Session 36 - Rendering Unto Caesar

General Summary

Ivan, waiting upon the banks of the river, saw many families and people taking the boats toward Zmiihorod's docks. Thinking that the rest of the party might have entered into the city for safety, Ivan requested one of the ferrymen take him into the city. The man gave Ivan the side-eye, but allowed him passage without asking any money in return.
At the same time, Alena sent Wojciech to parley with Prince Mikhailo Glebovich, lord of Zmiihorod, to convince him to open the gates of the city. When Wojciech arrived, he used the letter from Tolui Beg - head of the host - brought by a woman named Yael bat Yehuda to gain an audience with the lord. However, Yael was not playing along with his games, and disrupted Wojciech's lies, and eventually took the letter he had stolen back from him, after both were thrown into a pit.
Meanwhile, Alena found a local tavern, where she met with a number of rowdy, drunk, and upset townsfolk, and convinced them to march to the gates of the lord's estate. There, Alena tried to intimidate the guards into bring the lord to speak with the crowd, who reasonably refused, before hiding behind the walls.
Ivan also saw this commotion, but rather than getting caught up in it, moved towards where the river and citadel wall met, searching for a sneakier method into the estate. He found it by trading a rope from a nearby house for some chessmen, and tying the rope with a net to catch it upon the top of the spiked walls, used it to climb over. He came with the honesty of Gaal, to speak with Prince Mikhailo, to tell him that Zmiihorod was doomed without sacrifice. The army of the Kochmaki were too great in number, and too dangerous, to truly escape from. So the prince made his decision.
Alena returned to the home of the midwife she convinced to host her, and paid the woman to stay the night with her family of five, making for a bit of a cramped situation. After everyone went to bed, orceful knocking was heard, before the guards broke the door down, taking two of the children, and threatening everyone there with violence. Alena, of course, started by trying to fight them all, but when they threatened to kill the children, she backed down. All throughout town, similar cries of panic and sorrow were heard, as children were taken from families across the city, to be given to the Kochmaki lord as a tribute of slaves. A curfew was enforced as well, to keep the populace from interfering.
The next morning, Yael was taken to speak with Marfa Mikhailovna, the prince's daughter, reading the letter that threatened her father and the city if she did not marry *Tolui Beg. Marfa did not want to hear anymore, and ran back to her father, crying into his arms. The soldiers had already been set upon the town. It was at this point that Ivan, who was also being kept at the lord's estate and provided food and drink, was tasked to lead the children out of the city. Wojciech and Yael were also given the same treatment.
Wojciech sneaked away at the earliest opportunity, while Yael and Ivan were taken in front of the Kochmaki lord, presenting the offering of slaves. The lord was not satisfied however; he wanted the lord of Zmiihorod's daughter as well. Yael waited in the camp for more orders, but Ivan, now aware that the Prince of Zmiihorod had just tried to offer everyone else's children so that he wouldn't have to give up his own, went back to the prince immediately.
He told the lord in no uncertain terms that his tribute was found wanting, and the lord's heart sank. He already knew what the Kochmak lord still wanted. And with great fanfare, he took his daughter and her dowry to the Kochmaki lord. Ivan followed, meeting up with Alena along the way.
Alena had gone to the church to seek spiritual guidance. She was given strength, but each time, she was given impossible odds to face against. Enemies who hide behind the lives of others. The brothers at the church offered solace, that the Kochmaki were an evil all the people of Nor suffered under. She also offered words of hope...
Perhaps Alena had survived this long because her strength would soon be needed. Maybe not now, maybe not soon, but eventually. Humbled, Alena had met up with Ivan, and wanted to discuss what should happen next. Ivan wanted to head to the Monastery of the Caves to seek healing and rest. Alena wanted to follow the Kochmaki, seeking a chance to retrieve Lada. In fact, Alena planned on confronting the interpreter, now that she had(with help) opened the gates for him. The interpreter said that Lada would be delivered to the city by nightfall.
In addition, Yael, who had met Ivan at the dining table of Prince Mikhailo, showed interest in his spiritual quest, and his crazy demeanor. She too went to meet with the interpreter to request that she be relieved of her duties. With Ivan wanting nothing more to do with the Kochmaki for the time being, and the other party members now seeking recompense for their efforts, the question of what will happen next can perhaps only be known by Gaal.

Report Date

17 Sep 2023

Primary Location

Zmiihorod