Post by Idris on May 26, 2019 17:04:50 GMT
Session 60 - 17/5/19
IdGM: Leaving Millie with her overjoyed parents, Maddie and Hannah set off into the night. It had begun to clear and a thin moon cast a wan light over the narrow streets and darkened houses. The other tunnel started near to their next destination so would be of little use, and they had to creep past windows and fences, hoping no sharp eared guard dog would raise the alarm.
They successfully negotiated the dark streets to Dick's home - an old wooden house surrounded by a jumble of outbuildings near to the edge of the water meadows. When they entered the gate, an old dog bounded up to meet them and greeted Dick effusively, though fortunately in silence. His parents were stunned by the return of their boy, and kept thanking Hannah. Once their shock wore off a little they listened carefully as Hannah and Maddie outlined the plan, and promised to spread the word.
Billie's house was fairly close and they were able to reach it quickly and easily. However here they ran into difficulties - Billie's mother being on her own and prostrated with grief, several of the neighbours were staying in the house to look after her. A large woman opened the door and on seeing Billie, immediately started shrieking, and it was only with great difficulty that they managed to calm her down and move into the house. Billie was carried off to his mother's room, and after a great deal of exclamations and tears, returned with her to the parlour. She was pale and shaky but quickly recovered as Hannah and Maddie explained the plan. This was accepted by all of the women there, horrified as they were by news of the Mayor's perfidy. They would be returning to their homes and telling their friends and neighbours.
Maddie: "We need to make for the square. If the guard is still there that probably means things have gone to shit."
IdGM: While Hannah and Maddie had been creeping through underground ways, Stephen and Emily were leading their small group of rescuers through the main streets. The shops were shuttered and the houses dark, and there were no street lights of any kind, but they felt very exposed as they darted from shadow to shadow. They crossed the main street and were nearing the area of the town square. Just as they were about to turn a corner, Emily suddenly heard the crunch of boots. Someone was walking towards that very corner!
Emily: Emily prepared herself for a fight, "Someone is coming." She whispered to others as she gripped her axe.
Stephen: Stephen's gripped the knife in his hand harder, though he'd obviously have preferred to not need to use it
IdGM: The feet stopped and a loud voice roared out, making them all jump out of their skins. "Four of the clock and all's well!"
"It's the night-watchman!" Gill hissed.
Emily: Emily frowned at this, "We might have to knock him out then or avoid him somehow.." She whispered to Stephen
IdGM: It struck Stephen that if they could distract the watchman as he rounded the corner, they could then overcome him and either knock him out or bring him with them and lock him in the town hall.
Stephen: "We need a distraction so that we can overwhelm him before he raises an alarm - animals could help!" Stephen quickly told Emily
Emily: Emily's eyes narrowed as she reached out to find a bird to distract him, and nodded.
IdGM: There were various birds roosting in this area including several pigeons sleeping on the roof above them.
Emily: Emily gave the pigeons a nudge with her mind causing a ruckus.
IdGM: They all flattened themselves against the wall as a rather plump man in a large coat appeared around the corner. The watchman held a heavy baton in one hand and a lantern in the other. Before he could take two steps the pigeons dropped from the roof in front of him, flapping their wings around his head and fluttering in front of his eyes. The man threw his arms up to protect his face.
Emily: Emily went forward and attempt to knock him out with a blunt aim of her axe.
Stephen: Stephen rushed at the man and grabbed him tightly, covering his mouth with his hand to prevent him shouting a warning.
IdGM: Emily's swing only managed to hit the man on the shoulder. Suddenly Tam shot forward and swung his leg round, sweeping the watchman's legs from under him. The watchmen fell back, but with Stephen holding onto him, he landed without doing too much damage to himself.
Above Stephen's hand, the man stared up at them in terror. Then he recognised Gill and his eyes widened in surprise. He tried to speak.
Emily: Emily considered at the wisdom of allowing him to speak, "You can speak but quietly." She whispered "Got it?"
IdGM: The man nodded.
Stephen: Stephen loosened his hand from the man's mouth, though he seemed ready to prevent him from speaking again if there was need to
IdGM: "Those are the missing children..." the man said in a hoarse whisper. "Where... what... who are you?" He seemed genuinely more confused than angry or aggressive.
Stephen: "The mayor had kidnapped them to sell as slaves. "said Stephen, getting quickly to the point "We freed them and are going to free other imprisoned innocents in the town hall."
IdGM: At Stephen's words, the watchman's face expressed some incredulity, but Gill stepped forward. "It's all true. The mayor has been selling children to a gang. These people are heroes - they rescued us!"
Emily: "My name is Emily, what is your name?" Emily introduced herself, "The slaver gang was selling them to the city called Omer. We dealt with few of them back in the cells."
IdGM: The man frowned. "Omer? Taking our children as slaves?" His face darkened with rage as he struggled to sit up. "It seems there is a lot we didn't know. I'm Georg by the way."
Stephen: "Stephen." he said, releasing him. "We have friends who are telling the families of the kidnapped what happened so that we can organize and confront the mayor. If things go as planned, he's not going to be in power for long."
IdGM: The man nodded. "We have much to thank you for. Barstock has built himself a grand house and lives the life of a lord, but nobody would have thought this even of him... I serve the town, and if the mayor is acting against the town then we must stop him. He is a traitor!" The young people made noises of agreement.
Emily: Emily nodded, glad to have another ally, "Okay Georg, welcome then! We will do our best to deal with such a blight on the town." She promised as they made way for the town hall.
IdGM: They turned the corner and headed down a street which opened into a wide paved square surrounded by tall buildings with ground floor shops and workshops. It would be pleasant in summer, with a fountain and shady trees, but these were only just coming into leaf and it was chill in the thin moonlight. Wooden market stalls were folded and stacked to one side. On their right they could see the pillared frontage of a large building - the town hall. Small streets ran to both sides of it.
Emily: Emily kept a close eye out, trying to see if there is someone else in this gloomly night. She hope that the door of the town hall can be open
IdGM: As if he had heard her thoughts, Georg said softly. "The front entrance is locked but us watchmen have a key to the side door. That's where our messroom is, and the keys to the cells."
Stephen: "That will be very helpful."said Stephen, pleased.
Emily: Emily was pleased as well, glad that they didn't knock hom out, clearly a goldmine of lot of information
IdGM: Georg smiled briefly, then he indicated that they should head for the narrow street to the right hand side of the town hall.
Emily: "Let me see if how many we got guarding this place." Emily focused, reaching tout o the enemies
IdGM whispers to Emily: could sense many creatures in the echoing chambers and passages of the building ahead of them - rats and mice, beetles and other insects, and one mind shining bright, the town hall cat. Through his eyes, she could see two men, one in plain leather armour sitting at a table, and the other, a strong looking fellow with a short sword at his side, leaning on the wall talking to him.
The cat bristled when he looked at this second man, clearly he did not like him.
IdGM whispers to Emily: The man at the table seemed subdued, he had his head down. The other man was speaking in a hectoring way at him. "You lot are too soft. The mayors going to put us in charge, and then we'll see some changes round here!"
Stephen: "Should not be a problem."said Stephen "Any chance you could make out what they were saying?" he asked
Emily: Emily nodded, "Yes, one chap seems to think that the mayor will put them in charge and make changes, while other wearing armour look so woebegone. I reckon we might convince one to surrender and other we will have to put down."
IdGM: Georg had been listening in, and as they approached a small and insignificant door around the side of the town hall, he looked at Emily quizzically. "How'd you know that? Darry is on guard tonight. Nobody else should be there."
Emily: "That's right." Emily nodded, "Like these distractions when you approached us earlier this night."
IdGM: The watchman looked rather dubious but he sighed. "These youngsters vouch for you, that's enough for me." He produced a large key from his coat and proceeed to unlock the door.
"Let me speak to old Darry," Georg said. "If one of the mayor's guards is there, you might have to deal with him. They're canny fighters." They entered a narrow hall, where long waterproof capes hung on hooks. Georg opened a door - beyond it they could see a poorly lit room where a downcast man in leather armour sat at a table. He looked up quickly as George move forward. Their view was blocked to some extent but they could just make out a tall figure by the wall to the right.
Emily: "Maybe we can play innocent lost travellers." Emily replied."And then attack if we need to."
IdGM: "Hey Darry!" Georg said jovially. "You'll never guess what I found when I was on my rounds...." He indicated the group standing behind him. Darry stood up quickly and he came forward peering into the dimness of the hallway. "Is that the runaway children?" he asked in surprise.
Stephen: Stephen tried to be unconspicous, perhaps waiting to see Darry's reaction to the children
IdGM: They could hide behind the capes for now. Darry was indicating that the young people should move into the room. "We didn't run away!" Gill said, confident as usual. "We were kidnapped by slavers, who are working for the mayor."
At this the tall man moved forward, big and intimidating, leaning towards Gill. "What is this nonsense? Slavers? Working for the mayor? You'd better shut your pretty mouth or it'll be shut for you!"
Georg pushed Gill behind him. "Pick on someone your own size. The children aren't liars."
Peering through the door, Stephen and Emily could see the tall man's hand slip to the hilt of his short sword.
Emily: Emily reached for the axe as well, ready to charge at the man
IdGM whispers to Stephen: The ceiling was solid - this part of the town hall had been built partly below ground - but Stephen felt he could rip a piece of the stone from a large hearth on the opposite wall and propel it at the man.
Georg looked hard at Stephen. "Was that you?"
Stephen: Stephen looked at the fallen man for a moment before replying "Indeed. I did mention we have unusual talents. But do not worry, we do not plan to use them for evil, unlike the mayor. We've heard his way with words described as a kind of magic..."
IdGM: Georg frowned. "Maybe, or maybe he just tells folk what they want to hear. But I don't think he's talk his way out of this. What do you want to do now?" Darry was standing at a loss, looking from one of them to the other with his mouth open.
Emily: "We are going to have a look at the cells and see who we can free." Emily confirmed, "Darry, do you know who is in the cells here?" She asked firmly.
IdGM: Darry stared at Emily, then at Georg, who nodded. "Trouble makers brought in by the mayor's guards."
Stephen: "There's a man from Omer there too, right?"Stephen asked
IdGM: Darry frowned. "From Omer? I don't think so. If there is I didn't see him."
Emily: "Is there a Counciller as well?" Emily asked kindly
Stephen: Stephen did not press the matter, perhaps believing they would recognize the man anyway
IdGM: "An old man," Darry said, and he frowned again. "I don't know why he's in there - the mayor said he was causing trouble but he seems alright to me. I made sure he had a few comforts, not right making an old man sit in a damp cell."
Allie came forward, looking up at the man. "Is my da in there? He came looking for me and they locked him up."
Emily: Emily smiled at this kind gesture of help for an old man before, look solmenly at Allie once looking at Darren
IdGM: "There was a man asking after his daughter," Darry said. "It's been harder to do the duty, so many being brought in..." he sighed. "You want the keys?"
Emily: Emily nodded, "That would be very helpful, yes please" as she came closer.
IdGM: A flight of stone stairs led to the cellars. Leaving the nightwatchmen to keep watch over the guard, Stephen, Emily and the young people went down into a long passage lit only by one flickering torch. On either side were a series of low arched areas, probably once used for storage of wine and food, but metal bars had been fixed accross them to create cells. In one an old man was lying down on a bench - he had a pillow and blanket, which was luckier than the other prisoners. Several men sat or lay in each cell. As they opened the gate one of these rushed out and hugged Allie. Both of them were crying. At the end of the line, a young man was standing at the bars, alone in his cell. "Is the revolution begun?" he asked feverishly.
Stephen: "Well... revolution is a strong word."said Stephen "But we do mean to take care of the mayor."
IdGM: The man snorted as they let him out. "At the end of a rope, I hope!" They had found no sign of the spy but Stephen was determined not to give up. Unless he had been killed already he must be here. Eventually he found traces of grime trodden onto the floor which appeared to come from a solid piece of wall.
Stephen: Stephen's touched the stone surface, feeling it
IdGM whispers to Stephen: Stephen could tell this was a door, cut from the solid stone. There was a mechanism for opening it, but he could subvert that and simply create a hole into the passage beyond.
Stephen: "I found a secret door here." Stephen said to Emily "Should we try it?"
Emily: Emily nodded, "Yes, hopefully, it is not trapped or anything/"
IdGM whispers to Stephen: Stephen felt the Flow fill him like a volcanic explosion, the power streaming from his fingertips.
IdGM: The stone door melted in front of their eyes, the solid rock flowing away accross the floor. There were exclamations of surprise and awe from the released prisoners behind them.
Stephen: "Don't be afraid." Stephen said to the former prisoners before turning to Emily as they went in "I sensed no traps, but we should be careful anyway."
IdGM: Darry had brought a lantern down with him. Silently, fearfully, he handed this to Stephen. They could see s short passage ahead which ended in another barred cell. A man sat huddled on the floor of the cell, his once-fine clothes ripped and filthy, blood caked on his hands and face. He looked up at them through swollen and blood shot eyes as he heard them approach and said something in a language they did not understand.
Stephen: Stephen paused, perhaps worried the man might react violently
IdGM: The man moved, chains clanking as he did so. "Please," he said. "I am Cykor. I know nothing." None of the keys Darry carried worked on the cell door.
Stephen: "Let me deal with that..."
IdGM whispers to Stephen: Again the flow seemed to stream up through Stephen's body and soul, tearing out of him and into the metal of the lock. The metal parts of the lock screamed as Stephen poured power into them. With a shriek of metal it flew apart and the entire gate ripped off its hinges, narrowly missing the prisoner as he shrank as far into the corner as the chains allowed.
Emily: Emily rushed forward to check over this clearly wounded man named Cykor, "My name is Emily."
IdGM: It was clear that Cykor had been subjected to heavy beating and other forms of torture, judging from burns and cuts on his body. He flinched as she examined him, but she could tell most of the wounds would heal, the broken bones included. The chains would need to come off before she could treat him properly, and Darry did have a key to these. "Same for all of them," he said. "Luckily." He eyed the prisoner. "Omeri?"
Stephen: "I'm Stephen." he said as he helped Cykor could leave his cell - right now the man was too weak to stand on his own.
Emily: Emily glanced at the wounds and winced as she finished tending him, " I managed to do what I can do but you going to need to need some rest." She confirmed this with Cykor.
IdGM: Cykor gave her a weak smile. "Thank you lady." They had given him water, and now he could speak more easily. The other prisoners looked askance at the olive skinned, black bearded Omeri, but Allie's father Nat came forward and put the man's arm over his shoulder, so that between them he and Stephen supported Cykor as they moved slowly out of the prison.
When they reached the room above, they found that the tall guard was begining to come round. "Put him in the cells," suggested Georg.
Emily: Emily nodded, "Let make sure he is tied or chained up as well." She agreed
IdGM: Cykor looked carefully at the man's face. "This is one of those who beat me," he said, and he spat on the recumbent form.
By the time they had locked up the cells, and given all the prisoners water and some bread from the watchmen's store, it was nearly dawn. Time to meet in the town square.