Journey To Hradetz Kralovye

After saying their final farewells to Elthanor and Flint, they set off again on your journey. They make a wide berth of the fur farm, not wanting to be seen by the trappers, so they turn east towards the river until they are almost on its banks, before resuming their southerly course.

They carry on walking for several hours before stopping for a light lunch of some of the last of the fruit and berries that Elthanor gave them for their journey. Although Heimlin wants to stop for longer, Winnacer urges everyone onwards after just half an hour in order to get on with the journey as quickly as possible.

All are a little nervous about traveling through the hills, as they do not provide the same level of cover as was given by the woodlands that comprised the terrain for the first part of the journey. Jihan takes the lead, some 50 paces of the rest of the party. He leads the party through the small valleys between the hills so as to keep the party hidden from a distance. Every now and again, Jihan carefully climbs to the top of the hills in order to take a good look around him, to check as to whether there is anyone in the vicinity. The area, however, is quite barren, without any signs of habitation. Once or twice, he catches a glimpse of the road that leads from Dvur to Hradetz, occasionally seeing the odd group walking in one direction or the other. He does not, however, see any sign of any Nyemetz, much to his relief.

The journey continues throughout the afternoon. Jihan is walking through a particularly rough piece of terrain, when he hears Yaz cry out from behind him, just as he is about to enter an area of broken soil:

'STOP!'

Jihan stops dead in his tracks.

'Don't move a muscle' shouts Yaz as he runs up to where Jihan is standing. The rest of the party runs behind Yaz with drawn swords, ready to provide any necessary assistance.

'Move backwards' says Yaz. 'VERY slowly.'

Jihan does not question Yaz's instructions, although has no idea as to why Yaz is telling him to be careful.

Once Jihan is right in front of Yaz, the half-elf relaxes a little.

'What's the problem?' asks Jihan, curious.

Yaz does not respond, instead he looks around him and sees a large stone to his left. He walks over and picks it up, having to use all of his strength in order to do so. He then hefts the stone with all of his might into the center of the broken soil. The stone sinks a few inches into the soft earth, but nothing else happens.

'What?' says Jihan, getting a little annoyed now.

As he says this, they all suddenly see a huge pair of mandibles, longer than their arms, rise up from beneath the soil attached to a giant insectoid head which is larger than that of a cow. The mandibles grab the large stone and then the gigantic insect sinks back into the soft soil.

Jihan is sweating as he looks back at Yaz.

'Giant Ant Lion' says Yaz, calmly. 'It could have cut you in two with its mandibles before dragging you under to eat you.'

Jihan pats Yaz on the shoulder.

'Thanks, brother, I owe you one' he replies.

Making a large detour of the soft soil, Jihan leads the party onwards.

Another slow mile later, which takes a couple of hours at the gnomes' slow pace, Jihan again climbs to the top of a hill to check out the area. He comes down a few minutes later to report his findings to the rest of the party.

'I can see Hradetz Kralovye in the distance' he says, smiling. 'It is still a couple of miles away, so I couldn't see whether Reinburger and Malek have a welcoming committee for us. We are now very close to both the road and the river. We're going to have to cross over to the other side of the road shortly, as the road follows the riverbank just a few hundred yards ahead. That would be the perfect place for an ambush.'

Heimlin is panting hard, and the sweat is pouring down his face from the exertions of the journey. The others are tired as well, as all have had to take turns to help assist Granny and Bekkah to keep up with the pace.

'That's it for today, I reckon' puffs Heimlin. 'We must 'ave done more than three miles today, which means that we should easily be able to make Hradetz before dusk tomorrow. Please, let's make camp 'ere for tonight. I don't reckon we should try and cross the road while we're so exhausted.'

The others agree to Heimlin's request and look for somewhere to pitch camp. There is very little cover, but they have the wood elves' tents to protect them from the elements, even though the weather is still warm for the time of year. Within half an hour, camp has been established and a small fire is lit.

Yaz takes this opportunity to cast more healing spells on Winnacer, Xavier and himself. The spells leave the warriors slightly off fully recovered. As for Yaz, he is not only fully recovered, but also seems to look stronger and healthier than ever.

As night falls, some of them start to get a little hungry. However, there is just a handful of berries left in the pouch.

'It's time to show you some more of Prirodna's power' says Yaz.

He takes the berries in his hand and slowly rubs a holy cannabis leaf over each of the berries, while chanting a prayer to Prirodna.

Nothing seems to happen.

'Eat this' he says giving one of the berries to Darius, who has been the one moaning about his hunger pangs the most.

Darius looks highly skeptical, but bites into the berry. He finds, to his amazement, that just half of the berry is enough to fill him up. He tries to eat the rest of the berry, but finds that he can't manage it all.

Yaz simply grins and gives another silent prayer to Prirodna.

As dusk falls, the gnomes are already asleep. A watch system is organized again, and the rest of them join the gnomes in slumber.

 

23 SEPTEMBER 3460

They awake just after dawn to see that Jihan is missing. They search all of the tents, but he is nowhere to be found. They are starting to get a little worried, when they spy his slender figure knelt in front of a tree some distance from the camp. Seeing the elf deep in devotions, they decide not to disturb him and pack up the camp without him. Just as they are finishing packing away the tents, Jihan returns.

They don't know why, but Jihan seems somewhat different, he is calm, confident, almost radiant and full of life.

'Let's go' he says, smiling. 'Tonight we shall enjoy the hospitality of Boris Novak.'

Jihan leads them with a spring in his step for half an hour, before stopping them all as they need to cross the road. He scouts out the area, telling them that the coast is clear. Quickly, they cross the road, hurrying over the brow of the first hill on the other side so that they cannot be seen from the road. They then continue their journey on the western side of the road. After another three hours of walking, the hills start to level out and the land becomes flatter. The land around them turns to fields and the odd farmhouse can be seen - a sure sign that they are getting very close to the city of Hradetz Kralovye. With no hills to hide them now, Jihan leads them close to the hedgerows in order that they remain hidden from view.

Another couple of hours of slow travel later, they start to see the gigantic walls of Hradetz in the distance. They see that Hradetz is a large city. Nothing to rival the vastness of Mnyesto, but still the largest settlement that they have seen since leaving there. As they all get closer still, people can be seen working in the fields around. Jihan slows down the rate of travel still further and all have to move stealthily from cover to cover. Another hour later and Jihan stops, then turns around and walks towards them.

'We are now very close to the city, just ten or fifteen minutes away. I think that you should all stay here while I check out what is happening at the gate.

All wait nervously as Jihan disappears in the direction of the city. The warriors form a defensive position with the gnomes in the center as they wait, nervously, for Jihan to return. After forty minutes, they are all relieved to see the elf stealthily making his way back to them. He does not look happy:

'It's not good news' Jihan says, shaking his head. 'They're checking everyone VERY carefully. I've been in and out of many cities in my time, but I've never seen anything like the security that they have on that gate. They are practically strip searching everyone going through the gate. And, if that's not bad enough, there is a Witchfinder with them checking for magick with a rod.'

'Damn that Viktor' says Bennett, kicking at the stump of a bush with anger. 'I guessed that they'd be waiting here for us, and he assured us that there wouldn't be any problems.'

'Don't be so quick to blame Viktor for this situation' replies Jihan, somewhat agitated. 'They were definitely all from Hradetz and not Dvur. Perhaps it is not us they were looking for. After all, they were checking everyone, not just people who could be mistaken for party members.'

'So what are our options?' asks Winnacer, remaining calm.

'Well storming in is not an option' replies Jihan. 'I counted at least twenty orcs at the gate, with many more close at hand, I'll be bound. The place is built to withstand a siege from an army, let alone the seven of us.'

'Can we climb the walls?' asks Darius.

'Not a chance' replies Jihan, shaking his head. 'Not only are the walls thirty feet high, but the Labe acts as a moat from this direction. There's not a chance. We could try disguising ourselves, but our magickal items would light up the Witchfinder's rod in an instant.'

Jihan is silent for a while, racking his brain for ideas:

'Have you got any ideas, Heimlin? You seem to know your way around the area better than any of us.'

Heimlin thinks for a while.

'Well, if I was Reinburger or Malek, I would definitely try an' secure this gate, as it's on the road straight from Dvur an' the only major city close to the town. If they thought that we'd try to go to ground in a city, an' quickly, then Hradetz would 'ave been the logical place to run to. P'raps it'd be worth us checkin' out the other gate that is to the South East of 'ere, as it's less of a logical direction for us to approach the city from. It'd take us an hour or two to get there, but we'd still make it before sundown. Or we could wait 'ere until the guards change shifts, whenever that might be. P'raps not all the shifts are as keen as this one is.'

'If neither of these ideas work, then I'm runnin' short of ideas. P'raps one of us, without anythin' magick could try an' get through to try an' reach Boris Novak to see if 'e could 'elp in any way. The only other way to get into Hradetz would be to approach from the third gate to the east of the city. That would mean 'avin' to go through Pardubitze though, an' would be a round trip of a week or so. Not to mention the fact that we could be wanted in Pardubitze by the Nyemetz for killin' the first Witchfinder that yer killed. Going that way, 'owever, would mean that we could stop off at Holitze before completin' the trip to Hradetz.'

'Those are all the ideas that I can come up with, unless any of yers can think of anythin' else. What d'yers think we should do?'

They take a break from deciding the entry route into Hradetz to consider the fate of the nose, deciding that it is better to get rid of the threat now, rather than to risk the possibility of it reverting back to its original form at the most inopportune of moments.

Before Winnacer carries out the death sentence on the nose, Faewen'il asks to take a look at it. It appears, however, to be nothing more, nor nothing less, than an animated nose, still sneezing away at regular intervals.

'I reckon that Granny's already explained the mystery of the nose,' says Heimlin, as he watches Faewen'il study the nose carefully. 'It's the result of 'er illusion powder, I'll be bound. Best get rid of it, I reckon.'

Faewen'il then hands the nose back to Winnacer. Everyone clears a space around Winnacer as he puts the nose on the ground. He then draws his longsword and neatly hacks the nose in two. Immediately he does so, the nose metamorphosizes into a human, a male in his late twenties/early thirties dressed in the brown robes that they know denotes a Witchfinder. The Witchfinder is hacked neatly in two and is quite dead.

Yaz and Faewen'il immediately check the body to see whether it may have anything useful on it. To Faewen'il's delight, it does. The body is wearing a belt from which are hanging a large pouch and two small ones. The small pouches contain spell components. The large pouch contains a tome, obviously a spell book.

While Faewen'il considers the book, the others go back to debating their options for gaining entry into the city. Of the number of ideas that are put forwards, two are thought to have the best chance of success. One is for Bennett and Xavier, stripped of all magickal items, to attempt to make entry through the gate in an attempt to enlist Boris Novak's help in getting the others past the gates. The other is for Yaz to attempt to charm the Witchfinder on the gate in order to allow him to let the party through.

There is a great deal of debate amongst them all as to which plan they should go with. In the end, it is decided to try both plans. Xavier and Bennett will attempt to pass through the gates in order to reach Boris, while Yaz will go with them and try to use his charming abilities should the two warriors encounter any difficulties in attempting to pass through the gates.

Xavier leaves the broken remains of 'The Justifier' with Winnacer, plus the mace that was taken off the leader of the Black Diamonds after Bennett reminds him that he still has the item. Bennett has no magickal items to leave behind. Yaz leaves behind his leather armor, just in case. Then the two warriors set off, with Yaz following them from a safe distance.

When they reach the gates, they see that there is quite a queue waiting to get through the gates, caused by the very thorough searching that each entrant is subject to. Bennett and Xavier join the end of the queue and wait their turn to be let into the city. Yaz notices a small clump of bushes some distance from the gate, but allowing him a good view of the gate and the Witchfinder. Luckily the range of his enchantment is long and so he does not need to get too close to the Witchfinder, even in the case that he needs to use his magick.

Nervously Bennett and Xavier wait while the line slows shuffles forwards, as the Witchfinder and Nyemetz search everyone thoroughly, sweating under the weight of their armor in the warm sun of the late afternoon. Eventually it is their turn to face the Witchfinder. As they approach him, the clock on the Temple of Kitry announces the time as being a quarter to six.

The Witchfinder, who they see is looking incredibly bored, stops them and turns to speak to the orc sargeant in Nyemetz. Xavier, who understands Nyemetz, hears him talk to the Sargeant:

'Gold or not, Grakt, I've had enough of all of this checking for one day. I can't believe that the rebels would be stupid enough to come marching through the gates in any case. We're wasting our time. Sod Reinburger's reward, I've got better things to do with my time Our shift ends in 15 minutes and they'll make us go through all of the backlog if there's still a big queue waiting when they take over. Let them all in, I'm off to The Dancing Troll.'

With that, the Witchfinder turns about and walks into the city.

Xavier, scarcely believing his luck, immediately turns towards the bush where he knows Yaz is hiding. With a big smile on his face, he nods towards the position of the rest of the party and then towards the gates.

The orc sargeant then barks at his troops and they start to push Bennett and Xavier in through the gates, as well as all of those behind them in the queue. Yaz, seeing the Witchfinder leaving his post, Xavier's smile and the queue being pushed into the city, guesses that they must have got lucky and rushes over to where the rest of the party is hidden.

'Prirodna smiles on us today, they've given up on their checks. Quickly, let's get through the gates before they change their minds.'

'Excellent' exclaims Winnacer. 'We need to hide the gnomes behind cloaks. We shall lead them by the hand so as to give the impression that they are children.'

Heimlin, Bekkah and Granny are swathed in the dark robes, and all obvious magickal items are hidden from view. Then the party rushes towards the gates, slowing when they come in sight of the gate. Nervously, the party merges in with the line, so as not to go in en masse. The orcs are not checking anyone at all, but are hurrying everyone through as quickly as possible. As the last of the party goes through the gate, the clock strikes six and they see another Witchfinder leading a company of orcs to take over the watch for the next shift. The party advances into the city and Xavier and Bennett walk out of the dark alley where they have been hiding in order to meet up with their colleagues. They all smile with relief at the luck at getting through the gate so easily.

They then make your way to the address given by Viktor. They walk slowly and confidently, not wanting to arouse any suspicions among the guards.

They see that the city is very busy, reminding them of the hustle and bustle of Mnyesto. The streets are filled with merchants and workers. It seems that one can buy pretty much anything here. Looking up, they notice for the first time that the city is built upon a low hill. At the crest of the hill they can see a keep which is next to the Temple of Kitry.

'The castle used to belong to the Queen of Bohavia' says Heimlin as he sees them looking up at it. 'I guess the Protektor's taken it over now.'

It doesn't take long to walk to the address given to them by Viktor, as they are already in the NorthWest part of the city. The whole area is fairly run down, as they guessed it would be. There are beggars on a number of street corners, ladies trying to lure them into dark alleys and plenty of shifty looking characters that eye them up as they walk towards them. As they see the glint of the swords beneath the warriors' robes, they swiftly disappear, obviously looking for some easier targets.

The address itself leads them to a warehouse, as Viktor said it would. The warehouse looks totally deserted and in very bad shape. It's hard to believe that it has been used in years. Winnacer knocks on the door, giving the coded knock that they were all taught in Dvur. For a short while, nothing happens. Then, Darius notices a hand holding a small mirror emerging from a window at the top of the warehouse. A couple of minutes later, they hear the sound of soft footsteps coming towards the door.

Then they hear the sound of the door being unlocked, and it opens to reveal a young kid of around 16 in the doorway. He is grinning widely:

'It's you!' the kid exclaims. 'The bunch that did over the Witchfinders in Dvur. We didn't expect you so quickly. Come in, Boris will be delighted to see you.'

He opens the door widely to allow them into the warehouse. Once they are all in, he steps outside and has a look around at the streets to check that no one is observing them, and then he locks the door behind them all. He leads them through the warehouse, which looks as deserted as it did from the outside. He takes them to a ladder that he climbs up, beckoning for them all to follow him. It's quite a struggle to get Granny and Bekkah up, but eventually they manage it, to find themselves on another deserted floor of the warehouse. The kid leads them over to the other side of the warehouse and then whistles. A trapdoor opens above them and a knotted rope is thrown down. Bekkah and Granny are tied to the rope individually and raised up through the trapdoor. Then each of you climbs the knotted rope, and are helped up the last couple of feet by hands coming through the trapdoor.

Once they are up, they see that the loft of the warehouse is totally different from the lower floors. Inside, the area is furnished luxuriously, with exquisitely carved furniture and fine carpets on the floors and walls. There is a small group of people standing in the room, around six of them in total. They are mostly in their twenties and early thirties, dressed in leather armor. They are all smiling, happy to see the party.

Once they are all in, a smallish middle-aged figure, with a slight paunch, walks over to them and starts to shake them all vigorously by the hand:

'Boris Novak's the name. Bloody good to see you all made it 'ere. You made pretty good time, as well. I 'ope that you didn't 'ave too much trouble. We weren't expectin' you for another day or so. Come on in, make yourselves at 'ome. Take the weight off your feet. I'm sure that you all must be really tired after your journey.'

Boris' gang disperses and he shows the visitors to some comfy sofas and armchairs in the corner of the large room that they are in.

'Girls,' shouts Boris. 'Bring some refreshments in for our guests. Look sharpish now.'

As they are sitting, a couple of highly attractive young girls enter the room from a side door bearing trays which carry decanters of spirits plus glasses and they proceed to serve the drinks to the visitors.

Boris is chatting away when he suddenly stops himself. He hits himself on his head:

'Ow stupid of me to forget. The drinks can wait. I've got someone 'ere, who'd be especially pleased to see yer. Come with me.'

Boris bounces up from his seat and goes to a side door, beckoning the party all to follow him. He takes them down a fairly long corridor and then knocks on one of the many doors off the corridor. Boris is positively beaming now.

The door opens a mere crack, and a familiar face appears through the crack in the door.

It is Corrow.