself," Winnacer replies in a serious tone.

Joy nods sincerely, purposely keeping her face innocent looking. She sighs softly as he stares at her with suspicion and says:

"Since invoking Zlodey's good name probably wouldn't go over too well, I can merely promise you on my own name and honor that I will tell no one."

Rowan and Yaz both give their agreement. Once the CornerStone has heard from everyone, he takes a deep breath and looks over his shoulder before bending forwards. He speaks to them all in a low, over-dramatic whisper:

"Yes, there is a resistance movement in this city, and I am part of it."

Rolex looks quite surprised at this. It's obvious that this is news to him too.

"It is known as the Council of Seven," Durian continues to whisper, "and is comprised of seven of the most influential dwarves in the city."

He glances over at Joy once again:

"Well the most influential honest, reliable and decent dwarves in the city, in any case."

He then continues to address the group of the party:

"The names of the members are kept secret to the Council so that, should any of us be captured, then there is no danger of revealing the identities of the others. When the Council convenes, we all wear masks."

"Only one person knows the identity of all of the council members, a Silesian woman by the name of Zosia Snehurka."

His face breaks into a smile:

"She's a very attractive woman, is Zosia; her skin is as white as fresh driven snow, her hair as black ebony."

Rowan looks to have taken an intense interest....

"She's had a rough life," the dwarf continues. "She was born to the King and Queen of Silesia just 20 years ago, her mother sadly dying during childbirth. After a few years of mourning, the King took a second wife, Zosia's stepmother. Apparently she is a beautiful woman, yet proud and haughty, not to mention incredibly vain. She could not bear the fact that anyone else could surpass her beauty."

"Being well connected, she possessed a mirror of scrying which she used to regularly use to determine who was the fairest in the land. For years and years, the mirror always informed her that it was the Queen who possessed this accolade. However, upon reaching adulthood, the mirror informed her that Zosia's beauty had surpassed hers."

"The enraged Zosia's step-mother so much that she planned to do away with the Princess. She ordered her huntsman to take Zosia far away from the Royal Palace in Krakov and to kill her, bringing back a lung and a liver as proof of her death. The huntsman did as he was bid and took Zosia to the forest. However, when it came time to kill her, he found that he could not bring himself to perform the task, as it would have been against his alignment."

"Instead, he told Zosia to flee, certain that the creatures of the forests would kill her, thus saving him the task. And so Zosia fled. The woodsman, needing to bring proof of Zosia's death to the evil Queen, easily slew a young bear because of his ability to use a sword in each hand and brought the unfortunate creature's lung and liver back to the Queen as proof of Zosia's death. The wicked Queen had them salted and then ate them, believing that she had eaten the lung and liver of Zosia."

"The King, who adored his daughter more than anything else in the realm, was unaware of all this at the time. He was too occupied in fighting the gnolls and bugbears of the Russ on the Silesian borders to pay much attention to what was happening back in the palace. Zosia believes that there has been a cover-up operation since then, with her father believing that she died in a hunting accident."

"Despite all of the odds, Zosia was able to survive in the forest and she made her way across the border to Bohavia, knowing that she would never be safe in Silesia. Half dead from exhaustion, she came across the Council's secret meeting place and fell asleep there. We discovered her at the next Council meeting. Discovering of her royal connections, we all took her under our wing, knowing that Silesian support could be vital in overthrowing the Nyemetz in Sudeten when the time for revolution comes. She proved to be a very capable woman in matters of planning, if a little naive at times, and so we appointed her as Head of the Council, swearing to protect her from any possible reprisals should word get back to the Queen of Silesia that Zosia still lives."

"This is actually a difficult time for her right now. She was the victim of an assassination attempt recently when an old-peddler woman sold her some laces of bright-colored silk and then proceeded to tie them so tightly that she almost died of asphyxiation."

"It was lucky that the next Council meeting was held just a few hours later, or else she would have most definitely have died. We told her to be more careful in future."

"Clearly, this young woman is in no small need of protection!" Rowan says.

Durian pauses and then looks up:

"So, that's the story of Snehurka and the Council of Seven."

"So what else do you need to know?"

"Just... when do we meet this Zosia?" Rowan asks, supremely confident that the others will be more than occupied with strategems and schemes to worry about a beautiful young woman.

"I once knew a Zosia once," he continues, half to himself. "Fair of hair and face she was, and full of life. We loved-- but a brief dalliance, I'm sorry to say-- and then parted, leaving me only the memory of her sweet lips to comfort me in my wanderings. Whatever became of her, I cannot say...."

He sighs, and looks to be quite lost in his own little world.

The sound of grinding of teeth emanates from Winnacer.

"You shouldn't do that, it's really bad for your teeth," murmurs Aithne to Winnacer.

Winnacer pauses a second, taking in all of the Cornerstone's words:

"Is there any way to call a meeting of the Council? Opava's fate may rely on the efforts of the Council."

Rockrender grimaces a little, tossing his head from side to side as he looks first at Rowan and then at Winnacer:

"Normally the answer to this would be no," he finally replies. "There are no more Council meetings planned before St Vaclav's Day. However, these are most certainly very unusual circumstances. Perhaps we could go and have a word with Zosia. Only she knows the identities of the Seven, and so only she would be able to convene a meeting."

"As you know," Winnacer continues, "the Nemotz plan on poisoning the wells of Opava on St. Vaclav's Day. The agent they will be using turns humanoids into zombies, easily placed under the control of the Nemotz and their ratmen allies. My companions and myself will try our best to prevent this, but nothing is certain in this world."

"From what we are told there are three Nemotz priests in the town currently. It is possible there are more. There are also only three functioning wells. I would imagine that the Nemotz plan on contaminating the three operating wells, ignoring the fourth well. It may be in our interests to jury rig the well in secret to provide a safe source of water in case things go sour. Such repairs would be beyond our capacity."

The CornerStone ponders this suggestion and then nods:

"That would be a very wise precaution. The wells are operated by the Teamsters' Guild, which is closely linked with the Church of Seela, with which our relations are only neutral. I think that this is going to be a matter for the Council. I'm afraid that it is outside our Sphere of Influence."

"We also could use whatever help you can provide in locating these human disease cultists as well as the breakthrough site of their ratmen allies," the young Lord continues. "With your aid and abilities to understand stone, we can anticipate the ratmen's movements and make ready for them when they finally come."

Rockrender looks a little confused once again:

"And how would you propose that we do that?" he asks. "We're certainly willing to help in any way we can."

"Bastion Rolex figures that the ratmen excavation is likely coming from either the south or the west, looking to connect with the lower tunnels on the outskirts," Winnacer explains. "I would imagine mining on the scale necessary to make such a large passageway would make a lot of noise and disturb a lot of rock. If we could recruit sounding crews to scour the outskirts to listen for disturbances, perhaps we could pinpoint their location. That is, if the sounds of mining could be feasibly heard by dwarven ears."

"Or perhaps you could call upon the powers of the Earth Lord to provide us with an answer. I do not understand the mysteries of rock and stone, but I trust that its servants have a chance at elucidating an answer."

Rockrender looks over at Rolex:

"You think that the ratmen are likely to be coming in through the lower levels?" he asks.

Rolex nods:

"Yes, that is what I believe. According to Brother Timex' calculations, the ratmen's city was almost half a mile below the surface. This is why we believe that they will be coming in through the lower levels in the city."

The CornerStone sighs:

"This really is very bad news indeed," he replies. "The lower levels of the city are controlled totally by the 'Bloods' and are little better than a warzone, where anyone walking on their own is easy prey to the scoundrels who use the place as their hunting ground, high on 'Suck'."

He shakes his head once more:

"I fear that it is not going to be easy to get any of our congregation to go down there unaccompanied, for fear of their lives."

"It looks like we'll need to have a talk with these 'Bloods' unless you can figure out another way to discern the entry point," Winnacer replies.

The CornerStone sighs and nods:

"I cannot believe that they are going to be easy people to deal with," he replies, "yet their control of the lower levels is total. The defense of the city will, I believe, be impossible without coming to some agreement with them, as the majority of the city's inhabitants would not risk going down there."

"By the way, what is 'Suck'?'" Winnacer asks.

The CornerStone frowns and shakes his head once more:

"The scourge of this city, that's what 'Suck' is," he replies.

"The real name of the substance is Threakston's Old Bastard Peculiar XXXXXXXXX, the most potent, concentrated ale in the whole of Sudeten. It's banned all over the country for its addictive qualities and for what it does to the brains of those that become hooked upon it. It is sold in small earthenware vials, each one as potent as nine pints of regular ale."

"It is commonly imbibed by means of a straw, as it reaches the bloodstream faster this way, thus the street name of 'Suck'."

He shakes his head once more:

"'Suck' use is rampant throughout the whole of Opava. Due to its highly addictive qualities, once dwarves are hooked on it, they will do anything to get more of it. I suppose that, with the demise of Opava's industries and the hopelessness of the populace, it was bound to become a problem."

"It is 'Suck' that is responsible for the fast growth of the two rival gangs in the city as well as the Church of Zlodey here. 'Suckhouses' are the main sources of revenue for both of the gangs, particularly the 'Bloods'. With money being so scarce here, it's hardly surprising that so many citizens have resorted to a life of crime in order to feed their 'Suck' habit."

"Even if we are successful in preventing the Nemotz from poisoning the wells," the LawBringer continues, "we still will have a fight on our hands with the ratmen hordes. We are going to have to find a way to organize an effective resistance or else the city will fall to the vermin hordes."

"It would be something if we could somehow manipulate the Nyemetz to take the brunt of the attacks. But the politics necessary to arrange for that lie within your Council, not within our group."

Durian nods once again:

"It certainly would be good to arrange that, but I haven't got the foggiest idea how to do so. It's really not quite as simple as knocking on the Lord Protektor's door and asking for his assistance."

Winnacer smiles:

"I have a few ideas, but we'll need to know where the ratmen are coming through first."

"These tasks are quite a lot to ask for," Winnacer concludes. "But if we do not take proper steps, hunger and poverty will take a back seat to enslavement. But if we play our cards right, Opava may soon have a new industry and a chance at prosperity, raiding the treasures of the malignant civilization beneath the stone."

The CornerStone does not look too optimistic:

"If that were the case, then this would be excellent. However, I would set our sights on simply stopping these disasters from happening rather than starting a new industry here."

"My grandfather used to say 'Set your sights very high, so if you fall short you've still done well'." The LawBringer responds. "Justice is not simply in averting disaster, but in turning imminent misfortune into benevolent opportunity. At least we can hope."

The CornerStone simply nods at this:

"Perhaps," he replies, not sounding over-confident, "perhaps."

"Also, I was hoping you could take a look at this rock sample of something called 'warpstone'," Winnacer adds. "The ratmen use this in many capacities and perhaps your knowledge of the earthen elements may aid us in dealing with the rats."

The dwarf looks a little confused, but Rolex interjects, speaking to the CornerStone in dwarven while producing the purplish rock contained in a glass jar from his pack.

Rockrender stares at the rock intently through the glass, seeming very interested in it. After a few moments examining it, he shakes his head once more:

"I've certainly seen nothing like that at all," he says. "It looks like a rock, but I have never come across anything like this in Zemnye's realm before."

He continues to investigate it:

"You'll have to leave it with me, I'm afraid. We shall try and find out as much as we can about it."

Durian then looks around:

"No more questions?" he asks.

There is a long pause.

"Good," he continues, 'in that case, I suggest that we make haste to meet with Zosia in the hope that she can arrange a Council meeting as quickly as possible."

Rockrender stands up and walks over to a large iron wardrobe, from which he takes a nondescript looking dark-brown cloak and a droopy looking hat, which he pulls down low over his head. He then heads for the door:

"Please follow me," he says.

They follow after the CornerStone as he heads out of his office and starts to walk down the staircases that lead down to the Cathedral floor. He stops briefly to have a quick word in dwarven with the priest standing behind the altar and then continues on out of the cathedral with the others following on behind him. They then start to walk down the boulevard, heading back towards the huge iron gates that they passed through in order to get into the city proper.

Along the way, Joy speaks to Rowan:

"I'm not sure that I'm really needed to meet this Zosia," she says.

"I think that she will be much more interested in you than me, cousin," she adds with a smile.

"I think I could be more help to this situation by having a word at the Temple of Zlodey. I shall meet up with you before the day is through back at the inn," she says.

Rowan nods:

"Very well, but be careful, this sounds like a very dangerous city from what we've heard."

Joy nods and then says her farewells to the CornerStone before leaving the others and heading off into the city by herself.

Ten minutes later, they reach the gates once more. They look up a little nervously at the goblins on the towers and the goblins look back at the party members with a bored expression on their pale green faces. They do not stir, however, as they head out through the gates and into 'Tall Town'.

Rockrender looks nervously around as he walks into the light outside, wincing slightly. He wraps his cloak tighter around his shoulders and pulls his cap down lower, covering half of his face. They follow him right across 'Tall Town' passing the Chapel of Obkod and passing close by the Moravia Coaching Company where they were a little over an hour earlier. They can see that they are heading for the riverbank. They continue onwards until they reach the River Opava itself. The river is flowing very slowly and ice has formed on the still waters at the sides due to the freezing cold temperatures.

The CornerStone turns east as he gets to the riverbank and they walk onwards until they get to the wharf. The whole area seems to be almost deserted and they can see no one at all as they pass by a row of empty, tumbled down warehouses on the edge of the wharf. He comes up to one warehouse that seems to be in slightly better condition than the others and beckons them to follow him towards it.

As he gets closer to the warehouse, he suddenly stops in his tracks:

"The door's open," he says with some alarm. "Zosia never leaves the door open, especially after that incident with the laces last month. Something is definitely wrong here."

He advances towards the door, which is just slightly ajar. He pushes it open just a little and peers inside:

"Zosia?" he calls out softly. "Are you there?"

There is no reply.

He looks back at the others, looking very worried now:

"There's definitely something very wrong here."

Aithne draws her cloak tightly around her and draws her sword. She too steps to the door and looks in. Seeing nothing, she walks in and begins to look around.

Reflexively, Winnacer draws forth 'Old Bohavia', his eyes narrowing as he too steps forward.

He turns to Yaz, Rowan and Faewen'il:

"We should fan out and search. Be careful not to ruin any tracks that may have been left behind."

Aithne walks inside the warehouse with Winnacer following close on her heels and the Bastion and CornerStone. She sees that it looks totally different inside to how it looks from the outside. Instead of being one large empty area inside, there are several rooms, all looking very neat and clean. She passes through the entry hall into what appears to be the dining room, considering the fact that it contains a table, upon which is a white cover, and seven little plates, and on each little plate a little spoon. Around the plates are seven little knives and seven little forks together with seven little mugs.

Aithne walks around the table. As she does so, she sees a girl, presumably Zosia, lying on the floor. She is wearing a yellow shirt and a black bodice with blue puffed sleeves. As Durian described her, her skin is as fair as the driven snow, her lips as red as blood and her hair, which is held in place by a golden comb, is the color of ebony. She is either unconscious or dead.

Winnacer and the others crowd around her. The CornerStone looks down at her in alarm:

"Zemnye below!" he exclaims, "her skin isn't usually THAT white. What are we to do?"

"Yaz, get in here," shouts Winnacer. "We found her and she doesn't look very well."

Winnacer then rummage through his belongings for Jihan's unguents as the others rush into the room.

As Winnacer hurries to find an unguent, Rockrender continues to look at the prone form of Snehurka, shaking with worry. He then looks a little confused:

"That's strange," he says. "I've only ever seen her wearing her hair down before. I wonder where she got that comb from?"

He bends down and studies it more carefully. Then, he wraps his hand with his cloak and pulls the comb out of her hair before investigating it carefully.

"As I feared," he says as he looks at it. "It's poisoned."

He quickly looks over at Rolex:

"Bastion, did you ask Zemnye to bless you with the powers of neutralizing poison today?" he asks.

Rolex shakes his head:

"I'm afraid not, CornerStone," he replies sadly.

"Dash it," Rockrender replies, "neither did I."

He looks at the rest of the party:

"How about you?" he asks.

Yaz shakes his head sadly:

"'Fraid not," he replies. "It's not something that I usually ask Prirodna for."

"Wait a minute," Winnacer says, reaching into his bag.

He pulls out one of the vials:

"Try this," he says handing it to Durian. "We got it from the Guildmistress of the Herbalists' Guild in Vysoke Myto. It's an emetic. It might just save her from the effects of the poison."

"It's a long shot, but it might just work."

The CornerStone takes the vial and kneels down next to the girl. He cradles her head in his hands and begins to pour the emetic between her blood red lips. Once he has done so, he starts to pray to Zemnye that she may live. All of a sudden, Zosia starts to moan and her eyes flutter for a moment. She then starts to retch, vomiting forth a stream of chunder over the CornerStone.

"Thank Zemnye!" he cries. "She lives!"

Zosia moans again. She opens her eyes and looks around her, seeing them all standing over her:

"Wh-wh-what happened?" she asks.

Rockrender comforts her:

"There, there, Zosia, dear. Everything's all right. You had a close escape there."

"Again."

She looks up at the dwarf:

"Oh, Holy, it's you. I didn't recognize you without your mask on."

"Who are all these other people with you?" she adds, looking up at them all.

"They're friends, Zosia," the CornerStone replies. "Now tell us what happened."

Zosia blushes red with embarrassment and looks away for a moment, but then looks back at Rockrender:

"Are you sure that you won't be angry with me if I tell you?" she asks nervously.

The CornerStone sighs:

"No, Zosia, I won't be angry. Just tell me what happened."

"This time."

"W-well," she starts hesitantly, "there was this old woman .. ."

Durian rolls his eyes and sighs deeply:

"You know what we told you after the laces incident, don't you? Not to open the door to any strangers."

"Especially strange old women."

"I didn't," Zosia protests.

"At first," she adds meekly.

The dwarf shakes his head in disbelief.

"It was just that... that the comb that she wanted to sell me was just... so... so beautiful," the girl continues. "The old woman seemed so harmless, and so I let her comb my hair, which is as black as ebony, with it."

She pauses:

"And th-that's all that I remember."

The CornerStone shakes his head disapprovingly:

"Oh, Zosia," he sighs, "I really can't believe how naive you are. Just promise me that you'll never, ever, do anything as stupid as that again."

Zosia continues to stare at her feet:

"I'm sorry, Holy," she replies sadly. "I promise."

"Very well," Durian replies with a nod. "Now, I'm afraid that we have a most grave matter that needs your attention."

He looks at the party:

"These people have come to me with news of a terrible tragedy that is set to befall Opava unless we use all of our resources in order to do something about it."

The CornerStone introduces them all to Zosia, who politely shakes them all by the hand. She tells them all to take one of the seven little seats at the little table. Rockrender then proceeds to tell her everything that he has learned regarding the Nemotz and ratmen threats to Opava.

Zosia looks highly alarmed at the story, and her face would have blanched were it not for the fact that it was already the color of driven snow:

"This is terrible," she says once the CornerStone has finished, "Absolutely terrible. What are we to do about it?"

"Well," Durian replies, "I thought that perhaps we could call an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Seven."

Zosia nods:

"Oh yes," she replies, "that's a very good idea. I hadn't thought of that."

Durian rolls his eyes once more:

"So do you think that you are able to do it?"

Zosia thinks for a moment and then nods:

"Y-yes, I think so," she replies, "but I won't be able to manage it before tomorrow evening. It's very difficult to convene a meeting at short notice."

Durian shakes his head:

"Well that's cutting it a bit fine, to say the least," he says looking around at the party members. "Tomorrow is the 22nd. That only gives us a little more than 24 hours to put a stop to this heinous act."

Zosia shakes her head:

"I'm really sorry, but that really is the best that I can do."

"Hush, now," Rowan says gently. "We know you will do all you can, and for that we are immeasurably grateful. You're a brave young woman-- and a strong one, at that, to fight off the effects of that poisoned comb as you did. For my own peace of mind, though, I beg you, do be more careful in the future."

Zosia smiles demurely, flutters her eyelids and looks away, blushing a little:

"Thank you for your words of comfort, kind Sir," she replies. "As I promised Durian, I shall ensure that I take more care over myself."

Winnacer looks at Rowan and frowns:

"Comfort is one thing, but a better way of assuring Miss Snehurka's future safety would be to bring the culprit to Justice. We should see whether there are any tracks around the warehouse that would lead to her assailant."

He looks over at Aithne:

"I would imagine that your experience would make you the best candidate for the task. Are you willing to give it a try?"

"OK," she replies. "Let me see what I can find out."

With that, the half elf leaves the warehouse. While Aithne is gone, Winnacer turns to the others:

"There is much to do in order that Opava may be saved and little time to do it in. If the Council meeting cannot be convened until tomorrow evening, then we shall have to pursue other lines of questioning."

"I believe that there are two tasks that we need to perform before the day is through. Firstly, I believe that we should meet with the Church of Seela to discuss the possibility of getting the fourth well operational again. I think we should also head for the Black Rock Inn in order to meet with this Emsee Hammer character. From FaithHealer Geisler's notebook, it appears that this dwarf is able to locate the answers to a number of questions. Perhaps he will be willing to perform a similar service to us."

"The Black Rock Inn?" questions the CornerStone.

He shakes his head:

"That place is infamous throughout the whole of Opava as being the roughest tavern in the city. It's on the eighth level, the worst of them all and firmly under the control of the 'Bloods'. I'm afraid that I won't be able to accompany you down there."

Winnacer nods:

"Will you at least be willing to provide an introduction to the Church of Seela?" the LawBringer asks.

The CornerStone nods hesitantly:

"If you believe that it would help, then I will," he replies. "As I have said, the relationship with the Church of Seela is only neutral and so I do not have any influence upon them, but I can try my best."

Winnacer nods once again:

"Thank you, CornerStone," he replies. "Your assistance will be most helpful."

Just then, Aithne returns, even though she has only been gone for a couple of minutes:

"The tracks were simplicity itself to pick up, what with the snow on the ground and few other tracks in the area to lead me astray. They lead to the wharf-side, and disappear at the river's edge. Quite where she went after that, it's impossible to say."

Winnacer shakes his head:

"Well whoever it is, she's obvious not a complete amateur at this type of thing," he says. "If there is no way in which we are going to be able to track down Zosia's assassin quickly, then I believe we shall have to concentrate upon the greater problem, as the whole city of Opava is in danger from the Nemotz and ratmen."

He looks to the CornerStone:

"Are you ready to take us to the Temple of Seela, CornerStone?"

Durian nods and looks to Zosia:

"We shall leave you now in order to make arrangements for the Council meeting tomorrow. Shall we says 7.00pm?"

Zosia nods:

"That should give me enough time. I look forward to seeing you then."

The CornerStone gives her a warm hug and looks up at her:

"Very good. Farewell, Zosia."

He turns to leave, but turns back after a few steps:

"And remember, be careful."

They all say their farewells to Zosia and then follow Rockrender as he takes his leave of the girl. They hear Zosia bolting the door behind them as they leave, much to the relief of Durian.