The Chronicles of 'Team B' - Chapter 10 - The Demiurge of the Raid

Before the companions take leave of Zinovii, he introduces them to one of his servitors - a rooster-headed man called Anatoly Frolyn. Anatoly was a captive who grew up with the Kochmaki on the steppe after having himself been taken captive on a raid from a Norik village. Along with his sister, he grew up among the nomads, learning their customs and language. On a trip to the Khan's court with Grand Prince Vasilii, Zinovii met him, and purchased his freedom. Now, he sends Anatoly along with the other companions to serve as a translator and protector. Anatoly - a person of martial disposition, tells them that he would like to serve his benefactor and learn what befell those whose fate is similar to his own. The best use of his talents at present, Yuri and Lokan decide, would be to visit the Kochmak encampment just outside of town, and to ask them about the Vladykino captives. Yaakov has personal and family matters to attend to in the main city, so he excuses himself, and says he will meet the group at the cemetery, where they are to hold their vigil again tonight. Agapia also runs off, apparently in search of a new cauldron.

Anatoly, a new companion taking up the vacant 'cocky' role in the party

Anatoly, not wanting to attract unwanted attention, prepares himself by changing into the form of a tall, muscular human. The party then rides outside of the Nart Quarter, and heads through the rain toward the field dotted with multicolored yurts. Upon coming to the perimeter, they are immediately surrounded by four Kochmak riders, who, ignoring Anatoly's entreaties, order the group to dismount and disarm, and conduct them to one of the tents. The riders look very similar to those that confronted Yuri when he was following the raiders several weeks ago.

Inside the tent, they find Nygmet, a white-bearded clan elder of some sort. Unlike the camp guards, Nygmet treats the visitors cordially, inviting each to sit down on the cushions, and enjoy a bowl of broth (which Anatoly, who eschews meat, politely sets aside at an opportune moment). When Anatoly explains that they would like to speak to the bey about the whereabouts of the captives taken from Vladykino, Nygmet replies that the bey would in turn like information about who the guests are, who they work for, and what their interest in the matter is. After negotiation, it is decided that the spirits will determine the matter by having the two sides cast knucklebones, and the winner of the throw will be required to divulge their secrets first. The knucklebones are cast, but the spirits remain silent on the matter - the throw is judged to be a draw.

To resolve the draw, Nygmet offers a tie-breaker contest - a test of skill in archery. Anatoly makes his own counteroffer - he knows that the highest honor among the Kochmaki is held by those who demonstrate feats of physical prowess, so he suggests a wrestling contest. Nygmet agrees, and brings Aibek - one of the clan's best wrestlers, as well as Zhuldyz - the daughter of Sholpan Bey. Zhuldyz is conversant in the Noriki tongue, which will ease communication with the whole group, and relieve Anatoly of having to translate.

Anatoly offers the group his services as their champion against the strongman. His forelock stands upon end as he feels the power of the Earth flow through his body. He locks arms with Aibek, catches the Kochmak in a reverse hold, and quicker than one can blink, throws the strongman over his back. Clearly impressed with his strength, Zhuldyz asks if he would like to join the clan as a wrestling champion. When he replies that he is currently engaged, but will consider the offer, the bey's daughter fulfills the promise of the wager. She tells them what they have already heard from Berke: that the bulk of the prisoners are warehoused on Slave Island in a caravanserai owned by a man named Hassan, but the young women in the group were transported across the river. She does add that they are now in the possession of a powerful lord named Yaqub, who owns land across the river, and who paid for the raid in the first place. The raiders keep the proceeds for the sale of the other captives, but the young women were sent to Yaqub immediately upon the expedition's return.

Zhuldyz then asks the companions to tell them about herself, as a courtesy, and Yuri reveals his story, as well as the group's relationship with Zinovii. Zhudyz ends the meeting by wishing the companions luck in buying back the captives, and invites Anatoly to return at any time, asking whether his prowess at wrestling is matched in other areas.

Leaving the camp with heads still attached to necks: a moral victory

The party leaves the raider camp, and returns to the city. Now that they have some answers, which seem to absolve the Grand Prince of any responsibility, they hope to receive Zinovii's promised princely protection. But the ailing boyar, though he praises the group for the results so far, objects that the people of the Ladeisk prince who would blame his master would require more concrete legal proof of the raiders' collusion with this Yaqub, preferably in writing. Anatoly promises that he will return to the encampment to obtain the proof, especially as he seems to have a standing invitation from the bey's daughter. But now, as the day heads toward evening, it is time to return to the cemetery, and this time, Anatoly would like to accompany the rest of the group, in all his rooster glory.

At the cemetery, the watchman is closing up as Yuri, Lokan, and Anatoly arrive. He hasn't seen any disturbing activity since the previous night, but remains nervous - the grave robbers might come back! The companions ask for a few candles - they'd like to have a closer look around for tracks and disturbed graves. Searching around, Lokan finds disturbed dirt on top of a stone slab, which Yuri shoves aside, finding another staircase down into the darkness. Around this time, Yaakov shows up. He informs the rest of the group that his contacts in the main city have revealed to him that the grave robbers are Banu Tabar that operate out of an apothecary shop, where they sell the stolen water as a cure-all remedy. Perhaps one of the tunnels leads to this shop.

Lokan heads down into yesterday's tunnel with Anatoly, and after entering the long hallway, finds the passage blocked with a newly constructed brick wall. A careful look around reveals that some of the mortar hasn't set, or is perhaps of lower quality. Lokan easily removes the bricks adhering to the bad mortar, revealing a hole that a person can crawl through. Looks like the grave robbers have left themselves a back door, and likely intend to return. Meanwhile, Yuri finds an identical wall, with an identical "back door" in the new tunnel. Both tunnels continue for quite a ways, and then begin to branch off into side passages. Perhaps tonight is not the time to find out where they lead, and to confront whoever waits on the other side - these are tasks best left for another day. The group returns to the cemetery, and completes their nightly vigil. Nothing transpires, and at sunrise, they all go back to their resting places - Yaakov to his home in the main city, Anatoly to the Nikonov mansion, and Yuri and Lokan - to Hegumen Mitrofan's monastery, to sleep, and reconvene at Nikonov's in the early evening.

The following day, Anatoly rises to meet his new companions at the monastery. Alden and Agapia are still nowhere to be seen, Yakov is likely preoccupied with his affairs, and Anatoly returns, in human form, to the nomad encampment to speak to Zhuldyz, to see if he can wrangle a confirmation of what she told him the previous day in writing, and perhaps to have a bit of fun. The bey's daughter seems preoccupied and dismissive in comparison to the previous day, says that she does not write, and invites Anatoly to return another time.

In the meantime, Yuri and Lokan decide to head into the main city to see if anything more can be learned about Yaqub. The most promising place to go seems to be the docks from where captives were ferried to Slave Island, because here they might find the ferryman who took the young women across the river, and on to Yaqub. Yuri leaves his weapons behind - he doesn't want want trouble with the guardians at the West Gate. Lokan, however, tries to sneak a dagger and his whip into the city. The guards don't like how he looks, so they demand that he hand his purse over. Lokan toys with the idea of pulling a little sleight of hand, but a dirty look from Yuri dissuade him. The guards are thorough, find the weapons, and confiscate them, giving the vagabond a token so he can redeem them later.

After arriving at the docks and asking around, they find the dockmaster, Kardysh, who directs them to a man named Mamoun - the transporter of the slaves. The arrival of the captives was obviously big news, and hard to cover up. When they ask him where the young women were taken, who Yaqub is, and where he lives, Mamoun takes them aside and demands three gold dinars as payment - a hefty sum. There is nothing to it, so Yuri pays up, and in return, Mamoun tells them that Yaqub is in fact a firebreathing zilant - a winged, two-legged serpent, who lives under a hill a couple of hours upstream on the other side. It seems he has lived there for a while, and is sometimes seen to take flight at night. His hunting grounds are elsewhere - perhaps on the steppe, as he has been seen carrying horses back to his lair. But this is not the first time he has received contingents of young women taken on raids. What he does with them is unclear, but Mamoun took the women there shortly after they arrived, turned them over to people who are presumably Yaqub's agents, and they took it from there, while he returned. There is no indication that the man is lying, but he refuses to set any of this down in writing.

Mamoun spills the beans while sipping his sherbet

Yuri's heart sinks - can it be that his beloved Svetlana has already been devoured by a monstrous serpent? Whatever the case, the monster must die, but he and his companion must return to the Nart Quarter to at least wait out the downpour, which threatens to wash out the rest of the day, and collect their weapons and the rest of their companions. At Nikonov's, they meet Anatoly, back from his foray to the encampment with little to show for it, though the rooster-man is eager to join in the expedition to hunt down a serpent - it is just the thing to prove his heroic mettle. Yaakov is there as well - he has returned to give Zinovii another blood-letting. He had spent the day watching his nephews and nieces after his nightly escapades, and is now trying to give a skeptical Zinovii a diagnosis of his malady. It seems that the boyar is a little too indulgent a drinker - an explanation the latter dismisses as outlandish before agreeing to cut back his mealtime consumption from five drinks to three.

As the four stand outside the mansion discussing the diagnosis and their next steps, Agapia appears, happily skipping by. Yesterday, she tried to replace her missing cauldron by lifting one from a local bazaar, and was promptly caught and escorted back to her uncle for punishment - her relationship and special status do give her some leeway. Mitrofan promptly punished her by locking her in her room for a day, but now she has been set free, and is skipping along merrily - she just found a clay jar in an alley, and used magic to clean it from sediment, so she is elated.   

Chronicles of 'Team B' - Chapter 9 - Seeking Support of Church and State

Armed with new information courtesy of Berke, the companions return to the Nart Quarter as the sun sinks in the west. Tonight, they will hold a vigil in the cemetery of the large Irii Church that dominates the Quarter, as it is here that all of Udyn's Gaalites are buried, and here that unclean creatures come in the dark hour. If they succeed in driving the darkness back, perhaps Hegumen Mitrofan, and the other Fathers will see fit to support their efforts to free Yuri's family, both materially and spiritually.

As they arrive at the cemetery, the night watchman is just closing up the gate. He is frightened, and tells the group that undead nezhit' come up out of the ground at night, notwithstanding the fact that the cemetery is hallowed ground. They have already scared off some local adolescents who undertook to watch the graveyard, and caused a dog that had come with them to go rigid for hours after grabbing it with their claws.

What are those ghostly forms floating above the church?

Agapia, Lokan and Yuri enter the cemetery, and begin to search for a place where the nezhit' might emerge from. There are some recent burials, but no signs of where such creatures may emerge from out of the ground. There is a a sacred spring at the center of the graveyard that Agapia knows about - it is dedicated to Saint Pachomii of Udyn - a Bahite who converted to the True Confession, and was martyred by the Kochmaki on that very spot. The spring erupts from a rock, and empties into a font that the faithful built around it. Lokan looks longingly at the coins they threw in the font to win the saint's favor, but Yuri shoots him a dirty look, and dissuades him from fishing any of them out of the sacred water. Figuring this for a strategic and defensible spot, Agapia and Lokan set up a triangular tripwire using rope, wire and grave markers around the font, and begin filling a waterskin and Agapia's small cauldron with holy water. Yuri uses the opportunity to slip out, back to the Noriki monastery, to retrieve his horse Vera, and to see if there is any sign of Alden. Vera is there, stabled by the Hegumen's people, but Alden seems to have gone out on the town with his friend Fedor, and has not yet returned.

Yuri rides Vera back to the cemetery, and the trio begin their watch. Hours pass, but after the call for the nightly prayer from the minarets in the main city, which Agapia knows marks the midnight hour, the sound of a moving stone slab, buried somewhere under dirt, alerts the watchers that something is coming. Soon, two shapes dressed in rags approach the font, shambling and groaning. Their faces are deathly pale and covered with dirt and fresh blood, which is running down their chins. As they come closer, a groan goes up from somewhere behind the companions. The doughty men of action - Yuri and Lokan - have seen enough, and both head toward the gate, Yuri astride Vera.

Little Agapia is left alone to face the two fiends, perhaps not realizing why she should fear them. She positions herself to squirt one of them with holy water, expecting this to drive them off. But in response, the creature emits a wheezy laugh through its groan, deliberately steps over the tripwire, dips its hand in the font, and sprays Agapia with the water. Then it grabs her cauldron, which she left undefended.

Realizing that their friend is in trouble, Lokan masters his fear, and returns, succeeding in cracking one of the fiends painfully with his whip. Yuri rides back, too, but one of the creatures rips him with its claws, and he goes rigid. Only because he is an expert rider does he manage to remain mounted as Vera retreats once again. The other fiend claws at Agapia, and gets tangled in her thick fleece. It is then that Agapia sees that its talon glints in the moonlight, and that it is not a claw at all, but a dagger! She flings her own dagger at the creature, and buries it in its rags. At this point, both creatures turn and flee, no longer shambling, but running nimbly back in the direction they came from. They are able to outdistance even the similarly nimble Lokan, and disappear into the darkness. The stone slab grinds back into place.

Yuri is still frozen on Vera, but he indicates through his teeth that his two companions should follow the creatures without him. It would be good to know where they went, and to learn why they came. Worst of all, they have borne away Agapia's knife and cauldron full of holy water. After struggling, Lokan finally succeeds in moving the stone slab. Underneath, he finds a set of stairs. Shrugging, he and Agapia descend into the darkness. At the bottom of the stone stairs, a tunnel leads away, turning right and left. Lokan pursues in the darkness, with Agapia lagging far behind. Agapia soon finds herself peering at two glowing, yellow eyes, but they soon move away. She tries to move forward, feeling the wall, but after a time, she feels Lokan's hand on her shoulder. After turning two corners, Lokan saw a light off in the distance, but it moved away very quickly, and he found that he could not catch up. He returned to Agapia, and the two now ascend back to the cemetery.

After finding Yuri, they lead Vera back to the monastery. Lokan's ministrations to Yuri are in vain, and when they get back, they find an empty cell, lay Yuri down carefully, and collapse. The following morning Yuri is groggy, but finally mobile. Hegumen Mitrofan ministers to him, and he feels better, after which the hegumen questions the companions about their nightly escapades. The monk asks if Lokan remembers which direction the long tunnel was leading, and the vagabond answers that he is quite certain that it led east. That means that the tunnel and the grave robbers went back into the main city, and now, they will be hard to find. The companions entertain the notion of trying to seek them out, and to learn why they are stealing holy water, but the hegumen points out that if they get into a conflict with Bahites, he will be hard-pressed to support them. He surmises that now that they know the cemetery is guarded they won't be back, at least not right away. He will undertake a collection among the faithful to support the watchers.

The companions decide that their time is best spend seeking out the emissary of the Grand Prince, to learn what, if anything, he knows about the captives. Agapia leads them to the mansion of Georgii Nikonov, a boyar and fur merchant who resides in the Nart Quarter. Once there, Yuri explains to armed guards that he has heard an emissary of Grand Prince Vasilii is staying in the mansion, that he himself hails from the village that was raided by the Kochmaki, and that he wishes to speak to the emissary about the raid and the captives. The guards convey the message, and tell Yuri and the others to wait until the emissary is ready to see them.

While they wait at the bottom of the stair, a robed, turbaned and bearded man with a yellow armband that strikes Agapia's eye descends down the stair. He is Yaakov - a Fogarma physician, who was summoned here to attend to the emissary. The companions are then called up, to see his patient - pale, lying on a bench, with leeches on his arms and legs. His name is Zinovii Surikov, and he listens carefully to Yuri's tale, and his request to be granted the Grand Prince's protection so they can openly bear weapons and act on his behalf. Zinovii explains that he is actually in town to learn the truth of the matter behind the raid. He knows that subjects of the Prince Trofim of Ladeisk - Yuri's suzerain lord - probably suspect Vasilii's connivance in the raid, but he assures them that this is not the case.

Zinovii Surikov after surviving the wonders of 'modern'
69th century medicine

The physician returns to the mansion to remove the leeches. Zinovii orders the servants to bring food, while Yuri and Lokan entertain all those assembled with music. At the end, Zinovii tells them if they learn the true reasons behind the raid - from the slavers on the island, the raiders still camped outside town, or Udyn's rulers - he will know he can trust them, and will extend the Grand Prince's patronage to them. Yaakov expresses a desire to accompany them, for reasons that are as yet unclear.

Chronicles of 'Team B' - Chapter 8 - The Virtuous City And Its Underside

The party heads toward a gate flanked by two square wooden towers. Two unsmiling mailed Kochmak spearmen, wicked sabres hanging at their sides, stand at the ready, their feet spread apart. Between them is an official with an abacus, calculating toll rates for all those who are waiting to enter. When their turn comes, the official informs Yuri that the toll for the four of them and their three animals will be 2 and a half dirhems - the local term for kopecks. While the companions search through their pockets, the official, who calls himself Zaman, instructs them in local etiquette and ordinances. As Gaalites, they may not ride horses or bear arms in the city. They may only stay in the Nart Quarter - set aside for Gaalites - which is located at the other end of the city. Finally, they must wear light blue armbands when they are about in the main part of the city. Unless they want to leave their weapons at the gate until they leave, they can pay a boy named Ahmed to carry their weapons to the Nart Quarter (for a nominal fee).

Grumbling at the regulations, and fearful that the staying in the city will result in one shakedown after another, the companions finally enter the city. Udyn is mostly built of wood, but with imposing stone structures - fortresses, public buildings, and temples towering over the residential buildings. The temples are crowned with the sign of the crescent, which the locals worship apparently. Though some of the domes and spires seem to belong to churches, none is topped with the sign of the cross. Strange, bad-smelling humped animals roam the streets and alleys of the city, and the scents of exotic spices and succulent meats hover over the markets and hostels. Alden, who has lived in the lands of the Garipy, is not overly impressed with the wooden structures, but Yuri, who has not traveled much in his life, is overwhelmed by the size and grandeur of the place: many tens of thousands of people must live here!

Udyn - a metropolis of wood and stone

After making their way to the eastern edge of the city, the party finally locates the gate to the Nart Quarter. Prior to turning their weapons back over to them, Ahmed suggests that once inside, they may want to consider going to a bathhouse and washing their clothes. All four are filthy, and Alden's clothes are stained with blood - a memento of his encounter with the rusalka's husband, who he killed for his cow. Most think this is a good idea. Fedor says that now that he has helped Yuri get to his destination, he will be heading back soon after his bath. Alden says he wants to run an errand to give his friend a proper sendoff, and heads back into the main part of the city.

The Nart Quarter, though much smaller than the main city, is still a sizable conurbation in its own right. Though the people who live here are supposedly Gaalites like them, most speak languages they don't understand. They head toward the main church with a tall spire, where they learn that it is the Irii church. From there locals direct them to a bathhouse frequented by the Noriki. Wary of losing their animals, Yuri and Fedor stay to watch them, while Lokan goes for a steaming. At the entrance, he pays the attendant, and receives a wooden bucket and some birch switches. As he heads inside, a young girl with a tangled mess of auburn braids follows him inside. A mean-looking grandmother instructs them that they need to head to different steam rooms - the men's or the women's, unless Lokan is interested in paying for a private room. Intrigued, and bewildered, Lokan opts for the later, and the girl follows him inside. She reveals her name to be Agapia, and says that she likes to hang around near the bathhouse in hopes of running into interesting people, though she is not sure why. When Lokan presses her for information about who she is, she answers each question after casting a colored die, and considering the facet that lands up.

In the meantime, Alden searches the district near the gate to the Nart Quarter for a fortune teller. He locates a Noriki-speaking adolescent, and gives him the equivalent of nearly two days' wages in exchange for information of leading to a good fortune teller. The kid, named Khariton, knows just the person, and says he will take Alden to her. The two go into the Nart Quarter, and proceed to the plaza just outside the bathhouse, where they find Yuri and Fedor impatiently waiting for Lokan to emerge. Khariton asks whether anyone has seen Agapia, and after learning that she went inside, enters the bathhouse with Yuri. Yuri knocks on the door to the private steam room, and is chased out by the mean grandmother. Lokan, in much cleaner (but wet) clothes, along with a dry Agapia, exit, while Yuri and Fedor take their turns, steaming and cleaning the grime from their clothes. After all have bathed, Agapia uses some sort of magical trick to instantly dry everyone's clothes, thus confirming her bona fides as a fortune teller. Khariton then conducts the rest of the group to a nearby tavern.

While they dine on bowls of cabbage soup and bread, Agapia uses her die to determine Fedor's fortune: he will return home, find amazing adventures, and die a true hero's death. In the meantime, Yuri has more mundane concerns - does Khariton know anyone who might be willing to buy their cow? Khariton says that he is a servant in at a nearby Noriki abbey, where Agapia's uncle happens to be the hegumen. Given how much money he has been plied with, Khariton goes to fetch the hegumen forthwith.

The Irii Church in the Nart Quarter

Khariton soon reappears with the hegumen, Father Mitrofan. Mitrofan is not entirely pleased with the cow, but when he learns of the party's travails and the reason they are here, he undertakes to help them, and buys the cow for slightly more than a ruble. He then invites them to the monastery, to relax, and cleanse themselves spiritually, now that they have bathed. The group follows Mitrofan and makes themselves at home in the monastery courtyard, while the pious Yuri proceeds inside to confess his sins. Aside from various youthful indiscretions, he reveals that the cow he has just sold was stolen, but does this so sincerely that Mitrofan's furrowed brow soon relaxes. As the hegumen grants absolution, he also informs Yuri that he thinks the actions of his cow-stealing companion have cursed the whole group, and that will be hard to overcome.

After he has confessed, Yuri and the rest consult the hegumen as to their next steps. They are especially concerned that any extended stay in Udyn will quickly drain their already meagre funds. Mitrofan recommends that they sell their horses as quickly as possible, because there is no other way they can earn sufficient funds to redeem even a few of Yuri's relatives. Yuri is reticent to part with Vera, and asks what sort of help they might find in releasing the prisoners in other ways. In response, Mitrofan warns Yuri that any altercation will reflect badly on the Gaalites in town, who are sheltering the party, and advises against it. There are occasionally princes that stay with local notables in the Gaalite quarter, and perhaps winning their support will allow the companions to freely carry weapons around town, but this is a project that they will have to pursue by themselves. Yuri inquires whether there is any sort of work the companions can do for the monastery to earn a little money. Mitrofan tells them that there have been sightings of unclean beings at the Gaalite cemetery at night - strange, because it is on hallowed ground. If the companions undertake to watch the cemetery, perhaps the churches can pass around a collection plate to support their efforts. Lokan, taking a different tack, asks if there are criminal organizations in Udyn that might help them get information about the prisoners, where they are kept, and how they are guarded. To this, a surprisingly businesslike Mitrofan says that although he has no contact with such people, he knows that the Banu Tabar - a criminal network that is spread throughout the Bahite world, does operate in the city. They have a gathering place right near the main souk - the market next to the central mosque. The place, operated by a man auspiciously named Kesha, is a gathering place where the Banu Tabar drink alcoholic beverages - a practice forbidden to Bahites, and yet one that is indulged by many of the recent converts, and aided by the town's brewers, who are all located in the Nart Quarter. In fact, Agapia has supplied the place with beer in the past, and can conduct the companions to the establishment.

Now that they have a few leads to follow up on, the companions decide to spend their first evening in Udyn productively. While Alden stays behind to say good-bye to Fedor, Yuri and Lokan follow Agapia to the main town. The sun has not set when they arrive at the souk, and Lokan toys with the idea of pickpocketing someone, in hopes that members of the Banu Tabar will notice someone poaching on their turf, and intervene. Yuri decides this is a bad way to start a relationship, and suggests that they simply follow Agapia to the tavern, which is what they do. Inside, they quickly locate seedy types seated on cushions, drinking beer and wine, and smoking shisha. While her companions order some fermented milk, Agapia heads over to a table where a big Kochmak named Berke is holding forth, surrounded by hangers on. Berke recognizes her, and asks her what she is doing there, to which she answers that she doesn't remember. Lokan, who is a man of the world, flashes some signs at Berke, which the latter appears to recognize. Berke suggests that the newcomers buy him and his friends a round of beer.  In response, Lokan pleads poverty, and says they could do that if Berke offers them a job. Berke lets him know in no uncertain terms that he is not a man to be trifled with, and then tells him he would like to have a private talk with him in the alley.

Berke - a man not to be disrespected

Once outside, the two men speak in an argot that Lokan mostly understands. Berke informs him that as a newcomer, he should behave with the proper deference, and if he wants information, he is going to have to pay, and not haggle. After a brief consult with Yuri, Lokan agrees to do so. After parting with nearly 40 dirhems, Berke divulges the following information. First, the slavers arrived in town 10 days ago, and are housing the captives in a caravanserai on an island in the middle of the Udena. The Banu Tabar can smuggle the party there, for a price. Second, shortly after their arrival, men working for Vasilii, the Grand Prince of Kliakva, arrived in town, and are staying at the house of a local boyar named Georgii, in the Nart Quarter. Vasilii, Lokan and Yuri know, is the rival of the Prince of Ladeisk, overlord of Vladykino, from whence the party has come. Third, a good number of the slaves have already been sold, some down the river, probably bound for the Khan's capital at Ak Karam. Some were sold to local notables, including the amir. However, a number of young women were separated from the rest, transported across the river. It is not clear where they were taken, but it seems unlikely that they were headed to Ak Karam, unless they were to walk the whole way there.

At the end, Berke tells Lokan that he must keep up appearances, though he would prefer not to do the deed himself. Lokan appears confused, but Yuri understands what the Kochmak means, and after Berke has gone back inside, he slugs his companion in the face, giving him a black eye. The party then briefly returns to the tavern, so Berke's henchmen can bear witness to their boss' prowess.

Chronicles of 'Team B' - Chapter 7 - One Path Ends, The Other Continues

Before the rest of the group departs from Vladykino, Bjorg kills and roasts the second pig brought by Lokan, while Kesha takes the day to thoroughly search the village. He recalls that there was a wise woman with a somewhat unwholesome reputation that lived on the outskirts, and locates a few edibles, as well as a couple of crocks containing potions: one with a silver coin on the bottom - probably a holy water or healing potion, and another that's about a quarter full, containing a foul-smelling liquid with transmutative properties. Kesha creates a harness for the two crocks, to make sure they don't break along the way.

The following day, once it becomes clear that the weather will not improve, and once what remains of the pig is salvaged (Bjorg is no better a cook than Alden), Kesha and his big friend set out in pursuit of the four companions who left earlier in the day. Since they are on foot, they press on after dark, but find it tough going in the dense woods, and tire quickly. The following day, they run into the same scruffy characters their companions met earlier, but, not wishing to fall behind, they have the briefest of chats, and learn only that their companions proceeded south. The next day, the pair locate a giant turnip in the woods. Not seeing anyone around, Bjorg pulls it out of the ground, and brings it along, but Kesha worries that the turnip's owner will come after them. At night, he uses magic to raise the earth in an attempt to protect them from any trouble, as well as from the rain.

At the end of the third day, the two have still not caught up with their companions, but they do find the Kochmak campsite, left roughly 10 days ago. They proceed deeper into the woods, but have grown tired of maintaining their pace - even Bjorg finds the weight he is carrying oppressive. The rain has made the forest floor into a mud pit, and it is very slow going. The region seems devoid of people, though Kesha does see some lights off in the distance this night and the next. The second time around, he decides to investigate, and discovers a homestead in the midst of the woods. He knocks on the gate until someone answers. The man speaks an unfamiliar tongue, and Kesha attempts to communicate with him by creating an image of his companions on a piece of cowhide. The man is frightened, and runs off, but soon, an armed Kochmak rider appears from inside a building in the compound. Kesha attempts to charm the man, unsuccessfully, and then is fortunate to be able to flee and hide, until the Kochmak ceases his pursuit. After dawn breaks, the rider, along with another, appears with two others near Bjorg and Kesha's campsite. After Bjorg rouses himself, they seem to be a bit taken aback, but one rider fires warning shots at a tree, and orders the travelers to leave (in the Noriki tongue).

Left with no aid and no information, and beset by more bad weather, the two travelers make the best guess they can about which direction to head. There have been no signs of the Kochmak raiding party or of their companions for several days. Another Kochmak rider passes them, apparently wanting to know about the settlement they passed, so they send him on his way. The pig has been eaten, but there is still the turnip which should last for a while. Bjorg also succeeds in killing a deer in the old-fashioned way (rock to the head). The pair roast it on the fire, while trying to warm up from the rain (Kesha uses his magic toward this endeavor as well).

The deer, however, proves the pair's downfall. On the third day after leaving the Kochmak campsite, they attract a pack of wolves. The wolves follow them for a while, trying to snatch the roasted deer carcass from the volot. Four of the wolves come at the volot, and though he swats at a couple with his oslop, he does not manage to bring any down. One of the wolves bites him hard on the foot, and the big man falls, dropping his prey. A wolf snatches it, and takes off. Kesha, after healing the big man, uses magic to give chase, but his sling, and his attempts to shock the wolves prove ineffective - the road has taken its toll. Bjorg is having a hard time finding his feet after being healed, and Kesha has moved a ways away while chasing the pack. Two wolves confront the chud, and the lead wolf delivers a vicious bite to his abdomen, as the world fades to black...

You shoudda just let us go with that deer...

* * *

The main group takes a full-day's rest trying to recover from the harrowing encounter with the rusalka the previous night. The companions manage to fashion a canopy from the rain and to start a fire. Lokan and Fedor hunt down some hares, while the others catch several fish in the stream, giving the party sufficient food for the next several days. The following day, they set out, with horses and cow in tow, trying to push south. It's a slow slog through the mud and the rain, but two days later, Yuri discovers the Kochmak camp, indicating that the party has managed to find their way back to the raider's trail.

The following day, the bad weather finally ends, though the woods are thick here, there are no dwellings in sight, and the ground is still wet with mud. But hearts are lifted, as progress is made, and in three days time, the four sight a large river through the trees - presumably, the Udena. Soon, they see small fishing settlements along the bank. Curious as to who lives there, and interested in taking an opportunity in trying to sell their ill-gotten cow, Yuri and Lokan decide to investigate. Alden, on account of his recent escapades, is not invited, but left on a hilltop outside the village, with Fedor to watch over him, and keep him out of trouble.

The two companions enter through the main gate, and are immediately confronted with a gaggle of local children. They are clearly not Noriki, judging by their appearance and dress, and they are none too happy about seeing Noriki here. They say a few mean things about infidels in broken Noriki, and make fun of the companions' cow, saying it looks sickly and thin, and that no one will buy it. Yuri and Lokan make their way toward the village center, where the local shrine is located. Here, they meet the village headman, Erken, who seems happy to see them, and invites them in for a meal. He explains that the town of Udyn is actually very close by, and reveals that a large group of raiders, as well as captives, did pass by here about 10 days ago. Erken relates that his people belong to the Bahite faith, but says that those espousing different creeds live peacefully in Udyn - there is in fact a Gaalite quarter. Yuri offers that when he was young, a Bahite traveler named Hassan Abu Hakim came to Vladykino, and gifted him his oud, as well as fantastic stories about the wide world. Yuri takes the opportunity to regale his hosts with several songs from his homeland on the oud, while Lokan decides he likes koumiss - the local delicacy made of fermented mare's milk, and attempts to engage the hosts in a drinking contest. The host's friends drift into dinner, while Erken, gladdened by the atmosphere, offers the pair 30 altyn to buy their cow. Yuri recalls that this is less than a ruble, and Erken admits they can get a better price in town.

After the fourth toast, and Yuri's second song, the other guests politely take their leave, and Yuri and Lokan are offered places to sleep in the loft. After the lights go down, and the household falls asleep, Lokan slips out, and goes to find his companions on the hilltop, and sneaks them into the village. Inside Erken's house, the two uninvited guests manage to waken the hosts as they try to eat the remains of supper. Erken is a bit confused about the extra guests, and the following morning, begs off from breaking fast with the party. But the quartet leaves the village unmolested, and soon, sight Udyn - a city of tall stone spires and colorful domes rising before them on a hilltop overlooking the river...

Finally here! Hmmm... why only a wooden wall?

The Chronicles of 'Team B' - Chapter 6 - Comrade Wolf Knows Who To Eat

Alden and Fedor depart Malinka after despairing of the archbishop's justice regarding Yulian the Stablemaster or Zbigniev the Miller. Fedor is able to convince his horse to carry his lupine companion, and the two of them are able to reach Vladykino after a day's ride, in half the time of their companions. They locate Yuri in what's left of his yard in the village, searching for horseshoes and any savings his family left behind (as it turns out, he locates a clay jar stuffed with pulo, kopecks, and a piece of silver jewelry hastily buried underneath his stoop). Meanwhile, Alden and Fedor become acquainted with the giant man - Bjorg, whom they heard about back in Malinka.

Shortly thereafter, Kesha returns with Lokan, who is driving two pigs from the mill before him.  Alden takes initiative, slaughters one of the pigs, and stays up all night to roast it. Parts of the pig are undercooked, and parts - charred, the following morning, so the group sticks around in the burned-down village for an extra day to allow the pig to finish cooking, and for Alden - to catch up on sleep.

The following morning, Fedor, Alden, Yuri and Lokan depart, with the understanding that Kesha and Bjorg will follow, once Kesha's business in Vladykino is concluded, and once they are done roasting the second pig (Bjorg eats for four). The away group has four people riding two horses, which still allows them to cover significant distance, despite the brief shower on the first day. The second day the weather worsens. A prolonged shower dampens spirits, and Vera has more problems with her shoes. This time, Yuri is ready with backups, but as he pounds in a new horseshoe, the party is surrounded by a group of six scruffy people, who invite them to sit around their fire. To Yuri and others, they look like they could be displaced peasants or bandits, but Lokan recognizes them as the people who had told him about the raid, the mill, and the miller on his way north.

After grudgingly following the scruffy people the party is led to a makeshift camp deeper in the woods, and the two groups proceed to exchange information. After Yuri briefly recounts their travels, and says they are following the Kochmaki to try to redeem his family, a man who calls himself Nikolai says they probably won't catch them. The Kochmaki passed here over a week ago, and are probably approaching the city of Udyn, which is a major slave mart. The slaves are usually housed on an island in the Udena River before they are sold, sometimes to city notables or the household of the local amir, sometimes down the river to Atavask, at the steppe's edge, where they are exchanged for horses. Yuri thanks Nikolai for the information and attempts to leave, but Nikolai acts a little offended in the party's refusal to reciprocate and to accept his hospitality. In response to his pressing, Yuri and Fedor tell him about the mill and its special properties, the dark magic of its operator, and the fact that he is now being held in Malinka. They have no explanation for why the Kochmaki left the mill intact, except to speculate that Zbigniev was somehow in cahoots with them. Yuri then begs off, using the fact that they have no time to lose in following the raiders as an excuse. Having received their information, the woodsmen allow them to go.

'And they say that we are baddies...'

Toward the end of the day, the group reaches the low bluff where Yuri had ridden to on his previous foray (before four Kochmaki chased him away). The campsite is abandoned, though evidence of the raiders' passage is still present. Searching through the debris and the undergrowth, Lokan manages to find a curved dagger, which he keeps. That night, a luminous, white-clad woman emerges from the woods, and singing haunting melodies, advances toward the clearing. Quickly gathering their things, the party flees into the woods - they can only imagine what sort of woman would be walking through here at this time of day, and Noya - Kupalo, one of the most magical days in the Noriki calendar, is only a few days away.

The following day is also overcast and wet. The party decides to follow a stream in hopes of making the best time possible. Since the pig has now been largely eaten, Alden is sent ahead to find some game. On his own, he quickly picks up the scent of an herbivore, but it turns out to be cows, not wild animals. Alden decides to take a risk, and discovers a small wooden tower surrounded by a compound on the banks of the stream. Inside, he spies a single person chopping wood, and apparently conversing with some barnyard animals. Deciding that the needs of the party outweigh the needs of the owner, and not having anyone to stop him, he changes into a wolfman, and rushes the main inside, taking him by surprise, cutting into him with his scythe, and then biting through his throat. As the man bleeds out, Alden succumbs to bloodlust, and devours much of the poor man. He then looks in the barn, and finds, to his disappointment, that there were only two cows (and two goats). The goats flee, while Alden takes one of the cows, and leads it back toward the party.

Alden's companions are rather shocked to see him bringing a cow rather than a deer, and even more shocked to see him drenched in blood. They demand to know what happened. At first, Alden tells them that he took the cow from some peasants, and ate a goat while in the village. In response to pressing - how many people saw him? - he finally admits that he killed a man, but blames him for resisting. Yuri answers that resisting an attack on himself and his property does not make the other man guilty, and wonders aloud whether he is able to travel with Alden anymore. Then, Alden justifies his actions by saying that he was looking out for the needs of his companions, who must have something to eat while they pursue the Kochmaki. After Yuri states his dislike for the raiders does not justify wanton murder - and eating! - of people, Alden responds by saying that he was recently enslaved, while his kind have been dealt a bad hand, and are often unjustly treated, and this makes him lash out in ways that he can't control. The Yuri and Fedor shake their heads, but there is nothing to it, the deed is done, and they must continue on their mission (along with their new cow). But they make Alden swear to never do something like this again.

As ever are the weak at fault before the strong

  The party camps further downstream at the end of an exhausting day. Just before dawn, the white woman appears again. This time, she moves purposefully toward Lokan, who is on watch, and while he is waking his companions, demands to know who killed her husband. Lokan tries to resist, but the woman dominates the rest of the group into submission, and quickly learns the answer to her question. She instructs Alden to accompany her, and leads him into the stream, where she proceeds to try to drown him, and bites him twice in the neck, causing him to weaken. Lokan tries to throw his companion a rope, to no avail, while Yuri, thinking that she is in trouble, attempts to help her by trying to pull her out of the stream. None of the party's interventions appear to work, and Fedor starts repeating the man's wife is a rusalka, and that Alden is a goner. Finally, Lokan breaks out the whip, and connects with the woman, which gives Alden a chance to break free, and flee to the other bank of the stream. Exasperated, the woman announces that Alden is to be a curse to his companions, breaks off, and swims quickly down the stream.

The Chronicles of 'Team B' - Chapter 5 - Bjorg's Bear's Services

Lokan, a vagabond from the south, has come to Malinka at nightfall. He had heard from some rough men living in the woods that Kochmak raiders have recently destroyed the village of Vladykino, though they left the village mill, its lifeblood, untouched. As they tell it, the archbishop's people from his summer estate at Malinka came afterward, and took the miller with them, for unknown reasons, but likely having to do with dark deeds.

Lokan stopped at the mill on his way to investigate the burnt out village, but found nothing save a suspicious bag of bones, a dead vasilisk, and some starving animals at the barn. He decided to continue on to Malinka, to see what he could learn about the miller's fate. But he arrived to after nightfall, and found the gate to the estate closed, so after finding a crabapple tree a short ways outside, he decides to spend the night in the tree.

* * *

In Malinka Yuri looks to gather a party together to go off in pursuit of the Kochmaki, in order to recover his family and his paramour. He hears from Father Oleg that a curious traveler has arrived from the north - a huge man, standing over four arshins tall. As Fedor and Alden are busy running an errand for the brewer, and Kesha has private matters to discuss with the priests, Yuri decides to seek out the foreigner, as he seems like he would be a useful companion. Oleg recommends that he get his party together as fast as possible, seeming to suggest that their further presence in Malinka is troubling to the archbishop.

The billing lives up to the hype. The foreigner, Bjorg, is indeed a huge man, who has come from the Land of Birma to seek out news of his kind living on the eastern edge of the Land of Nor'. He wears peculiar headgear, and carries a huge cudgel with a stone driven through it, but on the plus side, he is eager for adventure, and wishes to prove himself against the troublesome raiders. He and Yuri agree to leave early the following morning, and at his request, Father Oleg provides him with two days of food for seven people.

Bjorg in a candid moment, without his horned hat

* * *

Kesha speaks to Father Oleg about the deed to the land that he has carried with him all these long years, since he left the Svora Mountains, and returned to the world of humans. Oleg confirms that the land mentioned in the document is the land upon which the mill in Vladykino now stands. He also confirms that Kesha's mother was the owner of the land, but that she was deeply indebted to the archbishop, for which reason Kesha was enslaved when he came to the village. The mill was built on the land at the archbishop's behest, but it is not covered by the deed. Kesha would technically be within his rights to attempt to recover the land, but his mother's debt is still outstanding. Moreover, Oleg adds, trying to recover it is not worth his trouble for other reasons. Now that the archbishop has granted him his freedom, Kesha should take advantage of it, and travel to all four corners of the world, and the sooner, the better.

Taking that under advisement, Kesha goes to speak to Zbigniev. The miller's bonds have been removed, though he is still in the same room at the rectory. Zbigniev seems to bear a grudge against Kesha and his companions, and accuses them of attacking him without provocation, and stealing wealth which he came by fairly, and without killing anyone. He also threatens that his father will kill Kesha and his friends. Not wishing to make enemies, Kesha returns his portion of the coins he took from the mill, but Zbigniev demands that the money taken by the others should be returned to him also.

* * *

Yuri and Bjorg leave Malinka the following morning. Kesha, who has slept in, is to meet them outside the gates, while Fedor and Alden, who are still preoccupied, will meet up with them on the road as best they can.

Outside the gate, they find a hirsute man, with a somewhat grisly visage, sleeping in a tree. Lokan awakes to the sounds of heavy stomping and hoofbeats. He sees the gate open up ahead, and watches a rider, along with a huge man, approaching him. He asks the travelers who they are, and as Yuri introduces himself and Bjorg, Lokan decides to fling one of the crabapples he gathered the previous evening at the volot's head, just to see his reaction. The big man is amused, or perhaps not, so he picks up the vagabond, and throws him back into the tree. Lokan misjudges the distance, misses grabbing the branch with his hands, and goes into it head first, before falling, unconscious, onto the ground. Both Bjorg and Yuri stand astounded at the sight of this man, who they have just met, bleeding out from his head. Yuri begins to furiously call for Kesha or the priests, and fortunately, the small man with the eye bandage just happens to be walking out the gate. Kesha runs up to the body, and, his hand glowing with light, applies aid to the man's head. The wound closes, and Lokan regains consciousness. Bjorg is chagrined at not knowing his own strength, and the rest are relieved at not bearing witness to a murder just outside Malinka's gates. Grateful to his savior, and hoping to return to Vladykino with some protection, Lokan happily joins the group.

* * *

The group travels south along the beaten path, and encounters no obstacles during the day. At night, while Yuri and Kesha are on watch, they hear a high-pitched whine approaching them. They awaken their companions, and while Kesha summons an arcane light onto his walking stick, Yuri peers into the darkness, to see what is coming for them. Soon, a huge swarm of mosquitoes flies into view. Yuri attempts to lead them away from the group on his horse, but the rest of the group runs at the swarm as it begins to follow. Lokan is surprisingly successful at swatting masses of the pesky gnats with his whip, but Bjorg has Kesha light a branch, and throws it at the insects. He overshoots, and hits Yuri's horse Vera in the rump, sending sparks all down its hide. The horse panics, and flees the scene of the battle, while Yuri attempts to calm it. In the meantime, Kesha attempts to zap the bugs with magical discharges. Masses of bugs are dispatched, but they have become enraged, and attack all they can reach. Bjorg continues flinging projectiles at the cloud, and is still not having much luck. He hits Kesha with a rock instead. Finally, weakened by zapping and whipping, the big man brings a rock down on top of what's left of the swarm, and raises his arms in triumph.

Swatting mosquitoes - a perfect opportunity for another bear's service!

The party is covered by mosquito bites, and bruises caused by their big friend. They decide to take extra hours of rest before setting out, even if it means arriving in Vladykino under the cover of darkness. In trying to flee the fight, Vera lost a horseshoe, which slows movement even further. Finally, several hours after sunset, they arrive in Vladykino. It is no longer burning or even glowing, but wood smoke and the stench of burned flesh still hangs in the air. Otherwise, the place appears to be undisturbed.

Yuri goes back to what is left of his home, and searches the compound for any horseshoes that might have survived, and as his family were horse-breeders, he does succeed in finding three dozen. He then settles down with Bjorg to eat what's left of the priests' food, while Lokan, closely followed by Kesha, returns to the mill. Here, he releases the hungry animals, all of whom, except the fowl, run out of the barn. He succeeds in enticing the two pigs with his crabapples, and they follow him back to Vladykino, hoping they will be fed, and not food.

Chronicles of 'Team B' - Chapter 4 - Domestic Disputes

The following day, while the rest of their companions are attending to personal matters, Alden and Fedor - both persons-at-arms and servitors of the Archbishop, seek to occupy themselves. Fedor consults with Father Oleg - the attendant priest, and liaison to the Archbishop - about possible ministration for his limp, but the good father cites the prohibitive expense, and the Archbishop's business with other matters.

The two then go into the practice yard to spar. Alden gets the first lick in with a wooden sword, but the fight is full of falls and missteps, and Fedor's hard hits with the axe handles send Alden tumbling to the ground, and yielding. Three other warriors watch the fight, and narrate it with snide commentary. One of them throws Alden a kopeck for the entertainment the fight provided.

When the training day is over, Misha the brewer wheels several casks of beer into the compound, to help the soldiers relax. Fedor engages him in conversation, and asks them if there are any matters in Malinka or the vicinity that need attending to, that might earn them a bit of coin. Misha does have a problem that he would be willing to pay to solve. Apparently, he and Yulian - the master of stables - fought for the hand of the same woman. Misha won, and married her, but Yulian never let the matter go. As Misha tells it, the stable master is also a sorcerer, and has given him the evil eye, and caused accidents for him on several occasions. If the pair drive him out of the estate, Misha is prepared to pay them one ruble.

The following day, the two head to the stables to seek out Yulian. They find him carrying a bag of horseshoes into the stable. Fedor tells him to lay off Misha, and to find someone else to court. Misha tells them to mind their own business. When they persist, Yulian smacks Fedor in the head with a horseshoe. The stablemaster is quickly subdued, but as the two warriors beat him down, Fedor feels hands closing in on his throat, choking him. At first, the two men think Yulian is doing this through some dark magic. But the choking continues even after he is knocked unconscious. Seeing no one else around, the two quickly tie Yulian up and leave. Only after they get a ways away from the stable does Fedor feel the pressure on his throat lighten.

Yulian, when he's not being pestered about his personal life

The two bring Yulian to Father Oleg, tell him the tale of the contendings of Yulian and Misha, and claim that he used dark magic to try to choke them. There is a lot of dark magic going on on the Archbishop's lands, they say, and something needs to be done about this.

The Chronicles of 'Team B" - Chapter 3 - All Roads Lead Back to Malinka

Yuri departs the mill after spending the night outside its fence with the archbishop's riders. He agrees to leave markings for his companions to follow once they have returned from Malinka, and rides off in hot pursuit of the Kochmaki. At noontime, he finds a child's corpse, apparently whipped to death by the marauders, and continues to follow the raiders. He finally catches up to them around sundown, and looks down at the encampment from the top of a small bluff. Hundreds of raiders, and more captives, have set up a camp below. The raiders' whips crack as they force the captives to light fires, and the sounds of wailing reach him at his observation point.

Kochmaki - too many to fight!

Eager to spot his loved ones, Yuri lingers too long at the outcropping, and is spotted by some of the guards. He draws back into the woods, hoping the Kochmaki will not follow a lone rider. His assumption proves mistaken, as two (or probably more) riders soon appear, yelling at him to dismount and drop his weapons. Yuri rides out to meet the lead pursuer, but his first real fight does not live up the heroic lays about the bogatyri. His spear grazes off the rider's silken shirt, while his opponent, likely more experienced, manages to catch Yuri off-balance and bloody him. Hearing reinforcements approaching, sense wins out over heroism. Yuri turns his horse, and flees. The riders pursue, but horses tire quickly, and with darkness approaching, the riders turn back. Yuri rides deeper into the woods before concealing his horse and retiring for the night.

* * *

Back at the mill, Kesha, Fedor, Alden and Zoya decide to return to Malinka with their prisoner - Zbigniev the miller. He is tightly bound and gagged, and draped over Fedor's horse. Shortly after going past Vladykino, Zbigniev breathes fire out of his gagged mouth, catching Zoya and Alden, but more importantly, burning through his gag and ropes. He then hisses out that his assailants will all burn, and once again succeeds in putting everyone except Kesha and Fedor to sleep. Fedor succeeds in skewering the miller, while Kesha then lifts his veil and suggests that the miller take a nap. After a short debate, in which Fedor insists on finishing the "monster" off, Kesha insists on bringing him back alive. They bind Zbigniev again, Kesha heals him, and then, ensorcels him to follow along quietly.

After two days, while the group is approaching Malinka, they are joined by Yuri, who has decided to ride back to the archbishop's estate to seek more help. He tells them about his encounter with the Kochmaki, while they tell him about the fight with Zbigniev at the mill, and his second attack against them on the road back.

At Malinka, the group turns Zbigniev over to one of the archbishop's attendant priests, Father Oleg, and is the invited to take refreshment in the rectory (in the meantime, Zoya wanders off to look for more thistles). They inform the priest of the miller's evil deeds, and the true function of the mill, and then, Kesha and Fedor spy on the archbishop's conversation with Zbigniev behind closed doors. They overhear Zbigniev claim they attacked him, and used sorcery against him. Later, the archbishop visits the group while they are eating. Yuri entreats him to send people to free the captives from the Kochmaki, but the archbishop demurs, saying he has at best 50 people, who cannot fight hundreds of raiders. In any event, he is responsible for the lives of those who live on his lands, and he will not risk them to free the prisoners. In response to Yuri's plea for aid of some sort, he suggests that he is free to recruit any helpers he might find, track the Kochmaki, and attempt to buy them out of slavery. He will not help materially, however - all available funds must be spent on rebuilding.

Kesha, in the meantime, asks the archbishop to tell him more about the mill and the miller. He also shows him a document that stipulates his mother owns a piece of land, and asks where it might be. The archbishop replies that the land is that on which the mill stands, but recommends that Kesha forget about it, as trying to claim it will only bring trouble. He tells him that he is now free, and that he should use the opportunity to get away from Vladykino.

A new group of captives is brought to the estate. They were apparently sent back by the Kochmaki as a goodwill gesture - or perhaps to demonstrate that the incident with Vladykino is best considered closed. One of the captives - an Irii merchant named Konstantius Azovos - wanders into the rectory, looking for the archbishop, and for something to eat. He is introduced to the rest of the group, and tells of his brief experience as a captive - perhaps a case of mistaken identity.

All five companions tell their stories before Fedor and Alden retire to their homes to sleep. 

The Chronicles of 'Team B' - Chapter 2 - The Archbishop's Mission

Wounded by the vasilisk, Fedor wants to return to return to the archbishop's residence at Malinka, and beg the priests to heal him. Yuri, however, burns to follow the Kochmaki and free the captives, and does not want to lose two days by traveling in the opposite direction. He tells his companions that he will leave marks along the way so they can find him, while they promise to look for more volunteers to rescue the captives among the archbishop's servitors. Fedor and Kesha, along with Sen'ka and the rest of the archbishop's riders then leave the mill and ride toward Malinka, bypassing Vladykino, and fording the stream to its north.

Less than an hour later, Kesha hears chimes in the woods that no one else seems to note. They remind him of his underground home in the Svora, so he tells his companions that that he will catch up to them, and goes to see what it is. It turns out to be a chud', vaguely familiar to him. The chud' tells him that he has come to see Kesha off on the next stage of his life, and to ensure that he moves toward fulfilling his destiny. The age of his enslavement is over, and he should somehow convince the archbishop to give him his freedom. Just then, Fedor comes riding up to look in on his companion. But somehow, he fails to see the creature, and then forgets about the incident entirely.

At the end of the day, the riders arrive at Malinka. After stabling the horses, Sen'ka goes off to report to the archbishop, while Fedor and Kesha wait their turn to supplicate him. Inside the church they encounter a man himself Alden Gravenich - a distinctly lupine-aspected servitor of the archbishop, who eagerly awaits to hear the news that the riders have brought back from Vladykino. Soon, Fedor and Kesha get to see one of the archbishop's priestly assistants. The priest has been briefed on the basics, but asks more in-depth questions about the mill, and the encounter with the vasilisk. He seems relatively unconcerned about the captives, and fears that any action against the Kochmaki will only provoke them further. He is concerned about the miller, and will allow Fedor and Kesha to recruit volunteers to find him and bring him back to Malinka. In exchange, he is even willing to heal Fedor's wound free of charge, and to give Kesha his freedom. Kesha also turns over the book he was working on and salvaged from his cellar.

The main church at Malinka

As they begin their search for helpers, Fedor and Kesha once again encounter Alden. The latter was brought to Malinka by a mysterious benefactor who freedom him from servitude to a Garip merchant, but now he seeks to adventure and to prove himself, and accompanying the pair to Vladykino seems like a good opportunity. None of the archbishop's other servitors seem willing, but a strange visitor, named Zoya, richly but incongruously dressed, and covered with a rash from nettles that she is trying to sell in front of the church, wants to come along. The party of four finds shelter for the night in Fedor's residence, and heads out the following morning.

The way back to Vladykino is longer than the journey to Malinka, as Alden refuses to take a horse from the archbishop's stables, saying that the beasts fear him. With one only one horse between the four of them, the journey back takes two days. During the first night, while camping in the woods, the group is set upon by a lynx, which hopes to make a meal of Fedor's horse. But the soldier successfully spears the cat, and Kesha, adept at working with leather, successfully skins it and takes the pelt. Zoya keeps the ears, and attaches them to her hood.

The following day, the group arrives back at Vladykino. The village is still smoldering, but no one is around. The foursome head toward the mill, where Kesha once again tries to detect arcane energies. There is definitely magic connected to changing one thing into another coming from within the mill. The companions climb over the gate, and approach the mill. The mill wheel is turning, and it sounds like something is being ground inside. The chain lock is off the front door, so everyone except Kesha quietly walks in. The leatherworker circles around the mill, seeking other entry points. Inside, the three hear the sounds of coins, which are clinking down the chute, and into a sack. There is also a hissing chanting in an unfamiliar language coming from one of the upper floors of the mill. 

The companions rush upstairs, and find the miller Zbigniev Dragutinovich - dark-haired, mustached, and with distinctly large, pointy teeth. Zbigniev utters a spell, and Alden, Zoya, and Zoya's cat fall asleep. Fedor is left alone to face the magician alone, and rushes into battle. He swings wildly and misses, though by then, Kesha has managed to climb the stairs and ladders to the third tier of the mill. The miller calls forth arcane power and makes pain erupt in three places in Fedor's chest and legs, and the soldier falls to the ground. Zbigniev flees upstairs, but Kesha follows, and succeeds in enchanting the miller before he jumps out of the upstairs window.

Zbigniev Dragutinovich, surprised while hard at work milling bones

Kesha attends to Fedor's wounds, and the soldier rises up, but now moves with difficulty. Then he questions the miller, who is now more favorably disposed toward the group. He explains that the mill grinds bones into coins, and that has made it into the lifeblood of Vladykino's economy. He claims never to have killed anyone, but to simply collect the corpses that the Kochmaki left behind. After Kesha directs a heavy gaze toward the miller, and suggests that he accompany the group back to Malinka, Zbigniev says he would be glad to explain everything to the archbishop. Tying the miller up, the group settles down for a rest inside the mill.

The Chronicles of 'Team B' - Chapter 1 - After the Raid

The village of Vladykino is no more. Built three generations ago by the Archbishop of Ladeisk, it has been looted and burnt to the ground by a force of Kochmak raiders. Its men have been butchered, while many of the women and children have been driven off, likely to be sold at one of the slave markets of the godless ones. The smoke still rises from the ruins, desolate and depopulated.

Vladykino - a prosperous village until two days ago

But not all of Vladykino's people are dead or enslaved. One of its sons - Yuri Barolov - the youngest scion of a family of horse breeders - returns to his home village at the head of a dozen horsemen. He was sent by his elder brothers to seek aid from the Archbishop, but was able to convince the overlord's people to only send a skeleton crew - and now they have returned too late to save the village. Yuri is devastated - his family compound is destroyed, and there is no trace of his paramour Svetlana. He suspects that his brothers sent him away on purpose - to prevent the hot-headed youth from laying down his life for a lost cause. He presses the leader of the horsemen - Sen'ka Radomirovich - to follow the raiders to free the prisoners, but Sen'ka says that his people are there for only two reasons - to try to secure records of ownership of the land and slaves, and to see if the windmill has survived the raid. The archbishop, he says, has no intention of challenging the Kochmaki with an inferior force. He has no idea why the Kochmaki sacked Vladykino - they are usually careful about how they treat Church property, and the archbishop was scrupulous about paying his tribute.

While looking for survivors, Sen'ka's men discover a cellar over by the tannery at the edge of a village. A beam fell onto the cellar doors during the fire, apparently trapping someone underneath. Yuri helps the men move the beam, and opens the doors. Inside is a man named Innokentii Fedorovich, or Kesha, as he calls himself. A small, silver-haired, apparently blind man with a bandage over his eyes, Kesha says he was in the tannery cellar making leather covers for grimoires for the Archbishop. He came to Vladykino less than a decade ago from parts unknown. Yuri knows has heard that Kesha is property of the Church, but he has never actually met him - the curious man spent most of his time toiling away in the cellar.

Released from his prison, Kesha helps the men search the village, but finds nothing. The church has been completely burned, and no trace of the village records survives anywhere. Yuri makes another impassioned speech about doing something to save people from the evildoers, but it falls on deaf ears. Kesha takes off his bandage and looks askance at the young man, who suddenly falls silent. Sen'ka says his people, along with Kesha, will return to the archbishop's summer estate as soon as they have searched the mill south of the village. The mill, along with the leather works, has been Vladykino's big moneymaker. Built about 10 years back by a foreigner named Zbigniev Dragutinovich, it is rumored to be a marvel that not only mills flour, but coins out of thin air. Whatever the case, it has been the main source of Vladykino's prosperity. Sen'ka sends half of his men to scout ahead, to see if the Kochmaki are still nearby, and leads the rest to the mill.

A windmill - still a marvelous marvel, and a wondrous wonder

After arriving, the men are surprised to find the mill standing, and the miller's compound apparently unharmed. The Kochmaki passed it on route to the village, and might have been expected to loot and burn it as well. No one is home at the compound, however. Zbigniev had no family, and was known as an oddball who hardly ever attended church services, and he himself does not seem to be present. The mill door is locked with a chain, and the miller's house is latched from the inside. There are animals in the barn, apparently, and Yuri, along with Fedor, one of Sen'ka's people, and Kesha, go in to investigate. There are the usual chickens, goats, and cow, but one pen toward the back is larger than the others. A dark shape of some sort moves about inside. The three want to search it - perhaps the miller is hiding out there? - but instead, they discover a huge black rooster with a snake's tail, and glowing red eyes - a vasilisk. Fedor grabs it and tries to break its neck, but the creature is preternaturally strong, and proceeds to peck Fedor on his temple. Yuri rushes over to stab it with his spear, while Kesha touches it, and releases a jolt of mystical energy into its writhing body. The creature nearly does Fedor in - he goes stiff for a few tense moments after being pecked, but the other two manage to overpower the unholy beast. Kesha takes his bandage off his eyes, which glow white, and a wholesome warmth permeates Fedor, who now feels better.

The three of them go over to the mill. Yuri climbs the beams and enters the structure through the second story window. After discovering the curious mechanism and the grindstones, he makes a disturbing discovery on the ground floor - sacks with body parts - apparently belonging to villagers who were still alive just before the raid.. Fedor smashes the chain from the outside, and releases Yuri. The two go over to investigate the house after forcing the latch. It is also abandoned, but there is a slaughtered chicken hanging above the doorframe, and drained of blood into a bowl below - some sort of offering to unclean spirits. In the cellar below are some victuals, which Kesha greedily consumes - he was starving for two days in his cellar. There is also a sack filled with coins.

A vasilisk - born of a rooster's egg

While Fedor and Yuri thoroughly search the house, Kesha goes back over to the mill to fix the chain, so no signs of forced entry remain. Suddenly, Sen'ka shouts out that he has sighted a shape moving across the field outside the compound. Fedor and Yuri mount up, with Kesha holding on to Yuri, and rush out to search. Kesha senses the use of magic, and directs Yuri toward the spot, but as they approach, they suddenly fall into a slumber. A dark shape briefly appears as they slide off their mounts, and then, their vision fades to black. When they awaken, no one is around, though they find two more sacks of body parts near them. A search reveals nothing, and they return to the mill, to spend the night. The men that were sent to track the Kochmaki found nothing - the raiders have gone far ahead, but having learned about the sacks and the offering, as well as the mysterious shape in the field, the archbishop's people have no wish to stay at the compound, and set up camp just outside.       

Chapter 25– Walls of Bone and Flaming Skulls

Wherein some of the heroes negotiate the River of Fire, while others get burned...

The forest master demands a toll

Chonkorchuk returns from his search for the bridge to the sounds of his companions looking for trees to chop down. Though he did not find what he was looking for, his journey was eventful. An hour away, along the River of Fire and on the edge of the woods, he encountered a curious hairy man with small horns, wearing his clothes backwards, and bast shoes on the wrong feet. The man demanded tribute for trespassing through his woods, and would not countenance Chonkorchuk’s claim to be working for Baba Yaga, so the hermit decided it would be best to turn invisible and to make himself scarce. Along the way back to where he left his companions, he saw what appeared to be a storm drifting along the edge of the River of Fire. Divining the storm to be an intelligence of some sort, Chonkorchuk went deeper into the woods.

At the riverbank, his companions try to decide on a course of action after the Knights took away Plamen and Khurshid, and severed the rope across the River of Fire to prevent them from being followed. Raskel, who led the effort to build that bridge, is at a bit of a loss: his spellbook, and his casting ring have both been taken by the knights, and his abilities without them are limited. He can still summon Kutkh, and toys with the idea of having the raven fly him in fox form across the ravine, but then decides the plan is too risky, and initiates a plan to chop down a tall tree so that the party can somehow get it to stretch across the canyon. Unfortunately, no one has an axe. Across the river, he sees a large storm cloud, or whirlwind, moving quickly in their direction, and bids his companions to take cover deeper in the woods. That is when Chonkorchuk invisibly comes up behind them.

Chonkorchuk does have an axe – two, actually, one being a battleaxe he stole from the Knights. But there is no way to drag a huge tree to the ravine. Instead, Raskel has Kutkh carry Chonkorchuk’s fefila – much lighter than his fox form – across the ravine, and then has her fetch the severed ropes that dangle down into the chasm. The fefila proves surprisingly adept at tying knots, and after checking and rechecking the rigging, and refashioning the harnesses, the entire rest of the party, along with Katarina and Vasya, cross to the other side. The black rider passes somewhere nearby soon thereafter, and darkness descends, so the party breaks camp, deciding to leave off the search for their companions until the return of the light.

* * *

The darkness falls on the Knights and their prisoners at roughly the same time. They have not gotten far from the River of Fire, and also have no desire to travel through Baba Yaga’s realm in darkness. On top of that, Khushid, who is exhausted after his transformation, is useless to them until he rests up. They set up their camp, and release their mounts into the woods. Inside the prisoner’s tent, and under the watchful eyes of Hans and Franz, who do not speak the Noriki tongue, Khurshid and Plamen exchange words after the southerner’s nightly prayers. He informs his companion that he cannot perform the transformation until he has regained his strength, and therefore, does not intend an immediate escape. Plamen, for his part, tells Khurshid that he also can transform into an animal, but has kept this ability secret for the time being.

The following morning, the Knights break camp, load their prisoners onto one of the horses, and set off in search of Baba Yaga. Along the way, Plamen converses with a raven who is Kutkh, sent by Raskel to find his companions. Plamen informs the bird about the direction they are traveling in, but Father Sigismund grows suspicious, and Plamen is forced to break off, while Kutkh flies back with news for her master.

Baba Yaga seems to have a metal aesthetic

Surprisingly, they are rewarded after less than half a day’s travel. In a clearing in the woods, they discover a large roughly circular wall built of bones, with a padlocked gate made of femurs and tibias. Bone posts along the wall are crowned with skulls. Father Sigismund and Andreas inform their captives that it is time for them to do their job, and to find a way to enter the compound. They recommend that Khurshid perform his transformation trick again, but the Rakhman says that he cannot do so again until tomorrow. After toying with the idea of smashing the gate, he and Plamen decide to circle the compound under the cover of an obscurement the healer conjures up by burning some leaves. While they do so, the Knights keep an eye on them as best they can from under cover of the forest. Initially, all goes according to plan, but Khursid steps on a branch, and the skulls awake, and float up from their perches. One hovers over its post, and launches a fireball out of its mouth before the two prisoners are able to take cover. The fireball strikes Plamen directly, devouring his bearskin cover, scorching his skin, and sending him into shock. His companion is a bit luckier – he is blown over by the blazing heat of the ball, has his hair singed and his skin covered with soot, but he manages to keep hold of his senses, and drags Plamen back into the woods before the skull can pursue them, or other skulls arrive on the scene.

Unexpectedly, Father Sigismund and the knights turn out to possess healing abilities, and between three of them, they are able to restore their prisoners and stop their skin from breaking out in terrible blisters. The price of their aid – Plamen and Khushid must return to circling the compound to look for another way in. Plamen calls on his obscurement again, and the two continue to circle the wall of bone, hoping that their magical veil offers them better protection this time around.