The companions eat
breakfast in Dem’ian Trofimov’s great hall, while Plamen tends to Rodion’s
festering thigh wound. After the boyar’s servants bid them farewell on behalf
of their master, they depart the hold, and wait in the nearby woods for their
noontime meeting with Zhitko. The smith appears punctually, and Chonkorchuk
promptly reveals the conditions for entry to Baba Yaga’s realm, and poses her
riddles. Zhitko immediately dismisses knowledge of any treasure, and claims to
have heard nothing about a shapechanging bear, as he is a recent arrival in the
area. When confronted with the riddle about the bride, he appears confused,
then offended. Saying he doesn’t have to listen to such things, he storms off.
The companions discuss how they might lure him and Katerina to the hag’s
domain. Though there are certain “oafish” characteristics about Zhitko’s
appearance and behavior, they conclude that he likely is not the bear they
seek.
The night is to be
spent at Chonkorchuk’s hermitage again, so the party crosses the ford in the
Vydra, and heads north. As they forage for food on the way, Plamen locates a
skeletal bear claw near a chain attached to a tree. Wondering whether this
belongs to their bear, they briefly search the surrounding area, noting trees
where a large animal might make a burrow. Subsequently, they return to
Chonkorchuk’s abode. Plamen cleans out Rodion’s wound again, and eats his
toadstool in hopes of receiving a vision. Chonkorchuk also throws his bones, and
envisions a one-armed bear chopping wood with an axe. Rodion sends his raven to
inspect the surrounding area, to see if he can espy any bears or those that
might imprison them.
In the morning,
Rodion’s leg is still swollen, though Plamen feels he is nearly out of danger.
Along with Chonkorchuk, they decide to return to Lazarevo, to interview Plamen’s human family, about the circumstances surrounding the
raid, to see if they can learn more about the treasure. On the way, they decide
to search one of the burrows they discovered near the location of the bear claw.
The burrow leads to a larger, underground pit, where the three discover some
signs of prior habitation – a similar chain to the one found the previous day
attached to an underground root, some ursine claw marks and hair, a rotten
apple, and two partly-moth-eaten wolf pelts that might still be worth something
if sold. The companions take the latter, and proceed to Lazarevo.
On the outskirts,
Chonkorchuk and Rodion put up illusory disguises to ensure that they are not
spotted by the hegumen’s people, and proceed to Plamen’s family home. His
father Pavel was not yet born when the raid took place, but his grandmother
Olga lived in Trofimka before its destruction. She confirms that Taras Trofimov
did not come to the aid of Trofimka during the raid, and attests that none of
the old buildings survived the Kochmak burning of the village (thus disproving
the theory that perhaps an old building with old valuables still stands).
Similarly, she has nothing to offer about the cause of the raid – that is just
what the Kochmaki do, as she sees it. She doesn’t know what happened to the
treasure, though she offers that it was taken from all households and from the
headman of that time. And she confirms the story of the hegumen’s mother being
the only survivor of the raid. Chonkorchuk’s has a notion that the hegumen’s birth
nine months after the raid means that he is a demonic being who heralds the
apocalypse, though the others have more mundane explanations. But with Olga’s
questioning about who his companions might be, Plamen and the others learn that
Lionia the Red is in town, and staying at the waystation. After thanking the
grandmother by giving her a few of Plamen’s special berries, the companions
proceed to the village center.
Dropping their
disguise, the three proceed into the compound, and ask Terentii, the
proprietor, whether he can offer them room, board and information. After
settling on a price of four more berries, they proceed inside, where Irina - the
mistress of the house prepares their supper. They question her about whether
she knows anything about Baba Yaga, or a bear, and she informs them that the
hag is primarily known for kidnapping children, though she knows of no bears.
About five years ago, a five year old girl (another Olga) disappeared, though
her skeleton was later recovered. A dozen or so years back, a boy, Vasya – a
lazy layabout with a sweet tooth, also vanished, but was never found.
 |
| Yulai raises a mug to his supplicants |
In response to
questions about why the Kochmaki slaughtered the captives, and where the
treasure might be, the companions are directed to Yulai – the Yam messenger,
who is also supping alongside them. After being plied with beer by Plamen, the
messenger reveals that the Kochmaki raiders never made it back to camp with the
prisoners and the treasure. There was little investigation of what happened to
them, because the Kochmaki never wanted the story to get out (and they have not
raided the area since that time). Other people, Irina puts in, have not
done much to search the meadow where, according to the hegumen’s mother, the
massacre took place, because the area is considered evil (and Plamen confirms
that nothing aside from grass grows there).
Another guest – an
oldster with an incongruously fiery beard, is Lionia the Red, about whom Rodion
senses a familiar air. He chats with the group over soup, and consents, out of charity, two buy their moth-eaten pelts for 10 kopecks. Then, he agrees to take a stroll with Rodion to
the edge of the village after they have eaten. On the way there, Lionia
conspicuously shows off a blade hidden in his sleeve. He reveals that he is a
peddler who sells firewood, charcoal, pitch, and honey, as he is a beekeeper in
the nearby village of Medunitsa. He is also in business with Dem’ian Trofimov,
taking up Rodion’s old smuggling scam. He suggests that he has some sort of
“understanding” with the hegumen, and recommends the monk as a man who can be
reasoned with. He also asks what business the companions are in, inquires about
their intense interest in the region’s history, and says that he may be
interested in collaborating with them in the future (though he has associates
whom he apparently has no interest in replacing).
Lionia agrees to meet
the rest of the companions in their sleeping loft after everyone else has gone
to sleep. Rodion reveals to the others what he has learned, and at midnight,
Lionia climbs up to their loft. He is impressed with their talents of disguise,
and finds they may be of use, but indicates that he would like to have a finger
in their pie if they are to have a finger in his. The party reveals to him what
they know about the treasure taken by the Kochmaki, and its purported
destination to Baba Yaga. Lionia knows nothing about it, but shares his wisdom
in such matters in return for being cut in for potential spoils: start looking
in the place where the treasure was last seen. Thus, the companions agree to
meet him in the meadow after morning prayers. Tomorrow is Nedelia, and Lionia
intends to head to the abbey with the rest of the villagers to pay his respect
to the Lord, and to Hegumen Yaakov.
 |
| Lionia the Red (trying on an anachronistic cap) |
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