OOC: Does Fiore knows how much money and in what form Giovanni has the money?
Giovanni is carrying about 20 Mythic pounds in gold- the ingredients she is wanting are rather expensive and he wasn't certain what the price would be or what bribes he might have to pay to get access.
"I see Padre, it is a gracious offer, I thank you for it, and I'll accept on his behalf. If I may, if there is any good your fair town requires, maybe I can spread word to some merchants in Brescia about it."
The bishop takes your "donation" and then walks with you up to the men guarding the upper pass to tell them they may let you through.
Fiore would thank him, and will follow him with Giovanni.
You travel the rest of the way up the trail and into the pass, around the bend and a mile away when the woods become darker and more gnarled. You think you can see shapes moving amongst the trees, sometimes they look like humans sometimes like monsters.
Fiore, while not a devout Christians, actually begins to mumble some prayers. "I've seen enough monsters in the past year, let us try to walk quickly, and with as little trouble as we can."
You hasten your step but soon fond the way barred by two figures bearing curved swords with skin of pure black, whose eyes gleam red. "Good christian folk, we are taking you prisoner in the name of the antichrist, Fredrick II. Lay down your arms and you might survive."
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"Hey Giovanni, I never knew the good Frederik II had a pair of faeries serving him. Maybe they're friends with Lord Aquiline, to whom I've submitted as my Lord."
"We are the Emperor's Saracen troops, for who else would he use to fight for his godless cause against the pope? Who is this Lord Aqualine you speak of? I'm afraid our knowledge of Europe is lacking."
"Lord Aquiline is a mighty Griffin," Fiore tries to gauge their reaction, and if need be, will explain what a griffin is "who rules over the skies in the mountains behind us. But if it is Christians you're looking for, though, am not sure how devout he is. You might want to try the town behind us. The Bishop there has blocked the road, probably afraid of you, and is attempting to build fortifications. to hinder you from moving through."
"Lord Aquiline may claim these mountains, but they lie within the realms of Fredrick the unholy." The black skinned men retort, "where is this mighty griffon to back your claims?"
"I can try and call him, but if you already claimed you're taking us prisoners, and mean us no harm, why would I want to do that?" Fiore had no desire for a fight. H knew he might do some damage in a surprise attack, but his friend isn't much in a fight, and he needed him to get the ingredients Elia needed, so he raised his hands.
"Right, well move along then." They take you to an encampment with a small manor house at the center and people hung out naked in the cold being tortured with hot pokers while members of the black skinned guards are playing dice where the stakes are apparently a young woman who is naked. bound, and gagged in their midst. You also pass a cook fire where another young woman is being roasted on a spit. You reach a place where prisoners are being kept with high walls and are shoved into a cell with a man at arms (Seargent Heinrich Guotmann) who has also been taken prisoner while guarding a merchant's wares that was ambushed and turned around when they encountered these savage warriors, Guotmann was captured covering the retreat,
Fiore nods at the man at arms "It seems that even skill at arms isn't a guarantee not to fall into their hands, though I hope not to end up like some of the people out there."
The man-at-arms turns bearded face toward the newcomer and grunts, shrugging a shoulder.
"You do what you're paid to do."
He looks around the cell again.
"What got you stuck in this hell hole?"
Fiore smiles at the man "Just passing through a mountain pass nearby, going from a place that's terrified of the Emperor's troops coming in, right into the hands of said troops, on a mercantile mission."
The man-at-arms nods, muttering what is likely a profanity as he sits back down in the cell.
"We need to bide until dark. Need to be ready to move. Can you be quiet? Cause if you can't, might be kinder to choke you out now so you don’t end up in their bellies. Or worse."
Fiore smiles and whispers "I don't fancy getting eaten any more than you do, and getting free would be nice, if you've got a plan."
"There's things in the world… Secrets."
The stern man looks at Fiore intently.
"When your back's against the wall, you have to take risks," says the man at arms as much to himself as to Fiore.
"You believe in magic? You seen it?"