After concluding the noon mass and dismissing the congregation, the nasally priest notices the band of armed and armored men standing in the nave of the cathedral and beckons for the escort of a trio of French Paladins in half-plate armor carrying greatswords before approaching The Lusty Fools....
In French: Bonjour, visitors! I have not seen your faces in Our Lady of Reims before now, non? Or am I mistaken? My apology if so.... I see so many faces here, it is difficult for an old man such as I to remember everyone....
The priest smiles and opens his arms wide in a gesture of welcome, but keeps a healthy distance of about 15 feet from the nearest of the Lusty Fools (Alphonse)....
Welcome to Notre Dame de Reims! How may I be of service?
Father Abelarde, if you have the means to determine if we suffer from lycanthropy, we have recently fought and won a pitched battle against some werewolves in the wilds, and though they are defeated, we have been bloodied by their fierce onslaught. Can you determine if we suffer from their curse and can you heal us if need be?
Anything you can do to help us Padre would be appreciated. And of course we will gladly make a tithe to the church.
In French: Sacred Heart! May God have mercy on your souls, Monsieurs.... It cannot be known for certain if the curse afflicts you until the moon is full.... Which happens about two weeks hence.... To be safe, we should administer the cure to each of you that suffered a wound from fang or claw.... Though, I must warn you, the cure itself can be deadly to those who aren't strong in body.... But you Monsieurs all appear to be quite hardy.... I think you will survive the cure.... Those who might be afflicted must eat a sprig of wolfsbane, which is poisonous.... Hopefully, the poison of the wolfsbane will quell the curse of lycanthropy without killing you, or making you very ill.... I am very sorry that I lack the holy power to cure you with divine power, nor is there a priest of such power in all of Reims, that I know of....
Father Abelarde fetches enough antitoxin and wolfsbane for all who were injured by werewolves (Paddy, Iommi-Tyr, and Nacht, if I recall correctly?)....
In French: Let us pray....
Father Abelarde prays the Pater Noster (Our Father) in Latin as he administers the cure to those afflicted with lycanthropy....
You're a good man Padre....thank you. Some coins for the church...
Paddy fishes out a handful of gold coins and hands them to the priest.
To any of my allies (aloud enough to be overheard from the christian but certainly not loud):
May I borrow 350 gp until the next time we receive compensation for ending the rampaging evils that despoil the countryside and threaten defenseless innocents? I only have 200 gp.
Of course, me boyo...here ya go....
Paddy fishes out the money for Iommi
Thank you, my boon companion!
Alphonse splits Iommi's tithe with Paddy.
"I have no need of a cure myself, Father, and Paddy does not either. I cured him with my own powers."
"I will gladly toss in my own tithe, however."
Giving a little more consideration of The Lusty Fools' heroic deed on behalf of France when he learns by questioning them that they defeated no less than fifteen loup-garou on the road to Reims, Father Abelarde decides, on second thought, to accept whatever the heroes deem appropriate as a tithe, and to reward them with five silversheen, 10 vials of holy water, a case with 10 silver bolts, a quiver with 20 silver arrows, and 10 potions of cure moderate wounds.
Two paladins bring a large chest containing these items up from a secret vault in the cathedral catacombs, and set it down before The Lusty Fools, bowing courteously.
Please, brave gallants.... Accept these gifts on behalf of Our Lady of Reims, and use them to continue your crusade against the forces of The Enemy!
At that very moment, in the Court at the Royal Palace of Reims, a liveried messenger enters and bows deeply before "Dauphin Charles" before whispering in the pretender's ear, in French:
Your Majesty, the men you seek--The Lusty Fools--have been sighted here in the city.... They are at this very moment in the cathedral Notre Dame de Reims, conversing with Father Abelarde, Your Majesty....
The false Dauphin summons a sergeant of the Royal Guard and gives this order: Take a score of guardsmen and go at once to Notre Dame! The Lusty Fools are there now--bring them to us, dead or alive!
The sergeant of the Royal Guard and twenty guardsmen ride out of the Royal Palace and through the streets of Reims to the cathedral of Notre Dame de Reims....
Respectful of the tradition of sanctuary, they patiently await The Lusty Fools outside....
The Lusty Fools exit the cathedral to find twenty-one Royal Guardsmen forming a large semicircle around the main portal....
"Hello gentlemen! What can we help you with?"
You can come along peaceably with us to the Royal Palace.... His Majesty, The Dauphin Charles VII requests your presence....
Paddy mutters not quite quietly...
Sure he does...not the real one anyways.....bloody idiots...
Apparently not quite pleased with Paddy's muttering, the guardsmen's gauntleted hands unanimously stray to the hilts of their longswords....
Are you gentlemen going to attack us on your god's Holy Ground -- for killing Werewolves and defending France?
Are you gentlemen going to attack us on your god's Holy Ground -- for killing Werewolves and defending France?
[dice=Initiative]1d20 +2
The sergeant speaks in French, in reply to Iommi-Tyr:
We had hoped you would agree to come along peaceably.... But our orders are to bring you, alive or dead, to His Majesty's throne room.... How do you prefer it, Lusty Fools?
Before hostilities break out, however, Alphonse tries to appeal to the better nature of the guardsmen.
"Neither, I'm afraid. You have been fooled by the pretender on the throne. Whether we go to him alive or dead, we'll only leave there the latter. We are here to restore the True Dauphin to the throne, not legitimize his impostor."
"Please, stand down. Surely you've noticed something odd these last months? The impostor forgetting things he should remember? Tastes changing? Perhaps more of a penchant for cruelty? Give us just a few hours and we will come to the throne room of our own free will: In the company of the REAL Dauphin."
At that moment the clouds part, hitting Alphonse's face just right, the feathers in his hair creating a halo around his head, as coincidentally the chorus reaches a crescendo with
Please set the stage a bit for us....
How far away are we from the castle (or wherever the Throne Room is)?
Is there a sewer system here the way there is in London?
Are there any abandoned warehouse buildings or other non-populated areas between here and there?
More importantly, who is a high ranking nobleman (Duke, at least) here in Reims from whom we can request succor? Or perhaps the Cardinal or Bishop here?
Ninja'd by Alphonse!
.
.
.
.
Father Abelarde, we have proof that the Dauphin on the Throne is an impostor. The man himself is in hiding for safety awaiting us to expose the false Dauphin. I believe, in fact, that the impostor set the werewolves upon us to prevent us from reaching Reims for he knows that we are coming to expose the truth.
I pray you, call for Cardinal _______ to come here to listen to us on Holy ground. In peace we shall tell our tale and let all the people of Reims see the truth!
And guards, it is good you do your duty but I pray you, send one of your own to request immediate audience with Duke _______ so he can be present for our tale as well.
(I would name a Duke who has a reputation for being a good guy. If the Duke here is known to be bad I'd pick an Earl or Viscount or something.)
Men at arms, do you serve the Dauphin or do you serve Christ and France? Hear what we have to say and wait in peace here at the church for the Cardinal and Duke.
.
The guards are moved by Alphonse's and Iommi-Tyr's appeals to peace and a Higher Power.... The men's hands stray away from their sword hilts, and the sergeant raises his gauntleted right hand in a salute to The Lusty Fools.
We shall wait here in peace, then, and hear what you have to say to His Pious Grace and His Lordship....
After a lengthy wait, during which the Royal guards begin to grow restless and fearful of the potential repercussions of delaying in their duty, the Archbishop of Reims arrives, accompanied by two cardinals and eight paladins in full plate armor, armed with longswords or battle axes and bearing shields with a crucifix device on them. The Lusty Fools are introduced to His Pious Grace by Father Abelarde, who informs the Archbishop of the heroes' battles against werewolves on behalf of France....
Minutes later, accompanied by a ducal guard of ten well-armed-and-armored Knights of the Golden Fleece mounted on barded warhorses, none other than Phillip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, gallops into the square of Notre Dame de Reims, along with the Royal guards who rode off to summon His Lordship here!
In French: Now that His Lordship, Duke Phillip of Burgundy, and myself have arrived, do tell us, Lusty Fools, of this conspiracy you think you have discovered....
Verily! What is this all about?
Once more into the breach....
Loud enough for everyone to hear:
Lord Philip, about a month ago in Paris at Notre Dame we answered the siren of crashing bells and killed the traitorous priest, Pierre the Necromancer -- ending the curse he placed on the Gargoyle defenders. We destroyed the undead horde the Necromancer had created and made the catacombs safe for the church once again. When we were there we also found a prisoner, the true Dauphin, and learned an impostor was on the throne.
In concert with Father Renaud, we rescued and hid the true Dauphin with the hope we would soon be able to return and reveal the impostor.
We had to travel to London, then, for we had heard of a Witch conspiring to kill Young King Henry, who is to be rightfully crowned here in France this summer, the grandson of your great King. We killed the Witch under the banner of Lord Humphrey and immediately returned to France to finish our business here with the false Dauphin.
Let us retrieve our charge from hiding and we will see under your god who is the real man and who is false!
This is a grave and disturbing charge, Monsieurs.... says the Archbishop of Reims, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He confers briefly in French with his two cardinals....
Indeed, agrees Duke Phillip. If it is discovered that this man you found in the catacombs under Paris is, in fact, our true and rightful Dauphin, then you shall have our thanks, and our assistance in removing the pretender you claim is currently impersonating the Dauphin.... But if we find that he is not the true Dauphin, and, in fact, the one you claim is an imposter is actually our true Dauphin.... You shall be guilty of high treason against the throne of France, a crime punishable by death....
Paddy strains his hearing to see what the Archbishop says to his men.
Nacht simply watches the beings, though it did not matter much to him. Beings as he had learned, lie frequently. If they were in any danger however... removing the problem was always an option.
Hisao went invisible!