Cath'rinne declines leaving without wheels in a hurry, which could be suspicious. "If they get too close, I'll use my magic to help you convince them to leave us alone, Ruedi." Turning to Betula. "I'd rather not scare the child, and I'd rather not interact with the guards at all. Can you find out more about the type of healing magic his father has, and whether the kid has been taught any of it?" Cath'rinne will discreetly keep an eye out for the guard's possible approach.
The crowd shifts again leaving an opening where you see the guards heading for the vendor with the Iberian soap. They still seem unaware of the clients at the wheelwright's. Benedict gets a chance to approach discreetly past them to rejoin the group.
At the same time, Cath'rinne's horse cart is returned with new wheels, and the wheelwright prepares to take the larger wagon, where Cath'rinne and the boy sits, back for repairs. It never crosses his mind to look inside, but as he sees Ruedi and Betula, he asks, «oh, sorry, I did not see you. The carts are done, so now I take the wagon, if that's alright with you.»
Betula looks at the wheelwright for a moment seeming to not comprehend then says, “yes, yes, please take the wagon.” Then glancing inside the tarp towards the boy and Cath’rinne, puts a finger to her lips.
She then nods to the Redcap and Bjornaer rejoining the group.
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Benedict nods back, and speaks quietly in Latin. "Soldiers are hunting for magicians. I think we've kept a low enough profile to be safe, but if things get bad, we should have a plan."
“We are aware. The son of the man taken as a witch is in the wagon. At the least we should keep him safe, he may have the gift.” Betula responds quietly.
The wheelwright gets to work and starts to pull the wagon. It looks as if he did not expect it to be this heavy, and he puts his weight behind it to jerk it out of the mud. This is nothing like the gentle horses that normally pulls the cart, and Cath'rinne and the boy are tossed around. Depending on their athletics and and their personalities it may be hard to keep one's temper. The boy, however, is quick to grab hold of a railing, and light as he is, he can swing gentle around with the sudden movement.
Cath'rinne internally curses whoever had the idea of going into town and herself for following. She grabs onto something and stays silent.
The wagon is pulled around the workshop, but the bumping does not end with the ride. One side of the wagon is lifted and placed on blocks, with no respect for the passenger, before the wheelwright unmounts the wheel to mend it.
In the front, the perceptive ones¹ will notice the guards talking to the soap vendor across the street, who is pointing and gesticulating towards the two magae and their entourage.
At the brewer's, ale is being poured and stories told. «They are a real menace these sorcerers, you know. Did you hear about Wulfric? I come from Nottingham, and Wulfric came in last week. Burning with rage he was. A fire warlock called Janus had attacked him up North, and he had the scars to prove it too. Blessed by God, that man is. No lesser man would have survived those burns.»²
¹ That is Awareness+Perception 9+
² I reckon the Calais group is 1-2 months ahead of the Northerners, having started approximately in sync, but the Calais group having spent many weeks on the road.
I understand the group may be in advance on the northern ones, but I don't think it's very fair to hear about what happened since it assumes that any possible tracking of the witnesses has failed when they haven't finished playing it out yet.
Seeing the guards turn their way, Obstetrix will whisper to her fellow Maga "Do we want to delay them, and have us Maga, and the boy, make our escape? Or maybe distract them enough as if someone else was responsible?"
"It would probably be best if we sent one of our men to have Cath'rinne and the boy head out of town on foot, to meet us later... but I am unsure how to distract the guards from us as their notice has already been directed." Turning to Ruedi, "Go to the wagon, collect Cath'rinne and the boy as inconspicuously as possible, distract the carter and his workers if necessary, and take them north out of town. Hide along the road where you can. Cath'rinne can find us if necessary."
"I can have their attention elsewhere, at least long enough for us both to make our escape, after the others have escaped. I can use magic without words or gestures."
Flynn appears and asks “Is it a distraction you are needing?” He moves off and starts to sing a song of the good kings of England and their brave soldiers, hopefully drawing the attention of a crowd, forming a block of people between the searching soldiers and our people.
Craft Story = 13
Profession:Storytelling = 10
Guile roll = 8
Self confident virtue and 3 confidence points available if needed.
Please make a guile+presence roll too, to hide the relationship with the magae whom he just addressed.
Janus attracts some attention, and the view to the guards is partly obstructed by the crowd, but the crowd is not as dense as it would have been on an undisturbed market day. Much as people may love the story and the performance, they seem more worried about the men-at-arms. The last you saw, before the view was obstructed, was that the guards appeared to be wrapping up the conversation with the soap vendor, while watching the magae. Distraction, yes, but not a great one.
P.S. Ruedi has not moved. Does he do as Betula requests?
Cath'rinne remains quiet in her cart.
Ruedi will move to the cart, as Betula asked him, and will give a bow to the Maga. "Let me get you both out, and into safety, in case trouble breaks out. The others said that they can make their escape." And with that he motions the boy to him, and will take him out of the carriage, and give his hand to Cath'rinne, to help her get out.
And he will then lead them away, using the carriage as cover for their actions.
As Ruedi turns around the corner to the backyard, he sees the wagon, raised on blocks and missing a wheel. To men are working in the shed which is open towards the yard. Stooping over their work, they seem oblivious to everything else.
With Stealth+Dex 6+ from both Cath'rinne and Ruedi, they escape unseen, through the back streets and away from the town.
They would probably not be heading North, since that would take them through the palisades of the town proper. Escaping towards the South West, they can go around it.
In front of the workshop, the situation is chaotic (as described before). Flynn is entertaining the crowd who is drawn between the amusement of the story and the fear for the guards. The magae are planning something. Two grogs are waiting for orders. Obstetrix' cart has not been serviced, athough it should be driveable. Betula's handcart is ship shape. At the moment, nobody pays attention to them, but the situation is not even remotely stable.
Rolled a 9.
Cath'rinne will make her escape at the suggestion. She's clearly torn between her relief for escaping of this nightmare town and her anger at beimg taken out of her hiding place, but won't make her scene as they are trying to help her out.
Cath'rinne and the boy get out quietly and head towards the edge of the fairground and away from the town. Ruedi closes the wagon after them, and just as he turns to head after them, he glances into the workshop. One of the workers, looking up from their work, is looking straight at him. Ruedi is almost ten paces away from him.
[ based on Ruedi's stealth roll of 5 ]