Saturday, 2 August 2008, 10:51 pm PDT Sunday, September 21st, 1018 Tuesday, September 23rd, 1018 Sunday, September 28th, 1018 Monday, September 29th, 1018 Saturday, October 4th, 1018 Sunday, October 5th, 1018 Monday, October 6th, 1018 Wednesday, October 8th, 1018 Friday, October 10th, 1018 Saturday, October 11th, 1018 Sunday, October 12th, 1018 Monday, October 13th, 1018 Friday, October 17th, 1018 Saturday, October 18th, 1018 Sunday, October 19th, 1018 Monday, October 20, 1018 Tuesday, October 21, 1018 Wednesday, October 22, 1018 Thursday, October 23, 1018 Friday, October 24, 1018 Saturday, October 25, 1018 Sunday, October 26, 1018 Saturday, November 1, 1018 Sunday, November 2, 1018 Sunday, November 16, 1018 Monday, November 17, 1018 Tuesday, November 18, 1018 Saturday, December 6, 1018 Sunday, December 7, 1018 Monday, December 8, 1018 Tuesday, December 9, 1018 Wednesday, December 10, 1018 Tuesday, December 16, 1018 Tuesday, December 30, 1018 Wednesday, December 31st, 1018 Thursday, January 1st, 1019 Wednesday, January 2nd, 1019 Thursday, January 3rd, 1019 Friday, January 4th, 1019 Sunday, January 6th, 1019 Monday, January 7th, 1019 Tuesday, January 8th, 1019 Wednesday, January 9th, 1019 Thursday, January 10th, 1019

Modern Juncture

 

Saturday, 2 August 2008, 10:51 pm PDT

 

The Sunnyvale Public Safety Department's Station 1 is called out to deal with a structure fire at 199 South Murphy. The four available PSOs quickly jump into their turnout gear, and are rolling by 10:53. South on Mathilda, up and over the Caltrain tracks, and left onto Washington. Four short blocks (past the Town Center construction project) to where two patrol cars are parked at South Murphy and Washington, arriving at 10:55.

 

The patrol officers are moving the crowd back away from the burning building. The onlookers are patrons of the restaurants, bars, billiard halls, etc. on Murphy. Cell phone cameras are pointed at the fire; one person is holding a video camera.

 

An ambulance and other units are on their way (distant sirens can be heard).

 

Thin smoke is rising from some broken upstairs windows of a two-story commercial building; a loud burglar alarm is sounding, no doubt from "Ace Loan" the downstairs business. The PSOs begin connecting nozzles, hoses and hydrants; a couple of Police Services PSOs are donning turnout gear by the time the Station 1 crew is ready.

 

The crew of Station 1 rush upstairs with a trauma kit, hose, extinguisher, hooligan tool and axe; they easily gain access to the second floor office. The scattered fire is easily put out with the extinguisher and some stomping with big boots. The PSOs shine their flashlights around the dark, smokey office, looking for the persons thay may have been here. There is evidence that someone was present recently (a cooler of ice and beers), but no persons or corpses are immediately found.

 

While the search is just beginning, a sudden flash of light is seen by all the PSOs ...

 

Dark Ages Juncture

 

Sunday, September 21st, 1018

 

A Jammer, Nick Castle, walks into Eidfjord. He knows enough "Frankish" (German) to get some words across, and trades some liquor and a blinking piece of cheap LED jewelry for gear and transport to Hedeby. 

 

Tuesday, September 23rd, 1018

 

Nick Castle leaves Eidfjord after two days of hard partying. His transport is Eidfjord's largest longship, with a full (and somewhat hungover) crew. 

 

Sunday, September 28th, 1018

 

Just after midnight local time, the Sunnyvale PSOs arrive on a hillside a few miles north of Eidfjord. Hobbes is knocked out by the fall onto the rocky ground. After a bit of looking around in the darkness, the firefighters find a circular section of burnt, dirty carpet, the remains of a burnt styrofoam cooler and some beers, and a few other bits of debris which came with them from Sunnyvale. They begin travelling downhill, carrying Hobbes on the carpet scrap. Almost immediately they come across three bodies, men drained of all moisture and fat -- but only recently drained! The men are dressed in modern clothing and have some interesting equipment. The guns are immediately distributed among the team; everything but the clothing of the corpses is bagged and taken.

 

Arriving at the shore of the icy fjord, the team decides to send Burns and McClellan along the shore to find ... anything. Within a mile or less, in fact, is a sheep-pen and a small shepherd's hut; they come back to help carry gear and the entire team goes to the hut. Sounds are heard within and a young thrall shepherd emerges, then tries to run from the strange creatures but is brought down.

 

The thrall, Peter, was captured in some area of what is modern Russia, when he was about five years old. He belongs to Hallveig, an old widow, and tends her sheep. 

 

Nobody apologized to him for attacking him in the night, though the PSOs did bandage his wounds and made sympathetic noises. 

 

As dawn approaches, O'Reilly and Burns walk along the fjord to the town of Eidfjord, and approach the smith, Jofur. He is a bit worried about such strange creatures, but is certainly willing to talk. He does send his apprentices off to warn the townsfolk, however.

 

Pretty soon, a small crowd of people are gazing at the firefighters. Eyvind Eriksson, thane of Eidfjord, greets them; fortunately a thrall, Pascual, speaks lengua ladina, some form of Old Castillian, not too different from Spanish.

 

Eyvind agrees to send a boat up the fjord to recover the other PSOs; an hour's rowing, and an hour to return, brings the PSOs back to the town -- to face pretty much everyone who lives within a couple hour's walk!

 

The Norse-speaking locals eyeball the Scotchlite on the bunker gear, the chromed tools, and other items of possible value. After a bit of slow translation, everyone relaxes a bit, and the PSOs are shown to a table on the common pasture -- several hundred people also sit down at tables or on the grass. Clearly this is quite an event! 

 

"This is Eidfjord, part of Hordaland -- our Jarl is Erling Swensson. Olaf the Thick is king of Noregr, and this is the third year of his rule."

 

Of great interest to the firefighters is the fact that another modern person was here, about a week ago! His name was Nick Castle, and he bartered some liquor and a cheap plastic piece of LED "bling" for the use of Eyvind's best longship, to carry him down to Hedeby! Castle wanted to go to Micklegard.

 

Many questions, some answers back and forth. For a few pieces of Scotchlite, Thorfinn the Merchant agrees to carry the PSOs to Hedeby. Various firefighters purchase items from the locals: an axe and saxe or two, maybe some sweaters, an iron pot, etc. You guys might want to list any significant purchases here. Besides some local clothes, and some hygiene items, Jason will purchase a saxe.

 

The PSOs sort through their equipment for items of value as trade goods -- disturbingly little. Some discussion is made about the uses and value of cell phones, etc. A couple of the PSOs (O'Reilly and Burns) walk, yet again, to the end of the fjord, where they remove the remaining items (mostly clothing) from the corpses, and bury the corpses. A search of the area around where they and the bodies appeared results in nothing interesting; the locals don't seem to find the area notable. While this happens, the other PSOs page through the cell phones, taking notes on calls, messages, and contents of the address books. We walked precisely to avoid answering funky questions about the three dead men in the hills.

 

By the time they return from burial duty, it's almost sunset; the team spends the night in Eyvind's house, largest in the town.

 

Monday, September 29th, 1018

 

Just after dawn, the PSOs set sail from Eidfjord, aboard the knarr of Thorfinn the Merchant. Destination: Hedeby. During the journey, they become somewhat accustomed to sailing in the Norse fashion; and learn some Old Norse from Ivor, one of the sailors.

 

Saturday, October 4th, 1018

 

Castle arrives at Hedeby, and begins another round of hearty-partying, paying with cheap modern "bling". He arranges for extravagant carousing for the sailors from Eidfjord.

 

Sunday, October 5th, 1018

 

Nick Castle begins asking around Hedeby regarding the fastest method of reaching Micklegard (Constantinople), but he is killed in an evening shootout at his rented home. The assailants are foreigners (like most people in Hedeby), wearing mottled clothing of green, brown, black, and tan. The locals are much dismayed by the gunshots and flashlights. Castle's possessions are looted by the "mottled people", his landlord, and various locals in that order.

 

Monday, October 6th, 1018

 

The "mottled people" depart early in the morning, paying a premium to have a knarr carry them to Geatland (central Sweden). Patrick, a Catholic priest, buries Castle's body in a field outside of Hedeby. The sailors from Eidfjord stumble in from their various carousing occasions, ask a few muddled questions, and feel badly about losing Nick (and his possible future contributions to their amusement). They consider chasing the "mottled people", but can't quite make up their minds on the subject -- and besides, a fair amount of carousing is pre-paid, and the weather is turning cold and nasty.

 

Wednesday, October 8th, 1018

 

Thorfinn's knarr passes through the straits between Sweden and Denmark.

 

Friday, October 10th, 1018

 

The PSOs arrive at Hedeby, a wretched hive of scum, villainy, and commercial activity. The weather is cold and raining heavily. After having their belongings settled at Berta's lodging-house (and watched over by Ivor, the Arabic-speaking sailor), Thorfinn introduces them to Thorolf, a merchant. He tells them about Castle's death, and that Patrick took and buried the body. Jason purchases a longsword, a scabbard for it, s ome local climbing rope (“Jesus, this stuff is shit!”), and tries to buy some “helpers” (‘biners, pitons, etc), and likely be disappointed.

 

Patrick, an Irish missionary, is tall, thin, and very scarred and wiry; his Old Norse is not very good, but some communication is possible. According to Patrick, Nick Castle was killed by the "mottled people" in an incident of thunder and strange lights; they (and the locals) looted Nick's gear and fled the next morning. Castle had no local friends or family; only the sailors from Eidfjord felt anything for him, and they were drunk and scattered about the town, debauching themselves.

 

Patrick takes the PSOs to Castle's grave in an empty field outside of Hedeby, and agrees to arrange for a coffin, a proper gravestone, and (of course) a reburial. He recommends Anders the Blind, a retired merchant "and a good Christian" for information about travelling to Micklegard (Constantinople), capital of the Romersk Verdensrike. Anders also describes (at second hand, obviously) the "mottled people":

 

"They were swarthy, with black hair, and spoke Arabic, passable Frankish, and other Eastern tongues. Their clothing was of mottled colors, probably painted, in shades of brown, green, tan and black. They were well-supplied with money; and they hired horses several times, for travel. Irminists, those devilish heathens, went with some of the mottled people on short journeys south of the Danevirk, into Frankrike, visiting old ruins and such -- or so I was told. There were about half a dozen of the mottled people; I know the names of two: Chang and Henry."

 

As the sun sets behind the rain clouds, the PSOs head back to Berta's lodging-house. While discussing their options and plans after dinner, the door bursts open and half-a-dozen crazed Irminists charge it, swords and axes waving! The Irminists are captured (and one is killed), but Burns has a pretty ugly slash along the front of his shin. Fortunately, first aid is at hand. The Irminists are kept under guard until morning.

 

Saturday, October 11th, 1018

 

New Moon at 8:12 pm

 

In the morning, Thorfinn leads PSOs to the Council of Merchants; the Irminists are chastised. Thorfinn introduces Captain Trygva, master of Eidfjord's draken-ship; he agrees to take the PSOs to Birka, in Geatland. Trygva also hands over Nick Castle's sea-chest, after hearing that the Vinlanders are bound to avenge Castle's death. It contains a shorty M79, 6 40mm rounds in a cotton bandoleer, 3 MREs, a cheap Japanese binocular, a camo sleeping bag in black nylon stuff sack, 10 clear plastic "oven" bags (with signs of use), 4 oldish hardback books (Germanische Heiligtümer, Die Megalithia, Wege des Geistes - Wege der Kraft, Geistfallen), 5 field dressings (1990 dates), a paper bag with 4 dead LED "jewels", and a spork. Father Patrick can at least translate the titles: German Holy Lines, The Megaliths, Way of the Spirits - Way of the Craft, and Spirit Traps.

 

PSO Hobbes starts exhibiting the main symptoms of food poisoning!

 

Sunday, October 12th, 1018

 

In the morning, the police set sail from Hedeby on Trygva's rather showy ship (yellow-and-black checkerboarded sail, yellow or black shields hung around the sides), bound for Birka in Geatland.

 

Monday, October 13th, 1018

 

The "mottled guys" arrive in Birka.

 

Friday, October 17th, 1018

 

Our heroes arrive in Birka; the harbor is filled with 30 or 40 longships, and several merchant vessels. The Swedish king has a fort and soldiers here, to keep the peace. A few purchases are made, including half-a-dozen horses; Trygva and a dozen of his men agree to accompany the PSOs to the Thing. Several hundred crewmen of the longships are in town, Vikings from all around Europe. The Mottled People stayed for a day, and then went on to Uppsala.

 

Saturday, October 18th, 1018

 

The weather is improving a bit, although daily showers can be expected. The road from Birka is fairly busy with travellers going to the Thing.

 

Sunday, October 19th, 1018

 

The Sunnvale police arrive at the Uppsala Thing, which is held in a large natural bowl, nearly a mile across. This isn't the regular, scheduled Allthing (which happens in the spring), but a special session to deal with the threat of Norwegian weapons of destruction.

 

Many scattered boulders are the preferred seating. A couple thousand people have come, and are living in tents around the higher sides of the bowl; a few permanent buildings are the King's lodgings and mead hall. A large wooden building in the nearby forest is a famous temple dedicated to Odin; nearby is a huge oak tree, rather ominously decorated with hanging corpses of men, horses and dogs. Burial mounds and rune stones dot the area, especially along the ridge which forms the perimeter.

 

After erecting their tents and generally making camp, the PSOs begin looking for the Mottled People. While McClellan watches with binoculars, Burns walks down among the gathered Swedes. Soon, an Asian man in a modern field jacket is seen.

 

Meanwhile, the King, his Queen ("Is she a QILF?" asks Burns), some of their family and other courtiers proceed down from the mead hall to the center of the field. The crowd seems a bit unfavorable; the Queen is very haughty and unsmiling. Some kind of court officer announces the King in a loud voice, and the crowd grows silent. The King is an experienced public speaker, and can be heard quite well by the crowd; they continue to be a bit unreceptive.

 

After the King's speech (calling for war with Norway), jarl Ragnvald Ulfsson speaks briefly, calling for peace. Ragnvald then calls upon Thorgynr the Lawspeaker to speak. Thorgynr is very old, with long white hair past his elbows; blind, he uses a sheathed sword as a cane, and wears a helmet. The crowd shouts and cheers for Thorgynr, apparently very popular and respected. He gives this speech:

 

"The disposition of Swedish kings is different now from what it has been formerly. My grandfather Thorgny could well remember the Uppsala king Eirik Eymundson, and used to say of him that when he was in his best years he went out every summer on expeditions to different countries, and conquered for himself Finland, Kirjalaland, Courland, Esthonia, and the eastern countries all around; and at the present day the earth-bulwarks, ramparts, and other great works which he made are to be seen. And, more over, he was not so proud that he would not listen to people who had anything to say to him.

 

"My father, again, was a long time with King Bjorn, and was well acquainted with his ways and manners. In Bjorn's lifetime his kingdom stood in great power, and no kind of want was felt, and he was gay and sociable with his friends.

 

"I also remember King Eirik the Victorious, and was with him on many a war-expedition. He enlarged the Swedish dominion, and defended it manfully; and it was also easy and agreeable to communicate our opinions to him.

 

"But the king we have now got allows no man to presume to talk with him, unless it be what he desires to hear. On this alone he applies all his power, while he allows his scot-lands (territories paying protection money to the Swedes) in other countries to go from him through laziness and weakness. He wants to have the Norwegian kingdom laid under him, which no Swedish king before him ever desired, and therewith brings war and distress on many a man.

 

"Now it is our will, we bondsmen, that thou King Olaf make peace with the Norway king, Olaf the Thick, and marry thy daughter Ingegerd to him. Wilt thou, however, reconquer the kingdoms in the east countries which thy relations and forefathers had there, we will all for that purpose follow thee to the war. But if thou wilt not do as we desire, we will now attack thee, and put thee to death; for we will no longer suffer law and peace to be disturbed.

 

"So our forefathers went to work when they drowned five kings in a morass at the Mula-thing, and they were filled with the same insupportable pride thou hast shown towards us. Now tell us, in all haste, what resolution thou wilt take."

 

Hearing this, the crowd roars with approval, beating weapons and fist on shields and generally making lots of noise. The King, looking rather sour, returns with his family to the mead hall; the crowd breaks into caucuses and begins eagerly discussing the day's events.

 

Burns and McClellan decide to visit the bishop and present the letter from Father Patrick. The bishop and his various deacons, monks, etc. have a temporary altar set up, and are exhibiting relics and holy objects. Impressed by the letter, the bishop sends the PSOs along with a recommendation to Ingvar the Far-Travelled.

 

Yngvar (a ridiculously handsome man, only 24 years old, a jarl and obviously rich) and some of his captains (a very experienced and pagan lot) are found. Yngvar is interested in the PSOs request to travel with him, but leaves the decision in the hands of Ketil One-Eye, the most grizzled and scarred of the captains; the young jarl is called off to the King's mead-hall.

 

The expedition will travel to Holmgard, and then south through the lands of the Rus, eventually past the Svarta Havet and deep into Serkland.

 

Ketil and the other captains put quite a professional mock on the PSOs, but the folk of Sunnyvale prove themselves good enough in the somewhat arbitrary "tests of the Jomsvikings" to satisfy them. The tests include running, fighting, and archery. Ketil and the other captains don't know exactly when they'll be sailing, but it will be soon -- perhaps in a day or two.

 

While the Thing is still discussing Thorgynr's speech, and the important jarls are speaking with the King, and with the Norwegian envoys, the Sunnyvale Police decide to get a closer look at the Mottled People. A bit of surveillance locates their tent; the PSOs creep up to eavesdrop -- but about all they can tell is that it's English. Burns and McClellan make themselves known -- the Mottled People don't freak out (too much). A tense standoff soon becomes a bit less dangerous, and a bit of discussion ensues.

 

Close up, the Mottle People are all Chinese or Eurasian, in their twenties and in good health, speaking good English with a slight Chinese or British accent. They're wearing a mix of modern (2008) gear and local garb, and packing a bit more ordnance than the PSOs.

 

• Henry -- taller, doesn't say too much, big pistol, Chinese "large sword"

• Chang -- carries a SPAS-12 shotgun, and a pistol

• Anthony -- M4 carbine with big scope, and pistol

• John -- FN90 assault rifle, pistol, obvious SWAT-ish vest

• Gordon -- big nylon bag, pistol

• Weng -- pistol

 

Chang, doing most of their talking, claims that Nick Castle is a "Jammer", a sort of time-traveling anarchist, bent on changing future history. His "people", also from 2008, like history as it is, thanks, and especially don't want it radically changed. The Jammers (he claims) have a plan to disrupt something historically important in Russia soon -- and the daughter of the Swedish King is due to marry a Russian prince, become Queen, and become the ancestor of most of the crowned heads of Europe. History is elastic, though; in order to make notable changes that echo down through the ages, you have to also be in tune with fate, Feng Shui, holy lines, good fortune -- by whatever name. Castle was probably going to take control of some inportant "spirit trap" locations in Germany, to buttress the Jammers' plan. Chang and his men told the Irminists to destroy any other Jammers that showed up -- alas, the PSOs were mistaken for Jammers.

 

Keep in mind that Chang could be lying, lying, lying -- although the talk of monkeys seems to buttress their story about the Jammers: "Their leaders -- as much as anarchists have leaders -- are a bunch of cybernetically-enhanced primates, with names like Battlechimp Potemkin, Furious George, the Flying Monkey Squadron, the Orangutank, and the Chimpanzer; all from some strange future that we hope no longer exists. The apes are probably trying to bring it back into existence."

 

The Mottled People somehow impressed/bribed a Christian ship captain in Ingvar's expedition to bring them along.

 

McClellan and Burns return to their camp, to tell Hobbes and O'Reilly the astonishing things they've learned. "No, really, cybernetic chimpanzees."

 

The PSOs set out for Berka ...

 

Monday, October 20, 1018

 

Arrive late in the day at Berka, after riding 40 miles of muddy Swedish roads.

 

Tuesday, October 21, 1018

 

Shopping! Berka is a one of the three or so most active trading towns in Scandinavia.

 

Wednesday, October 22, 1018

 

The King, Yngvar and Ingegerd arrive in Berka, the expedition is to leave tomorrow.

 

Thursday, October 23, 1018

 

Yngvar's fleet departs early for Holmgard, a voyage of only a couple of days. The King bids farewell to his daughter, not expecting to see her again.

 

Friday, October 24, 1018

 

Oleg, a member of another ships' crew, falls overboard in heavy seas, and is saved by the PSOs from drowning.

 

The expedition arrives at Holmgard in the evening, having pulled and sailed up the long channel (about 100 miles) from the sea. Burns and O'Reilly visit the short reception for Ingegerd at the "Gothic Court"; McClellan follows Chang and a couple of his friends into the "red light district", and observe a meeting with two Krivichians -- Vaclav and Grillik. After Chang and his friends depart, the Krivichians are approached and spill the beans -- they are to leave town on horseback at dawn, from the East Gate.

 

The PSOs ponder the meaning and uses of this information, and spend much time and money on obtaining horses, riding gear, etc. late at night.

 

Saturday, October 25, 1018

 

Depart from Holmgard on horses! It turns out the Krivichians are off to join Cosmo, a Roman, in Torzhok (in Sloviania), and then (presumably) travel on to Rostov. The message they bear says (in Greek): "Onogur must attack by end of November, move immediately" (Onogur is a chieftain of the Volga Bulgars). The PSOs return to Holmgard (well, it's more complicated, but that's the outcome), and attend (with some pain from riding, and exhaustion from lack of sleep) the big official dinner (again at the Gothic Court) at which there is much entertainment, skaldic and bardic recitation, dancing and music, food and drink, etc. etc.

 

Yaroslav and Ingegerd are presented with Scotchlite armbands by the "representatives of the far western king".

 

Sunday, October 26, 1018

 

Yngvar's expedition, and Yaroslav's army, begin the long, slow voyage south towards Kiev. Sailing, rowing, and portaging the fleet, with tired, ill-equipped masses of Slavic troops (and some units of nomadic cavalry, on the east shore) following the river also. The weather is chilly and overcast, with some drizzle but no rain or freezes -- yet.

 

Saturday, November 1, 1018

 

Ketil One-eye's boat is given their turn at foraging for supplies; the PSOs accompany Ketil and half his crew off into the Russian countryside. Local peasants tell of a strange house on a small hill nearby, surrounded by golden snakes.

 

The PSOs and Ketil are intrigued; the foraging party travels a mile or so, to a small, tree-covered hill. The Vikings plan to creep up one side; the PSOs, another.

 

An optic sensor system seems to be planted around the base of the hill; creeping under that, the PSOs approach the top, where a large, drab-colored machine crouches on its deployment platform. As the Vikings pass (and trigger) the sensors, the machine begins to wake up, unfolding to reveal a badass robot.

 

(only perhaps with more lumps, masts, and sensors; it's about 12' tall). The robot fires some kind of heavy weapon into the Vikings rushing uphill; McClellan shoots a 40mm HEDP grenade at it, hitting the rear hull area; he quickly reloads and fires again, missing. The robot takes off with a "jump-jet" style system (lots of hot air out of those jets on the rear hull). Just then (having heard the explosions) the Quotidians call on the radio -- they're told to hush up, but too late! The robot flies east, towards the river, and fires some sort of missile at Yaroslav's camp!

 

The PSOs and Vikings investigate the robot's abandoned deployment platform -- a segmented, originally sort-of pyramidal box of sturdy olive-drab plastic, with heavy spikes underneath anchoring it to the hilltop. It's kinda-sort like this:

 

 

 

 

There are some words embedded in the plastic -- such as DAENJER PANOOLZ OEPIN RAPIDLEE and KAUSHIN IKSPLLOESIVE BOELTS. Ketil and his friends are happy to find the holographic sensor tabs on the trees around the hill, and a spent 40mm shell casing.

 

Back at the river, there is a large crater in the gravel where one ship was pulled up onto the shore; another ship's large fragments lie smouldering on the gravel. After some searching, nothing but an defective hand grenade is found from the Quotidians. The warhead used was probably some sort of advanced thermobaric explosive.

 

As the legend is told later: "Ketil wanders ashore, finds a hill covered with golden serpents. He steals a ring from the serpents, and this awakens the dragon "Jakulus". Ketil runs back to the ships, and the dragon flies over and attacks -- burning two of the ships (both captained by Christians)."

 

Sunday, November 2, 1018

 

Yaroslav's Orthodox priests hold a service in honor of St. George (for protection from dragons). The fact that the Christians killed on the ships were Catholics, not Orthodox, is hinted at.

 

As Yaroslav's army proceeds south, freezing temperatures become the norm. It is a rare day when the sun is seen, and normal temperatures range from 17° F to 33° F. Snow falls and begins to accumulate -- by the end of the month a foot of snow lays on the ground, and the rivers have all frozen over. From about 20 November, the Viking ships are moved entirely on sledges.

 

Sunday, November 16, 1018

  

A Lithuanian horse-trader, gambling with some of Yngvar's men, offers as a wager a small, faceted piece of plastic! When asked, he says he sold six horses to a Bulgar for the trinket. That was a few weeks ago, to the northeast.

 

Monday, November 17, 1018

 

Reports are received today from the cavalry scouts to the east: a sizeable mounted force is approaching! And by early afternoon, the Suars tribe of Volga Bulgars is present; their leaders advance to speak with Yaroslav.

 

The Bulgars claim to have been paid by Cosmo, on behalf of the Quotidians, to support Yaroslav. More specifically, they've recieved half of their promised payment (as various beads and costume jewelry) and are now expecting the other half. Yaroslav eyes the PSOs, who (after some disheartening calculations) agree to make good on the Quotidians' promise. "Besides, then we'll have an army, right?"

 

The Suars tribe, including their families and herds, are all here, because conflict between them and the Muslim majority in their homeland had broken out into war. Turin's father, Onogur, was killed a few weeks ago; he is leading his people to new lands where they can practice their Tengrist faith. Yaroslav already has Armenian Muslim mercenaries, but the Armenians don't seem to be intolerant.

 

A fair number of the Suars tribesmen speak a bit of Arabic, so O'Reilly gets the "Suars Liaison" job.

 

Tuesday, November 18, 1018

 

A feast is preparted by Yaroslav and the Suars. Many oxen and sheep are butchered and roasted; and fine speeches are made. The Suars clan chiefs come forward to receive their payment (1/2" of Scotchlite per household) -- it's all kind of wordy and prolonged. The partying begins not a moment too soon! The Bulgars enjoy showing off their horsemanship -- there's little in life that isn't improved by being on horseback, in their opinion. The women of the Suars tribe are accomplished riders, also.

 

Saturday, December 6, 1018

 

Yaroslav's army arrives near Kiev, setting up camp about six miles north of the city. Some merchants from Kiev make the politically risky trip out to Yaroslav's camp, to sell supplies and information. Yaroslave, and the PSOs, are relieved to learn that King Boreslaw and his armies returned to Poland about two weeks ago. One merchant, Mr. Cohen, agrees to return to the city tomorrow with three of the PSOs as guards.

 

Sunday, December 7, 1018

 

O'Reilly, McClellan, and Burns sneak into Kiev as caravan guards for Mr. Cohen. Passing through the Jewish Gate (on the south side) they part ways with Cohen (to his great relief -- "We never met! I don't know you!") and scout around the city. Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Tengist, Perunist, Zarathustrian, and various pagan or shamanic religions seem to be practiced with some tolerance. The city's mood is relieved, since it was expecting a major battle to occur today; Sviatopolk's armies are also back in town, filling the streets with Pecheneg warriors and their mounts. Prince Sviatopolk is seen riding to the kremlin, with his druzhina and guards. Riding among the guards, not far back from Sviatopolk, is a man in modern paramilitary gear -- body armor, kevlar helmet, grenades, an M-14 rifle, black fatigues, etc.! For an image of the armor and helmet, see here. He's a white guy with a mustache, not particularly old nor young. No radio is visible.

 

Pondering this, and unable to sneak through the gate into the kremlin, the PSOs ask if there are saunas available -- why, yes! On a side street not far from the kremlin are saunas built into the hillside, along with small shops for barbers, beard-braiders, etc.! The PSOs get cleaned, and buy new clothing, while pondering their options. As for sights to see, a local suggests the monastery, which is built into caves under the kremlin.

 

Unable to resist this, the policemen pay for a blessing and tour of the caves. Ivan, their guide, shows them a room with a pool of water -- a well -- which has a hole over the pool, from which the kremlin can draw water in buckets. Over here, further in, is a locked and barred door, which leads up into the kremlin. And back here the caves extend endlessly into the darkness, for hundreds of miles -- probably to Novgorod, claims Ivan.

 

The caves definitely lead to an opening on the hillside, outside the city walls on the northeast.

  

After some more fruitless attempts to bluff or sneak into the kremlin via the front gate, the three scouts return to the Jewish district, regain their horses, and leave the city. They return to Yaroslav's camp wihout incident, just before sunset (about 4 p.m.).

 

They convince Yaroslav (and their friends) that a small force of man can sneak into the kremlin and slaughter the guards. For Hobbes: "Keep the radios turned off; if we're not back by dawn, well ... " Yaroslav assures them that his army will attack at mid-day. Taking Ketil One-Eye's 50 men, and 20 of the Volga Bulgars, they ride back towards Kiev, leaving the horses at the old pagan burial mounds northwest of the city.

 

Monday, December 8, 1018

 

Dawn comes at 7:45 a.m., the new moon is only two days away ... the PSOs have been in the 11th Century for 78 days now.

 

Sneaking along the snowy hillsides, as a light snow falls from the moonless sky, only the torches atop the city's walls can be seen. With some luck, the ravine and cave entrance are found, and all 70 men enter the caves. The Vikings and Bulgars are told to wait "an hour" and then come up and attack; the PSOs break into the "escape stair" door and quietly move up into the kremlin.

 

Creeping out into a barracks, they sense many sleeping members of Yaroslav's druzhina. In the open, snow lies heavily on the roofs, and icicles dangle from the eaves -- the flat open ground, though, is fairly clear of snow (it's swept several times during the day). There are guards at the gates, and walking atop the walls; there's activity at the stables and the kitchen.

 

The four guards at the door of the Prince's House are fairly easily bluffed with a kettle of porridge and jugs of wine "for the Princess", and the three PSOs enter the building. Thank goodness for a multi-cultural society -- everyone here has an accent. Most of the interior is taken up with a feasting-hall; a few comatose, and some merely drunken, members of the druzhina are at the tables in the dimly-lit hall; a single guardsman in armor keeps duty inside the doorway. It's about 3 a.m.

 

Bearing their foodstuffs up the staircase on one side, the PSOs meet a Polish Guard Crone outside the Princess's door. The crone accepts the food and drink, tests it, and grumpily dismisses the PSOs. Once she's out of sight, the police creep further up the stairs, to the top floor. Two rooms open onto a balcony here, and a peasant wrapped in a fur sleeps in front of one of the doors -- O'Reilly dispatches the peasant silently with his knife. O'Reilly prepares to enter one door, Burns the other, while McClellan covers the stair and watches the drunks in the feasting-hall.

 

Quietly entering the rooms, O'Reilly finds a canopied bed, and sleeping within is a bearded man. Meanwhile, Burns finds a very large, black dog in a dark room, in a Russian snowstorm, in the middle of the night, at the dark of the moon -- he and McClellan both turn on their lights to blind the dog, and McClellan kills it with a sword slash -- not without some noise! The sound of dog-fighting drives O'Reilly forward -- he lunges at the bearded man and drives his blade up to its hilt in the man's chest. Sviatopolk is dead! Burns and McClellan turn their lights on the bed in their room, and see two young boys, age 5 and 7 or thereabouts, staring at them. Deciding they're not that hardcore, they leave the room. At about the same time, shouts, horn-calls and sounds of combat are heard from the kremlin's courtyards.

 

The dog-fight and lights have attracted attention from the people in the feasting-hall, and of the Polish Guard Crone. The crone is shot by McClellan, and the PSOs rush down the stairs.

 

A melee ensues, with drunken members of the druzhina, the door-guard, and some of the Prince's best bodyguards being woken up. Among the "best guards" is the modern fellow, in green thermal underwear and packing a .45 caliber pistol! There is a minute or two of confused crashing about, slashing, axe-throwing, shooting, swearing and cursing, all in a large room lit only by the smouldering remains of an open fire in the hearth. At the end, the remaining guards in the house are lurking in their bunk-room, bodies lie in the feasting-hall floor (including the modern guy), wounded men groan and cry, and O'Reilly's arm is bleeding heavily. The fighting sounds outside have died out, but many men can be heard bustling about, their torches casting shadows through the narrow windows. Heavy blows soon resound on the barred door of the Prince's House, as O'Reilly's serious wound is tended to. The Princess appears on the balcony above, having rushed upstairs and presumably finding her husband murdered in his bed -- she is shouting and cursing in a mix of Polish and Old Slavic. A couple of arrows have been fired in through the windows, so far to no effect. It's about 3:20 a.m.

 

---

 

The PSOs toss their PASS devices into the guardroom, and use the confusion caused by this to shoot the remaining guards, and drag the Jammer's vest, rifle, and pack away.

 

Screaming and waving weapons, the druzhina begin breaking down the door. A pepper-bomb and hand grenade from the Jammer's gear deters them for a bit. While Burns attempts (unsucessfully) to arrange an escape through the smoke-hole in the roof, O'Reilly opens negotiations, and promises the followers of Sviatopolk full amnesty and "lack of retribution" from Yaroslav. "Though some of you may have to leave town."  The leaders of the druzhina, and the bishop, agree to this on the condition that Yaroslav personally swears to it.

 

Tuesday, December 9, 1018

 

O'Reilly and a delegation of Sviatopolk's followers ride out to Yaroslav's camp, arriving just about when Yaroslav's army is preparing to advance. Khagan Yaroslav is surprised by the outcome of the PSOs mission into Kiev, but agrees to the terms. He and his army approach and enter the town, with much caution on both sides.

 

 The Jammer's gear includes a map (labelled in Chinese and English), some odd Chinese paper money, and some 19th Century silver and gold trade coins.

 

Wednesday, December 10, 1018

 

Resting-up begins. The Jammer, "Fat Albert", is brought into the Kremlin for brunch and questions. He tells a strange story indeed! Some of this comes out in later sessions over the next week.

 

Tuesday, December 16, 1018

 

Our Heroes and the Volga Bulgars leave Kiev, headed for the mouth of the Dnieper River. Many avowals of eternal chumship, etc. from Khagan Yaroslav; none at all from Sviatopolk's widow -- in fact she is probably trying to have the PSOs assassinated.

 

Tuesday, December 30, 1018

  

The Volga Bulgars and PSOs arrive at a Rus trading port on the mouth of the Dnieper - a shoddy, frozen, mostly-deserted little town at this time of year. The PSOs make arrangements to travel to Trebizond on the small merchant vessel of Captain Hieros, to depart on the 1st.

 

Wednesday, December 31st, 1018

 

New Year's Eve

 

"But the New Year doesn't start for months." ... "Shut up and drink your mead." The Volga Bulgars have a farewell feast for the PSOs. Boyar Tuvin plans to offer their services as mercenaries to the Romans, once spring arrives.

  

Thursday, January 1st, 1019

 

Captain Hieros' ship sets sail.

  

Wednesday, January 2nd, 1019

 

Captain Hiero's ship stops overnight in Chersonesos. Once a Greek colony, it was taken and sacked by Vladimir the Great in 980 AD; most of the population was slain or evacuated. There is a small Byzantine garrison among the abandoned, ruined city -- less than 2000 persons live in a city that can hold ten times that amount.

  

Thursday, January 3rd, 1019

 

Our Heroes arrive in Hermonassa, another city with a dwindling population living amidst ruins. The city is renowned for the many religions, cults, sects, and other odd groups which can be found there. See Shibam for an example of tall mud-brick buildings; however, in Hermonassa the common form of such buildings is cylindrical, with conical or domed roofs.

 

The PSOs notice that one of the buildings has an antenna on it! After a cautious approach, they are welcomed into the top-floor apartment of "Uncle Ken" early in the evening. Ken is a middle-aged Chinese fellow, living in a squalid set of rooms with several cats and lots of VHS tapes (mostly soccer games and Chinese melodramas). He isn't really surprised to see the PSOs, and seems to assume they're on his side -- he tells them that his no-good nephew, Tony Hú, sent him here to watch over a bunch of radios. The radios are set up in one of Ken's rooms, powered by a strange, Geigeresque generator. The PSOs give Uncle Ken a sort of medical exam, and hand over some soothing ointment for his aching ass, in exchange for a couple cartons of Marlboros. 

 

Later that night, the PSOs visit the Temple of Cybele, in a cave; there's an orgy going on!

 

Friday, January 4th, 1019

 

The sodden, hung-over PSOs are awakened early by Captain Hieros, and grumpily board the ship. Off to Trebizond!

 

Sunday, January 6th, 1019

 

The ship arrives at Trebizond about sunset, and are put up at Batzas's (a sort of affluent mariners' inn). The run into George, Harry, Stinky, Bob and Whizzer -- Jammers all! The Jammers assume the PSOs are fellow anarchist time-travelers, and lead them into their lair in the citadel.  A group of less than twenty Jammers are present, living in anachronistic squalor. After being shown around the lair a bit, and being issued a few items of Jammer equipment, Jason meets with the Kamonkaze.  After a bit of very intense conversation, Eric and Frank are invited to join the discussion of what to do.

 

Strangelet bombs, the rightness of punishment according to Chinese mythology, the connections between rebelliousness and destiny, the goals of other Juncture-changing groups ...

 

The Jammers' plan comes together on March 15, 1019 -- in 68 days. That'll be August 30, 1900 in the Boxer Juncture (currently it's June 23, 1900 there), or January 24, 2009 in the PSOs home juncture. The Guiding Hand expects to crush the foreign legations in Peking by the end of July, 1900 -- thus the PSOs have just over a month to thwart them.

  

Monday, January 7th, 1019

 

Having agreed to help the Jammers, the PSOs draw up a list of items they think they'll need. The Kamonkaze transmits that message (somehow) to Jammers working in the 2008 Juncture. He also gives each of them an injection of ekspert ekstrrakshin, which provides increased skills. Mandarin language, intrusion skills, and sabotage skills are the chosen ekstrrakshinz; he warns against future uses of this arcanowave-derived substance.

 

Tuesday, January 8th, 1019

 

The PSOs are led by a Jammer into the mountains ...

 

Wednesday, January 9th, 1019

 

... arriving at the monastery of Sumela after a stiff climb. A few Jammers are living there, among the monks; the PSOs rest after the very tiring trip.

  

Thursday, January 10th, 1019

 

Led by Weng (a Jammer from 1900 China) the PSOs pass through the Gate Ripper, and enter Hell. It's a rough trip, taking many hours. At the far end, tired and psychically drained, the team passes through a door and emerges in ...

 

see Section Two of the Journal