Days 155 &156 (133rd & 134th)

Day 155 (133rd):
Sloth taught us an exercise to help block out the town's accumulated energy. We were able to see the current energy, not the past mess layered upon itself. It helped greatly. The other relaxed as we were calmer. It was still morning when the town came into view. Just like our vision and reports about Baaloc Prime, this town seemed slapped together without plan or design. We could see the old, planned construction was patched, topped, and covered by the slapped together stuff. As we began our trek around it, a group of soldiers in Baaloc armor came riding out of the gates. They stopped us and began ordering us to follow them into the city. Kendar asked why, but they refused to tell us and just kept ordering us into the city. To keep from drawing attention to ourselves, we followed. Inside the city was just as thrown together as the outside walls. The roads twisted, buildings leaned, and chaos reigned. We were led to a building with bars on every opening. A barred door opened and another Baaloc ordered us to dismount and enter. We complied. The elves kept their heads covered and bowed as we entered. We were taken to an office of sorts to stand before a fat man who was drinking some strong-smelling liquid.
"Explain yourselves. My men saw you going around our city. Why are you avoiding Kirpack?" he said between swallows.
Kendar responded, "I am Major Kendar of Cassabla. I am escorting this group to Baaloc Prime."
"Under who's banner?"
"Lord Carmon of Thantos and King Droland of Raval."
The fat man laughed, "They have no authority here. Why would they send such to Baaloc Prime?"
"For the wedding of Lord Cornwall to Princess Mara."
"Cornwall? 'Lord'? You are mistaken. Cornwall is barely a general. Maalicus is our lord and Chosen."
"I guess you have not received the news. Maalicus is dead. Tharinzar raised Cornwall to his vacant position."
"Lying dog! Maalicus is eternal! No man can kill him! I should slay you where you stand for such lies!"
"Sir, I was at the battle. I saw the Seven Sisters of the Swords kill him on the battlefield. Even you own people refer to him as 'Maalicus the Martyr'."
The fat man paused for a moment, then told us, "I have not received any report in some time. We only heard of the Baaloc's victory a few days ago from a merchant riding through here. He did admit his information was second hand at best. I will send my fastest rider to Fairpoint Fort to confirm this news. If you are lying, I will take you to Baaloc Prime myself, in chains. If you speak the truth, you are all free to go."
He called for his men and ordered us to be taken to a nearby inn and guarded until the rider's return. We quietly followed the soldiers as we led our horses through the chaos of Kirpack. A soldier asked me about the lack of saddles.
"Our cleric companions' order forbids luxury of any kind. Saddles are considered a luxury," I lied, feeling Vanity vibrate to make my words believable.
He seemed to accept my lie, plus it explained the elves silence and covered appearance. The inn where we were taken was as slapped together as everything else. The door barely fit in its frame and had to be lifted slightly to be opened. We were stopped just inside. The innkeeper bellowed about losing business being used as a jail for Commander Buqdoll's temporary prisoners. Kendar stepped forward and laid some gold in the man's hand.
"Fair compensation for our stay."
The innkeeper's demeanor changed immediately and he called for everyone to tend to his "honored guests". The soldiers stationed themselves at every exit. We decided to make the best of our wait. Larz was brushed and cleaned. Bo was checked for any loose scales or anything that might become a problem. Dawn's feathers were checked for any parasites, loose feathers, or anything else that might harm her. After a couple of hours, I noticed the soldiers huddled together, talking low, and looking at us strangely. I remembered that look, it was not good.
"Everyone, listen please. Those soldiers mean to do us harm. We must guard ourselves against them."
Kendar and the elves strayed a look at them. Being more worldly, they did not need special senses to know the men's thoughts.
"Yes, seven girls with only one soldier and a handful of 'clerics' for escort would be a tempting prize for these blokes. Any suggestions?" Lurox asked.
"Sloth", Anna volunteered, "he could make them too lazy to pursue their intentions."
"Good idea," piped Kendar, "Make it happen."
I saw the tendril of power float from Anna's back and reach towards the soldiers. I was amazed no one had removed our weapons. Most likely, they believed them to be ornamental and of no threat. Also, they probably believed that they could all take Kendar easily as his was the only other visible weapon. The power snaked around the men and began to go to work. They leaned on the bar and plopped onto chairs. Some stretched, others yawned. Anna and Sloth curled the power around the rest of the soldiers who slouched at their post or sat and make themselves comfortable. After every soldier had been affected, they pulled the power back. The men conspiring lost all interest in their plan. Another hour later, a young girl arrived and told us the rider was expected to return in the morning. She was very timid and avoided the Baaloc soldiers. We asked her to stay, but she said the commander was expecting her to return promptly. The innkeeper stepped in and volunteered to show us to our rooms. The girl slipped out before we could say anything else to her. Our rooms were spare, but not bad. We seven stayed in one while the elves and Kendar split up into two others. We had to share beds, but we were fine with that. The inn and city were unusually quiet. I wondered about it as I fell asleep.

Day 156 (134th):
A very timid knock woke us up. The same girl from last night stood at the door.
"The rider has returned and confirmed what you said. The guards are gone. You are free to go."
She turned to leave. We ran out to stop her.
"Do not leave, please. We can see your fear and pain. Let us help you, please," Gretta nearly begged the girl.
The girl paused, looked at us, and burst into tears. We guided her into our room. She did not have to speak. The long sleeves, high neck, and long skirt spoke of hidden injuries. How stiffly she sat told us of new injuries not yet healed. Sarah knelt in front of her and the power began flowing and wrapping around her. Her eyes went wide as she felt her injuries healing. I felt Gretta reach for Mattis and Alice looking into her past. Alice informed us her name was Constance. I saw Gretta light up as she and Mattis came up with a plan. Alice knelt before Constance and addressed her.
"Constance, I am going to be honest. We are the Seven Sisters of the Swords. We brought about Maalicus' death. Our cleric companions are not clerics, they are elves. We cut through the forest to get here before the wedding procession. We are on our way to Baaloc Prime to unseat Cornwall and banish Tharinzar and any other demon there."
We expected her to start screaming and threatening to tell everyone what we had said. Instead, she fell to the floor and began praising a deity I had never heard named before.
She then stood and explained, "My faith had hidden for over a thousand years. An ancient prophesy said powers from many lands would come together to rid this land of this evil. I am so happy I lived to see it."
"There is another gift for you, Constance. The true ruler of Selvis needs people she can trust. A portal is being opened to take you to Raval. The Baalocs cannot touch you there."
"A Selvis heir? Alive? Who?"
A silver circle appeared in the floor. Kendar and the elves entered, saw it, and closed the door quickly. We let her know the portal was safe.
As she stood within it, we told her, "Say hi to Princess Mara for us."
A bright smile burst on her face as she slid down through the portal. When she and the portal were gone, we quickly explained. As we left, the innkeeper handed us some travel food and thanked us for the gold. Outside, all of our horses were there, safe, and had received good care. Saddle blankets were on the elves' horses as were bits and bridles. We saddled up and headed out as quickly as we could without looking suspicious. We saw the news of Maalicus' death spreading through the city. Some people even killed themselves instead of living without Maalicus as their leader. We had to repeatedly do Sloth's exercise to block all of that chaos. Within a few hours, we were leaving Kirpack and all of that mess behind. Once its influence was far enough to be ignored, I opened up to seek for Baaloc Prime. It was just at the edge of my furthest perception. A small point of darkness lay between us and it. We suspected this was the fort that the rider went to in order to get a report. Again, we decided to wait until we got near it to decide if we should enter or go around.
A few hours after mid-day, the fort was sighted. A small structure, about the size of four cottages sharing walls, with the same pieced together lack of planning we had seen in other Baaloc buildings. We turned to Anna for an explanation of this building style.
"I have gathered that most able-bodied males have been pushed to become soldiers. Females are made slaves or prostitutes unless they show magical ability. The skilled workers were either worked to death or died of old age before training anyone else. Only wizards, clerics, and prostitutes are officially allowed to have trainees. Thieves' guilds unofficially train all the time. While the law says they are illegal, no one enforces that law or even acknowledges it. Most soldiers either work with them or are a member of at least one of them. So, the walls and buildings are built by unskilled workers without any idea of how to build them. Most of them are held together by magic, luck, and a few barely remembered techniques."
The elves were angry at such waste and abuse of people and magic. Kendar quietly fumed as well. We decided to skirt this fort. The road forked around it, so it would not seem strange to avoid it. We saw a few soldiers watch us pass. Alice and Anna were able to perceive that the rider had told them about us and our destination. I felt a trickle of power from Sloth.
"So they do not inform their superiors right away."
I thought that was good thinking. The soldiers kind of leaned on the wall and watched us go. Dawn cheeped a sour note and ruffled herself. I guess she didn't like the fort either.
We found shelter just as the sun was setting. It looked like a sheep shed or other animal shelter for bad weather. It had not seen any domestic animals for some time. When asked, I told everyone that I could sense Baaloc Prime, even nearly completely closed. I described it as a black mountain sitting in a stagnate swamp. I could nearly taste its darkness. My sisters also reported their feelings. Lisa and Sarah commented on the sickness and poison of the place. Alice and Anna spoke of the layers of personal and regional history piled upon each other like the Baaloc buildings, chaotic and disjointed. Gretta said very little sang in that place. If there were any real jewels, amulets, or the like, they were hidden beyond her senses. Callie reported on the weakness and fragility of both buildings and people. She could feel the magic holding up the buildings and the fear holding together the people.
Kendar asked, "Have any of you perceived how they explained Maalicus' defeat and death? We've already heard him called a martyr. Someone has spun a tale, apparently, that he sacrificed himself for the Baaloc faith. Yet, we witnessed him being abandoned by Tharinzar and that giant one when you girls began erasing the demon spell. Commander Baqdoll said he had been told of the Baaloc's victory. Cornwall was there, so maybe he is the spinner?"
"It is possible," Alice began, "that Tharinzar has marked Cornwall with the same spell as Maalicus."
"And, having grown up in Maalicus' shadow," Anna continued, "his thinking may be just as twisted, seeing things only as he wants to see them."
"Such a man would not wish to see his leader, his 'god', defeated so he has told everyone that Maalicus martyred himself to save the soldiers who were, actually, running away in fear," Sarah added.
"Plus, we have been told Cornwall is stricter than Maalicus was," Lisa commented, "which means he may be quicker to kill anyone who disagrees with him."
"To save their own hides," Gretta stated, "the soldiers have repeated their leader's account even though they know it is not true."
"Which adds to the chaos of all Baaloc towns, forts, and cities," Callie chimed in, "making the people more afraid and easier to herd and manipulate."
"Maalicus had already laid the foundation that the swords are minor gods in their powers. Cornwall may just be building on that foundation to control the people," I added.
Kendar and the elves just stared at us. Lurox looked at Kendar.
"Do they do that often? Watching one train of thought from seven mouths is a bit dizzying."
"More 'Sister Speak'. They don't do it often, but it must be witnessed to be believed."
We all began laughing. We didn't notice until afterwards that we were all following the same line of reasoning. At least we went to sleep on a light note.