A fortnight has passed since we last saw our heroes. Richer now in both silver and reputation, these young men have a last began to make their place in the world.
After a hearty breakfast Lammert and the newly knighted Severin make their way from Remy's to The Castle to inspect and collect their newly upgraded weapons and armor from Henri the Blacksmith. Although the castle guards may not be want to admit Severin and Lammert after their latest stunt , they can hardly refuse the admission to a Templar-Errant and his attendant so the two pass through the gates without comment or incident.
Upon seeing Severin, Henri embraces to young man in a welcoming bear-hug, giving Lammert a polite nod in his turn. Welcoming the two within his workshop, Henri proudly and almost boisterously shows off the improvements to their weapons and armor.
These improvements are indeed impressive; Lammert notes that his armor is more stout and rugged than before, and his sword is so well-balanced that it seems to be extension of his hand. Severin in turn is impressed with the lightness and the newly keen edge of his scholar sword, as well as his fitted armor which hugs his body like a sword into it's sheath (which causes him to make a mental reminder to lay off Remy's delicious meat pies, lest he becomes too stout to wear it).
Henri also notes that although the light - and womanly- blade that Severin seeks is not a blade that he would craft, but that he should seek the merchant woman named Maqueda in the Village of Lemer, who has access to trade items found in the Middle Sea.
Having collected their newly improved gear and a key piece of information the two say their goodbyes to Henri, who parts from his wares like a proud father sending his eldest son into the world.
Before they are able to leave, however, they are interrupted by the arrival of a young Doivian priest. Running after Severin, he kneels before him with great ceremony, saying:
"Master!"
He explains that his name is Eneas, and that High Priest Aeron has tasked him with being the squire and attendant to Templar-Errant Severin as he metes out justice and truth throughout the land. Although he admits to being inexperienced in the ways of war, he is skilled in the healing arts and hopes to thus be of use to his new lord in this regard.
Somewhat surprised by this revelation, Lammert and Severin inspect their new charge with a degree of skepticism and amusement. He is young- just 17 years of age- and almost comically fair with his flowing mane of long and perfectly coiffed black hair, long lashes and bee-stung lips. His skin is the perfect alabaster of a boy who has never missed a meal, nor had to endure a single day over-long in the sun.
At that moment both silently vow to show this lad the ways of the wider world in all its treacherous glory. Severin accepts responsibility for the boy immediately, and with the noonday sun above them the two become three companions set out towards the village of Montaigne.
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As Lemmert and Severin ride back to town in their horse-drawn cart, Eneas rides alongside on his stallionVirgil. The horse is as well brushed and groomed as Eneas himself, and sports a beautiful flowing mane to rival his own, sparkling like a crystal stream in the midday sun.
Lammert decides to have some fun at the noble and inexperienced boy's expense. Coming alongside him and his trotting horse he asks:
"So...Eneas? Have you ever been with a woman before?"
Eneas, taken aback by this bold question blushes very red and replies: "Uh...no. No- never!"
Lammert and Severin smile knowingly at his embarrassed reply. Lammert grins ear to ear and announces with certainty:
"Well then we need to fix that as soon as possible! As soon as we get back to town we will find you a good, willing woman and make a man out of you. How does that sound?"
Somehow the young priest blushes an even deeper red at this suggestion, and bashfully replies: "Thank you- but there is no need for that." He then looks back at Severin for support, but finds only bemused indifference on the face of his new master.
Lammert laughs and replies:
"Now, now. No need to be embarrassed. We are here to help! We will find you a nice buxom barmaid to take care of you, don't you worry." Eneas only responds by turning his eyes forward, trying to avoid the unsavory topic with his silence.
They then proceed to question their new charge about his life before he came into his current service. He reveals that he is from the capital city of Treves, and as the second born of his family he dutifully began his studies for the priesthood at a young age. Three years past he was recruited for service in the south by Episkop Aeron during one of his frequent trips to the capital.
He notes that he was selected for his devotion to his studies and his notable singing voice, but Severin and Lammert suspect that the boy's looks could have a lot to do with his selection as well, considering the appearance of Aeron's other attendants.
After hearing the lad's tale, and considering his obviously high birth, both whisper to each other - "I wonder what he did wrong?", as clearly some great transgression must have occurred for the powers-that-be to throw his fate in with two ne'er-do-well's like themselves.
"Well- at least we can get him laid", thinks Lammert, now looking forward to what previously appeared to be but yet another evening of manhandling intoxicated woodsmen.
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Returning to town, Lammert and Severin return the horse and cart to their owner as Eneas stables his horse, paying an amount of silver for it's care that makes the stable-master's eyes grow wide.
Our trio enters the Inn of the Flatfooted Ogre to find a bored-looking Remy tending bar as a smattering of woodsmen drink assembled at several tables. Gaston nods at Lammert and Severin as they enter. Lebeau makes no acknowledgement at all of their entrance, however, as he is already lying passed out at his table. The night has begun and ended early for him, it seems.
Wasting no time, Lammert pulls aside the over-buxom barmaid Lulu (who he knows from experience is always up for some fun) and asks her if she could keep young Eneas company for the evening. Seeing the handsome young lad, she readily agrees.
He then prompts Eneas to buy the pretty young lady a drink. Eneas looks to his master Severin for guidance, but Severin simply waves dismissively towards the bar. Choking back his reservations, he pulls out his silver and buys a drink for himself and his appointed lady as instructed. Remy gives a look of suspicion to Lammert as he pours, but a proper businessman never refuses an honest patron, so he keeps any concerns he might have to himself.
Lammert smiles openly as Lulu smothers the blushing young priest in her ample charms, as she encourages him to finish his drink as she quickly downs her own, prompting him to pull out more silver and order another round.
Just as Lammert is enjoying this entertainment, his reverie is interrupted as a new figure bursts into the tavern:
'Burst' being the operative word; the doors burst open as a girl enters in. Her skin is nut-brown like her eyes, her hair worn in a short bob, slick and jet-black. She dressed in a red silken robe that hangs mid-calf, with a citron under-robe beneath. On her side sits a short sword, and into her sash a pistol is tucked within easy reach with the handle ready to be drawn. Lammert and Severin note first her fierce and intense demeanor as she enters, then her odd and exotic beauty.
The bar settles into a stunned silence with her entrance, as with a certain weary swagger she saddles up to to the bar, looks Remy in the eye and demands:
"Sake!"
Rarely taken aback, Remy looks at her in stunned silence followed immediately by a look of consternation (which is more his usual). She continues to stare and plops a silver piece on the counter, again placing her order:
"Sake. Kudasai."
As Remy stares her down in offended silence, the girl sighs and fishes about in her robe; for a moment Lammert anticipates she might flash him a breast to plead her cause. Instead she presents a odd-looking medallion which causes Remy's eyes to grow wide for a moment. Then he shrugs his shoulders in resignation, presents a fresh glass and pours the girl a brandy.
She picks up the glass of Remy's best fire-water, drinks the entire contents instantly like it was water, then smacks back down the glass on the bar, saying:
"Umai."
Then she motions for him to refill, saying, "Hai, kudasai."
Still looking at her somewhat suspiciously, Remy pours the exotic lady another drink. Soon the hushed silence that had passed ever the Inn passes, and whispered conversation begins anew at the tables filled with besotted woodsmen. This strange creature is clearly just here to drink, a motivation well-understood and agreed upon in this place.
So while Lulu continues to order drink after drink for herself and the hapless Eneas, the ever-plotting Lammert takes Severin aside, saying to him:
"Hey, this new girl is pretty fetching. You should go talk to her." Severin shrugs indifferently at this thought.
Meanwhile, the mysterious girl at the bar turns about and closely scans the crowd as if looking to find a familiar face there. Soon her almond eyes find Severin's own, and she waves her hand at him downward in an odd-looking but clear 'come hither' motion. Grinning from ear-to-ear. Lammert pushes his friend forward to what he assumes will prove to be a notably rare romantic encounter for his erstwhile companion.
Reluctantly, Severin walks over to the girl to introduce himself in the common tongue. After a few words are exchanged, he realizes that she doesn't speak the language but she is able to communicate in a heavily accented Midron (a tongue that Severin picked up as a runner for Augar Ironhand in his ill-spent youth).
She introduces herself as 'Kamiko of the Crimson Order', and notes that she is not from their land (a point that seems obvious...), but has arrived in Lataine from the Middle Sea. Immediately she begins to question Severin about recent events and the lay of the land: have there been any odd visitors in recent months? Has he seen any girls that look like her? Perhaps unusual trade goods have appeared? What does he know about the black market?
More than slightly suspicious of the motives behind these questions, Severin nevertheless answers as best he can: no, no notable visitors. He can can honestly say that he has never laid eyes on a girl that looks like her before..ever. If there is a black market he no longer trades in it, so he notes that he can be of little help there.
Quickly losing interest in this line of questioning, Kamiko clucks her tongue loudly and orders another round of drinks- but is kindly enough to order for Severin as well and seems to welcome his company regardless of the fact that he has clearly been of little aid.
This scene finds Lammert especially pleased with himself. Not only has he passed the virtuous young priest into the ample bosom and easy virtue of Lulu's clutches, it now looks like his Brother in Arms Severin might be setting himself up for a future tryst as well. Inspired now, Lammert continues his 'duties' by idly flirting with the hard-working Giselle, who dances between tables of drunken woodcutters with agile charm and grace, rewarding Lammert with a bump of her thin but womanly hips, and quick peck on cheek. Lammert concludes that this night is clearly full of untold promise.
Hours pass, the crowd thinning out and thickening by turns as drinkers come and go with the rising of the moon. As usual, Lebeau drinks himself into useless stupor and is finally led/carried out by a chagrined Gaston and a ruddy-cheeked Pierre. Rongeur the Woodchipper simply sits at his table with his (now reduced) band of ruffians, scowling at Lammert the whole time. Lammert simply smiles and blows him a mock kiss.
All the while Severin has sat with lady Kamiko as she grills him about the area, while telling little if anything about herself. As they talk, she continues to order drink, after drink, after drink; at last the brandy getting to her system as her already heavily-accented speech blurs and her eyes develop the odd stare of the drunkard. After a few drinks she becomes overly familiar with Severin, touching his chest and arm whenever she wants to make a point or he says something that she thinks is interesting or funny; but several drinks after that she seems to be hanging on to him simply to steady herself, looking like she might topple over like a tipped kettle at any moment.
Suddenly, and without any ceremony at all she unsteadily rises from the bar, almost absently dropping a handful of coins on the counter for Remy without bothering to count them out. She then staggers in a semi-straight fashion directly for the door. Severin looks after her worriedly as she leaves; and making eye contact with Lammert they both silently decide to follow her out to see where she might go.
They need not follow her far. Exiting the inn, she staggers into the dirt-paved street and makes a beeline to the stables adjacent it, where she finds a soft patch of straw and then passes out into it, falling almost immediately into a besotted slumber.
Although barely ladylike, both our heroes believe that a bed of straw is no bed for a lady and decide to rescue Kamiko from her self-inflicted squalor. As they fight to rouse her she instinctively goes for her blade, but talking to her as one might to calm a horse they half-carry her out of the barn and back into the Inn, quickly making arrangement's with Remy to set her up in her own private room.
Once she is placed - still fully dressed and armed - into her bed, Lammert attempts to convince Severin to take advantage of her in her vulnerable state, but the ever-virtuous Severin refuses this opportunity out of hand. Having done their good deed, our two companions make their way back downstairs to the bar.
There they find young Eneas passed out in his bar stool, Lulu still by his side giggling and in turns looking worried as she tries to wake her new-found and reluctant paramour. Knowing full well that this sorry scene is the result of his machinations, Remy casts a dour look at Lammert as soon as he comes into view. For his part, Lammert grins as he half-picks up the drunken lad, saying:
"Now there, Eneas: it seems that you can't hold your liquor! Very disappointing- very disappointing."
"Muh?", replies Eneas.
"You're drunk, Eneas! You can't hold your liquor, son. Very disappointing."
"Buh", says Eneas.
Lammert taking him on his left and Severin on the right, the two drag poor Eneas upstairs. Then, Lammert has an idea:
"Say, let's introduce you to Hakalo! He's an elf", claims Lammert.
"Eff?", asks the groggy Eneas.
"That's right Eneas", says Lammert enthusiastically. "An elf!"
So they take him up to their room, where Hakolo is awaiting patiently whilst sharpening one of his keen dual blades. Severin makes the introductions, and Hakolo seems as fascinated with his visitor as Eneas seems horrified by him. When Eneas is made to kneel down to make his greetings, Hakolo grabs his fine head of hair in both hands and smells it, saying:
"Hmm! Nice hair it has, we think. Can we eat it?"
"No, no eating Hakolo!", emphasize both Lammert and Severin, nigh simultaneously.
Just then, the lad vomits profusely, making a smelly mess on his tunic and the wooden floor below.
"Eneas!" scolds Severin, genuinely annoyed at this display.
"Sorry, Master...", says Eneas, half-aware of what is going on now.
After cleaning him up as best they can, the two companions leave Eneas in a squalid heap upon Severin's bed to rest and sober up. Deciding that the evenings festivities are clearly over and done with, Lammert and Serverin help Remy close up the bar for the night before taking to rest themselves; Lammert in his own bed, and Severin in a sleeping roll upon the floor. The remainder of the evening passes into day without further incident.
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As usual, Severin is the first to awake the next day, and therefore takes it upon himself to go downstairs and grab breakfast for his rapidly expanding brood.
Coming downstairs now, he is surprised to see a bleary-eyed Kamiko already there, eating bacon and biscuits voraciously whilst downing cups of Arridean café leavened with milk, stalks of straw still stuck to her kimono and hair in places from the night before.
As usual, Remy has anticipated their needs and has already prepared breakfast for four, which is stacked on plates and handed to Severin to bring up to the rest.
Severin is surprised to see a scowl on Remy's face usually reserved for Lammert, as he says:
"I see that you two had a bit a fun last night."
Severin simply shrugs and smiles at this, then brings up the first meal for his motley crew to share. Hakolo rises and digs in first, followed by Lammert and finally by a rather wan-looking Eneas. Eneas still seems rather surprised to be sharing his room with the 'elf' Hakolo, but out of respect for his Master and his ways doesn't question the presence of the strange creature.
Today then is the day to visit the Village of Lemert for some shopping, and the decision is made to take along Eneas but leave Hakolo behind, as he would by necessity make the entire journey safely hidden within a sack. They also determine to visit the Holy Spring of Diove on the way, so that Eneas and Severin might obtain the blessings of the goddess, and perhaps some of the refreshing waters found there.
Once downstairs, a seemingly more-lively Kamiko again summons over Severin to ask what tasks he might be attempting this day. Upon learning of their plans she immediately invites herself along for trip, offering to give them a ride to the village on her unspecified transport.
Cleaning herself off a bit (although all note that some remnants of straw are to be found here and there), she leads the three outside into the street, then down past the stables, heading straight into the nearby woods. Lammert notes to Severin that it feels like this might be a trap, but Severin shushes his friend and encourages him to follow to see where she might lead. He does, however, make sure to keep his bow at the ready, just in case....
Soon the four travelers come to a clearing where the wood parts for a large grassy field. Groggily, Kamiko reaches into her kimono, past the sword and pistol tucked into her broad sash, and after some digging locates and presents a pretty bronze bell. Lifting it high into the air, she strikes it twice, causing a loud ringing to resound into the still and calm air of the early morning.
At first, the ringing merely fades into silence, leaving only stillness behind it. Suddenly a change comes over the area; in the distance to the west our trio notes a great flurry over birds scattering- scattering in great numbers, as if scared away by some great catastrophe. Then, the birds all around are agitated as well by some unknown force, fleeing to the four winds from the trees that were but moments ago their perches and nests.
Eagle-eyed as ever, Severin sees it first; what appears to be a great white bird - or is a bat? -approaching from the western-wood. But as it approaches, it looms larger, and larger, and larger still- until when but 100 yards distant it is revealed to be a huge, winged draconic creature, with scaled flesh as white as snow, and as large as a house!
Instinctively Severin draws his bow and arrow, Lammert his sword and Eneas his blessed hammer as the creature enters the field to alight, it's massive wings blowing back the long grasses like wind moving the waves and kicking up fine grains of dirt and dust. The three travelers look in awe and trepidation as Kamiko calmly walks forward to greet the creature, a hand raised in gentle greeting. The fearsome beast then nuzzles against her soft hand with it's huge crested head, looking to all the world like a winged lizard but behaving in her presence like an overly large dog.
Upon closer inspection the initial impression of the creature as large bird of a bat is somewhat justified by it's build; rather than having four walking limbs and wings like dragon or drake, this beast only features two powerful looking legs, it's forelimbs being it's large and might leathery wings. After calming the beast with her touch, Kamiko explains that this creature is her wyvern, and that by riding upon its back they can cut the day and a half's journey to Lemert to but a few hours.
"Oh, hell NO", exclaims Lammert aloud.
He then states- in no uncertain terms - that he is under no circumstances going to travel anywhere at all on the back of that flying lizard. He is perfectly fine traveling on the road like regular folk do, thank-you-very-much. Looking into the impassive black eyes of the fearsome beast, Severin and Eneas readily agree with this assessment as well.
Kamiko looks rather disappointed at this response, but then shrugs and says that she will travel ahead then and meet the trio there when they arrive. With that the creature lowers it's neck to the ground to allow Lady Kamiko to mount it's saddle, and with a great flapping of it's mighty wings the two take into the sky and away.
"Well- that was a great waste of time", laments Lammert.
The trio then make their way back to town, where the newly appointed Templar and his retinue have little trouble securing a cart and horse for their journey. Within the hour the trio have packed up their things and are on the road eastwards towards the Spring of Diove, and then to the village beyond.
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The road to the spring is long, so along the way Eneas asks Severin and Lammert about their adventures. As usual, Severin is reluctant to play up his accomplishments, but Lammert has no hesitation at all; in colorful terms he describes their heroic slaying of the boar, their defeat of the faerie of the pool, the search for the kidnapped girl Vioeta which led to the tomb of an ancient king where they vanquished an army of bloodthirsty goblins with the aid of the 'elf' Hakolo.
Taking all of this in, Eneas silently vows to do his best to be a worthy companion while in the company of such heroes. He notes that while he is inexperienced in matters of combat he has been trained to use his hammer and perhaps can be of aid with his healing arts.
Lammert notes that there is a difference between handling a weapon in a sparring match and in the heat of battle; Eneas should simply lay back and follow their lead for now in moments of peril. Eneas humbly agrees with this assessment and still vows to be of what help he can, however limited.
Approaching the Shrine of the Holy Spring, the trio are surprised by the lack of reception; where are the shrine maidens? All around are groves of well-tended trees, giving shade to the narrow pathway leading to the spring, the entire area shrouded in a still silence. Filled with an uneasy foreboding, Severin draws his bow and Lammert his sword. Instructing Eneas to stay behind with the horses, they also tell him to don his armored cuirass - just in case - as the duo travels down the narrow pathway that leads to the main shrine.
As the two near the shrine, there is a rustling in the brush before and behind them; within seconds they are surrounded by armed men, three at the fore and two to the aft. All are armed with short swords and ill-fitting leather armor; their lack of badges or banners and their generally dirty and unkempt appearance telling the tale of their allegiance- bandits! Bandits that are clearly here to abscond with the wealth and (likely) the persons here at the shrine. Lammert smiles ruefully- apparently they will have the opportunity to test their newly upgraded arms and armor sooner than they expected.
Letting out a war cry that breaks the silence, the bandits rush upon the two heroes without a word of warning. Lammert meets the first one, parrying his short sword with his long blade, then driving it into the bandit's leather armor like knife through butter. The first bandit immediately expires. Then a second rushes him swinging his sword wildly, but Lammert skilfull dodges the attack and returns with a coup-de-grace that slices the second bandits throat like a slaughtered pig; the bandit crumples to the ground in clutching his copiously bleeding wound before dying pathetically.
The third bandit lands a blow on Lammert's armored chest, but the blade is turned away by Henri's well-crafted mail. Lammert dispatches the third as easily as he did the first two, embracing him like lover while driving his sword through the bandit's poorly-armored chest until the sword thrusts out through his back; Lammert then kicks the poor man off his blade and he crumples to the ground, already dead before he even lands.
Meanwhile, Severin has already dispatched the two bandits behind him; impaled by well-placed arrow shots both expire before even getting within sword range of the templar.
However, just as soon as the first five bandits are slain, five more arrive, crashing through the brush with a somewhat unconvincing war-cry. One lands a blow on Lammert, the sword just barely piercing the armor to draw blood from the flesh beneath, Lammert winces in pain, then with a single skilfull blow returns the favor with a killing strike against his attacker. Meanwhile, Severin slays his third and fourth attacker just as skillfully with his bow, the second one at nigh point-blank range.
The once pristine path of the shrine now awash with the blood of their comrades, whatever courage remaining two bandits might have had swiftly leaves them as they turn to run back into the shrine. Lammert immediately gives chase, meeting and felling one with his swift blade, but the second escapes into the doorway of the shrine and into the relative darkness within. Not waiting for Severin to catch up, Lammert follows the fleeing bandit through the doorway.
The interior of the shrine is dimly lit by a few well-placed candles here and there, illuminating a vaulted ceiling held aloft by stone gondic pillars. There is a strange coolness to the interior of the this place, the soft bubbling of what must be the holy spring of Diove within providing the only constant sound. Lammert finds his prey cowering in a corner, still holding his sword in his shaking hand, his eyes darting to the left and right seeking for some means of escape.
Lammert slowly approaches what is sure to be another decisive battle when he is interrupted by a sound: impossibly heavy footsteps coming from within the interior shrine, booming like thunder as they approach. Lammert holds his sword and the ready and his shield close to the breast as the source of the sound comes into view:
The creature can only be described as a giant; at least 8 feet tall, it has to duck to make it's way past the high arched doorway of the inner shrine. It's appearance is like that of a stout man, but larger; tanned skin crested by filthy matted black hair, dressed in a massive leather cuirass clearly fitted for one of his size, although barely holding his ample belly. In a single mighty hand he holds a massive sword that would be unwieldy even if held two-handed by a normal sized folk.
As soon as the creature sees Lammert in the dimly-lit entryway it lets out a loud cry: barely human, and filling to cavernous interior with it's volume. Such a display might cause other men to cower and flee; but Lammert has looked death in the face too many times now to be impressed by mere noise, even from a being of this stature. He merely arches an eyebrow and steels himself against attack.
The creature rushes forward, looking to trample Lammert with it's sheer size. Lammert cooly dodges at the attack, steps 5' to the right of the creature and strikes with his blade - the strikes again, the two blows failing to draw the creature's blood and making two bruising stings, wearing the larger fighter down. It swings it's sword, in response, but Lammert parries one blow, then another, then punishes his attacker with a feint barely missing it's massive head, then another pushing it back with sword stroke that strikes true, wounding the creature as it cries out in pain.
Meanwhile, the bandit that Lammert had followed into the shrine takes advantage of the distraction to flee out into the daylight; only to find Severin waiting for him there. Severin had since put away his bow and is now armed with sword and main gauche, looking like death himself with his fine armor and blades glinting in the sun.
The bandit looks for a way out for a moment, but looking at the steely gaze of Severin he thinks the better of it. Dropping his sword unceremoniously, he cries out in fear, saying in a thick Ossitan accent:
"I yield! I yield!"
Severin regards the now unarmed bandit with a degree of contempt, then points to a space on the ground, saying:
"If you yield, then stay right there! Don't move at all, or I'll be back to strike you down."
Whimpering like a scolded dog, the sad bandit does as he is told, sitting with his hands upon his head in the exact spot that Severin told him to sit. Severin then moves towards the shrine to investigate the noise of heated battle within.
Within the shrine, the flow of battle is going in Lammert's favor. With blow upon blow, round after round he has bested the giant, driving it back with his sword and shield, punishing every attempt at counterattack with skillful riposte and counter-strike. Seeing as he is outmatched, the giant now decides to flee, and with heavy and long strides he makes his way out the door into into the fresh air.
There he finds a surprised Severin waiting for him. Before Severin can take in the sight of the gigantic armed and armored bandit fleeing towards him, he is trampled by the giant's massive feet and left sprawled in shock and pain upon the road. Lammert then emerges through the door, helps Severin to his feet, and the two give chase. Before doing so, Severin reminds his hostage to stay put, lest he share the fate of his comrades.
Standing on the road to the shrine is Eneas, dutifully staying put near the horses as instructed by his masters. He has heard the tumult of battle in the distance, staying at his post the entire time fretting like a worried wife after his master and his uncouth companion. But, as he was also instructed, he has put on his full armor and now stands in the road with his blessed hammer at the ready.
So this is how we find Eneas as the giant begins to rush headlong towards him down the road. Seeing the massive man rushing towards him, Eneas feels a moment's hesitation; but he says a silent prayer the goddess, causing his holy hammer to glow a faint blue in response. Steeling every once of his courage, he stands firm in the path while the giant tramples before him.
The giant attempts to brush Eneas aside as he did Severin, but Eneas outfoots him and strikes once, then twice with his mighty hammer; both blows striking true, and fatiguing the massive creature into a confused and reeling state.
It is then that Severin and Lammert finally catch up, astounded to find Eneas holding his own against this mighty foe. Severin moves forward first- striking the creature with the flat of his blade behind, while Eneas follows up with a final blow that knocks it into a pained and unconscious heap upon the ground.
"Good job, Eneas!", says Lammert in uncharacteristic praise, before following up by saying: "Of course, I softened him up for you first..."
"Of course", says Eneas with no hint of irony.
The three men then drag the massive slumbering creature behind them to where the first hostage bandit still dutifully awaits. They then waste no time in securely binding the creature with Lammert's trusty 30' rope.
They then question the cowardly bandit still sitting in place in his corner; where are the shrine maidens? The bandit admits that his isn't quite sure, as they fled as soon as they saw the first of the intruders and before they were able to regroup. He notes that the now felled giant is their leader, and he was the one that convinced them to set out and loot the shrine (against the orders of his superiors), thinking that an undefended shrine filled with women made a perfect target to gain valuable relics and hostages. They were in the process of looting the shrine when Lammert and Severin arrived, and had not a chance to do thorough search before they came.
While Lammert stands guard over the hostage bandits, Severin and Eneas seek out the missing shrine maidens, fearing the very worst. Ever the expert tracker, Severin is able to follow the trail of fleeing maidens to the shore of a small lake with a islet shrine in the middle, and taking a nearby rowboat to the shrine Eneas and Severin soon find the maidens there unharmed and unmolested.
At first they are suspicious of the strangers, but seeing that their rescuers are a templar and a young and handsome acolyte priest they are soon overcome with joy and gratitude. Taking two boats back, Severin and Eneas lead back the women to the shrine that is their home.
The decision is then presented as to what to do with the hostages. It is agreed that the fearsome giant hostage should remain as such - but what to do with the smaller, cowardly one?
"Let's let him go; he can give a warning the others not to attack this shrine again, or anything else in The Vale", suggests Lammert.
Severin looks skeptical as to this idea. "Really? He's a bandit after all- should we really let him go?"
Lammert looks again at the sad, defeated bandit: his ugly face contorted with fear, the wet spot in his trousers that formed either during or after their battle.
"Yeah, we should," he concludes. "He looks like he might spread a little fear if we send him back as a messenger."
The bandit vows, somewhat unconvincingly, that he will never prey upon this land again, and much more convincingly that he will report what has transpired here and convey the duo's warning to his comrades. Deciding that sending back this sad lonely survivor is message enough, Lammert and Severin allow the Gigante to depart, starting in a walk and then a furtive run as he looks back several times to make sure a deadly arrow isn't pointed at his back. Soon he disappears into the brush and away.
Ebulliently grateful to their rescuers, the maidens of the shrine offer what they can to their new champions, loading them up with bread and butter, and offering that they take as much of the holy water of the spring that they need; they are able to take five measures between the three of them. Some of the maidens are rather young and attractive, so Lammert idly wonders what other 'rewards' they might be willing to offer; but knowing Severin would surely disapprove he dismisses the thought from his mind for the nonce.
With their task here complete, they determine to spend the evening here before taking their giant captive back to Lemer for imprisonment and eventual judgement.
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Out under the stars and near the lake where the maidens had awaited rescue, the three companions rest for the evening.
Lammert sleeps hardly at all and then fitfully, distracted by rather....turgid dreams of a certain fetching towheaded maiden he had spied amongst Severin's rescuees. A girl of perhaps 17 or so years...but she had such eyes! But after taking a long and meaningful piss followed by a languid smoke he decides that this should be explored another day- perhaps on the return trip? - and settles finally into a deep sleep.
Severin, meanwhile dreams of wolves. In his dream he walks in the forest, bow at the ready, whilst stalking his prey. Although he has no looking-glass to see he somehow knows in the dream that he is young; the lean, scrawny and always hungry lad he was still an Ironhand and no respecter of men and their laws save that of his outlaw brothers. Barely more than a beast himself he was then, and as keen as a hawk in his vision and like a wolf in his hearing and other senses. Here in the deep woods - his home -he feels vulnerable, yet strong.
The warg stalks beside him; rarely coming into view besides fleeting glimpses of it's huge grey body and fierce golden eyes through the trees. Although he knows that perhaps he should, in the dream Severin does not fear the wolf: it is his guardian, his protector, his other self. He spends the night hunting as such in his dream world, as happy as he might allow himself to be.
Eneas, however, dreams only of giants.
In fact, the next day after the three heroes say goodbye to the ladies of the Holy Spring and make their way onto the road with the now awake but fully cowed (and carefully bound) giant sitting into their cart, Eneas can only speak of his battle with the giant the day before.
At length he goes on about the battle; the giant rushing him in the road, his fear and shock giving way to resolve to stop the miscreant in his tracks, his heroic hammer blows along with those of his master finally felling the foul bandit where he stood.
And so he goes on, and on, and on again, repeating fine details like any young person who has first encountered the giddy fear and thrill of danger encountered and overcome might do; so much so that this chronicler finds it tedious to tell more of it, save that Severin and Lammert bear it with whatever patience that they are able on the long road to the village.
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Several hours pass by before our trio sights the village; Lammert was told that he spent some time here as child, but he strains to recognize the place. It is tiny; just a few wooden buildings here and there on the road, and a few more scattered huts on the rocky beach, then one larger one by the docks that lead to the Bay of Orcade and the Middle Sea beyond.
Edging slowly closer, they see a young boy out either playing in the fields, or perhaps inspecting the rice crop. The boy spots them soon after; and seeing that they have horse-cart and rider (Eneas) with- a bound giant! - in the back, led by what are clearly well-armed men, the boy flees in clear fright as fast as he is able up the road and towards the water.
As our trio and their captive enter town they note that it looks strangely abandoned; houses are shuttered up, and not a single soul is to be seen out in the day now that the single figure they spotted earlier has fled. Riding now past the few scattered houses, Severin thinks he sees eyes and faces behind the shuttered windows spying them warily as they pass.
Only a single shop seems open; a curious little shack with a large sign outside written in some foreign script, with an equally unhelpful translation below in the Sothron alphabet reading:
'Karakuri Zushi'
Curious to see what this single welcoming place might offer, our trio make their way into the open shuttered doors and past a decorative curtain (sporting an image of a rather rotund fish) to finally peer within:
There they find lady Kamiko, sitting casually at the bar with in her fine red kimono and drinking what appears (and smells like) some sort of clear and hot liquor or wine. Beside her are stacked plate upon empty plate, and she is currently devouring a plate that looks to be raw fish brushed with a brown sauce and wrapped around a tiny egg of rice. Using a pair of tiny wooden sticks she pops one into her mouth, barely chewing it before savoring the flavor of it and swallowing it semi-whole. She follows this act up by draining a tiny steaming cup of clear liquor, then quickly refilling it as part of the ritual of her meal.
The surprising part about this scene, however, is not the diner but instead the server: the apparent proprietor is at first blush seen as encased entirely in armor, but upon closer inspection is man made entirely of iron! Blue glowing eyes show the only life to this creature above it's featureless metal mask as it greets the new potential patrons in a tinny tone:
"Ohayo-gozaimasu!"
After the initial shock of this, Severin - being elected the the unofficial ambassador to all things involving Kamiko- asks her how she might have happened upon this odd scene.
She explains that she had arrived here the day before, after setting her wyvern to forage a good distance from the town. Finding the place almost entirely unfriendly, she at last found this restaurant as a haven being run by her fellow countryman, the 'Shikigami' named Karakuri Itamae. After a long night of drinking oya-shu (a rice wine from her home country) , she fell asleep on the tatami (she points to a corner with some cushions and blanket soiled with straw), then awoke this morning with a powerful hunger, which is how they find her now.
Severin isn't quite sure what a 'shikigami' might be exactly, but whatever questions he might have on the subject seem answered by the presence of the metal man before him.
Although Kamiko seems uninterested to interrupt her breakfast now that the trio has finally arrived, she does give helpful directions to Maqueda's establishment: the trading post that they came here to find. Leaving Kamiko to her morning reverie, our three heroes depart again to locate Maqueda's shop.
It's not hard to find; in fact, it's the largest and most well-built structure in this tiny town. Lammert raps upon the shuttered door for some time before finally a tiny slit opens at head level, displaying wary set of large brown eyes and an equally brown face. A woman's voice demands in accented Latainian:
"What do you be wanting?"
"We are here to shop", announced Lammert, more than a bit annoyed by the reception.
"We don't be wanting no trouble here", replies the woman, not at all friendly.
"We are just here to shop", repeats Lammert insistently.
"Shopping?" she asks, somewhat incredulous. "You are all armored up for war to come shopping?"
Lammert scowls in response, before deciding that this is probably left to Severin's care. He is always better at charm....
Seeing that it is his turn to speak, Severin replies: "Yes, we are from Montaigne, and we hear that you have goods from the Middle Sea for sale here. We have come a long way on a hard road, but we have money to spend. We won't cause any trouble."
The lady's hard and suspicious eyes scans Severin's face for a moment through the crack in the door, before sighing loudly and closing the tiny slit, then opening the door to welcome them within.
"Okay, okay then- some on in then, you can see what little I have if you be having money to buy."
The open door reveals a voluminous space, stocked from floor to ceiling with shelves to hold goods; shelves that appear rather empty, as if this woman no longer has enough to fill her massive store.
The proprietor herself is a woman that appears to be maybe in her early forties; but it hard to tell her age precisely as she is of a foreign race, with chocolate skin and black hair, with high-set cheekbones and large brown eyes. She is dressed in the traditional garb of the legendarily wealthy Sahaabin: a blue robe stitched with hints of gold, white and crimson, topped by a matching blue turban upon her head. Wherever this lady might wear jewelry, she does; large earrings adorn her ears, several fine necklaces upon her neck, a ring upon every finger save her thumb, with bangle bracelets stacked and jangling upon her wrists. Even her ankles are adorned with fine gold and silver anklets, and in her nose she sports a single golden stud. If this is not a woman with an ample purse, then it must be because she wears all of her wealth upon her person.
Severin checks the shelves for a while- seeing not much of interest, before asking after what he came for- a rapier, the slender fencing sword found in the Middle Sea. Maqueda explains that while she might have been able to obtain such a thing at some time - perhaps even up the coast at Port Cales - her supplies have all dried up now that the pirates have moved in to take over Stonehead Isle in the bay, and she is quickly running out of even the most basic goods since no trading skiff would dare come near nowadays.
"Wait- pirates?", ask Lammert and Severin in nigh-unison.
That is all the prompting that she needs to tell the whole of the story. At one time this was a peaceful and prosperous village, well defended under the watchful eye of Lord Nerites. But that was before the war; and four years ago the first pirate ship came to raid their shores, stealing their food and liquor, then taking off again into the night. That first raid being a success, they then appeared the following year at harvest time to raid them again, this time leaving them barely enough to live on.
So they appealed to the new lord of The Vale for aid, and he sent a pathetically small and ill-trained force led by an old and drunkard knight to defend them. And they were able to fend off the next incursion; but two days later they returned led by a fearsome horned monster and bearing weapons that fire deadly lead slugs as if propelled by magic, and other....things...that skittered like giant lizards and called upon the very elements to destroy their foes!
The force sent by the new lord were no match for this, and only their sad leader managed to survive after being left for dead in the chaos of the assault. Now he lives in seclusion up town, drinking away his days, not even lifting a finger to help when the pirates returned to next season to steal their harvest again, and this time all the young and pretty women as well.
"What about the guard here? Who upholds the peace?", asked Severin.
"No guard", replies Maqueda grimly. "They die in the first year."
Lammert asks: "...well, who does lead around here? We have a prisoner who needs securing."
"Poulet is the mayor," explains Maqueda, "...but he is a dirty little coward, and no help at all. He may as well work for the pirates, if he does not in fact do so."
Lammert thinks for a moment. then concludes: "We will speak to this knight then. Perhaps we can help here."
Maqueda looks in turn bemused and disgusted by this thought: "You be having no luck with that! His name is Sir Orkney; but he is no knight now, not even a real man! Just a sad, broke-down drunk."
Lammert and Severin are taken aback to hear this legendary name. Lammert instinctively grasps his mighty shield before whispering to Severin:
"Sir Orkney? Can it be? Surely it's not the same man?"
With that Severin and Lammet vow to Maqueda to help this town in any way that they are able. She looks skeptical that these two lads can do much at all where others have failed, but she directs them to where they can find a jail to house their prisoner, as well as where to locate Sir Orkney's home at the north end of town.
Now with a new and seemingly impossible mission ahead of them, Lammert, Severin and his faithful attendant Eneas set out to meet Sir Orkney, and perhaps find a path to save this lonely and frightened village from it's doom.
****
Rewards: 426xp Reputation: 2+ Legend x 2
Treasure:
296 silver
9 servings hardy food
5 bottles grog
5 short swords
5 suits of medium partial leather armor
1 giant-sized short sword
1 giant-sized partial leather armor
5 Vitality Potions (Heal 2d6 vitality)
Titles - Severin: Defender of the Faith, Lammert: Virtuous Pagan