Kartakass: The Nova Vaasa Chapter

[steveflam]

Josephina shies away from all the attention. What a mess..... I do sincerely hope they can help me... that elf frightens me. I hope he doesn't go back on his word.......

Looking uncetainly at Valerian she answers him . "Well.... It is not the moon as you might think. Only the howl of Mother Fury triggers our change." She looks shamefully on the ground. Rubbng her toe in the dirt she speaks. "I am sorry I attacked you all. I have no control over this thing inside of me.. I only hope that in time you will learn to trust me and perhaps together we can find a cure."

[ewancummins]

Cornelius speaks:

''Well, I certainly think she ought to come with us. I'd like to help her find a cure for her curse.

Now, as for these raven-men, or whatver they are- I'd like to see for myself. I can spy on them from a distance using a spell. Or perhaps we can just go and speak with them? I'm not afraid.''

[lostboy]

As he waks towards the tent, Draven catches the last snatches of the Josefinas words behind him.

He pauses, and quickly moves inside the tent so the others cannot see. He slumps to the floor on his bedroll disturbed by the words he has just heard. "If what she says is true then maybe there is hope... but what if she is lying to save her skin, I would in her position".

His head spinning he knows sleep will not come easy tonight..

[VAN]

"Despite I don't have the spell you are talking about Cornelius, I know it. You can cast it only at places though, I mean if you know where are the ravens you can see or listen to them. The spell might be handy if we or the familiars spot them again."

[BigBadQDaddy]

William stands idly by in what can only be described as a stunned silence. What has transpired before him, despite not being able to understand what was said, was made abundantly clear by the actions taken by the Ezrite.

I cannot believe the fool would risk our lives with this beast! and what is he doing? offering a prayer to his ridiculous Goddess!? We shall all be dead soon if our decisions are left up to this idealistic twit! his face darkening in anger as these thoughts storm through his mind.

"If the rest of you are content to keep this...this...land...sea-wolf around as yer pet, fine!" He says in Mordentish. "I will be keepin awake during the twilight to keep a better eye on 'er..." He then unfolds his arms, casually gesturing towards the werewolf with his pistol, "...and one load in the barrel shall she look a bit hairy by the moonlight!" He finishes with a growl before turning towards the coach and re-holstering his pistol in his belt.
"I s'pose I'll be needin' some shut eye for this evenin' Keep yer beast outta any trouble lest yeh ruin my beauty sleep!"

[steveflam]

Mid-Morning on July 2nd,760: City of Kantora, Nova Vaasa

Peering out of the coachman, you get your first glimpse of Kantora. You see people on the streets. They give you the impression they feel safe. This of course is due to the fact that the streets are heavily patrolled. Groups of “policemen” walk around with an astounding frequency. People look up at the coachman, some with looks of curiosity, others with looks of disdain or indifference. You are probably not the first coachman to arrive in Kantora. The buildings are magnificent and you can’t help but notice how clean Kantora is. One thing you do notice is how people look at Tarlyn. It is apparent that non-humans are not a common sight in Kantora. This is obviously the Noble’s district of the city.

You pass through the Noble district into the Merchant’s quarters. Here is an open-air market where you see horse ranchers and trainers displaying their wares. Here you can plainly understand why Nova Vaasa horses are indeed the best. Here and here alone, the Vistani are Kings and Queens, proudly displaying their steeds to a throng of clamoring merchants and traders. You pass an Inn which seems a good idea, but Tarlyn seems to have other ideas about your destination in Kantora. A gogod soft bed as well as a hot home cooked meal really appeals to you all right about now. These last few weeks have been long and hard. As you begin to wonder about where you will be staying, the coachman stops. You look at the establishment and it appears to be well kept. The sign has the picture of a maiden wearing a scarf and is aptly named The Maiden’s Scarf. Tarlyn has dismounted and handed the reins of his horse to a stable boy. He hands him a few coins and walks over to the coachman.

Opening the door, he peers inside. “Hey guys, we have arrived! Let’s go get rooms and settled in. Won’t it feel good to sleep in an actual bed and actually eat a home cooked meal? Come on then!” With that he turns and heads inside the Inn.

[VAN]

Van flexes his muscles as he gets out.

"A good meal and a comfortable bed is what we really need."

However, as he looks around, the wizard becomes a little nervous and concerned. Certain scenes of the time he has passed in Nova Vasa came to his mind.

"Guys, we should be very careful. People here don't like wizards and the only deity they permit to worship is Bane. So Cornelius, Lucius and Valerian, I know that will be hard for you, but keep your holly symbols out of sight or we might have troubles here. Also the clerics here believe that only the rich should be happy, the others should be miserable. Actually they don't believe it only, they try to do it."

His face is very serious as talking.

"I'm not kidding. I have lived for 2 months in this land, not in Kantora though, with another party and we had really hard time with some clerics. For this reason I tell you that, in order to not provoke troubles. We should be very careful."

[ewancummins]

Cornelius nodded as Van warned the others. '

''Van's right. I strongly suggest we avoid using magic openly or discussing religion in front of the locals. Best to stay out of the local politics, as well. ''

[lostboy]

Draven too is keen to be free from the coach, he hasnt spent this much time so closely with others before, and the arrival in a city is a welcome respite. He has found it difficult to spend time inside the coach with the others these past few days, mostly due to Josefinas presence. He has been avoiding her by sitting up with the coachman, although he has been doing his best to conceal the reason from the others.

Peeling himself stiffly from the seat he jumps down and stretches in the cool morning air. Lookinjg around he thinks this place really looks as though it has money, maybe theres an opportunity or two to be had before we move on.

Turning to the others he says "I could certainyl do with some good food, I cant take another day of trail rations, lets get settled and see what Kantora has to offer" Listenign to Van and Cornelius, he nods in agreement "keeping a low profile is the best option all round."

With that he shoulders his pack and follows Tarlyn into the Inn.

[Ail]

Lucius marvelled at what he saw of Nova Vaasa. He had never been to these parts of the world, and indeed he couldn't grasp anything of the conversations he heard.
During the last days, he had been most worried with the confrontation with the werewolves. He welcomed Valerian's views regarding Josefina, and he couldn't quite forget the glimpse he had had of her naked flesh after her transformation. He tried to shield himself from such thoughts, he felt guilty. But since the tragic events that made him take the divine path, he had cloistered himself from the world and from the other sex. Josefina was a cruel reminder that he was still young and fresh blood still pulsed within.

Not that Ezra forbade her priests from having families, but he had almost involuntarily taken to a celibatary life, and having a woman now in the party distressed him somewhat. He thought cynically that could be the reason he was happy that she had remained with them, but deep down he did believe in the truth of Valerian's words, he did believe that compassion was the true message of Ezra's words. Even if they didn't quite worry with that in Port-a-Lucine, there were other flavours of Ezra's faith that surely defended it, and it had been by pure chance he had been admitted to it in Dementlieu, not Mordent for instance. Still, he had kept his distance from her, speaking even less than usual and hearing all that he could.

His thoughts came back to her words. It was good that none of them had really been bitten, but they had promised Josefina a cure. And, to tell the truth, no one of them really had an idea how hard that could be. Lucius had read tales, but until now they were nothing more than myth to him. He had never performed one, of that he was sure, and the high-priests of Ste Mère des Larmes were quite reluctant to speak about theirs. Either they were not very experienced in them, or not very proficient at the whole process.

Still, they had learnt more important things. So, Mother Fury was based in Kartakass, and her tendrils reached far indeed to strike at them in Nova Vaasa. They knew now that Percival was alive, but one of their enemy. However, this put the mission clear, at least: they had to defeat the clan, whatever that may be, and however powerful that might be. Meanwhile, they would surely find whatever had befallen Dominic.

* * * * * * * * *

Van's words about magic in Nova Vaasa left him a bit worried. He would have to pretend to be just a teacher, then, as both of his more unwordly talents would be... unsuitable, at the least. Sighing as he sat at a table in the inn, he wished he were already in Barovia. Strange wish for anyone the least familiar with the Core, but with his knowledge of the language and of history, he was confident that he would at least fare better there than in this eastern exotic land.

[NeoTiamat]

Valerian stepped from the coach, turning to help Josephine down. They made an odd pair, the tall, scarred preacher and the quiet, almost demure young woman. Valerian had spent the last few days reading from the Books of Ezra, the Mordentish iteration, about redemption and the possibility for an absolution of sins, and occasionally reading passages aloud at odd times in the coach. While Josephine had listened attentively, it did sometimes seem that the Warden was preaching to a larger audience then just her.

For her part, Josephine had been quiet, speaking only to Valerian and Cornelius, with odd glances towards the others, particularly Tarlyn. Mostly she seemed to sleep a lot, and eat an utterly immense amount of food. Even with Tarlyn hunting a few stray deer the group's food supply was badly diminished. She seemed to speak only Vaasi, but she tended to stare at people...

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Valerian listened to the argument put forth, and with a grimace nodded.

"Aye, the Priests of Chains are not overfond of magecraft, nor of Ezra. Very well, for the good of the Her Cause, I'll keep meself quiet before the Iron Ones."

With that, the Warden entered the inn. Josephine stared out at the city, eyes a bit wide, but given the choice between stopping her explorations and being left alone outside, hurried after the Warden.

As Valerian opened the door to the inn, a thought crossed his mind. He smiled. 'Course, I dinnae say nothing about keeping quiet to the rest of us.

[VAN]

Van studies how Josephine enters the inn immediately after the Warden. His affection to heright be good and bad at the same time. If Josephine wants indeed only to fid a cure and then to change life, Valerian will be very pleased. But if Josephine has seconds thoughts or if she is evil and has in mind only how to get information about them and then flee and betray them, Grane will be very upset, because he has trusted her.

Despite the wizard doesn't trust the werewolf, he hopes everything goes well. He doesn't want to wake up day surrounded from werewolves or biten from a werewolf or realize that Josephine has mystriously disappeared.

Shaking his head slightly to get rid of these thoughts, he follows them inside. Once in the inn, Van looks around in order to discern if there is any cleric inside.

[BigBadQDaddy]

"Well lads...I believe this calls for a drink. The first leg of our travel is done and over with. But first I am going to get a room, and then any who wish to join me, you know where to find me." William then gestures his gaze towards the nearest tavern, or if there is one included in the inn he gestures towards that area.

With that, William gives a yawn and stretches before moseying over to the inn keeper to get a room.

[steveflam]

As you approach the Inn you notice it, as well as the other buildings in the Merhcant's Quarter are all constructed of a reddish beige brick. Cornelius notices they are constructed top granite foundations. Windows are small, almost resembling arrow slits. The roofs are shigled with brown or yellow. You see no sign of any wooden doors in the immediate area. There seemed to be more in the Noble district, which kind of makes sense if you stop to think about it. You need gold to have a wooden door.

You enter the Inn into a short corridor. To the East Side is an alcove. Peering in as you walk by you can see coats, probably belonging to men if you judge by their sizes. On the West side is another alcove and as you peer inside it becomes obvious that it is in fact the women's coat room. Fancy scarves and hats accompany the coats. To the front of you is a door, and you can hear through the door Alex talking to someone. As you pass through the door, you do indeed see Alex talking ot aman behind a counter, while Tarlyn leans nonchalantly on the counter, remaining quiet. Even though he is quiet you can see him taking in every detail of the establishment.

You walk up to them inot Alex's conversation. The man looks at you all, stopping at Cornelius and sniffing. He returns his look to Alex. "So are these the others you spoke of?"

"Yes they are, sir."

"It shall be more for those 2" , he says as he nods at Cornelius and Tarlyn.
"For the rest of you it is the standard 5 sp per evening. Them it is 10. We do not usually have people such as them here at the Maiden's Scarf."

He stops talking and holds his hand out, waiting.


Tarlyn narrows his eyes at the man. He was furious at the man's attitude but kept his wits. Reaching into his pouch he removed a handful of coins and placed them in front of the man.

"That should cover for me as well as the young lady with us, friend," he says icily, and stands back, after receiving his key. Letting the others go forward to pay, he looks around. He spoted what was surely the way to door to the dining room. Looking over to the man, he spoke. "I presume that is the dining room over there? Now just so my friend Dwarf and I know, is the food more expensive for us as well?"

The man blushed furiosly and fidgetted with Valerian's key, handing it to him awkwardly. Looking at Tarlyn he mumbled "N-no S-sir, j-just the ro-om-ms are." He looked away from Tarlyn and busied himself with the party. Tarlyn winked at Sefi and bowing gentlemanly to her, he said "After you, milady."

[BigBadQDaddy]

William grunts "Thats no lady..." under his breath to no one in particular as he tosses the inn-keeper his 5 sp. "Tell me master of the house, is yer ale as watered down as yer personality?" he says to the inn keeper before bursting out with a belly full of hearty laughter.