Mists over the Musarde, Chapter Two

[Lord Skybolt]

Alain is waiting to see what Norzak finds in the stalls and other places if he makes it to the loft with out mishap . If Norzak doesn't find what he is looking for then Alain will be search the rest of the farm for other bad guys to "take care of" . And then he will search the farm for glues/information to find out if these these thugs are who he thinks they are (Van Diecks crew) . He will make sure the one dragged away by his horse is "taken care of"

[Lord Skybolt]

Alain will blast(AS) the guy who fell if Jon doesn't "take care of" him with the current situation . We already have a prisoner !!!

[JMaytr]

with the mans back turned, Jonathan buries his knife deep into the base of the thugs spine. He remembers Norzak's order; to keep a man alive. Jonathan purposely ignores the request and twists the blade hoping the man would perish on his silver blade.

[Lord Skybolt]

A man is alive, the burnt one outside .That how like to see a plan come together . Alain in the mean time is keeping an eye on what Norzak is doing to watch his back as it were .

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio rushes from the protection of the barn towards the coaches, where the burned man lies. He draws down on the warrior. "Talk and you may yet live. Who sent you here, whose man are you?"

[ewancummins]

Outside, on the roadside

Dorgio rushes from the protection of the barn towards the coaches, where the burned man lies. He draws down on the warrior. "Talk and you may yet live. Who sent you here, whose man are you?"

Looking down at the fallen warrior, Dorgio can see he's really little more than a boy, perhaps all of eighteen. His chin and upper lip have just wisps of peach fuzz, not a man's full beard. He's bound hand and foot with rope- the doing of the coachmen.

His discarded armor lays nearby. The mail shirt is flecked with rust and missing links- probably something he scavenged someplace. The armor is still hot- so much so that a little smoke and vapor is yet rising from it and the ground beneath.

The whole area stinks of burned flesh, singed hair, and hot iron.

The wretch speaks, but the words don't seem like an answer to Dorgio's questions. He's got a very distinct Gundarakite accent.

''Mama, run away, Barovians are coming!....ohhhh...I'll protect the little ones...nem!... the house is on fire... ohhh...Morninglord, why don't you help us?...''''

Tears flow freely down his burned and blistered cheeks. The pathetic young man is lost in a maze of memory and agony. It won't do much good to question him in this condition.

[ewancummins]

Inside the barn

with the mans back turned, Jonathan buries his knife deep into the base of the thugs spine. He remembers Norzak's order; to keep a man alive. Jonathan purposely ignores the request and twists the blade hoping the man would perish on his silver blade.

''Gahhh!''

The sniper dies on the point of Jon's dagger, yet another victim of a boy who's fast becoming a seasoned killer.

[ewancummins]

The Aftermath of the Fight at the Farmstead

All but one of the enemy warriors has died- and the lone survivor is badly burned and delirious with pain and fever.

Norzak finds the other end of the tunnel, not inside the barn, but just outside the farmhouse. A loose wooden board lays to one side of the hole- did it conceal the opening at one point? The creature may well have escaped through the hole during the confusion and chaos of the battle. Unfortunately, it proves impossible to track. There are just too many tracks, bootprints, etc in the area to pick up a clear trail. If it passed this way, it didn't leave a blood spoor.

The coachmen prepare the animals for the return trip. They unhitch, feed and rub down the horses.

While the coachmen attend to the animals, and Sir Cirdan attends to the ladies, the rest of your party is able to conduct a search of the area.

You find the farmer's wife [Marie's mother]- dead in the back garden. Something broke her neck. Ther are claws or tooth marks on her body, similiar to Norzak's injuries. Indistinct paw prints suggest the beast encountered earlier may have been her killer.

The fallen foemen are an irregularly equipped bunch. They wear no unifroms and carry no identifying papers.

After the search, the coachmen inform you they are ready for travel once again. Evie is most anxious to get home with Hannah and poor Marie- who is nearly hysterical.

[JMaytr]

Jonathan puts his knife away and regroups with the party. Grateful to see the women unharmed he approaches Cirdan and bows his head.

"Good work sir Knight. I am sure one day songs will be sung of your deeds. These ladies have seen enough crudeness for one day, perhaps your noble sir can take them back to the coaches?"

Looking to Norzak and then to the prisoner, Jonathan smiles.

"All yours."

The boy moves behind the dwarf.

[Lord Skybolt]

"Well it looks like this one we'll need to recuperate from his injuries a bit before we can question him further it seems ."Pointing at their prisoner . " I really don't like helping are enemies, but if we are going to get anything out of him he needs to be in better health . So Dorgio if you would help are prisoner after patching up Norzak, he took a bolt to the chest ." Gesturing to the wound Norzak took .

[steveflam]

Norzak isn't all that upset he didn't find the beast. "Well I got ta save me oil n fire in a bottle fer another varmint." He touches around the wound on his chest as he rubs the back of his neck and flinches, hissing inwardly. "I thinks tha furry rat beast bitted me on tha neck too." Removing his hand does in fact show blood. "Freak 'o' nature, big 'n' ugly, almost as ugly as me!" He laughs.


He eyes Jon making sure the lad isn't hurt. "We make out ok? Asides the prisoner, we fin' anythin? Ah Al, thanks fer watchin' me back, bub. Good work in there." He looks around. "I guess Marie's ma n da ain' 'o this world no more? That Van Dieks is one sick bastard. Is Evie tendin' ta her?"


"I's glad everyone's no worse for wear is all." He looks back at Jon and smiles. "How'd ye fare, laddie?," he asks with interest. Now that the excitement of battle was over, he was feeling his wounds acutely.

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio nearly drops his bow when he hears the prisoner talk. He tilts the bow up, away from the prisoner, then raises the back of his left hand, showing the warrior his tattoo. "Easy," he tells the boy in Luktar. "You will be treated fairly."

He then approaches Norzak. If the bolt is still in the dwarf, he'll assist in removing it, then chants a prayer of healing over him. He then leans in, and speaks in a low voice. "This prisoner, he is of Gundarak, I will deal with him. In the meantime, the pigpen, it has a body in it, probably one of the girl's family. Can you see to retrieving it?"

He then returns to the prisoner, and chants a similar healing spell over him. He then takes out his holy symbol, and holds it in front of the boy, but still keeps his crossbow in the other hand.

"My friend," he says, again in Luktar. "You are far from home, but so am I. My name is Dorgio, and I am the Morninglord's servant. I swear upon our god, I will see to it that you are not unduly harmed. But you must cooperate. Who sent you here? Why did you attack us?"

[steveflam]

The dwarf nods at Dorgio. "Laddie, less go retrive tha body in the pen, ok?" Norzak moves on over to the pen and proceeds to enter the sty and retrieve what is left of the parent. He pushes the pigs away as he goes about his grim travail.

[ewancummins]

the archives-


Priests and gendarmes soon enter the room. Benn is detained for questioning, but not harmed or threatened in any way. Indeed, the gendarmes seem to be most respectful of his person.

It becomes apparent to Benn that these Richemuloise gendarmes are unfamiliar with the works of Alanik Ray, the Great Detective- they don't seem to be conducting any sort of systematic investigation.

The Ezran priests are much more thorough in their questioning. One of them chants an invocation before interviewing Benn. Benn recognizes the prayer as one that establishes a magical field in which speakers feel compelled toward honesty. Of course, Benn has no need to lie, for he isn't the killer.

Once the Ezrans seem to be satisfied of Benn's innocence, he is taken to see the Toret in charge of the Cathedral [and the city]. The Toret tells him:

''This villain has made a terrible mistake, Monsieur Gehrmann. We will seek justice for poor Van Willen. I promise you that you shall have the total and complete co-operation of the Church in this matter. Your enemies are our enemies, that much is evident. Is there anything at all we can do to help you?''

[JMaytr]

Jonathan follows Norzak outside to the pigpen.