Chapter 48 - A New Road and Old Boots
General Summary
The Yokels make their way to the table where the two strangers are seated. One is Ivan Alekseevich, a servitor of Boyar Yefim Yakovlevich. After he is told that a mass of refugee peasants from Yarozersk apparently stood by and did nothing to save the boyar who came to rescue them, he excuses himself, and heads out to investigate the situation. The other - a huge, laconic volot (though Chonkorchuk and Plamen have met his type before - simply gives his name as Biggy. He has come from the north, and has stayed in this village (called Yolga) to do odd jobs for a month or two. He says little else as he pours beer from a bucket down his gullet, so Vasilisa, after she has finished her food, decides to question the locals about the directions to the boyar's estate, and the pair of red boots the Yokels fished out of quicksand, in hopes of selling them. A serving maid in the establishment gives detailed directions, but immediately recognizes them as belonging to the boyar, and asks whether she means to return them to Yefim's family, whose estate is located nearly a day east of the village.
At this point, a decision must be made about how and where to proceed. As the locals seem suspicious on account of the boots, and the volot is clearly not to be trusted, the Yokels step outside for a discussion. First off, Vasilisa accuses Chonkorchuk of poor leadership for his failure to restrain Drazhan in the fight against Treasure Finder, his failure to realize that in the fight against him, the Yokels were the aggressors, and his decision to take on Drazhan's (redundant) services to begin with. The hermit responds with countercharges of his own - Vasilisa failed to participate in the fight, which the Yokels likely could have won, failed to inform her companions of her plan to make a seeming attack on Sasha a ruse to extricate them from the fight, and generally, of not really being on board with the mission on which Baba Yaga had sent them. Failing to inform her companions of her plan to sell Yefim Yakovlevich's boots is just the latest example of her surliness. Though the matter is not resolved, Sasha does learn that Vasilisa risked returning to the Subterranean Book in order to bring her back to life, and expresses her gratitude.
At this point, Biggy, dressed in scraps of armor, carrying a huge oslop, and leading an enormous horse, emerges from the tavern and heads toward the group. One of the serving maids in the tavern has just told him that the strangers are in possession of the lord's boots, and urges him to take them so as to return them to the family. As Biggy confronts them, they ask what he is truly doing here in Yolga, and he reveals that he was sent by Grandmother to help lead her children to their destination (though he adds that he expected to find five, though he sees only four). These words change the nature of the encounter entirely, and Biggy follows the Yokels into a meadow on the outskirts of the village to figure out a plan of action. One problem with continuing is that all the trade goods they brought to fund their journey have been taken by bandits, they have nothing to show for their sojourn in the Subterranean Book, and now, it looks like they can't even sell the newfound boots. There is some talk about heading north to the city of Alknost, but traveling from there would require hiring a ship (for which there is no money). On top of that, ships from Alknost typically travel west, not east, and there is every chance that the Northern Sea will become frozen over before they reach their destination. There is no option, it seems, but to head east, toward Vasilisa's old stomping grounds - the Bobchinsky domains. Along the way, they can try to stop off at the boyar's estate to return his property.
The Yokels spend the night just inside the woods on the outskirts of the village, in a magical tent conjured by Sasha. Their new companion, Biggy, is too large to fit, and must sleep outside. The following morning, they all head out toward the east. Biggy has a wagon, and though that is difficult to navigate through the woods, Vasilisa proves at least as adept a guide as Drazhan. She manages to help the group avoid yet another pit of quicksand. By evening of that day, they come upon a herd of dead cows. Chonkorchuk's vision tells him that the cows died of some sort of plague, and were driven into the woods so that they would not die in their enclosures. There is a flock of crows overhead, and fearing these to be Koshchei's servitors, the Yokels avoid them as well as the dead animals, and soon, find their way to an estate surrounded by a wooden palisade.
The estate indeed turns out to belong to Yefim Yakovlevich's family. Sasha takes the lead in trying to get his son Yevgenii to speak to them, but a servant, Zakhar, tells her that the family is in mourning over the boyar's death, and is not seeing anyone. After telling him that they have come from Yolga with some of the boyar's property and with news, she manages to convince him, and Yevgenii, the heir emerges from the house. Sasha turns over the boots, though Yevgenii is clear that the family is not interested in making donations to wandering strangers. She also tells him that his father may have died under mysterious circumstances, as there were many refugees from Yarozersk present at the time. She also says that the neighboring village has been taken over by a chud who expelled the local residents. Yevgenii Yefimovich is not aware of similar occurrences, though he does say that there are stories of nearby peasants turning into animals, and of the storozhi at a lodge about a week distant reporting some trouble. Ultimately, despite his protestations, Sasha manages to convince him to donate an icon of Noya the Forerunner to the group, as they are ostensibly traveling north to convert the heathen natives.
Rewards Granted
- Icon of Noya the Forerunner
Missions/Quests Completed
- Boots returned to Yefim Yakovlevich's family
Character(s) interacted with
Report Date
23 Jan 2021
Primary Location
Comments