After The Massacre

Winn suggests a trial to decide the fate of the surviving orcs, letting them give testimony and reasons why they deserve clemency from our group and Darius as well. Winn reminds everybody that that all must remain impartial in such a matter, as Spravedelna would command of them. Before a decision is made regarding their fates, the young lord decides to interrogate them. Xavier volunteers to help as a translator and to threaten them should answers not be forthcoming.

Xavier's threats are not required, however, as the petrified orcs are only too willing to tell everything that then know in order to save their hides.

They start by confirming what the party has already learned from Darius, in that the orcs and orogs were from the Dvur Kralovye garrison and that they were returning after escorting a group of gnome and halfling slaves to Hradetz, from where they would be taken on to Kutna Hora by members of the Hradetz garrison. The reason for their joining up with the trainee worgriders was simply a co-incidence.

They tell the party that they know nothing of garrison strengths of Hradetz nor Kutna Hora, which is not surprising as the party knows that garrison troops are not allowed within other garrisons' areas. They have never heard of Holitze or Sezemitze, which is hardly surprising considering that they are on the other side of the Labe and well outside the area controlled from Dvur.

They are, however, able to tell their interrogators just about everything that they want to know about Dvur and its garrison. After killing the company of orcs and platoon of orogs, Winnacer calculates that Dvur currently contains the following troops:

60 orc longbow, 80 orc infantry, 140 goblin spears, 60 goblin shortbows, 70 worgriders, 20 orog heavies, 10 ogre mercenaries.

The orcish captives have less information about the number of Witchfinders, but they know that the full compliment originally numbered eight. As Reinburger's death makes five that the party was directly or indirectly responsible for that they know, Winnacer estimates their numbers as a maximum of three now.

Winnacer then recommends that the party properly sift through the remaining equipment, tallying up the funds found and checking relevant items for magickal properties. Winnacer offers Juggernaut's sturdy back to tote some of the mundane items, as he suggests taking all that they can to Holitze. Winnacer recommends burning the bulk of the bodies after Silver has had ample time to snack.

Jihan and Darius take on the grisly task of searching all of the bodies. They go over each of the bodies carefully, handing all of the weapons to Faewen'il so that she can use a Witchfinder's staff to see whether any of the items are magickal. Much to their disappointment, especially Bennett's, she discovers that none of the weapons or armor are magickal in nature.

They do, however, have more success in finding coinage. After rifling through the purses found upon all of the corpses, they have a large pile of coins laid out in front of them. In total, there are 273 platinum pieces and 67 silver pieces to add to the party funds.

All those with shortbows re-fill their quivers back to full capacity from the quivers of the goblins.

Winnacer mentions to Yaz that he was slightly wounded from the fight and Yaz sees that Darius is far from being at full health. He casts a healing spell upon Winnacer, which instantly brings him back up to full health. Realizing that the wound that he himself suffered during the fight was so minor that it will heal naturally overnight, he uses his last two healing spells on Darius. The spells are not very effective, but do help the goblin back on the road to recovery.

When everything is quiet, Winn cleans and sharpens his mundane, no-named lance. He scrawls out the backlog of his warrior's tally, writing it on a piece of cloth until he can etch it onto his armor. Lastly, he sees if he still has the Pamphlet of Spravedelna's Dedications, but then remembers that he lent it to Heimlin and forgot to ask for it back. Winnacer remembers enough of its contents, however, to allow him to say prayers and give thanks for such a glorious victory and ask for the wisdom to walk the path of Justice despite how difficult the path may become. His head has become full of questions and he, for the first time, realizes he needs some real spiritual counseling on the difference between vengeance and justice, for this victory has excited him and upset him at the same time.

It is currently after 3.00 a.m. and, as the adrenaline wears off, they all start feeling terribly tired after their exertions from the day.

They all stand around to hear the questioning of the captives. The three orcs continue to beg for mercy. The orcs tell the party that, if they are allowed to go free, then they will try to make their way back to Nyemetzko so that they may be reunited with their families. They know that the journey will be a long way, taking several months, as they are far from home, but they have no desire to stay here, and no desire to go back and join the Nyemetz forces, as life as a trooper is far from being a comfortable one. They tell the party that all of the Nyemetz fear being drafted to the Eastern Front. All Nyemetz, the orcs tell them, fear being sent there, as tales of the Slovene atrocities are terrible. Very few Nyemetz that get sent to the Eastern Front ever return.

Winnacer asks Darius whether he knows anything about the past actions of the orcs. The goblin shrugs and tells him that he only met them a few hours earlier. He tells Winnacer that their Captain was bragging to the Worgrider Captain about how they had given a group of dwarven merchants ‘a good hiding’ after taking some moonshine off them and promising to leave them alone. However, Darius has no idea as to whether the orcs enjoyed these actions or whether they were just following orders.

Winnacer asks Darius what he believes are the chances of having them switch sides. It is becoming painfully evident to Winnacer that they need to start recruiting the Nyemetz somehow and wonders if this can be how you start. He remains doubtful, but asks if anyone has ideas how they could start recruiting the enemy to their cause, looking to Yaz.

"I can charm an orc," Yaz replies with hesitation, "but I don't know why I'd want... to..."

Yaz makes a face. "I don't like the way they smell," he adds, wrinkling his nose. "No offense, to Bennett, of course."

"Do you really think it'd help?"

"Well, I'm not sure" replies Winnacer. "How my thoughts are going is that, one day, we are going to liberate one of the larger cities - Dvur Kralovye has really been weakened by our actions. But liberating and arming the citizenry probably won't be enough to keep it free at first. It would be quite something if we could convince a large number of the Nyemetz, or just any orcs and goblins, to keep up the illusion of Nyemetz control. Such allies could patrol the walls and escort Nyemetz messengers to traps, where the messenger could be interrogated and so forth. I get ahead of myself, but you get the picture. We need to start to create dissension in their ranks, and if charming an orc and letting him go may cause our legend to go and perhaps sway his friends from fighting us, it is a good thing."

Winnacer laughs when he realizes he still did not answer the question, "Well, I guess I meant to say it couldn't hurt."

The young lord then turns to the rest of the party:

‘We have heard the evidence and the orcs’ intentions. We are all the jury. Whatever the majority of us decides should be their fate, will be their fate. Let Spravedelna guide us all towards making the right decision. So what should our decision be?’

Jihan is the first to speak:

"Let them go free. They have done as we asked, and we will honor our word."

"I don't care" shrugs Yaz. "Let 'em go, that's fine."

Xavier approaches Winnacer and speaks to him in Bohavian in hushed tones:

"Well fought my lord, its pleases me that you have considered clemency upon these three orc prisoners. I suggest you seek from them a pledge to leave Bohavia, and desert the ranks of the Nyemetz Armed Forces of Occupation. Have them spread the word of our work to weaken the martial spirit of their comrades. This could be a worthy weapon of propaganda for us, for they will be susceptible to such an attack. For, alas, I doubt that you have realized that they are, on the whole, conscripts not volunteers. The rank and file have families at home, which we could encourage them to return to. Weaken their will to fight, and we shall see the Nyemetz forces crumble from within. This is what will win the war, rather than just battles. If you will it, I shall speak to them from the perspective of an orc deserter, and tell them that our war is against their lords and emperor, not them."

Winnacer looks at the transmogrified Xavier and smiles:

"Certainly it couldn't hurt to talk to them in such a fashion. But perhaps we would be better served if we told them to return to their units and tell the story of how Bohavia's liberators not only massacred two units of troops, but orc and goblins are treated as equals and fight side-by-side with them. With Yaz perhaps throwing his charm in for good measure, we may get some unwitting allies later on. Sound thinking, Xavier."

As for Bennett, there is hardly any need to ask him for his decision regarding whether or not to let the orcs go free. He is still furious from the actions of the rest of the party which stopped him from killing them, especially the threat of Faewen’il to use magick upon him if he did not desist.

"Do you not understand that they will just agree to whatever terms we offer them and then betray us? They would kill us now, were they not weak as well as cowardly. Such is the nature of orcs, I know! They must die, as must all their foul kind, don't you understand?"

Faewen’il’s verdict is as predictable as Bennett’s is. She votes that the orcs be left to go free. As soon as she has cast her vote, she returns to her tent, Darry’s face showing that he is looking far from well at this present juncture.

After hearing the comments of Xavier and Yaz, Jihan has fresh thoughts regarding the fate of the orcs:

"I can't really say either way here. It is true as Bennett says that they will say anything to obtain our mercy, knowing that it would be useless to lie to us when their lives are on the line. But these are just words. I cannot judge anyone on these alone... There must be actions along with them, and who is to say that the actions of these few will not change after today? I also agree with what Xavier says... they may be men with families back home... with homes and children and something to go back to. If for no other reason, I think it would be a good idea for Yaz to charm one just to learn about the truth of this. Perhaps the Nyemetz society is build up around war and violence, and family oriented thinking is something that is not widespread. Perhaps the women there are proud to bear anonymous children to fuel the great war machine. I don't know... but I'd like to... The little I was able to learn from Sirshaint Sklad was enough to indicate to me that their lifestyle is very focussed tribal or clan orientation, with a definite heirarchy of power. We must learn more about them before we go making all kinds of decisions that require them to think the way we want them to."

Will responds:

"As much as it grieves the spirit of vengeance that lives within my breast toward these creatures, we must be true to our word and grant them life for the information they have given. Else Spravedelna will hold us accountable for the injustice we have spoken."

With the invocation of Spravedelna's name, Winnacer's head cannot help but turn:

"The law of Spravedelna would still allow us to take their lives, if it were warranted. We promised them a fair trial and a chance to defend their actions, we did not promise them clemency in exchange for information. What they have told us does not change the nature of their actions one ounce. Justice is about accountability for one's actions, not about what one can offer his accusers to turn their heads."

Winnacer blinks as he realized he was getting a little more riled than usual.

"Forgive me" Will responds. "You speak truth. A trial is what was promised. And indeed, justice is a reckoning for deeds done, good or ill. But justice must always be tempered with mercy, for without it, we all fall short in the great balance. My lord, if their words bespeak a change of heart, will we not forgive?"

Winnacer blinks again, still surprised by his response:

"Uh...no...I mean yes, of course. Mercy certainly has an important place within the world. But mercy should never be confused with what is just, I guess."

Winnacer scratches his head, then shakes it.

"We should know exactly why we do things, because it is the reason behind our actions that matter most."

Winnacer pauses and looks at William, taking all of him in.

"William, you seem a very decent chap, more decent than most. Your voice and obvious talent could have left you in a life of comfort and safety. What would make a man like you take up arms with the likes of us?"

Will blushes a bit and responds:

"I am flattered by your kind words my lord. It is to my shame that I cannot claim noble motives as the reason that my fight began"

As he says this, his eyes drop from meeting Winnacer's.

"I grew up an orphan, made so by Nyemetz aggression. The moment I believed myself to be of age, I allied myself with other vengeance seekers. It is a sad tale, but the outcome of it all was that, after some small strikes upon Nyemetz patrols, we garnished a swift retribution by a platoon of Nyemetz orcs. I was among the few survivors who, in fear, fled for life. I have seen much dear to me crushed by the armies which occupy Bohavia now. So I cannot claim that I do not harbor evil thoughts toward them. Oh, I do sing of the hope for freedom and liberty in the land, and these are fine things to be desired. But, if I honestly speak from my heart, I must admit that I still resist for the sake of revenge. It seems the very thing I asked consideration of, that being mercy and forgiveness, is something that I cannot fully embrace myself. So my preaching on these things is directed firstly toward myself."

Will has been looking toward the ground as he spoke, then blinks as if coming from a trance, and looks up at Winnacer.

"As far as why I choose to live as a wanderer rather than a court bard, I must say that Prirodna's glorious nature has always been the inspiration for my songs and rhymes. It is the mountains and rivers that teach my heart to sing. I don’t think I could live in a city and not be able to enjoy the beauty that is here in the out of doors."

The quick and ready smile comes back to his face as he continues:

"I take up arms with the likes of you for the very reason which you gave me, 'here are the finest Bohavia has to offer'."

Then his face takes on a firm assurance:

"I believe that here, with this group, lies the greatest driving force for Bohavian hope. Believe me when I say that I have seen and heard of many resistance efforts, but we today have witnessed the greatest victory against the Nyemetz that has occurred in many years. It was not since the first years of the occupation that such bold strikes have been made. Do not grow weary in what you do young lord. Continue to fight the enemy where you may win. And by the gods, we shall see the day when all true Bohavians shall join the battle to drive the oppressors out and reclaim our homes, our lands and our sacred honor!"

Winnacer stops the conversation when he realizes that there is an important task at hand, in that a decision must be taken regarding the future of the orcs. It is obvious that the vast majority of the party are in favor of letting them go. The party decides that they will employ Xavier’s plan of getting him to talk to them, telling them that the party has no animosity towards them, only their lords and emperors, in the hope that the orcs will tell those of their kind this fact so as to stir up rebellion with their ranks.

The prisoners are untied, and allowed to go free. Xavier walk with them as they start on the long journey back to their home country. After five minutes, he returns to the party.

‘So, do you think that you were successful in getting them to understand our actions?’ Winnacer asks the Saxon when he returns to the party.

‘There is no way to be sure, my lord’ replies Xavier solemnly. ‘But if I did not believe that they have learned much this night, then I vould not have allowed them to walk free. I think that they vill tell those that they meet upon their journey of the tyranny of their masters.’

Bennett is still as angry as ever as he sees the orcs go free and listens to the conversation between Xavier and Winnacer.

"Your heads then, on trying to make friends with these monsters’ he says angrily, as he polishes the head of Regret.

‘Now that we have set the orcs free,’ continues Winnacer, ignoring Bennett’s comments. ‘There is the question of what we should do with their comrades’ bodies. What are your thoughts on this matter?’

Yaz tries to ask Silver through hand motions and such whether he'd be able to gather a number of wolves together in short order and 'take care of' the bodies.

Silver barks in response, but Yaz has no idea as to whether the wolf understood him or what he is trying to tell him. It becomes obvious to the druid that it is going to take him several days to try and learn the complex language of canines before he can understand the wolf without the aid of his spell.

Taking a hesitant look at Faewen'il, Jihan suggests:

"I think that we should burn the bodies. Then the locals wouldn't have to worry about scavengers coming and feeding on them. I say burn them and make a run back towards Hradetz, though we must be careful to stay concealed, as there are sure to be patrols out looking for any suspicious characters. Give them a signal... draw the attention of the people to this site. Let them know that someone out there is striking a blow for Bohavia. We can try and hide our tracks and let people wonder."

Pausing to consider this, he gets a frown on his face and continues.

"The only thing that I worry about with this is the possibility of a re-enactment of the horror they committed in Dvur, of setting up innocents as us to take the fall and keep the commoners in line. I suppose that's as good a reason as any to keep our actions concealed. I still think that we should leave a mark of the rebellion for any of the people who sees this before the Nyemetz get here."

‘Once we have made this decisions, we must consider our next destination’ adds Winnacer. ‘We know that we have many tasks yet to undertake. Which shall be the first of them to embark upon?’

"I still think that we should get the gnomes and dwarves back to Holitze, even if the fur farm is shamming for a worg raising institute’ suggest Jihan. "We will most certainly need Flint to help with it now."

"I agree with Jihan" nods Yaz. "Let’s go back to Hradetz and then take the gnomes and dwarves to Holitze. We can come back to the fur farm later, as we originally intended."

Bennett too agrees with the plan to return immediately to Hradetz.

Winnacer recommends taking a quick nap before burning then running. He suggests that they set up a watch and perhaps catch four hours each before moving along. About leaving in the morning, he suggests doubling up on their mounts and perhaps using Yaz's influence to convince the wolf once named Silver, now renamed Viirin, to allow them to use his back as well.

When Winnacer mentions only such a short rest, Faewen’il speaks up.

"Ye may not be needin more than that, but iffin I am ta be castin any more magic I will need twice as much rest as ye be talkin about. That way, I can be castin invisibility on one o us ta be goin back into tha town."

"An I canna rest on tha back o a horse either... I have tried such in tha past an it never worked very well."

"I say burn and run back to the barn where we got the horses" replies Jihan. "Maybe Boris will even have a few of his men out there waiting for us. Then we can hole up there for a while, to sleep or to wait or whatever. Unless we just leave the bodies here to rot, we'll have to move quickly. We took our time getting out here. If we were to double up on the horses, we could get back to the barn in hours. I think the choice we have is to make one last push and then sleep, or rest and then move on. But I'll say for my part that, if we rest now, the sun will be up in a few hours, and then we'll have no cover in this hilly terrain, not even the small bit that the darkness can offer. Burn and one last run... If nothing else, then we should get as far away from here under the cover of darkness as we can, and then rest. If we need someone alert, I can rest on horseback, as reverie comes easily to me in near all circumstances after decades of practice."

The decision is made, and so they begin the grisly task of dragging all of the bodies together and scouring the area for all of the dry wood that they can find in order to get the fire started.

Bennett agrees to help out. He leaves the others in the party, tellingthem that he will go to fetch dry wood to add to the pyre. However, as soon as he is out of sight of the other members of the party, he draws Regret and dashes in the direction of the orcs.

The orcs are not running, thinking that they have nothing to fear from the party. They are wrong.

Bennett soon catches up with them. With hatred in his eyesm, his brings up his battleaxe and brings it down upon the skull of the first orc. The others look up in terror, too frighteened to cry out. Without an iota of regret, Bennett despatches the pair of them quickly. He quickly cleans the head of the axe and then rushes back towards the site of the battle. Just before he reaches the pyre, he grabs an armful of wood and joins the rest of the party as if nothing had happened.

The others in the party have no idea that the orcs have been murdered so brutally.

Will takes his flask of lamp oil from the back of Bennett the ass and pours it on top of the pyre and sets light to it. The fire is slow to take off at first, but it eventually takes hold and they start to make their way back to their camp as the stench of burning flesh starts to fill their nostrils and threatens to cause them all to lose their lunches.

As they walk towards the camp, Jihan’s ears start to prick up. Yaz also notices that Viirin seems a little concerned by something.

‘I can hear the howling of worgs, or wolves’ says Jihan. ‘I can’t tell which. They’re still a way off at the moment. I would imagine that they too have smelled the burning flesh. I think that it is time to get away from here soon.’

They hurry to get back to the camp and quickly stow the tents onto the back of Bennett the ass. In order to get away from the site as quickly as possible, they decide to double up on the horses. Faewen’il rides with Winnacer, Jihan with Xavier and Will with Bennett, with Min running behind them. Yaz pets Viirin carefully and tries to soothe the beast and tells Darius to get on the wolf's back. Nervously, the goblin does so, expecting Viirin to snap at him. However, Viirin is calm and allows the goblin to ride him. Then Yaz, does the same, hoping that the light weight of the three year old’s form will not be too much for the wolf to bear. Luckily the wolf does not seem to mind the two of them on his back.

Any thought of trying to take away any of the Nyemetz’ equipment is soon forgotten due to the fact that all of the mounts are already overburdened at having to carry the weight of two riders. A great deal of their excess equipment is put onto the back of Bennett the ass in order to lighten their loads. Eventually, however, all of the party and their equipment is stowed upon the four mounts.

With the sound of the wolves now easily audible to them all, they realize that there is no time to lose before making their departure and so set off back in the direction of Hradetz.