Chronicles of 'Team B' - Chapter 44 - Intrigue, Mud, and Petulance
General Summary
Lokan decides that his scam with the magical bag is not worth the candle, since the party will be getting horses for the trip. The sending stones are another matter, and when the Serpent Slayers are summoned before the prince to receive their requested supplies, Malina pipes up to say that her intuition has told her that such an item is present in the prince's treasury. Zhadan Cheslavovich denies that such a thing exists, but he seems a bit evasive to the girl, and she presses her case until the prince orders Zhadan to take the Serpent Slayers to the treasury, to see if it can be located. The twin icons, depicting the martyr Sts. Lazar and Liudmila are located in a locked crate, and one is taken by Malina to allow the party to communicate with the prince while traveling. While in the storeroom Lokan is also surprised by a familiar sight - the two magical ladles used to dispense the Water of Life and the Water of Death. Lokan points these out to Malina, who is especially surprised to see them there.
While in the prince's presence, the Serpent Slayers are introduced to two more companions who will be traveling with them. One - Merius Minusacent Inyopokit - is a foreign translator who has lived at court in Ladeisk for several decades, will be heading up the diplomatic aspects of the mission. Merius' mother hailed from the lands of the Galindy, while his father was Irii, so Merius speaks both languages, as well as Norik. Merius is also given with a chest of gifts for the Galind Grand Prince - two sable coats and hats, a Kochmak sabre, a coffer of an exotic black paste from Rakhman lands, jeweled golden temple locks, and a magical tablecloth. Inside the box is also a sealed letter, for the eyes of the Galind Grand Prince only. The other companion is the prince's youngest son - Arsenii Trofimovich - a tall, blond, curly-haired 15 year-old who has been Merius pupil these last few years. Arsenii is brimming with confidence, energy, and princely politesse - he can't wait to hit the road, because he is to be the intended groom. It is best to actually show the wares, Trofim Andreevich opines, rather than showing a picture and reciting a description. Arsenii mentions that he is trained in the saddle and with the bow, and is quite capable of defending himself. As they leave, however, the prince confers briefly with the Serpent Slayers and Merius, and says that even more important than fulfilling their diplomatic mission in the princeling's safety, which they must guard with their life.
That night, Malina divines the signs upon her spindle yarn. She has doubts about Zhadan, and in her dreams, she sees a wolf in sheep's clothing running around an enclosed yard. Come morning, she shares her dream with her companions, and while the implication seems clear, they are not sure what to make of it. As they collect their horses early in the morning, Merius says good-bye to his other charge - the princess Anna, Trofim Andreevich's youngest child. Less mature and more petulant than Arsenii, she simply rolls her eyes, and runs off. The rest of the travelers speak to Dunai Ivanovich, who has come to see them off. The court of the Galind prince is his ancestral home, he says, though surely no one there remembers him, as he spent many decades encased in stone in the Cave of the Sleeping Bogatyrs. However, his wife, Anastasia, was the daughter of the prince at that time, and she lies buried in the ancestral shrine in Laima. Dunai wishes he could accompany the mission, but he is now pledged to Trofim Andreevich, who has need of his services in Ladeisk. He does ask the Serpent Slayers to place his wedding ring on her grace, and they readily agree.
Finally, the party rides down to the boat launch, and is ferried across by raft to the opposite bank. Zorina, who rides with Agapia , guides the group through the woods toward the southwest. The group has decided to take the route to Vyshemila, which is quicker to reach, rather than following the river northwest in the direction of Ladan' for fear of encountering volkodlaks, even though this way takes them further away from their final destination. The first several hours pass uneventfully, and the ranger is able to guide the group around the large mud pits that lie in their way. But in the late morning, a large, slimy mud creature rises up from one of the pits, and shambles its way toward the party. Zorina takes a shot, and urges her horse toward the left, and calls on her companions to stay away from the creatures, not wanting to put the princeling in danger. The arrows hit, but lodge themselves deep in the hulking mass, seeming to do little to hurt or slow it. The creature is followed by two more. Merius tries to urge the Arsenii away from the mud people, but the young prince is filled with martial zeal, and is the better rider, so he moves toward them, and lets loose out of his own composite bow. Arsenii proves that he is a crack shot, and hits on each of his three attempts, but he and Merius are now within striking distance of the lead creature. Seriously concerned, Malina utters a spell that turns the second creature into a tortoise, and it disappears from view. Lokan hurries to interpose himself between the first creature and Arsenii, and Merius finally prevails on the princeling to retreat. But the seeming lack of appreciable damage caused by the arrows makes Malina to second Zorina's call to make a flanking maneuver and avoid closing with the mud people. The party rides away, unscathed.
Several hours later, the party comes upon two open sacks of fine-grade oats. Upon closer investigation, small rodents have burrowed in and made holes in the sacks. They are quickly chased away, and Agapia mends the sacks: the oats can provide good feed for their horses, or to make porridge for the travelers. But Malina is worried once again: the situation seems like a trap. She locates a pair of tracks, and follows them deeper into the woods. Lokan follows close behind, concerned that she may get herself in trouble. Soon, she comes upon two scruffy-looking men cooking an animal over a fire. When they see her, they invite her to join them for a drink. Malina refuses, and asks if they know anything about the sacks of oats. The men admit that they came upon a traveler who escaped, but say times are hard, and they are entitled to survive. They once again invite Malina to accompany them to the river, but when she reveals that she is a follower of the old gods, the men grow nervous. One calls her a witch, picks up a rock, and throws it at her. At that, Lokan, who was hiding in the nearby bushes, shots him with his crossbow, killing him instantly. The other one takes to his heels, and flees. Malina and Lokan search the body, and find little of value on it, so they return to the group, having lost more time than they wanted.
After catching up, they press on into evening, and finally, make camp. Malina shares her suspicions about Zhadan, but Arsenii seems like he is in a good mood after having faced down the mud creatures, and after seeing Zorina turn into a fox, lauds his good fortune for having such powerful traveling companions on his first ever adventure. He then asks Lokan about Vyshemila, and after the vagabond tells him what he knows, he asks whether he knows where to find women there. Merius scolds him for such unworthy talk, but Arsenii responds that if he soon is to be married to someone he does not know, this is his one and only chance to sow his wild oats. What starts as a humorous conversation soon turns confrontational, and Zorina, still a bit sore about the prince's shenanigans earlier in the day kicks dirt in his direction. Arsenii laughs it off, but when Merius raises his hand to him, the princeling strikes his teacher, telling him to remember his station, and to never try to hit his prince again. The first day of trekking through the woods has taken its toll, and the young prince stalks off in a huff.
Missions/Quests Completed
- A magical icon acquired from the prince's treasury
- A mud creature turned into a tortoise, and two more escaped
- One scruffy man killed, one chased away
Character(s) interacted with
Report Date
15 Jan 2021
Primary Location
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