"The lady of this castle, not Ophelia, who you met, but the legal owner, had a certain item in her possession that the knights wanted. They broke in here, trying to take it. Angelo managed to fight them off, with the help of a thief who also tried to steal it. The item is a magical artifact, possibly quite a powerful one." She takes a drink. "I was thinking of taking it to Marienburg, to identify it, and hopefully try to understand some of the knight's plan."
The man smiles. "They, young madam, are your future customers! The wealthiest and most distinguished denizens of the province." The woman walks next to Larisa. "The kind of work you're looking for? Well... When it comes to work, one should never be too closed minded." She points at the building. "We're part owners of a rather upscale bordello, and we'd like to invite you to become part of our family." She smiles at Larisa. "A pretty girl like yourself could make a fortune, obviously."
After an uneventful and chaste dip in the bath, Ophelia finds the servants and guards waiting for her in the courtyard.
Mszczuj think about that for longer moment. "Thank you for sharing with me about that, but why bring that so far to Marienburg? In Krakow there is Academy where they have enough knowlege for identify too. Or to Gniezno, place with archbishop?" He asked. "May I take a eye on that item?"
"I don't know anyone at Krakow or Gniezno, and I need this to remain rather...hush hush, if you understand." She hands him a bundle of cloth. Unwrapping it, Mszczuj sees a small statuette representing a monster made up of thousands of eyes. "You see, the lady of this castle could get in quite a bit of trouble for owning this, you understand. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem, but she knows something about me that could cause me... inconveniences, if you understand. So, I'd like to solve this problem without getting the lady arrested by the inquisition."
Angelo carefully harvested some twigs of the plant, maybe it would be useful to make some medicine from it later at the castle.
Angelo wondered if the lands around the castle of Tarsovie were cursed with misfortune, but he heeded the call and quickly made his way towards the source.
Mszczuj look sceptical at weird statuatte. " I once heard story about some kind of demon with tousands eyes and tentacles who love garething knowlege and live in realm made of books. Childlish story to scary babies before bed. " He said and give back statuatte to Marguerite. "Well, I understand you have your own secrets and politics. So it look like we will have to change our plans a little. Still sending here more men will be necessary but more important it will be bring it to Marienburg. Now we have hard deal to decided. Do we all ride to Marienburg in bigger group what move slower and is easier to spot by enemy or send only you with few men and risk that you can be easly out number by black knights. They have enough forces to attack castle so they are powerfull. "
He sees the blonde knight who arrived with the newcomers, climbing up a tree. Beneath the tree is a dead boar, a spear embedded in its body, but an even larger and fearsome boar has replaced it, waiting at the bottom of the tree, squealing at the knight, waiting for him to try and run.
She looks a little surprised, before she nods. "It's a question I've been thinking about myself. I think, as our leader, that you should probably make the decision." She turns her head a little to give him an inquisitive look. "I must ask, most men would be blackmailing me right now, why are you not?"
Fighting a boar with a mace probably wasn't the best idea. He picked up a stone and threw it at the boar, hoping it would come after him. Angelo got ready to run if the beast took the bait, so the knight could get his boar spear back.
Mszczuj look at confussed. "I give you my word that I will keept it secret. If I bargain for more after learning about that, my words would mean nothing." He said little suprised that he must explained that to woman of church. "And we both agree that more important treat are black knights who raid our villiages and people. So it isn't profit for me, to collected something more."
Ophelia used her time in the bath to think about what to say to the servants waiting for her. When she reached the courtyard and faced the people gathered there she took a deep breath before addressing them. “Thank you for gathering, everyone. I'm sorry to interrupt your duties, but I believe it is best if you are all aware. Father sent a letter to inform me that he will be coming soon, and he will bring Adriana, one of my sisters, along. Unfortunately he did not deem it necessary to provide any further details, so I do not know when they will arrive, though I believe it will be soon, how many men will be accompanying them, or if any other members of our family will come along. Still, I'd like to properly welcome them when they arrive, so,” she focused on the guards, “please be even more vigilant than usual and inform me as soon as you notice any large groups of people approaching.” She then focused on the servants. “Not knowing the exact day they will arrive means that at any time you might be required to work extra, be it cooking food, preparing additional rooms, or something else that comes up. So make sure to be well-rested and ready for such additional duties.” She then addressed everyone again. “As you will no doubt notice, father can be... difficult to deal with, giving orders and expecting them to be carried right away without complaint. Try not to let it bother you.” Te noblewoman gave everyone a quick look as she considered if there was anything she needed to say and decided there wasn't. “That is all for now, thank you for your time. You may go back to your usual duties.” She dismissed them. (This little speech was surprisingly difficult to write...)
Larisa gave a heavy sigh, arms folding underneath her moderate chest making it look a bit bigger on accident as she stared with disdain. “And why do you think I’d be a fit for that? Should I do their taxes?” She really had no interest in selling herself. More of it relating to the prospect of bunch of overweight middle aged men being exceedingly boring. Some of it was because she wasn’t about to just sleep with just anybody even with all the things she did. “It’s not happening. Now, excuse me.”
Spotting the deer, Allune motions for her companions to be quiet. Before nocking a hunting arrow, and carefully aiming for an artery on the animal's heart. Once she found her mark, Allune lets her arrow loose.
Arne turns to the priest and nods to him. "Ah... Padre. Good to see you. I'm sorry to say, but your judgment of the Hildegund was complete of the mark." He said as he walked up to the old man. "She and her husband - who pretended to be dead - have created a devilish plot, to use those poor women and earn money on them. They have drugged them and whored them, all covered up by satanic rituals. In ensuring fight, the men and Hildegund's husband were killed. I also gave the woman her own drug." He paused. "As much I sympathise with the widows, they still committed a sin and worshipped the devil, even if they were victims here..." Arne looked at the priest. "What do you think their punishment should be?" He asked the priest curiously. Of course, as inquisitor, her intended to fuck the women, before having them publically humiliated before executing them... well, maybe not all of them - the widows (with exception of Hild - could just be branded, before being banished from the duchy. Then he would simply confiscate their riches - there was nothing to gain by recruiting them. Then there was this 'witch' to take care of - but not necessarily.
The stone flies through the air, impacting with the boar's tough, leathery skin. As the animal turns, Angelo can't help but notice that this one seems far larger than most of its kind, with a heavily scarred face, and eyes that gaze upon the monk with hatred. It stays still for a moment, before explosively charging at him in a burst of sudden movement. As it runs, Angelo sees the knight come out of the tree behind the boar, looking between it and the forest, clearly tempted to run away. The arrow sails through the air, embedding itself in the deer's hide. The creature gives a short yelp, before falling over, dead. As Allune approaches it, she hears Lukas shouting in the distance.
The head maid approaches. "We'll get to work preparing, madam." The servants head out. Kuril, the Russian knight who fought with Benacio and Ophelia during the siege, approaches. "Lady." He bows his head. "Your brother left a little earlier, saying he was going to meet your father on the road. I was a little worried, because he was clearly drunk, and he went alone. My men are all hungover, so I'd like to ask your permission to take a few men from the garrison, just to make sure Lord Benacio is alright."
