DCC DotSK: Act 1-3

Anora lets out a breath she only just now realized she had been holding as her great spell took hold over those in the church. She didn’t know if it would come to blows with loyal Krieg…

"The Jarl’s men must know of a secret entrance to the hold. An exit rather, for when the Jarl needs to make an escape…

He may be racing for it even now, if such a passage exists. We must head him off!"

With the waters calming, Aldric find himself adrift. Anora and Ty seem to have him wrapped around their fingers, and he doesn't want to prematurely change the direction of the tides. After all, he is sure that Beacom hates him and Pelagia, after all the darkness and defiling and curse words he said in front of his altar. Did he pee in the church? No, no, that was after.

Oh, and there was that artifact they stole. If that suddenly became known, it would put this union under heavy stress. Father Beacon hadn't noticed yet, but the cloth that hid the holy hammer head was surely flat now.

Hmm, if only Dufgal had more time he could have replaced it with something, to make it look like it was still there. After all, how often did Beacom lift that cloth?

Aldric finds himself quietly exiting the church, a new idea surfacing from the depths of his mind. He wades through the crowd and calls out "Potatoes! Bring me a handful of potatoes, and a kitchen knife."

Once a potato farmer, Aldric had made little carvings from the spuds to delight his family. Perhaps he could carve a false hammer head in several pieces. I didn't have to be perfect, just good enough to make the cloth that covers it to fall in a similar way.

To Headwoman Anora's plan, Ty humbly adds, "If these doughty men were deceived--" he waves a hand vaguely in the direction of Kreig and his ilk-- "then perhaps the other thegns were as well. If we make plain the ruse, worthies, they may come over to our side. Sturdy gates now closed against us may be opened easily enough from the inside..."

OUTSIDE THE CHURCH (ALDRIC)

Outside the church, Aldric finds that a larger crowd is gathering. The afternoon is wearing on and more and more of the Hirotians are hearing about the events in the square. So when the priest's followers find him, it takes them not a few minutes to furnish the man with a knife and a basket of spuds.

"Witness Aldric! What would you have us do while you carry out Pelagia's potato carving will?!" one asks as room is made for the man to get to peeling.

"And why does she... want you to carve potatoes?!" another adds. "Should -- should we all be carving potatoes?!"

INSIDE THE CHURCH (ANORA, DUFGAL & TY)

The three thegns share a look when Anora declares that they must know of a secret entrance, then Haedrick speaks up when the woman mentions the Jarl making a run for it.

"That is unlikely, Lady Anora. Jarl Griegor feels safest in his hall when the Hound is about. Locked in his inner chamber."

When Ty speaks up, the bearded man nods at him.

"Aye. Orioc will listen to reason... and Haelf the halfwit will do what the old man says."

"Clohn won't, the bastard," Ofenloch growls. "He'll be a problem, Haedrick. you know he will."

Haedrick does not get to answer before Kreig speaks up.

"We should go there now," the tall warrior declares. Then he points at the disguised elf. "With this one as a prisoner, a hostage to keep the rest of the village at bay. They won't suspect a thing when we ask to be let in."

Anora is about to speak; about to suggest that she could ensnare this Clohn and set him aside. She stops up when the thegns furnish their own plan, and one that Anora is only half on board with!

"If you could quadruple your hostages, your Jarl would be doubly as happy, I’m sure!" Anora says, supposing that all four could serve as hostages and the Jarl would open the door all the quicker!

Aldric was getting used to this deference these people were giving him and his opinions, but he really didn't have time to make much out of it. So, he spoke to them as he carved, really putting on the airs of a holy man

"Behold, I say unto you, there is no end to the oddities of this world. The mountains bow to the wind, and the rivers carve the stone, yet none ask the reason why. So too must you, O children of Hirot, carve your way, even as one carves a potato, shaping it not for the world’s approval, but for your own purposes.

For some will say, ‘Why carve the humble potato? It is but food and not art.’ And others will cry out, ‘Such effort is foolishness!’ But I say unto you, the world itself is a peculiar place, filled with vanity and whimsy, and you are free to add to it as you will.

Let not the judgments of men trouble you, nor their scorn. Whether your work be praised or forgotten, what matter is it? Go forth, and carve as your heart desires, for the earth is wide and time is short. Do what brings you joy, and trouble not your soul with the weight of their opinions."

He did not explain the potatoes he carved were for the larceny of Justica's hammer, but that was the whole point of the potatoes, after all - to hide their crime. He looked down to see how his carving was coming...

Well, it was better than nothing, he supposed.

Ty seems blissfully unaware that Kreig has singled him out to serve as a false hostage. He listens with a cocked head and a mild expression until Anora has offered her own suggestion.

"I mean no disrespect, masters," he says uneasily, "but the fur of our newborn alliance has not yet dried. What assurance have we that you will not simply betray us to the Jarl once we are within his walls?"

The elf stares straight at Kreig through his blindfold.

"Let one of your number surrender his arms to Broegan here--" Ty waves back at the throng, nowhere near where the burly innkeeper actually stands-- "and remain behind with the people, to pay the price for any treachery." He thinks a moment, then adds, "And to make us the more secure, let it be he who first proposed this scheme."

INSIDE THE CHURCH (ANORA, DUFGAL & TY)

Inside Justicia's temple, plots and plans begin to come together.

Haedrick nods at Anora. "Possible. Though a larger number might make him -- or Ru -- more suspicious."

Kreig glares back at Ty when the elf looks at him and speaks of disrespect, alliances, assurances and betrayals. It's a lot of big words in a short amount of time from the tall stranger.

"Treachery?" Kreig says on the heels of that eloquent musing. He looks to the other thegns, then the priest, then to Anora... then back to Ty before he answers further.

"Why speak of treachery? We have common cause now, beggar. There is no need to divide our forces."

Father Beacom makes a frustrated noise in his throat, then gestures for the whole pile of people to leave.

"Leave the sanctity of this church now, my flock. Whatever you decide, whomever goes to the great hall -- do it soon! We have only a few hours of light, and many preparations to make."

OUTSIDE THE CHURCH (ALDRIC)It doesn't take Pelagia's mouthpiece very long to carve what he carves, and while it does not look like the head of a legendary warhammer... it will lie under a piece of velvet cloth easily enough. Aldric's followers now have their own potatoes and are busily carving as he preaches -- well, except for the young, cow-eyed man who hasn't said two words to his prophet yet. He's taken several bites from his raw spud and is chewing mightily.

"Hey!" comes a voice, and when Aldric doesn't immediately hear it above the adulation of his entourage, it comes again -- louder.

"Hey! Alldick or whatever your name is, how are you with a needle n'thread?"

It's Wee Tocs, who the priest hasn't spoken privately with yet, and he his has a look of concern on his young face.

"Do you have poultries or salves or whatevers? Healing ungwonts? Your friend left my friend nears dead, Jenks just told me. An' someone clocked little Catkins pretty good too, I heared. Deserved it, I bet she did. Was that you?"

Anora lets the various arguments fall quiet, and then bows her head ever so slightly to the priest. He had done well… in the end.

"Whatever we do, it’s clear that we must make for the great hall now. The way forward may present itself to us once we are in front of those gates!" she says, sure that some chaos would both help and hinder their efforts.

She wonders if she ought to send Aldric to fetch the witch, so that she might turn herself to this task also..

Dufgal hears Anora’s resolve to march on the Jarl’s compound, so he readies himself to take up her flank. He keeps at least one eye on Krieg though. That thug seemed not to be entirely swayed by this rebellion.

"Alldick!" he starts snorting and laughing. Ah, this town was a pile of shit, and it had taken from him more than it gave, but that was a good one.

"Look, kid - what's your name? I'm terrible with a needle and thread, and poultices are not in my wheelhouse. But, I am a Witness of the Goddess Pelagia, and through me, the miracles of her healing doth flow. I am busy dealing with a situation of sorts in the church, so you'd better bring him over here if you want me to help him."

Leaving Deacom to his temple, Anora says with a wary tone to both Dufgal and Ty:

"And where is our own priest?" for she had been too busy to hear much of his carry on.

"I thought he had written his name to an oath to accompany me on my travels. He hasn’t set foot beside me for more than a moment in almost a day*!"

"Do you lack attendants, Headwoman?" Ty drawls. Anora has the better part of a village at her back; what is one Pelagian priest more or less? "The holy father must be near at hand. Was he not just preaching to the converted about--" Well. What a repressive and murderous goddess Beacom's Justicia is. And something about taking a hammer? Better, perhaps, not to revisit the details of Aldric's sermon. "--about the Pelagian faith?" Or so Tyravasiel-Llir supposes. Everything he knows about the humans' ocean deity has tumbled from Aldric's lips.

The elf leans in a little closer. "We should be careful of the thegns," he murmurs. "It is not yet an hour since that one--" Ty twitches his chin in Kreig's direction, "was chasing our priest with his axe. They may try to give us over to the Jarl, trusting that when these dirty humans are deprived of their new leaders, they will sink back into obedience. It's what I would do, in their place."

Anora nods enough for the elven-eyed to perceive. Were she a more chaotic force in the world, she would simply throw the man to the wolves… or hounds… and be done with it. At present, she was surrounded by plenty who would do it quite happily, and so her soul could remain untarnished by the act!

"Did the witch bid our priest to return later for his prize? It may be time for her to come good on that account!" Anora replies to the elf, trusting that he knew she had taken his council to heart, and didn’t want to risk tarrying on it for too long!

Not wanting the thegns behind him, but also not wanting them in between him and Anora, Dufgal’s eyes dart between them. He lingers looking at Anora for a hint of a clue. Should he trust these thugs who could still be in the Jarl’s pocket? He thinks not, but who does he trust anyway? He aims to show his readiness to follow her lead.

Ty glances at Kreig through his blindfold. The other warriors seem sincere in their outrage, but it isn't clear where precisely Kreig's evident wrath is directed. Is he angry a the Jarl and Sylle Ru for their deception, or at Ty and his motley crew for exposing it? If Kreig isn't on their side, then this plan to go as prisoners before the Jarl could be disastrous.

But with Anora, Dufgal, and Aldric beside him-- and presuming the other thegns don't falter-- the odds should still be in their favor. Just not as much as the elf would like.

He lifts a shoulder, then turns ponderously and totters on his cane back out of the church. "Where is Aldric the Pelagian?" Ty demands loudly, knowing perfectly well where the man is and making a beeline for him. "Good news, worthy father! We are to be carried as pretended captives before the Jarl by these burly fellows behind us. When Griegor opens his gates to receive us, we shall appeal to the thegns within, then bring the lord and his sorcerer before the people's justice."

Ideally.