"Yes, the Boar's Head! That would be an excellent place to stay tonight."
"Should we head there first, and rent our rooms, or would you like to go to the Tower immediately, Iommi?"
The boars head inn is a good place to go first
-Iommi-Tyr Magnusson
(Using mikes phone)
Well, let's get a room for us first, then we shall set off to get you all fixed up. Can't have you going wild on us....
The nightmares would not stop haunting them. Sea drakes, hags, hydras, werewolves ... all manners of devil appeared before them. Kyleon began to think the encounters were not chance.
Why did a bow for my specialized technique appear? Why are these people willing to take a stranger like me in? How can they also be odd like these creatures but opposed to them like myself? More and more, the questions added-up in his head. Less and less the possibilities that made sense remained. One continued to ring for him though.
God must be taking retribution on me for my wicked past, my days of raiding. I must repent through action. He had been misguided, truly, before Gotland. Misguided perhaps, but horrific in result, regardless of motive.
Shamed by his past, he spoke-up passionately with the scholar's suggestions.
"I was at one time a raider on the Baltic, but I cannot help but think God has set me to you lot to work a good in the world. What is your goal together? How did you meet?" He paused. "Were there more of you in the past?"
Kyleon concurred with Hisao. "Yes, church would be a relief."
Hisao nods.
As luck would have it, there are two adjacent rooms available at The Boar's Head Inn, each rentable for the reasonably low rate of 3 silver shillings per night.... After securing these rooms, each of which is comfortably furnished with a pair of large beds and a couple of extra cots, a chamber pot, table and chairs, night stands, oil lamps and candles, wall mirrors, footlockers, armoires, and a large chest with a padlock and key in which to store valuables, The Lusty Fools quench their thirst in the crowded common room, where a trio of fine bards play lively jigs and reels and buxom wenches serve tankards of good beer and ale....
After quenching their thirsts and enjoying a filling meal of baked Cornish hen, roasted pheasant, garlic-roasted potatoes, warm bread, yellow cheese, and berries with cream for desert, Paddy inquires about the local churches in London, and the party decides to visit Saint Peter upon Cornhill for its location on the highest point in London--a climb to the belfry (if the clergy permit it) would grant an excellent view of the city all around, and perhaps the priests can offer assistance in curing Hisao's lycanthropy....
The sun is setting behind the western rooftops of London and casting long shadows on the walls and cobbled streets of Cornhill by the time The Lusty Fools arrive at St Peter upon Cornhill....
They enter the nave of the ancient cathedral and are greeted by a middle-aged priest with tonsured red hair in green robe and white vestments, anointing the air inside the nave with a censure burning frankincense after the congregation of unwashed Londoners have left a less pleasing odor in the cathedral....
Nacht had grown quiet pondering on the changes that influenced him, the rise in differing sensations. After the silence he spoke but only enough to indicate to the being he grew hungry, no more no less.
Welcome to St Peter upon Cornhill! Ye missed evening mass, but I can give ye a blessing.... Perhaps ye wouldn't mind dropping a few coins in the box on yonder wall for the good works of Our Lord?
The red-haired priest gestures to the coffer affixed to the wall next to the great door by which the party entered....
"I would be happy to." Alphonse pulls out his coin purse and counts out 27 gold pieces (or the equivalent) and puts them in the coffer.
Nacht looks confused at the gesture the Holy-being tried. Was this normal in this place above land? Counting with his sharp eyes he drops the same amount into the coffer mimicking the mannerisms the Holy-Being exhibited.
Ah! May God bless you, kind sirs!
Father Malcolm anoints Alphonse and Nacht (and whomever else puts coins in the coffer) with a dousing of holy water from a small vial he procures from a pouch at his waist, making the sign of the cross as he does so, and intoning a benediction in Latin....
I am Father Malcolm, humble servant of Our Lord, and of my patron, Saint Peter.... What brings you goodly folk to St Peter upon Cornhill at this hour?
"Our friend needs some medical assistance. We have the cure for a curse or disease he's afflicted with, but the cure is quite deadly in its own right."
Small wisps of steam seem to come up from Nacht but he simply shakes his head to rid himself of the wetness.
Hmmmm.... There's been quite a bit of that about lately.... Lycanthropy, I suppose? Was he bitten by one of those miserable wererats down by the river, then? It's high time the city guards rooted that wretched pack out o' their holes and put the lot o' them to the silvered sword, it is!
Hisao shows the Father the sprigs of wolfsbane he's planning to eat and tries out his new grasp of the language.
This.. herb.. cures? But may kill
Aye, sir, it may.... How long ago were ye bitten? If it were longer than three days and nights, then this wolfsbane be the only cure known to man.... It be poisonous, but we have antitoxin ye can take with it to bolster your chances of surviving it....
The priest leaves The Lusty Fools to wait in the nave for a moment while he retrieves antitoxin from a storeroom flanking the sanctuary. He returns a moment later with a small vial of liquid marked "antitoxin", and hands it over to Hisao.
That vial is rather dear....normally 50 gold pounds at the apothecary.... If ye wouldn't mind making an appropriate donation to the poor box, sir, it would be much appreciated....
Hisao dumps 70 gold into the indicated box, takes a deep breath, and swigs down the offered vial of anti-toxin, and before chowing down on wolfsbane, asks to borrow Nacht's cloak.
Hisao dumps 70 gold into the indicated box, takes a deep breath, and swigs down the offered vial of anti-toxin, and before chowing down on wolfsbane, asks to borrow Nacht's cloak.
[dice=Fort Lycanthropy]1d20+2+5+2
[dice=Fort Poison]1d20+2+5+2
After leaving the church William starts to absent mindedly wander off. He looks back at the group and calls out.
"I'm gonna try to find a fancy stable or somethin', ol' Champion is gettin' a bit weary... And to be honest the beast brings back memories I'd rather not remember... Maybe something a bit more, hearty!"
Paddy watches as Hisao takes the wolfsbane and the antitoxin, happy that he didn't die.
Now, let's be off to the inn. I think there is a few drinks and a comely wench calling my name.
On his way out of the church, Paddy gives the priest 25 gold.
All I ask is that you use it for orphans. I've got a soft spot for them, because I was one. I know how tough these streets can be...I spent a chunk of my childhood running around.
Paddy warily watches the inhabitants of the city as they make their way back to the inn.
Not to be outdone at the church, Kyleon drops thirty gold pieces into the coffers.
Using his broken English, he asked of the clergyman: "What causes this wolf-curse? Can it be removed from the land?" Maybe that is what I was called to accomplish...
This Wererat plague may be the perfect opportunity for us to get an audience at Court!
At the Tower I can make inquiries as to the infestation and then, if we Lusty Fools rid London of Wererats we can use that as a pretense to get close to Humphrey.
.
.
.
Iommi-Tyr Magnusson refrains from getting Holy Water blessed by the Jewish/ Jesus god, but is respectful and observant -- more like a scholar learning about a cult as an anthropologist may.
Thank you, Father, you may call me Magnus Sverreson from Lillehammer.
Hisao sighs with relief and bows to the holy man.Thank you. There are wererats here?
Beaming with glee at the sight of actual gold pounds instead of copper pences or silver shillings going into the poor box, and in such generous amounts, Father Malcolm bows gratefully to The Lusty Fools and chuckles with unconcealable joy....
Ah! 'Tis a bonny fine sight to see such good and generous folk as yourselves giving so generously to the poor! Be sure that much of it goes to feed and clothe the orphans at the orphanages o' London, good sirs....and m'lady.... He bows extra deeply before Kiyu....
Yes, the wererats! Damn them all to Hell! .... Seems like ever since that damned fire dragon came to plague the lands o' Christendom a couple years back, every kind o' spawn o' The Devil has come crawlin' out o' the Underworld to trouble the countryside.... Wererats have appeared in greater numbers than e'er before these last couple years.... Though, to be sure, London's always had some degree o' trouble with them and their kind.... Rats as big as small dogs--they be the ones to look out for! Sure as St Peter's crook, those'll be the wererats! 'Tis said their den is somewhere down by London Bridge, maybe in one o' the many old abandoned warehouses along the river....
Be sure that much of (the gold) goes to feed and clothe the orphans at the orphanages o' London.
.
..
After leaving the church William starts to absent mindedly wander off. He looks back at the group and calls out.
"I'm gonna try to find a fancy stable or somethin', ol' Champion is gettin' a bit weary... And to be honest the beast brings back memories I'd rather not remember... Maybe something a bit more, hearty!"
William steps outside of the ancient cathedral and walks down the front steps to the cobbled streets of Cornhill in central London....
From this point, he is able to see much of the south side of London sprawling down toward the River Thames.... A chaotic patchwork of homes, shops, guildhalls, taverns, inns, markets, and parks.... Lamps are being lit now by the lamplighters, of which there is apparently a guild here in London.... Night casts its gloom over the city....
As he strolls down Cornhill and into lower-lying neighborhoods, William's view of the city becomes more limited by a thin but persistent fog--even in summer, the labyrinth of streets and alleyways is obscured by a blanket of fog by night--that limits his vision to about 10 feet, beyond which, only vague shapes and the diffused glow of oil lamps can be discerned.... But from all around, the sounds of the city are somehow amplified and echo strangely in the streets and alleys: the consumptive coughing of a streetwalker, the thin wail of an infant in a nearby home, the howling of dogs and whine of cats, and always the squeaking, tittering, and skittering of rats....
As he searches for a stable, William begins to notice that this last sound grows ever closer and more frequent....
Be sure that much of (the gold) goes to feed and clothe the orphans at the orphanages o' London..
.
.
[dice=Inspired Sense Motive]1d20 +12 +1d6
Father Malcolm seems sincere enough....
Whispered in squeaky English: Lookee yonder, my brother! A lone fool a-wandering through our neck o' the woods! Teehee!
Whispered back to the first: Hmmm, yar.... E'en though we just ate that little street urchin a couple hours ago, I still could go for a meatier meal.... The wee lad was all skin 'n bones.... But this 'ere bloke looks a right proper meal, now, don't 'e?
The first, whispering in reply: Aye, that 'e do, that 'e do, brother.... Careful now.... 'E looks likely to put up a fierce struggle.... We flanks 'im, and sticks 'im dead 'fore 'e knows what hit 'im....
Right, then!
Crawling in dire rat form 20 feet closer to William from 30 feet behind him, the two wererats are now 10 feet behind as they shift into hybrid form....
Paddy watches as Hisao takes the wolfsbane and the antitoxin, happy that he didn't die.
Now, let's be off to the inn. I think there is a few drinks and a comely wench calling my name.
On his way out of the church, Paddy gives the priest 25 gold.
All I ask is that you use it for orphans. I've got a soft spot for them, because I was one. I know how tough these streets can be...I spent a chunk of my childhood running around.
Paddy warily watches the inhabitants of the city as they make their way back to the inn.
Paddy leads the rest of The Lusty Fools (sans William, who ventured off in search of a stable, and anyone else who went off a separate direction) back to The Boar's Head Inn....
Along the way, they frequently hear the squeaking, tittering and skittering of unusually large rats on all sides of them in the darkness and fog that shrouds the labyrinthine streets of London.... The fog-diffused glow of oil lamps provides some illumination in the soupy gloom, but visibility is still limited to about 10 feet in low-lying areas....
Occasionally, a pair of beady eyes reflects the light, glowing an evil red in the shadows of a nearby alley, but no large rats approach near enough to be seen by any of The Lusty Fools.... Though smaller, common-sized rats do skitter past and even over boots in their daring hunger....
Once inside the warmth and relative safety of the common room of The Boar's Head Inn, The Lusty Fools fully appreciate the reason there are no less than four healthy-looking cats lounging around the common room, being petted by grateful patrons or serving wenches and given platters of cream or ale to bolster their strength and courage for ratting.... The common room does appear to be free of rats or mice....
The three bards are playing another lively reel, which is fine music to the ears of Paddy, Alphonse, and Iommi-Tyr, but might seem a bit too busy and all sound the same to Japanese, Egyptian, and Beetle Man ears....
A plump, half-nude halfling woman with a tankard of ale sloshing in each tipsy hand dances a jig to the reel upon a table at the middle of the room, and nearly all the other patrons are gathered around that table, clapping in rhythm and cheering her on.... A Highlands terrier dances beside her on its hind legs, yapping and howling along with the music....
Buxom young wenches and freckle-faced pot boys hurry about the place, service drinks or holding pots for drunk patrons to spit or piss in....
Mercy, look at this thirsty an' 'ansome lot o' big, strappin' lads! I'll 'ave a tankard for each of ya in but a moment, m'lads.... 'Ave a seat where e'er ye please!
The pretty young wench winks at Alphonse and dashes off to fill tankards for The Lusty Fools....
Not a half minute after Paddy finds a seat, another sweet-smelling young wench plops down a bit tipsily in his lap and not-too-gently nips his neck--not quite hard enough to draw blood, but Paddy is surprised to find it ferociously erotic and arousing....
Hello, my 'ansome lad.... she purs, her breath smelling of alcohol.... Did it 'urt much when ye fell from 'eaven, my angel?
Not long after Iommi-Tyr is seated, yet another lovely wench decides to try to milk him for some coins....
She comes up behind him, whispers something naughty about what other services besides drinks and food the wenches at The Boar's Head are willing to provide generous patrons, and begins to massage his tense and travel-weary shoulders rather skillfully....
You lot look a long way from home, 'ansome.... I'd guess you're a Viking boy.... Am I right? Denmark? Maybe Gotland? Or Norway?.... An' that friend o' yours.... She nods at Hisao.... 'e's a Chinaman, yeah? An'.... She squints a moment at Nacht, trying vainly to penetrate the shadows of the cowl that covers his head and face.... Can't tell.... But I'd guess 'e must be 'orribly ugly, to 'ide 'is face, beggin' my pardon--I mean no offense--but I'm sure e'd show 'is face if 'e were as 'ansome as you be, m' Viking lad! But your other friends look like a proper English lord.... nodding at Alphonse, ....and an Irishman, or I'm the Queen o' Fairyland! Heehee! Staring a moment at Kiyu.... Whozzat?.... Not your wife, I hope.... Looks like a Gypsey lass.... Be she a witch? 'Cause we burn witches around these parts, as The Bible says we ought!
The pretty blond wench finds The Lusty Fools at their table in the common room, sets down a tankard of ale before each of them, and then favors Alphonse with a lusty grin and wink....
Anything else I can bring for your table, my 'ansome lord? Or any other services I could provide, especially for you?, leaning closer to Alphonse to show off her ample cleavage....
"Is that right, your Bible says you should burn witches?" Kiyu asks Alphonse.
Kiyu restrained her anger for the moment, desperately wishing she was back in Cairo to deal with these women as they deserved.
-Posted with Wayfinder
"Is that right, your Bible says you should burn witches?" Kiyu asks Alphonse.
Kiyu restrained her anger for the moment, desperately wishing she was back in Cairo to deal with these women as they deserved.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Brazenly locking eyes with the Egyptian witch, the wench grins and replys: Not that I lose much sleep over sinnin' me self, m'lady.... I ought t' be stoned to death for what I've done, accordin' to The Bible.... So I'm all for turnin' the other cheek, as the Good Lord says we ought.... I got no personal qualms with witches, sister.... Me mum birthed me wi' the help o' a good witch, so I'm no one to judge.... Just a word to the wise, is all I meant.... The good witch what 'elped birth me was burnt at the stake along with some evil ones a few years ago....
Kiyu smiles and bows her head to Molly, "No offense, I'm merely from another land and still learning your culture. Though perhaps you can make up to me the misunderstanding by showing me to where a lady might bathe?" Kiyu asks.
-Posted with Wayfinder
But I'm sure you're a good witch that practices white magic.... Not an evil witch that practices black magic.... If you're e'en a witch at all.... I'm sorry for assumin'....
Kiyu smiles and bows her head to Molly, "No offense, I'm merely from another land and still learning your culture. Though perhaps you can make up to me the misunderstanding by showing me to where a lady might bathe?" Kiyu asks.
-Posted with Wayfinder
O' course I can, m'lady! I'll draw a nice 'ot bath for ye me self, m'lady....
The wench beckons Kiyu to follow her to an upstairs room with a fireplace where kettles of hot water are ready to be added to the leukwarm water that half fills several copper tubs in the spacious upstairs room.... Steam, and the scent of soap and perfumed oils fills the chamber....
There currently are other patrons enjoying a nice hot bath here....
The bath is only 4 pence, m'lady....
The other four patrons are a trio of ladies, two of middle age, one in her twenties or late teens, and a gentleman in his forties.... A wench attends each bather, scrubbing them with a brush and lathering them up with soap and perfume-infused oils....
Wench Molly escorts Kiyu to the last available tub (there are four)....
May I 'elp m'lady disrobe?
Need bard to play porno music!! Ooh-ooh-aah!!
Will looks around and sees the two men trying to sneak up on him.
"You've gotta be kidding me, I don't want to hurt you!"
"Ah I didn't realize it would be so crowded, perhaps I'll come another time then. Lead me back?"
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