She looks at his discomfort with a small grin. "I suppose I can tell you, though you'll probably be clutching your rosary the whole way." She takes a swig. "A number of villages up north have been raided, both Christian and pagan. That's not exactly unusual, but what is unusual is the bodies. They were all mutilated, stapled to trees and buildings in elaborate patterns like swirls and upside down crosses. That's not pagan, that's satanic, and let me tell you, they might tell you in the monastery that pagans worship satan, but they're wrong. The real satan worshippers are much, much worse. If we're not careful, they might summon a demon army and ravage the region. Our job is to stop these sick bastards."
She had sort of expected the situation to happen, though she wasn't thrilled about being proven right. She was holding off on using her powers until she needed to, but the situation forced her hand. It shot outwards with her fingers pointing to the direction of the forest. What she was doing wasn't made clear when no sudden flash of light came from her fingertips. Instead, the darkness beneath her began to bubble and rise as a dark alagamation of shadows rose from underneath her, turning into a strange looking creature. Obviously not human, but not any animal. It already knew what it had been summoned for. To flush out where the ambushers were hiding and bring them to become a proper open target. The shadow creature had the perfect lack of light in the dense underbrush to turn the tactics of the enemy against them. She had to assume that these were bandits who had little idea of how to deal with something like that and the panic would be what could flush them out as visible targets as she gave the orders for the rest of the small band of troop to be battle ready.
It's not long before she hears more screaming, from terrified men instead of from a wounded one. Kuril looks at her for a moment in shock, before he rallies his men. They charge the disorderly bandits, lances going straight through their armour. When the boyar's son returns, he looks at her. "I think we should talk. That was witchcraft, right? Not regular magic. I'll not tell anyone, and your men are loyal to your father, but still... Perhaps don't do that too often in front of people."
'Devil worshippers?' Angelo made the sign of the cross, 'Lord have mercy. It sounds like you need a company of Crusaders, not a lonely monk. Why come to our cloister and choose me to come with you?'
Rhaelicca finishes her ale with a deep swig before setting the glass on the table and grinning at the girl "wha else? Good fights, good pay, good sex. The three necessities of life for the adventurous." She doesn't really care if it makes her sound like a man.
"You're not the only one. We're a small part of a larger group, all headed to the Baltic. This is my detachment." She swigs again. "I need you because my magic is almost entirely offensive in nature. I need someone who can do the things that don't involve burning demons to death." She grins cheekily, buzzed. "Besides, I wanted something pretty to look at." She offers him the skin, now quite deflated.
Morwenna grins back. "Well, if yer looking for a fight, there are plenty to be had here. Pagans raiding Christians, Christians raiding them right back. A lot of local lords are at each other's throats, so they need muscle and are willing to pay, and there are plenty of bandits in the woods, if you want to try killin' some of them. I've renounced violence, myself, but some of my mates make a good living by killing bandits."
"Mind givin me the names of some of these mates of yours? Sounds like that's as good a place to start as any"
"One's called Rudolph of Luxembourg. He's on the payroll of the Duke of Masovia, and lets pagans in his band."
Overall Benacio was quite pleased with what he found. Six well-armed men and plenty of food for the whole group. It would be wise to obtain some more food if they got the chance during the trip, just in case, but overall he was happy. Ophelia was considerably less happy. So the lands are on the border between Poland, Lithuania and Teutonic territory... this is going to suck. She took copies of the maps she had found and also wrote down any information of importance she had discovered. Once they had finished their preparations the pair had dinner with the rest of their family. After that Benacio went to bed, wanting to be well-rested for the coming trip, while Ophelia decided to use the chance and say goodbye to her mother and any of her siblings that were present in the keep – there likely would not be enough time for prolonged goodbyes the next morning.
"Thank you sir for kind words." He said and get on his horse. He look at druid and offered his hand. "Hey Eva, if you don't have your own we can ride tougether on the horse."
'I can do a few healing spells,' Angelo nodded, 'Though I'm not the greatest among my brothers.' He admitted, before blushing and averting his eyes, 'Wha-? You chose me because I'm ... pretty?' The young man looked in disbelief and took the skin to take a big gulp, before chuckling, 'Brother Vincente was right, you are quite different from us monks.' He handed the wineskin back to her.
"...you're not wrong." She had to think about what to say carefully. She wasn't going to try lying about it, though. She still kept an eye for the wounded men and gave the orders to get him treated as soon as possible, though she was distracted at trying to think of how to handle it. "It wasn't a plan of mine to go about showing it off. Especially in front of strangers. It was made necessary to save one of your men's life. I didn't sell my soul to satan and I don't sacrifice animals. I just don't see the need to restrict knowledge to anyone. What someone chooses to do with it, is far different from magic being inherently evil. The Templars will torture and crucify people for not falling in line with their doctrine. Why is it killing people with a curse is wrong, but I could cut the same person's head off with an axe, and that's okay?"
"I'll start there then." I rummage in my bag to find payment for the drink. "I pity you're one of those catholic virgins. Bet you'd be a firecracker in the sack"
She takes the offered hand. "I'm happy to walk, but I suppose that I'll accepted your kind offer." She helps him lift her onto the saddle.
"You have no idea." She laughs, the ice cold exterior thawing with alcohol. "Trust me, a little sin goes a long way to keeping you sane as an inquisitor. The ones who try to stay virtuous almost always lose their minds."
“I know it won't be easy, but try not to worry, mother – we will do our best to stay safe. Good night.” Ophelia returned the embrace warmly, then left her mother's room and went looking for anyone else she wanted to say goodbye to before turning in for the night.
The men get to treating the arrow wound. It's painful, but shouldn't be lethal with proper care. Kuril nods. "I know. I don't know you well, but I know you're not evil."
