A Stitch in Souragne: The Siege of Lac Noir

[Guzrath]

Vincent meets Zumba's glance at when the name Jazelle is mentioned.
"Monsieur Nicolae" he says "I think we haven't been properly introduced. My name is Vincent Faussé from Port-a-Lucine. As Lucien says, we have stumbled upon some problems in Souragne. A man, dressed in white robes" he says "who we call the man in white" he ads sarcastically "seems to be involved in this unnatural heat. There are some theories about what exactly is going on, but to be honest nobody really knows. This man in white has attacked us during our travels, several times even. He is accompanied by misformed men, once human. He has attacked us here at the church, people have died because of that man. The interesting part is that we have met two men in white.
In short, our trip leads us into the swamp where we expect the men in white will be there. Them and maybe the power behind them. I admit I'm a little excited to meet them again, but this time I hope they don't run away."

He pauses for a moment and looks Nicolae in the eye and asks "Are you a vengefull man monsieur Nicolae?". He awaits his answer before continuing.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Goren:

Warden Sarosse finishes her part of the ritual before she addresses Goren. She gives him a sad smile before she speaks.

"Yes, the Church of Ezra knows of the Doctor's machine. We have been gathering the money for a bigger version, but the Doctor demands to be paid in coin he can trust. To him, the only coin that is perfectly trustworthy is the money from his homeland: Lamordian golden Gluttons.

We had been working with the nobles to gather the necessary funds, but the first fundraiser party was attacked by the Stitched Man's zombies, and since then the nobles have withdrawn into their manors and are unwilling to help. Most are rallying their money to leave Souragne now, not save it.

I am not offended, friend. But please understand that we had been trying to get access to the Lamordian's machine before you arrived at our shores. You are right when you say that Auschluss is 'not a nice man', but we can not be too harsh with him. No one else can duplicate his devices."

[steveflam]

Goren listens to the Warden and smiles. Souragnien "I understanding, Warden. Listening, I must going to back to Inn to meet with companions but when I have a free hour, I come help Temple in helping populations if is all right with you. I thank you for time and will come see you again."

[Ken of Ghastria]

Lucien senses some hidden meaning in Vincent's comment to Nicolae, so he waits to hear Nicolae's response before commenting himself.

[Ail]

Zumba is guessing at Vincent's words. The play in the man's eyes is something he has seen many times in others. He looks at Nicolae, while sipping at his coffee and, surprisingly, relaxing.

[Higginz]

Nicolae pauses a moment to assess the meaning in Vincent's words. He then senses that others at the table are anticipating his response, and so he replies, "I would not judge myself to be a vengeful man;" he pauses weighing the prudence of his words, "However, the Tepestani are not a people who will allow the ill-treatment of our own to go unnoticed either!" He pauses to sip his coffee in a casual way. "I must admit; however, I find such a question curious."

[Guzrath]

"In my ears, although a little damaged" he says smiling fiddling with his missing earlobe, to make his point "there is no correct answer to that question, only an honest ones. You have made your point clear." he adds in acknowledgement.
"I understand that your curiosity is peaked and the reaction of the others enhances that curiosity" waving with his hand to indicate the others.
"I must elaborate" he says "during my first night in this terribly hot and dried out country I had a most curious dream. I woke up, in my dream, to the sound of chanting. Seeing as the sun was long set and followers of Ezra pray mostly during the day, my interest was peaked, so naturally I got out of my room and moved in the direction of the chanting. In the prayer hall of the cathedral the chanting was clear. I silently entered the hall and moved over the cold stones to the side to get a better view. A man in white what reapting a chant, the words I do not remember. In his hands" he says imitating the gesture and pauses for a brief moment "he holds a dagger! It is only then that I see a woman tied down on the altar, trying to get loose, but not crying for help. She is struggling. I manage to get hold of a candlebra and hit the man in white." again he imites the gestures, Vincent's hands move with every word he pronounces accentuating certain parts, dramatising others. "It is enough to cut the woman loose, but not enough to escape. I jump on the altar to get the higher ground and fight the man in white. The woman who had beenn tied down, struggling to get loose is no helpless woman. I hear a loud clack and before I know a whip lashes out towards the man in white. We both tried hard, but the man in white was strong and could well defend himself. The both of us attack and manage to wound him." Vincent pauses and takes a sip from his coffee "Ah, that's good" He looks at Nicolae again "We did not manage to kill him, the dream ended. I woke up standing on my bed, fighting the wall and bleeding from sword wounds." His hand gestures over the places where he was hit. "Zumba and Goren were standing in my room. There was no one else, the woman was nowhere to be seen. The wounds closed quickly." He frowns "Unusual, isn't it?" he asks retorically.
"That day we move out, by coach, towards this town. The heat in the coach was unbearable. We stop on the way because Goren noticed something. A stone, the same stone Lucien was talking about earlier and we had brought along. We step out and before we know it we are under attack, this time for real. Four" he holds out four fingers "creatures, crosses between different kinds of animals, screeching as they attack. With them is a man in white on a horse. The same man I saw in my dreams. Combat ensues. Monsieur Lucien" he nods at Lucien "happens to come by and gives us a helping and welcoming hand in the battle. However" he holds up a finger "on the other side of the the man in white, in the bushes is someone else. A woman, the same woman I had met in my dream. She was hiding in the bushes, weapon ready to fire. What was she doing there?" he asks slowly, repeating the question he had asked himself back then. "The combat turns in our favor, but again, the man in white retreats, in the direction of the woman. She was just grabbing another bolt for her crossbow" he imites grabbing a bolt and looking away "and so, she wasn't looking during that small moment in which the battle turned towards her. The man in white surprised her completely and the man in white stabs his silver sword full in her chest. She had no chance" he says sadly "she died on the spot." He pauses, remembering the moment. "We were wounded and seeing as this was the second time he had attacked us, we couldn't risk waiting for him to come back with more of th inhuman crossbreeds." Vincent looks down, as if ashamed "we left the woman there, grabbing things that would help us in our defence and we took the stone as it had sucked up all the blood and was definetely magical and involved in all of this." He looks back at Nicolae.
"The question that follows of course, was: who was she? Why was she in my dream? It could only mean that she was involved like we were. She had a part to play and she was considered a real threat.
Sharing a dream so vived where you can smell, taste and feel everything and bleed afterwards is not ordinary, as you might agree. She died before she could act and I think you should take her place." he says seriously, working to a climax, gazing into Nicolae's eyes and waiting a moment "Her name" he says slowly, "is Jazelle."
Vincent sits back slowly in his chair and drinks his coffee, giving Nicolae the time to let all the information sink in. The news of her death and the important part she and, with his arrival, now he plays in what is happening in Souragne.
"My most sincere apologies and condolences" he adds with a serene voice. He means it. Vincent also clearly wais to see how Nicolae would react to them leaving her behind, her death and thus testing if Nicolae had told the truth.

[Higginz]

Nicolae pauses a moment in order to take in everything that this man, Vincent, has relayed to him. After several prolonged minutes, Nicolae looks up at Vincent and says, "Then it seems likely that the best chance I have to find Jazelle's murderer is by accompanying you and your party into this swamp of which you speak." He downs the rest of his cup and continues, "And that is precisely what I intend to do gentlemen."

[Guzrath]

Vincent finishes his coffee and dabs his lips with his handkerchief. "Good" he says with a self-complimentary smile. "That is settled. Lucien, I think you know ehre he stands now, we can fill in Goren later. I believe you had several ideas for today."

[Ken of Ghastria]

Lucien savors the taste of the fresh coffee as he listens to Vincent's account. Once Vincent directs the conversation back to him, he says to Nicolae, "My condolences to you as well, monsieur. I wish we could have saved her. But yes, now to plan this villain's painful end." He takes another sip of the coffee before continuing. He addresses everyone at the table, although he focuses on Nicolae as he hasn't heard this.

"We suspect that this new 'faith' of Homme Broché has been manufactured, with the residents of Marais de Tarascon and Port d'Elhour each believing that the other city is responsible for it. Our foes may have created it as the public face of a new Loah that will crush the local beliefs in Ezra and the traditional Loah. Regardless, we do believe the 'Man in White' is not the mastermind. There are strong forces at work, and we need assistance. I don't believe we'll get that assistance from the Church of Ezra or the local Voodan priests, however. They're too busy organizing a massive ritual to end the drought, and I believe -- unfortunately -- that their ritual will fail spectacularly, further undermining the existing faiths.

"We need to find the area's 'High Voodan,' a powerful man who is poorly named Chicken Bone. We received an interesting message from him last night after -- well, he somehow provided aid to us during a brief fight. He said that he was beset on all sides by foes in Lac Noir. If we help him, he will provide one service. So... that is where we need to go, if Zumba can direct us. And we shall leave as soon as Goren returns."

[Ail]

"Yes, we can go. I have somehow the way branded in my mind. I can lead us there. We have to be ready for a strong fight. We should probably get hold of a barge or a raft of some kind."

[Rock of the Fraternity]

The search for 'a barge or a raft' leads you to the swampside huts where Vincent and Goren saw the murderous fey girls hide but yesterday. Numerous small craft - the piroques made from cypress logs, big flat-bottomed rafts and even a fairly big boat for hauling cargo - all lie at anchor in the ooze.

As you all approach, you can see some stoic-looking older men sitting on the wooden planks that reach out into the mire, fishing. Others are hard at work repairing the vessels that are there, and a few more are loading fresh cypress logs onto that big boat. No one is taking any of the craft out, however.

Three small boys mark your approach and hurry up, flashing wooden boards with writing on it. From their hurried gabble, you manage to deduce that they're being paid by people who make or hire out swamp-ready boats to likely customers, and they're trying to get you to come with them. The three contenders for your custom - and money - are the Dubois Shipping Company, the Marais de Tarascon Nautique, and a firm calling itself the Last Stop. It is worth noticing that only the Last Stop's boy speaks of purchase, whereas the other two seem to assume you could only want to hire a boat...

[Guzrath]

Vincent looks at the three boys, wondering if this is an ironic joke or a coincidence that there are three kids wanting attention. "I propose we check out the merchandise before we hire or buy, I don't want to blindly take a leaky boat. Do any of you know anything about boats?"

[Higginz]

Nicolae responds in the negative to Vincent's inquiry. "I'm afraid I posses no knowledge that will assist us in this matter. And I wish I had no need of such knowledge; there are places I can imagine I would rather be than this bog."

[Ken of Ghastria]

Lucien shrugs. "I've traveled down a few Darkon rivers, but that doesn't equate to seamanship, I'm afraid." He scans the potential options, then he smirks. "I find myself curiously drawn to 'The Last Stop.' With a name so ironically gloomy, it seems that their craftsmanship must be superb! Let's enquire, at least."

The half-elf says to that boy, "Lead on."