Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="DispelAkimbo" data-source="post: 1079811" data-attributes="member: 1916">Jaider, Jalderin, Eben and Margarian follow the road south for a couple of minutes and soon arrive at the temple of Girion. Once inside Jaider approaches one of the temple servants and explains the situation. He then turns to the Princess and speaks to her."Your highness, your safety is the highest priority to us right now. The very future of the kingdom may rest upon your shoulders. As such, we ask that you remain here with the servants of Girion, it should be safer than the path we are destined to take.""Yeah, and keep yer face covered with a robe so no-one sees you." Margarian adds roughly pulling up the hood of the temple robe that the princess is putting on over her dress."Are you trained in the use of weapons?" Eben asks the temple servant."Weapons? Why would we be trained in the use of weapons? We are followers of Girion, not mercenaries or bandits.""Self-defence then?" Eben suggests."Girion will protect us.""This worries me." Eben says to Jaider, Jalderin and Margarian. "While I do not doubt the integrity of the followers, I do worry about their ability to protect the princess if someone does attempt to take her from here." There is a murmur of agreement from the others before Eben adds "If you'll excuse me, I have a message to send. I'll meet you on the South road in ten minutes." He then leaves the temple and vanishes into the night.Glancing around the temple Margarian sees the sacred Altar at the end of the room and strides purposefully over to it, drawing his great sword along the way. A trembling temple servant fears the worst and trots along after the dangerous-looking plainsman, trying to keep up with his large strides and address him at the same time."Er!....I....er.....can I....er....help.....ummm.....eeek!" Margarian swings his great sword over his head and downwards towards the altar. He subtly twists the blade sideways at the last moment and slowly brings the blade to rest gently on the surface of the alter. He kneels momentarily and intones a prayer."Girion guide my sword true." Relief visibly flows through the temple servant who manages to compose himself and assumes his natural role of servant of Girion."Are you a worshipper of Girion plainsman?""If it helps me.""You demonstrate extreme clarity of thought for someone with such a barbaric appearance." The servant ventures. Margarian not wanting to disappoint plays up to the stereotype that people think when they see him."It helps me smash things.""Ah, the moment has passed." The servant intones before returning to his temple duties.***After spending a couple of minutes sprinting through the dark night streets of Sarivale, Eben arrives at his destination; a small public garden on the edge of the noble district. He hurriedly writes a note on some paper.--Assignment not going well, you'll no doubt have heard most details from contacts. Princess Melissan secured in Temple of Girion. Not confident of her safety there, send someone to watch over her immediately. Tracking assailant south out of city.--He then folds the paper into a small square and with a furtive glance around to check he is alone, he hides the note between two bricks in the garden wall. A quick covering of dirt from the ground ensures that it will not be accidentally found, and he sprints off to meet the others, confident in the knowledge that another Watcher in Grey will soon be seeing over the princesses safety.***Rowan and Zander Helmsblade wind their way through the dark streets of Sarivale. Rowan, still badly injured from his fall leans slightly on his brother as they move along."If we're stopped by anyone or questioned by anyone," Rowan says to his brother through pain-gritted teeth, "you do all the talking. I can't hide the pain well enough." Zander nods and gulps nervously. After only a few moments, they arrive at the gate between the nobles district and the trades district. A guard steps out of the gatehouse and looks them over."Where are you lads heading at this time of night?" Zander opens his mouth, closes it and opens it again before answering."We're just out for a walk, we've not got any money, we're er....going back to the inn, the inn where we're staying, and we'll be staying there all night, we might partake of some drinking or something, er and then we'll retire for the night, Bradley Golden's the name, we've been mucking out stables for a noble so that explains why are clothes are dirty okay, but we're going home now, to the inn." Rowan feels dread creeping over himself as his brother gushes forth facts of information for the guard, trying far too hard to avoid any further questions.The guard frowns for a moment, shakes his head and mutters "Right, whatever. Just don't go causing any trouble." He then steps back into the gate house and the brothers move on through the night-time city.***Jaider, Jalderin, Eben and Margarian manage to track the old man on horseback south through the city and catch sigh of him rounding a street corner near the southern city gates."We need to see which direction he goes" Jalderin states."True, but after seeing the powerful magic he wielded, I think we'd be in dire trouble if we did actually catch up with him." Eben adds."We need to at least know which direction he goes though!" Jaider insists."Leave that to me." Eben says, tapping the side of his nose conspiratorially.The four investigators proceed to follow the old man through the city, un-aware that only a street behind them the Helmsblade brothers are following.***"Look Rowan, the royal investigators! Including the Paladin that you gave our family ring to for safe keeping!" Rowan raises his head slightly to look but he is still feeling badly shaken from his fall off the palace walls."I reckon they must either be following someone, or leaving the city, and after seeing the dead walking around the palace, I don't blame them! Lets follow them and see what they're up to." Zander suggests. Rowan groggily agrees and they quietly pursue them.***"Those damn Helmsblade brothers have escaped and are following us!" Margarian exclaims drawing his sword."I assumed they were dead by now." Jalderin adds. Jaider, who was peering around the street corner that the old man had just gone down calls out."Look! Who's that talking with the old man on Horseback?" Jalderin, Eben and Margarian also take it in turns to peer around the street corner and take in the scene.Fifty yards from them the old man has reigned in his horse. The south gate out of the city can been seen one hundred yards beyond that, but what is most intriguing is what is happening by the old man. A cloaked figure steps out of a side street, walks over and a hurried but quiet conversation appears to take place between the two. The cloaked figure then steps back into the shadows at the side of the street and the old man continues towards the gate.Eben casts his eyes up and down the street they are stood on. "You!" He exclaims at a young man emerging from a nearby inn. "How would you like to earn yourself five silver pieces for ten minutes honest work?" The man looks a little worried for a moment as he takes in the scene."Well, I've never done this kind of thing before, but five silvers is five silvers, where do you want me?" Eben frowns for a moment and wonders if he has picked someone that is a little too drunk. Too late now he decides."Look around that street corner, you see the man on a horse riding towards the gate?" The young man looks and silently nods. "Well I want you to follow him, at a distance! And let me know which direction he heads, when and if he leaves the city. Do not approach him, or talk to him. Here's two silvers now, and i'll meet you at the south gate in ten minutes to pay you the others. Now hop to it!" The slightly drunk young man nods and sets off at a stagger down the street towards the city gate.Jaider, Jalderin, Eben and Margarian head down a couple of side streets to try and catch and head off the cloaked figure they say talking to the old man on horseback. They make little progress until Jalderin hears a wooden click from an alleyway. He checks down there and soon finds some wooden cellar doors that look a likely escape route. The four spent ten minutes checking the area for other possible escape routes that the cloaked figure could have taken but fine none. They are just about to try and open the cellar doors when the Helmsblade brothers appear peering down alleyways looking for them.Margarian steps back into some shadows and then as they approach he swings a haymaker at Zanders head. Zander some how manages to duck just in time and flattens himself against the alley wall."What do you want?" Margarian asks advancing menacingly on the shaking Zander."My magic could be of help to you and my brother is a druid, he could help too!" Zander quivers in reply."We want to join you and prove our innocence." Rowan says. "Plus, if we're with you then you can see that we don't do anything untoward and we can't be framed as easily."While Jalderin, Jaider and Margarian discuss whether to allow the Helmsblades to accompany them or not, Eben goes to the city gates and meets the young man he paid to follow the old man."He left this here gate and went in that direction." The young man says pointing to the southeast. Eben nods and pays the young man two more silver pieces. He then returns to the others just as they are concluding their discussion."Fine, you can accompany us, as prisoners though." Jalderin decrees.Eben slides a dagger in the gap between the wooden cellar doors and spends a few moments waggling it around before the bolt on the other side slides free. Eben sheathes his dagger, steps back and allows Margarian free access to the cellar doors.Margarian draws his sword and pulls open the wooden cellar doors. Two clicks sound and a couple of wooden bolts fly out at Margarian from crossbows fastened to a beam across the cellar ceiling. One bolt misses and thumps into the opposing alleyway wall. The other bolt hits Margarians spiky armour and falls to the floor."Grrrrr!" Margarian eloquently states. He then lights a hooded lantern and descends the stone steps into the cellar below the building. Jalderin, Zander, Jaider, Rowan and Eben in single-file quietly follow him down the narrow descending stairs."There's clearly footsteps in the mud here." Jalderin points out. "I think we've descended into an area below the building now too. This looks like some independent passage way to the above buildings." They descend for about twenty feet below the street level and follow a passageway that turns sharply left and has a door off one side of it.Margarian moves stealthily towards the doorway and steps to move past the doorway and flank it from the side. Unfortunately, as he steps on the floor outside the door a scythe blade sweeps out of the wall and embeds itself into his arm."Argh!""There goes the element of surprise." Jalderin mutters. Margarian peels himself off the scythe blade and snaps it off before the trap can reset itself. After flexing his arm to ensure he isn't too badly wounded, Margarian puts his lantern on the floor, opens the door and steps into the room beyond.In the dim light he can just make out a twenty foot by twenty foot room that contains a number of wooden crates, some shelves on the walls and a couple of shady figures aiming crossbows at him from behind the cover of the wooden crates.Faster than a snake, Margarian springs forward into the room and engages one of the figures in melee. The other figure turns and flees up a staircase at the end of the room."Take him alive!" Jaider calls from the passage way as he sees Margarian fly into the room. Margarian swings his sword and almost cuts the shady figure in half."Ooops." Margarian says, demonstrating his mastery of the common tongue. As the others move into the room from the passageway he turns on the spot and chases the other figure up the stairs and emerges into an abandoned shop. As he reaches the top he sees the figure reaching to open the shop door and escape. Margarian draws a dagger from his belt and throws it at the figure, hoping to slow his target down.Unfortunately his dagger strikes the man in the chest and pins him lifelessly to the door. Margarian winces and mutters 'sorry' as he retrieves his dagger and drags the corpse, by its boot, back down the stairs.Jalderin and Zander Helmsblade conduct a quick search of the room while Margarian searches the two bodies. Margarian finds five copper pieces and a small key. The others have more luck."Hmmm, hard Liquor by the look of it." Jalderin states opening one of the wooden crates and removing one of the many bottles from inside. Jaider frowning examines one of the bottles."That's Mhorrish writing on the label. I think this stuff is probably illegal in Sarivale, its potent to the point of being dangerous, even to hardened drinkers.""Hold on a minute." Jalderin says peeling the label off a bottle. "Its actually cheap local ale with a new label stuck over the top, and here", he adds reaching into another crate, "is a journal that details whom they have been selling to. A number of very powerful noble houses would be extremely embarrassed if this were to be made public.""Really?" Eben asks arching his fingers in front of him. "Excellent."</blockquote>

Verification