The brothers barrelled down the dark forrest road from Woodbridge to Sarsbourg town. As Jenny drove along the muddy roads the brothers debated how they'd handle the situation. Alden wanted Brother Godfrey to take his gun in case there was a fight, Godfrey insisted that if they handle the problem diplomatically and that handing him a gun was a commitment to violence. As the Autowagon rounded a curve in the road there was another Autowagon stopped in the middle of the road with a bunch of men standing around in the road. Jenny slammed on the break and their autowagon begin to skid in the wet mud, Alden and Godfrey held on tightly as their vehicle skidded towards the one if the road. The men raised rifles and shot at Jenny's cab, blowing out windows, putting a hole in the engine and shooting Jenny in the chest. Alden and Godfrey felt the break slip just a second before their Autowagon plowed into the one int he middle of the road.
Godfrey shook off his daze first. He could hear shouting around him but there was a ringing in his ears. Had had been riding in the bed of the autowagon but not found himself face-first in the cab, broken glass and tossed cargo dumped on top of him. He pulled himself back into the bed and looked around to see a hironem pointing a rifle at him, but not a hironem, a man wearing a hironem mask. Alden shook off the shock of the crash and could also hear shouting and the armed man shouting at his brother. He could see Jenny's bloody form slumped over the wheel. He kicked the door open with his enhanced strength, his sudden movement prompting one of the attackers to shoot him stingily in the back of his armorplast corselate. After swearing under his breath he lurched from the wrecked autowagon to find another masked man pointing a rifle at him "Stay where you are, don't come any closer."
As Alden got his bearings he could see a total of three of out of the five men from before and one of them seemed to be tugging something or someone out from under the tangled wreck of the autowagons. He raised his hands and explained calmly "Look, lets lower these guns and see to the wounded." The disguised man gestured with his gun "Sit your ass down, you're not giving the orders here.." Brother Godfrey explained "Hey I'm going to see to our friend, if you shoot me you shoot me" and he turned his back on the masked men to check on Jenny Sparks, however with only a cursory examination it was clear she had died in the crash. Alden, growing more stressed as his brother became flippant with an armed assailant raised his voice and stared his masked man down "I am Alden Hendle VanGelder, Knight of the Blue Glove. You will lower your rifle this instant." The Masked man took a step back from Alden and lowered his rifle into the crook of his arm "What you are is out manned and outgunned.. I'm not asking again. Sit.." Brother Godfrey took a controlling breath and begin to chant the Rite of Shielding. The men with rifles didn't notice the Brother's theurgy but the third man hauling one of the other soldiers out from under the autowagons looked up at Godfrey with wide eyes. Alden slumped back into the passenger's seat and sulked, asking his captor "Who are you people and what are you doing here.." while his hand reached back into the rubbish in the cab, fishing around for his shotgun. The masked man chuckled at Alden and said "We're the NLO.." his tone making it clear he was mocking them then he called out to the masked man hauling bodies out of the wreckage "Is Sergey ok?" Godfrey turned and raised his hands to the armed men "It would go faster if I helped you. I know first aid.." The masked woman who was pulling Sergei's body out from under the wreckage called back "I don't think he's breathing.. I think they killed him.." and the soldier guarding Godfrey moved to help her. Godfrey walked towards the masked men with his hands still raised "look, I'm a priest, I can help.."
While the armed masked men were focused on Brother Godfrey Alden pulled his shotgun out of the cab and while partially covered by the body of the autowagon he leveled it at the man who was guarding him "Drop your weapons now!". Caught completely off guard, the last soldier still carrying a gun blinked in shock and slowly leaned his rifle against the wrecked autowagon. Godfrey leaned down and snatched the other guard's rifle from where he had set it down. Alden stepped out of the vehicle once more and braced himself "Down on your kneels, hands behind your neck." The Guard hesitated, glancing at his weapon for a moment before reaching for it. BOOM the shotgun ripped chunks of meat out of the guard's thigh and he fell down away from his weapon, tumbling down the hillside beside the road crying "I am shot!". Alden turned and stared down the men who were trying to dislodge Sergei's body and they raised their hands in surrender, then he walked down the hill carefully to collect his prisoner.
By the time the ringing from the shotgun blast cleared their ears the masked soldiers who were trying to free their friend pulled him free and ran for the woodline. Brother Godfrey noticed them running but didn't see them as a danger and didn't want anyone else hurt so he said nothing and began searching the other vehicle for supplies. While walking around the wreck of their vehicle he noticed an alien word was being painted on the rocky ridge next to the treeline. Down in the ditch beside the cattle field the soldier bleeding from the wound had taken a much more agreeable tone and explained that he and his men are militia for Baron Andre Democlav Decados of Harden Peak and they were in Sarsbourg on orders to shoot some of Lord Braam's cattle posing as NLO.
Both Brother Godfrey and Alden could hear approaching hoof falls in the dark and they searched the dark road until they saw an armored figure riding closer, once they were in sight Godfrey recognized heraldry on their shield as the Knights of Lexitus and flagged them down. The Knight rode closer holding a laser pistol "I am Lady Miren of the Swords of Lexitus. I heard the gunfire, are you in need of assistance.." Alden introduced himself and explained the whole story from Woodbridge to the the knight's arrival. She seemed unsure of the story but holstered her weapon and dismounted, climbing down to speak to the wounded soldier who had by now been unmasked. When Lady Miren interrogated the wounded soldier his story changed quite a bit, now claiming that they were just lost on the road when the brothers roared out of the knight and rammed their vehicle and shot him. It's unclear if Lady Miren could see through his lies or just put more faith in a fellow knight's word but she responded rather icily "I have encountered these men on the road, it is unclear to me if you have survived this accident or not, your willingness to be more helpful could mean the difference of seeing the Pancreator's light once more or passing in the darkness..". The soldier quickly changed his story and agreed with Alden's account of things.
Brother Godfrey found a squawker in the wreckage and brought it to Alden before seeing to the soldier's crippled leg. Alden was able to reach Lord Braam's manor and spoke with a panicked Lord Braan who was sure assasins were storming his manor. After some calming down the lord agreed to send soldiers with a cart to pick up them and their prisoner. Lady Miren remained to offer them protection from the soldiers that "escaped" into the wood. As they waited Alden chatted with Lady Miren and found that she was in Sarsbourg on Church Business and when asked what that business was she replied with a smug smile and said "Not your business..". Near to sunrise men arrived in a cart to drive Godfrey and Alden and their prisoner back to the manor along with the body of Jenny Sparks.
The arrived inside the walls of Sarsbourg Mannor to find Lord Braam wringing his hands and anxiously waiting for news of the battle. When he discovered the fight was small and only involved a handful of saboteurs he was convinced it was part of a larger invasion. He sent his knight Fenton out along with a number of soldiers to track and return the escapees, heavily intimating that if his knight couldn't return the other saboteurs there might not be a position for him in the running of the wolves, but he was notably less concerned about his people in the town of woodbridge. Braam heralded Alden and Brother Godfrey as heroes and told his staff to treat them as honored guests. The brothers were shown to his guest suites and a Physic was fetched to see to their wounds, had a hot bath and a warm meal. Through the night it became clear that Lord Braam does very well for himself, his home was opulent even by VanGelder standards. It seems there's good money in harvesting honey.
Through the next two days the brothers rested and recovered. Brother Godfrey gave Jenny her Last Rites and prepared her body for burial. Alden discovered that the escaped saboteurs and the wrecked autowagons were fetched and brought back to the manor. The brothers learned about an attack on a roadside Orthodoxy Temple in Snopa Pass. Alden sent word of the attack to Baroness Eldana and Godfrey notified the Cathedral. Lord Braam's hospitality began to shrink the longer they stayed and failed to support him in his rage against the offense against his feifdom. Late the second night Sir Magnus arrived with an Engineer and boxes of parts to try to resurrect Jenny's Autowagon and give them a ride back to Sokol City.
Back in the city Brother Godfrey returned to the Cathedral and spoke with Deacon Bryant hoping to learn more about the attack on the roadside temple but nobody in the Cathedral seemed better informed than the guards at Lord Braam's. However since he returned the Deacon roped Brother Godfrey into organizing decoration for the impending Bier Veiring. With just nine days to go Godfrey recruited as many initiates as he could and began crafting street decorations and a booth for the celebration. At the end of the day Brother Godfrey was handed a summons to for himself and his brother to speak with the Bishop in her chambers. By the time he reached her offices they were dark for the night. He thought for certain that he some movement down the dark hallway to her office but upon investigation there was nobody there.
Alden wasn't feeling so bold so he rested for most of the day and swung by the Reeve's to arrange to see rental properties around the city. Later he called on Silvia Romonov Decados at her home. Silvia seemed to be in a bad mood, chastising Alden for arriving unannounced, but eventually relenting to his request to have dinner the following night. He returned home to find the order had had Jenny Sparks's Autowagon towed to his cousin's townhouse. As he came in his brother was putting young Emily to bed. The two talked about the summons and agreed to meet at the Cathedral the following afternoon before Godfrey returns to his little shared cell at the Cathedral.
The next day found Alden up with the dawn looking to purchase a nice bottle of wine for dinner, then on to his appointment with the Reeve. He met Agent Huchens who had an autocoach waiting to drive him around to a few different locations. Alden wanted something simply but spacious like a factory or warehouse. After seeing a few locations outside of the city he decided on an old old garage in the Waterfront district that had a cluttered apartment loft. He signed paperwork and hurried to meet with his brother.
Brother Godfrey grew more irritable the later his brother was for their meeting with the Bishop. Finally he excused himself and started searching around the Cathedral until he ran into Alden arriving through the Cathedral Main. They hurried to the sacrosanct and were told to wait outside of the Bishop's office. Bishop D'arch stepped out, dismissing a pair of Reeve's and waived in the Brothers and a tailor who had been waiting along with a pair of her Knights. She thanked Alden for attending her request and proceeded with rapid fire questions about the events in Sarsbourg while being measured by the tailor. Gradually her questions became more pointed, wanting to know why they felt the need to intercede in the matter, wanting to know if Lord Braam had offered them compensation to stay. Alden grew more angry, spitting out answers to her questions with a clenched jaw until the Bishop stared him down and took on a scolding tone "Look, I have very detailed plans for reforming this Dioces that involve every facet of the politics of both noble houses. If you had come to me to let me know of trouble in Sarsbourg there would have been some damage but no violent conflict, I would have brought Braam and Andre to the table and forged and understanding in the light of the Pancreator. Now there are dead soldiers and hostages, what was meant to be a prank has turned into a pretense of war, because of your actions.." Alden chafed and stood, angrily excusing himself and storming out. The Bishop waved her knights away from attempting to stop him and allowed him to go. She dismissed her tailor and sunk into her seat, her good nature returning as she spoke with Brother Godfrey "Please apologize to your brother. I do see value in his virtuousness, it was just poorly timed. I can't have you both running roughshod over Sokol valley but perhaps there's something you can do to help.." She told Godfrey about a location in outer Elibyrge, a second republic ruin where commoners were getting their hands on dangerous technology, nanotechnology. She expressed concern but she has no authority in the Arch Diocese of the Duchess. She knows a Muster who will help who is knowledgeable in demolitions and she wants Godfrey and his brother to go to this ruin and seal it's entrance so that it won't be a problem to her parishioners. Godfrey eagerly agreed but first secured permission to keep any non-heretical technologies found in the ruins.
Alden waited for a moment, pacing and furious but then decided he didn't want to face his brother in this mood. He stormed out of the Sacrosanct and walked the streets in the late afternoon for a time before going retrieving the wine he bought and going to his dinner with Lady Sylvia. Things went smoothly until she rather honestly disclosed that Alden wasn't necessarily the only man she had romantic interests in. It didn't necessarily kill his appetite for dangerous blondes. At the end of their rendezvous she apologetically told Alden that she needed to get up early the next morning and he'd have to skedaddle.
When Alden returned to his Cousin's townhouse he found Brother Godfrey waiting. Godfrey pleaded the Bishop's case and explained about the mission to shut down the source of the nanotech. Together they speculated about the motive of a hypothetical technophile who would distribute proscribed technology and who might benefit from the distribution. Soon they began plotting for how to accomplish the mission. Soon it was clear that they would be going on this mission.
The following morning Godfrey felt like he had a strong command of his initiates, sending them on errands and driving them like a field boss. Alden slept in a big and went do deal with a Scraver who runs a local redemption shop to get Jenny's rig repaired and running good. The price ended up being a bit more than he expected but then the crash had pounded the tar out of it. Godfrey had just been congratulating his mastery of leadership when he was told a hironem was waiting in the yard to meet him in the rectory yard. When he went outside there was a tall lanky alien wearing Muster livery and a synth vest. As he drew closer the hironem spoke with him.
"You the priest?"
"I'm -a- clergyman.."
"Don't get wise.. are you the man on the Bishop's plan?"
"Ah.. yes, my brother and I."
"Your Brother's the VanGelder?"
"Yes.. You're the Muster?"
"One and only," glancing about "I came to find out how much of the stuff we need."
"Stuff? I'm afraid I don't follow.."
"The stuff, the tear-down, the problem solver.."
"I still don't/"
"How much blasting clay do I need to cook?"
"Oh.. oh..."
"I've got about 140, if I have time to set my next batch I could almost double that.."
"Wow.. that seems like a lot.."
"Well I don't expect this ruin to lay down on it's own.."
"No.. I think that's smart, we'll make time to finish your batch.. I'm sorry, what's your name?"
"I'm Uzilo, Private.."
"I'm Godfrey and we'll have to introduce you to my brother later.."
"He doesn't know I'm an alien?"
"My brother's not like that, it won't be a problem.."
"But nobody told him?"
"Perhaps I should talk with him before you meet.."
"Yeah, perhaps.."
Godfrey returned to the preparations for Beir Viering now just 7 days away but the work almost done. Later he went to visit his brother and told him about the hironem Demolitionist and suddenly Alden was filled with dread "We're being sent on a mission into the Duchess's lands to blow up a building with someone that's probably aligned with the NLO? Have we become the terrorists?" Brother Godfrey calmed him down and assured him that they would look at the problem objectively and they would be guided by his faith and his Alden's keen mind. The agreed then that they would wait for the Uzilo to finish making his explosives and they would set out the morning after next.
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