Marco’s Journal : A Tale of Two Treasures

After the big party, we lost no time in planning another venture into the great underdark to seek our fortune. If our luck was running hot, why delay ?

Once more our new companion Lorenzo proved his arts useful, conjuring a magical light for the end of Friar Giovanni’s staff which burned for an hour without any fuel. We set off into the deep with Rocco in the lead followed by Lorenzo and the two priests, while I brought up the rear in my armour. We followed our steps and markings from a previous venture, and sought to expand the area we had searched. As we marched quietly along the side of a deep channel of black water, we heard an ominous rhythmic clicking. Along the far bank marched a long column of skeletons armed for war; their leader glanced our way in passing, and the weight of his gaze sent a shiver through your bones. It seemed the army of the dead was on patrol, and they yearned for new recruits. We fervently hoped they would stay on the other side of the channel, and pressed on with a prayer to the saints to protect us.

Often danger comes Right Quick.  There in front of me, Friar Giovanni shone his torch down a side tunnel and then vanished down it with a stumble and a cry of alarm ! Taking a firm grip on my boar-spear I plunged after him – into a dark tunnel full of dancing shadows as he struggled against something while encumbered by his light-staff and wading through a foot of running water. He dropped the light when he was violently dragged from his feet and engulfed in the maw of a gigantic frog! I seized the staff and gave pursuit – soon I caught up with the Friar as he frantically stabbed its scaly hide with a small knife whilst it dragged him by a leg further down the dark tunnel.

I stabbed the huge thing over and over again, thrusting my spear deep into its body, but all the while it dragged poor Giovanni away. I could see his efforts grow more frantic as he grew weaker and weaker from pain and exhaustion. He never gave in, but fought until overcome by his wounds and then went limp in its jaws. In the nick of time Rocco arrived and seized his arms as he was dragged along the floor, and I stabbed the frog once more with all my might. Rocco is a large man, hardened by years of labour, and he pulled hard to save Giovanni; the great frog had paid much in pain and blood for its prize and pulled hard to keep it. Lo ! we parted ways suddenly : we kept Giovanni but it kept his foot as it leapt back into a dark pool at the end of the tunnel.

I stood guard while my comrades saw to our maimed comrade. Father Arturo took charge – wrapping a bandage tightly above the ragged stump before singing up a mighty Hymn of Prayer. With my own eyes I saw a Miracle - the ragged stump healed and grew a new pink pad of flesh over the bleeding bones which had been laid bare. I have seen many men mangled in battle, and the power of Arturo’s prayers saved Giovanni from months of pain and anguish. In a trice, he was made well, and nearly whole again. We gave him a restorative potion against the shock, and in a short while he was able to hop with a staff and move slowly unaided. This was the first Treasure we gained – witnessing a true Miracle to save our dear comrade from death.

As we made ready to depart, curiosity took hold of me - perhaps Providence or Luck was tugging at my sleeve. I gave Lorenzo a penny and he cast his spell of light upon it; when thrown into the pool it sank to the bottom and illuminated a strange scene. The great frog lay still at the bottom of the pool in a cloud of blood or ichor, surrounded by at least a dozen huge tadpoles worrying at its flesh. So the next generation consumed the last, fighting for their places at the feast. It seemed to me that they must compete, for in the end their could be only one successor.

Other things caught my eye – gleams of gold twinkled in the rubbish littering the bottom of the pool. Swiftly I stripped off my armour and placed an alchemical ‘airy tablet’ below my tongue, slipping into the pool with only a dagger and some empty sacks in my hands. By the grace of god I had remembered to take a coil of light rope in my pack, which Rocco let down after me. The tablet produced a mouthful of frothing bubbles which allowed me to breathe under water for a short time. While it lasted I searched the pool for treasure. Four corpses I looted, gaining many coins, a fine dagger, the golden hilt of a sword, and some pieces of jewellery which had remained intact whilst other things were destroyed by water and time. Several times I was attacked by the offspring of the giant frog – they were all teeth and hunger and hurled themselves heedlessly at my naked flesh. One good thrust with a dagger was enough to end them, and distract the others as its bleeding remains drifted down to the bottom.

All too soon the tablet was consumed, and I escaped the pool unscathed with my last bag of treasure. I donned my armour swiftly and we departed, rejoicing in our good fortune. Soon we heard the dreadful march of the dead once more, this time ahead of us on our side of the black water! Rocco took Giovanni on his shoulders and we dashed away down a side tunnel before we became the latest recruits to the army of the dead. We sped on, leaving their malice behind, for they would not leave their patrol to pursue us. It had been a narrow escape, but Providence was still with us. Our luck held true, and soon we were once more in the world of living men and had left behind the great darkness below.

Back in the House of Crows, we put Friar Giovanni to bed with a large cup of hot wine, while we cleaned and polished the treasures we had taken from the Frog’s Larder. And so we had gained our Second Treasure - but wealth taken from the Underworld is dearly bought, and the Friar has paid in full. Tomorrow we shall see what may be fitted to his stump to get him walking again. His days of running may be over, but the miraculous stump will surely prove a great boon for his begging, and so he has much to give thanks for.

Marco’s Journal : Roman Revels

A new fellow has joined Cola’s ‘family’ – he is a young scribbler named Lorenzo, who dabbles in magic and enjoys a cup of wine with good company. He is a decent fellow, from a hard background, and so fell in with us readily. We asked him to have a squint at the little luck-piece we had just found in the underworld, and he pronounced it genuinely ancient yet still retaining some virtue of good fortune. We let him wear it for a while to bring him luck, and so far it has worked a treat !

Rome had a big party for the first time in years and by good luck or Providence, we got into the best bit, reserved for the finest people in Rome. We had a fancy invitation, written by the rising star of the show – Petrarch himself. Cola had tipped us a wink, so we gave 3 ancient coins we had found to Petrarch as a gift. In response, we got a special invitation to the bigwigs party held after the public celebrations which appointed him as chief-poet-of-Rome, or some such nonsense.

We had all bought new clothes for the occasion, and some of us had to buy them all over again after the mess made pushing through the huge crowds around the Palatine. Everyone seemed very happy, and from afar we heard several long speeches praising the greatness of Rome’s history, and affirming the aim to Make-Rome-Great-Again. If only that made a catchy slogan. Well there were great cheers and even some free wine, if you brought your own cup. As the crowd dispersed, we followed a procession of servants bearing chairs, and so found the scene of the fancy party.

We waved our scroll, with the seal of Petrarch himself, under the noses of the flunkies at the gate. They could see we we not the rich or famous, but could find no excuse to deny us entry. We did not even have to argue much, and they were so posh themselves that bribes were beneath them. So we all piled in, with Lorenzo and Friar Giovanni deftly posing as our servants.

So Rocco the fisherman, Marco the soldier and Father Arturo mingled with the famous and wealthy and we had all the food and wine we could want for free. What fortune!

I was surprised to bump into Petrarch himself, and amazed he remembered my name at all. In a few moments he was off, but not before he had introduced me to Guido Guardino, a dealer in curios. He was pleased to meet a new ‘finder’ who delved for these goods in the Underworld beneath the streets of Rome. Well met indeed! This contact made the Revel doubly worthwhile, but there was more to come.

Hardly had I met Guido, than another merchant pushed in, and introduced himself as Pier-Paulo Rospo, a dealer in relics. So if we find the bones of a saint, or a nail from a Calvary cross, we know who to approach. It seems unlikely, but maybe he will buy suitably ancient junk in the hope that it is a relic after all. That may come in handy someday, who knows? I counted my fingers after shaking his hand. With my head spinning from these new possibilities, I sought to fortify myself at the prodigious free buffet provided.

I was still there, not quite full, when Rocco found me. Apparently he had helped a blind musician back to his place after he had been cast adrift by a careless flunky. The youth had a good heart, and very sharp ears, and had overheard a group of noble louts planning assault and murder as they drank more glasses of wine than they should. They cursed the name of Corsini, and wore Frangipani colours, so it was not hard to guess the object of their wrath. Sure enough we found Matteo whirling his paramour around the dance floor, while her parents looked on, muttering an argument between themselves.

Six against One seemed unfair odds, especially since the One was our comrade-in-arms against the sorceror who abducted young girls to feed to his demon pets. So we gathered our little band from all corners of the party and found a chance to quietly brief Matteo of the plot against him. A quandary presented itself – although these louts deserved a beating, this would not aid his quest for marriage with their sister or cousin. Weddings follow funerals poorly, it seems. What to Do?

Lorenzo presented a Strategem from his arts. He could cast a spell to mask the appearance of a person so that they would bear the likeness of another, unless observed closely. Amongst our party Friar Giovanni had the same height and build as Matteo, whilst Father Arturo was likewise twin to his servant Noli. So they all swapped their outer garments whilst Lorenzo sketched in the air and wove his illusion around each of them. Soon it was hard to tell the Ruse from the Real, and so we ran our hare for the dogs. Our two priests left the party wrapped in their altered guise, and were soon pursued at the run by a crowd of half-drunk toffs in Frangipani colours. Some way down the hill our two hares called upon Providence to open the eyes of the wrathful, which saved them from the long sharp swords being raised against them. The Frangipani dogs ran off in confusion, seeking their prey in vain, only to find only an embarrassing foolishness instead.

We picked up Arturo and Giovanni a few minutes later and made our way quietly to the rendezvous we had agreed near the House of Crows. There we met Matteo and Noli, and drank to their health and the confusion of the Frangipani before returning home.

It had been an exciting day, and always worth doing a good turn for a friend. One day we may need the favour returned.

Marco’s Journal : V is for Vendetta

Well, we have Providence to thank for our lives; somehow we survived a well-planned ambush by professional soldiers. Certainly Father Arturo calls it a miracle, and he was certainly crying out for God’s help while I lay unconscious.

But I should start at the beginning.

We were at the Black Cat for a gathering of Cola’s ‘family’ – an evening of food, wine and good news – a bonus from the city council for the continued absence of flying monkey-demons haunting the streets at night. It looks like we got them all, for now anyway. Ten florins each topped off a cheerful evening in good company. It should have been our last.

We had made our way through the dark streets of Rome and were nearly back home at the House of Crows., when ahead of us a woman cried for help as she was dragged into a dark alley. I do not like to see a woman molested, and made after her, followed by my good companions. I did not forget to check the first corner in case it was a ruse, but followed up an empty close as the girl continued to resist. At the second corner I was met by a large man carrying a heavy axe, wearing armour under his voluminous cloak. All I had was a dagger in my belt and a truncheon in my hand. It was obvious that he was a veteran equipped for battle, and this was no fair fight. After two crunching blows with his axe – I could admire his professional stance with buckler at the bottom of his two-handed grip, and shrewd overhand strikes in the cramped close – before I was struck down. Most soldiers meet their end in a sudden pain in mud and blood and darkness. But lo! I awoke from just this condition being helped up by my rather dishevelled companions, and we staggered back home with a spear and a heavy axe which did not belong to us.

Apparently I had missed the best bit – Father Arturo wrestling my conqueror to the floor and crying loudly for God to save us from Murder, whilst from the rear Friar Giovanni and Astore faced off a fully armed Pavisier and a Cross-bow man. On the streets of Rome indeed! Apparently Astore fought them to a standstill in desperate straits, and they lost heart when the Axeman suddenly fled the scene, leaving his weapon behind. Back home, as Friar Giovanni bandaged my arm, I pointed out who our assailants must be. We were warned that the woman Astore had injured – a year or so ago now – had three sons who were professional soldiers off to the war in the South. Our ambushers were three soldiers, fully equipped for battle, who trapped us in a tight alley a few streets from home by using actors as a lure. They had only murder in mind, so it seemed clear who was behind this.

Over a week, while my wounded arm recovered, Friar Giovanni asked around, and found that the brothers had returned from war, were displeased with the compensation paid, and had been asking about us. They had hired rooms near the ambush point, allowing them a den for spying around and hiding their armour and battlefield weapons. We knew they were local boys from Rome, so probably living back in their home neighbourhood near their sick mother and their uncle. They had sent no message, no demand for money, but had decided instead on the murder of Astore and any companions who happened to be nearby as a Vendetta.

So what to do? Well, Friar Giovanni mentions the need to forgive others and then turn the other cheek, although I believe he was belabouring our assailants with a staff while I was unconscious. Our patron made it clear he would not protect us, while any solution was our affair and must keep his name out of it if we were to remain part of his “family”. So dealing with this Vendetta needs careful thought. The Friar offers words from the Testament, Genesis – “whoever sheds the blood of man, by man will his blood be shed”, but also Matthew – “forgive those that trespass against thee seventy times seven, for so shall the Lord do unto you”. Which didn’t really narrow our thoughts much.

We talked the night away, and all of us are loath to fight fire with fire and bring violence to their home once more. We have all asked for forgiveness, and I think Providence tests our resolve. At first my heart burned with anger at those who would have murdered us, but so can I understand their anger at the fate of their own mother. So I forgive them for their sin, as I have been forgiven. Turning the other cheek is too hard for me, so instead we hired some door-guards so we might sleep more peacefully at night, and will take precautions against another ambush in the streets.

After deciding to ponder on a solution for a while Astore, Father Arturo, Friar Giovanni and I went once more into the great darkness below the city. I took the front after applying “eyebright” ointment, and Astore took the rear, with our men of God bearing torches between us. We learned that the under-dark is truly huge as we walked miles along large passages and ignored countless small side-ways as we explored. We found one way back up to the living world guarded by a stout door, watchmen and a barking dog. We crept passed that, and had almost become resigned to returning empty-handed when I spotted a corpse floating in the underground river that flows in the darkness below. As we fished it out, an ectoplasmic ooze enveloped Friar Giovanni and tried to suffocate him in the same manner as its last victim. He seemed doomed to drown until Father Arturo drove it back into the water with an Exorcism. The corpse wore a large pouch containing three coins and two objects from the ancients.

A restorative potion got the Friar going again so we made straight-way back to the living world with what we have found. Hopefully they will be worth more than what was consumed in winning them, for any wealth fetched from the underworld is dearly bought.

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