The day is
almost an exact repeat of the previous one. Once again, Hrust and Yaz
wander off early in order to make their devotions and then move over
to the quarantine tent. As during the previous day, there is a great
deal of debate as to whether it should be Xavier or Will receives the
benefit of the spell to cure one of them of the disease. Eventually,
Xavier speaks:
'Herr Willheim, I insist
that it be you that has der cure for today. You are young and have no
suffered such hardship before and I can see the ill effect that it
has upon you. You vere not put on this world to suffer so. I have
been a warrior and I have known such pain before and it has already
affected my body.'
Xavier holds up his left
hand to show Will his three remaining fingers.
"I have lost fingers to
frostbite, muscle, flesh and bone to the piercing of a blade, I have
survived marsh fever which took an entire household, a battlefield
which took all except I. Fear not Herr Willheim, if Rodengast wanted
me in his hall, I vould already be there. Rest easy, I shall endure
this short day in the bosom of this malady. Tomorrow I shall be vell
again. For some strange reason even the Gods of the Fey take pity on
me."
Xavier laughs weakly
obviously in pain.
"Go now, freund I must
rest."
Seeing the passion in the
Saxon's eyes, Will finally relents and allows Hrust to cast the
curing spell upon him.
As was the case with Jihan,
Will goes directly to the water after he has been healed, scrubbing
intensely at his body and belongings, wanting to wash the very memory
of the disease from his person. Afterwards, he hangs all that got
washed up to dry. Everything else that was on his person, but could
not get wetted (such as the scrolls and his harp) he lays out in the
midday sun and breeze to be aired out.
Will too is very morose and
withdrawn, considering the terribleness of his fate should Hrust not
been there, and the helplessness he had to overcome it. He can be
seen thanking the gods in earnest some ways from camp, arms spread
wide and head lifted to the heavens. The soft echo of a heartfelt
song of thanks comes rolling back over the hill to anyone's ears who
is paying close attention.
While Hrust has another of
his translation spells going, Will appeals to him for a means to
express his gratitude and repay his debt to Blesk in some
fashion:
"Help me to sing the songs
of Blesk's praises and I will certainly do it! And I wish to thank
you as well Shaman Hrust. For it was you who served as the conduit
through which the blessings flowed."
The bugbear seems to be a
bit embarrased by Will's attention and tells the bard that he is
already performing a service to him by assisting in the task of
freeing the land from Nyemetz oppression.
At this, Will almost becomes
incensed:
"No disrespect intended, but
I will not allow something that I was already about, serve as a
convenient sacrifice for the mercy and grace which you and Blesk have
given to me. No, far be it from me! I will do my best to make thanks
befitting the gift which I received. Tell me, how can I be of
service?"
The bugbear is silent for a
moment, realizing that Will is indeed serious in believing that he is
heavily in debt unto him, and that Will cannot bear to be in such a
situation. Finally he speaks:
"Very well, noble bard. If
you wish to repay the debt that you hold for Blesk's powers, then I
would ask you to sing of what you have seen. Although my mission to
obtain information on the Nyemetz strengths and to rally great
support for revolution against them has met with little success, I
will feel that I have not failed completely if many Bohavian's come
to learn some truths about Slovenes."
"Fear not, I would not ask
you to spread Slovene propaganda amongst your people. All I would ask
of you is to tell a tale about Hrust the Slovene Shaman, who fought
shoulder to shoulder with the noblest hearts of this fair land in
order to smite the foul malevolance of the evil within the tower. Let
all of the good people of Bohavia know that they need not fear all
Slovenes that they may meet, but should make up their own minds as to
whether my kind are Bohavia's saviors, or just their new
jailers.'
"If you would perform this
task for me, then the burden of debt that you believe hangs over your
head will have truly been lifted."
After the second day and
night of inactivity, most of them are back to full health. Faewen'il
takes the bandages from them and throws them on the fire. Hrust casts
healing spells on himself, Yaz and Zsolt to bring the whole party
back up to full strength.
As the day passes, Xavier
calls upon any who visit him to call upon Hrust to come and visit
him. Upon the bugbear's arrival he says:
"Herr Hrust, I have traveled
much more than my companions. The Fey in our party may be older in
time since there birth, but are not older in experience. I speak a
number of languages, beside my own. As a child I had a talent for
languages. Nyemetz, and Bohavian do I speak vell. I also know a
little Rus. I think that if you teach me Slovene, it bide vell for
us. I have listened to you for some days now, and have picked up few
vords. Mostly swears vords yes!!" Xavier laughs, "but dat is vhat all
learn first. A time may come when you need to communicate without
magical aid, So why not teach me. A Knight must also keep the mind
active."
The Shaman smiles at the
Saxon's words:
'If you already know some
Rus' he replies, 'then you should pick up our tongue all the faster,
as there are many similarities between our languages. I will be happy
to teach you more. At the same time, I would be glad if you could
teach me some Bohavian. It looks as if I will be spending more time
here than I envisaged and so it will be very useful to be able to
converse in the language.'
The bugbear and the Saxon
spend much of the day in learning a little of each other's
language.
The day seems to drag on
forever and the waiting and lack of action is starting to lead a
number of them to get a little irritable. Although they do not want
to continue without Xavier, they are restless to carry on with the
mission to eradicate the abominations in the tower.
Hrust summons everyone
together and then casts another of his speaking spells:
'While it is true that the
creatures in the tower are not going to get any stronger no matter
how long we wait, I fear that we should not delay much longer in
renewing our assault upon it. Zsolt is growing restless, as am I and
several of you as well, I believe. Tomorrow, I shall be able to cure
the Saxon of the disease that has inflicted him and we are all back
to perfect health. While I will have one important spell less at my
disposal to help fight off these unnatural beings, I am of the
opinion that this is preferable to spending another day of inactivity
here. It has been almost a week now since we left the village and we
are less than halfway through clearing the tower, and not the
toughest half I would imagine. I would like to suggest that we carry
on clearing the tower tomorrow. Should we find that we cannot
continue after but one combat, then so be it, but let us not die of
frustration instead.'
Once he has finished
speaking to the group, Hrust summons Bennett to him:
"I have asked Blesk for the
ability to read your soul, Bohavian. Do you still wish to see what
lies within so that I may reveal I to you and your comrades?"
"I do" replies Bennett,
solemnly.
"Very well. It shall be
done."
With that, the bugbear
starts to cast and then points towards Bennett, kneeling as he
remains motionless. Bennett feels the rather unpleasant feeling of
someone delving in the recesses of his mind. After a minute or so,
the bugbear opens his eyes and reveals his findings to
Bennett:
"I can see why you are
wracked by such inner turmoil' the Shaman says. "You are an
interesting one, to be sure. It is not often that I have come across
one such as you. While it is obvious to me that you are able to
discern the difference between right and wrong, and strive to uphold
all that which is right, it is equally obvious that you do not know
how to achieve these lofty goals. You are not one to obey laws of
anyone's making blindly, yet you also believe that only bad can come
with only chaos. You seem to be unsure as to whether it is the
individual or the group that has the highest importance in
life."
"It is indeed a fine line
that you walk, and I can see why you find only unreason and
unhappiness wheree'er you look. I cannot advise you as to how you
must change your views in order to find comfort within, as I am no
preacher. All I would ask of you now that you know of your
unhappiness is to consider the unanswered questions that torment your
soul."
They go back to their tasks.
What Hrust said was right and the inactivity starts to get all of
them down a little.
Faewen'il spends the morning
with her books again. At lunchtime, she closes her book with a bang
and the others see that she has a pleased expression on her face,
although she does not tell them the reasons why.
Winnacer takes Bennett and
Zsolt off to practice weaponship, spending lots of time blindfolded.
His improvement at fighting this way is considerable and it is
obvious that he is close to being pretty good at it, but Bennett
still is able to trip him up more so than not.
Bennett will practice this
way with Winnacer, but will not blindfold himself, as he is slightly
paranoid about being blinded and does not like striking out, or being
struck, while he can't see. His temper is not under control that much
yet.
Soon Will is completely
recovered and leaves the confines of the quarantine tent to return to
the main camp. As he sees his master approaching, Min leaves Yaz's
side and bounds up to be reunited with his master, having missed him
terribly over the previous 48 hours. Will does, however, feel guilty
at leaving Xavier alone, and returns to visit him and check that he
doesn't need anything on an hourly basis.
As the day draws on again,
Robert serves them up another one of his specials. They see that the
quantity is not the same as his usual generous portions:
'I'm sorry that there's not
so much' he says, apologetically, 'but we're getting a little low on
food now. I shall have to go a bit steady now or else we shall run
out in less than a couple of days.'
Upon hearing Robert's words,
Will speaks with Yaz:
"My brother, I do not wish
to grieve you while you still mourn, but I have a matter which I must
speak with you of. Robert has informed us that rations run low. Out
of respect for you and your beliefs, I ask your view of hunting. I do
not wish to hide from you that while I am enamoured of the realm of
Prirodna, I am at the same time a hunter. I hunt and have been hunted
by beasts of the wild. By the gods' grace and a little luck and
skill, I have avoided becoming a fallen prey of predators, and have
been successful in stalking and slaying other creatures for my own
belly and back,"
He motions to some of the
leather clothing articles that he wears:
"I hope this does not put
any animosity between us, as I have grown to love you as my own
blood. I ask this out of respect, and will respect your answer. It is
true we can live from the herbs and plants of the ground, and if that
is the answer you speak, then so be it. But I ask for your blessing
and permission to hunt and kill more meat for our rations."
Before anyone else has a
chance, Bennett raises his voice:
"All this tree-hugging
hippie crap can go out the door. If we get hungry, then I'll
certainly go and kill something large and meaty, and eat it, raw if
necessary. Especially if I gets munchies from Yaz's dope. If I get
hungry enough, then Min might start looking pretty good as well, so I
recommend that we go hunting for dinner whenever the opportunity
presents itself."
Yaz smiles a little:
"Will, if you come back with
the carcasses of three bucks, two black bears, and eight rabbits,
then you sample a bit of each, and burn the rest, I'll string you up
by your toenails and leave you for the bats. But frankly, I think you
know better. Kill what you NEED. If the tree-killer here (motioning
to Bennett) goes with you, keep an eye on him, that's all I
ask."
"Hmmm... a nice buck and a
side of rabbit would do me just fine right about now" replies
Bennett. "Don't like bear, too much work and the meat's too fatty.
Oh, and I never waste food, something my father taught me. If I kill
it, I eat it."
Then, in a hushed voice to
Will alone, Yaz continues:
"I hear some folks get off
on hunting like it's a sport or something. Bennett's one of those, I
figure. That's what I worry about. Just keep him under control. Other
than that...Will, I trust you."
"You wound me, Yaz,"
interrupts Bennett. "I do admit that I enjoy hunting, but it's not as
much for the sport as that eating something you just killed is like
nothing else. Hell, I'm a terrible hunter anyway. Only gone out a
couple of times, but meat that comes straight off a fresh kill tastes
like no food you can imagine. It's the natural cycle that the higher
beings eat the lower, just as the deer eats the grass. Same thing."
Bennett shrugs.
"We've had this conversation
before. You know how I feel."
Yaz then turns to Bennett
with the trace of a grin on his face:
"Yeah.'Tree-killer'. No, I
don't forget."
He holds Bennett in his
stare.
"Be careful."
He flashes a smile at the
warrior, but the others think they see a hint of something else in
his eyes as he turns away.
Bennett laughs at the menace
in the smile:
"I'm sorry, Yaz, but with
all the things I have done in my life, I am doomed for hacking the
branches off a tree? If that's not funny, I really don't know what
funny is."
Bennett's smile is
large.
"Go ahead, punish me for all
that I have done. Please!"
He cracks up laughing as he
walks away, shaking his head.
Once Bennett has finished
his outburst and Yaz has given his reply, Jihan looks around the
area, his eyes keen on the plants stunted under the evil influence of
Boscobelous' tower. Even this far out, the effects are not
insignificant, and he speaks:
"I have been fending for
myself in the forest for probably half of my life as a thinking
being. Much have I been blessed by Prirodna with the eye for edibles
and woodcraft, though I might add, we elves are able to digest some
things that humans would pass right through. I can help you to seek
such if you wish, though how much we will be able to find around here
is doubtful. We may have to range farther out in an effort to harvest
such things..."
He looks around at the
others, and then takes Will aside.
"I cannot bring myself to
take down Prirodna's children for my own sake, but I know that you
men need meat to live and thrive. Elves have spent untold millenia
subsisting on others of Her blessings, so we do not feel the need. I
do not know if I can impress my eating habits on any of you, as you
were not raised elves and I do not have the time to change any of you
into such, but if it becomes desperate, I will lend you my bow arm
and follow in the ways of the hunt. It is Prirodna's way to give that
which is needed, should the effort be made to get it, and the need be
true to living. Predators and prey are as much a part of Her way as
flowing waters and green leaves. I would not ask a wolf to suffer
eating berries for all of its life. It is not it's nature, and it
would wither and die... I will have to ask for Her forgiving my hand,
but I will lend it, nonetheless."
Will waits for the others'
replies to his request and then speaks:
"Very well Jihan, let us see
whether the land will support us with enough to survive before we
take to the hunt."
Winnacer looks quizzically
at those deep in debate about how to replenish their supplies:
"What is all this fuss
about? We have horses and are about a day's ride from Holitze. When
things get a little more desperate, we can go buy new supplies. By
how things are going, we are going to have quite a bit of downtime as
we lick our wounds, why not use it to get more supplies the next
time."
Winnacer then glances
around.
"And I doubt you would find
anything you would want to put in your mouth in these blasted
lands."
Jihan nods in agreement with
Winnacer's assessment of their supply situation:
"I wanted to make my views
on the matter clear for the times when we do not have the luxury of
just riding off and buying all the supplies we need. I have been
supplementing my eating with nature's bounty, as I needed it in all
this time we have been travelling. Some things you just can't buy in
settlements, but I agree, with Holitze so close, we have not to worry
about starving."
Nevertheless, Will goes
foraging with Jihan. Upon their return a short while later, Will
presents some of the findings to Bennett, sampling a root himself and
offering it to the large man:
"Not bad," he says with a
feigned smile on his face, but then turns to spit it out
inconspicuously when Bennett is not looking.
"What the hell is this?"
Bennett replies as he looks at the plant root in Will's hand.
"I don't eat roots, my
friend. If it comes to it, I'll butcher one of the horses and eat it,
but I ain't eatin' any damn filthy root!"
"Ah but they are so sultry,
so tasty, so.... oh well, at least you can live off 'em in an
emergency," responds Will, trying to resist the smile that shows on
his face.
Night begins to fall. Having
made the decision to carry on exploring the tower again the following
day, they retire to their tents early. Once again, Bennett, Winnacer
and Zsolt take the lion's share of the watches, although the night is
once more quiet.
They awake
early, just in case the day's mission goes well and they are able to
spend several hours in the tower this time. As usual, the two priests
make their morning devotions. Yaz, however, stays away for slightly
longer than normal.
After jogging for half an
hour into the trees, he lifts his voice in a wolfish howl
indistinguishable from the real thing, specifically summoning his
charmed worg friends. Crouching in the underbrush, he waits for a
reply. When he gets one, he calls again, repeating this enough times
until at least one worg appears. He then instructs one worg (a
charmed one) to follow him back to the camp, using the worgish tongue
he'd been learning from Viirin.
As he sees the druid
returning to the camp with the worg, Jihan suggests calling the worg
'Raaka' (meaning wolf in elven) until he earns something otherwise.
Meanwhile, Hrust goes to see
Xavier.
The Saxon is very relieved
to see Hrust approaching. The pain has got steadily worse throughout
the previous days until he is now nearly delirious with the agony.
Without any discussion, Hrust goes up to him and lays his hand upon
Xavier's forehead before he utters the curing incantation. They then
leave Xavier to start healing and go to have breakfast.
Xavier comes to join them as
they finish off the meal. His face has cleared up tremendously in the
time and a faint smile of determination can be seen:
'Are we ready to take our
revenge on the vermin dat inflicted such pain upon us?'
"Wonderful to have you back,
Xavier my friend!" Bennett responds. "Now we are truly ready to take
care of business in that damn tower!"
They are all in agreement
and half an hour later they set off back towards the tower.
As on the previous
occasions, the journey to the tower is uneventful. As they reach the
top of the tower, the rest of them notice that Bennett seems to be
searching for something.
'What are you looking for?'
Winnacer inquires.
'I've been doing a lot of
thinking about the Death Priest, Baltzarek' Bennett replies. 'The
acolyte said that he comes to the tower to perform sacrifices, but we
have seen no signs of any recent entry. I was wondering whether he
may perform his rituals outside the tower.'
He then speaks to Will, Yaz
and Jihan:
'Is there any chance that
you could have a quick scout around out here? Can you find some sort
of an altar, or perhaps some tracks that lead from Dobroushka to
here?'
'I can try my best' Will
replies. 'However, the acolyte said that Baltzarek hadn't been here
for several months and so tracks could be hard to find.'
The three of them, plus the
worg that Yaz brings with him, walk around the hill for half an hour
and then re-join the rest of them.
'I can't see any sign of
tracks from anywhere apart from our own, and there is definitely
nothing even remotely resembling an altar' Will replies. 'It could
simply mean that the tracks have been washed away by the rains, or
else there really hasn't been anyone here for a very long
time.'
'Raaka wasn't able to pick
up any kind of a scent either" adds Yaz.
Bennett simply shakes his
head at the news:
'Something is definitely
wrong with this picture' he mutters to himself.
'Perhaps we shall find our
answer inside' replies Winnacer, more out of hope than anything. 'Let
us carry on with the task.'