Part 50b: Reunions, rescues, and revelations

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50b - Reunions, Rescues, and Revelations by Dworkin (GM)
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James collects the horse from the stables, a powerfully-built chestnut gelding, with a fire in its eyes that speaks of a spirit which will not break easily.  The animal is saddled and ready to go when James arrives, and Godfrey hands the reins to the stranger with a nod of his head.  If his queeen says the man is to have a good horse, then the stablemaster will not argue the point.  "His name is Auberon.  He'll take you to where you're going quickly, and he'll not turn aside, for storm or wolf or drake, unless you command it.  He's the best of my children, and I know he'll do me proud."

Thanking the man, James mounts, and rides the horse out of Drusilla's fortress home.

The way he wants leads back up into the mountains, but beyond that, without knowing where Aaron is, there is no way to know where the road will take him.  He urges the horse on as he clears the bridge and starts to climb, and it surges forward, it's shoes striking sparks from the cobbles as it gallops.

Within an hour the road starts to descend into a fertile river valley, forested, with a red-walled city on the hills to the far side, and then he is among the trees, and the city is lost to sight.  There is a wooden bridge, where an old man sits fishing, and he waves to the rider as he passes, but James does not slow until he clears the forest.

Two suns are sliding towards setting, and the city is nowhere to be seen.  The stone cobbled road disappeared some way back, replaced by hard-packed dirt, and every hundred yards a pair of wooden markers stands, flanking the road, carved with old, weathered images of serpents.

He rides on into the gathering dusk, and, rounding a bend, finds a low gate, attended by group of spear-armed men, blocking his path.  Six of them, and as he approaches he notes their orange and black uniforms.  One of them raises a hand, "Hold, Stranger.  Ye've a need to pay the toll, and to explain yer business on the road this fine eve."

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Re: 50b - Reunions, Rescues, and Revelations by James
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James rides as quickly as he dares in the fading light, until confronted by the toll-gate and its six guards.  He weighs up the six men, but the spears don't tell him much and he draws a blank on the orange and black uniforms.

The next consideration is the distance from Drusilla and Samhain.  Despite the largely sub-conscious imperative to hurry, he has been careful in his use of the Pattern to move between worlds, wary of Drusilla's hold over the reality of Samhain.

Without a firm knowledge of the situation, James decides to bluff it out.  "I am a courier and I have a long way still to travel.  I have the toll in my saddlebags, a moment please."

James swings out of the saddle.  As he moves he exerts his will and the improbable likelihood of their being a purse of the local currency in the horses' kit becomes an unescapable certainty.  If they would just take the money and let him move on, all would be well.

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Re: 50b - Reunions, Rescues, and Revelations by Dworkin (GM)
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The guard, the one who had spoken, accepts the purse, tips a single coin out of it, and hands the remainder back to James, "A courier, eh?  Well, unless the message is very important, I'd recommend ye to stop at the Jolly Farmer, about three mile on.  There's bandits, and worse, been attacking travellers of late.  The Road watch has been stepped up, but we can't be everywhere at once."

He shakes his head, scowling into the darkness, "Ye'll be safe enough, going by day, but darkness makes them a sight bolder."

He waves his right hand, and three of his men haul the heavy gate aside, giving James the right of way.

"Take care, Courier, and mind my words."

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Re: 50b - Reunions, Rescues, and Revelations by James
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"Thanks, I'll be careful."

James pockets the purse, still heavy with coin.  It was gratifying to find honest guards, whatever world you happened to be on.

In truth, he strongly doubted that he would be on the same world long enough for these bandits to bother him, but that didn't mean there might not be robbers and worse ahead.  James was prepared to take the risk.  He wanted to reach Aaron, Luke and Chance as quickly as possible and any danger would have to be extreme to force him from his chosen route.

Mounting, he waits impatiently for the gate to clear, then spurs Auberon forwards.

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Re: 50b - Reunions, Rescues, and Revelations by Dworkin (GM)
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From the toll gate, the road runs through a long, slow curve around the base of a hill, then through a patch of woodland.  After five miles, there is no sign of the Jolly Farmer, though James has passed an inn called the The Jovial Husbandman.

On he moves, through woodland and valley, across hill and plain, and the road becomes steadily less travelled.  Rutted and in poor repair, cracked in places, or washed out.  Not exactly a Hellride, but constantly skirting the fringes of one.  Roads that run along the edge of mosquito-infested marshlands, and pass close to deep black lakes of stagnant water where great crocodiles bask in the sun, their diseased hides crawling with parasitic insects.

There are places remimiscent of Cargach's jungle, where even the molds and fungii which encrust the trees have been contaminated with the spores of decay, and the horse splashes through slime-covered mud, and deserts where it hasn't rained in thousands of years.  There are skies that burn above barren plains dotted with vast, glass-floored craters and ruined cities, and lands choked with the smoke of grass fires, where James spurs the horse on to stay ahead of the flames.

Under skies the colour of blood, or of bone, or ash he rides.  Not the most scenic route, nor the fastest, but one which follows a fine line twixt the two extremes...

There are other travellers on the road.  Not all of them are entirely human, and few of them are amicable.  Some are friendly though.  James shares a meal with a dog-faced creature who gives his name as Joshua, and is told of an army which he had passed on the road several days ago.  It had been led by a man in black and gold armour, and he had been accompanied by things made of steel, which had flown and spun and howled.  The man matches the description Aaron had given for his new contact, and the metal things can only be Archons.

This does not sound good.

Even more worrying though is when James suddenly finds himself unable to shift between worlds any more.  Something blocks his way.  Still, he rides back a little way, then approaches again, shifting as he rides, until he once again reaches the barrier.  Then he moves forward, staying within the single world now, until he finds himself in a copse, on a hilltop overlooking a valley.

Below him is a plain, on the banks of a river, dotted with clumps of trees, particularly near the water.

And down there is a clearly recognisable military camp.  Hundreds of tents, clustered together in coloured groups, each group with its own banners and standards flying.  There are campfires, and what James estimates to be fifty or sixty thousand troops.  As with the travellers on the road, not all are human.  He can see giants down there, and things which aren't even human in shape.

Near the centre of the camp is a large tent, bearing dozens of flags.  And as he watches, a familiar wheel shape rolls out of the tent and leaps into the air, screaming triumphantly as it moves towards another, smaller tent some distance away.

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Re: 50b - Reunions, Rescues, and Revelations by James
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Thank you, Joshua. James offers a silent prayer of thanks for his good fortune in meeting the talkative traveler on the road.  He had been quite shaken when he first realised he had lost his ability to shift between worlds, but Joshua's tip that the Warrior in Jet and Gold had Archon companions and the presence of a blade Archon below gave James confidence that he had reached his destination.

Which led, of course, to the question of how he was being blocked from the Pattern; even as it explained why Aaron and the others had not made contact.  If they had trumped into such a field in the presence of an enemy army, they would, at best, have been quickly captured.

James hurriedly dismounted, led Auberon back into the copse and tied the horse's reins off to a tree.  Then he worked back to a thick area of scrub with a good view of the camp and settled down to wait.  It wouldn't do any good telling Aaron "I told you so", if it meant he had also been captured.

Sneaking into the camp would be difficult even assuming they were relying on "normal" security.  James needed information, so he pays particular attention to patrol patterns and sentry positions.  If he could catch a soldier alone, things would be looking up.

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Re: 50b - Reunions, Rescues, and Revelations by Dworkin (GM)
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James watches from the hilltop, studying the layout of the camp.

It's busy.  Groups of men and part-men are constantly coming and going, following five main roads that lead out away from ths area.  There are guards at the perimeter, and plenty of them.  Within the camp there are fewer guards, save for three areas.

There is the large tent, near the centre of the camp, alongside what looks to be a parade ground, and the slightly smaller one that the Archon had disappeared into.  In addition there is a third location, well away from the other two, encircled by troops who seem to be very vigilant, constantly alert.  From here it looks as though they are standing guard on nothing.  All that James can see from his vantage is an awning, with a small crate sheltered underneath it.

Besides those three locations, where guards are permanently stationed, there are groups of armed men moving along the network of streets and roadways laid out between the numerous tents and campfires.

Then the Archon reappears, moving through the camp and back towards the large tent, while troops move quickly out of its way.  There are two figures moving within the Archon, walking with it.  It's impossible to be sure from here, but one of them looks to be wearing the sort of long coat that Aaron favours.

At least two of them are alive still.

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Re: 50b - Reunions, Rescues, and Revelations by James
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Three guarded points: the general's tent - probably the Warrior in Jet and Gold; the prisoner's tent - and what a stroke of luck that was, but was that Luke or Chance with Aaron and where was the other?  And the third.  A crate?  Some treasure perhaps?  Maybe a piece of the Broken God?  That would explain the null zone, although the area it covered was much larger than he would have expected.

That might offer an alternative, for all of its guards.  They would anticipate a rescue attempt to strike for the prisoners, but if James could negate the field, the others could probably get free.  If Luke was still around the chances where even better.

But he still didn't know enough, he had to get closer.  Unfortunately, whoever had laid out camp knew their stuff, so far his vigil had not turned up a single weak point.  He would either have to bluff his way past a guard or ambush one of the patrols once it ranged out of sight of the camp.

James searched the camp as best he could for different colours and heraldry.  Maybe he could play the 'dumb mercenary' card.

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Re: 50b - Reunions, Rescues, and Revelations by Dworkin (GM)
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Jame's view of the camp is fairly good from up here.  There is a larger central area, which contains all of the guarded locations, but around the edge are areas where the "architecture" differs markedly.

Here the tents are conical and blue, there domed and grey, and there they are box-like and large, coloured with complex patterns of red and white.  There are at least forty such distinct areas, and each area has its own banners and standards flying alongside copies of those which fly in the central portions of the camp.

James can read some of them.  Unit names, numbers, designations.

And there, an area where almost every tent is different, where few banners, other than the army's official ones, fly.  Mercenaries?  Or units too small to have their own areas?

Not all the troops are human, though most are.

It seems that this army is a mixture of many different cultures and places.

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Re: 50b - Reunions, Rescues, and Revelations by James
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James shuffles backwards until the edge of the hill hides him, then stands.

A deep breath.  In.  Out.  James considers what he is about to do, but not too carefully lest his nerve fail.  He plans to walk into an armed camp of sixty thousand-plus troops using nothing more than bare-faced lies and a charming smile.

James has picked out one of the motley patches of tents close to his position, but not on the edge of the encampment.  A larger tent in the middle of the grouping flies a flag showing a bare, muscled arm holding a sword ready to strike, almost certainly the Captain's insignia.  With even an ounce of luck the man thinks himself a wit for adapting his surname as a device and is called Armstrong or similar.  It's a plausible lie, anyway.

He moves around the encampment slightly, until he can see that the nearest sentry is human, or close enough, then walks up in plain sight.  With each step he prays that luck or some benevolent higher power is on his side.

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Re: 50b - Reunions, Rescues, and Revelations by Dworkin (GM)
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The sentries regard James with a vaguely disinterested look.  One of them nods to the man as he approaches.  "Name and unit?" he asks, and then finally seems to notice James' clothes, "Or are you here to volunteer?  Only we're not taking volunteers here, you'll need to go back to town to enlist.  Security, see?  The General is big on it."

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Re: 50b - Reunions, Rescues, and Revelations by James
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Time to roll the dice.

"No, not a volunteer.  I'm Jimmy Doig, with Captain Armstrong's Irregulars."

And that was that.  He could claim the Captain's name was a nickname and Irregulars covered a multitude of sins, but soon he expected to find out just how serious about security, this General really was.

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Re: 50b - Reunions, Rescues, and Revelations by Dworkin (GM)
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"Armstrong!" the guards laugh among themselves, although a little nervously, "If ever there was a man didn't deserve his name.  If he were any smaller, he'd be a bloody mouse."

"Go on then, you know the way.  But tell your boss that no more of his men are to leave camp, and certainly not out of uniform.  The General's orders."

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Re: 50b - Reunions, Rescues, and Revelations by James
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"I sure do.  And I'll tell him, no more strays.  Thanks."

James acknowledges the guard with a lazy salute and heads off into the camp, before anyone else thinks to question his story.

That was almost too easy.  James wonders whether he will be reported once he's out of sight, but dismisses the thought as paranoid.  If he was going to be picked up it would be better and far easier to delay him at the sentry post and holler for back up.

The guard had a point, though.  He needed a uniform or he would stick out badly in the camp.  If he had access to the Pattern, it would be child's play, but as it was he would have to look for an empty dormitory tent and rifle some lockers.

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Re: 50b - Reunions, Rescues, and Revelations by Dworkin (GM)
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It doesn't take long, and James finds himself a uniform, neatly pressed and laid out upon a trunk in one of the tents.  There is a little silver braid on the collar and cuffs, and a five ponted star on each shoulder.  Only one point, the uppermost, on each star is silver, the other four are black, but outlined in silver thread.  An officer then, but perhaps not one who is too high in the ranks.

About the right size too.

He takes it.  How the mighty are fallen...  A son of Amber, forced to make do with what he can find, instead of simply finding what would be perfect.  The hat, broad-brimmed and bearing a crimson plume, isn't his preferred style, but the silver piping on the edge seems to mark it as part of the uniform, and it will serve to conceal his face as he moves further into the camp.

There is a duffel bag too, and he stuffs his own clothes into it before leaving.

Luck, it seems, is with him... he steps out of the tent just as a stir seems to pass through the camp.  Something is happening, and it doesn't seem to be anything to do with him.  Still, there are now even more people moving about now, helping to disguise his own movements.

It is the work of a moment to regain his bearings, and he is walking again...

There are occasional patrols here, in the ways between the tents, but for the most part they ignore him, just another junior officer, lowly enough that he even carries his own bag.

Gradually he makes his way through the tents, his first port of call the guarded crate...

It sits there, beneath its awning, protected by a group of eight troops.      Two other men are there.  Older men.  Both dressed in a fashion that would have any child pointing to them and naming them "wizards".

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Re: 50b - Reunions, Rescues, and Revelations by James
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Eight guards and two who are probably sorcerors.  Highly unlikely that they are remotely close to Dorian's league, but the numbers still aren't good.

But didn't the Broken God also block sorcery?  What are they there for then?

Not that it mattered, James couldn't take out ten people fast enough to make a difference.  At the very least he needed a diversion.

Keep moving. Don't stare, it attracts attention.

James moves on.  The other targets are unlikely to be easier but it couldn't hurt to check.  Now as he walks he keeps an eye out for a cook fire or mess tent.  The best way to get information from a soldier was when they were eating...or drinking.

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Re: 50b - Reunions, Rescues, and Revelations by Dworkin (GM)
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There is some movemnt as James passes.  Another group of men crossing through the camp, towards the crate.  Two more of the robed wizard-types are with them, not a changing of the guard though.  Instead they drop off a couple of items they had been carrying, propping them against the side of the crate, and then, after a brief murmured discussion with their coleagues, they move away again.


As he moves through the camp, it becomes apparent that there are cooking fires aplenty, and though there is plenty of beer in evidence, strong drink is less noticeable.

Moving now towards the centre of the metropolis of tents, James notes that there seems to be a disturbance outside the largest of the tents.

This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 16:58, Fri 23 June 2006.