The Deal

Winnacer sheaths his sword and immediately helps his injured companions find comfortable space in such a cramped environment. Once everybody has settled in and ministrations of their wounds begin, Winnacer holds out his hand to Viktor in friendship. The former stranger accepts his hand with a quick smile.

"It is always a pleasure to meet a friend for the first time, especially one who put his neck out for you, sight unseen. I am Winnacer Duene Stradheim, of the Kladno Stradheims. Myself and my companions cannot express the extent of the gratitude that we feel towards you and those who risked their lives to aid us. We sure do owe you, big time."

'Do not worry, Sir Stradheim,' replies Viktor. 'I would imagine that a nobleman such as yourself would feel uneasy to remain in the debt of a stranger for too long. Have no fears, as that will not be the case for long.'

Hearing Winn's words, Jihan is quick to voice his gratitude as well.

"The blessings of the Lady of the Forests upon you Viktor Kozyeny. Truly had the last of hope almost made its slow journey from within me. Though the gratitude of one elf is a small thing in this world, it is something that you have, for all time. Tell me, brother, how were you alerted to our plight? Did the Lord Protektor make a general declaration, or was there someone else who informed you."

The rest can see a look of concern on the elf's face at this last, despite the scathing words he threw at the man to keep up the act.

'Your thoughts are correct, my friend,' replies Viktor. 'If you wish to give thanks to someone for your salvation, then you should give them to your colleague, Mr. Corrow Boad, who sought me out and alerted me to your plight. You are fortunate indeed to have one so resourceful amongst your numbers as he. He must be truly favored by the gods to have found me, as I think that there are few others in Dvur Kralovye who could have been of some assistance to you.'

Faewen'il remains completely silent as she finds the farthest small corner to sit in, to give the others as much room as possible. She doesn't even seem to notice her immodesty. Inwardly she knows she should be glad they have escaped, but the loss of her magic and her things yawns like a black pit in front of her. Her dull gaze did not even shift when Viktor introduced himself.

The others in the party are also silent, trying to fight the pain that is running through their bodies and trying to assist the others who are in even more pain than they are. Each of them are both tired and exhausted after their earlier exertions.

Once the immediate tasks have been completed and everybody is comfortable, Winnacer cleans his old longsword and look for something to sharpen it on. He finds a piece of stone that has crumbled away from the wall which is far from ideal, but will suffice under the present circumstance. He falls very quiet at this time and every so often his hand touches the symbol etched over his heart. After a few minutes, he becomes more animated. He asks Jihan whether he can borrow one of his small daggers, to which Jihan is happy to oblige. He then begins to etch a few crude symbols of wolf heads, goblin standards, and an orc's toothy maw underscored by a series of bars.

When all is settled, Jihan finds a corner to himself and begins quietly singing a prayer none save Yaz has heard before. The nature of this one has a much more sorrowful cast than those overheard before, and seems to cast a shadow of sadness over the room. When he finishes, he bows his head and kneels for some time. When Winnacer asks him what the prayer was for, he sadly responds:

"I have not had the clarity of mind these past few days to help sing our fallen brother on the Last Journey. I only hope that my words were able to lighten his feet... I will not be so cynical and asinine as to assume his death was mere coincidence. Truly, I believe that the Light found its way into his soul. My greatest regret is that I was not able to say these things to him myself... Felibarr... Felibarr..."

Viktor interrupts him at the point:

'You are correct once more, my friend. Without the intervention of the halfling, Felibarr, you would also not have received salvation from me. Now that you are a little more comfortable, I think that the time is right for me to tell you why I came to your aid and what I am looking for from you in return as I never perform favors, only deals.'

'Corrow was cagey when he first spoke with me. He was wise to do so, as he had no way of telling whether I was a Nyemetz informant or not. However, upon realizing that he would not be able to enlist any possible support without giving me full details of your plight, he told me details as to the make up of your group. As he did so, I realized that you must be the group who kicked the Black Diamonds' asses at the ford crossing over the River Orlitze. It was Shalamell that told me of the encounter. We pay her to tell us everything that she knows about the Black Diamonds. She told me that she had one of her team tracking a party containing a goblin, a half-elf, an elf, a gnome, a girl and a couple of men. I guessed that there couldn't be many other such parties roaming Bohavia. Shalamell's agent on the job was Felibarr. He did a few jobs for us. Very good he was too. It is a shame that he has perished.'

'The time has come to tell you more about who I am. I serve the Blue Dragons. We run Dvur Kralovye. Well, the Nyemetz and us. But they have their agenda and we have ours. We've been in the process of building a considerable interest in Hradetz Kralovye at the expense of the Black Diamonds. Needless to say, the Black Diamonds are not very sympathetic towards our goals, seeing as they used to control it totally. I would wager that the Black Diamonds are no friends of yours, as all of your past problems including the slaughter of the gnomish village and your capture by the Nyemetz would never have happened were it not for their efforts of trying to benefit from the knowledge of your existence.'

'In my opinion, the fact that we have mutual enemies makes us friends. As a result, I agreed to help you escape in return for your helping us with a problem. A problem that will also serve your interests.'

'And what would that be?' asks Winnacer, without betraying any emotion.

'As I said, we have been trying to gain control of Hradetz Kralovye from the Black Diamonds,' continues Viktor. 'It is something that we have been striving for over the past three years. In that time, we have come to control around one third of the city now. However, six months ago, the battle between them and us started to get out of control. The death toll was rising higher than either of us could bear. In addition, the Nyemetz were getting 'upset' at the conflict. Although we were both paying the Lord Protektor of Hradetz Kralovye handsomely for him to turn a blind eye, the situation was becoming apparent to his superiors and so he was forced to act. As a result, he forced the Black Diamonds and Blue Dragons to sign a truce, saying that there would be an end to the conflict, with the two gangs controlling the territory currently in their possession. If one side was to break the truce, then they would face the full wrath of the Lord Protektor and his considerable forces.'

Viktor pauses for a moment.

'We have been trying to find a way around the agreement since then, but have found none. You, however, offer us a chance to get around the truce. You have a motive for causing damage to the Black Diamonds and have nothing more to lose through antagonizing the Nyemetz further.'

'The deal I offered Corrow for your colleagues to gain their freedom is this. In return for giving you the means for escape, I want you to kill the Black Diamonds' Guildmaster in Hradetz Kralovye. This will throw their entire organization into disarray, during which time, we will easily be able to increase our territory by a great extent.'

'Corrow agreed to my offer on your behalf. What say you?'

Winnacer looks around at his friends half-unconscious and realizes they are in not in a strong position to disagree:

"What do you guys think?"

Yaz shrugs. "Let's do it!"

Darius mutters: "Not assassin," before slumping into the warmth of oblivion again.

"I am not very comfortable with the idea of being an assassin either," responds Winnacer. "But the Black Diamonds have certainly proved themselves an ally of the Nyemetz. Therefore, I accept your offer but wish to add some conditions to it."

"We will need all the information and maps you can provide us about the Black Diamonds, in order for us to adequately plan any infiltration. We also have the need for equipment and money"

Winnacer glances at Faewen'il

"With priority given to books of sorcery. Perhaps you can arrange for our captured equipment to be liberated?"

"We will also need disguises and help leaving the town after the task has been completed, as well as a place to stay and food to eat until we have regained our strength. All the help you could give in these matters would be greatly appreciated."

Bennett speaks up:

"I personally do not trust this fellow, who speaks so openly of assassination and is a collaborator with the Nyemetz besides. How do we know you will not turn us in once the deed is done to get in good with them? That way you kill two birds with one stone. However, I agree with noble Winnacer that we owe you and should do our best to pay back that debt. For me, I care not about this fellow in Hradetz Kralovye and would kill him as readily as I would you if he asked me, since you are all allies of the Nyemetz and therefore enemies of my people, but I join Winnacer in asking you for equipment, rest, and disguises so that we might depart, do your deed, and be rid of you entirely. As payment for the action, we will take the rescue and the safe haven you provide here, and we owe each other nothing. Since I am the newest member of this band, my vote should count less, I understand, but that is my opinion."

Winnacer places his hand gently on Bennett's shoulder and says softly:

"It seems trust does not come easily to you, Bennett. For whatever he may be, he is now a collaborator with Bohavian rebels. Turning us in would only allow us to explain the fine details of our escape to the Court of Nyemetz. And I'm sure he would be best served by the overthrow of the Nyemetz, whom receives probably a king's ransom in bribes. Let us not show our concerns, for we are in need of his friendship more than he needs ours."

"I am not sure that this fellow is worthy of any friendship," replies Bennett. "But your opinions have proved sound so far, and I will follow your lead. Sadly, my lack of trust has been generated by a lot of experience with those undeserving of it. I have firm hopes that you and your band will not be another such experience."

Viktor lets them debate the situation without commenting, letting them come to your own decision independently. When all have spoken, he replies:

'Winnacer speaks wise words indeed. We both hold nooses around each others' necks and so must trust the other to be honorable. In the center of the Town Square now stands a huge bonfire and scaffolds. For the whole of yesterday, criers were announcing that the whole of Dvur Kralovye should assemble at noon to witness the punishment of witches and traitors. How do you think the Lord Protektor will feel when he has to tell the masses that his prize has gone? Words cannot describe the feelings of hatred and revenge that he will be feeling at that time. I am sure that he will spend the rest of his days trying to make up for such a situation.'

'While you will probably flee Dvur Kralovye, never to set foot in this town again, I live here, and I am known to all of the senior officials here. My actions in assisting you in your escape means that I will be reliant upon your honorable actions until the day I die, as a letter from you to Malek explaining my part in your escape could be sent by you at any time, sealing my fate.'

'Therefore, let us talk no more of treachery. All of our lives are in danger were any of us to consider breaking our promises.'

'As regards your being assassins, the way in which you deal with my request is totally up to you. I am not demanding that you take the Guildmaster's life by stabbing him in the back with a poisoned dagger. Challenge him to a fair duel if you like or take him away and lock him in the darkest dungeon for the rest of his life. The methods that you use to dispose of him are totally down to you. All that I ask is you can guarantee that he will never see Hradetz Kralovye again.'

'To answer your questions, I think that we should be able to assist you in most of your requests. Disguises and a safe place to stay until you are fully recovered will not be a problem for me to provide. As soon as you are capable of movement, then we will arrange that you be moved to a safe house that will provide more comfortable accommodation until you are fully healed. I will also determine the fate of your equipment. I will provide you with sufficient coin in order to meet any reasonable expenses.'

'Once you have all of your items, then you will make your escape from Dvur Kralovye. This should not be too great a task, as the town has no walls and so there are only the observation towers and wandering guards to avoid. From here, you will go straight to Hradetz Kralovye where you will meet with our representative there, Boris Novak. He will provide you with more secure accommodation and all of the information that you will need to carry out the action.'

"By the way Viktor, where is old Corrow now?" asks Winnacer. "I think the bunch of us would like to thank him, and maybe even apologize...."

'Corrow has already performed his part of the deal and I wanted to ensure that no harm would come to him in case your escape attempts went wrong. He left at dawn yesterday, bound for Hradetz Kralovye accompanied by a couple of my best men. I would imagine that he is now safe and being offered hospitality by Mr. Novak that the great kings of Bohavia would be pleased with. You will meet up with him upon your reaching the city.'

Further conversation is interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming down the steps into the cellar, followed by the sound of barrels being moved again.

Viktor puts his fingers to his lips, telling them all to be silent. They all hold their breath as they wait to find who is coming.

They hear a knocking at the entrance to the tunnel:

Knock, knock, knock…….knock……..knock, knock

Viktor relaxes as he hears the knocking:

'Relax,' he tells them, 'It is a friend.'

The entrance is the tunnel is removed to see that there are two men peering into the hideout. One you recognize as being one of Viktor's companions who was asleep at the table. The other is a rotund middle-aged man dressed in a long, rich, dark-green robe.

'Brother Igor,' says Viktor, 'I'm glad that you can join us. Come on in.'

With great difficulty, the rotund gentleman squeezes through the narrow opening to make his way inside the hideout. Viktor grabs him in and yanks him the rest of the way.

Igor is perspiring heavily when he finally gets his bulk inside the tiny hideout.

'Well, this is all snug and cozy' he says as he squeezes up close to them through lack of space.

Then he notices the state of the warriors' injuries.

'Well, I'm certainly got some work to be doing tonight I can see,' he says.

He reaches into his pouch and brings out a small religious symbol.

While Igor is fumbling, Viktor speaks to the other:

'Ota, their magickal artifacts are missing. Get in touch with the network and find out what you can about their whereabouts. Report to me at the safehouse this evening.'

Ota nods.

'Before you go, seal us in again. There's a good chance that the Nyemetz will be sniffing around here very shortly.'

Ota does as he is told and closes the entrance to the hideout, rolling the barrel back in place.

Igor has his symbol in his hands now and is starting to mutter arcanities. His hands start to glow and he lays them on Xavier. As he does so, Xavier comes to with a start. He is still far from recovered. But conscious at least.

He repeats the exercise on Darius. However, it has little effect.

'Stubborn little fellow' the priest says to himself, and repeats the exercise.

This time the results are more impressive, and Darius comes to feeling in fairly reasonable health.

'Who's next?' he asks.

The others take a little time to decide who should receive some of the priest's aid, as they all claim that they are not too bad and that the others' needs are greater. Eventually, it is decided that Bennett and Jihan should receive the priest's blessing.

The blessing has a fairly good result upon Jihan, but very little on Bennett.

'That's all that I can do for today' says Igor, looking quite drained after all of his exertions. 'But I can be of more assistance tomorrow.'

'Good' replies Viktor. 'Meet us at the safehouse tomorrow morning.'

Igor then holds his hand out towards Viktor and coughs.

'Oh yes, the "donation"' says Viktor, sarcastically. 'I nearly forgot. So what would you suggest would keep me in favor with Zlodey today?'

'I think that around 160 gold would keep you on His good side in return for your friends receiving His blessings.'

Viktor has a black look on his face as he reaches into his pouch and produces a fistful of platinum.

'Oh and then there's the extra for having to come out after curfew' Igor says.

Viktor loses his temper at this stage and grabs the cleric by his collar, dragging him towards him.

'Did no one ever tell you that there's supposed to be honor amongst thieves?' he snarls at the cleric. 'It seems that most of my donations to Zlodey ends up in your belly rather than for the good of his followers.'

'O…OK…then' mumbles the scared cleric. 'Errm, Zlodey has just told me that you've donated enough for today in order to receive his favors.'

Viktor relaxes his grip on the cleric and throws the coins on the floor in front of him, then turns his back on him in disgust. Igor stoops down and starts to stuff the coins into his pouch.

As he does so, all hear the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. Lots of little footsteps.

The high-pitched voices yattering in Nyemetz tells them all that they belong to goblins.

Everyone freezes at the sound, afraid to move a muscle. They then hear another deeper voice, the voice of an orc and then the sound of barrels being moved around the cellar.

Igor is petrified with fear, shaking all over, with sweat running down his red face in rivulets. The warriors draw their weapons close to their sides while the others pray to their gods silently.

The rummaging around from the outside continues for 15 minutes, then they all breathe a sigh of relief as the sound of barrels scraping on wood stops and they hear footsteps climbing the stairs out of the cellar. Five minutes later, Viktor breathes a sigh of relief.

'It's a good thing that you don't have your magickal arcanities with you. Had you got any one of them with you, then they would have been able to find us as easily as if we were sat drinking ale at the bar. For that we should be thankful.'

Another ten minutes later, there are more footsteps, more rolling of barrels, followed by the coded knocking on the entrance. The door opens and the barman is standing at the entrance.

'The coast is clear now, they've gone from the tavern, but they are tearing the whole area to pieces.'

'Thank you, Mirek' says Viktor. 'Come back here and let us out around 11.30. It should be safe to move by then.'

As Mirek seals them back in, Viktor speaks to you:

'Although I understand that it will be far from pleasant to spend more time here, it is simply too risky to move out at the present time. We shall leave here just before noon. At that time, a large crowd will be assembling in the square, supposedly to witness your executions. No doubt Malek and Reinberger will be there and I am sure that they will have a large part of the garrison with them to punish anyone in the crowd who does not share their disappointment at the fact that the prisoners have escaped.'

Viktor grins to himself at the thought of the embarrassing situation that the Lord Protektor and Witchfinder General will be put in.

'That is the perfect time to make the transfer, although I would give a great deal to be present at that event. For now, I suggest that we all sleep in order to prepare ourselves for the transfer, which will be far from comfortable.'

Despite the cramped surroundings, sleep comes easily to them all, as they are tired as a result of your exertions and injuries.

They awake at around 10.30. Yaz immediately starts to chant to Prirodna while the others go through their regular morning routines. Viktor breaks out some iron rations stored in a corner, which provides them with a nourishing breakfast.

After he has finished eating, Yaz starts to mirror Igor's activities and starts to heal members of the party. He performs the healing ritual on himself, Bennett, Xavier and Winnacer. As a result of the spells plus the herbs and bandaging, all of the warriors are on their way to recovery, although they still have a way to go before returning to full health.

As planned, the door to the hideout is opened at 11.30 and they are delighted to get out of the small room. They stretch themselves as they readjust to standing upright.

Igor, who did not sleep during the morning, wanders off, mumbling to himself under his breath.

Viktor speaks to the three peasants who accompanied the party into the hideout. To each of them, he counts out 10 pieces of platinum and tells them that it is to buy their silence. With a stern look, he strongly suggests to them that they use the money to get as far away as they can from Dvur Kralovye as quickly as possible.

The three peasants bow towards Viktor and their rescuers, telling them all how eternally grateful they are for all of the party's help. They then dash out of the cellar.

The barman and a couple of Viktor's men are in the cellar. They listen as Viktor tells you the plan:

'I'm afraid that the journey is going to be anything but comfortable, but we must take all precautions in order to avoid your capture. You are all to be sealed in barrels to avoid any danger of your being challenged.'

Although the idea is less than appealing, they realize that Viktor is an expert in these matters and so trust to his judgment.

One by one, they all squeeze into various sizes of barrels and try to make themselves as small as possible. they each look up to see a lid being placed on top, and then everything goes dark. The lids are then nailed down, sealing them in securely. As if this wasn't bad enough, the barrels are then rolled on their sides for a short distance, attached to a rope, pulled out of the cellar and then put onto a cart. The journey takes only ten minutes and then the operation is reversed.

The relief is intense as they see light again while the lids are pried off again, but the desire to vomit takes longer to wear off. They step out of the barrels to see Viktor grinning in front of them.

'I'm sorry about that, but it was necessary to be totally sure that you were not detected. Now, come with me. Everything is going to be a great deal more pleasant for the next day or so.'

They are in a small backyard when they emerge, totally hidden from view from the street. Before them, they see the back entrance to a modest three-story townhouse. Viktor leads them in.

They are delighted to see that the house is very pleasantly appointed inside and is very comfortable. There are even beds to sleep on, although only enough for four of them.

'Please, make yourself at home' says Viktor 'There is plenty of food in the kitchen, and I dare say that a bath would also be appreciated.'

Yaz notices Viktor looking him in the eye as he says his last statement. Viktor then looks at Faewen'il.

'If you take a look through the dressers, I'm sure that you'll find some clothing. The same goes for the rest of you. Just take whatever you need.'

'I am going to leave you here for a while now to check out the reaction to your disappearance and to investigate what has happened to your items. I shall return early this evening. Please, bolt the door behind you and only open it when you hear the correct knock.'

Viktor leaves then and they lock the door behind him as requested. They spend the afternoon simply relaxing and reveling in the relative luxury of their current surroundings.

Six hours or so later, they hear the familiar knock at the door. It is Viktor. He comes into the lounge and tells them the news.

'Well, Malek and Reinberger are not at all pleased with your disappearance but, then again, I expected as much. The entire garrison is now frantically working at trying to find you. Luckily, they checked this house this morning, so I think that there is little chance that they will come back, as Dvur Kralovye is too big to continue searching every house over and over again. I think that they are of the opinion that you have already left the town in any case.'

'With regards to your magickal arcanities, I have both good and bad news. The good news is that we know where they are. The bad news is where they are. They are being held by the Witchfinders in their building.'

Viktor stops at this point as he hears their disappointment at receiving the news.

'I'm afraid that there is going to be no easy way of retrieving your items other than your going there to retrieve them yourselves. I cannot lend any of my men to assist you in this task as, should any of them die in the process or be captured, then it would be obvious to the Nyemetz that the Blue Dragons are responsible for your escape. However, I can provide you with whatever assistance you think that you may need in order to retrieve your items. So tell me, how can I assist you in this matter?'