[Leela] Chapter 6: Capital of the Xalaster Orthodoxy, Olodeen, City of Saints

[Ella]

[spoiler=Perception to figure out what Earth language Xalastrian sounds most like.][blockquote]Rolled 1d20+4 : 5 + 4, total 9[/blockquote][/spoiler]

[Ella]

Leela Steading

Right. Xalastrian. She should have guessed. Leela could not decide what language from her own world that it sounded most like, but then, she was not a linguist in any way and so her knowledge was limited. If he asked what the language was called in her world, she figured she could just give him some random one. Perhaps she could just call it 'Vatican'. Although she at least knew they were in Italy and knew Italian and probably Latin, too, she figured it would make it easier to remember if she thought of the "Holy City" as a counterpart to this Orthodoxy.

"In my world, this language is called Vatican." She replied. Her voice held a defensive tone, as if to say 'I told you that your language sounds similar to one from my world, how am I supposed to know what it is called in this world?'

~~~~~~~~~~

Leela simply nodded at his explanation for what happened to the wall. She wondered if it was Ashaki who had done all that damage or if it had actually happened when Ghorat had come through and they were just pinning the blame on Ashaki because she was a demon, too. But talk of the demons would be best kept until they were in a more private location. Probably wherever Mateo was taking them.

~~~~~~~~~~

Leela leaned forward to examine the map for a moment, debating on what would be the best location for where her 'city-state' had been 'shifted' to. Finally, she pointed at the spot just left of the lower end of the 'F' in 'Old Eastern Felothia'. "We are about here.."

She listened as he brought up the Felencorp not requiring reparations as long as they did not take the land of an existing country. She had to force herself to keep a serious face and not roll her eyes at his stating that they needed to take action if her land really was surrounded by demons. What did he think she was there with her minimal escort for? To greet them and make their presence known? To be fair, she was not actually there for the reasons she had detailed, but he did not know that.

"Thankfully, we were not attacked right away and so were able to bring in any of our forces that were outside the town walls with no losses. When I departed, we had managed to maintain our defenses with minimal losses. We did, however, lose many of the scouts and small squads that we sent out in the first few days to investigate and gain intelligence on the situation. Of the few that did manage to return, most had been sent to the area northwest of where we found ourselves." She explained, then decided now might be a good time to bring up her reason for being there.

"They returned to us with tales of demons who did not attack them, but claimed to desire an alliance. Of course, I did not believe them. The Bible, our holy book, warns of the trickery of demons and the lengths that they go to lead God's people astray. However, the demons insisted that they meant us no harm and offered to help protect us from the demons of the other territories that bordered ours while we held council with them. I still did not believe them, but I have the lives of my people in my hands and no other options were presenting themselves to us, so I agreed. It took me a while to realize that they were sincere in their offer of an alliance. It is easy to misunderstand their intentions due to their extremely intimidating presence and their lack of knowledge on human society in general. I would say they are much like a wild man who is used to the social structure and expectations of the animals he learned to survive with, but knows nothing of expected behavior among human society and does not know his own strength in comparison to other humans and struggles to learn it when brought into civilization." Leela continued to explain. She did not pause long enough for him to speak and continued on.

"These demons, who claim the land they inhabit as the 'Domain of Roshandan', turned out to be fairly helpful and I believe honest. They explained to us what they know of this world, including what they know about the war that the demons of other domains have declared on this world - a war in which they claim to have no desire to be a part of. I believe they will be forced to choose sides sooner or later. It is because of the demons of Roshandan that I know about your country and made it here safely, as they allowed me to travel through their lands. They do have two conditions for our alliance and continued protection, however. They made it clear that the success of one of them will determine the fate of my people and possibly yours as well." She paused for a moment in her story to allow it all to sink in before she continued on once again.

"In our talks, the demons claimed that there was a misunderstanding between them and your countrymen when they came to trade; and that it led to unfortunate events in which lives were lost and they were forced to retreat back to their land. They say that upon their return home, one of their own decided to come back and try to make amends, but she never came back."

"To be direct, Bishop Mateo, I am here to negotiate the release of the captured demon - and I pray to God that she is still alive for all our sake - as well as to clear up the misunderstanding between your country and the demons on their behalf. They deeply apologize for the misunderstanding and all the issues that they caused during their time here. They hope for the possibility of establishing a trade agreement with the Xalaster Orthodoxy, if not a full alliance. As for my country, we hope to resolve things as peacefully as possible without losing more lives or putting our people at risk. We would like to form an alliance with the Xalaster Orthodoxy if your country is willing."

Finally finished with her explanation, Leela watched the bishop. Zavan did say that any mention of demons would upset them, which was understandable. She hoped that Mateo would not decide to have them all arrested, but decided it was best to prepare for the worst. If he tried to have them attacked or confined in any way, she planned to be prepared.

[spoiler=Bluff that was requested.][blockquote]Rolled 1d20+12 : 19 + 12, total 31[/blockquote][/spoiler]

[spoiler=Using Spellcraft Perception to sense if he or others in the area have magical abilities/roughly how many there are/if he is going to try using magic/etc.][blockquote]Rolled 1d20+22 : 2 + 22, total 24[/blockquote][/spoiler]

[Ella]

[spoiler=Sense Motive on Mateo][blockquote]Rolled 1d20+4 : 11 + 4, total 15[/blockquote][/spoiler]

[Throndir]

[info]Sense Motive: 15
The fat bishop seemed to be genuinely concerned about your well-being, and you country's. He paid rapt attention as you described how things were.

Spellcraft: 24
There were a couple of other priests and nuns in the church. Compared to those outside, they had a stronger concentration of mana than the workers on the wall, and even some of the knights. This told you that they at least had a bigger capacity, and though it might not mean that they were casters, the likelihood was high that they were.[/info]The bishop looks at you with concern strew in his eyes. "Be wary Princess of America, demons are known to be sly and fool those that they can. It wouldn't surprise me that they have been trying to get into your good graces. I believe your country is in danger, princess. With you here, more than likely the demons would use this change to strike, or even infiltrate your communities. As for the demon..." He lowered his voice next.

"I can't confirm or deny anything. Even if I take your stance with the demons, and somehow believe that these demons from 'Roshandan' are 'okay', it wouldn't be wise of me to spill any sort of state secret!" He paused as he thought about what he just said. "Well, that is... umm if we had a demon in custody, it would have been a problem."

"At the very least, is there anything else you'd like to add to the report? Unfortunately, I'm not sure how much aid we can give your country, since our southern lines are exhausted. But if you managed to make it here, do know that the Orthodoxy would be willing to take in refugees, as long as the new inhabitants do their part to help with our glorious city. Repairs, militia... Things of that nature. I will... bring up to my superiors about negotiating with captured demons though, that is, in case we end up capturing one of course."

[Ella]

Leela Steading

"I appreciate your concerns, Bishop Mateo. However, considering the circumstances we have found ourselves in, everything is a danger to my people. I can only pursue what seems to be the best course of action to ensure the survival of my people for the immediate future. Even if the demons do take the opportunity of my being gone to strike, the only difference between my being here instead of there is my personal safety. The general I left in charge in my absence has more training and experience than I do, and I trust his abilities." Never mind that said general was actually waiting right outside the city protecting a squad of imps chosen for their fighting and stealthy capabilities until they were all needed.

Leela smiled a knowingly at Mateo's words and lowered her voice as well. "Come now, I would say it is not much of a secret between us at this point. I know that a Roshandan demon 'disappeared' in this country and you yourself admitted that something 'strong and vile' had destroyed part of your city's walls before your hero managed to bring it in."

After thinking for a moment to go over everything she had told Mateo so far, Leela nodded with a grim frown. "If the Xalaster Orthodoxy is willing to take in refugees, I have no doubts that whatever of my people may come here will do their fair share of work. However, if your militia is unable to send aid, I am afraid I must insist even more on the negotiations."

"How long should I expect to wait on your superiors' response? Time is precious in our situation, but I understand this may be a big decision for them to consider. Even if they can meet with me tonight, my escort and I could use a place to rest and freshen up..." She left her sentence hanging, hinting that she expected either an offer for accommodations or a recommendation. She would prefer to stay somewhere unaffiliated with the city's government, but it would make it difficult for them to get in contact with her if she stayed somewhere without telling them.

[Throndir]

Bishop Mateo nodded.

"Fear not, I'll be sending in the report directly to the cardinals after this. New countries, or new lands from the Shifting near our territory is one of our highest priorities. More often than not, there's something of interest in them that offer us an edge in the war against the demons. I'll produce a write from the church granting you stay at any inn in the city for the remainder of your visit. All expenses paid as well. I'm hoping we can get an audience with the cardinals either later today or tomorrow. I would personally recommend the Golden Wing for an esteemed guest as yourself, but if you find something else of your interest, be sure to send one of your retainers to report back here at this particular church."

With that he started writing the write he had promised, signed it with his name, and even placed a seal on it with some red wax.

"Alright, this should cover it... Is there anything else you'd like me to add to the report?"

[Ella]

Leela Steading

"That is everything." Leela replied to his question about the report. If it was not, she supposed she could bring it up when she met with Mateo's superiors.

"We appreciate your expeditiousness in this matter. We also thank you for your generosity." She gave a small bow of her head to show her gratitude. "Where shall we find this Golden Wing?"

[Throndir]

The bishop then produced a simple map of the city. It was done on the same kind of parchment that you were shown of the map, but this one looked to have been made a lot more sloppily, at the very least, wasn't as detailed as the previous map.

"I'm not the best kind of cartographer... But I made these to give out to important visitors, or really... anytime one of the knights sends someone my way." He said proudly as he pushed the map over to you. "You can keep it. I signed it on the bottom right corner." He said as he pointed at the signature he had. "It has the main attractions of the city marked, along with popular churches in town, inns, and markets."

[Ella]

Leela Steading

Accepting the map, Leela looked it over. Even if it was more of a tourist map than an actual map, she was still surprised that he was just giving her hand drawn map.

"You are certainly prepared, Bishop." Either this man really loved his job or he was aiming for high places. "How late do the markets stay open?"

[Throndir]

"Of course I'm prepared! I take this job seriously! It depends on each of the stalls and stores. Most of the city knights retired by 6 PM, and that is also when most places close for the night. However, there's a number that stay open, primarily stores that deal with night-time activities, such as a late dinner."

[Ella]

Leela Steading

"I see. That is understandable." She imagined that without electricity, most places closed as the sun went down.

"Well then, we shall go find this Golden Wing and wait for your courier." Leela told him as she rose from her seat to leave. "Perhaps we shall find some stalls or stores that have not yet closed for the night on our way. I am curious to see what your city has to offer."

"'Til we meet again, Bishop Mateo. Come, Erik, Abi." She smiled and gave another small bow of her head, then motioned to her two companions before turning to exit the room. Seeing as he did not offer to show her or have someone else show her where the inn was, she figured it was up to her to leave the room first.

~~~~~

Before heading to the inn, Leela decided to go back towards the wall where animal people had been hard at work doing repairs. If there were any still there working, she planned on watching them for a little while. The fact that more of the workers seemed to be animal people made her wonder if they were either slaves or looked down upon. Though perhaps they were physically stronger and thus more capable of the work. Perhaps it was even the sort of work they preferred. But just in case it wasn't, she wondered if she could persuade them to join with her.

[Throndir]

The bishop nodded as he waved you goodbye.



At the repair work of the wall and a couple of other buildings in the area, you realized that most of the animal-eared workers wore simple clothing. Usually consisting of a simple shirt and pants. There were both old and young working on the repair work. Likewise, there were armored knights, and occasionally, robed priests who oversaw the work they were doing. From the time you spent watching, there was no physical abuse of any sort however, as for the overseers, it was hard to tell whether or not they were the architects of the repair work attempting to check on the work, of if they were there to simply check on the workers themselves.

[Ella]

Leela Steading

Leela was happy that none of the animal people seemed to be wearing slave collars or chains. The simple clothing made sense to her, as wearing nice clothes for this kind of work would only ruin them. She still wondered why there were so many animal people doing all the manual labor, but it was not really her business. At least for the moment.

[spoiler=Spellcraft Perception to see if there is anything of interest there before she moves on.][blockquote]Rolled 1d20+22 : 1 + 22, total 23[/blockquote][/spoiler]

~~~~~~~~~~

Following the map, Leela led Efrit and Abi to the Golden Wing. She took it one block at a time, figuring out which way she needed to go, then looking at the buildings and whatever shops might be open as she walked. Whenever she came to a crossroads, she would stop to check the map again to make sure she was still going the correct way before continuing on. When the small group finally found the inn, Leela walked in and looked around the room she had entered.

[spoiler=Spellcraft Perception for as she is walking through town and to check things out at the inn.][blockquote]Rolled 1d20+22 : 2 + 22, total 24[/blockquote][/spoiler]

[info]As Leela heads to the Golden Wing inn, she is taking note on what shops she would like to go back to check out if she is able to.

Upon entering the Golden Wing, Leela is checking out the place to see how good it is (since it was recommended for someone of her status) as well as to see what sort of security they have.[/info]

[Throndir]

[info]Spellcraft Perception: 23
There wasn't anything notable about the construction work. Some of the animal-eared people had a flare up of mana, which coincided with their spellcasting in creating juts of rock to support in the construction. There were no collars, or any visible restraints on them. The workers looked glum, but apart from the knights and priests keeping a close eye on them, at least right now there was no violence.[/info][info]Spellcraft Perception: 24
There were many shops in town, there seemed to be one of anything you could imagine, however, there was a large focus on books and temples.

Entering the inn, you realized this was very ornately decorated. Gold trimmings seemed to be everywhere. As you neared, a couple of knights standing at the door nodded towards you. Inside the Inn itself, there was a nun dressed in blue who greeted you.[/info]

"Welcome to the Golden Wing."

[Ella]

Leela Steading

Leela stared at the nun for a moment, then looked at the map to see if there was another Golden Wing on it. The nun had just welcomed her to the Golden Wing. But why was a nun inviting her to an inn? Was the Golden Wing actually a church? It was certainly decorated richly enough to be some sort of fancy church. Was she going to be put in some sort of church dormitory?

"There must have been a misunderstanding... I was under the impression that the Golden Wing was an inn." She finally stated in her confusion, looking back up at the nun before her. She did not really feel like staying in a church dormitory.

What was that place the adventurer had recommended? Sleeping Inn? Something like that. Leela looked back at the map she held in her hands to see if Sleeping Inn was on it.