View source for Road to Kiev, Chapter Three

'''Horses Away and Wolves, part IV'''

After a particularly bitter argument between [[Thalia]] and [[Reynaldo]], the [[:Category:Byzantine Envoys|party]] agrees to let the horses go, as she believes they will have a better chance of survival out by themselves than with the [[:Category:Byzantine Envoys|party]], as it's being attacked by wolves every night. [[Thalia]] acts as bait and, as predicted the wolves do come again and the [[:Category:Byzantine Envoys|party]] kills most of them, letting the rest escape in favor of saving arrows.


'''Disease and a Peasant'''

[[Nicolae]] and [[Thorvald]] start feeling very sore while walking. The [[:Category:Byzantine Envoys|party]] meets a Bulgar peasant who tries to run away. [[Edward]] casts hold person and the [[:Category:Byzantine Envoys|party]] ties him up to prevent him from giving away our position.


'''More Disease and a Nun'''

[[Nicolae]] and [[Thorvald]] collapse from their sickness. [[Edward]] insists on checking them both. He finds large insect bites on them both and deduces that that is what is causing their sickness. As [[Edward]] checks [[Thorvald]], who has entirely stripped down, a nun wanders into the clearing. She identifies herself as Sister Agatha from Poland. As she speaks with the party, she mentions her father's name and [[Catarina]] figures out that her father was a necromancer, so she probably is too. Stretchers are made for [[Thorvald]] and [[Nicolae]], and they are carried while the party travels.


'''The Crazy Woman'''

After a few hours of travel, a crazy woman rushes from the trees and begins raving about an angel. Or something. She makes very little sense. She is called [[Hedwig]], and is a Bulgar.


'''Whoops!'''

[[Reynaldo]] gets caught trying to steal Sister Agatha's [[Magical Books|magic book]]. He insists he was merely trying to save Sister Agatha from a scorpion sting, but everyone knows better than to believe [[Reynaldo]] would risk himself for someone he barely knows.


'''Wolves, part V'''

This night, the nun acts as bait, but when the wolves come, she doesn't come up. She is quickly felled and [[Hedwig]] jumps down to help her, then the rest of the [[:Category:Byzantine Envoys|party]], excluding the sick ones and [[Catarina]] and [[Reynaldo]], jump down. Many wolves are killed, including one by [[Gunther]] (finally), but more importantly, two are captured.


'''[[Kai]] is a What?'''

[[Kai]] talks to the two wolves after casting Speak With Animals. The two wolves call him master, and insist that they are attacking the [[:Category:Byzantine Envoys|party]] for his benefit, as they are his enemy. The [[:Category:Byzantine Envoys|party]] starts to question whether or not [[Kai]] is a werewolf. After resting, [[Thorvald]] and [[Nicolae]] are still sick.


'''Midnight Flight'''

[[Kai]] casts Cure Disease on [[Thorvald]] and [[Nicolae]], making maggots burst through the two wounds that Edward had identified, and they immediately start to feel better. That night, during [[Gunther]], [[Edward]], and [[Reynaldo|Reynaldo's]] watch, [[Kai]] escapes. He casts darkness, silence, and assorted other spells. By the time [[Gunther]] figures out what is going on, [[Kai]] has left the party, presumably to keep the wolves off of us. He leaves the Magic Flail behind, however.


'''Bearshit and old-time Jehovah's Witnesses'''

Feeling very depressed after [[Kai|Kai's]] flight and self-imposed exile, the party encounters a bear. Thalia quickly pacifies it and it leaves the [[:Category:Byzantine Envoys|party]] alone. Days later, they encounter followers of Asteroth, who refuse to leave them alone about their religion. Then they call a very large creature with wings to attack them. After only a few hits, the monster yelled and magically forced [[Thalia]], [[Thorvald]], [[Hedwig]], Sister Agatha, and [[Edward]] to flee. [[Nicolae]] and [[Catarina]] cast Sleep and Color Spray, respectively, on the worshippers and destroy their holy symbols, upside-down crosses. [[Wong]] and [[Gunther]] beat the creature down, taking a lot of heavy hits in the process, while [[Catarina]] casts Rope Trick. The creature comes back, bigger and very angry, and the remaining party members crawl into the hole in space created by the spell. They hear a lot of crunching and munching. By the time the fleeing members regain their senses and return, the [[:Category:Byzantine Envoys|party]] notices three very important things: the creature has seemingly gone, the worshippers are in various stages of having been eaten, and [[Edward]] has dropped the Magic Flail whilst fleeing. He had it for about two seconds before losing it.


End Chapter Three<br>[[Road to Kiev, Chapter Two|Previous: Road to Kiev, Chapter Two]]<br>[[Road to Kiev, Chapter Four|Next: Road to Kiev, Chapter Four]]