Old Friends, Old Problems

MONDAY 2 OKTOBER 3460

They rise at around 9.00 and all make their way to the main room again to find the table heaving with a huge breakfast. As usual, Boris is up before them, studying his map and giving out instructions.

'Glad to see yer all up now' grins Boris. 'That was quite a night we 'ad us last night, ay? Anyway, I guess we'd better get back to work now. So 'ave yer 'ad any thoughts about what yer wants us to buy for yers? If not, I'll get the stuff right away. I reckon it's gonna take at least 24 hours to get bardin' for the 'orses, so it looks like yer'll be spendin' another day with us. Yer'd better plan on what yer wants to do with it. I reckons yer'll want to be talkin' about where to go afterwards as well.'

There is little talk around the breakfast table, obviously as a result of some of them feeling a little worse for wear after enjoying Boris' hospitality and Will's entertainment a little too much the previous evening.

Faewen'il produces the list that she started to make the previous evening, which is now very long indeed, containing a long list of spell components. She gives the list to Boris.

The old rogue's eyes roll to the heavens as he sees some of the items on the list:

'Adders stomachs an' eyebrows!' he exclaims. 'Bleedin' 'ell, that's gonna take me boys some findin'. Still leave it with me, I'm sure that we'll be able to pick 'em up somewhere.'

Faewen'il gives all of the party funds to Boris and he weighs the pouch in his hand.

'Yer'll get some of it back, but not a lot. I'll try an' get the best deal I can for yers'

With that he summons a runner, whispers to him and then gives him the list.

Boris then turns to Winnacer:

'I sent yer letter with the mornin' rider to Dvur. The big boss should get it tomorrow. Can't say when yer'll get a reply though.'

The conversation moves on:

'Boris' says Winnacer. 'I need a boy…'

Darry puts his hand up, and he and Tharnald erupt into a fit of giggling. Winnacer simply ignores them and carries on:

'…to be my squire, somebody to sit back and watch the horses when we are poking around and perhaps fire a bow or swing a polearm if really hard pressed. Would you know of anyone who would be suitable for such a role?'

Boris is silent for a moment, and then his eyes light up:

'Yeah, I reckons I know just the right person.'

He whispers to another of his runners who disappears out of the room. Conversation turns to other matters for the next half-hour and then there is a knock on the trapdoor.

'Aah' says Boris, grinning. 'I reckon that this'll be yer new squire. C'mon in.'

The trapdoor opens and a familiar head pops up. It is Robert Cherny, still in the form of Barra the barmaid. He is grinning like a cat:

'Morning all!' Robert welcomes you all cheerily. 'Boris said that you were back and that you've got a new job for me. It'll be great to spend some more time with you guys. You were a lot of fun!'

As Winnacer rolls his eyes, Boris whispers to him:

'He didn't really work out very well at 'The Pink Pussy', but I reckons that 'e'll be perfect as yer squire. I can't really spare anyone else. Wiv our organization increasing so fast, we need everyone that we can for ourselves.'

Leaving the decision about Robert for a while, Winnacer suggests that it would be a good time to take Darius to the Temple of Kitry so that he may be seen by Konan the Librarian. Will immediately volunteers to go with him, very much wanting to speak with the great man himself. Faewen'il is also keen to go to the Temple again. Not wanting to be left out, they are soon in a situation where everyone wants to go to the Temple.

Due to the fact that the Temple is situated right next to the castle of the Lord Protektor, they have to spend a while adopting disguises. Boris tells them, however, that they needn't be a work of art as the Nyemetz have scaled down their search for the culprits of the 'goblin massacre'. After half an hour, they are kitted out with new clothes, hair colors and false beards and moustaches so that only a very careful search would reveal their true false identities.

They set off in small groups, as they are used to traveling the streets of Hradetz. By now, they are vaguely familiar with the routes through the city and Jihan is becoming something of a master in the subject. They move forwards carefully, keeping an eye out for Nyemetz patrols and Black Diamonds members. However, in the busy thronging streets of the city, it is very easy for them to become anonymous and inconspicuous. After a journey of some 20 minutes, they have safely made their way to the Temple of Kitry.

The door to the Temple is open and so they walk straight inside, wanting to get away from the castle located just a stone's throw from where they are standing. As they enter, they see that many of the desks are occupied. Some of them are occupied by acolytes, wearing the white robes of the order, but the majority are filled by commoners, studiously reading from the books in the library. At the opposite end of the library, they see the imposing figure of Konan, poring over a book. He is sat behind a large desk, raised on a plinth so that he can look over those studying.

An acolyte comes up to them, smiling. They ask whether it would be possible to see Konan. The acolyte tells them to remain where they are and then walks over to Konan and whispers something to him. They see him squinting at them behind his thick glasses before nodding and walking to his private quarters. The acolyte returns and leads them into his private quarters. They see Konan sat behind his desk. He beckons them to enter and tells them to be seated:

'Ah, I see that you are back already' says Konan. 'Have you made your investigation of Boscobelous' Tower yet?'

'Not yet' replies Winnacer, 'But we uphold our bargains. You have my word of honor that we will complete the bargain and return with the information shortly.'

'Very well' agrees Konan, unconcerned. 'So why did you want to see me again?'

'It is our colleague, Darius' says Winnacer, pointing to the goblin.

'You are a fascinating group indeed' says Konan, almost smiling.

'He had an accident a few weeks ago. He was affected by a spell to the head by an evil shaman. He's never been the same since. We were wondering whether there is anything that you could do to return him to his former self?'

Konan asks for more information concerning Darius' former personality, and his current frame of mind. Winnacer gives him the information.

Konan gives a little shrug upon hearing all of the details:

'Are you sure that you want to change him?' he asks. 'He sounds like a much better person the way he is.'

Winnacer explains that Darius has this obsession with going to the fur farm that is not far off being self-destructive.

'Well I'm certainly not going to brainwash an individual just to make them more co-operative to someone else's wishes' the Librarian says a little huffily. 'What do you say about this matter, Darius? It should be your decision, and your decision alone.'

Darius gives a little shrug.

Konan looks a little perplexed. He is silent for several long minutes before he finally speaks:

'I'll tell you what I can do. I can use the power of Kitry to repair any damage to his brain. However, I am still not sure that he has a mental problem. If it is simply his heart that is telling him to go to this 'fur farm' for whatever reason, then you must respect his wishes. Is this an acceptable solution to you all?'

'And what would this service cost us?' Winnacer asks.

'This is a more difficult service to cost than normal, as the results are so difficult to gauge' replies Konan. 'I shall leave it to you to decide. If the spell causes a major change in his reaction, then the brain damage will have been severe, and Kitry will want compensating accordingly. If it causes no reaction, then I would not ask for a contribution of knowledge. Are you amicable to this suggestion?'

Winnacer, Darius and the rest of them all agree to the suggestion.

'Very well' says Konan.

The Librarian brings his hands down to Darius and gently lays them on his forehead. He then starts to utter an incantation. As he continues to chant, his hands start to glow with a purple light. The light then starts to flow over Darius' body, covering him totally. After a minute, Konan removes his hand and the purple light fades away.

As the light dissipates, they see Darius looking back at them, with a confused look upon his face. They all look at him expectantly. When it becomes obvious that Darius is not going to say anything, Winnacer decides to test him:

'So...errm…Darius. Will you come with us to takes the gnomes and dwarves to Holitze now, and go to the fur farm later?'

Darius is silent for a moment and then he speaks:

'No. I go now to fur farm. With you or without you not matter to me. But go I must'

Sighs of frustration can be heard from almost everyone. Konan just shrugs:

'As I said. I cannot change his heart, only what was wrong with his head.'

There is silence for a moment, and then Winnacer decides that he may as well try to obtain some information while they are here, so that the trip to Konan would not be a complete waste of time. He asks Konan what he knows about Yiri of Podyebrad. Konan smiles as he is asked the question:

'If I had a book for every time I was asked that question, then the Library's shelves would be heaving under the weight of the tomes once more. I shall tell you all that I know, although it is but little. From what I have learned, there was most definitely a boy named Yiri left upon the steps of the Monastery of Kitry just outside Podyebrad some 25 years ago. No one knows for certain who left the child there, and who his parents were. Therefore, it is impossible to say one way or the other whether or not Karel's blood runs through his veins. It is said that Yiri was a good child, intelligent and hard working and he obeyed the laws of the Monastery fully. I can also inform you that Yiri left the Monastery some seven years ago. Quite what became of him after that time, no one knows. He certainly has never returned to the Monastery since he left it.'

Konan smiles and holds his hands to the air.

'I really wish that I could tell you more as I am obviously VERY interested to know how much of the legend is fact and how much is fiction. Were you to provide me with complete information as to the real story, then Kitry's rewards would certainly be forthcoming.'

The majority of them are disappointed at Darius' decision to go alone to the fur farm alone. Although they are sorry that their ways are going to part once again, the rest of the party decides that they must take the gnomes and dwarves to Holitze, despite the goblin's decision.

Bennett however, has other ideas and is delighted to be rid of the goblin yet again.

Jihan, however, is devastated by the news. Already in a strange mood from when he returned from his solitary walk around Hradetz the previous night, he finds himself wracked by inner turmoil as to whether to accompany Darius or go with the rest of the party. As the elf in dwarven form seems close to breakdown, Will tries to comfort him, while the rest look at him strangely.

Winnacer realizes that the time has come to move on. He thanks Konan for all of his help and goes to leave. Will asks if he could stay at the Temple for the rest of the day, as he would like to go through some of the books in the library. Hearing this, Faewen'il also says that she would rather spend the rest of the day at the Library, rather than simply sitting and waiting for Boris to bring the shopping.

The rest of the party leaves the Temple and makes their way through the busy streets of Hradetz. No Nyemetz patrols or Diamonds are spotted and so they arrive back at Boris' safehouse without incident. Darius does not enter the warehouse, but bids you farewell at that point.

Winnacer asks the goblin to stop off at the barn to see whether Yaz is still there. If the druid is, then Winnacer asks Darius to tell him what the party has decided upon so that Yaz can decide whether to accompany Darius to the fur farm or come to the safehouse so that he may accompany the party to Holitze. Darius agrees, and makes his way towards the gate that will lead him back, once again, in the direction of the fur farm.

The rest of them go back inside. Not too surprisingly, the table in the main room is heaving with a large lunch that has been prepared for them. Jihan refuses to eat, simply staring out of a window refusing to talk with anyone.

After lunch has been eaten, the warriors go down to the warehouse floor and spend the rest of the afternoon honing their combat skills, with Winnacer, Bennett and Xavier practicing their swordplay.

As the evening draws on, dusk begins to fall. The doors of the warehouse open and some of Boris' flunkies come in leading five horses, an ass and a sheep into the warehouse. The ass is weighed down with a wooden chest containing all of the other items that you ordered. Boris comes down, alerted by the noise of all of the animals:

'Bleedin' 'ell!' the old rogue exclaims. 'It's like a bleedin' zoo down 'ere!'

One of the flunkies gives Boris the silver longsword and silver dagger, which Boris gives to Winnacer and Bennett:

'The bloke what made it told me to tell yers that you should never try an use these in combat with sword-users. They'd jus' chop the blades in 'alf if they parried 'em.'

Winnacer and Bennett admire their silver weapons and give a nod of understanding to Boris. Everyone then accompanies Boris back upstairs, having finished their weapons practice for the day.

Once back upstairs, Boris goes over to the sullen form of Jihan:

'Ere, Jihan, I's got yer rings for yers' he says holding four spiked rings out to Jihan.

Jihan doesn't turn to look at them. He continues to stare out of the window morosely.

'What the 'ell's got into 'im?' says Boris, puzzled. He leaves the rings next to Jihan.

He then deposits the money pouch in the center of the table for when Faewen'il gets back.

'I told yer that yer wouldn't see a lot o' change after buyin' all that kit. Yer's down to jus' 77 gold pieces now, so yer'll 'ave to go a bit steady with yer spendin' from now on.'

Darry has spent the afternoon preparing a large feast for them all. After the huge lunch and dinner, it is a real effort to try and consume much of the vast array of food before them.

While they are eating the dinner, a familiar little face pops up through the trapdoor. It is Yaz, still in the form of the three-year-old. He is looking quite sad at the fact that Darius has decided to go alone to the fur farm. It was a difficult decision for Yaz to make to decide whether to go with the main party, or accompany the goblin. He tells the rest of them that he has arranged for Viirin to swim across the river during the night so that they may all meet up on the opposite side.

A short while later, Will and Faewen'il return from the Library after spending the afternoon engrossed in some of the books that they were able to find there.

'So, Will' asks Winnacer. 'Were you able to find out any more information about Boscobelous Tower?'

Will shakes his head:

'No, I wasn't able to find out any more than you already know from Konan and Kesryk, from what you have already told me. I did, however, get some good material for coming up with some more ballads, although I need a little time to put them to song.'

Boris interrupts them at this stage to talk business:

'So, 'ave yers decided on where yer'll be going in the mornin'?'

Winnacer answers him:

'Despite Darius' desire to go back to the fur farm, we have agreed that the need to get the dwarves and gnomes to safety takes precedence. I thank you for your hospitality to them over the past week or so, but the sooner that we get them there, the sooner that they can start to build new lives for themselves. However, I do have one last favor to ask of you in providing some assistance in getting us through the gate. We have been lucky so far in going in and out of the gates, but that is when there were only seven of us to disguise. With the addition of the three gnomes, two of them who need assistance to move, the well known faces of our two new dwarven friends, plus all of our mounts, I fear that it will be a major undertaking to make our exit without arousing a great deal of suspicion. Is there any way in which you can assist us?'

Boris is silent for a moment, and then starts to grin.

'Well, gettin' yer mounts out shouldn't be no problem at all. I shall jus' send some o' me boys out wiv 'em so that they can meet yers outside the city walls. As fer all of you lot, I think that the best thing to do would be to use the ole beer barrel trick what Viktor told me about. I think that Viktor used it on you to get yer out of danger while you was in Dvur.'

They remember the experience well. Not a very comfortable way to travel, but effective for being moved around without arousing any suspicion. Winnacer looks terribly unhappy at the prospect of being placed in a barrel again, but realizes that it is the safest way of leaving the city, and so resigns himself to the task.

'As with the last time that we 'elped yers get out o' the city, we'll start casin' out the gate as soon as it is opened. It'll still be a bit dangerous if there are Witchfinders on the gate, but I think that they've given up lookin' for yers all now. 'Opefully yer won't be 'avin' no problems in making yer departure.'

They thank Boris for his assistance in making their departure.

'Right' the old rogue says. 'I reckon that's all o' the business taken care o' for today. It could be a while before I see's yer all again, so I reckons that we should 'ave a bit o' a do. Master bard, would yer care to put on another show for us?'

Will is delighted to provide more entertainment, and another fine time is had by all, well all apart from Jihan who continues to mope around, refusing to join in, or talk or eat or drink. He just carries on staring through the window, alone with his thoughts.

Knowing that tomorrow is likely to be a long day, they decide to go to sleep at not too late an hour, and are all asleep before midnight.

 

TUESDAY 3 OKTOBER

They were expecting to be woken by Boris quite early, but the call doesn't come. They eventually wake up around 8.00 and wander into the main room to see what's going on:

'Mornin' all' Boris greets them. 'Yer may as well take yer time. Reports are that the mornin' shift are a bit keen. Doin' quite a bit o' checkin' they are. P'raps I'm bein' too paranoid, but I reckon that it would be safer to wait a bit an' see 'ow keen the next shift is. Don't want to be takin' no risks now, what wiv the civilians to look after. Me lads 'ave already taken yer animals an' baggage out. They're waitin' for yers at a spinney jus' 'alf a mile from the city. 'Ere, I'll draw you a quick map to show yers 'ow to get to it.'

With that, Boris draws a very simple map which he gives to Will. From the map, it would appear that it won't be too difficult to locate the spinney.

They carry on waiting until Boris gets news of the second shift's activities at the gate. They spend their time waiting silently, anxious to get on with their journey.

Just after 11.00, they see, to some surprise, that the form of Bennett, disguised as the Witchfinder, is starting to get a little blurred. Slowly, over a period of around five minutes, the form of the Witchfinder starts to dissipate and the old form of Bennett comes back. As sure as Granny had predicted, the effects of the powder have started to wear off. The rest of them start looking at each other, trying to see whether the other disguises are dissipating, but they can see no signs:

'Jus' because one of you has had the powder wear off' explains Heimlin. 'It doesn't mean that they will all start wearin' off. The effects are different on each person. Some of you might still 'ave another five days in the disguise. Others might 'ave the powder wearin' off at any time.'

They carry on waiting for another hour and a half, and then another of Boris' runners comes up to whisper to him:

'Right' says Boris. 'Looks like this next lot o' guards ain't quite as keen as the others. I reckon yers should go for it. I can see how anxious yers are to get movin.'

Boris leads the procession of the party, Tharnald and Darry, Heimlin, Granny and Bekkah, plus Robert down the ladders down to the warehouse. There they see a large cart, in front of which are a large number of barrels. One by one, they each say your final farewells to Boris, Sonya and Corrow before getting inside the barrels. It can be seen that Winnacer is very reluctant to go into the barrel again as he is sweating profusely. However, he realizes that he has no choice. Then, Boris and some of his team nail the tops of the barrels shut.

'Bennett an' Will, I don't see no need for you to go inside the barrels' Boris says. 'No one knows what yers looks like, so yer won't 'ave any problems. You can be the carter an' 'is mate. Yaz, I don't reckon that no one'd expect you to be no rebel, so yer might as well go on the cart as Will's lad, or somthin'.'

Bennett, Will and Yaz are quite happy to takes these roles, as it is a much more pleasant way of traveling than being stuck inside the cramped barrels. The three of them help to seal the rest of them inside and haul the barrels onto the cart. They place more barrels, full of beer, on top of the barrels containing the party members in order to cover them.

Finally, they are ready to move out. Inside the barrels, they can hear nothing and see nothing. They hope that the journey will be as short as possible, as every minute inside the barrels is incredibly uncomfortable and seems to take forever.

It takes 40 minutes for the cart to traverse the crowded streets of Hradetz before they get to the Eastgate leading in the direction of Holitze. There is quite a queue of traffic waiting to get through the gate and Will, Yaz and Bennett see, to their alarm, that all people entering and leaving the city are being checked quite thoroughly. They think about going back to tell Boris that this might not be so easy as he had originally thought. However, there are carts backed up behind them and so it would attract quite a bit of attention to turn the cart around.

Nervously, the three of them wait their turn to pass through the gate. After half an hour, they are at the front of the queue. The Nyemetz guard captain comes up to Will and asks him where they are going. Luckily, Will knows his way around the area and tells the captain that they are delivering the beer to a small village just five miles down the road. The captain is a little curious about the barrels and starts to tap on a number of them. Luckily, all of the barrels at the side of the cart are real beer barrels and so they make the right sound. The Nyemetz seem to be detaining them for quite a while, asking a lot of questions. Will realizes that the Nyemetz are not suspicious about the cargo that they are carrying, but seem to be looking for a bribe. Realizing this, Will takes the hint and tells the guard captain that he actually has one extra barrel on the cart that is surplus to requirements and suggests that the captain takes it in order that the guards might relieve their thirsts a little. This does the trick, as the captain's eyes light up and he quickly tells two of the orcs to take one of the barrels off the back of the cart. Bennett and Will look on, hoping that they will not take one of the barrels containing one of the party members. Luckily, they take the closest one to them which really does contain beer. After the barrel of beer has been relieved, the captain smiles and wishes Will and Bennett a safe journey.

Will flicks the reins and the heavy draft horses pull the cart through the gate. Once they are out of sight of the gate captain, Bennett, Will and Yaz all give sighs of relief, glad that the nerve-wracking ordeal is finally over.