Agnes Smith ĘTHELBAD'S LONDON 857 A.D. London .......... [Agnes] She smiles at Anfeald. "We are speaking the Latin that the Romans speak, which is slightly less formal than what the priests speak in church. You must forgive her, though, she gets very defensive about her language and culture, being so far away from it here." She waits for the ferryman, and then asks how much the passage will be, being prepared to haggle for the sake of it if necessary, especially as she doesn't want to be taken for a complete stranger. She does know how much it cost last time she was here. She supposes that finding a room in an inn would be a good idea as a first thing to do. Seeking out immortals in London could easily be left until after they had both rested. <><><><><> <> Negotiating passage across the river is easy, though Antonella is a disadvantage here, as she gives the impression of having more money than you do. The huntsmen part almost reluctantly -- certainly they would have liked to tarry longer with the two strange women they met on the road, but now they seem to have decided that you are out of their league. London looks little different than you remember it, except some buildings that you are pretty sure were here last time have been burned down -- some have been replaced, some have not. It seems less busy than it once was -- the constant Viking presence has reduced mercantile shipping to the continent. A little more wary of inns now after your experience in St. Alban's, you still find one that appears fairly well-frequented by travelers. It is rather more expensive than you hoped, though you talk the price down a bit. It's worth it to have a fairly safe place to sleep, though. Antonella is clearly more worn down than she wants to admit, having stayed up the entire previous night. She sits down and looks up at you wearily. "So, are there immortals here in London that you know of?" she asks. <><><><><> [Agnes] Lying back on the pallet, she replies, "Well, there were last time I was here. But, of course with the viking raids, who knows. I hope so. It would be good for you to get to meet others, in case anything should happen to me. There is also a garden where I want to turn over a few stones and see if some small pouches of coins are still there. I could do with recovering them, if we are to get you a sword." "Tomorrow we will look around and see what we can find in terms of immortals, my hoard, and," she adds with a smile, "my former husband's children." <><><><><> <> "Your former husband's children....?" Antonella looks at you curiously. But weariness is overtaking her, her eyelids are already drooping. She mumbles, "Do you think Dino has remarried?" and then nods off. It is but morning, so you and Antonella sleep through the day. You awaken before she does, since she had less sleep than you the night before. Then since it is late at night, and there is nothing you can do, you sleep some more; finally you both toss and stir restlessly until you awaken early in the morning. The sun is still a few hours away, and London is not a place to be wandering in the dark, any more than Rome, possibly less so. Antonella sighs and looks at you. "If we were men, we'd have no fear of walking the streets alone. I want you to teach me to fight soon, Agnes. I am tired of being subservient to or dependent upon men for my well-being!" Something more than mere frustration and boredom brings a fire to her eyes. She has matured a great deal, but she was always braver than she ought to be. Whatever harsh lessons she learned at Philip's hands, and however she feels about the time she spent as Ęthelbald's mistress, she has not learned to be truly afraid. <><><><><> [Agnes] "Of course, Antonella. I shall teach you what you want to know," she replies. "I would have thought that Philip had taught you enough to fight though?" she adds. "I am hardly a good fighter." She smiles, "Not a bad trader, but not really what you would call a swordswoman." "We'll spend today looking for Ęthelbad, and then work out when we can spend some time teaching and learning." <><><><><> <> "Philip?" Antonella says, with a touch of bitterness. "He said I was too fat and weak to fight. All the time I was his...'pupil'" she says the word with even more bitter irony, "he had me running, jumping, doing push-ups and sit-ups and endless calisthenics, until I dropped from exhaustion, and then he'd whip me until I got up again. He said I had to condition my body before I could learn to fight, and I had to learn to endure pain and fatigue." She starts brushing away tears from her eyes, but says "He wasn't being especially cruel to me -- that's how he trained men too. But they at least got some combat training early on. He said women weren't suited for fighting and it would take me years to be ready. Since we were both immortal, there was no hurry, he said." She sniffles and says "I couldn't take it any longer, so I told him to take my head or let me go. I thought he'd take my head, actually. But he just gave me a sword and told me to go." "I suppose he did make me stronger, and he did teach me to endure pain. But no, he never got around to teaching me how to fight. Maybe if I'd let him torment me for another few years, he would have." <><><><><> [Anges] "I'm sorry, Antonella. I didn't mean to open up old wounds." She goes over and gives her a hug. "And I am sorry that I have been so cavalier. I hadn't realised that Philip had given you _no_ training." Agnes looks shocked. "I mean, you are telling me that the training I gave you in Rome all those years ago was the last that you have had?" She wipes away Antonella's tears with her kerchief. "I would be pleased to teach you all I know, Antonella," she says with a smile and an embrace. She gets up and looks out he window at the dark. "I doubt that you will like London. At least not the bits I am going to take you to." She turns back to look at her. "I didn't. I don't see why you will." "But Ęthelbad is a good man. Maybe he might have a position I could take up. Then I can earn enough to get you a sword and some armour." She shrugs. "Or get you a fair price for whichever of the jewelry you can bear to part with. I do not really want to go north with the two of us with only one sword between us, and I would like to get you back in practice in using it before we go anywhere too." <><><><><> <> Antonella embraces you back. "I suppose we have no choice but to accumulate old wounds," she says. "I just hope I learn to hide them better." She nods. "Yes....I took out my sword and tried to practice with it now and then, but...." she blushes. "I wasn't very diligent about it. You saw how much dust it had accumulated when I took it out from under my bed." She looks unperturbed at your description of London. "If you mean there will be lots of rough men oggling us and forcing us to watch our backs, I had to endure enough of that in Sparta, and the ports I passed through on the way here..." she looks down. "I shall cope." "So Ęthelbad is another immortal? I think you mentioned him once." <><><><><> [Agnes] "I am assuming that Ęthelbad will still be here. I suppose that he might have moved on, or lost his head. But he didn't look like he was keen to do either last time I saw him. He's been here for a long time, it would seem." She smiles. "Time enough for training. We'll take it in easy stages." <><><><><> <> Eventually sunrise comes, and people begin emerging from their homes and shops. You and Antonella have breakfast, which you have to pay for separately, and then go looking for Ęthelbad. You remember the warehouses you once worked in, under his tutelage, but walking around the docks, you see no one familiar. You know of a few other places where he did business, in the seedier parts of town (not that you are in a good part now); for that matter, Peter told you that Ęthelbad owned large parts of London, and you never did learn just how much of the city was actually under his control. You weren't really privy to his plans or secrets, since he regarded you as little more than a fledgling. <><><><><> [Agnes] "I can't believe there is no-one in London," she says, quietly. "Let's try to do this systematically, and cover the whole city. There has to be someone. " With that, she starts to work out where they have been, and where they haven't. <><><><><> <> You and Antonella are forced to walk into darker and dirtier streets, farther from the port, and you become very conscious of the axe at your side. You see Antonella also keeping her hand on the hilt of the sword you gave her. You are near one of the many alehouses by the river, frequented by sailors and other itinerants, when you see a group of men emerging, talking loudly and walking unsteadily. This would be just another group to avoid, by shrinking back into the shadows as you've done several times today, but then you feel the Quickening. Antonella almost jumps and half draws her sword, before she pushes it back into its sheath and looks at you fearfully. <><><><><> [Agnes] She stays in the shadows, watching the group, trying to pick out which of them has suddenly become alert and watchful. Even if it isn't Ęthelbad, she reasons, they ought to know where he is. <><><><><> <> One of the men does look up too sharply, and then mumbles something to his friends. You can now pick him out as the only one who is carrying a sword. And he's also suddenly walking more steadily than his friends. He steps away from the doorway another few paces, and starts looking up and down the alley. He looks at the shadows where you and Antonella are hiding -- you don't know whether or not he can see your face peeking around the corner. But he begins walking cautiously in your direction, mumbling something to his friends that you can't hear. They follow him curiously -- one of them says "What's wrong?" loud enough for you to hear. <><><><><> [Agnes] The realty of it all brings clarity and decisiveness to her. She steps out of sight, gives Antonella the axe, and draws her sword from the scabbard with a 'swishhh' that sounds far too loud. "Stay here!" she whispers at her companion, and taking her shield in her other hand, steps round the corner. "Hello," she says to him, staring at him, and ignoring his companions. "I am looking for Ęthelbad." <><><><><> <> He steps back and draws his own sword as soon as you emerge. Then you see a surprised look cross his face, as he realizes you're a woman. Almost imperceptibly, he seems to lower his guard slightly, though he's too far away to take advantage of that fact even if you did want to attack him. He smiles slightly. "Really? Who is Ęthelbad and why are you looking for him?" The men behind him froze in their tracks when they saw swords come out, but now they are craning their heads around trying to get a better look at you. "She's pretty!" one says, and another catcalls. "Oy, sweetheart, I'm Ęthelbad! C'mere and give us a kiss!" <><><><><> [Agnes] "Ęthelbad looked after me when I was young," she replies, ignoring the man's friends. "He was in London last time I was here. He was always in London. It was as if he'd lived in London forever." "I just thought that I recognised you, and that you might have come across him. Perhaps I was mistaken." She keeps her sword ready, more as a precaution against the others than in the expectation of being attacked by the man she is talking to. <><><><><> <> "That's very touching," the other man says. "Now, if I should happen to know someone named Ęthelbad, who would I want to tell him is looking for him?" <><><><><> [Agnes] She was being mocked, so she held her tongue for a few moments, before answering. "You can tell him that Agnes Smith was looking for him." She holds back from losing her temper. "And your name is?" she asks politely. <><><><><> <> "I am Godfrey of Diera," he says. Which explains his familiar accent -- Diera is the southern half of Northumbria, making him almost a countryman of yours, if that is indeed his homeland. Diera and Bernicia are frequently at war, though, with one king or another trying to take control of all of Northumbria, so learning you are from Bernicia might or might not endear you to him. "Who's that with you?" he asks. Antonella is invisible in a nook behind you, but Godfrey can probably tell there is a third immortal nearby. <><><><><> [Agnes] She warms to him a little, as almost a compatriot after so long away. "That's Antonella, she's under my wing, so to speak." "You might as well come out, Antonella," she says in a raised voice for her to hear. Continuing her conversation with Godfrey, she asks, "Have you been in London long?" <><><><><> <> "Another woman?" Godfrey says in surprise, as Antonella steps uncertainly out of the shadows. The men behind him whistle appreciatively. "Godfrey can sniff women out!" one guffaws, and the others laugh. He turns and looks at them, and back at you. "We should talk somewhere else," he says. His companions boo and jeer at him for this. "Hey, we'd like to meet them too--" someone says, but he holds out his sword as a couple move forward. "Don't act like drunken asses," he says. "We _are_ drunken asses!" And more laughter. "I've been in London long enough," he says. "You'd best leave before someone gets hurt. I'll find you." <><><><><> [Agnes] "Antonella, this is Geoffrey," she says to her. "But now, as he says, we'd better go." With that she steps away from him, and then turns to walk back up the alley away from Geoffrey and his companions. As she turns the corner, she glances back to make sure that they aren't being followed. "Well, at least there is one other of us in London, " she says quietly to Antonella. "That should make finding out about Ęthelbad a bit more easy." "Do you want to keep looking around? Or should we just rely on Geoffrey's information?" <><><><><> <> "Godfrey!" he corrects you before you take your leave. Antonella too glances over her shoulder. "I don't know. Do you trust him? Do you think he knows Ęthelbad? I suppose he should if he's really been in London long." She stops and says "What if he's a hunter and he killed Ęthelbad?" <><><><><> [Agnes] "Sorry, Godfrey," she replies, blushing and obviously embarrassed at her slip. Agnes stops with Antonella, and turns to look back at Godfrey with her. "Well, Antonella. Whether he is or not, he knows we are here." She looks back at her and shrugs. "What would you have us do? Flee every time we meet someone, just in case they are a hunter? That is going to make us very jumpy, and not able to settle." She smiles, and continues, "Just like I started to get like in Rome actually, but then, Hunters are much more likely to visit Rome than they are London. No, this time I'll risk it. I want to find Ęthelbad, or what happened to him." She hands back the sword to Antonella, and picks up the axe, hooking it on her belt again. "Of course that isn't to say that fleeing like a startled rabbit is not a good idea." Memories of her actions in an inn in Saxony come back to her, and she wonders if Reynald was a hunter or not. She decides that he probably wasn't, for if he was he would probably have seen straight through her. "I have taken the fleeing option in my time. " She turns to continue their walk. "Let's see what else we find on this walk." <><><><><> <> "You're right, Agnes." Antonella looks embarrassed. "Here I am talking about learning to defend myself, and I'm acting like a coward. I thought I was so brave, once." She sighs. "What makes immortals hunt other immortals anyway? Philip told me there was some great Game and that supposedly, only one immortal will survive until Judgment Day. But that would mean all other immortals must kill each other off, even those who are friends, eventually. Do you believe that?" You walk on through the streets of London, gradually moving away from the rougher parts, though there's really nowhere in the city where it's safe for women to walk unawares. It's still a small, crude town, with no such thing as "neighborhoods" as they have in Rome, and not even as large as Winchester. For someone like Antonella, it must be crude and boring indeed; there is no art and no educated society here, except for what little exists in the churches. Compared to your village upbringing and the years you spent wandering from town to town, though, London is a moderately busy town with many opportunities for a merchant. But everywhere there is a general sense of anxiety, because the Vikings can strike at any time, and they frequently sack ports on both sides of the ocean. <><><><><> [Agnes] The tour over, Agnes leads her companion back towards the inn. "Well, Antonella, it's not much of a town in your eyes, i'm sure, but it was where I called home for a good number of years shortly after I became immortal." She gives a little laugh. "I suppose that I am just a little sentimental about places that I have stayed. I'm sure that it is no different from many of the other ports hereabouts, and much much smaller than you are used to." "Did I tell you that I have visited Cordoba? It is the greatest city that I have ever seen. Much bigger than Rome." She continues chatting as they head back to the inn, where she plans on a meal and a rest, given that they have been walking all day. ot having found Ęthelbad, her enthusiasm for staying has waned, but she decides to wait to meet Godfrey again. <><><><><> <> "I've heard of Cordoba. But in Greece they talk about Spain as if it were a land of bloodthirsty savages. Of course they don't talk about Britain much better." She laughs briefly. "If I hadn't been married to a Muslim myself, I'd believe all the same stories. And now here I am in the land of the Saxons. By Roman standards I'm quite the fallen woman." A pensive look comes over her. She also wants to eat and rest. The two of you do so at your inn, but just before nightfall, you feel the Quickening of another immortal. <><><><><> [missing messages] <><><><><> [Agnes] She goes over to the door, carrying one of the lanterns. She unbars the door and opens it. "Good evening," she says to the person on her threshold. <><><><><> <> "Good evening," says Godfrey. He's wearing a heavy cloak, and carrying a lantern. From long experience at being dressed similarly, you can make out the outlines of a sword and shield beneath his cloak, and sense more than actually hear the mail links sliding against one another as he moves. He gives you a sardonic smile. "If you want to meet Ęthelbad, come with me." <><><><><> [Agnes] "Very well, Godfrey." she replies, feeling a slight sense of dread. "But I must dress for him. He would give me a terribly hard time if I met him inappropriately dressed. I won't take that long." She gives him a small smile and walks over to her chain mail. "You know how mentors are," she says glancing back. "You are always their fledgling, no matter how long ago it was." She sets down her lantern, and picks up her mail, turning to face him. "Isn't that right, Antonella? Even if my tuition did get interrupted by Philip." The slight feeling of dread means that she knows that she is not going to leave the room until she is fully prepared for a fight. <><><><><> <> "Yes, certainly, put on your armor." Godfrey smirks at you, and winks at Antonella. "We wouldn't want to feel...insecure, now would we?" He shrugs and turns away, leaning against the doorframe. "Philip....haven't heard of him. Is that a name I'm supposed to be impressed by?" <><><><><> [Agnes] "I wasn't trying to impress. I was merely mentioning him," she retorts, whilst putting on her chainmail. "If I had wanted to impress I would have mentioned names like Kemal ibn-Hakim ibn-Daud al-Mudafi'a al-Suria Hajii, or like Techo. They are much more worthy of mention than Philip." Eventually, having dressed herself for a fight, and wearing the sword, she slips her coif through her belt, picks up her shield and declares "Ready." "Right, Godfrey, If you would be so kind as to take me and Antonella to meet Ęthelbad." <><><><><> <> "Don't know them either,"Godfrey retorts. "What kind of a name is Kemal ibbin-geemdoodle daffy..." he shakes his head. "Well, for someone as well-traveled as you, you sure seem nervous." He chuckles and turns around and walks towards the exit. He waits for you just outside, as evening falls on the city streets. <><><><><> [Agnes] "Nervousness is good for me, Godfrey. It stops me making silly mistakes and getting into situations that turn out to be bad." She follows him towards the exit. She thinks of the time she was abducted as she walked through a door, and unconsciously she moves her hand to rest on her belt, by her dagger. "Sometimes I ought to have been more nervous than I was." As they walk towards the external door she keeps an eye and ear out for the unexpected. She doesn't know why, but her discomfort with Godfrey has remained, and she is suspicious of being attacked anytime from the threshold to wherever they are going. <><><><><> <> Nobody attacks you outside the inn. Godfrey just chuckles again. "Well, you probably won't like where we're going, then. Ęthelbad is a nervous sort himself -- or cautious might be a better word. Seems he's worried about the Viking immortals who accompany the raiders on their visits to Britain, particularly when they visit London." He walks on through the streets, approaching the short, half-crumbled wall that faces one section of the river. You're not familiar with this part of London, but it looks like one of many parts that were built over old Roman foundations. There are more recent structures cobbled together around older stone ruins, and a few ancient buildings still being used, but it's a good place to get lost in...or plan an ambush. <><><><><> [Agnes] She relaxes a little, despite the surroundings. She knows that she is as ready as she can be, and that she has got too jumpy by far. SHe still watches corners as they approach them, and glances down alleys as they pass though. "If it is some sort of den of ill repute, then I am used to seeing Ęthelbad in them." She gives a small smile, "and it will be educational for Antonella." <><><><><> <> "Den, indeed," Godfrey chuckles again. He heads for a dark hole in a wall -- literally. It looks like the opening into a sewer, except London doesn't have sewers like Rome. So more likely it's what was once an occupied level of structures, now abandoned by all except the rats and whoever else is temerous enough to live in dark, built-over ruins. It might stay at ground level, or it might descend, for all you know -- you really have no idea what Roman London was like and what's been built around it since. <><><><><> [Agnes] She baulks. Going down a black tunnel to meet some subterranean terror is too much. "Godfrey. I am not going in there," she tells him firmly. She feels the cold sweat on her back, the churning in her stomach. "You'll have to get Ęthelbad to come out to meet me here. You can laugh if you like, but I am not going in." Already her mind is starting to imagine all manner of ghouls and trolls that could be lurking in there. <><><><><> <> He turns around and looks at you, then gestures at the surrounding neighborhood. "Woman, if I was planning some sort of ambush for you, I could do it here. Do you think I'd rather fight you in some dark tunnel?" Noting your pale expression, he glances back over his shoulder at the darkness and grins. "Are you afraid of the dark? Well, I hate to tell you this, but I'm not sure Ęthelbad _can_ come out." <><><><><> [Agnes] "I will try to go on, Godfrey. But I don't do very well in places like this." She grits her teeth, unaware that her hand is already holding the hilt of her sword so hard that her knuckles are white. She steps forward, and will the words to come out of her mouth, "Let's go on then." <><><><><> <> Antonella takes your other hand, the one not clenching your sword hilt, and walks with you down into the dark hole. You smell dust, old mildew, and rat droppings, and hear the dripping of water, and a low breeze echoing from the warren ahead/below. Within a few steps, Godfrey has become an almost invisible shadow ahead of you. You aren't really descending very steeply, just going down a pair of steps now and then, but as you leave the entrance behind you, it _feels_ like you are descending deep into the earth. And Godfrey doesn't light a torch; he seems to know the way, and walls press against you from either side, so at least for this part of the journey, there's not much chance of getting lost. After what can't have been as far as you think, you hear more echoes ahead, indicating that there must be a larger space. You see light just before emerging into a small cavern, or room...it seems to be both, as there is stonework lining the walls, but the floor and much of the walls and ceiling are just crumbling dirt. This may once have been a cellar or some other pit dug by the Romans for God-knows-what purpose. Now you see several bales stacked up along the walls, and pots and caskets and a whole line of metal and wooden shields. There are ragged men here too, and a couple who look less ragged and are wearing short swords. The ragged men are carrying things here and there -- this place looks like an odd sort of storehouse. They seem to know Godfrey, the armed men acknowledging him with nods, but all the other men stare at you and Antonella. There is no sign of Ęthelbad, but many more dark holes in the walls, giving any number of unpleasant directions Godfrey could lead you next. <><><><><> [Agnes] She squeezes Antonella's hand, glad for its comforting presence, and follows Godfrey into the dark. She feels the hand of ever present terror on her shoulder, and its grip gets tighter as she descends into the darkness. She can feel the cold sweat on her forehead, and running down her back. The terror almost becomes panic and terror when she realises that there are things in the darkness, moving about. Her grip on her sword is like iron, and it is only when she realises what she is doing that she eases off on her grip on Antonella. Terror only eases its grip on her once she realises that the shapes in the dark are indeed human. But of course it does not retreat too far - there is no telling what horrors might lie behind the bales or in the dark passages in the gloom. She follows Godfrey in silence - afraid to speak. <><><><><> <> Godfrey does not seem perturbed by the darkness, although you're reassured that he's not quite as surefooted as he tries to appear -- you hear him slip and almost fall down, cursing as he regains his balance. It really isn't that far that you've descended. Suddenly you feel an increase in the tension around you, and realize it's the Quickening of another immortal. By the time you reenter another chamber lit by torchlight, your face is glistening with a sheen of sweat. Antonella looks around curiously, and a little fearfully....but certainly not as fearfully as you. This chamber is more of a cavern than a room, and you can hear dripping everywhere. Not far off is the sound of rushing water, from some underground stream. "Rome has vast labyrinths of underground tunnels and rivers beneath it, or so I've heard," Antonella murmurs. "Aye, well I don' know if the vastness of these tunnels can compare with those of Rome, but they're big enough t' get lost in, little girl." The second voice is a low, harsh sound, almost a growl. It is familiar, but still different than you remember. It takes a moment to focus your eyes on the huge bulk that emerges from the darkness of one such tunnel. It is Ęthelbad, but the ancient Gaul is even more incredibly obese than when last you saw him. He is a veritable mountain of flesh waddling his way towards you. Antonella visibly shrinks back in disgust. The elder immortal just smiles hugely. "Agnes," he rasps. "T'be honest, I didn't think't too likely I'd see you again." <><><><><> [Agnes] Despite the weight he has put on, Agnes is pleased to see Ęthelbad again, and steps forward to greet him. Maybe it is just the relief from it being him and not someone or something else - whatever, she feels a load lift when she recognises him. "Ęthelbad! I am pleased to see you." She smiles and embraces him. "Even if you didn't think I'd be back." She releases him and regards him. "And why didn't you think you would see me again?" She gestures at his surroundings, and asks sternly, "And why are you living down here, when you used to own most of London?" "Oh, how rude of me," she says turning and looking back. "Ęthelbad, I would like you to meet Antonella, a good friend of mine. Antonella, this is Ęthelbad, who was my mentor, after Peter left me. I suppose much like I am yours after you left Philip." <><><><><> <> Antonella does not look like she can ignore Ęthelbad's grotesque appearance so easily, but she assays a smile and tries to be polite. The huge man snorts down at you. "Well, no offense, but you just didn't seem like a survivor," he mumbles, to which Godfrey chuckles. "She's certainly wary enough," he says. "Though I've never met a woman who could fight, though Ęthelbad tells me there are some." "I still own most of London, lass," the older immortal rumbles. "I just run it from down here, now. The Romans built these tunnels to hide from the Celts, and now I use 'em as shelter from the Vikings." "You're hiding from the Vikings?" Antonella asks in surprise. "But the Vikings haven't attacked London in years, have they?" "Just how long has she been one of us, anyway?" Ęthelbad asks, ignoring her question. "Did you say her mentor was named Philip?" <><><><><> [Agnes] She ponders and decides that she can't really remember. "Philip was living in Greece," she tells Ęthelbad, "and he visited Rome one time, discovering Antonella and taking her back with him." She looks to Antonella. "How long is it, Antonella? We must have known each other, what? 15 years? And how long ago did you die your first death? 10 years ago?" She looks back to the two men. "And before you ask, she hasn't taken any heads." <><><><><> <> Antonella purses her lips. "The raid on Rome was....846 in the year of Our Lord, was it not? So that would be, what, eleven years?" You notice her fingers wiggling slightly as she counts them out quickly and silently, trying to do so unnoticed. "And it was eight years ago that Philip...killed me." "Your mentor killed you? Gave you your first death, I mean? That is unusual," Godfrey remarks. "Not so unusual," Ęthelbad rumbles. "And Philip, an' he's the one I'm thinkin' of, is a rough one." "He is," Antonella confirms. "He's killed many men, mortal and immortal. He does it easily." "So what brings the two of you back to London?" Ęthelbad asks. "Just to visit old Ęthelbad?" He chuckles hoarsely, while Godfrey sidles up to Antonella, on her other side from you. "Could it be you're looking for a protector, possibly one less rough?" he asks. Then frowns when Antonella bursts into laughter. You can understand her bemusement -- Godfrey doesn't seem too impressive when you've been in the company of Kemal ibn-Hakim, Techo, and Philip. But the male ego doesn't take well to being laughed at when in the midst of trying to court a woman's favor, and the Dieran's expression is quickly darkening. <><><><><> [Agnes] "Actually, yes, Ęthelbad," she replies to him with a smile. "I came to see how you were, and to introduce Antonella to you, in case she were to meet you in the future." "She came to Britain, following me - because that was where I said I was going when I last saw her." She shrugs, and then continues with her tale to Ęthelbad, for it is for him that she is speaking - "I got sidetracked into Spain. Anyway, she came here, looking for me, and eventually I tracked her down. Having got as far as Winchester before I caught up with her, I thought I'd look you up before deciding whether I was going to visit Canterbury to see the other King of Wessex, or visit Lindesfarne, and say a prayer for Peter's soul." She turns to Godfrey. "You are welcome to come along Godfrey - it might make travelling easier. But we are certainly not looking for a 'protector' as you put it. If we'd wanted to hide under a wing, we'd have stayed in Africa." "I thought that I would probably do both though. <><><><><> <> Godfrey tries to master his composure, managing to look a bit sour but calm. "Well, I'm sure you're used to travelling alone and can take care of yourself, then. No fear of bandits or Vikings have you." And more quietly, he mutters "Just rats and darkness..." "It be good to see you, lass," Ęthelbad says gruffly. "Now, Godfrey 'ere may be a struttin' cockerel, but don't dismiss the danger so lightly. These are hard times in Britain, I've rarely seen harder in my centuries here. And hard times breed hard men." "So why would you be visiting the other King of Wessex?" he asks curiously. <><><><><> [Agnes] She blushes in the gloom at Godfrey's comment, and quietly wishes that she could be as brave in the dark where the trolls might lurk as she was in the day. She bites her tongue and holds back her angry retort, knowing that the adrenaline from her fear was still there, and that it was that that was affecting her judgement. She looks back to Ęthelbad. "We both met the other King of Wessex when we were in Rome, and he came on pilgrimage with his family - all apart from the son that eventually usurped him." She smiles and blushes in embarrassment rather than anger this time. "I doubt that I will get to talk with royalty again for a long time. I just thought that take this opportunity to do so." She shrugs. "Maybe when I am old as you, Ęthelbad, I will have forgotten that I am a blacksmith's daughter, and meeting royalty won't be so awe-inspiring... " She gets distracted in her own thoughts for a few moments, and then adds, "Is there something I can do for you in Canterbury? Any connections to meet, goods to collect?" "Do you want to come with us to see some of the country, Godfrey?" "St Alban's?" asks Antonella. "St Alban's?" replies Agnes. "Oh... St Alban's. We promised the abbot that we'd take some messages north with us as we passed through on our way to York and beyond." She turns to look at Antonella, "I can't remember. Did we promise them a date? I seem to remember that we implied we'd be back there within the month." <><><><><> <> Antonella nods in vague affirmation -- given the irregularity and hazard of inter-city travel, no one would expect a volunteer messenger to keep a more precise appointment than that. Godfrey looks as if he's debating whether to accept or refuse your answer, while Ęthelbad replies "Harrumph. Well, an' yer goin' to Canterbury, probably there's some trade I can cut ye in on...." You and Ęthelbad proceed to discuss the erratic boom-and-bust Wessex economy. Being lucky enough to have the goods someone wants and nobody else has at the right place at the right time can net a fortunate merchant more than the average townsman will see in a year....on the other hand, many merchants are starving nowadays. The Vikings have not been good for trade, except for those with whom _they_ trade. Antonella shows little interest in listening to your discussions of portable goods and how much Canterbury wool one might be able to obtain for a barrel of London fish, so you notice her and Godfrey talking, off to one side. Ęthelbad is clearly sitting on top of a massive fortune, and yet it's also apparent that he's trapped here in the dark by fears greater, perhaps, than those that almost kept you at bay. Can the Viking immortals really be that fearsome, or is such excessive fear for one's head just another possible consequence of having been attached to it for so long? <><><><><> [Agnes] She talks with Ęthelbad about trade and wares, what they might take to Canterbury and how things differ from when she was last in London. And then she asks quietly, not wishing to bring the others into the conversation, "Why do you stay here, Ęthelbad?" She indicates the gloomy darkness around them. Why stay here when you could be outside somewhere? I am sure you could pay for a small army to keep away the vikings, or one to escort you to somewhere where the vikings are not - like Granada." She remembers the muslim immortal attitude to infidels and quickly adds, "Well, maybe not quite as far as Granada, Bordeaux maybe."