Arrow of Heaven part IV

by Dandelion

Dear Lucerne,

Vodacce is crazy. Their architecture is designed to make everyone feel better about home.

Dionna is like a child let loose with a million building blocks; each the size of a room. Then the cat is loosed with a million giant balls of yarn. Then the lower level is flooded. The result is a chaotic mixture of tall buildings with bridges running everywhere made from everything from string to stone. I rejoin the party.

We find the university. It has a plaza with a rope bridge crossing at the highest level. The book in Thean is delivered. From the translated notes in Vodaccean it seemed to deal with prisms, colours and light. We meet Madeleine Du Bisset again. She wants us to find Reggie. She wants us not to cause any trouble. She wants to sort out things so she can escape back to Freiburg. I offer her a bottle of wine and mouth the usual hollow contrite promises. Of course I am still a little bit in awe of her.

Vodacce is crazy. They greet friends with a four finger sandwich and if they really appreciate you may end up unconscious.

We leave and look for lodgings. On the way we hear trouble up above. A figure plunges several stories into a canal. Franz plunges in and retrieves a small woman. Her veil was askew and she seemed about 17. My name is Lucrezia Biancastra "thanks". A gang of men then burst from the door. The leader strikes me in the face screaming "what have you done to my wife?" . He then slaps her. The other six then lay into us.

I have blows rained on me. I instinctively draw my sword but I am reeling from the attacks. Eduarde is busy tagging drawstrings. Eventually we beat them off or beat them unconscious. We continue on to our lodgings.

After dinner we have an unexpected visitor. A large grim man with a scar down the right side of his face. He delivers an "invitation to eat breakfast" at the cafe scampi with his boss Signor Caligari. He stresses that this is neutral ground and that it concerns Reggie.

We accept. The implicit threats leave us somewhat concerned. I write and send a note to Madeleine and leave a sealed letter to be delivered to the Villanova family if we don't return. We go and are greeted by our "host" tucking into his food. He wants to know what we know if anything. As we know little we only divulge what he already knows. As he is getting irate he slumps forward with blood trickling from his mouth.

Vodacce is crazy. They say that in the game of cat and mouse here that the cheese is poisoned, the mouse knows the dog next door and the cat is only a puppet whose strings are pulled by who knows who.

The other diners are completely unconcerned as a man clothed in black leather swaggers forward 20 paces. He topples the corpse onto the ground and starts eating the food. He explains it is too good to waste. He tells us that the dead man is Antonio Caligari and that he was going to poison our food. The bribed cook was eating it now helped by the Villanova men. Our newcomer introduced himself as Giovanni Villanova and he preferred speaking in private. The other diners all put down their menus and left. He explained that the dead man had trespassed. He was interested in what the Caligari's are up to. We explain that they are interested in Reggie. He says that Reggie had taken ship and passed through the Bernoulli lands on the continent. He is pursued by Alfredo Caligari. They are heading to the swamps of north-eastern vodacce. In a relatively candid way Giovanni explains that we will see that Alfredo doesn't leave the swamps alive. The Villanova's will help us get there. His private yacht the "Laughing Eel" will leave shortly.

Vodacce is crazy. In the next weeks we discover that their sailors are polite and their women cross-dress even if pregnant!

We collect our things reclaim the unopened note and get to the ship. We receive a note of thanks from Fausto Biancastro with an old republic gold coin attached. The prince's private surgeon saw to our wounds with consumate ease. The trip to porto passia? was swift. The ghost Don Garcia made his presence felt. His land lay to the north of San Juan. He died about 5 years after the armada was defeated. Franz was his usual shipboard self. The crew are unnaturally civil.

We outfit for our continued journey and accept the horses suggested (by the Villanova's man). We make good progress in the next three days. As we are ascend a hill we see a coach and six approaching from our right. It halts at the crossroads waiting for us. We approach and I dismount and help a most beautiful lady alight. There are two others inside dressed as fate witches one obviously pregnant. They seek our aid from some pursuing brigands. Bernadette Sofia suggests that we trade clothes and transport. She sweetens the deal with smiles and 100 republics. She promises that this will not offend the Villanova's. Only our man of steel Franz is unmoved. Brownbeard trades with the coachman whose place he takes. Eduarde and myself change into our spare clothing. Ambrose produces an extra set from my cast-offs and older clothes. Bernadette seals the deal with a kiss. What a woman!!! She assures us that Sofia's daughters are in our debt. We get into the coach and proceed to the north-east. The next day we are hailed by a man dressed as a farmer. Once we are stationary a burning torch is thrown on the carriage. Then 6 brigands attack with muskets. Franz and Eduarde jump out as Brownbeard and Ambrose put out the flames. Franz kicks the kneeling man. The brigands flee. We leave their stooge unconscious by the side of the road and proceed.

Dandelion.