Birthright 2: Promises to Keep

[alhoon]

THE KITCHEN
Something scratches on the door.
A harsh voice shouts through the panel,
"Slave! We hunger. When will our food be ready?"

Ugo rushes to the Masters with the warm bread, telling them the soup will be ready sooner than later and in the mean-time, they could try the nice bread.

[VAN]

Filbert in his cage can only hope that Duke Devlin and the others will arrive before it's too late. Ugo indeed has tried to get him some time by offering the masters the fresh bread but who knows if it will be enough...

[ewancummins]

HEDGE MAZE IN THE GARDEN OF DARKLING DELIGHTS
Safana finds no tracks.
The huge Gunnar-child points over the tops of the tall hedges, at something neither Safana nor Devlin can see because the plants rise too high for them to look over. He says, “House….smoke.” The big green toddler walks into the maze, brushing and crushing foliage to either side as he pushes deeper.
Devlin follows with his sword at the ready. The duke glances sideways, ahead, and backward, scanning for traps and ambushes.

"Boost me on your shoulders Gunnar"

Gunnar lifts Devlin onto his shoulders. Devlin sees the house; a squat building of stone and timber, with few windows and only one door visible on the near side.
A thin wisp of smoke rises from a short chimney built along the near wall.
This building isn't far off, less than a quarter mile. But the sprawling hedge maze surrounds it, so far as Devlin can see. Mists hide the deeper reaches of the Garden. Mounted on the giant child's shoulders, Devlin can see a possible path through the maze.

Climbing down Devlin tells the others what he saw. "This way, "he says, pointing his main gauche at the path.

With Devlin leading, the party enters the green labyrinth. But the path he sets them on soon leads to a dead end. (Strange, he definitely saw a left turn here, up on the giant boy’s shoulders…)

Puzzled, he back tracks and finds another path

Devlin sees that, somehow, the garden maze has shifted. He picks out a new path and leads on. After several minutes of walking the maze, he finds big footprint's in the soft earth ahead of him. Gunnar's footprints, it looks like.

“This garden seems alive", he says. "Let’s try cutting a path."

Gunnar smiles. ""Don't need an axe."
The big green toddler begins ripping, tearing, and smashing the hedge on his left. But even with his size and power, the giant child has to work to pull down the plant barrier. The hedges are quite dense.
He's making progress, but not as swiftly as might be wished.

Devlin begins to assist.

Gunnar smashes his way deeper into the labyrinth. The hedges resist his advance by twisting and tangling against him. Devlin helps as best he is able, yanking broken roots and branches aside to clear the path for Safana to follow after Gunnar smashes and rips up the big stuff.
At last, tired and sweaty and covered in dirt and tiny green leaves, they break through to the far side, where the small stone and timber house stands. Gunnar slumps down right against the wall of the house. The enormous toddler yawns, rubbing his belly and blinking. “Sleepy. Hungry.”

"Okay, let’s take a break big fella," Devlin says and sits next to the man, pulling out his trail rations and handing them over.

Gunnar gobbles the food, shoving it into his mouth like a small boy without table manners.
Over the mashing of hard bread and cheese in Gunnar's big mouth, Devlin hears something else, something close. Hammering. The noise comes through a narrow window not far from him, set about three and a half feet up the house wall.

[ewancummins]

THE KITCHEN
Something scratches on the door.
A harsh voice shouts through the panel,
"Slave! We hunger. When will our food be ready?"

Ugo rushes to the Masters with the warm bread, telling them the soup will be ready sooner than later and in the mean-time, they could try the nice bread.

The door opens and an arm thrusts through, grabbing the bread.
''Meat! We want meat!"
A well-dressed lady and lord shoulder in, shrieking at Ugo until he brings them the last of the sausages.
The masked pair step out and slam the door, leaving Ugo alone with Filbert.

Ugo's plan:
If the Masters are pre-occupied, he will speak with Filbert (whisper only, he's afraid), and will pass him some of his tools. If Filbert is discovered with the tools, Ugo would claim Filbert probably had them hidden in his boots or something.
Ugo would tell Filbert that if he gets out, Ugo will pretend to have been knocked out by him, so if Filbert is caught, Ugo could claim innocence.

The two Halflings have enough time to enact the first part of the plan, getting the tools into Filbert's possessions and whispering back and forth to one another while the Masters are busy elsewhere.

[ewancummins]

ESCAPE FROM THE SMOKE-FILLED TUNNEL


Renn and the others flee the knockers' tunnel lair.


Outside, in the clear air, the men may catch their breath.

Sevet , Gatt, Ned , and Hobb stand guard, scanning the nearby brush and rocks for any sign of the mine devils while also trying to keep the horses and the mules from panicking.

A tense few seconds pass, but no attack comes.

Ned says,

"Buggers must've fled."

Sevett cries out in alarm, pointing at the tunnel mouth.
A thin, short figure staggers into view, head and shoulders shrouded by some sort of cloth.

The tunnel groans and caves in, spewing smoke and dirt into the air.

When the smoke clears, the scrawny figure lies prone on the earth near the collapsed tunnel.
A girl, dirty, bruised, smeared in soot and mud---

VIEW CONTENT:

--with pointed ears.

END OF CHAPTER ONE