Return through the Swamp: Night of April 10th

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Coan
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Post by Coan »

Hiro gulps down his vial and then moves over to the boat towards Dadrag and Crow.

"A larger lizard man mayhap or some creature, it moved comfortably enough in the water but not perfectly. Now is everyone going to be able to sit on the boat or will we need to make a stretcher? I should be able to get one or two ready if needed without the boat tipping over."
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Post by Pamela »

“Peut-etre,” Gertrude translated Crow’s response to Gerard. “Si oui, il est parti,” she added, uncertain whether the man would see this as a good thing or not. So much for a secret mission, she thought wryly, wondering how many hours it would take the story to get around the Port.

“Always useful when considering the unknown, sir,” the scholar smiled at the bard’s gesture towards the lantern. She grew more sober as she added, “I certainly hope this is the end of it.” She lowered her voice so that the bard (and perhaps Gerard, if he understood their language) alone would hear. “I am still trying to figure out if their presence was a coincidence, an alliance with the traitor, or a sign from a certain presence of his reality and strength,” she said, alluding to the loa and the unbelievers among the Fraternity.

She looked over when Crow called out to the two bodyguards, wondering who had taken the vials of antitoxin which Roland could badly use. At Hiro’s suggestion, she considered the idea, then reluctantly shook her head. “The boat is small and cramped enough as it is; we also have to worry about bailing water. It would hamper our efforts, and we’d end up spilling some of the water on them, and contaminating their wounds. If they are propped up between us, they will hopefully be fine. This at least is my opinion….” She looked over towards the skiff and asked, “Does anyone have any idea as to how navigate in that boat?”
His only real danger is if stupidity is contagious and lethal. In which case, we’re all dead…-Gertrude
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Post by alhoon »

Draxton looks to see if anything could be done about the wounded guides. After all it would seem bad for their reputation if they hired someone to get them through the swamp and later they returned without them. On the other hand, if they were just dead weight... Turning to Kingsley, he replied.

"Well, I'm certain that they could have their wounds tended properly back in the village, even if they catch something on the swamp. After all, he payed them a hefty price, more than a month's salary for that trip. Also I believe that even though they are poisoned, those men could help us navigate the boat out of the swamp after all."
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VAN
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Post by VAN »

Noticing that Roland isn't very well, Dadrag puts his hand to a pocket of his cloak and gets out his own vial. They needed Roland alive when they get back to the Port D' Elhour. Handing the vial to Roland says:

"Here, drink this one too, you will feel better."
Last edited by VAN on Wed Nov 14, 2007 8:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
- The first 2 Feats a wizard should take are "point blank shot" and "Precise shot"!
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Post by Nathan of the FoS »

Roland takes the vial, giving Dadrag a slightly surprised look, and says "Thank you, m'sieur." Drinking it down, he stamps his foot experimentally.

The clouds have broken again, and the moon shines brightly down on the swamp from the rent in the overcast as you re-seat yourselves in the punt. Gerard seems still too weak to stand for very long; someone else will have to take the pole.
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Post by Pamela »

“I know that you are not a doctor, but surely you are able to perceive that Gerard is in no position to navigate the boat. As it is, he will most likely have problems supporting himself in a seating position,” Gertrude tartly said to Draxton. She shook her head as if to contain her sharp tongue, as she assisted Crow in helping the skiff’s owner into the boat.

As she took her seat beside the injured man, the Zherisian’s attention was suddenly drawn ahead. The moonlight on the black water of the swamp seemed to smooth itself into a long silver bar, unbroken by shadow or cloud. It marked a slightly curving course which was lost among the trees farther ahead. She looked up at the sky, as if to check this unusual phenomenon, when a low female voice at her shoulder whispered, “Je me situe en la carrefour; je suis la guide.”

The professor was unable to contain her startlement, turning suddenly at the unexpected voice. She looked again at the water, even as her fear of possession washed over her and then subsided. Thank you, she thought in grateful, almost embarrassed relief. Even in the privacy of her own mind, she hastened to correct her manners by responding in the appropriate tongue with the proper title. Je vous r’mercie, ma Dame des Rues. Vous etes vraiment gentille et gracieuse.

She turned to the others, pointing at the stand of trees. Her voice was quiet as she remarked, “The Lady of the Roads has been kind enough to show us the way back to safety. I will direct, as she directs me. Please go towards that set of trees….”


*I am located at the crossroads; I am your guide.
I thank you, Lethede, my Lady of the Roads. You are truly gentle and gracious.
His only real danger is if stupidity is contagious and lethal. In which case, we’re all dead…-Gertrude
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VAN
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Post by VAN »

Dadrag quirks an eyebrow at Gertrude's words:

"The Lady of the Roads? Who is she? And most of all can we trust her?"
- The first 2 Feats a wizard should take are "point blank shot" and "Precise shot"!
- W H A T ! ? !
- Or they should NEVER memorize rays!
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Post by Coan »

"More spirits." Hiro says "Let us hope we have no offended her." then directs the boat as pointed out.
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Post by alhoon »

"I think we can Dadrag." Draxton said smiling. "These spirits possessing us are for the most part... helpful. The one guiding pr. Kingsley is a supposed to be a kind one."
"You truly see what a person is made of, when you begin to slice into them" - Semirhage
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VAN
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Post by VAN »

Dadrag looks at him for a second and then nodding says:

"So, since Gerard seems unable to steer the boat, who will do it?"
- The first 2 Feats a wizard should take are "point blank shot" and "Precise shot"!
- W H A T ! ? !
- Or they should NEVER memorize rays!
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Post by Rotipher of the FoS »

Engaged first in helping Gerard into the boat, and then propping the still-groggy Souragnien in his seat by letting him cling to the upright guitar-case, Crow has disregarded the others' discussion of whom should take the boatman's place at the tiller. Even by the Fraternity's standards, his current slate of companions seem uncommonly prone to bickering over the most prosaic and pointless of issues, often at the expense of common sense. Academics, indeed, and their prolonged contact with same seems to be infecting the bodyguards with this same tendency to squabble....

Kingsley'd words about the 'Lady of Roads', however, make him glance to her in startlement, and more than a little distress. By perdition, not her, too...! A glimpse of her expression in the lantern's low flicker -- shadowed, but still very much her own -- eases his initial stab of fear for the professor, and he quickly masks his genuine concern beneath a veil of more pragmatic interest, for the others' benefit. Still, the bard can't be certain that she didn't notice the sincerity of his dismay.

Crow's gray eyes flick briefly to Hiro, to make sure the exotic warrior isn't about to menace Kingsley with death as he had, Draxton -- another quirk of the samurai's, to make a note of; the man's past knowledge and wariness of spirits may bear future inquiry -- then settle upon Gerard's pained features, to watch the native boatman's own reactions. If this 'Lady of Roads' is not so benign a creature as Serd claims, the ailing Souragnien's expression should offer a clue far more trustworthy than the Richemuloise's dubious opinions.

(Searching Gerard's feelings, for the nonce, is far more comfortable than trying to disentangle his own emotions, stirred up by concern for the Zherisian's welfare. Gratifying as their association has been, the VRS spy is far from happy about his continuing need to mislead the professor; to lose her now, before he's had the chance to wrest her from the Fraternity's corrupt ranks or even make amends for that deception in some fashion, would not sit easily with his conscience.)

'Lady of Roads', is it? Let's hope you are a lady in truth, loa, and not another opportunistic devil-thing like what Serd invited into himself. I'd not sit mutely back, and watch the Lady of Scalpels' flesh be usurped by such an entity, her incisive wit ousted by some phantasm out of swamp-myth.
"Who [u]cares[/u] what the Dark Powers are? They're [i]bastards![/i] That's all I need to know of them." -- Crow
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Post by Nathan of the FoS »

Crow isn't quite sure that Gerard heard or understood Gertrude's remark, but he nods and gestures weakly in the direction Gertrude is directing the punt. Hiro has taken up the boatman's pole and is (inexpertly) propelling the low boat forward; after a few awkward minutes in which only his native agility keeps him from pushing himself over the side he catches a rhythm and begins to push you forward with more confidence.

The remainder of the trip is uneventful; after half an hour or so of steady poling Gerard's ramshackle house appears, washed in moonlight. As you arrive at the dock behind it the ever-present clouds gather again, and another grumble of thunder is heard in the distance.
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Post by Pamela »

Gertrude’s irascible spirit rose at the question of whether to trust the Lady of the Roads. She caught herself and then smiled. Well, if I can be annoyed, I’m still in full possession of my senses.

Her amusement softened at Crow’s dismayed reaction and she was privately touched (and being human, flattered) by his concern. “A kindly and well-loved loa in this land,” she remarked, to reassure the bodyguards and to compliment the spirit hovering over her. “She has no interest in harming any of us, gentlemen.” Including myself, thank the blessed sun. She turned to Hiro, pointing ahead as they turned by the small stand of trees. “Sir, if you will turn left beyond that vine…”

…………………………………………………..

As the shack came into sight and the path ended, Gertrude marvelled as she looked up at the gathering clouds. Did she keep them away all this time? Or would there have been another way to communicate it?

Moonlight is your friend, remember.

Ah yes, the child of Sekhelo. I must investigate whether there is any relationship between him and Lethede…
His only real danger is if stupidity is contagious and lethal. In which case, we’re all dead…-Gertrude
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