Chronicles of 'Team B' - Chapters 45 and 46 - The Waystation

General Summary

Over the next few days, tempers settle. Zorina leads the group through a particularly desolate section of the woods, avoiding sticky mud and quicksand, though Agapia manages to pick some bad berries that give Zorina, Merius and Arsenii a bad case of indigestion. The travelers recover, though Agapia's reputation for being an able berry picker is slightly tarnished. During that time, Malina divines Zhadan Cheslavovich's intentions, and sends a bird messenger to her father Petr, informing him. She later uses her prophetic gifts to divine his answer, which is a bit cryptic: he seems to tell her to take care of herself on the trip.
On the seventh day after setting out, the Serpent Slayers find a torn bridle. Its origin and story are unclear, but toward evening, they see a fortified compound that appears to be a Kochmak-run waystation or postal station. Malina's lot-casting tells her that entering the station promises both dangers and opportunities. Zorina is less sure - she spent some time at a Kochmak outpost a few months back, and it did not end well. They are greeted by stablehands and hosts, who take their horses inside the stables, and invite them into the tavern.
Once inside, most of the party orders food and drink, though Zorina abstains, and continues munching on hardtack. From the hostess, the Serpent Slayers learn that this waystation is located near the town of Vyshemila. From his travels, Lokan has heard that it used to be a great town which was greatly depopulated after being sacked by the Kochmaki nearly a century ago, and never entirely recovered. Soon, they meet Durbai, the official in charge of the waystation, and learn a great deal more. Durbai introduces himself as a basqaq - the official in charge of tax collection of the Vyshemila principality. He has a sizable force of armed retainers here, but his main interest appears to be the the flow of trade and tribute, and despite his Kochmak name, he appears to have lived among settled people for a long time. Durbai relates the story of Ksenia Ilinichna - the current Princess of Vyshemila. The princess is young, and appeared only a few years ago, but the tests performed by the Kochmak diviners definitively established her descent from Prince Vyshemil the Black - a foundational figure in the history of the city as a major settlement. The diviners also established that the princess was barren. This made her attractive to the basqaq, who was then having trouble with the current prince, who was summarily removed from power, and replaced with Ksenia, who had her own legitimate claim. However, she soon came to the attention of the neighboring Galindy, who had, over the previous several decades, developed into a serious threat to the Kochmaki. The Galindy princes began sending suitors to Ksenia, and suddenly, her barrenness had gone from an asset to a vulnerability. Losing control of Vyshemila to the princesses' Galind spouse did not seem to be an attractive proposition.
An additional quirk about Ksenia's life concerned Durbai. She often went to visit a kurgan - a hill that contained the burial shaft of her long-dead ancestor - at night. It is widely known that the kurgan was the site of an old pagan shrine. This did not concern the basqaq as such, but he wanted to learn why the princess engaged in this strange ritual. He suggested that as her kin, the party might approach her to learn more. It soon became obvious that Durbai had bigger plans. Merius tried to pass himself as the prince traveling to Laima, though the ruse did not convince the basqaq - a clear-eyed observer and a practiced weaver of intrigues. Durbai immediately knew who the real prince was, and he made a counteroffer. Have Arsenii make a marriage proposal to the princess, and perhaps the local authorities may look into providing military aid to his father, Trofim Andreevich, he proposes. There may be a conflict of interest in the offer, as the basqaq technically serves the Khan, but Durbai's position is unclear.
Malina, who is busy looking at the embroidery patterns on the serving girl's shirt does not notice as she slips out of the room with Arsenii, who had been talking about looking for some amorous adventures along the road earlier. The two are soon discovered behind a hay cart, but the party actually has bigger concerns. Malina becomes worried over the fate of the chest of presents they were delivering to the Galind Grand Prince. As they look in on the horses in the stables, they notice that the chest isn't there. Malina does divine its location in an attic chamber of the waystation, but they find it guarded by armed Kochmaki. When her companions confront Durbai, he calmly tells them that he will gladly return the chest after the arrangements for Arsenii's and Ksenia's wedding are made. Malina confronts the basqaq and delivers some not-so-veiled threats, but Durbai summons a dozen armed Kochmaki to the front of the central waystation building, and suggests that the guests retire for the night to think this over.
Malina and Zorina are in a particularly uncompromising mood, especially since Merius, who thought he had made a mutually agreeable deal with Durbai and then retired inside the waystation, is not around to object. After checking in on Arsenii, who is accomplishing his mission with the serving girl inside one of the sheds, the rest of the Serpent Slayers hastily concoct a plan, which involves Malina summoning giant bats to ferry her, Lokan, and a fox-form Zorina onto the waystation roof, and then have the fox run through the tiny window into the attic room, fight off the guards, and retrieve the chest. Meanwhile, Agapia, who has been informed that the basqaq is hiding some rabbits from her, is sent to distract him and his men. Agapia does her job, but the rest of the plan goes awry, as Zorina manages to slip after being deposited on the roof. She falls onto the ground, which forces her out of fox form. Durbai's men, both outside and inside the waystation, leap into action, firing on the intruders, and attempting to hack them to pieces. Durbai stays out of direct contact with the attackers, but he exhibits a strange power, to cause inaction among the attackers by reciting what sound like passages of legal statutes. He is especially concerned to put Malina out of commission. Merius runs outside to try to get his companions to break off the attack, but in vain.
Despite the early setbacks, Malina's bats prove too much for the opposition. They scoop up Durbai's soldiers, fly up in the air, and after a brief period of struggle, drop them down to their death. While on the ground, the soldiers fire on the bats, and manage to kill one and wound another. The guards inside fire onto the intruders on the roof, but Lokan flings daggers inside, and dispatches several of them, before retreating to the opposite side of the roof, where arrows can't reach him. Zorina, who has only grown more furious since falling off the roof, makes her way to another of the side buildings, takes a rushlight from the people inside, and sets it on fire.
After more than half of his people have fallen, Durbai appeals for a truce, and says he will return the chest. Some of the surviving soldiers bring it outside, and Lokan ascertains that it has not been broken into, and that nothing has been taken. Malina again chides Durbai for picking a fight he could not win, and then, after collecting their prince, the group departs the waystation toward the river. Some archers in the ostrog at the entrance decide to fire some parting shots on the group, to which Malina responds by conjuring a wall of fire, which consumes the archers and sets the gatehouse on fire.
The party makes its way to the river across from Vyshemila, and find a thicket to cover them from any possible Kochmak pursuit. As they settle down, Merius, who is happy that they were at least able to preserve Arsenii from harm, says that if they survive the night, he wants to inspect the letter to the Galind Grand Prince, even if that means breaking the seal.

Missions/Quests Completed

• confiscated chest recovered

Character(s) interacted with

• Arsenii Trofimovich
• Durbai, basqaq of Vyshemila
• Durbai's soldiers and messengers
• A serving maid from a waystation near Vyshemila 

Report Date

29 Jan 2021

Primary Location

Waystation near Vyshemila