Birthright: The Worm's Supper, Chapter Three

[ewancummins]

Domenica will wait for the men to depart to walk back slowly towards where Vollmar was, hoping they got him away.

They do not leave her. Rather, they insist that she guide them to where she encountered the hoods.

[steveflam]

She walks with purpose for three minutes, the first alley she finds is where she stops.

"I-t it was h-here."

[ewancummins]

She walks with purpose for three minutes, the first alley she finds is where she stops.

"I-t it was h-here."

The Watchmen begin an exhaustive search of the whole block, starting with the alley but not stopping until they have looked in every place the men might be hiding. They even pound on doors, waking people up at several houses and a few shops.

DOMENICA overhears some of the watchmen say things about" arsonists" and "assassins."

...

[ewancummins]

FINN, VOLMAR, GIMP


The three slip away while their boss distracts the watch.

Gimp douses his lamp.

Volmar, using his dwarf sight, leads the little party towards the Merry Traveller...

A couple of blocks later, Finn hazards a whisper." Whoosh, we got away! Sorry I left you, dwarf, but I figured the Boss needed to know what had happened."
Volmar scowls and says something unpleasant in Dwarf-tongue.

Before Finn can reply, a light flashes in front of them all. The lantern seems at first sight to hang in mid-air, but then the shadowy shape of an arm, a cowled head , the suggestion of a torso appears behind the light.
A raspy, buzzing voice cries out,

"DOOM!"

Finn hoofs it the other way. Gimp throws his cold lantern right through the shadowy form behind the light, and then rushes after Finn.
Volmar turns on his heel and staggers after the two men.

The bizarre creature of light and shadow chases the three, circling, leaping, appearing and disappearing.
It hisses out"DOOM!" in that horrible beehive voice.

Volmar falls behind the longer legged humans. The Lantern Man cuts him off in the street, spins round him, whispering " doom, doom, doom."

The dwarf turns towards a house, runs towards the door, but his enemy leaps over him and lands in front of the panel.
Volmar backs away from the oncoming thing, swinging his mace.
Fast as a fly, the Lantern Man sidesteps the blow.

"Dooooooom!"

[ewancummins]

VOLMAR AND THE LANTERN MAN

The phantom harasses Volmar, chasing him down hill towards the city walls in the east.

Volmar tries ducking, running down alleys, hiding under a wagon, but the LANTERN MAN always seems one step ahead, appearing out of the darkness and chasing the dwarf further east.

Backed into a blind alley, the dwarf swings his mace and connects! The Lantern Man disappears.

"Abbathor's! Hoard!" Volmar curses and wheezes.

And then the light appears directly above him, just beyond the height he can jumpa nd swing his mace. The Lantern Man looks down and whispers, "doom."

Volmar runs in terror now, pursued down the streets by the ghostly lantern carrier.

He jerks to a halt near the city walls, at the edge of a pit. It looks like an old cellar converted to waste disposal: frozen filth fills it to six inches short of the stone rim. A big piece of plank about the size of the pit mouth lies on the pavement nearby.

The Lantern Man appears at his right shoudler.
"DOOM!"

Volmar spins, swings his mace, and misses.

The Lantern Man blinks out and the reappears right in front of the dwarf.
"DOOOOOM!"

Volmar steps back without thinking and falls right into the filth pit!
In an instant, the cold waste flows over him...

[ewancummins]

The dwarf wades through the muck and bangs his mace against the sluice gate of the converted cellar, which empties into a pipe that goes under the city wall.
But it just won't budge.

He tries clambering out the slow end, but the Lantern Man flashes across the edge , shooting embers and hissing.

Volmar flops back, loses his footing on the uneven pavement at the bottom of the filth pool, and goes all the way under.
Foul waste pushes in at his nostrils, eyelids, lips.
He struggles in the weight of his armor, dropping his mace and failing his arms.
Churning the slime, the dwarf propels himself up and onto the edge of the pit. He hauls himself out and rolls onto his belly, spitting filth from his mouth.

Embers light the cobbles near his face.

He looks up and sees the ghostly lantern and the partial silhouette of its bearer.
"Doom."

And then other voices, not buzzing but shouting.
"Haelyn! Glory! Aid us!"
Footsteps pound the street.
Volmar rolls up to his rear end and gets up on his feet. His mace gone, he jerks his shield from his back and staggers sideways, keeping the shield lifted to ward off the Lantern Man.

The Lantern Man advances on Volmar, floating across the pavement. But it halts when a group on men led by a red robed figure rush out of a side street swinging torches at it.

The red robed figure chants and lifts his hands to the night sky.
A shimmering circle of silver radiates out from him and then vanishes.

The Lantern Man hisses and then turns away from both the newcomers and Vollmar, retreating into the muck pit and winking out like a torch thrown in water.

The strangers surround the filthy, exhausted dwarf...

[ewancummins]

IN THE ABANDONED HOUSE


Domenica's workers, who had been left in the street to fend for themselves, settle into the empty old house they have discovered.
One man, a former charcoal burner, manages to get a fire going in the hearth. The others bust up boards and place the fragments into the fireplace.
The men huddle in close, coats opened towards the flames to let in warm air.

[Adam]

CRANSTEL

The apothecary looks back and forth between the alchemical components on his desk and the woman's gradually worsening condition.

"I can continue to identify the poison deductively," he confides to the healer in a hushed voice, "But I cannot guarantee I will find the solution in time to help her. How long do you think she has?"

[Adam]

SEARCHERS

Cormac tucks into the meal heartily, and tells the story of the Huntsman's abduction.

[ewancummins]

THE PILGRIMS' HOSTEL

CRANSTEL

The apothecary looks back and forth between the alchemical components on his desk and the woman's gradually worsening condition.

"I can continue to identify the poison deductively," he confides to the healer in a hushed voice, "But I cannot guarantee I will find the solution in time to help her. How long do you think she has?"

Priestess Idele answers,
"I don't know for sure, but in another hour or so the toxin should really begin to work again. I don't know that it will prove deadly...but it will harm her. It may be that another priest will arrive soon, prepared to purge the poison entirely-- but I'm not sure about that."

[ewancummins]

SEARCHERS

Cormac tucks into the meal heartily, and tells the story of the Huntsman's abduction.

LUNCHEON WITH THE BROWN KNIGHT AND HIS LIEUTENANTS



Sir Egremore sits on a heap of furs draped over a fallen log, at one end of the tent.
The Brown Knight has removed his armor, but wears a dun colored arming doublet. His axe leans almost upright against the right end of the log-seat.

The Brown Knight's lieutenants take seats round the log- table and listen to Cormac's tale.

(A long log runs down the middle of the tent, planed across the top. This serves the company as a table; venison, trout, and other wild foods , all cooked and dressed in rustic fashion.)

[ewancummins]

CAER HAES


Devlin's servants bring more wine, as well as platters of food, for the Duke and Filbert.

[VAN]

Filbert and Devlin

"Yes I might an escort Your Grace but I would like to go with Sir Gunnar and his men when they will attack the Three Penny and maybe Lady Safana can assist as well. We don't know how many hooded thugs will be there. They might be just Terem's gang but maybe have called more. My skills maybe proven useful to open doors and let them in. Unless of course you have another assignment for me."

[ewancummins]

CAER HAES

"Very well."

Devlin's instructs one of his men to see about a warrant for Sir Gunnar.

"Safana was taken the Pilgrims' Hostel. Look for her there. If Sir Gunnar isn't still here then I imagine he has gone to gather his men in Riverside. You should make haste to gather Safana and then meet Gunnar. But finish this round of wine with me, at least."

[Lord Skybolt]

Gunnar gets the writ from the Duke and gathers all his men . He sends for Safana and the "Bard" Termlan considering if he should be along on this raid since he painted A Big RED target on Safana's back for the hooded thugs to attack her . He hopes that Safana is well enough to help us in the fight against her assailants . When he had heard about the attack on her yesterday he send his Healer and Gaelin to help her recover quicker if possible yesterday . If Filbert wants to come along that is fine by him and will send one of his men to see if he wants to come along as well .