The Story Session VIII (01/19/02)

• June 6th, 183 2C. Kira talks further with Mikel and prepares to meet the group who broke their promise to the Ranger about staying at the winery. Sperin and Thurton have breakfast thanks to Maria, then head up to Aliana's room. She is awake, but still in much pain. They catch her up on events a bit until they are joined by Mikel and Kira. Mikel informs the group, without any cheery pretense, that he can't trust them and now he has to have Kira babysit them for him while he attends Ranger business. He leaves Akia to join up with Captain Comrin, Anon, and Creyton. Sperin and Thurton, with the babysitter in tow and on foot, ride down to the stables. There, they chat with a young private named Dwight, who is assigned to watch the military's horses. They spend an hour or so doing a rough cleaning of the stables while Kira watches. Even Dwight helps. Meanwhile, back at the winery, Aliana holds conversations with Maria and it seems she miraculously recovers from her wound. Maria, of course, insists that Aliana is blessed by the White Angel. Thurton, Sperin and Kira travel next all the way out to Sperin's farm to fetch Betsy. Betsy is brought all the way back to Drake's, finishing off the morning, and hooked up to Drake's cart. They also go into the shop and leave several more IOU's for various items they steal. The cart is then driven back out to the Feed Store near Sperin's farm and Kira is made to walk all the while, being purposefully tortured by those who are resentful of having to be watched. Feed is gathered for the horses and brought back to the stables. The horses are fed. The cart is returned to Drake's and Betsy is returned to the stables. It is already late afternoon when Sperin and Thurton ride, with Kira walking, all the way back out to Sperin's farm and supplies for preserving are picked up. Finally, in the early evening hours, they head back to Moonsong Winery. There they meet Aliana, who was just leaving the winery to head into town to find them after having a conversation with Craf. They all head back to the winery for a light dinner of Maria's special garlic bread, summer sausage, and brie. Then, it is back to playing "bore the babysitter" with a long walk down to the docks and some riding tips are given by Thurton during this trek. After checking to see he isn't at the bar, they find Harry down near the other fisherman. He is obviously upset about his boat missing and his loss of income. He also thinks they saw a dragon or something flying at the ship a week ago as opposed to a skyship. They make a plan to meet down at the docks the next morning to go out to the island by borrowing another fisherman's boat to fetch Harry's boat. The group then wastes the evening by going back to Drake's and borrowing more things, going all the way out to Sperin's again to see if there are any foodstuffs around for him to preserve (which there are not), and finally they return to the winery. It is late, but Craf is talking with Sgt. Tidek in the parlour. Aliana spends some time in the library, researching her family tree and she is eventually joined by Kira, who spent some time wandering the manor, for some conversation. Thurton and Sperin spend some time in the garden where Thurton ripens a tomato plant. Sperin takes it inside and starts making preserves while Thurton goes to talk with the Sgt. Tidek and Craf in the parlour. Craf invites everyone to a late dinner. At dinner, the sargent warns everyone that the army is suggesting immediate evacuation as there are potentially hostile Isoc troops in the region. The warning is considered and ignored. People drift toward bed. Thurton notices that his dagger and botany book are missing. He asks Maria about the stuff and she knows nothing. He goes over to Sperin's and they discover that the ex-soldier's papers allowing him the right to carry arms are missing as well. Thurton goes downstairs to talk to Kira. Sperin pokes around upstairs.While Thurton and Kira are chatting, they notice something. Out in the vineyard, they see a column of soldiers marching. Kira's eyes glow red a moment. She indentifies them as about 60 soldiers of Threforfar marching to the northwest. Sperin notices them out a window upstairs and he meets Thurton and Kira in the hallway. They decide to go to bed. Kira does so. Thurton and Sperin decide to confront Kira about the missing stuff after a short talk, trying to figure out just who this "associate" of the Rangers is. They are talking about it in the hallway when Aliana wakes up, groggy from a dream, and asks if anyone noticed the army outside. They had. They search through everyone's rooms for the missing stuff and it is not found. Everyone agrees to go to sleep as best they can considering the activity outside and search for the stuff in the morning.
• June 7th. Kira is up before dawn walking around the building, when she sees someone moving outside. She stirs the group.Sperin goes to wake Craf and they note a group of approximately ten men approaching the manor with weapon's drawn. Everyone gathers down in the kitchen and debate what to do. Craf suggests sneaking out the secret passage that goes from beneath the library to wine cellars. They all agree that this is the plan and start moving toward the library. As they are crossing the foyer, two soldiers wearing red Isoc uniforms burst in the front door, kicking it open. There is a quick confrontation that leaves both men bleeding on the floor. The group ducks into the passage beneath the library and slips through the tunnel, led by Craf, to the wine cellars, which exist in natural caves in the hills behind the manor. There, they creep out and move northwest through the vineyards, using the servants building as a vision shield to keep them out of sight. They see the servants being roused from their slumber and they leave them as they flee. After the group, which at this point consists of Craf, Maria, Kira, Thurton, Sperin, and Aliana, reaches the northwest corner of the vineyards, they strike out west over the rolling hills. A horse is spotted on the distant hill and gathered by Sperin, who uses his cloak to protect himself from view. He notes it is a steed of the Threforfar cavalry and there are dead bodies lying around. Soon enough, they decide to turn south and venture through a gully where they spot many such bodies wearing both uniforms from Isoc and Threforfar. A short sword is stolen from a body. The hills smooth out a bit and soon they reach the rolling farmlands west of Akia. They make for Sperin's. Clothes are gathered and they head along Old Akia Road back into town. Two figures are coming toward them on the road. It turns out they are Isoc soldiers. A bit of a standoff occurs and then the soldiers flee north. The group continues into town and in the forest, they are apprehended by the Threforfar Cavalry, led by Captain Yenrog. Sargent Tidek is given orders to accompany them back to Kiltin's rest for their own safety. All but Kira are herded back and put in a room upstairs. Kira sneaks along behind, staying outside and listening. They sleep for a couple of hours, then confer. Discussions are had with Tidek who doesn't seem to like being in Akia one bit. Maria and Aliana cook breakfast for the soldiers. They are told that at noon with the Captain they will return to the winery. Private Dwight talks a bit with Sperin and Thurton and he is worried about his friend Van. Kira voices that she doesn't trust Tidek in the slightest after listening in. He was asking too many questions. With six cavalry, Yenrog and Tidek inclusive, the group heads up to the winery, which they find deserted. They decide to make this their new headquarters as it is more defencable. Kira watches from a distance. Sperin and Thurton run into the Ranger Anon outside. They play a game of charades and guess at the drawing in which Anon explains that there was a fight between the Isoc and Threforfar armies. Unrelated to that, two men in black studded leather armor are coming to kill Aliana. The other Rangers are tracking these men. The group is instructed to wait at the winery for more information. The afternoon passes into evening. Kira spots one of the men with the studded leather. She also spots Ranger Captain Comrin outside. They plan briefly. Kira sneaks under the house to listen from beneath the library after she meets Creyton in the servants' quarters. Some conversation is had between Thurton, Sperin and Captain Yenrog when they are joined by Aliana and Sargent Tidek. Aliana presses for information on the overheard rift between the troops. That triggers an argument between Yenrog and Tidek that soon involves all the soldiers. Mutiny ensues and a fight breaks out. It is the captain and corporal vs. the sargent and the privates. For the most part, the group stays out of it until Thurton interferes at the end. All of the soldiers are left a bloody mess in various degrees of hurt. Creyton and Anon rush in from their posts outside when they hear the commotion. Anon sets up a make shift hospital and tries to aid the dying soldiers in the parlour. Maria and Craf help. There is much conversation about what to do. Craf spends some private time with Aliana. Then, to avoid the would be assassins, the group slips out through the secret passage and meet Mikel and Comrin in the wine cellars. They decide to split up. Craf, Maria, Comrin and Anon will go one way to lead the two assassins off the trail. Craf insists he will come back to the winery later. Maria insists on staying with him. Creyton will lead Mikel, Kira, Thurton, Sperin and Aliana to the docks where they will take a boat to this island. Off they go. The run, with all of their equipment carried, is exhausting. They double back east, through the Verde Woods, noting Grugach totems hanging from the trees, until after a couple hours, they come out on the shores of the Blue Sea. They head south. Creyton tells them to follow the shore line. He darts inland and collects a few things from his house and catches back up with them. They realize they are being followed by a man. As they reach the very northern end of the docks, Thurton's limp allows the man in the black studded leather to catch up. Mikel and Creyton slow down to fight him. Sperin and Aliana are ahead and find some row boats. They throw the stuff in. Kira spots a strange floating dock out in the water. Soon, everyone but Creyton and Mikel, who are engaged in combat, are out in the Blue Sea. Sperin tries to shoot at the man with a hunting bow, but he has no luck. Creyton gets wounded and he swims after the others as they climb onto the wing of the Redwing. Mikel stays back to fight, but he is losing. First mate Dale helps then on. Captain Jen recognizes Kira. They all get inside and strap in. The skyship lifts off. They circle around and try to rescue Mikel, but it is too late. His body can be scene floating in the surf of the Blue Sea. The man stares up at the Redwing as they fly off, heading toward the island.