The Rolling Stones discuss much, see much, and do little.
Score: 527 | 7/14/19 |
9th Veltom 1517
The crying from Annabelle's room eventually subsides as she appears to have fallen asleep. Boris Hillmens returns downstairs to join up with the rest of the party, Sean Shamshara, Vyktor Wyvernjack, Valteri Tomser, and even W'ranan. It was getting late in the evening, so Boris and Valteri head out to witness the hanging of the bandits they had helped capture.
Soon after, Delmuth Lorafir enters the Trunk and Bough. Sean greets him and tells him of the events of the day, the fight and rescue of Annabelle and the search for her horse. As well, he introduces W'ranan, speaking up his skills as a fighter and mentioning that he needed to head to Urupa. Delmith gladly accepts W'ranan into his guard just as the Rolling Stones are and says he would be willing to let Annabelle join as well. When Delmuth looks to get a room for the night, Sean tells him they already booked him one. Delmuth thanks him, pays him back, gets his key, and heads upstairs.
Annabelle comes downstairs: she says she's better, though her eyes are puffy and red. Sean notices that she still appears woozy, long after the drug should have worn off. He decides not to mention anything to her. Annabelle asks the group if they've formed a Group Patten yet, and the discussion turns to the strength they could gain by doing so. Then, in thanks for rescuing her, Annabelle hands Vyktor a ring, a small gold band with a red gem, the Sunrise Ruby, a simple spell matrix object.
On the way to the Crown Watch, Valteri rides Boris's shoulder, strangely silent.
A large crowd has gathered in front of the Crown Watch. Friends bantering, merchants calling out wares, kids scurrying about. Like any other festive occasion, people are having a good time, despite being gathered around a platform where guards stood watch over six nooses hanging from the branches high above.
Soon the doors to the Crown Watch open. Several guards march out, pushing and shoving people out of the way to make a path to the raised platform. Six prisoners are then led through the crowd, dressed in ragged clothing. Led onto the platform, each prisoner has a noose placed around his neck and held in place by a guard. Two of the men are openly weeping as jeers and curses are flung at them by the crowd. The last prisoner leans over and attempts to whisper to the weeping man next to him, which earns him a quick blow to the stomach delivered by the guard holding him. Soon, all of the men are ready, and Watch Captain Anthrose steps up to the platform and motions the crowd to some semblance of quiet.
"Citizens of Axalalail. We are here for a grim purpose, one in which none of us should take joy. These men have been sentenced to hang until they are dead. We can only hope that justice meted out can bring peace to those who have suffered at these men's hands. And we seek solace in the fact that no more will suffer by their actions. We ask that Mynbruje watch over the judgments being carried out here today, to continue to protect the innocent and smile favorably on our work, and to make this sad work quick and with little pain." He nods to the guards and steps down.
One by one, each bandit is pushed off the back of the platform by the same guard. The crowd cheers while the man looks over the edge as the person falls. When satisfied with whatever he sees, he then steps to the next person, who struggles against his bonds and pleading to no avail. When he reaches the second-to-last bandit, the final one begins to yell, loud enough that he can be heard over the crowd, "No! NO! Stop! He doesn't understand! He doesn't UNDERSTAND! PLEASE! We deserve this but he doesn't!" But the guard ignores the man as he shoves the other off the edge and watches the fall.
At that, the last man falls silent and slumps forward. The executioner stands straight again and steps over to him. The man doesn't resist as he is grabbed and shoved over the edge. The guard watches him fall. However, he gestures rapidly to the other guards standing there. The rope looks oddly slack compared to the other five, made taut by their dark burdens. The crowd has fallen mostly silent, a quiet murmur the only sound. A contingent of guards rush forward, quickly spooling out thin rope from a small bag on their hips and affixing it to small hooks. These are slammed into the wood of the platform as they leap over the edge. A collective gasp comes from the people gathered.
People near the edge on the same side as the platform begin to excitedly talk. It seems the rope has broken, and the man to be executed is being recaptured. Boris and Valteri move closer, as Valteri says, "It was the guy who came in the middle of the night."
The watch captain, having retaken his spot on the platform, has a hurried, whispered discussion with the executioner. He turns to the crowd, "It seems there has been a small problem. But do not be worried. We will make sure justice is served to this murderer." Over several minutes, the man is hauled back up, and another rope is brought out. As the noose is hung about his neck, he seems calm and relaxed, still not struggling. Despite the long fall, he also seems relatively unharmed. Again, the executioner takes him to the edge, pushes, and watches. He drops to his knees as the crowd again gasps. This rope has broken as well, sending the man plummeting to the forest floor. Thankfully some of the guards remained below.
Watch Captain Anthrose talks with the executioner again as the guards once again haul the prisoner up. The executioner runs off towards the Crown Watch as the captain turns to face the crowd, "Since this man refuses to be hanged, we will try something more severe. Having been sentenced to death, this Roth of Eran the Bald's band of highwaymen will be beheaded. Justice will not be denied." The crowd cheers at the last statement.
Soon, the executioner returns with a large ax and two guards carrying a large wooden block. Roth is placed on his knees in front of the block and his pushed down so that his neck rests against the wood. A basket is placed in front of him. He still seems calm, and he submits willingly. The executioner raises his ax high. He swings the ax down, fast, but just as the haft starts to descend, it snaps, and the blade falls to the wood harmlessly.
The watch captain yells, "What is this!?" and draws his sword. He approaches Roth and raises his sword to strike when the captive says something that stops Anthrose cold in his tracks. Anthrose lowers his sword and resheathes it. He gestures to the guards, speaking a few words. As the guards gather up the prisoner and hustle him back to the Crown Watch, Anthrose turns to face the astonished crowd. "We will call for a Questor of Mynbruje to adjudicate this matter. Justice will be served to this man, but it seems it will not be by us and not today. I am sorry." He then steps down and follows after the others. Excitement travels throughout the crowd.
While the group back at the inn, Annabelle included, eat, the pair return and inform the others what happened. Sean insists they head back to the Crown Watch and speak up for Roth, telling the watch captain his history. The hope is that any and all information would be useful for the Questor of Mynbruje that would be coming to judge him. They all agree to do so, though Annabelle excuses herself and heads back upstairs. Vyktor takes a moment to try to weave a thread of magic to his new ring. Sadly, he fails.There is still a crowd at the Crown Watch, though not centered around the gallows. A dwarf is setting up an array of tubes in front of the building. They enter and are taken back to see Watch Captain Anthrose, who is preparing to leave for the evening. To their information, he reminds them that Roth had turned himself in, and so that information was already known, though it was new to Anthrose that Roth had spoken to the Rolling Stones and told them of his plan to turn himself in and of his remorse for getting Yfram involved in banditry. The captain also tells them the word Roth whispered that stayed his hand was "Mynbruje". There were no nearby questors, so it would be a few days before one could come and see Roth.
The Rolling Stones leave and see the dwarf has finished setting up his strange contraption. Soon, things are firing out of the tubes and exploding in the air with dazzling color. The amazing display of fireworks astonishes the group. Sean utters how such a thing never was done in the kaer. W'ranan picks up on the comment saying, "What?!" Leaving the fireworks behind, Sean sheepishly explains the truth of the group. They were recently guardians of a closed kaer, only just a few days prior having left to explore and investigate the land outside. He then tells W'ranan of their commune-attacked-by-bears cover story. Valteri gives Sean a hard time for spilling their secrets so easily, but they all agree to welcome their new friend into the group.
To that end, they all quickly gather and craft items to serve as their connections to the Group Pattern.
Legend Point Awards:
- More plot advancement: 400
- Total: 400