A Tale of the River Kingdoms

Game Master ZetaGilgamesh

Walter says "okay Yeah we are both better off after this. Wow sorry I did not know you two were in such a hurry. I better start sorting things now." Walter begins looking for the weapons that are his like the composite longbow and other weapons.

Looking back over his shoulder..."When you get done with that book, perhaps you could find the time to help us with our newly acquired gear. We also need your gnome ingenuity to help us come up with a name for our newly formed adventuring group."

"Ah, but I'm handling the magic gear." Quillin says with an odd gleam in his eye. "What was wrong with Barley Wine Company?" he asks indignantly. Smudge echoes, "Barley Wine!"

Quillin then finds his spot in a corner of the mess after ingratiating himself with the cook through the quick use of a prestidigitation spell to clean up the tables. He carefully finishes his notes on a spell he has been mastering Summoning I and an abjurative force shield to match his mage armor. Then Quillin pores over the first scroll he identified as summon monster II until he understands it. All this takes about three hours or most of the morning.

"I agree with the gnome and the feather duster on the name.", says Seamus voicing his opinion the subject.

Walter after soem more searching and wondering where Seamus went searches for the large chest of gold. Walter then says "Crud I forgot to loot the bear fur"". Walter after getting the bows then unloads all of the armor.

Shortly, a small pile of weapons and armor are removed from the wagon and piled on the ground along with the chest of coins.

Bastin again expresses his profuse thanks, shakes the hand of everyone present, and with Wade, drives the wagon out of the fort.

Captain Dantellion stands watching the leavetaking from the front of the administration building.

Spying Seamus, he walks over. "Festung-Captain Vastalos will be looking to talk to you as a group around noon. Do you mind meeting us in the mess then, and we can finalize our discussion?"

Walter seeing the composite bows begins to examine them more closely and seeing if they have a heavy pull or anything and how they are made. Walter after examining the bows looks to the sky to see if another storm front is moving in or if there are any clouds.

survival
1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

Quillin glances up as the din of the mess begins to increase. "Ah, must be about lunch time. I wonder how the others have enjoyed their morning. I believe it has been a most productive day so far."

He glances over the additions to his spellbook and inventories his inks from his travel chest. "There should be enough to transcribe these scrolls as well. This last scroll will be of interest to Mathieu, it is a nice little spell to reveal the invisible. What do you think about that, Smudge?"

The parrot drops down to the table squawking and pecking at invisible seeds while Quillin chuckles and ruffles his feathers.

"Captain Dantellion, I am sure this arrangement will be agreeable with the rest of my companions. I will inform them all at once.",Seamus says. With knowledge of the meeting place and time in hand, Seamus begins gathering his friends for the meeting.

Assuming Seamus has gathered the group back the pile of off loaded goods a bit before the meeting with Vastalos the following discussion will take place.

"It seems everyone is quite refreshed from a good night's sleep and some time to attend to personal matters.",he says in an exceptionally cheery voice. "As you all know I met with the commanding officer of this garrison, one Festung-Captain Vastalos, to discuss the matter of registration as an official party in this territory. His terms will supply us with a letter of rights as a private company, which will prevent being pressed into military service to the local lord.We will be givenleads on issues which fall outside his area of control or ability to correct, thus opening up search of places like the bandit camps and that tunnel we found. It also has provisions regarding the procurement of wealth and the taxes on that which we acquire. On coin he has requested five percent of total taken. While this seems fair, the questionable portion I did not truly care for was on the subject of magical items. These are to be subject to inspection and then left to his discretion as to who will be the final holder of such."

Pulling his derby off and scratching the top of his before returning the hat to its place, Seamus continues,"I do not believe we can refuse this offer if we wish to stay in the good graces of this man, but I do not think there an abscence of negotiable terms on this subject. I feel we should accept the five percent tax and work on the issue of magic. I did not want to overstep my bounds by finishing up the terms yesterday and as Walt and Matty already know, we have a meeting the man in a short while. What do you guys think about this?

Seeing Seamus beckoning from the door, Quillin offers Smudge a sleeve to climb up to his traditional shoulder perch and heads out to see what's up.

After hearing Seamus' report he nods. "Five percent is damned generous in comparison to what Cheliax was taxing me. I'd like to hear what this Festung-Captain has to say about the non-specie items we find, I'm certain I can do the best 'inspection and discretion' in the area, but otherwise it sounds like a bloody good offer..."

Smudge calls out, "Fair Dinkum!" which causes Quillin to do a double take and lift an eyebrow. "Hmm, don't think I know that one."

Not sure what you mean about their discretion with magic items, Seamus. ZetaG wrote quote: "I will overlook any other artifacts, jewelery, or magical things that you recover." Sounds like don't ask, don't tell to me :)

As the discussion continues,Seamus begins to go over the discussion a bit more in his head and adds,"You know, I was quite tired when I had the discussion with the Festung and am now thnking he actually meant he would turn the blind eye to things other than his 5 percent,haha. I am so used to dealing with Cheliax and the states like them that I forget the River Kingdoms are a bit more free wheeling from time to time."

A good citizen pays their taxes. I do find the restriction on magic a bit irksome. Without meaning to be pretentious, how would a soldier establish the worth and use of complicated arcane baubles? Might it be more dangerous to surrender such items to someone who may have less discipline than us? It gives me no small amount of discomfort to bring the issue up..

Regardless, that's a bridge that we'll have to cross when we come to it. For now, I say we take the offer and negotiate the loot issue later.

"If Walter and Mathieu are in agreement, then that leaves the matter of our appellation. I am quite fond of The Barley Wine Company, but I imagine you tall folk would like something a bit more grandiose like the Heibarr Expeditionary Force or some such. Barley Wine Company just sounds better to us small folk. I'm sure my cousin, Seamus, would agree that his folk appreciate something with a bit more humility and I like the understated elegance and humor in it and it does remind me a bit of the good ship Brandy Seas that I sailed on the Varisian Run back in '67. I mean Yergenflorn might appreciate the craft in such a name as well, but we all must be in accord. So if you have another preference, please say so now." Quillin finishes.

Seamus smiles at Quillin's remark regarding the "grandiose" needs of the larger races.

"I'm good with the terms of the contract." If they are as Quillin reported and not as Seamus reported. Mathieu ponders for a moment, "What about "The Lady's Hand"? Thinking about my conversations Seamus. It could also have a double meaning. On one account we are the death dealers, those that end the lives of the wicked and ne'er-do-well's. On the other we are those who help the innocent and helpless. Providing life to those who are about to lose it." Mathieu shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders. "I guess I haven't put much thought into it. The Barley Wine Company has a certain ring to it as well. Well, that's all I got. I'll be fine with whatever is decided." Mathieu smiles and waits for the rest to make their decision.

Walter mumbles "I am okay with the brandy wine company. I never cared much for company names to be honest I just care about the product." Walter then takes a deep breath and starts speaking clearer "The taxes I am okay with none of these magic items were of that much use to me anyway anything about the bows we looted in the agreement?".

"What about "The Lady's Hand"?" Mathieu smiles and waits for the rest to make their decision.

"Trust a priest to bring religion into it." Quillin jokes. "That does have a nice sound, but I'd prefer something non-denominational."

Walter picks up the best looking composite bow and say " I would like to keep this bow."

zetaGsome descriptions of the gear would be helpful here.

"Aye, Walter. We can all see you have a special relationship with that bow. Everyone feel free to pick out whatever you need from the gear and we can sell off the rest."

"Walter definitely needs the better bow, it's just not safe for him to be in melee range of any enemy. One little scratch and he might be the one taking the lady's hand." Yergie teases her companion.

"Well mates, if that's all settled, then let's get a bite to eat before our meeting with the Festung-Captain." Quillin heads back into the mess to stow his chest and check on lunch.

The mess hall is nearly empty and quiet when you enter. In the far corner, near the wall, sits an elven gentleman of commanding stature. Dantellion stands at the elf's left hand and slightly behind him, a grin flits across his face as he sees you come in. He obviously remembers a bit of the previous evening's festivities, and he spoils his decorum for a moment as he pulls a funny face over the elf's shoulder where he cannot see it. A beautiful spear of ancient design sits propped in the corner.

Walking up to the table you see a map, held down with cutlery, lying on the table. Beside it is something that appears to be a contract or writ.

Map on the Table

The elf stands and gestures to the bench on the far side of the table. "Greetings to you. I have not had the pleasure of making all of your acquaintances, so allow me to introduce myself. I am Festung-Captain Vastalos, master of this fort and the companies based out of it. I hope that Seamus has explained my proposition. Have you come to an accord?"

Overcome with the official-ness of it all, Quillin doffs his battered tricorner and bows his head. "My name is Fess-um, Quillin Inkpot and I believe we have, Sir." Quillin glances at his companions.

Smudge, not to be left out of the proceedings calls, "Name's Smudge, you rat bastard!" as Quillin looks a bit embarassed.

Walter glances a little angrily at smudge and then says "my name is Walter Orlin and I also belive we have come to an agreement. " Walter then nervouly takes a step backwards.

After grabbing one of the heavy crossbows and all the bolts, Mathieu follows Quillin, Walter and the rest of the group to the mess hall. Mathieu steps through the door as Smudge makes his remark. He shakes his head with a smile and continues to walk forward until he stands directly behind Quillin. "Hello Captain Vastalos. I am Mathieu Rordene, servant of the Lady of Graves." Mathieu bows his head slightly and continues, "Indeed, I believe we have come to accept the terms as written. It is our desire to both help where we can and be able to adventure freely in these lands without heavy restrictions or forced military conscription."

Yergie approaches the captain to add her two pinches. Much like the wine of barley itself, we are strong, well brewed, and have a good head. We look forward to working with you.

Running just a step or two behind his companions, Seamus slides in the door as quiet as the rat on his matchcase. "Ah Festung-Captain Vastalos, Captain Dantellion, I hope you've been introduced to my friends. Have they informed you of our decision yet?.

”I don’t believe that I have ever seen a parrot this far north. I hope that come spring, you will not have a feathered icicle hanging from your shoulder.”, Vastalos gives a wry smile. ”Milady, gentlemen, I cannot stress this enough: It is you who are doing the people of Gralton a service. We do not have the people, money nor political will to deal with all the issues that crop up. We have far too much territory that needs to be patrolled and our borders are more akin to a sieve than a wall. Away from the roads becomes the territory of brigands, thieves and various bands of goblins, orcs and their ilk.” He pauses and unrolls a document on the table. It looks like an official document. There are seals attached to the bottom of it. ”This is what we will use to separate those who are within the law, and those who are outside of it. It is a writ that will make your company a legal group. As long as you remain above the law, your fortunes and your persons will be protected.”

“The cost of being official is five percent of any bullion recovered. Thankfully those in power have decided that those recovered funds will help pay for maintenance of the roads and upkeep of the guard. So you will be further contributing to the safety of Gralton.”

”Please write in the name of your company across the top, here. Then here at the bottom, make your mark. If you are unable to write Dantellion will assist you.”

Smudge looks a bit unsettled at Vastalos' comment.

Before the others can take a look, Quillin quickly grabs up the contract. "No offense, Sir, but I spent enough time in Cheliax to be a bit wary of signing anything." Quillin takes his time reviewing the terms and looking for any fine print.

Linguistics (for the heck of it) 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

Finally, he smiles and draws out a particularly large quill pen and skillfully and ornately writes out The Barley Wine Company in fanciful gnome cursive across the top. Then with a wink to his companions, he makes his mark which resembles a stylized 'Q' shaped like a feather.

Walter slowly walks up and waits a little impatieintily then slowly grabs the pen and slowly writes his name a little shakily having not written for a while.

Yergie adds her signature to the page, complete with a stylized drawing of a stein whose handle is a Y that is embellished to look like branching wheat.

Mathieu follows the Northwoman. Adding a symbol of Pharasma behind his name.

Following the lead of the others, Seamus makes his way up to the table hopping up on a chair to look at the document. Giving the military men a nod, the halfling adds his name to the page. "Well. It looks like we are in business!

Dantellion pulls the signed document off to the side of the table and begins copying information into a ledger.

Vastalos smiles, happiness evident in his ancient eyes. "Wonderful. Congratulations to all of you. When Dantellion is done recording everything, you can take the writ with you. Please take care of it."

Vastalos comes to his feet and begins to pace behind the table, walking a moment in silence gatheringing his thoughts before beginning to speak."I am aware of three matters that deserve your attention at this time. The first is the situation in the north. The second is the recent surge in piracy on the river. The last is that I have a request from a friend in the City to find someone to assist him that may require travelling some distance, perhaps to Absalom or to points north of the River Kingdoms."

"The situation in the north is to put it mildly, confused. The brigands that you encountered were actually a part of a band that lived in the forests near Heibarr. I am uncertain what caused them to move from their position of relative safety into Gralton, and the individual that we captured was unable to provide any further information, despite our questioning. Another indication is that there are reports of goblinoids moving south as well. So something is going on, and it needs to be determined what it is before it impacts the harvest up north. Loss of crops will put the city into a possible rationing situation before the end of winter, and Gralton can ill afford the civil discord that would result."

"To the south, on the river between Gralton and Artume, river boats have gone missing. Whole crews and all the goods disappear all together. Interestingly we haven't seen any of the goods surface in Gralton or Artume, so we are not certain if it is brigands, monsters, magic or nature. It isn't every riverboat that vanishes however. Most traffic is getting through, but perhaps one in twenty are disappearing. This is having a chilling effect on trade, trade that is the lifeblood of the city. We can survive for a time with reduced trade, but if this isn't resolved by the end of the winter, businesses will start closing and disruption is sure to follow."

Quillin listens attentively, "Sheesh, no lack of work to be done in the River Kingdoms. I'd like to pick a few things up in the city, but I'm on no hurry to head out of the River Kindoms currently. I'm not sure I'm up for playing hide and go seek in the woods with goblins either. If I had my druthers I'd vote to get back on a boat. Easy way to travel anyway. Then there's the issue of exploring those ruins we found under the bandit fort. That could explain some of the activity around here. It just seems unlikely for bandits to put much effort into digging up ruins."

Walter sighs and then slowly says "Of course a riverboat leaves no tracks to follow it. Aslo Qulilin if we do end up going after the gobllins do not touch their "dogs" we do not want this ending up like the posion oak. " Walter looks down for a bit and goes off on a tangent "starvation is really bad I hope no one has to suffer it."

"It appears to me that our choice has already been made. I don't know how long it will take to do each one of these tasks individually, but I think the order to do them has already been chosen." Mathieu glances at the Captain, "While the most lucrative job may be helping the good Captain's friend, it also appears the to be the one job that can wait." Mathieu turns his attention to the map still on the table. He points to the rivers to the south. "If we go after the missing ships, we may not be able to do anything about the brigands and bandits before harvest, and many people will die of starvation." Mathieu pauses, giving his words time to settle and strike the right nerves. Pointing to the north edge of the map, "As I said, it appears our course of action has already been chosen. Unless there is another group that can step up to the challenge and save these people? Fate has given us a crossroads, which path we take will make all the difference in the world. My vote is to travel north and find the answers to the brigand and bandit problem. Perhaps we can start by finding out what is underneath the cabin we found."

Mathieu waits patiently for everyone else to through their two copper pieces into the hat.

Agreed, Mathieu! Save the wheat, save the beer, save the world.

Smudge hops up to the top of Quillin's hat and loudly calls out, "Save the Beer! Save the Beer!"

Quillin yanks off his hat to take a swing at the fluttering parrot. "Lay off you pea brained bird!" Smudge flaps back to the rafters and Quillin sighs. "The least comfortable of our options, but it appears I am doomed to spend my end days with this lot of rustics, sleeping on damp grass and rocks and well, whatever the hell Walter is talking about!"

He scratches his dreads a moment, "I seem to recall hearing of a conjuration that manifested a comfortable little interdimensional domicile...I'd better look into that."

"Just make sure it has room for two, haha.", Seamus says to Quillin laughing.

Walter nods and says "I agree Yergie lets find those bandits just becuase we can't track the ships does not mean we cannot track the briginds if they travel by land. ".

Walter turns to Quillin and says "It will be getting a lot easier to recognize as it turns redder. "

Vastalos smiles at the enthusiastic display before him. "Well I believe our business here is through. If you recovered anything from the bandits, Dantellion will be happy to assist you with your forfeit. Additionally, while I am master of this fort, you will have a safe haven. All of the beds are spoken for in the barracks, but you can always set up camp inside and use the mess while you are here.", he stands, and nods his head at the group. "I have some justice to dispense, so you must excuse me."

The elf takes his spear from the corner and departs, a grim look marring his face.

Dantellion stands and rolls the writ into a small tube the tassels from the seals hanging out the sides, which he then hands to Quillin. "And here you go. Good luck and all that," he smiles wryly. "You know I envy your freedom. I wish that commitments and oaths did not bind me here...I would leave with you in a heartbeat otherwise." He pauses for a moment, looking out the mess door, then turns back to the group. "Back to business...did you recover anything from the brigands?"

"Oh, just a couple things." Quillin says as he stows the writ in a scroll pocket of his component belt.

Whistling for Smudge he leads the way back to the Pile o' Things for the reckoning. See above minus 25 gp for Mathieu's heavy X-bow.

Dantellion eyes the pile for a moment before nudging the chest with his boot. "What is in the chest?", he asks calmly.

On the other side of the yard, a bound and hooded man is being led out of a small building behind the smithy. Two large men have him by the arms and are half leading him, half dragging him along. Behind them a short heavy set woman, muscled with a green tinge to her skin walks with an oddly jaunty step. She appears to be covered in blood, but by the sprightly spring in her walk, it probably isn't hers.

Walter says "Seamus do you want to open it up for the capitan?" Walter then waits for Seamus to open it up.

Dantellion eyes the pile for a moment before nudging the chest with his boot. "What is in the chest?", he asks calmly.

is this the chest from the bedroom?

"Ah, we did find a little bit of money the bandits had hoarded along with a chain made of precious metals, but this was all before we signed your contract so I figure we are clear to keep it all. I didn't see anything about the terms being retroactive, eh?"

Glancing at the drama across the yard, Quillin dismisses it with the thought that only a half-orc would enjoy being an executioner.

Of course, we'd like to find the owner of the chain and return it. Yergie explains.

"What you do with the jewelry is your own business, I am only concerned with the coins. Let's see...", he squats down and counts through the coins. After a moment he pulls out a small abacus, clicks his way through some calculations, and makes an annotation in his ledger. "Fifty pieces of gold it is. Here is your receipt. And now all our business is taken care of.", he says as he stands up, handing the receipt to Quillin.

"As the Festung-Captain said, you are welcome to camp in the fort as long as necessary, and you have the use of the mess like any of the soldiers. The food might be cheap, but it is filling. If you have anything else that you want to discuss, I will be around. But for now, I need to deal with other business, I have two lances to run and a patrol to set up.", Dantellion smiles, gives a jaunty salute, turns on his heel and starts off toward the barracks.

Across the yard, the woman has the hooded prisoner up on the gibbet, a tied noose around his neck. The two soldiers keep holding on to his arms, restraining and steadying him on the platform.

"Martin Martinson, you have been found guilty of murder and brigandage. You are a threat to the peace of the people of Gralton and must now answer for your crimes. Do you have anything to say?" The voice of the woman melodious and calm, distinctly incongruent with her stature and race. She waits for a silent moment then continues. "Festung-Captain Vastalos has listened to the testimony of several merchants against you and found you guilty of the named crimes. I now carry out the sentence for murder and brigandage."

The woman pulls a lever and the hooded man drops. Seemingly in the same instant a shout comes from the hooded man, "I am the herald!" and then is silenced as he jerks to a sudden stop. The woman waits for a few moments, then cuts the body down.

The two soldiers gather the body and carry it out of the fort in silence.

Cursing as he hands over a portion of their hard won gold, Quillin moans, "See there, they've already got their talons in us! Wait, where can we sell the rest of this gear? A fort could always use a bit more armor and weapons, no?' Quillin gestures to the pile from the wagon.

Distracted for a moment by the spectacle on the gallows, Quillin mumbles, "Odd thing to say for your last words."

Smudge parrots the oft-repeated Andoran line, "Give me liberty or give me death!Grawk!"

Seems to think for a second and says "and I thought smudge said things that do not make much sense sometimes. Those last words seem ominous but hearld might mean something religous Mathieu do you have any clue what that means?"

Walter then tihnks for a moment. "Also don't we still have to escort Emet all the way into Gralton? We could sell our goods there."

Mathieu tries to think back to any prophecies he has heard that may have to deal with the current events.

Knowledge (religion): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26