When Gallus removes the flesh mask from its protective wrapping, he finds the inner side to be extremely sticky, to the point it nearly adheres to his hands before he has chance to raise it to his face. But when he does so, the mask almost seems to come alive, pulling close to the man's skin with a quite alarming tightness.
After the initial discomfort though, the mask settles into place revealing the changes it has wrought; all of Gallus' facial features have been completely concealed, in their place the face of a man of indeterminable age, who's only remarkable feature is his complete lack of any remarkable features. Beyond this, the mask seems to have contained some admixture absorbed through the skin, as Gallus' muscles have found themselves contracting to help conceal his above average height and build, while his brown hair has darkened a few shades.
The final thing Cassia might note with some concern, is the fact that unlike with the effects of her illusions, Gallus' clothes have been left entirely unaltered by these changes.
Cassia watches with interest and realises that with such a non-descript look it's not possible to 'look like' a member of the same family. She settles for 'the same colour hair' when she creates her glamour and goes for the skinny twelve year old so that the two may be mistaken for father and son, giving Lucius Gallus an excuse to act protectively. Thus disguised, Gaius Clodius and his son Marcus return to the street in front of Placidius' domus.
Pretending to be talking animatedly to 'his' father including a certain amount of pointing Cassia draws on her knowledge and imagination.
"Thus did the hounds of Wee Jas welcome her home," she quotes.
An eerie baying begins, growing in the air by Placidius' door, at first low and sounding as if it were buried in the earth but growing and strengthening as if a pack of otherworldly hounds were approaching, their mournful howling hanging in the air till it suddenly ends as if cut off by a closing door.
As the sound of the dogs grows, Cassia plays with a strip of fleece and looks past Lucius Gallus at the street directly before the door.
"So we two sat there, exchanging regrets, I with my sword held out across the blood-pool, and the wraith of my follower beyond it, telling his tale."
In the street, four paces from Placidius' door, a black something begins to rise from the ground. At first, it is unclear what it is, but as it emerges it can be seen to be the form of a huge warrior, as black as night, cloaked in shadow, pulling itself free of the earth as a man might from a clinging swamp. There are no details, no eyes or features, no gleaming armour, just a black shape, like a shadow given substance, the shadow of a great man, nigh eight feet tall, a great man armed with a scythe. It stands there, ‘staring’ at the door for long seconds, then it steps forwards, reaching out with its hand to touch the print left by Cassia in her own blood (or the place where it was if it has been cleaned since she was last here). It stands still again letting the world turn around it, its cloak seeming to flap in a breeze no one can feel then it steps forwards but instead of colliding with the door and wall of Placidius’ home it seems to pass into the plaster, wood and stone leaving no trace that it was ever on the street out side, save for the sense that death has entered the home of the Cypriani.
"Much as I'd like to stick around to see what happens, I think it's time to run away in fear from the curse that has befallen the unfortunate Cypriani."
Lucius Gallus looks around nervously! His excalamation, "May the Gods help us!" is an entirely genuine exclamation, and he is quite willing to run with Cassia to the Vulpes, asking her how much was real and how much was trickery just before they get there.
The sight of the black shaped scythe wielder causes tremendous ruckus in the Laxium. The Cypriani domus was becoming a site of hushed interest after Cassia’s 'curse' and this latest display is witnessed by many, most of whom are watching from afar. Screams resound and Invectives are shouted to Nerull and Wee Jas, both in fearful horror and devout prayer.
Gallus sees the hooked nosed man again: he does not seem to have focused on them as the culprits. The disguises have worked it seems.
Cassia and Gallus return in haste to the Vulpes where Valka, Gravus, Bjarturius, Paesentius, etc are waiting for their return.
On returning to the Vulpes Gallus feels some real relief both on being there and seeing the others still in good stead.
As he sees them, he gestures broadly to Cassia, and proclaims, "She was magnificent!"
- 2nd Day of the Kalends of Pelius (sunrise)
A new day dawns on Loutharnium.
Paesentius brings news from the streets (obtained by his spies since he does not leave the Vulpes obviously): the entire Laxium is buzzing with talk about the sighting of the scythe wielder.
The Temple of Nerull is said to be sending a Priest to investigate the event, inspect the grounds and speak to witnesses.
Meanwhile Agneta is able to pass along a message through one of Paesentius’s spies to Gallus and Cassia.
The news there: Micon and his supporters have been convinced to stay neutral in this conflict. Also Placidius is investigating Cassia, Valka and even Bjarturius: who they are, where do they come from, who knows about them, etc.
Valka is glad to see Cassia (and yes even Galuus) are well!
She smiles when Gallus calls Cassia "Magnificent" :)
She is very curious to hear all they have to explain, and bugs them about telling her all the details.
But more important she is very eager what we will do next.
"Do we wait to see how Placidius will react? Do we do anything about this Priest of Nerull or about Placidius looking into our lives? So you know I don`t have any skeletons in my chest that he can easily use on me. All I care about is pretty much here."
Valka admits maybe a bit too fast, realizing only after what it could (or can) mean.
When Cassia returns to the Vulpes Nigra she sheds her 'disguise' but is distracted and hard to communicate with. Her eyes are wide and staring and she won't or can't give details to Valka, starting sentences which she doesn't finish or just quoting old poetry. She keeps looking at the cuts on her hand and rubbing off the scabs so they bleed again. She drinks some water but doesn't seem to have much appetite and before very long locks herself in one of the smaller upstairs rooms, presumably to sleep. She doesn't rise early.
News reaches Paesentius and the Heroes later that day of the following:
- Placidius is rallying muscle to his cause. Though unable to secure Micon and his supporters (that Agneta veered towards neutrality), he has been able to recruit almost a score of thugs and hired blades so far, but that number has quickly dwindled to a dozen after news of the curse and sightings of the scythe-wielding reaper.
- A Priest of Nerull, one Sallustus, right hand to Maxentius Acerbo himself (High Priest in Loutharnium), has gone to investigate the matter of the curse and the sighting of the reaper just after sexta. He has not made his findings and conclusions public yet. It is said he is seeking to speak to the one who voiced the curse (Cassia). For reasons unknown he has not gone to the Vulpes, even though everyone on the streets says Cassia can be found there.
- Agneta has worked in the shadows to sabotage Placidius’s attempts at learning more about the Heroes, especially Cassia (whose true Patrician identity was known by Viusenius and his lieutenants).
Would it be possible (I ask Paesentius) to scatter a bit of coin to UN-hire some of Placidius' muscle? It is the patrician way, after all.
It occurs to me that the priesthood of Nerull would welcome a sign of his direct action, and are possibly waiting to see if Placidius does die within the week (in which case, they declare it a genuine sighting of the servants of the god), or if he survives (in which case they attribute it to trickery and seek to crucify me as a blasphemer (although, if he DOESN'T die, then that might be the least of my worries)).
Paesentius considers the idea of throwing a bit of coin at the problem to unhire some of those thugs. A very Aerdian response indeed ...
He thinks it could work and would contribute 50-50 to the initiative (on top of providing the people to get this done).
As dusk falls over this second day of Pelius, a group of 3 older women garbed head to toe in black appear on Harlot`s lane, stopping in front of the Vulpes Inn. They are accompanied by 3 men carrying hand held gongs.
The women begin to dramatically wail and chant to Nerull; the men place the gongs on the walls of the Vulpes and pound rythmically in unison. The chant is one of cleansing and exorcism of evil spirits, one common in the lithurgy of Nerull.
This of course draws a small crowd of curious spectators.
Gravus peers cautiously through a boarded over upstairs window at the ritualistic display outside, the darkening streets proving little obstacle to his dwarven eyes.
"I'm not sure I be likin' this," he speaks in a low rumble, stepping back from the window to look over the balcony rails, "could the death curse have offended the priesthood? Or might this even be some trickery on Placidius' part? Cassia Nigra has already aptly demonstrated that things are nae always as they first appear."
"I think they're up to something. Could the noise and movement be concealing some other action? Like people climbing the walls while we're distracted? Viusenius' room looks out over a climbable roof."
Cassia peers through whatever gap we are looking through, her hand tracing some sigil in the air.
If we get the opportunity, Cassia will cheerfully go halfs on some un-hiring (just say how much and deduct bearing in mind that I've already implied to Agneta that some old fashioned motivation is due her as well). Her thinking is that while disposing of Placidius permanently will probably be necessary, if enough of his associates can be convinced one way or another to leave his side then it will be clear which way things are going and the rest will jump ship as well. While clearly not particularly averse to bloodshed, Cassia seems fairly keen to solve this with the minimum of violence.
"I'd like there to be something left for us to win."
Valka will go check Viusenius room and check all the windows after.
After Valka will check the secret sewer entrance.
Valka is fully armed (armor and weapons) just in case and advise Gallus to do the same!
"If its some trickery let's be ready for anything. Maybe its a strategy to keep us awake so we don't sleep and get tired out. Is it possible to get rid of them?"
Gallus heeds Valka's wise instruction. When he is don gearing up, he does as the others are, and begins checking doors and windows to see that they are still secure etc.
Does Paesentius recognise any of the women? I could try to scare them off by 'whispering' to them, but we wouldn't want anyone to think the Vulpes is haunted. What if Paesentius were to go out and thank them for their trouble but point out that his conscience is clear and he has no need of their assistance? Or invite them in to pray with the priest of Kord for the health and long life of all those within the Vulpes Nigra? Or maybe just pay them to f&%$ off home. (Cassia's irritation with the chanting shows through just a little at that point).
Paesentius only recognizes one of the women. She is often hired at funeral processions as a professional mourner. Paesentius explains if that is the case (they were hired to do this) he doubts he will be able to convince them to simply leave or pray with a priest of Kord but he is willing to try, if only to get a feel for why they were hired. He may also try to out-pay them or used veiled threats, but as Cassia and Gallus know all too well, the common superstitious belief is that someone hired for a religious service can occur the wrath of the Gods if the task is stopped.
Cassia will do nothing about the mourners etc assuming there isn't anyone trying to break in anywhere else. I think the best thing is not to make too much of a fuss about it, hence Paesentius showing he's not bothered, beyond being a bit irritated because we can't sleep.
Night has now fallen on this second day of Pelius.
Sometime after Komplet but well before Mette, Cassia is upstairs in Viusenius's old room keeping watch there (in case her theory about the climb turns out to be true). She wonders if the mourners will stop at Mette as they should according to the Nerullian chanting ritual they are calling upon. Gallus is with her, checking the windows.
Valka and Gravus are in the corner room , Gravus using his dwarven eyes to keep tabs on the mourner's actions.
Bjarturius and his sister (and the baby) are in the northeastern room .
Paesentius and his 3 men are downstairs. Paesentius told Goro to guard the cellar entrance.
A single scream from the ground floor startles the Heroes into action.
Initiative roll
Cassia will go out to stand on the balcony drawing her sling. She will call out to Gallus a quick description of what she sees (at a volume that hopefully won't alert anyone elsewhere) and unless all is clearly well, load her sling.
Valka will move out drawing my gladius (shield in other arm of course!).
Valka will go as far as she can to get to Bjarturius and Veleda's room, but stay on the balcony side (row x12) so she can look and see what's going on downstairs.
Gallus, hearing the scream bounds forward and grabbing his scutum and spatha goes to Cassia's side.
7 armed men, all wearing light armor have rushed up the stairs to engage the Heroes as they exit their respective rooms. Most wield bucklers, and either gladii or morning stars .
Below, Valka (and Cassia partially) can see Placidius with 5 more men. They have taken down everyone except the Almorian (named Luco).
Cassia 5' steps to x7y10.
"Then at last I surrendered myself gladly to overwhelming sleep, for my strength was utterly gone with myself having managed the sheets throughout the voyage."
A gladius armed man reaches Valka and swings his blade at her. Valka blocks it easily with her scutum.
Placidius spots Valka on the balcony. He gives a sharp look to the men still on the ground floor: "Kill her!"
Two men comply and rush up the stairs.
Placidius goes to one knee, whispers something to the fallen Paesentius, and plants his sword in the rotund's man chest, burying the gladius to the hilt.
Emerging from the room, having quaffed what looked to be some form of potion or tonic from a flask he had kept close at hand since their arrival in the Vulpes Nigra, the dwarf's expression is infused by an uncharacteristic wildness. His eyes are wide and bloodshot, while his taut muscles seem to twitch with an eager energy all of their own.
Gravus rushes forwards, hunched low, before drawing up behind Valka and throwing past her one of his now almost familiarly volatile concoctions.
Valka will push on and attack anyone still standing after Gravus deadly fire blast vial attack! Valka will focus on the man closest to her (G5) to finish him off (with both attacks if needed) but if Valka takes him down with one she will attack another, ideally one badly hurt by Gravus.
Gravus tosses his vial with deadly accuracy: the volatile concoction explodes on the man's face, pulverizing it. The headless corpse collapses to the floor while the force of the blast sends his 3 nearby comrades crashing on the balcony railing and floor, each badly burned and with various broken bones.
A bloody melee ensues: Valka steps in and finishes two of the gravely battered goons. Bjarturius steps out of his room, ignoring an onrushing man's blade to crash his great club on a new arrival, breaking his skull clean with a single devastating blow. Blood everywhere. For a second it seems morale will break but one of Placidius' hired blades skillfully steps in and is able to INJURE Bjarturius with a precise gladius slash to the thigh. Encouraged by seeing the muscular Priest groan in pain, the remaining men join the fray, forcing their way past the defending duo. Bjarturius makes one pay for his zeal, breaking his shoulder with another massive bash of his club. Dead bodies are beginning to pile up.
Meanwhile Gallus has reached the balcony railing, taking out his bow.
Cassia 5' steps to 8-9, drawing her pugio with her off hand and spinning her sling.
Upon utterance of the word 'voyage', Two of Placidius' armed thugs turn their heads in unison towards Cassia, as if answering some otherworldly call, and fall to the floor in deep slumber.
Placidius makes a quick appraisal of the situation above as he walks over the younger man's body . He slits the throat of the fallen youth while addressing men at ground level:
"Let's get out of here!"
The shadow of a man, highlighted by the Inn's lit hearth, can be seen retreating north .
Hearing the call to retreat from below, the dwarf steps away from the nearest assailant to look over the balcony towards the source of the command. Seeing the gang leader ruthlessly cut away the life of yet another helpless foe, Gravus fixes Placidius with his bloodshot, perhaps even slightly bloodthirsty eyes and lets loose another vial.
Cassia's sling shot finds its mark and impacts on Placidius back. The bullet is angled off by the leather armor. The enemy leader grunts in pain.
Gravus is soon to follow, leaving Placidius no time to rest: he is able to roll sideways and avoid the worst of the brunt created by the explosion of the fiery vial. Nonetheless, burn marks rake the side of his leather armor and leg.
Valka is NOT letting Placidius escape!
She will move towards the balcony rail (moving to x13-y5 and x12-y6), probably taking attacks from the 2 remaining guys next to her (G2 and G4) but using her shield to protect herself!
She will drop her shield as she moves into x12-y6 , use her free hand to jump over the railing and use acrobatics to land on x11-y6, attacking Placidius with her gladius as she drop down on him!
Gallus looks over the rail and seeing Placidius, his eyes narrow. He growls loudly, "This ends here!
Pulling back his bowstring, he releases an arrow with deadly intent!
Gallus aims, focuses, and lets his arrow fly true. The shaft finds its mark and skewers Placidius through the gut, emerging from the other side. The critically injured man wheezes a hollow scream of intense agony.
Valka spins past the 2 remaining men, easily blocking their rushed attacks with her scutum before dropping it. The Spartaca plants her newly freed hand on the railing and kicks her outer leg up to clear the balcony edge, dropping down on Placidius. Her muscular legs absorb the fall as her gladius descends hard on the former Vulpus lieutenant's head, splitting his skull open. So ends Placidius' bid for leadership of the Vulpus.
"KORUD!"
Upstairs Bjarturius repays in spades the thief that sliced at his leg. The great club is swung with such force the rogue is flung upwards and sent crashing on the nearby wall before sliding to the floor lifeless. The last man up panicks, looks for a possible escape south but reconsiders when he sees Gravus's bloodshot eyes. He takes a chance to run to the stairs pass by the Priest of Kord. A mistake. Bjarturius bashes him on the back. Bones snap, the man falls.
Downstairs the last of Placidius' men are in full retreat. One disappears in the small storage room . The rest seem to be going in that direction as well.
Round 6 (just before Cassia & Gravus)
"You see, Lucius Gallus, why I cannot swear to turn my back on the darker gods."
Cassia gestures at the carnage.
"They will not turn their backs on me."
She stows her sling, moves to stand next to Gravus.
Valka draws a pugio and steps up to finish off one of the retreating bandits (ideally one that's already wounded)
Valka easily catches up to one of the stragglers , already badly wounded by a fierce blow from Bjarturius' great club, and stabs him in the back, bringing him down.
The last 2 men make good their escape through the storage room's opened door.
Luco, the hired Almorian, is standing over Paesentius' slain body, shaking his head in frustrated anger.
Bjarturius begins to secure to two sleeping men with a rope.
Gallus sees the fight is over, and lowers his bow with no more arrows fired. "Those can tell any other challengers what has happened. They will believe their mouths before they believe ours"
Turning to Cassia, Gallus says sadly, "If you have their attention, even better to spurn their advances. You know the stories. When did a human ever entreat with such as those and play the victor? I shall say when! Never!" With that he turns and checks Bjarturius wounds.
Valka will go check out the door to that storage room but do it slowly and carefully! She says out loud:
"Gravus! My Scutum!"
Valka sees a hole in the back storage room wall connecting the Vulpes Inn to the adjoining Domus (the casket maker's). The hole is not some rash endeavor, the brick's mortar has been carefully limed off to release the stone bricks without making too much noise, that minimal noise been covered by the ruckus caused by the mourners outside and their ritual gong-banging on the Inn's wall.
Gallus approaches Bjarturius only to find the big Priest of Kord doing remarkably well. That slice to his leg must have been a superficial cut indeed: there is no deep laceration nor bleeding.
Bjarturius hands the rope to Gallus:
"Pleaze finich dis I vill tend to de vounded and dose dat Korud can save."
He proceeds to go down the stairs to check on the fallen 'allies' (Paesentius and his men), to see if anyone can indeed be saved.
The tall bald one, Goro, Bjarturius is able to stabilize.
Paesentius and the young man are in the hands of the Gods now.
Cassia goes to the corpse of Paesentius and aims a couple of vicious kicks at it.
"You stupid, stupid, fat, f*&%ing plebian."
She turns away and stares up through the ceiling.
"All I want is a f*&%ing place! Is that too much to ask?"
Her violent outburst over, she sits and plays with her pugio drawing it across her forearm. So sharp is the blade that despite the gentleness and almost absent minded nature of the movement it draws blood.
Valka, when she gets her shield from Gravus, will carefully check the hole in the wall to see if there is more danger there or in the house on the other side. Very slowly and carefully and ideally with Gravus and others.
When that is done (Valka has the feeling the 3 that survive probably RAN for their lives and are FAR now), Valka will tell Gravus to help her put some large boxes or anything big we can find to cover the hole for now.
When that is done, she finally turns to Cassia and says:
"In Segesta all we wanted, peregrini like Bjarturius, Veleda and myself, was for a quiet f*&%ing place. It kind of comforts me to see the Empire can treat high born patricians the same as us barbarians. A kind of twisted form of equality."
Valka has a small smile on her face but she is serious at the same time.
"I think the lessons of this twisted Empire is: you want something, you have to take it for yourself."
Valka gently takes away the pugio from Cassia (unless she resists of course)
"And stop that. There has been enough blood shed, even for me."