The Curse Of Dobroushka

At seeing the pitiful state of the villagers before him, Bennett whispers to the rest of the party:

"Well, I think I see why this village still exists. Seems to me this fellow is a minion of whatever is in the tower and the rest are serving him. Bastard, to be taking advantage of the pitiable condition of these people."

"I say we kill these cats right away, as I never heard of a religion with skulls in it that meant well."

"Were quick judgement to rule the moment, I would go with your instincts Bennett," Will whispers his reply to Bennett, as he pulls his steed back away from the party.

"These minions of Smurt do little to ease my mind on the wrongness of this place, brother," Jihan says out of the corner of his mouth in reply to the half-elf.

"I would be hasty to make judgment on them before hearing their piece, but those vestments and devices look nothing close to friendly or harmless..."

He looks around at the villagers as they mill about in fear, noting especially the gaunt pallidness of their flesh, as if it has had part of the life leeched out of it:

"I can make nothing of this place at all..." he says, shaking his head. "What function do they serve with respect to the tower I wonder?"

Dawdling with the length of spidersilk rope at his belt that he has fashioned into a makeshift lasso, the elf sits silently, awaiting a response from the corpulent cleric.

Winnacer does not respond to Bennett's suggestion, but rather looks the elder straight in the eye, trying to peer into the nature of this man's soul before speaking:

"From what I have heard in the legends, this area was once fully cursed by the necromancer Boscobelous until Spravedelna's will guided the arm of Yaromir. Curses last only as long as those accursed let such an injustice exist. If such an injustice has suppressed the peoples of Dobroushka, riding the group assembled before you out of town may also send these people to their doom. I am Winnacer Stradheim. Who might you be?"

'I am Father Bohuslav Baltzarek, stranger' the village elder replies to Winnacer. 'I am the elder of Dobroushka and Head Priest of the Temple of Smurt here. I tell you again, be gone. I will not use force to ride you out of town, but know you that your presence here will upset the balance and send these peoples to their doom. Be gone, I say to you, once more. If you wish these people to survive, then you will leave us now.'

At the mention of the name of the death god, your hands move a little closer to your weapons. Winnacer, however, does not jump to conclusions as he sees the villagers clustering around the priest, but rather he calmly begins to question the priest.'

"Which side of this delicate balance you speak of do you work for?" he asks.

"I work for the side of the balance that protects the people of Dobroushka from the abominations of the tower" replies Bohuslav. "The ways of Smurt have protected this village for half a millenium. He is the only deity that is able to protect these people from the abomination of undeath, as death is the opposite of undeath, not life. It is only through appeasing Smurt that we are all able to enter the sweet realm of Smurt once we leave this purgatory here on this plane rather than being damned for eternity to stalk the plane as living dead."

"Better death than undeath" cries one of the villagers.

"BETTER DEATH THAN UNDEATH!" chant the villagers in unison.

Although their words shock the party, as they look into the villagers' eyes, they can see that the peasants really believe in these words and are not under the effect of any kind of an enchantment.

"To live under the laws of Smurt is hard for us all. Yet it is the only way of keeping the balance. None can enter the village and none can leave for fear of disrupting the balance and leading us all to our dooms. Your presence here risks Smurt's displeasure and he could stop protecting us all and leave us to the ravages of the abominations. Go now, I pray. Save yourselves and all of us now, or else we shall all be doomed."

However, Winnacer desires more information from the cleric:

"Tell me about the details of this curse you speak of? Does it have anything to do with the Legacy of Boscobelous?" he adds.

"We are all cursed to live in the shadow of the abominable tower" the priest responds. "It was only our ancestors' devotion to Smurt that saved them from the abominations that blighted the rest of this region. It is only our devotion to Smurt that protects us now. Be gone now, I ask you, before you displease Him and lead us all to your dooms."

"What do you know about the Tower of Boscobelous?" Winnacer asks as the situation starts to become clearer to him.

"I know that if any were to enter there, then our village would be doomed" he replies. "Smurt's protection is strong, but so are the denizens of that tower. Please do not disturb the balance by raising their ire, as it will only lead us into danger. Go, now, back to where you came and leave us to our fragile existence."

"Why do you hide from the eyes of Bohavia?" Winnacer asks next.

"Should we leave this place, then it will bring the curse of the tower down upon all of us, and no strangers must enter here, as Smurt is jealous of his protection and anyone not of the village entering His realm risks disturbing the balance. Thus we live our life in separation from the rest of the land."

Winnacer realizes that the priest is not going to be swayed from his beliefs easily. He tries one final question:

"What could we do to bring an end to this curse?"

"There is nothing that you can do. The curse of the tower is eternal. If you wish to give us your aid, then I ask you just to leave, and forget that you ever set eyes on this accursed village. Life in Dobroushka is hard, but Smurt has ensured that we survived the last five centuries and, with his blessing, we shall survive the next millenia, providing we do nothing to upset the balance."

"BETTER DEATH THAN UNDEATH!" the villagers chant once more.

By now, Bennett is getting enraged and he shouts out angrily to the priest:

"What kind of balance can one make with the foul creatures of the tower? Are you in league with the tower's minions? I find it hard to believe that one such as you has helped the people of the this village."

Bohuslav responds in a similarly angry way:

"The fact that Dobroushka still exists while located right beneath the tower should be proof of the fact that following the ways of Smurt has kept these people free of the curse of undeath. I am not in league with the unholy forces within the tower. Undeath is the greatest abomination of all and mocks the existence of Smurt, depriving Him of the chance to lead his people to the paradise of the hereafter. Smurt blesses the villagers and protects them from the inhabitants of the towers. No villager has ever been taken by those unholy fiends while we obey His laws."

Faewen'il stares at the man from the back of her horse; wondering what his problem was and suspecting that something was very wrong. She listens intently as Winnacer asks his questions, her hand lingering on one of the three rods stuck in her belt.

Waiting until the man was engaged with conversation with Bennett, she casually maneuvers one of the rods so as it faces towards the priest and strokes the rune with a finger. The gem at its head does not glow, however. The priest has no enchanted items upon his person obviously.

"Go now" the priest says once more. "Each minute that you stay here increases the chances of incurring His displeasure."

Will's face crinkles and something of a sneer crosses it:

"Better Death than Undeath? This is no way to live. Who told them that they are under a curse, and that they will be doomed if they leave this place? These people imitate death and replicate the undeath that they see around them. I see no flicker of life in their eyes, their bodies most certainly are not evidencing great health either. Surely the natural course of death is better than the perversion of nature that is undeath. But these people do not see that they are now alive! They must live life while they have it. Death will come soon enough and with it the reward of this life. Good gods! How can you allow such a dreary place to exist? Mayhaps you have sent us here to open their eyes and free them from the shackles of death that keep them from enjoying life!"

"Aw, shit," mutters Yaz to Will in his typical fashion. "This village is just a source of bones for the undead in the Tower. Appease Smurt my left bunion. Of course the Tower lets them live. How would it get its supply of dead bodies otherwise? Is this priest so dull?"

"Perhaps these priests of Smurt are deceiving the people" suggests Will in response to Yaz's thoughts. "Perhaps they know all of this and more, and keep the people enslaved in ignorance in order to keep their little haven of undeath going."

"Only Smurt can protect them? Either this priest is deluded or dishonest. Any fool knows that most all of the gods hold power over the mindless undead in one fashion or another."

Will scans the assembled villagers, searching the faces for any that might not join in the doomsaying chant. Any clue that some might have hope for a life beyond this hellish existence. However, it appears that all of the villagers are firmly behind the priest at their front, looking towards the party as feared intruders.

Winnacer replies to the priest after hearing his words:

"You have caused us no harm, so we shall abide by your wish to leave Dobroushka."

Winnacer then turns to address the whole of the village.

"But be forewarned Dobroushka. There has been a Mandate from the gods to eradicate the curse of Boscobelous. Soon, the walking dead shall walk no more; the curse that binds you here shall end. On that day, you will have to reevaluate your choice of living within the shadow of death. On that day, we shall return and offer you all the choice of really living."

The people look even more fearful as they hear Winnacer's word:

'No' replies Bohuslav angrily. 'It must not be. All that try to combat the unholy within the tower are doomed to failure, doomed to die and doomed to take the villagers of Dobroushka with them. Go now, forget Dobroushka and forget the evil Tower of Boscobelous.'

Winnacer ignores the words of the death priest, wheels his mount around and prepares to leave. He quickly whispers to Bennett:

"Let them be. No harm have they wrought us. Asking for their blood would only anger Spravedelna. Let us leave and contend with the 'curse' that has enslaved these villagers."

Winnacer then suggests riding out far enough away from the tower for comfort, resting the night, and starting their exploration of the Tower in the morning. Each of them nods and turns their horses around in order to leave the villagers of Dobroushka to their destiny.

On the ride back, Will speaks to Yaz:

"My brother, your talents with the ever springing life that is nature may be just what this place needs! Wouldn't it be wonderful to destroy all of the fell creatures that inhabit this place and lift the curse that hangs over this little corner of the world? With your gifts from Prirodna, that would be possible. These trees and fields that lie wilted could bloom into life with your aid. The evil winged creatures be replaced by sweet singing birds. We could transform this place of death into a spring of hope for Bohavia, setting it as another base for the rebellion!"

He then continues to practice his horsemanship. He is quickly becoming very skilled at riding:

"Winnacer, a request: After observing the devastating affect to which you wield your lance in battle, I am of a mind to learn the use of one as well. Would you do me the honor of instructing me in it's use? I think that I have come to a level of comfort in the saddle that I could learn to do more mounted now."

'I would be pleased to show you the way to use a lance' responds Winnacer. 'But it is not only the rider that needs to be trained in the ways of using the weapon, the horse also needs to be trained in the ways of combat. To train your horse in the ways would take many weeks of training, and I am not a specialist in training horses by any stretch of the imagination. I think that we will needed to obtain a ready trained mount for you before we start the training. Otherwise, I fear that both you and your mount could both be damaged by even the most basic training.'

The ride back to where they made camp previously takes less than an hour. It is just mid-afternoon by the time they return. They pitch camp once more and Jihan makes the same preparations to ward off any of the living dead as he did the first time that they made camp.

With several hours of nothing to do before the sun goes down and feeling far from tired after their late start, they each attend to their day-to-day duties. Faewen'il goes back to her books, copying the contents of one of the books that she borrowed from Granny into a smaller one of her own. The warriors practice their swordplay in order to hone their skills for the ultimate test that will certainly come on the following day.

As he sees them practice, Zsolt mumbles a few words to Shaman Hrust and the bugbear nods his head. The Pannon then walks over to them and draws his sword. He then bows before the other warriors:

'DO YOU WANT TO JOIN US IN OUR PRACTICE?' shouts Bennett to the Pannon, using the tried and tested manner of shouting at foreigners who don't understand a word of the language.

Zsolt just looks at him blankly, using the tried and tested response of not understanding why foreigners always shout at people who don't understand a word of their language.

Then he begins to join in with your combat. From seeing Zsolt in combat during the worgrider and bat fights, they already know that he is far from an amateur when it come to combat. However, it is only when they are facing him yourselves that you realize what a formidable opponent he is, easily a match for any one of them. They carry on sparring for an hour or so and then Winnacer decides to really see what he is made of.

Turning 'Old Bohavia' in his hand so the flat of the blade is away from him. He bows before Zsolt. The Pannon does the same and combat commences. The combat seems to take forever as the two evenly matched contenders parry and duck away from each other's blows. At first, Zsolt looks like he is getting ahead as he taps Winnacer a couple of times, but the young lord comes back fighting a little later. After more than 15 minutes of fighting, the Pannon finally drops to his knees, exhausted, his head bowed towards Winnacer.

Winnacer offers him a hand up, which the Pannon gratefully accepts. As he grasps Winnacer's hand, his gaze comes to rest upon the ring that Winnacer is wearing, the one that he took from Pavlichek. Zsolt examines it for a short while and then gives a smile, followed by a thumbs up sign and points to his heart.

He then bows once more and returns to Hrust's side to regain his breath.

Winnacer is curious of the Pannon's actions, wondering whether he might be sympathetic towards the Black Diamonds, or whether he knows the function of the enchanted ring. He walks over to where Zolt and the bugbear are sat and tries to communicate with them.

Hrust, seeing that Winnacer would like to communicate with him uses another of his 'Speak with Bohavians' spells to find out what Winnacer is asking about. Winnacer asks Hrust if he could ask Zsolt about his ring, as it seems to him as if the Pannon knew something about it.

Hrusts speaks to the Pannon, and the Pannon answers him. Hrust turns to Winnacer and translates for him:

'Zsolt says that he has seen the markings on that type of ring before. He says that it is a protection device of some kind. He was wondering as to why so few of his shots were getting through to you, as his pride had taken a bit of a beating through your defeating him. Once he realized that you were receiving such magickal protection from the device, he didn't feel so bad about losing the combat.'

Will offers to examine the ring in an attempt to identify its capabilities and history more accurately.

He investigates it carefully for several minutes, but eventually shakes his head as he gives it back to Winnacer:

'Sorry, Winn. I know nothing of the ring.'

Winnacer takes it back, thanks Will for his offer and then turns to Hrust:

"While I have you talking, tell me a bit about your native country and about yourself, Shaman Hrust. The ways and the religions of the Slovenes are unknown to me, and I would be quite interested in finding out more."

Will is intrigued to hear more about the Shaman and his race too, and adds:

"Shaman Hrust, I dont mean to offend, but all that I have heard of Slovenes has been very negative. Yet, you have shown complete honor in all our dealings with you. Are your views and approach to life unique among your people, or have I heard only false propaganda?"

'I can understand why Bohavians think as they do about the Slovenes' Hrust replies with a tinge of sadness in his voice. 'Bohavia and Slovensko are two very different countries with very different people. The fact that the two countries share a border means that it is not surprising that the two countries fear and misunderstand each other.'

'Bohavia is a very advanced country, while Slovensko is fairly primitive. Its people stick to the old ways and many stick to their old nomadic existence. The reason why I agreed to undertake this mission to Bohavia is that your culture fascinates me. I spent a while in Pannonia and their culture is not disimilar to yours, but Bohavia is more advanced, thanks to the wisdom of your Great King Karel. It saddens me to think that the Nyemetz are slowly undoing all the great work that he did.'

'Seeing Hradetz Kralovye and Pardubitze was a great experience to me. With the exception of the Pannon capital Peshti and some of the cities of Pannonia, I have seen nothing to rival their splendor. I can only dream of what it must be like to see the great city of Mnyesto and its thousand spires. Slovensko's capital, Minsk, is but a large sprawling village, with thousands of huts built from mud and sticks, compared to the greatness of your cities.'

'It is also a great experience to me to see the different races of Bohavia, the humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes and halflings living side by side, or at least so they did until the Nyemetz came. The races of Slovensko, the bugbears, gnolls, hobgoblins and kobolds have never lived together peacefully as was the case with the races of Bohavia. Each group lives with their own kind almost exclusively, and there is great emnity between the different groups. This is one of the main reasons why Slovensko is still so backwards compared to Bohavia, as the groups have never been able to work together for the good of the country as was the case with Bohavia. It is only when the Nyemetz threatened all of us that we were able to put aside our differences and fight together for the good of Slovensko.'

'We Slovenes are a warrior nation, it is true and this is one of the reasons as to why we are so feared by Bohavians and Pannons. Yet Slovenes too fear your nations. We fear the armored might of your human heavy cavalry that can smite even our toughest units of bugbears. We fear the accuracy of your elven longbows and the elves' ability to disappear into the woods after they have struck, and most of all we fear the terrible firearms of the dwarves, whose muskets and cannons our people cannot begin to understand.'

'Despite these advantages of technology, however, Bohavia is still weak. The Slovenes value their land above anything, above their own lives even, and it is this that makes Slovensko so feared and dangerous. Many thousands could die and there would be still many thousands more who would willingly give their lives to save another yard of Slovene soil and for every Bohavian there are twenty Slovenes as our land is vast. This patriotism I have seen lacking amongst the people of Bohavia. With the exceptions of yourselves and Padre Lubosh Kochi, I have seen none who would willingly sacrifice their lives for the good of their country.'

'It is these big differences between our two countries that leads to the fear that we have for each other, a lack of understanding as to our different cultures.'

'You are right in thinking that I am unlike the majority of my people, as you are unlike the majority of yours. Shamans are rare in our society, as very few of our kind have the intellect to channel the powers that our gods give to us. As a result, they are revered by our people as being almost on the same level as gods. Some shamans abuse this fact and use it to their advantage, holding sway over their tribes and having them obey their commands, but I was not interested in using the gifts of Blesk to give me power. I was interested in using the gifts to increase my knowledge and to see more of Svyet. I have been truly blessed by Blesk in that He has allowed me a chance to fulfill my wishes.'

'In Slovensko we worship many of the same gods as I see that you do here in Bohavia, although we know them by different names. However, the gods that have the most followers in Slovensko are those that are based on more natural elements - the sun, the moon, the wind, the earth, fire, water, nature and my own dear god, the god of the storm, Blesk. We do not worship gods such as Spravedelna, Kitry, Lechit, god of healing or Obkod, god of commerce. These concepts are too high for the simple people of Slovensko to grasp. More concerned are they that the sun will rise each day, that the seeds they sow will grow and that they will be successful in their hunting. The gods have more significance to people's lives in Slovensko than they do here. I have met many in Bohavia that believe that gods are mere superstition. I feel sorry for them if they do not feel a god's love and protection. It must be a very empty feeling for them.'

Once Winnacer and Will have finished speaking with Hrust, Bennett, who has been listening to the conversation speaks to the young lord about the ring:

"It seems to me that such an item would be better served for one of the party members who is naturally less defensible. Witness the trouble we have had recently with Faewen'il getting taken out so easily. We will need her firepower if we want to survive the Tower. While I realize it may be out of line for me to say so, I think she should have the ring, as opposed to you Winnacer, who are able to wear heavy armor to protect yourself."

After the recent disagreements that the two of them have had concerning the way in which they intend to assault the tower, Winnacer is again amazed how all the sudden Bennett and himself cannot agree on anything, and his face cannot conceal his surprise at Bennett's words:

"Perhaps later when Faewen'il's risks of getting attacked are greater. Right now, it will most likely be myself who will be subject to the bulk of the attacks by the undead, and I feel justified in wanting all the protection I can get. If the undead can manage to pierce our ranks and get at Faewen'il, I doubt even this magical ring would save her. Perhaps later..."

Bennett's eyes raise open very wide at Winnacer's apparent selfishness:

"And yet you would place Shaman Hurst, who wears lighter armor than you and has no magical protection, in the front rank while you stay in reserve? Perhaps I have misjudged you. I would imagine that magical protection of that ring's type would be less suited for a knight than a sorceress. Then again, I have no knowledge of a knight's codes."

Bennett looks long and hard at Winnacer, and it appears some measure of respect has been lost.

Winnacer looks straight into Bennett's eye, giving the look of a parent frustrated with dealing with an insolent child:

"While I feel compelled to defend my actions with time tested logical arguments, I have long ago realized that such attempts have little sway over a man of your temperament. Despite what is most likely better for the overall good, I wish to hold no argument with you. It seems that this very small thing has gripped your mind and inspired your ire. And after seeing how well you handle your anger, I wish not to get punched in the face."

Bennett, who has shown no anger in this discussion, more puzzlement, responds to that statement,:

"It is true that I have reacted ill to those many of you have not considered our foes, but I have never threatened you or used anything other than logic to make my opinions known. I have always been very open to having my opinions criticized or argued against. You may hold the title of nobility in this land, but I feel hard put to sustain the reverential attitude the group is apparently supposed to have for your opinions. You are a man, same as any other man, and the fact that your looks and words belie your apparent sense of superiority to me is insulting. I offered up my opinion about magical protection, which our weakest, and yet most powerful, member, would seem to need. Your answer to that opinion surprised me. If my small mind cannot comprehend the fact that the only item in the groups posession that can be used to protect her should not be used so, then that is my failing."

Winnacer takes the ring off his finger and flips into the air with a flourish before catching it. He whispers softly, to himself:

"A true knight knows that the best protection he can offer others is by best protecting himself by any means, sacrificing his own body to keep others from injury. A true leader knows when to make concessions to keep others satisfied. Why is it always easier to sacrifice one's body than one's pride?"

Bennett, who is close enough to hear the whisper, responds:

"I truly wonder, though, why the need for you protecting yourself, when you have so much else in the way of protection, is more important than Fae, whose only means of protection would be such items?"

They see that Bennett has much more to say on this subject, but the apparent conflict it would generate is not worth the time it would take to say it, so he holds his tongue.

Winnacer then walks over to Faewen'il. "Would you care to take a short walk? I have a few things to discuss with you."

Faewen'il looks up from the book that she is writing then gets up and accompanies Winnacer. The two of them walk out of earshot of the rest of the party. Winnacer makes a half-smile at the magess:

"Here you go, Faewen'il. I was going to make a gift of it to you after the Tower, but better to present it now than to risk Bennett being an even looser cannon than normal. Use it well, but heed my advice and stay far away from any melee if possible. I swear that since I put that ring upon my finger, I've been hit easier than before. At the gnome grotto I went many minutes without injury relying simply upon my armor, these last few fights it seems that armor has been full of chinks."

"I also have something else to give to you, Fae. To be honest, I'm not quite sure what it does, but I've just noticed some changes in how I've been thinking. My memory and my ability to think about things has improved gradually since I saved that gemstone from the Witchfinder's headquarters. Or that's what I assume, anyway. Since it really came to my attention yesterday, I've been thinking about this gift and reached a decision. If this change is not permanent, I should probably give the stone up to someone who really needs to be smart before I get used to a higher level of thinking. I think it would be really difficult to give it up later on as I began to rely upon it."

Winnacer takes the stone, mounted in a crude wire emblem of the balance and sword of Spravedelna, from around his neck:

"I just pray that you temper the gift of your high intelligence with wisdom."

Winnacer smiles and adds:

"And maybe your soon-to-be-augmented smarts will figure out how to tame Bennett's anger. I hope that he does not rip our cause asunder down the road."

Meanwhile, Yaz is mastering the finer points of canine with Viirin as his teacher.

'Growl' growls Yaz.

'No, no, Master Charaz' Viirin explains patiently. 'It's "grrrowl". You've got to roll you "r"s'

'Grrrrrowl' growls Yaz.

'No, no, that's too much now' Viirin says. 'It's "grrrowl"'

'Grrrowl' growls Yaz.

'That's it! Superb' congratulates Viirin. 'I really think that you've got the hang of the basics now. Have you been practicing the past imperfect continuous that I set you for homework?'

'Errm…' Yaz replies nervously.

'Well let's give it a try shall we?' Viirin barks. 'Now how would you translate the following:"

'After having been used to having two goblins for breakfast, I have had to get used to having just the one.'

'Err…errm' Yaz replies more nervously.

'Go on, just give it a try' encourages Viirin.

'Errrm…OK then' replies Yaz. 'Errrm…woof…err..growl…no…grrrowl…bark…grrrrr….snap…errm…whimper.'

'No, no, no' Viirin responds with some impatience now. 'YELP grrowl SNARL snap whimper.'

Min rolls around on his back with his tongue flopping out of his mouth, helpless with laughter.

'OK smart ass' replies a now rather pissed off Yaz to Min. 'If you're so f***ing clever, then you start speaking Bohavian!'

Min slinks off back to Will with his tail between his legs.

'I'm sorry I shouted at you, Master Charaz' replies Viirin apologetically. 'I guess that you shouldn't gallop before you start to canter.'

'Can you translate "Yaz hungry, Yaz want eat"?'

The lessons carry on through the afternoon until the sun starts to set. Robert prepares the evening meal for them once again. Once again it is almost inedible. They remember Darry's cooking with fondness, thinking that the non-stop round of double-entendres and sniggering every time that any of them said a word that could be misconstrued to have a sexual connotation was a small price to pay for two good meals each day.

'We should get some rest now' says Winnacer, sensibly. 'Some of us still have wounds that need to be healed and we need to be up at dawn to conquer the tower in just one day if possible.'

They all retire back to their tents. Two are kept on watch throughout the night, with at least one keeping a look out towards the skies to ensure that the demon bats do not return. Will and Min, as always, roll up together to sleep, beat tired from the day.

It is after midnight that Winnacer feels himself gently being shaken awake. He sees Jihan at the opening to his tent:

'What is it Jihan?' he asks.

'We've got a visitor' Jihan whispers, not wanting to be overheard. 'He's over in the trees to the northeast. It looks like one of the acolytes of Smurt. He's been watching us for well over an hour I think. I think that he's alone.'

'Alert the others' Winnacer says calmly.

Jihan goes round each of the tents and tells them of the fact that they are silently being observed.

Bennett whispers to Jihan upon hearing the news:

"No way he gets back to his master alive. I don't want anyone following us around, especially when one of those same minions might be alerting the Tower residents to our presence right now. There has to be some reason the Tower lets them live so close, as one attack from those demon bats would most likely kill the whole village, and I don't see what type of magic a death priest could use against them. No, I am betting they trade information, and the villagers' lives, to the leaders of the Tower for their safety, and this should buy them some time."

Meanwhile, Will nonchalantly scans the perimeter of the camp with his night vision to locate the visitor and assess whether he is alone or accompanied. After spending several minutes carefully looking into the trees and undergrowth surrounding the camp, he is certain that the acolyte is alone.

He then quietly words the Sleep incantation and inconspicuously tosses sand in that direction. He sees the priest fall, and then proceeds to take his rope and slip out to the man, ties him up securely and carries him into the camp.

"Sorry for taking things into my own hands," he says to the group," but something had to be done before he knew we were on to him and I had the sleep enchantment at my disposal, and can learn it again first thing in the morning. Anyway, here he is, safe and sound. Let's wake him and question him."

Winnacer nods his approval and so Will shakes the prisoner awake.

Winnacer proceeds to question the prisoner

"So, it seems that we have a spy in our midst. And not a very good one I must add. What makes us worthy of being spied upon, Acolyte?"

It takes a short while for the acolyte to regain all of his senses after his enforced sleep. However, as he becomes aware of his situation, he makes it obvious to the party that he is not going to talk too easily:

'You heard the words of our Father,' the acolyte responds arrogantly. 'Should you attempt to breach Boscobelous' Tower then you will bring doom upon us all. We were dispatched to check on whether you had decided to heed our Father's words. From the fact that you have made your camp under the shadow of the tower and have not left the area, I see that you have willfully disobeyed our Father's words.'

"Your boss seems to be convinced that this curse cannot be overturned" adds Winnacer. " Why is that? Is it because of the power of the abominations or is it because of the grip the curse holds over the villagers? Now, be honest. You will get no lies passed us."

'As Father Baltzarek told you,' the acolyte responds, 'the unholy that inhabit the tower are too powerful for mortal men to combat. It is only by obeying the words of Smurt that our village is allowed to exist.'

Bennett is getting more and more angry as he listens to the acolyte's words. He senses that the acolyte is not telling all that he knows:

'I've just about taken as much of that Smurt bullshit as I can stand for one day' he replies angrily. 'You know this is a pack of lies that you're telling us. Now start talking or you'll regret it.'

'This is the truth' the acolyte says. 'Smurt…Aaaaaarrrrrrgggghhhh!'

The acolyte recoils as he feels Bennett's mailed fist impacting against his nose. Hard.

'I told you that I'd heard enough of that Smurt crap. Start talking now or else you are going to get hurt VERY badly,' Bennett shouts at him, with fury burning in his eyes.

Winnacer looks upon Bennett with an admonishing glance, but says nothing as he sees the expression on the acolyte's face change from one of arrogance to that of fear.

'I…I don't know. I only know what Baltzarek tells us. I don't know everything. Baltzarek doesn't tell us much more than we need to know. P-pleaase, I'm telling you the truth. I really don't know everything that goes on.'

"Being in the shadow of the Tower for possibly generations, you must have heard something about the nature of the 'curse,'" adds Winnacer. "Tell us what really lies within the tower walls. And it may be in your best interest to be honest, for we may decide that you lead the way when we breach its walls. And I'm sure you wouldn't want us to run into any surprises that would force us to abandon you in the Tower with your arms tied, now would you?"

At Winnacer's threat of abandoning him in the tower, the acolyte goes very pale. It is obvious that he is terrified of the place.

'I…I've never been inside the tower. Baltzarek tells us that it is instant death to go inside there. Baltzarek is the only one that ever goes inside the tower, and that is only when he takes the sacrifices there..'

'The sacrifices?' they all say at once, a look of horror showing upon all their faces.

'Yes, the sacrifices' the acolyte says with an obvious look of terror and guilt written upon his face. 'It is part of the curse that we must obey in order to receive the protection of Smurt. We are required by Smurt to sacrifice the first born child of each of the couples in the village to the undead within the tower so that the rest of us may live without fear of the undead striking at the rest of us. They must die so that the rest may live.'

The acolyte sees the countenance of total disgust that each of the party is showing:

'That's what Baltzarek has told us and it has meant that the village has never been attacked by the unholy within the Tower.'

Winnacer is silent for a while as he considers the horrific lives that the villagers are forced to endure. Then he realizes that he must continue with his questioning:

"How long has your village been in the shadow of Boscobelous for anyway?"

'I have heard that Boscobelous Tower has overshadowed the village for more than 500 years. I don't know how long the temple of Smurt has existed within Dobroushka, whether it was built before or after the tower, but it has been in the village for many centuries. Baltzarek is one of a long line of Fathers that have watched over the village. They are always chosen from among the acolytes and lay members of the Church.'

"What sorts of things does your boss have planned for us if we did not leave?" asks the young lord. "It would be a pity if you lied to us and we had to offer your body up to the undead horrors of Boscobelous' Tower, damning you to the undeath and keeping you from ever meeting your master Smurt."

'No, please don't do that, I beg of you' the acolyte whimpers. 'He didn't tell us in detail as to what his next course of action would be. He only asked us to find out whether you had decided to leave the area or not and to find out as many details about you as possible and then to report back. I don't know what he would do next, but I think that he could very well use force against you in order to ensure that the balance was not disrupted.'

"Why would a man such as yourself worship Death?" finishes Winnacer.

The acolyte looks a little guilty as he responds:

'Baltzarek is the elder of Dobroushka and respected by all of the villagers for being one of a long line of priests that has saved the village from the blight of undeath. I believe that the way of Smurt provides the only protection for the village and so wanted to serve under him. I admit, however, that the acolytes of the Church are looked after well by Baltzarek, and life as an acolyte is more bearable than to toil in the fields all day and so this was also a factor which led me to choose to serve the Church.'

Jihan looks as if he is going to speak several times during the questioning, then his mouth clicks shut as someone else almost reads his mind and inquires of the acolyte about his true devotion and beliefs, and the real story behind the curse. Instead of questioning, he sits back and looks at the acolyte menacingly, twirling Wespe along his fingers and making stabbing motions at the ground every once in a while. When he finds out that the boy took up the priesthood more to have a better life than for true devotion to Death, he relaxes somewhat, allowing pity to flow once more into his eyes.

While Bennett is disgusted by the sacrifice, the blow is less on him than the others, as he suspected something like this from the start. He immediately follows up with additional questions of his own:

"How does the Priest get into the Tower? Does he use the front entrance or some secret back door? Also, does he take anything specific with him to ward off the undead? Any special garments or symbols?"

The acolyte looks fearfully at Bennett, preferring to be questioned by Winnacer:

'Please don't hurt me, but I honestly don't know the answers to these question. Baltzarek always takes the sacrifices up to the tower himself. No one ever goes with him. I'm not aware of any special clothes or symbols that he takes with him, apart from his holy symbol of Smurt that he uses for all ceremonies.'

To the rest of the group, Bennett proposes:

"Mayhap it would be worth our while to go back to the village and get some further information from Baltzarek to improve our chances of success within the Tower. Also, I am thinking that this Priest will waste no time in heading to the Tower to let them know we are getting ready to attack it. I wonder whether it might be worth it to go get him first.

Winnacer turns to the group and shares his thoughts (as per norm:)

"It seems that the truth of the horrors left in Boscobelous' wake is beginning to come to light. I think we all have an idea how this needs to end, but the question is how do we make things in Dobroushka right again?"

"The first problem I see is what to do with this acolyte of Smurt. He certainly has been marked by Spravedelna as guilty for his complicity for the atrocity of human sacrifice. But his words, even under duress, make me wonder if there is the potential for future redemption. The path to such redemption would begin by aiding us in freeing his village and destroying the undead threat."

"It is obvious to me that we cannot free him, nor trust him to deliver a false message without magical involvement. So I will suggest the following options to how we proceed, and wish you all to comment on which you would prefer."

"One way to approach this would be to have Yaz use his charming powers to convince this servant of Smurt to return to his village with the tale that we have truly left the area. Then we could investigate Boscobelous' Tower without too much fear of being attacked on our way out. This would also force us to hide well our camp and horses. After the horrors of the Tower have been dealt with, we could return and mete Justice to the Priests of Smurt."

"I'm all for charming the acolyte," agrees Will, "getting as much info out of him as possible, and then instructing him to return to the village and report that he saw us leave. For if he does not return, they may send someone looking for him."

"Either that or we could use the charm to get access to the Priest" adds Bennett. "I am starting to think that eliminating him is more of a priority than going into the Tower, and he could probably give us some good information on what is inside. Yes, I think getting as much information as forcefully as possible from this Baltazar or whatever the hell his name is should be a priority."

Yaz speaks up at this point:

'I didn't pray for any charms this morning. If you want me to charm him, then I'm going to have to pray for one in the morning. If we're going to the tower, I'd like to have a full compliment of spells to fight against the undead."

Winnacer responds:

"Even the shreddest of lies has a core of truth. I would not be surprised if this Baltzarek is able to contain these undead beasts to the Tower, and destroying him first - for it is sure he would fight to the death - may release them from their confinement. I still believe that an ounce of deception may serve us better than direct confrontation at this time"

"I also agree that the tower should come first, and that if we are capable of ridding it of the undead, then we will have sufficient proof to rebut the priests."

"A second way would to allow this priest a chance to work off his sins" continues Winnacer. "A follower of Smurt should have some sway over the undead and his familiarity of the Tower may be greater than he admits. I would also be partial for letting him lead the way in our investigation of the Tower, being the first to suffer the wrath of the undead or the searing fire of ages old magical traps. Unfortunately, this would do little to assuage the High Priest's fear of our presence."

"I think this guy would be worse than useless to us in the Tower, as he obviously has little in the way of power" replies Bennett, shaking his head. "He also seems like a coward who doesn't even really believe in his own faith, however deviant that faith may be. Either we use him to get close to the Priest or we kill him, or we can just tie him up and throw him in the Tower and see what happens then, which would be the same thing. I don't really care which, but I don't want to take him with us, as his whining would irritate me. I still think the best strategy is to follow him back to the village and take care of that priest right now."

Winnacer again nods to the negative:

"I'm surprised Bennett. I thought you would be the first to agree that such a reprehensible soul should make amends by opening ancient unknown seals and being the first exposed to the unknown dangers of the Tower, incurring these risks in order to walk the path of redemption. And final Justice should be dealt by those who he has wronged once the truth comes to light. Only then will Spravedelna be fully satisfied."

"There must be a better way to cover our tracks than to kill everyone that finds out about us, brother," Jihan says. "I only wish that we had some way of verifying our trust in others alternate to simple faith in goodwill. I do not know what we should do with this boy, as he seems harmless enough. Perhaps we could leave him with his wrists bound for Robert to watch until we return from the tower, and then let him make his own decisions about this 'curse' that the Most Holy Father keeps talking about. I would never be able to live with myself if I knew that I had killed an innocent if any other measures could be taken... "

"Either way," continues Winnacer, "it would be best to deal with the Tower first, considering it is most likely the source of the Priest's powers. It also may reveal a bit more of the truth of the horrors that have been taking place for generations in Dobroushka. Only with the true lifting of the village's curse will we have a chance of swaying the mislead hearts of the villagers, hopefully inspiring the villagers to take Justice into their own hands with regards to the followers of Smurt."

"I also recommend that perhaps Robert move our mounts quite a bit further away - at least somewhere not easily spottable."

"I absolutely agree with this" says Bennett. "Robert should take the mounts out to the woods, mounted on one and holding the reins of the others so he can flee from trouble."

Xavier yawns:

'My lord, the hour is late and we have a tough day ahead of us. I suggest that we leave the decision as to what to do with der acolyte until then. Let us now get a rest.'

They all agree with the Saxon and return to their tents after ensuring that the acolyte's bonds are tight and that one of them remains on watch at all time.