[Chrysaphios the merchant, formerly of Constantinople, starts out from Cherson to pursue rumors he's heard of a valley filled with ghosts....]

You whisper "you started out for hte mountains, right?" to Chrysaphios.
You whisper "I figure you brought maybe a dozen peopel with your, though most of those are clerks and maids for your motehr and isters...." to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers " oh, do i have taken my mother and sisters with me?"
Chrysaphios whispers " really?"
You whisper "yes, I think that's what we said at teh start :)" to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers " *nod*"
You whisper "eventually you reach Gothia, in the mountains, and come to a village in the foothills." to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers " i think the women hadnt to work at home?"
You whisper "you mean home in constaninople or in chersonesus?" to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers " first const then cherson"
You whisper "ah, yes yo don't bring all the women to the maoutnain with you, just a couple of guards...this is just aperosnal trip after all." to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers " *nod* ok that sounds better .-)"
You whisper "anyway, you come to a village" to Chrysaphios.
You whisper "anyway, do you want ot ask about the ghosts?" to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers " in the village we pose as travellers, doing some rest and cautiously i ask for news (hope to get siomething about the village)"
You whisper "okay...a woman inthe village throw up her arms...'They're stealing our chickens!  It's shameful that Lord Ulrik would let a thing like this go on!'" to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers " they? "
You whisper "of course!  them in the valley" to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers " them? robbers? strangers?"
You whisper "right after they took up there the chickens started disappearing....(by the way, the communication is a little hard here, since she doesn't speak very good Greek)" to Chrysaphios.
You whisper "yes yes...the strangers..well the robbers were there all along, but they weren't so bad, you just wouldn't want to go in there what with them there, but now...well it's not safe for normal people, you know?" to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers " *i shake my head and behave indignant"
You whisper "why are you behaving indignantly?" to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers " if i behave indignant she will feel affirmed and will talk more about the strangers"
You whisper "ohhhh! right :)" to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers " i try to get the way to the valley out of her without asking about the way"
You whisper "actually she's waving her hands in that direction as she talks, and it's pretty obvious she's referring to a depression full of trees off to the east." to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers " ahhh :-)"
You whisper "the woman says, 'first ghosts and robbers, and now wizards and chicken thieves; honest folk just can't get along nowadays!'" to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers " ok i nod to her, wish her a good day and after i collect my men, we travelled on the road until we are out of sight, then hurry for the trees"
Chrysaphios whispers " for or to the trees?"
You whisper "either" to Chrysaphios.
You whisper "as you approach, it's obvious the place is magical--you can feel the Aura." to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers " *nod* i think this could be the place i search. people so strange that robbers will flee.. that must be wizards"
Chrysaphios whispers " btw. do i know anyone of the from const*? maybe helena?"
You whisper "hm...what did we say about whehter or not you knew any wizards?  I can't remember" to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers " dont know too"
You whisper "well what do you think?" to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers " i think i want to contact them, maybe i knew helena"
You whisper "yes, but you have no idea wehther they'd be anywhere around here..." to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers " *nod* i am searching for strange people( i have heard from) im not searching helena. but i react different if i know one of them"
You whisper "well you haven't seen anyone you know yet...when you reach the woods all you see is a guard along the trail at teh edge of the forest" to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers " i walk slowly up to the guard and great him friendly (on greek): Hello friend! We come in peace. Mybe i am allowed to talk to the master or masters of this wood?"
You whisper "he doens't understnad a word you're sayin" to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers " i repeat it on latin"
You whisper "same effect" to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers " how do he react as we approach?"
You whisper "one of hte men you've hired locally says, "Sir, I expect he speaks Gothic--that's the language up here; could I try?"" to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers " say oh yes please great him"
You whisper "your man talks to the guard...it seems ot be a difficult conversation, but they understand each other somewhat" to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers " i made a memo in my mind: learn gothic"
You whisper "okay :)" to Chrysaphios.
You whisper "your man says "He tells me he won't let anyone pass here without permission from his masters"" to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers " ok, i think my man asked the guard to bring me to his masters/s"
You whisper "okay...the guard thinks for a minute...." to Chrysaphios.
You whisper "he turns around and calls into the woods, and another guard who'd been hidden before now steps out and hurries back up the trail." to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers "  does the guard come back? :-) preparing a guard puppet?"
You whisper "oh yes, eventually he comes back :)" to Chrysaphios.
You whisper "okay, yes, the guard returns, and says (through your man) that Lady Helena would be very interested in meeting a merchant" to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers "  fine. i will follow him. (and my men too i hope :-) )"
You whisper "okay, we can't get much farther in this, but he leads you through t woods...it's definitely a magic woods..and in fact as you get closer to your destination you can feel the magic aura growing stronger.  You also, on occasion, catch sight if a ghost" to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers "  ghosts? men? women? warriors? "
You whisper "warriors it looks like...in fact they seem to be curious about you, they're watching you" to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers "  i bow to them"
Chrysaphios whispers "  i dont care about my men and the guards..."
You whisper "well you can't realy, you jsut catch glimpses of them occaoinsally looking at you" to Chrysaphios.
Chrysaphios whispers "  ah, sorry"

[The scene then changes.]

Edward> You say "okay..."
Edward> You say "Chrysaphios, you've been led to the the covenant..you can tell the aura is very strong here"
Edward> Chrysaphios nods.
Edward> Sir Richard says "where did chrysaphios come from?"
Edward> Chrysaphios says " i came from Constantinople dear Sir"
Edward> Sir Richard says "when did you leave the beseiged city sir?"
Edward> Chrysaphios says " just before the army close the ring around it 
Edward> You say "he's a merchant, just wandered up to the forest on his own"
Edward> You say "Helena decided to let him come to the covenant, since she's been trying to establish contacts with merchants...and it turns out they knew each other."
Edward> Sir Richard says "and how did you manage to find us, sir? Excuse me, what was your name?"
Edward> You say "Helena met with him for a while, but he wandered out into the courtyard i the evening...apparently he can see the ghosts like you can"
Edward> Chrysaphios says " I have heard rumoers about you at cherson. i searched for a valley with strange men. My name is Chrysaphios Eudokios"
Edward> Chrysaphios smiles friendly.
Edward> Chrysaphios says " maybe you are asking why i have searched you: i have to left my family to establish new merchant contacts - my father is looking for new trading routes"
Edward> Sir Richard says "so you have met our resident ghosts, Chrys?"
Edward> Chrysaphios says " yes i take a glimpse of them"
Edward> You say "teh ghosts have begun to take an interest in your conversation, hovering about the edges of the courtyard and over the pool at the spring"
Edward> Sir Richard says "do I recognise any that I have seen before?"
Edward> Chrysaphios says " do i recognize if they just curious or anxious or anrgy?"
Edward> You say "curious"
Edward> Sir Richard says "do I recognise any of the ghosts?"
Edward> Chrysaphios says " ok then i continue talking in normal voice"
Edward> You say "yes, you recognize most of them"
Edward> Sir Richard smiles at Chrysaphios' anxious look
Edward> Sir Richard says "so, now that you are here, what do you intend to do?"
Edward> Chrysaphios says " i would like to work for you: to establish trades between you and my family. May i ask if some wizards living here too?"
Edward> Sir Richard says "yes, there are many wizards living here. "
Edward> Chrysaphios says " i was always fascinated about tales of wizards. i want to contact mages in constantinople but the the Latins came"
Edward> Chrysaphios says " but i think i can earn some money for you - and for my family"
Edward> Sir Richard turns an expressionless face towards Chrysaphios: "Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are fickle and quick to anger"
Edward> Sir Richard says "OOC: sorry, couldn't resist!"
Edward> Sir Richard says "any change withthe ghosts"
Edward> You say "nope, but they're still looking on"
Edward> Chrysaphios whispers " hmm, my sisters and mother are in cherson. is that a good place for them or would it be better to bring them here - if this valley can be a place for us (if the wizards allow us to stay)"
Edward> You whisper "well I"m sure cherson is safe, but you may decide to bring them here evnetually...probalby you'll want ot know if you trust these people first though" to Chrysaphios.
Edward> Sir Richard motions for them to come closer "don't be afraid, guys...
Edward> Chrysaphios says " hmm, i dont know what you can produce here, but i think that most of it can be sold to my father"
Edward> You say "the ghosts approach"
Edward> Sir Richard looks at each of the ghosts in turn... "So what do you think? what can we sell from here?
Edward> You say "one ghost smiles, 'We are warriors, Sir Richard, not merchants.'"
Edward> You whisper "helena has discussed with you selling wine, oranges, and maybe a few other things, forest products mostly" to Chrysaphios.
Edward> Sir Richard says "As am I, my friend. But you have lived here longer than I. You know the riches of this place much better..."
Edward> Chrysaphios asked Sir Richard silently: " do you know why the ghosts haunt this valley?"
Edward> Sir Richard says "yes, I do..."
Edward> You say "I'm sure your people here will harvest the oranges and the grapes, just as we did before you."
Edward> Sir Richard says "what of the lumber? "
Edward> Chrysaphios says " yes, oranges and grapes, helena had told me of it"
Edward> You say "Perhaps."
Edward> Chrysaphios asked Sir Richard silently: " would you like to tell me why they haunt here?"
Edward> Sir Richard says "did you notice any strangeness when cutting trees?"
Edward> You say "the ghost says, 'There were no trees here then, only fields.'"
Edward> Sir Richard says "the question was whether he had realized that the trees were alive"
Edward> Chrysaphios nods
Edward> Chrysaphios says " i think it is difficult for him to find this out as a ghsot"
Edward> You say "The ghost says, 'The trees were not alive then.'"
Edward> Chrysaphios says " Sir Richard , i think he can only tell about his time as a living being"
Edward> Sir Richard says "what has happened here since you died <what's his name anyway>?"
Edward> You say "the ghost says, 'Very little has happened"
Edward> You say "the ghost says, 'The trees grew, the buildings crumbled...all has been peaceful.'"
Edward> Chrysaphios says " Sir Richard, could it be possible that the trees got alive as they grew here in this strong magical aura? "
Edward> Sir Richard says "I know not of these things... you should ask Lord Stefanos"
Edward> Chrysaphios nods.
Edward> Chrysaphios says " what would you suggest what i should do now or to whom i should speak? I would like to stay here"
Edward> Sir Richard says "Talk to Helena. She is the administrator here. She will be able to give you the details on anything you need to do"