30/04/2024 - Settling Matters in Greenest (5)

Fight Aftermath

The remaining Allardice men remain in fear of Sam, due to his magical powers over fire. They look at the burnt body of Blair’s second in command and grimace. Sam’s face is also covered in the blood of Blair Allardice, which only adds to his formidable appearance.

Baldrick has been injured badly in the right arm, but Brother Gregory is tending to him. The Allardice people put to rest a couple of their people who are mortally injured, leaving seven of them left.

Logan suggests that Baldrick be given the armour of one of the deceased Allardice people.

The Fate of the Allardice Men

The local villagers who served Blair come in now and ask what they should do now. Sam says they don’t need to tidy up, the traitors from his clan can do the work. Sam also announces that they have been stripped of their titles and privileges and they will have to help the villages rebuild.

Logan suggests that the Allardice men will simply take over again. He suggests getting their new friend Tomas to take over the village and work with Eóghan, who is staying behind. Banquo says as traitors they should all be beheaded.

Sam remembers that Blair wanted to go home and the remaining men would probably willingly go home. Logan suggests Sam write a sealed letter to his brother, telling him what happened and they should be tried and hanged. They agree to do this.

Tomas for Village Leader

Tomas enters the hall. He is pleased that Gulnar is dead, but points out other members of the Cult are still in the village and they have his wife and son. Logan suggests that he become Eóghan’s right hand man and effective leader of the village.

LoTomas thinks about this. He was not expecting to take up such a role, but if it will save his family and keep them safe from the Cult, he will. He asks for their help to rescue his family from the Cult members and they agree to go with him.

Confronting the Cult in Greenest

Sam stays behind to supervise things, but Logan, Malcolm and Banquo accompany Tomas to the house in the village where the Cult are holding his wife and son. As they walk there, Banquo tells Tomas that he is lucky that he is not being executed for being a Cultist. Logan says that can wait for another day.

The Cultist house, where Gulnar lived, is a big house on the edge of the village centre, where Tomas was tied up originally. A crowd of villagers has begun to gather in the open area. A few villagers with simple weapons are outside the Cultist house.

Tomas starts to talk to the villagers. They talk in a dialect that has such a thick accent that the Companions cannot understand them. They do get the impression, though, that the non-Cult members in the village are not sure what is going on.

Tomas for Village Leader

The discussion goes on for a while and the Companions just wait, showing their support for Tomas. It is clear that the villagers now know the Blair and the Allardices have been overthrown and the MacRuaidhris are back. Some are happy about this, others would prefer all foreigners to go home.

Tomas is not the most popular member of the village, but they have some sympathy for how he was treated by Blair and that his family has been taken.

The Cultists around the house talk against Tomas but many are undecided still. One of the Cultists brings out Tomas’s wife and son, threatening to kill them if Tomas does not submit to them, which begins to turn the villagers against them.

Banquo orders them to release the woman and child. They are already in enough trouble. The Cultist leader who was Gulnar’s deputy steps forward and says to Banquo it is time for foreigners to go home and the Cult of the Dragon will destroy them.

Logan tells them Tomas has overthrown the Allardice and the MacRuaidhris will give the village its freedom. The Cultist does not have much further to say except saying the Cult will destroy all its enemies. Slowly the villagers are turning against them.

Defeat of the Cult

Seeing this, the Cult leader tells them he will kill Tomas’s family if anyone approaches. Logan tells the other members of the Cult to get their leader under control or they will all face execution.

Tomas then talks Connah, to the Cultist holding his family, telling him they used to be friends, does he really want to kill innocents. Connah looks ashamed. He releases the hostages and they across to Tomas.

The Cult leader is furious at this and stabs Connah in the chest, seriously injuring him. Then a mob of Villagers surges forward and Banquo pushes forward to attack the Cult leader, slashing his sword through his face and then beheading him. Most the remaining Cultists run, the rest surrender.

Tomas Takes Over

After reuniting with his wife and son for a while, Tomas then makes a speech to unite the village under his leadership, which goes down fairly well. Logan announces that Tomas has the title of Trusted Man, the senior man in the village under the protection of Clan MacRuaidhri.

Banquo hands over the remaining Cultists to the village for their justice. Tomas promises to do this.

Allardice Men Depart

The Allardice, under Sam’s supervision, are preparing to depart in the morning. After surrendering their weapons, one of them asks Sam if they can have some weapons to protect themselves. He agrees to this, as long as they leave promptly, which they do that night.

Fraser’s Confession

That evening, Brother Gregory comes to see Logan, saying the Fraser is asking for him in the makeshift hospital and he and Brother William have set up. Logan goes with him.

Fraser immediately asks when he seems him, “did she tell you?” Logan asks him to explain. Fraser is fevered and delirious, but admits that he told Nairne on her wedding day that he had always loved her, even though she is his niece and offered to rescue her from her marriage with the Allardices. She turned him down due to loyalty to the Clan.

He loved her and wanted to protect her and he can never forgive the Allardices for killing her. He wanted Logan to know this before he dies.

Logan forgives him and listens. Fraser says he respects him more than his older brother and will do what he says, then falls unconscious.

Brother Gregory gives him the milk of the poppy and says to Logan that he will sleep better now he has got that off his chest.

Letters Home

Logan has Brother Gregory write a letter for him to his brother Dougal, telling him what happened and requesting MacRuaidhri reinforcements to secure the village, to help Eóghan.

Sam writes a letter for his brother, telling him of events and the traitorous behaviour of Blair and his men. Both of these letters will be delivered by Baldrick once he is better.

Final Words

In the morning, the Companions and Brother Gregory prepare to leave the village and head north to resume their search for Prince Edmund. Tomas sees them off, thanking them for their help and pledging to work with Eóghan. He will work on hunting down and driving out the remaining Cult members in Greenest.

He also tells them there is a main camp of the Cultists in the north and those that escaped will have gone there, meaning the Cult will know what has happened.

Heading North

Logan leads the way north, using his tracking skills to identify a trail that leads north. They follow the trail all day and see no one, passing their previous camp site.

That evening, just as they are considering where to camp for the night, they see that the trail splits and heads in two different, northern directions. Logan takes a long time checking out these two possibilities, but he only able to discern that the North West trail looks more used that the North East trail.

Brother Gregory does not remember which trail he took, he just knows they need to go north.

Something Magical

Malcolm senses something odd in the area, but can’t put his finger on what it is. He does spot something in a tree by the North West trail and there is some sort of wooden totem hanging there, painted red and looking a lot like a Cult of the Dragon symbol.

They decide to camp for the night away from the trail, but within sight of the fork in the trail. Logan says no fire as they do not want anyone to spot them during the night. Fortunately it is not that cold.

Lights in the Night

They set watches. During Banquo’s watch, he sees figures carrying burning torches moving on the trail towards Greenest. Banquo wakes up Logan, who gets up and they both go to see what is going on.

There are five figures with torches moving south. It is not obvious from which northern trail they came from.

Concerned that the village is not very well defended at the moment, they wake the others and run after them. They soon catch up as the torch holders are not moving that fast, but some Companions are quicker and quieter than others, with Banquo moving fast and quietly, while Logan stumbles on brambles and falls behind.

Starting a Fight

The torch holders stop and turn around. They discuss amongst themselves about whether the noise is something to worry about or not. Then one of them calls out “Who’s there? We can see you, show yourself!”

Banquo throws a stone in another direction to distract them, which works, then shouts to them to identify themselves. The Cultists raise their clubs and staffs, demanding to know who they are and what they are doing.

The Companions muster together forming a line. Three of the Cultists rush forward to attack them, while two others run further south. A brief fight breaks out, in which Malcolm and Sam shoot their bows, while Logan and Banquo attack with their swords.

Cultists Flee

The two Cultists are soon taken down. Banquo smashes the kneecap of one, who screams in agony. Logan finishes him off. Another has an arrow through his arm and Banquo finishes him off. The third one changes his mind and turns around, fleeing south.

Three Cultists flee south. The Companions discuss whether to follow them, but decide returning to Greenest again would be a major distraction and return to their camp.

End of Episode Five