The Revolution Has Begun

Winnacer gives a passionate speech to the slaves:

"Free men of Bohavia, the time when foreigners can dictate our destinies must come to an end! If the Nyemetz had their way, we would be sacrificing our lives to fight for their orcish, evil causes. I say that the enslavement of Bohavia ends today! No longer can we allow the daughters of Bohavia to watch as their sons are ripped from them in chains."

His words are met with an almighty roar of approval from the slaves as they leap up and down as far as their chains will let them.

Winnacer then goes on, in his heroic style, to tell them that they should use the Nyemetz weapons to practice with so that they can form an effective militia, to which the slaves respond with another outburst of cheering and excitement.

When Winnacer has finished his rousing speech, one of the slaves starts to speak. He is of a similar age to Winnacer, being in his mid-twenties. He is a tall, thin man with a pale, dour complexion, with a band of cloth wrapped round his head, obscuring one of his eyes.

'All praise to Spravedelna. She has delivered unto us a group of holy warriors who will smite vengeance unto the Nyemetz who have made us kneel before their unjust ways. All praise be to Spravedelna.'

At that, all of the slaves fall to their knees and start to pray, giving thanks to Spravedelna for delivering them from injustice.

Once their devotions have been seen to, all of the slaves rise. The party looks on to see, with great surprise, the speaker take the chains binding him to the others and rip them apart as if they were made from straw. He then walks over to Winnacer and shakes him firmly by the hand.

Winnacer feels as if his hand has been crushed between two heavy rocks and winces with the pain.

'Ooops' says the speaker, apologetically. 'I beg forgiveness for my sin. I forgot the gift that Spravedelna saw fit to bestow upon me. I wish to introduce myself to you. My name is Kesryk, a devout priest of Spravedelna, who has seen fit in Her wisdom to empower me to look after the moral sanctity of this parish and to see that justice prevails. Spravedelna has also seen fit to bestow upon me a gift that allows me to cure those who are wounded if they have upheld Her ways. I believe that two of your comrades, who fought so bravely for justice with you, have been fallen by the Nyemetz heathens who oppose the views of our Leader. It would bring me great joy to perform Her work by aiding those who are fallen.'

Winnacer indicates that he would be very happy for Kesryk to give any assistance that he may to both Jihan and Yaz.

Kesryk walks into the clump of trees to where Maire' is nursing the badly injured form of Jihan. The cleric starts to utter an arcane incantation to Spravedelna and then pulls the orcish arrow from Jihan's side, while keeping his hand on the wound. Maire' and Corrow are astounded to see that all signs of the deep piercing are gone. Seconds later, Jihan is back on his feet, feeling better than ever, completely recovered from the effects of the orcish arrow.

Kesryk then walks into the tavern, giving the sign of Spravedelna as he steps over the hordes of fallen orcs. He walks up to where Yaz is lying in a pool of blood, both his own and orcish. He then repeats the same incantation and places his hand under the crude bandage that Winnacer applied during the fight. Yaz too is amazed when all pain is removed from his body. The bandage is taken off to reveal no signs of a wound remaining whatsoever, with only the bloodstain on his torn leather jerkin to give a clue as to the terrible gash that cut into his chest. Yaz is back on his feet immediately.

'Spravedelna is truly grateful for your services to Her cause this day.' Says Kesryk calmly. 'Rarely have I seen Her grant me the power to heal such deep wounds so perfectly.'

Maire' comes to both Winnacer and Xavier, who both received minor wounds and binds them both.

'The pair of ye should nae be feelin more o' tha pain by the morrow.' she says.

Upon being healed from his wounds, Jihan too adds words of hope to the chained villagers, who respond equally as enthusiastically as they did to Winnacer's speech.

Winnacer searches the body of the sargeant and, as he hoped for, finds a small bunch of large iron keys in a leather pouch on the sargeant's belt. He goes over to where the slaves are chained and finds the key that unlocks the slaves' shackles. Another cheer goes out as the slaves gain their freedom.

The slaves start to talk amongst themselves excitedly. From their talks, it is understood that half of their number came from Sezemitze, the other village referred to by the refugees that the party met on the hills. This explains why there were twenty orcs in the village rather than the ten that the woman said were in the village originally. It means that they have not only liberated Holitze, but also its neighbor, Sezemitze, as well.

One man, a tanned stocky figure with bulging biceps, sees Darius trying to make amendments to his vastly oversized suit of orcish chainmail.

'Never did I ever foresee the day that I would be thankful to see a goblin in Holitze' says the man in a deep voice 'But we are most surely grateful for your assistance here today. Spravedelna surely moves in the most mysterious ways! Good Goblin, I see that you have need for a better fitting suit of mail and that you are no expert in working with items made from steel. I am Honza, the village smith, and my friend, Petr,' he says pointing to another burly figure 'is a weapon smith. Although neither of us are armorers, I believe that we can make you a better fitting suit of mail. Go now Good Goblin, you have worked enough this evening. Relax while we prepare for you the finest suit of mail that we can with our humble resources.'

The sleeping orc that Yaz tied up has now woken and is struggling to release himself from the bonds. Yaz has done a good job, however, and there is no chance that the orc is going to escape.

The villagers get busy at the tasks that Winnacer has set for them. A group of them grab weapons and make a thorough search of the town. They return after half an hour to state that there are definitely no other orcs in the village - the village is secure. Another group goes off into the woods armed with spades and shovels in order to dig a huge pit where the orcs' bodies can be buried. Winnacer dispatches another group to go to the hills in order to bring back the women, children and elderly back to the village. He tells them to stop off on the way at the copse where Heimlin and the animals are hiding so that he may be told of their victory, so that he may make his way into the village.

Another group looks through the wagon filled with loot and each of them separates what is theirs, and their neighbors', from the pile. When the exercise has been finished, there is one small wooden box remaining unclaimed.

One of the villagers hands the wooden box to Winnacer.

'Kind Sir, this box does not belong to anyone in either Holitze or Sezemitze. The Nyemetz brought it with them. I believe that , by rights, it should be yours.'

Looking inside the box, Winnacer sees that the box contains 450 silver pieces. Other villagers search the bodies of the orcs, stripping them of their mail and weapons, which the villagers will put to good use in time. Another villager comes with his apron filled full of platinum pieces.

'There also should become the property of our liberators' the villager says. With this he adds a further 148 platinum pieces to the silver pieces lying in the box.

Kesryk speaks to the villagers after they have gone through all of the bodies:

'The Nyemetz have slaughtered many of our beasts here today. While it saddens me that we shall want for fatted calf and pig this winter, Spravedelna would not wish the food to go to waste. Let us make use of this bounty by arranging a feast for our liberators as well as our families who must be in need of much sustenance upon their return from the hills.'

A group of villagers build a bonfire in front of the tavern and start to pull all of the dead animals towards it at the start of preparations for a feast.

Winnacer sees the orc struggling against the binding of the elven bowstring and worries that the orc might get free while they are all occupied at the feast. He comes up with the excellent idea of putting the orc captive into the chains and shackles that were previously occupied by the villagers – a delicious feeling of irony!

Enlisting Xavier’s help to deal with the struggling orcish prisoner, Winnacer manages to get it into the chains and then they maneuver it down into the cellar of the now partially cleared ‘Thug and Succubus’. They decide that the interrogation can wait until tomorrow. This evening is the time for celebration.

They all sit down on the ground next to the roaring bonfire upon which the feast is being prepared – all apart from Yaz and Jihan who cannot stand to see the sight of the others eating the flesh of Prirodna’s children. Darius, on the other hand, cannot fill himself full enough.

During the feast, there is a lot of heated discussion amongst the party about whether they have liberated the village or whether they have rather signed their death warrants by making the village the subject of terrible future retribution by the Nyemetz.

Kesryk hears the way the conversation is going and interjects:

‘Young lady’ he says to Maire’ ‘If it were the case that we let just one of those heathen beasts escape the divine slaughter that we witnessed here tonight, then we would, I believe, be doomed. However, as we have eradicated any signs of the battle by burying the dead, I feel that we have a chance. The Nyemetz are brutal, but lack discipline and planning. I doubt very much whether there is some supreme commander who is waiting for the return of these two platoons, knowing exactly where they were supposed to have been. The Nyemetz constantly suffer from desertion, and crass stupidity amongst their troops. Although it cannot be guaranteed that the Nyemetz will remain unaware of what happened here this evening, if it is Spravedelna’s wish, then our rebellion will remain hidden from the Nyemetz.’

At this point, Heimlin returns with Giselle, the cart and the horse in tow, having been alerted by the villagers to their success. He saunters in, smoking his pipe. Upon his approach, Kesryk stares and then jumps to his feet.

‘IT IS A PORTENT OF GREAT VICTORY FROM SPRAVEDELNA!’ Kesryk exclaims excitedly.

Heimlin grins and looks pleased with himself.

‘Oh, that’s nice to know’ he replies.

‘Not you, Good Gnome’ replies Kesryk ‘The horse – the horse is the color of Spravedelna! I’ve never before witnessed an orange horse before – it is obviously a sign from Her. All hail the holy orange horse of Spravedelna!’

The party all look on amazed and just a little embarrassed as all of the visitors get to their knees and start to kneel and worship the ‘holy’ horse.

‘It is a message from Her’ Kesryk continues. ‘She wants us to form a unit of horsemen, mounted on orange horses. Oh, yes, I can see it now. Spravedelna’s holy horsemen mounted on their orange steeds, smiting with their holy hammers all those of whom are injust.’

‘We shall start to form the unit immediately. The villagers are simple folk who would not be good with firearms or crossbows, but they are all experienced in the saddle – fine medium cavalry they will surely make, fighting in front of Spravedelna’s banner….There’s just one problem.’

‘What’s that?’ they all ask, naturally.

‘We don’t have any horses – the Nyemetz killed them all for food.’

They all look highly disappointed at the news, as horses are very near the top of their ‘most wanted’ lists.

‘We too are in need of mounts’ says Winnacer ‘We were hoping to be able to acquire some horses from you.’

‘Hmm…well your needs are greater than ours’ replies Kesryk, who thinks for a short while.

‘The only horses left alive are those that are with the Nyemetz wagon’

They look up to see the Nyemetz wagon just a few paces away from them. It is definitely a much finer vehicle than the one they have with the at the moment. It is a rugged four-wheel vehicle, compared to the two-wheeled mini-cart that Giselle has been dragging behind her. Pulling the cart are two hefty carthorses. They are sturdy beasts, but are not chargers. They are ideal for pulling great weighty carts, but are definitely not gallopers.

‘So, the cart is yours if you want it’ confirms Kesryk.

‘Is there anything else that you have need of’ continues Kesryk ‘We owe you a great debt. Whatever is ours is yours.’

There is talk about arms and armor – new leather armor for Yaz, replacements for Winnacer’s knife, etc.

‘Then there definitely is something that we can help you with – you will find Spravedelna to be generous to her friends. Let me tell you the tale of Yaromir, founder of our lady's temple in Holitze…'

‘Yaromir was a woodsman, a ranger by any other name’ starts Kesryk. ‘A devout worshipper of Prirodna, he lived apart from the world with just his wife, whom he loved more than anything in the world. For many years the two of them lived happily, living amongst the animals somewhere in Shumava. One day ,Yaromir returned from a trip to pick wild berries when he came home to find his wife’s body horribly mutilated. Being a trained woodsman, he immediately recognized the signs that his wife had been killed by bears, animals whom he considered as being his friends. Yaromir was beside himself with pity and anger. "Prirodna, why have you forsaken me" he cried. With that, he denounced Prirodna and threw his holy item into the river. He then took his sword and went hunting for the bears. He found a bear covered in the blood of his wife. Yaromir drew his sword and took his vengeance upon the murderous creature.’

‘Yaromir’s vengeance caused him to come to the attention of Our Lady, Spravadelna, who saw a mighty champion in his form. Yaromir thus became a fervent follower of Spravedelna.’

‘To try and put the memory of his wife behind him, Yaromir walked the length and breadth of Bohavia, bringing Spravedelna’s vengeance to all those who committed injustice. During his travels, he came upon our village of Holitze. The people there at that time were most in need of his services. The village was being terrorized by undead, summoned by an evil mage by the name of Boscobelous. At this time, Boscobelous’ power was great, and he ruled a large part of this region, threatening the populace into slavery through fear of his legion of the walking dead.’

‘Yaromir took up the challenge of righting Boscobelous’ wrongs in the name of Spravedelna. He journeyed to Boscobelous’ keep high in the hills to the North of here in order to reap vengeance upon him. Although Yaromir was a fearsome warrior and was able to fight his way through the mage’s legions of living dead, he found that the wizard was protected with an unholy shield of energy which he could not cut through. Badly wounded, Yaromir just managed to reach the sanctity of Holitze with his life. Upon what should have been his deathbed, Yaromir appealed to Spravedelna for Her help in ridding the area of Boscobelous’ injustice. Seeing that Yaromir was a worthy champion, Spravedelna listened to his prayer. She cured all of his wounds and enchanted his weapons and armor and also his belt which she enchanted with the strength of a Fire Giant. With Spravedelna’s enchanted gifts, Yaromir once more went to Boscobelous’ keep and battled through to the mage himself. Due to the power of Spravedelna’s enchantments, he was able to cut through the mage’s mystickal shield and cut the wicked unjust mage in two with one blow. Yaromir returned to Holitze as a hero. At the begging of the villagers, he stayed in the village where he built the Temple to Spravedelna, becoming the first priest of the parish until the day he died.’

‘This all happened some 500 years ago and the mummified body of Yaromir remains in the crypt of our Temple. Many loyal followers of Spravedelna used to make pilgrimages to the Temple until the Nyemetz put a stop to it. Yaromir’s mummified remains are still in the Temple today, along with his items. The belt giving great strength I wear, as is my right as the serving priest of Spravedelna here. It is because of this belt that I was able to tear apart the chains of the Nyemetz with ease. His weapons and armor have remained untouched since Yaromir’s days. Since Yaromir’s times, the High Priest of Spravedelna has decreed that the only weapon that Her priests may use to reap vengeance upon the unjust are Her holy hammers – thus we cannot use his sword or knife. His armor also, we do not use, as metal is stronger than the leather that Spravedelna enchanted.’

‘We here in Holitze owe you all a great debt. Although you are not followers of Spravedelna, I see that you follow Her ways. Therefore, I believe that you should use Yaromir’s enchanted weapons and armor to assist you in your noble cause of freeing Bohavia from the injustice of the Nyemetz. However, if you would use Yaromir’s enchanted items, then be sure to use them only against the unjust, or the items will turn to dust and the bearer will feel the wrath of Spravedelna Herself upon you. Are you worthy of possessing such items?’

‘No’ replies Darius, in his inimitable fashion.

*Thank goodness for that!* they can just hear Kesryk saying under his breath.

Winnacer, however, tells Kesryk that he believes that he and the other non-goblins in the party would be worthy of bearing such gifts.

‘In that case’ relies Kesryk, ‘Would you, Sir Winnacer and Sir Xavier, come with me to help obtain Spravedelna’s artifacts.’

Kesryk, Winnacer and Xavier walk from the center of the village to the Temple of Spravedelna. Walking into the Temple, they can see that the orcs were interrupted in the middle of defacing the Temple. There is a big pile of temple ornaments in a pile on the floor and excrement smeared ono the walls.

Kesryk is not impressed.

‘May Spravedelna smite down those who would do such things to Her residence.’

The three of them walk down a narrow stairway in order to reach the crypt of the Temple. In the center of the crypt is a large sarcophagus featuring an ornate carving of a mighty warrior on the lid, partially worn away through time. Together, the three of them push the heavy stone lid a little aside. Peeking in, Winnacer and Xavier see the mummified form of a large man, as they were expecting. Kesryk reaches in to the bottom of the sarcophagus and pulls out first a dagger, then a bundle of leather and finally a heavy two-handed sword.

All of the items are very plain looking, with no special marking. They are all very dusty. However, when Kesryk blows the dust off them, they can see that the edges are incredibly keen, as if they were forged yesterday rather than five centuries ago.

Bearing the artifacts, the three return to the party.

‘So which of your numbers will bear this Holy relics’ enquires Kesryk.

Wishing to continue using his shield, which saved him from injury on more than one occasion during the fight, he offers the use of the sword to Xavier, who gladly accepts. The leather armor is taken by Yaz, whose own armor has already been damaged many times in the previous combats. The dagger is given to Maire', although she is unlikely to use the knife in combat.

Jihan is a little upset at the story of Yaromir and explains to Kesryk why he believes that the bears could have attacked his wife and why he may have been hasty in denouncing Prirodna.

Kesryk smiles as Jihan voices his beliefs.

‘Were we to carry on the debate as to whether Yaromir’s actions were right or wrong, then we would be far from the first followers of Spravedelna and Prirodna to discuss the legend. I am pleased to say that this is one of the very few areas upon which Spravedelna and Prirodna have differences of opinion. If you were to treat an animal unjustly, causing him pain and suffering, then the animal is sure to turn on you in vengeance for your cruelty. Prirodna and Spravedelna are sisters who agree with each other most of the time, but they are not twins. Thus as I am a child of Spravedelna and you are a child of Prirodna, I am proud to consider you as a cousin.’

After Kesryk’s long story and the trials of the day, they are all feeling exhausted, especially considering the fact that they hardly slept the previous evening, the night of Colin’s death. Subtly, they try to excuse themselves. Kesryk and the villagers will not hear of it, however, and urge them to carry on with the celebrations, at least until the other villagers arrive. They feel obliged to stay at the party and remain chatting with the villagers and each other until the women, children and elderly arrive back in the early hours of the morning.

All of those without stone hearts are glad that they remained. The sight of the tearful reunions between husbands and wives, mothers and sons, brothers and sisters are enough to bring a lump to the throat of even the most cynical amongst them. Were they in any doubt as to the worthiness of their cause, the sight before them is enough to convince them that they are on the path to righteousness.

After an hour of watching the homecoming, and receiving the tearful thanks from the other villagers, they are allowed to go to their beds. The villagers gratefully give them the finest beds in their houses while they sleep on the floors. After their exertions, and the wave of emotion, they sleep the sleep of kings.