Summer 1246 - A friendly visit.

A story about the time with that thing

Marcellus follows Bernat and Menaut, his trusted grogs, along the streets of Ordina(1) until they enter the town's market. It is now almost mid-day, so a large part of the day's business is over. They find a place to sit where they won't be in anyone's way and settle down there to wait for Regulus.

The day is a bit cloudy but warm enough, the sun showing up regularly. Before arriving in town, Marcellus has taken the time to cast Aura of Ennobled Presence on himself, so that the presence of guards escorting him don't look out of place.

As they wait, he sends Menaut to one of the nearby stalls to buy them some lunch. Which they slowly eat to pass time.


(1) I am assuming this is the town they meet in. Otherwise, we can change this to Le Seu d'Urgell.

The town place is good enough to wait, making sure to see everyone while allowing the troupe to stay in a corner and not bother anyone.
Time passes nicely.
No one bothers Marcellus, although he gets his share of looks

Bernat and Menaut quickly get bored, and engage in a dice game (If Marcellus wants to join, sure!).

Regulus appears to be late, though.
After a while, it becomes obvious that he is very late. In a way, this isn't surprising: Regulus always had a crappy sense of directions, but he's long since learned to rely on others for that.

I will try something.
Could you go here and roll, say, 20 dices?
That way, should something require a dice, I'll just go down the list, which should spare us time.
The fact that you may know a great success or botch is coming is compensated by the fact that I'll decide if a roll is called for, which I seldom do.

1 Like

2, 6, 5, 4, 3, 8, 9, 4, 4, 5, 4, 3, 6, 5, 9, 7, 9, 10, 3, 5

Marcellus worries a bit that his instructions may have been unclear. But what is more simple than following the Valira river up from where it flows into the Segre in Le Seu d'Urgell? Well, maybe Regulus stopped for food along the way. He smiles as he pictures his friend catching sight of a hare in a field and the majestic dive of the eagle catching its prey unaware.

He looks up for the umpteenth time, hoping to catch sight of Regulus as he flies over Ordina.

1 Like

Well, regulus sucks at not getting lost*. This used to be a joke between you. But he wouldn't travel alone, and your instructions were clear.
He is really, really late.

(* I thought about having a magus crippled by a simple flaw. At first, I thought about a fear of heights, but this was too crippling. No sense of direction isn't so, and opens up opportunities.)

OOC You mention that he wouldn't travel alone. Does Marcellus know this for a fact? Does he also have knowledge of what the mode of travel (by foot) would be? I initially assumed that Regulus would be travelling alone, flying to Andorra, so this is new information to me, and I am trying to decide how to have Marcellus react. He doesn't know any spell that would help him locate Regulus, so his only option would seem to be to make his way downriver with his grogs.

Now, considering his Optimistic outlook, this will probably be his course of action. :grin:

You may have missed this :wink:

=> Marcellus is pretty sure Regulus wouldn't travel alone.
His manservant, Gregor, may be a little dim-witted, but he's reliable and would never leave his master wander alone.

The bjornaer can ride if need be, but he doesn't like the idea of it. To him, it would be like using another person as a carrier. Thus, he's probably walking, an activity which he likes anyway. He was always a very physical person, and thinks that this clears the mind and purifies the body.

So while it may be strange that Regulus is late to this long-anticipated reunion, knowing him, it's probably because he stopped along the way to admire some beast, or wonder at the scenery.

So, do you go to La Cordina, hoping to meet him along the way? After all, you can't miss him, there's only the one road, and he Gregor wouldn't be fool enough to leave it.

Pondering this, Marcellus decides to walk down the river to meet Regulus along the way. He's sure they will meet up along the way.

Ok.

So you travel along.
Bernat and Menaut chat and joke all the way, but you know this is as much a way to pass time as a ruse: Behind their careless attitude, they stay on the lookout for threats.

crap, my boss calls me

It is Menaut who notices it first: A body, lying in the waters.

When Menaut points out the body, Marcellus looks around to see if anyone is around before directing his grogs to retrieve it.

(OOC: I am assuming the body is fairly close to shore, otherwise the current would have carried it away. So it should be possible to bring it closer using a branch or a rope with an improvised grappling hook using some driftwood. Otherwise one of the grogs will have to get wet. Neither can swim, but the river probably isn't very deep here.)

(You're assuming rightly. I was in a hurry so my description was awfully short))

The body is very close to the shore, close enough to be resting on the soil, and not floating.
With the forest nearby, hiding amongst the trees would be quite easy, but, as far as you can tell, no one seems to be around.

Marcellus and the grogs are thus able to reach it while only getting their feet wet

And it is someone know to Marcellus. Gregor, Regulus faithful servant, an arrow protruding from his thigh.

My lord, he's alive! says Bernat

"We need to stabilize him and ask him what happen," Marcellus says. He turns to Menaut, aware that the younger grog has some basic chirurgy. "Can you bind his wound?"

Looking around, Marcellus points to a more secluded spot under some trees, away from sight of those traveling the road. "Let us move him over there and make him comfortable, then treat him."

While they move Gregor, the young magus curses his lack of knowledge of any healing spell, promising himself to remedy this as soon as possible..

OOC Menaut has Chirurgy 1, with a specialty in binding wounds, as well as Dex +3 (which I would assume is the right stat for the task).

I think so, yes. I may not be an expert, but I've done this before. Besides, I always come prepared, he says with a smile, as he produces a pouch, from which he quickly draws bandages and various tools.

The young man quickly takes to the wound with confidence, and Gregor ends up with a nicely bandaged leg.
He looks in bad shape, however. Not so much due to that wound, but he's been seriously beaten, and is bruised all over.

Don't worry, my lord. He'll live. He was lucky: The arrow wound wasn't very severe, nor did he lost much blood. We should still be careful and keep it from worsening, but with the help of magic, he should be fine. He's mostly unconscious from the beating, and he will recover from that in time.

"Let us giving him some water and see if he can tell us what happened," says Marcellus after the wounded grog has had some time to rest. He takes his waterskin and dribbles a few drops of watered wine on Gregor's lips.

Once Gregor is conscious and recognizes Marcellus, he will simply tell him they found him by the river and ask him what happened.

Menaut throws a weird glance at Marcellus
I'm afraid that won't suffice. He's been severely beaten, and it will be a few hours before he can begin to recover. Unless you want us to carry him to La Cordina, we should prepare a camp for the night>

Btw, all the while, Bernat has been standing watch, disregarding both Marcellus and Menaut to focus on the forest and surroundings.

"Understood," Marcellus tells Menaut softly. "I wish I had some magic to help him recover, but I do not know any. I am also worried about Regulus. If Gregor has been beaten and incapacitated, then his charge is in trouble."

"Am I correct in assuming that the less we move him, the better? If so, then let us indeed prepare camp for the night."

Marcellus will set up camp, leaving Menaut to care for Gregor and Bernat to stand watch. He's almost as good as the older grog at that (Survival 3).

Aye, better to avoid that if we can> replies Menaut.

Marcellus has no trouble setting up a camp. His many experiences in the wild serve him well. Soon enough, you're all nicely settled under a bunch of trees, with a make-up roof using a blanket, and a nice fire.
You had no time to catch any game, but previous (bad) experience serve you well as, when travelling, Marcellus and the grogs always carry some food "just in case".

In the morning, Gregor is awake, and looking far better than the previous day.
His first words are for his master. Is he well?

Marcellus offers him some watered wine, "I was hoping you could tell us, Gregor. We found you by the river, unconscious. Can you tell us what happened?" The young magus concern for his missing friend is clear from his face.