Turn 4.0
Sent: 11/20/98
Most of the party agrees to split the coins equally between the six of them. (Each person gets approx 6gp, 8sp). Edryd expresses interest in examining the Long Swords, which he does. The swords appear to be of average value and condition. They are slightly rusty, and one of them is slightly unbalanced. With a "hmf" Edryd returns the weapons to the pile, from which those who expressed interest take what they wanted:
Canter claims one of the suits of Ring Mail--the better one, in his opinion, after examining both of them. He examines it closely, trying to see where he can attach some leather padding underneath to make it more comfortable.
Guilliam comments on the pile with a smile and picks up the daggers, handing one to Storm and placing the other in his belt. Storm sniffles in approval, forcibly adding his newfound weapon to his own belt. Storm then reaches down, seeing that nobody else is making any kind of move toward the pile, and picks up the Bastard Sword, one of the Long Swords, and the Stiletto. He then puts these items away among his things with a wide, half-toothless smile.
There is some discussion regarding the horses. For the time being, the general concensus is to keep them, at least as far as the next place to stop and gather an idea of their wealth, or inquire about the purchase of an accompanying wagon.
Crayne, who had been quitely sitting on the side of the road staring at a book in his lap, rises and paces toward Hound. He begins to intone some words of magic, and soon a colorful ray of light shoots from his hand into the eyes of Hound, who is standing, bound by Canter's make-shift cuffs.
"Good day! I can assure you that I mean you no harm!" he nodds assuringly, waiting for the man's reply, trying to notice whether the spell has succeeded. "Would you be interested in joining our party on the road as far as Caerloon acting as a protector of the group? I would be prepared to pay you! What do you say?" Crayne again awaits his reply, looking for any sort of change in attitude towards himself.
Hound seems unfocused for a moment, but then a smile slowly dawns across his face. He nods his head lethargically, saying in a quiet calmed voice. "For you, sir, I'd be happy to act as a guide and protector..."
Upon hearing this change of heart, Guilliam asks the man, "Can you say if you're from Caerloon? And with you to guide, would we be there soon?"
Hound nods, more quickly now, in response. "I do say I from the Kingdom. Though I am of the northern lands, the area of Faren. I never been far from there. It my home." A smile glides across Guilliam's face. Guilliam turns to face the rest of the party with a look that seems to say, 'this could work out after all...'
With things settled, at least for now, Crayne, Canter, and Guilliam mount the horses (after Edryd refuses kindly, taking up position in front of the group), with Storm and Cy loading the remaining loot onto the back of Crayne's horse for transport. There is a light breeze through the air and as the party continues on, with Cy keeping a watchful eye over their newfound guide and "protector," and Hound looking up to Crayne on his horse the whole way. As the party travels on, the smell of blood and sweat from the battle begins to fade into the afternoon.
By dusk the party has been travelling without a stop for rest. For a while they talked about their mission, asking Hound questions, but he really didn't know very much. Tired and hungry, the group continues on the road south. Suddenly Edryd calls out from the front, "I do believe I see the fort ahead!"
"It's about bloody time," replies Canter, "my stomach's been a'growling for hours, now." Storm grunts in agreement.
The party ambles and the horses trot up to the fort, which is some distance from the main road. It is built mostly of wood, though heavily reinforced. Four tall towers loom above the four corners, and were it daylight one could possibly see the guards with their bows peering down over the landscape. "We must be close to the border now," comments Guilliam. "Probably true," responds Edryd, continuing forward.
As the party approaches the main gate, they hear the familiar sounds of a gallop behind them. Cy and Storm spin around, their weapons drawn in defense. Hound bustles past them, weaponless (though now uncuffed), in a vain attempt at a first-line defense. "Who goes there?" a voice cries out from the approaching party.
Edryd calls out into the growing darkness: "We are sent of the Knights of Rinder. We come in peace and seeking shelter. We have been sent by Nigel!"
As Edryd finishes the greeting, four horses, each topped with an armed and armored soldier, emerge from the darkness. The lead soldier speaks to Edryd and the party. "So you are the ones. We were expecting you earlier today. Run into trouble along the way, eh? Ol' Nigel should have warned you about that. Well, in any case, I'm glad you made it. Come on in, I'll treat you to dinner, treat your wounds, and we can discuss your mission." With a smile, the soldier leads the group into the fort.
Inside the fort are a number of buildings, barracks, stables, various shops, and a well in the center of the large sqaure. The soldier brings his horse to the stable and returns to the party. He is slightly taller than average, and a dirty-blonde beard covers his face (well trimmed), connecting with the curls atop his head. He is human and wears a reassuring smile as he approaches the group. "Welcome, gentlemen, to Fort Mitchend. I am captain Frond of the Knights of Rinder. I can see by the torchlight that many of you have minor wounds from whatever obstacle you defeated on the road here. Over in that building you'll find some bandages and clean water. Then you will find some guest quarters in that building on the other side in which you can leave your things; you'll spend the night there. Dinner begins in an hour, and I've been looking forward to dining with you at the officers' table."
With that, some members of the party get themselves bandaged, joining the rest in their rooms in the barracks. The rooms are relatively comfortable, the straw mattresses not luxurious, but sufficient for the night. "At least we've got a roof above our heads!" jokes Guilliam.
An hour passes in peace and soon the party is gathered around the officers' table with Captain Frond. The room is well lit, and the food, fresh beef, is well cooked with some vegitables and wine. All partake, enjoying the unusually filling meal. As they are eating, the Captain looks around the table, inspecting the faces of each member of the party.
"Excuse me for being a little confused, but I thought Nigel was looking for six of you. I count seven.
"Well, I'm sure you can answer that in good time. I suppose I should welcome you again to Mitchend. As we are alone in this room, we can speak freely about your mission. I've been told briefly about what you need to do. This Mazen character is one tricky soldier. He's grown more and more effective with each raid and yet still manages to catch us slightly off guard every time. Frankly, I'd like to eat him for dinner just like this meat here on my plate!" With that, the Captain lets out a loud laugh. Storm joins in, raising his glass of wine with a smile. "But seriously, if you folk are as good as Nigel must think you are, then I trust that this menace won't be bothering us too much longer.
"Let me tell you what I know. In case you aren't familiar with the area, hundreds of years ago the land we now call the Kingdom of Caerloon was actually several smaller, weaker kingdoms. These smaller provinces were united under the flag of Caerloon, the strongest among them, and secured in the war fought between Caerloon and Rinder so many years ago. Since then, Caerloon has encompassed nearly all of these former kingdoms, though the locals often identify themselves more with their local kingdom than with the Kingdom of Caerloon.
"We're not sure exactly where Mazen is from, but we know of two places which could be his camp, so to speak. The commanding officers of the other forts along the border have mostly come to agree that Mazen either is either stationed right around one of the towns just inside the Caerloon border, or the other rumor is that he is actually camped in the hills, farther inside Caerloon itself. We don't know which of these possibilities, both rumors, are true. But that should give you somewhere to start.
"I would be careful in there, however. You may meet some who have no problem with Rinderfolk wandering around their towns and villages, but if you meet up with any officers or officials of the Caerloon king, you could be in for some trouble.
"You may stay here as long as you wish, until your wounds are healed and you're all ready to go. But I plead with you not to wait too long; Mazen grows stronger each day and the sooner you can stop him, the better. You may set out on your own, or you may join one of my patrols in the hopes of coming across Mazen and his troope. Whatever you like, just let me know soon.
"Have you any questions for me? And can you tell me who among you is the seventh man?"
1. Do you have any questions for Captain Frond of Fort Mitchend? What will you tell him about Hound?
2. How long do you want to wait before setting out to look for Mazen? Will you go out on your own or join one of the Captain's patrols? If you set out on your own, which possible camp will you investigate first?
3. While comfortably camped at Fort Mitchend, do you have any preparations to make, weapons to clean, spells to memorize?
4. Question: Would you guys be interested in a web site for the game? I've been working on one over the last couple of days. If you guys don't feel you're going to really use it, then I won't bother spending time on it, but if you'd like, I can put some finishing touches on the basic elements and post it. Right now I'm trying to put together some pages containing the basic rules/guidelines, maps you've encountered so far (including Guilliam's map), and archives of previous turns. Let me know if you think this would be useful and I'll give you the URL.