Campaign: Facets

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by evileeyore

You're juggling what, three, four different past histories in your head? I'm surprised it hasn't blown a fuse already.

Yeah, and the fact that the 1712 world is one of the primary Cabal worlds doesn't help, because that's where a bunch of the hidden history took place.

The (now) 2016 world has only had Cabal activity for a few centuries, as far as the players know.

[SionEwig]

Originally Posted by evileeyore

You're juggling what, three, four different past histories in your head? I'm surprised it hasn't blown a fuse already.

I agree with this. You are doing a fantastic job.

[tshiggins]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone.

We had the latest session, Saturday, and I expected a bit of the old ultra-violence, but instead had to settle for tension that just kept ratcheting up.

Next time, there will be blood.

Oh, yes. There will.

[SionEwig]

Originally Posted by tshiggins

Thanks for the kind words, everyone.

We had the latest session, Saturday, and I expected a bit of the old ultra-violence, but instead had to settle for tension that just kept ratcheting up.

Next time, there will be blood.

Oh, yes. There will.

Yeah, I knew that it could last only so long. ;-)

[303Radar]

Having played Sunday morning and watching my character Steve take about the least amount of damage, I can't wait to read the write up! The melee write up should be good some good reading. To paraphrase General Maximus Decimus Meridius, you should be entertained!

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by 303Radar

Having played Sunday morning and watching my character Steve take about the least amount of damage, I can't wait to read the write up! The melee write up should be good some good reading. To paraphrase General Maximus Decimus Meridius, you should be entertained!

Yep. I'll get the previous session notes corrected and added to this thread, later tonight, and then start Sunday's, tomorrow.

Fortunately, even long combats (and that was a long combat, as well as a bloody one...) make for short write-ups.

[tshiggins]

As promised, here are the session notes from three weeks ago. We played again, on Sunday, so I'll start working on those, straight away.

##

Characters Present

Dr. Henrietta "Indiana" Johnson -- A personable, age 29-and-holding Anthropologist who specializes in the pre-Columbian indigenous people of the American Desert Southwest. A Native of Apache Junction, AZ, "Indiana" is good with people and has been fascinated by American Indian religion and folklore since she was a child. Henrietta speaks Apache fluently, and not-so-secretly wishes archaeology could be more like Raiders of the Lost Ark and less like digging in a trench with a trowel and a toothbrush -- Played by Debbie S.

Dr. Arthur "A.J." Jamison -- a retired NASA scientist with a home in one of Moab's nicer canyon sub-developments, who volunteers for 4CSAR because he needs to do something to get out of the house. -- Played by Anten S.

Aurelia R. Lockrin -- A young woman with a shady past who teaches History at Grand County High School (Home of the Red Devils!), and volunteers for 4CSAR because she's a bit of an adrenalin junkie, and likes the companionship. -- played by Bennie Rae P. (Not available this time)

Dr. Belody "Doc" Bascher -- a local veterinarian for both large and small animals, who frequently fixates on her job and uses 4CSAR as her primary social outlet. -- played by Samantha H.

Beatrice "B" Lawrence -- U.S. Army veteran who works for a local air charter service as a helicopter mechanic. She recently lost the lower part of her left leg in a fight with a sorcerer from an opposing lodge, and now wears a high-tech prosthetic. A cynic about men, she is accompanied by "Grunt," the biggest, best-trained pit-bull anybody has ever seen (purchased as an ally, and a totally badass dog, even before it was possessed by what appears to be a benign “foo” spirit) -- played by Bernetta W.

Claudia Abigail Tavulari, member of the NASA Quantum Physics Research Team, and an old friend of Arthur Jamison’s. The team has been helping Arthur research the portal physics, on the sly. – Played by Tisa T.

Stephen Mack, another member of the NASA Quantum Physics Research Team, a former U.S. Marine Corps test pilot, and outdoors enthusiast. – Played by Ragan S. (who has taken over the character, officially).

Frank Moses -- A former Marine who quit his job as a trooper with the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP). Moses formerly volunteered with 4CSAR and has an interest in Doc Bascher. Frank has spent the past several months living in the Dark Canyon base camp on the 1918 side of the portal. -played by Mike H.

Millicent “Millie” Brown – A member of the Columbine Lodge of Denver, and descendant of the Unsinkable Margaret “Molly” Brown. Currently an apprentice of the Invisible College of Thoth-Hermes, seconded out to the members of the Red Rocks Lodge. – Played by Kaitlynn S.

NPCs Present

Grunt: Beatrice's ally, a large pit-bull possessed by a protective "foo" spirit.

##

The group settled into their new digs, spent a few weeks to get them all set up, and built their sacred spaces as soon as possible. Grunt and Millie’s large cat came to an accommodation about which one actually ruled the house, as England moved into the Ides of March, in the year 1712.

The group re-worked their spells and got ready to pursue the investigation of the disappearances to mainland Europe.

Soon thereafter, they received word that the Mademoiselle Kamille, one of the three sailing vessels normally used by travelers on Invisible College business had docked in East London. They promptly sent word to Mr. Cooper (who had returned from his trip to Ireland), who passed along to Capt. Richard Sauvage a request for passage for nine people.

They soon received word that Capt. Sauvage wanted to meet such a large group of “Royal Society” travelers, and made their way down to the East London docks.

Upon arrival, Capt. Sauvage came down to the pier to speak with them (and to size them up). He’d learned from Cooper that the group needed to travel to Le Havre, thence up the Seine to Paris. Given the disappearances, Sauvage expressed concern that the group included so many women, although he did acknowledge that larger parties would undoubtedly prove safer.

Beatrice and Henrietta quickly disabused Sauvage of any notion that they couldn’t take care of themselves, and the group arranged for departure as soon as the Mademoiselle Kamille could depart. Sauvage said he needed to spend a few days in London dropping off cargo and arranging for his next load.

After all, he had a ship to maintain and supply, and crew to feed, and while Sauvage certainly welcomed the money from the Royal Society, it didn’t come close to paying all of his expenses. Instead, given the unsettling events of the previous year, the captain had decided to steer his ship through the fraught waters of the North Sea and the Baltic, running cargoes to belligerents in the war, there.

That just seemed a lot safer than running across the channel from London to Le Havre under the current circumstances, the captain quipped.

Still, the day came soon enough, and despite some mild grumbling from the crew about having such a big dog aboard, the Mademoiselle Kamille soon weighed anchor on a mild and breezy spring day.

The passage across the Channel to Le Havre went smoothly enough, and they soon docked at a pier above which the flag of the Angevin Empire proudly waved.

The group quickly loaded their heavy baggage on some waiting hackneys and soon found themselves on the street in front of the Hotel de la Gare.

Grunt, rather antsy about being cooped up aboard a ship for nearly two days, and then shoved into a crowded carriage, poked his nose out the window, saw what looked like an aproned employee emerge from the inn. Every muscle in his body suddenly turned into stone cords, and a low, rumbling growl started deep in his chest.

Rather surprised and completely alarmed, Beatrice grabbed Grunt’s collar, as she and Frank decided to stay in the carriage for a few minutes longer.

Grunt continued to growl until the aproned young man went back inside, and Beatrice and Frank stepped out of the hackney and reported what had happened. The group went on alert, only to see the hair on the nape of Grunt’s neck bristle, again, as a lean, strong-looking middle-aged man emerged from the inn to greet the group.

The man ignored Grunt, completely, and introduced himself as the proprietor, Corbett Faucher. He asked their business and, playing along, Arthur told him they were travelers with the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge.

The man welcomed them in French to Le Havre and said he would find rooms for them, immediately. He barely spared a glance at Grunt, and simply asked if they needed a post to which they could tie the dog, in the inn’s back lot.

Beatrice firmly stated that wouldn’t be necessary, as Grunt (lips curled up to show ivory fangs) was quite well-behaved and would pose no problems for either the staff of the inn or its guests.

Monsieur Faucher didn’t even bat an eyelash as he said Grunt could stay in the rooms as long as Beatrice kept him under control, and shouted for some garçons to come and help with the bags.

Several strong-looking young men promptly did so, Grunt snarled at all of them, and they reacted with similar blasé. As soon as the group entered the inn, the dog also snarled at the women waiting tables in the common room, as well as a slender, middle-aged woman who also welcomed them to the inn.

Soon enough, the group found themselves in clean rooms with wardrobes and pitchers full of fresh water with no sign of vermin of any sort, and beds that smelled faintly of sulfur. They stowed their stuff as quickly as they could, and gathered in A.J.’s room.

There, the somewhat unnerved group asked Millie, who had stayed at the Hotel de la Gare nearly a year before, if the people on the staff were the same as she’d met, back then.

Millie responded that while she didn’t remember the faces of everyone on the staff (and may not have actually seen all of them, either…) Monsieur Corbett Faucher and his wife, Madame Darletta, certainly looked like the same people. However, Millie noted that while Monsieur Corbett didn’t appear to have changed much, Madame Darletta had certainly lost weight and moved with considerably more grace than she had, a year prior.

Pressed for details, Millie said that, during her last visit, Madame Faucher had resembled the middle-aged woman anyone would expect to see, in the year 1711. She’d clearly had a few children, carried 30-40 extra pounds, and moved with the tired pace of someone who had spent most of her life on her feet.

Now, while still carrying enough weight to appear voluptuous, Madame Faucher had clearly lost at least 20 pounds, Millie said, and moved with a rather sprightly grace.

Disturbed by this information, the group decided to take further discussion elsewhere, left their belongings in their (almost certainly futilely) locked rooms, and took to the streets.

There, they kicked around possibilities, especially the notion that the entire staff of the Hotel de la Gare had been made into blood slaves. However, Frank (who had spent months with Izzy and Heck as neighbors) noted he hadn’t seen any of the tell-tale signs.

The two Apache blood-slaves both had deeply bloodshot eyes, Frank said, and the eyes of the hotel staff looked perfectly normal. Moreover, Izzy and Heck and frequently – and without even particularly noticing they were doing so – froze into the silent stillness of predators.

(continued...)

[tshiggins]

(...continued)

While they hadn’t been at hotel long enough to see anything like that, Frank acknowledged, the staff had seemed to particularly strong and healthy, but not so strong two of them could lift the body of a dead pony – which he’d seen Izzy and Heck actually do.

Beatrice also noted that, while Grunt absolutely didn’t like any of the staff of the hotel, the dog’s dismay seemed confined to just them. He’d barely spared a glance at any of the guests of the busy establishment, she said, which likely meant the inn was full of innocent, albeit well-heeled, travelers.

She also noted that Grunt had behaved similarly when he’d seen the hostile in-betweeners – living human bodies possessed by powerful spirits – who worked for the Order of the Scarlet Sage. Maybe the entire staff had been taken over by spirits and transformed into in-betweeners?

Stymied, for now, and noting that it had gotten late, the group reluctantly decided to head back to the hotel. There, they decided to take their meals in their rooms (Doc Bascher didn’t spot anything obviously wrong with the food), and then set watches to back up the restless Grunt.

The night passed stressfully, and the next morning Madame Faucher politely informed them that it might take a few days for one of the approved riverboats to arrive, but that she would inform them as soon as one tied up down at the river docks.

The group thanked her, took their breakfast in the common room with the rest of the guests, most of whom speculated hopefully about the impact of the Great Northern War on prices for materiel needed for armies, as well as developing events in Spain’s looming succession crisis.

They also decided to explore the town, a bit – which would familiarize them with the town and get them away from the hotel and its worrisome staff.

They found Le Havre a bustling place, with cargoes moving between the pier and the river docks, people striding around the streets on their own business.

Doc Bascher, Claudia and Henrietta decided to go shopping and check out the current French fashion trends for the spring of 1712, while Frank decided to find the local constabulary.

He found the town hall, soon enough, walked inside and discovered that desk sergeants in every cop shop in every country in every century were ill-tempered and stressed out. Frank did manage to get his attention, though, and let the man know he might want to talk, later.

After that, Frank scouted around the neighborhood, and soon found the cop bar. He headed into it to hang out for awhile, and wait for the desk sergeant to show up (Le Havre wasn’t a particularly large town, just a busy one).

Eventually, the sergeant did show and Frank bought him a drink and sat down to chat in a much calmer environment. The sergeant proved reasonable enough and sat down to chat.

Frank asked about town events during the past year, and the sergeant said nothing unusual had really happened, in the town itself. Just the normal sort of things that usually happen in harbor town where drunken sailors had money to spend.

However, he did note that, at the end of the previous summer, the burned-out hull of a riverboat, the Mademoiselle Rose, had come floating down the river. It didn't have any bodies with it, the sergeant noted, which meant the crew may have gotten off safety.

If that were the case, though, the constable continued, he would've expected to see at least some of the crewman back in town -- if for no other reason than to find another employer. He hadn't seen that, though, and Le Havre wasn't that large a town.

As for the Hotel de la Gare, the sergeant said the inn usually attracted traders and ship captains and others interested in the mostly-peaceful pursuit of commerce. As such, the Fauchers seldom had any reason to call the local constables for anything.

Frank and the sergeant chatted a bit longer, and the former state trooper eventually let the constable know he was in town on semi-official business that might involve some activities the local authorities wouldn’t want to know anything about. For whatever reason, the sergeant believed Frank, and said he’d make sure his men steered clear of the neighborhood that held the Hotel de la Gare.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group found the marketplace and took a look at the goods available in the early years of the 18th Century. At one point, Grunt’s head snapped around, and he growled at something in the crowd behind them.

That happened a few more times, and the group realized someone (or something) was trailing them.

A.J. had an idea to try to get a look at those following, and he and Millie split off from the rest of the group and found a place to conceal themselves. The rest of the group continued through the marketplace, as the concealed pair watched the back-trail.

Eventually, Millie and A.J. caught sight of a pair of men who they thought might be the shadowers. Two strong-looking men in the clothes of laborers, with bare feet and knives and barrel hooks that marked them as sailors or dock-workers.

A.J. and Millie moved in behind to shadow the shadowers, and watched them as they followed the rest of the group. However, the shadowers must have spotted them because the two locals managed to fade into the crowd and then disappear.

A bit later, the group rendezvoused and compared notes, wandered around the town a bit longer, and then headed back to the inn. There they decided to take a look around the area a bit more, and headed to the back of the inn to see the stables.

Doc Bascher tried to get into the stables, but the stable hands politely insisted that it remained off-limits to guests who didn’t have animals, there. The group also quickly spotted cellar doors next to the stairs up to the kitchen, and figured they were probably locked.

A.J. watched as the workers move in and out of the inn, and go back and forth to the stables, hoping for long enough period the back lot would remain vacant, so he could check the cellar.

Eventually he noticed that while everyone who traveled to the back seemed to have a legitimate purpose, as soon as one moved in from the lot another employee of the inn came outside. At no point was the back lot vacant enough, for long enough, to let him check the cellar.

As soon as he realized the opportunity to investigate the cellar would not arise, A.J. abandoned the effort, for the moment. He met up with the rest of the group and they decided to try to check the cellar, later that night.

With that, the group returned to their rooms and secured the doors, and then settled in to get some rest. The inn grew eventually grew quiet, and the group dozed until the wee hours of the morning.

They geared up and snuck through the inn to the back, and made their way to the cellar door. They found it locked with an old-style lock and, after some tinkering, they managed to get it open.

However, as they opened the doors, the whole group suddenly found themselves dizzy and short of breath. They quickly backed away from the doorway, and once they got about 10 feet away, they could breathe again.

After a few minutes, they went back to the doorway and found they could breathe, again. A.J. said he thought they may have triggered a magical trap, and advised they move carefully through the cellar.

The group lit a lantern and went down into the dark room. They found it filled with all the expected bric-a-brac – broken chairs, barrels both empty and full, dusty flagons, shelves of bottles and a huge hogshead barrel up against the back wall.

The group began to look around, and didn’t see anything special, until Frank noticed that some heavy crates had been moved in front of the big barrel against the back wall.

They took a closer look at the hogshead, lying on its side on top of a rack to keep it from rolling. Frank thumped the top and heard that it remained full, but A.J. noticed that it had been re-caulked recently.

After a quick discussion, the group decided to not try and crack the hogshead open, as it would result in a nasty mess. With that, the group decided they had accomplished everything they could and headed back to their rooms.

The rest of the evening passed quietly enough, and the group went down for breakfast, the next morning. While they were eating, Madame Faucher came up to them and said one of the three riverboats normally used to carry Royal Society passengers had arrived in town.

They had some cargo to unload, she said, but the group should be able to depart the next day. After a brief discussion the group decided to take it easy, for the day, and leave for Paris, the next morning.

With that, the session ended.

##

Funny Quotes

Frank: You’re talking about Millie and Roger? I still don’t trust ‘em.

Steven: That’s a loaded question, “Who’s in charge?”

(Grunt throws a fit when he sees the workers at the Hotel de la Gare.)
Frank: Now the hackles on the back of my neck are standing up, but we’re still going in.

Beatrice: Wait! Why are we staying in a hotel full of vampires?!

[Madame Faucher looks much better than Millie remembers.)
Steve: Maybe she got a tapeworm?
Frank This seems to be the same person.
Beatrice: In France -- our France -- when a woman loses weight, they say she has a new lover. Maybe she's got a new lover?
{Everybody looks at her.)
Beatrice: Well, it is France!

Steve: We truths amongst ourselves before we spread disinformation to others.
A.J.: I can always spread disinformation.
Steve: But I might believe you!

Steve: I don’t mind a fight, I just want a smart fight.
Beatrice: When has this group ever had a smart fight?

##

[SionEwig]

Grunt is upset, I would pay a lot of attention to that personally.

[tshiggins]

We held our latest session of Facets not long ago and, as expected, the blood ran in rivers.

The combat was so lengthy and complicated, I decided to write it narratively and focus on what happened with each character, rather than try to make a second-by-second, linear report. Honestly, that would have been tedious to read, and even more tedious to write.

##

Characters Present

Dr. Henrietta "Indiana" Johnson -- A personable, age 29-and-holding Anthropologist who specializes in the pre-Columbian indigenous people of the American Desert Southwest. A Native of Apache Junction, AZ, "Indiana" is good with people and has been fascinated by American Indian religion and folklore since she was a child. Henrietta speaks Apache fluently, and not-so-secretly wishes archaeology could be more like Raiders of the Lost Ark and less like digging in a trench with a trowel and a toothbrush -- Played by Debbie S. (not available this time, Bennie Rae mostly ran the character)

Dr. Arthur "A.J." Jamison -- a retired NASA scientist with a home in one of Moab's nicer canyon sub-developments, who volunteers for 4CSAR because he needs to do something to get out of the house. Considers himself responsible for Sunmi Jones, who is enough of a science-geek that the two of them can actually hold a conversation. -- Played by Anten S.

Aurelia R. Lockrin -- A young woman with a shady past who teaches History at Grand County High School (Home of the Red Devils!), and volunteers for 4CSAR because she's a bit of an adrenalin junkie, and likes the companionship. -- played by Bennie Rae P.

Dr. Belody "Doc" Bascher -- a local veterinarian for both large and small animals, who frequently fixates on her job and uses 4CSAR as her primary social outlet. -- played by Samantha H.

Beatrice "B" Lawrence -- U.S. Army veteran who works for a local air charter service as a helicopter mechanic. She recently lost the lower part of her left leg in a fight with a sorcerer from an opposing lodge, and now wears a high-tech prosthetic. A cynic about men, she is accompanied by "Grunt," the biggest, best-trained pit-bull anybody has ever seen (purchased as an ally, and a totally badass dog, even before it was possessed by what appears to be a benign “foo” spirit) -- played by Bernetta W.

Claudia Abigail Tavulari, member of the NASA Quantum Physics Research Team, and an old friend of Arthur Jamison’s. The team has been helping Arthur research the portal physics, on the sly. – Played by Tisa T.

Stephen Mack, another member of the NASA Quantum Physics Research Team, a former U.S. Marine Corps test pilot, and outdoors enthusiast. – Played by Reagan A.

Frank Moses -- A former Marine who quit his job as a trooper with the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP). Moses formerly volunteered with 4CSAR and has an interest in Doc Bascher. Frank has spent the past several months living in the Dark Canyon base camp on the 1918 side of the portal. -played by Mike H.

Millicent “Millie” Brown – A member of the Columbine Lodge of Denver, and descendant of the Unsinkable Margaret “Molly” Brown. Currently an apprentice of the Invisible College of Thoth-Hermes, seconded out to the members of the Red Rocks Lodge. Owner of a large, well-trained Savannah Cat, named Apophis. – Played by Kaitlynn A.

NPCs Present

Grunt: Beatrice's ally, a large pit-bull possessed by a protective "foo" spirit.

##

The group spent another uneasy evening at the Hotel de la Gare, got up early, quickly packed up their luggage, and ordered some hackneys to take them to the Le Havre river docks.

There, they found the riverboat, the Dame D’Astalot, after a short search. The Fauchers had apparently sent word ahead, and the captain, Dozier Bourgade, debarked to meet with them.

As soon as he sighted the approaching riverboat commander, Grunt rumbled out a warning growl, again. This time, the group had been expecting it, and didn’t make much fuss about it. Nor did it raise any eyebrows when the foo dog expressed similar hostility toward the riverboat crew.

The captain immediately looked to A.J. as the oldest male present, and negotiated passage with him. Bourgade said he hadn’t expected such a large group, as the Royal Society parties, in the past, had never had more than three or four people.

As such, he asked them to give him an hour, or so, to rearrange some cargo in the boats central cabin. A.J. agreed readily enough, and the group kicked back for a bit.

They saw a broad-beamed boat with a narrow keel, about 54 feet long and 18 feet wide. It had a blunt bow and a squared stern with narrow fenced stalls that held four oxen. =

The boat’s sides rose about four feet out of the water, since it didn’t have much cargo for the trip upriver, as the captain knew he would carry well-paying passengers.

Most of the boat was taken up by a 12-food wide cabin in the middle, that started six feet in front of the oxen pens and ran about 30 feet up the middle of the boat, and stopped three feet short of where the bow began. The boat stretched forward another nine feet and ended in a blunt bow with two heavy cleated posts, clearly used as anchor-points for tow cables.

At the front of the cabin, an anchor post for a thick, stepped mast extended through the roof and down into the deck, which meant anyone who wished to exit the cabin to the bow needed to step around it. Another exit opened to the stern at the opposite end of the cabin.

The floor of the cabin lay about two feet below the decks, and a couple of steps led up from the doors at the bow and stern ends. The interior space had headroom of about seven feet, which meant the top of the outside of the cabin rose about five feet above the deck.

The deck extended from bow to stern with three-foot wide walkways on either side of the cabin. In addition to the braces and tie-downs on the roof of the cabin, needed to secure the mast when the crew stepped it down, pylons with rowlocks on the top of the cabin allowed long sweeps to extend out to the port and starboard sides.

A third sweep, which doubled as a rudder, extended from the stern, and the sides of the cabin had racks that held sturdy poles, 15 feet long. The deck that ran up either side of the cabin also had planks bolted across it every two feet, or so, to help polemen push the boat forward with their legs, after bracing the poles.

(Basically, it appeared as a combination of towed flatboat https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...red-R-Waud.png , and a Dutch trekshuit, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trekschuit. Clearly, the Angevin Empire had been synthesizing ideas.)

Bourgade eventually invited them to board and sent crewmen to load their trunks in the cabin. He said that, since the wind was blowing out of the northwest (fairly normal for northern France, in late March), they’d raise the mast and make pretty good time – at least, until they reached the stone bridges further up the Seine, which would force them to raise and lower the mast, frequently.

Grunt didn’t like the crew, at all, and Bourgade insisted that Beatrice keep the large dog in the cabin and away from his people. Beatrice replied that Grunt was an obedient dog and wouldn’t start any problems, with anyone.

The boat wouldn’t travel at night, the captain said, so they’d pull up to the bank, at night, and pitch a camp. Bourgade also said they’d probably reach Les Andelys by mid-afternoon, the next day, assuming the wind held.

Travelers usually welcomed an evening off the boat, Bourgade explained, and were glad to spend the evening in the comfortable inn, there.

Soon enough, the crew of the Dame D’Astalot pushed off from the dock, raised the mast and unfurled the sail.

The captain said the passengers needed to avoid the stern, but could stretch their logs forward, as the boat wouldn’t spend any part of the day under tow. The group agreed, and A.J., Henrietta and Aurelia went outside to the bow to watch the progress and keep an eye on things.

The rest of the group stayed inside the cabin, where their body heat kept things significantly warmer, despite the small vents in the roof that let in light and fresh air. They also kept the front hatch open partway, since the wind mostly blew from behind.

Curious about the operation of the boat, A.J. watched the crew, for a while. He noted that the riverboats headed upstream kept about 12-20 feet away from the north (left) bank, along which the towpath ran.

A road and then low hedges paralleled the towpath a bit beyond, to separate the transient traffic from the fields and other private property that ran along the river. The port-side sweep remained shipped, although the crew had deployed the stern and starboard sweeps.

Two crew manned each sweep, and Bourgade moved around as needed. The other four crewmen kept an eye on the sail, and used the poles periodically, and occasionally shoved manure from the oxen off the back of the boat, but mostly took it easy and relieved the sweep crews every couple of hours.

Everyone in the party had noted the massive shoulders and deep chests of the crewmen, and closer inspection showed strong legs and bare feet, as well. The men were all barefoot, and most had knives, barrel-hooks and other useful items hanging from their belts.

The crew also included the two men who had trailed the party through the market, the previous day, but the pair looked at the passengers with bland disinterest, today.

The day proved as boring as it was chilly, and the group soon understood why most travelers welcomed the stop at Les Andelys.

(continued...)