"Would you be willing to give His Majesty Sanctuary, Father? At least until such time as we can find the traitors and end their plot?"
In French: But of course! It would be a great honor to give shelter and succor to His Majesty, though I fear our finest chamber will be too humble for His Majesty.... Nonetheless, we shall make it as worthy of His Majesty as we may!
In French: Nonsense, our dear Father! Compared to our lodgings of zee past several months, it will seem a palace bedchamber, we assure you!
Please, PLEASE give me a chance to convince you that Charles VII is not the rightful King of France, that King Henry VI in England IS. We can eliminate the evil powers-behind-the-throne in England AND France, ... AND still bring the rightful King of France, young Henry VI, back to Paris. His coronation of France is scheduled to be next year (they've been putting it off and putting it off.)
Let's save this guy's life, sure -- but let's support the TRUE King of France even though he's only 8 years old.
As far as Alphonse is considered it's not his business to stage revolutions.
Right, we have to find out who is behind this and make sure they are stopped. Here is a scary thought...what if His Highness here is not the only one that was replaced? If there is a large conspiracy....
Paddy lets out a low whistle with his last comment. He turns back to the newly freed royal.
Is there any way we can prove you are the real thing? I mean, is there a certain piece of information only you would know..a birthmark....anything?
Paddy then paces for a minute.
We might need some higher powered assistance in this instance. We might need a mage of some sort.
He turns to his colleagues.
You would know more than I would...is there any types of magic that could expose the fraud?
In English: Of course we are zee real Dauphin! Why else would we be locked away in zat vault? .... But.... We see what you are saying, Irishman.... How to prove to ozzers zat we are zee true Dauphin, and zee monster on zee throne is not? .... Zere may be somesing only we would know....but zee monster invaded our mind with some kind of evil magic.... It knows zese kinds of zings about us now....
In French: I know not what little good it may be, but I can, of course, write up a letter recommending you to the court for your bravery and loyalty to Notre Dame.... It might at least get you through the palace door, if no further....
In French: Oui! We must all feign ignorance of the conspiracy.... Our enemies cannot yet know that we have knowledge of their evil deeds, until we are well-armed and poised to strike!
Father Renaud escorts His Majesty to a private room in an out building adjoining the cathedral, and assigns an acolyte to attend to the Dauphin's needs....
He then goes to the scriptorium and writes up a letter of recommendation addressed to the Royal Court at Reims, recommending The Lusty Fools as brave men of honor and valor, willing and able to serve the throne in whatever capacity may be required. He returns to where the party awaits him in the nave of the cathedral and hands the letter, rolled up in a leather scroll tube, to Alphonse.
In French: May this serve you well, my friends. We shall do all in our power to keep His Majesty safe and hidden from his enemies, for as long as necessary....
"Thank you, Father Renaud." Alphonse says as he bows to the priest.
"You've been a great help."
Father Renaud bows in return to Alphonse....
In French: God be with you, my friends!
What will The Lusty Fools do next?
Well, I am not the most scholarly of us, but I think we should learn all we can about this...doppleganger beastie. Then, if there is someone who can help us expose this faker, we should enlist their help. Where is the best place we can research this subject?
Paddy looks at Alphonse and Iommi....
"I believe Iommi would know better than I."
"Or perhaps Nacht, being a, um...strange creature himself."
The City of Reims lies 88 miles east and north of Paris, a journey of about three days on foot....
The castle of Sir Grimulf the graveknight lies some ten days journey east and north, in the lands of the Holy Roman Empire, near the city of Worms....
To travel from Paris to London will also take about ten days, including a day or two by boat crossing the channel....
Did we not want to first meet strange rich man to sell our treasured new possessions?
Nicolas Flamel lives in Paris with his wife on Rue Montmorency....
Good point, Hisao. He might know someone. let's be off then!
Along the way, Paddy checks with his local contacts trying to find any such wizard.
Good point, Hisao. He might know someone. let's be off then!
Along the way, Paddy checks with his local contacts trying to find any such wizard.
[dice=know local] 1d20+9
Fortunately, Father Renaud knows of Nicolas Flamel (he's the one who told the party about him and recommended a visit to sell him their jewelry), and can direct The Lusty Fools to Flamel's house on Rue Montmorency....
Following Father Renaud's directions, the party sets out from Notre Dame cathedral, crossing the bridge from Isle of the City to the district of Paris through which runs Rue Montmorency.... It takes them less than an hour to locate the three-story, blue-and-red townhouse with gold leaf shingles marked #52 Rue Montmorency, the home of the renowned alchemist and scribe, Nicolas Flamel....
The door is answered by a clockwork servant fashioned of wood and brass! The automaton speaks in a buzzy, metallic voice....
In metallic French: Welcome to the house of Flamel.... How may I be of service?
We are finders of treasures from crypts below the city. Come to trade Hisao says.
In metallic French: Please come inside and make yourselves comfortable! The master shall be with you shortly....
The clockwork doorman ushers the party into Flamel's house, leading them to a salon where several cushioned chairs are arranged in a semicircle before a fireplace (currently unlit, as it is early Summer and warm outside). Side tables beside each chair hold carafes of red wine and goblets.
Help yourselves to wine, if you please.... I shall go and inform Master Nicolas that he has visitors!
The clockwork doorman leaves the room to go and find its master....
A brief interval later, an elderly gentleman enters the room and greets The Lusty Fools, bowing courteously....
In French: Bonjour, Monsieurs, and welcome to House Flamel. I am Nicolas Flamel. I assume you have heard of my reputation as an alchemist and scribe, and have come either to ask for advice in alchemical matters, or to trade jewelry? I am quite knowledgeable about such things, and am well disposed to purchase from you any excess jewels you might have for sale....
"Do you have nything we can use to heal our injuries? Preferably something that is compact and an be used repeatedly."
Monsieur Flamel, I have a question for you. In your years of study and research, do you have any information about dopplegangers? Or maybe know someone who might? The subject came up recently during a game of cards with some.....unseemly fellows. I must admit my knowledge of them is as deep as a dinner plate. On a side note, as an master alchemist, would you have any curative draughts available? I seem to have run out....silly me.
Nacht had recently gotten better at hiding most of his form from the surface beings. From the negative reaction most surface beings seemed to find his form disapproving. This gave Nacht very little time to find places to eat or watch. As such this particular trip Nacht found quite convenient. The yellow eyes peering from deep in a hood while the arms and weapon hidden under cloak and coat. Nacht let's the other beings speak. The language still not his favorite to voice.
Oh, also do you know of dragon that will kill us all in six months?
Nice ice-breaker, Chinaman.
Monsieur Flamel nods affirmatively at Alphonse's and Paddy's inquiries about healing magic....
In French: I will trade this magic wand of curing that I keep on my person--I have several, all fully charged, and keep one at my side at all times--for 750 gold francs, or the equivalent in jewels.... I can sell you a few of them, if you like.... Or, if you prefer potions, I believe I have at least a dozen or so I could part with, at 50 gold francs each....
Regarding Paddy's inquiry about dopplegangers:
In French: Dopplegangers are clever, cunning, dangerous monsters, said to lurk in alarming numbers within large towns and cities such as this one.... They are infamous for murdering important public officials and taking their places, as the monsters are peerless shape-changers and masters of disguise.... The males are indistinguishable from the females, as far as human perception goes.... They are mind-readers, able to steal thoughts as readily as they steal appearances.... They are not especially harmed nor impervious to any particular mineral substance or form of energy, no more so than a human being.... Most, if not all, are evil and insidious enemies of mankind.
When Hisao mentions the dragon:
In French: Ah, yes.... The fire dragon from Mercury.... It's name is Conflagratius, or at least, the name it has given is such.... Likely, it has a secret true name.... It has taken up a lair within the fiery caldera of Mount Vesuvius in Italy, the same volcano that destroyed the city of Pompeii during the days of the old Roman Empire.... This fire dragon is of great age and size, greater than any remembered in recent history, and has proven its ability to burn entire towns to ashes! I fear for the future of Europe under this terrible tyrant's reign.... Already, a number of Europe's fairest maidens have fallen prey to this beast, and the coffers of most of the princes of Europe are annually drained to appease the monster's insatiable lust for treasure.... I fear that this dragon might herald Doomsday, as astrological forecasts made by myself and others suggest that Conflagratius might actually be the fiery comet prophecied by the apostle John in the book of Revelations as Wormwood! If this be true, then six months are indeed all the time our world has left before the End of Times!
Flamel continues, in French: But if the dragon is Wormwood, heralding the apocalypse, then the question arises.... Who is the Beast? Who is the Antichrist? No obvious candidate comes to my mind, I must confess.... Some warlord of the Far East, the book of Revelations would suggest.... Perhaps the Lord of the Ottoman Turks? Bayazet would have been a likely candidate, were he still alive....
Flamel considers this riddle for a moment, then regards each of The Lusty Fools carefully for a moment....
Would you happen to be the heroes who rid Notre Dame and our fair city from the traitorous priest, Pierre the Necromancer, and his devil-worshipping minions in the catacombs?
Flamel's clockwork doorman returns to its post by the front door....
A second clockwork servant enters the salon with a tray laden with sweet meats, crusty baguettes, a wheel of cheese with a knife stuck in it, and a stack of plates. It sets the tray down on a central table, bows to Flamel and to each of The Lusty Fools, and then moves to stand beside the door it came in through, awaiting further orders....
Captain Roland D'Orleans of the Royal Guard leads his four lieutenants west along the road from Reims to Paris. All are clad in shining full plate armor bearing the Royal coat of arms, and trail blue cloaks behind them as they ride on warhorses....
They ride throughout the day of June 4th, stopping just before nightfall at a roadside inn to dine and shelter for the night.... Captain Roland tosses a silver piece to the young stable hand outside the inn....
In French: See that our horses are fed, watered, groomed, and given dry stalls, boy!
The stable hand catches the silver piece and bows deeply, promising the best treatment for the riders' horses....
Come, men.... Let us eat well and rest up for tomorrow's ride.... We have a ways to go before we reach Paris and find these so-called Imbeciles Lusty....
The four lieutenants follow their captain into the inn's common room....
Alphonse recalls that in his haste to leave the inn this morning, he has not eaten all day. He takes a cheese knife and cuts off a few slices of cheese to stack on an equal number of pieces of bread, and begins eating them.
Between pieces, he says "We are, master Alchemist. Though it was in fact Nacht who struck the killing blow before he could escape."
A hand flashed out and similarly grabbed one of the sweetmeats given on the tray. The meat however not being devoured like normal.. but instead slowly eaten as if to mimic the sounds of chewing with teeth. The Hood looks to the Alchemist.
Nacht realized through the speech this being was very smart.. which meant very dangerous in a way.
" I geschnitten auf Freistoß Necromancer in Stücke zerrissen und die Ruhe. Ich brach die Untoten auch. Ich war mit oben kommen belohnt. Das Fleisch ist gut. "
Nacht hesitates before speaking again, " Ah bon, vous parlez de cette. Oui, je impitoyablement tué le Nécromancien. " The eyes peer at the being to gauge his reaction.
Flamel watches Nacht with curiosity for a few seconds, then speaks, in French:
Excellent! For heroes such as you, I will sell the curative potions at 40 gold francs each, and the curative wands at only 600 gold francs each!
Nacht nods and looks to the rest wary of this smart being. He could only assume that the lower amount of numbers could only men good things.. as the beings around his had not reacted negatively.
The Lusty Fools enjoy a filling lunch, compliments of Nicolas Flamel, and sell off the gems and jewelry they recovered from their adventure.... How many wands of cure light wounds and/or potions of cure light wounds would the party like to purchase?
Kiyu Amunatus, serpent-blooded vishkanya witch, has made her way from Cairo in Egypt to Paris in France aboard a trader's caravel bearing rare herbs, cedar, opium, and hashish to the markets of the City of Lights.... She has followed rumors of a fire dragon from Mercury come to Earth to herald an apocalypse, intrigued by the possibilities presented by this chain of events.... Having foreseen a great upheaval and transfer of power in the lands of Europe, she has ventured to France as an opportunist, seeking to claim her share of power and prestige!
In a cavern lit by the glow of a flaming river of magma that runs through it, a chimera chained to the cavern wall bleats, roars, and hisses simultaneously from its three heads as it gives birth to a new monstrosity, wrought by evil magic....
The first chimerian is born beneath Mount Vesuvius, under the watchful eyes of the great red dragon, Conflagratius, and it's co-conspirators, the Archdevil Lucifer, and his evil progeny, The Antichrist....
Raw, unbridled rage and malice, condensed into a mockery of human shape.... A bipedal chimera, born with innate intelligence that surpasses the dim wits of its beastly mother.... Capable of wielding great weapons in its humanoid-like hand-claws! Capable of following more complex orders, and carrying out even more diabolical plans under the guidance of their evil masters, the chimerians would help to usher in the Apocalypse in grand and horrific style!
The first, newborn chimerian foal gives three voices to a triple cry, filled with malice and hatred!
It's evil creators beam with pride at the new monstrosity they have wrought!
MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!
HARHARHARHARHARHARHARRRR!!!
HEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEEE!!!
Hahahaha!
....
I am sorry. Do not know what came over me.
Hisao notices that Venomfang has a slightly caustic, bleach-like scent when held close to his nose, and that the kanji etched in its blade that make up its name have an emerald gleam.... It is well balanced in his hand, and the blade always seems to be wet with an acidic substance.... But unlike the other magic swords the Lusty Fools have recovered, it gives off no glow to give away a stealthy wielder....