”I’d like to try to rescue our people. Let’s try to track the slavers ourselves.”
As John flounders without a bow in his hands, hopefully one of his stalwart companions can do better.
The trail is cold---dead cold. It is unlikely that the captured citizens were all taken to the same place; some may be in Cheliax, others in Okeno, others even further afield. You could spend months or years trying to track them down, potentially without success... and leaving your lands leaderless and vulnerable in the meantime.
"Let me see if I can pick up on any leads. I'll be back shortly."
Bytor heads out to see if he can find any clue that will help lead him toward the slavers without losing years of time.
John and Bytor both spend the entire morning chasing dead leads, getting nowhere.
DV60, Scent
and LLV Scent
The Huntsmen set out at noon, making camp at the ford on the Shrike Road and reaching Nettles' Crossing by the end of the next. The third day you camp at the Shrike Cascade, and hook 'round the northern tip of the Tors on the fourth. You spend two days verifying Varn's maps of the confluence of the Red Kiravoy and main Kiravoy rivers, just south of Fort Serenko. .
On [color=teal]14th Rova[/color] you cross the Red Kiravoy to make for the Varnhold Road along the eastern foothills of the Tors. You continue your efforts to verify Varn's maps along the way .
Just before you would cross the Kiravoy to rejoin the road on [color=teal]16th Rova[/color], Augrym spots a desiccated skeleton lying half-hidden between some scrub at the bottom of a shallow gulch in the foothills.
Once Augrym points it out, John looks for obvious reasons for death... whether signs of predators in the area, a cliff above the skeleton, or a fearsome creature sitting atop the bones and slavering at the party hungrily.
John stares intently in the wrong direction apparently, and determines who knows what.
Taranis takes a look
The unusual arrangement of the limbs and sharp break in the uppermost vertebrae suggest that a fall and a subsequently broken neck were the cause of death.
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After Augrym asks Taranis what "desiccated" means...
"Is there any way for us to identify who this was? Do any of you know how to speak to the dead? In a manner in which they would speak back, that is."
"An ignoble death." Taranis searches the body for a hint of his or her identity.
We're not in a rush....
The now-threadbare garb that still adorns the skeleton was once fine silk and tooled leather. An expertly embroidered half-cape is fastened with a mother-of-pearl brooch adorned with gold filigree.
"Could this be Edrist's brother?" Taranis takes the brooch for identification.
The suspicion that Edrist's brother met his end in this lonely ditch lingers in the Duke's mind. No doubt Edrist would be glad of the closure, at least.
You cross the Kiravoy and rejoin the Varnhold Road in the morning, making for the Kiravoy Bridge. At the Bridge, you leave the road and hug the eastern bank, eventually descending out of the hills and into the plains at the western edge of Nomen territory. In a little under a week, you are able to verify another 300 square miles of Varn's maps .
You decide your next move while breaking your fast on [color=teal]22nd Rova[/color].
"Do we know much about the Nomen's? I am happy to build our relationship with them."
After a momentary memory lapse, Bytor soon recalls the many times you have interacted with the Nomen before, including the treaty you settled earlier this year.
After a bit of hard tack and jerky, you press southwest. This patch of Dunsward was hotly disputed between the Varnling settlers and the Nomen centaurs, and you find occasional evidence of skirmishes: broken arrow heads, dented shields, a notched sword, and the like. By midday on [color=teal]23rd Rova[/color] you have the area mapped.
Taranis points west, "We'll need to return soon, but we can check out a little more on the way."
DV60, Scent
and LLV Scent
Early in your exploration of the Tors to the west , Bytor discovers a cave entrance hidden behind an upthrust spur of rock and further concealed with a thick layer of brush.
"Caves are often entrances to adventure, danger, and treasure." With some quick hand signals, Taranis begins looking about for tracks or signs of habitation.
"Good idea."
"Sniff sniff."
All three find nothing: while the brush was clearly placed here, there are no tracks, no traps, and no scents beyond the pine and the mountain air.
The Huntsmen brave the entrance. Inside is a small antechamber, which splits off in three directions. After a short debate, you elect to take the left-hand passage first, and to proceed with each left-hand turn available and not previously taken. An hour later and you have mapped out a 15-room cave complex.
The entire complex is empty, save for a few bits of broken wood or metal and a few scraps of cloth.
Once the hex is mapped, "Huntsmen, there is little left in this area, let's map out the rest and head home." I don't have my notes, there are two remaining hexes here to map, 75 and 76 I think?[/ooc]
Though abandoned, this cave complex could make for a useful defensive fallback point.
It takes two days to finish mapping the nearby mountains. On [color=teal]26th Rova[/color] you gather to decide whether to tackle another unfinished expanse of map or head for Castle Redleaf.
Opting to stay afield long and return modestly tardy, the Huntsmen proceed southeast into a stretch of the eastern hills before returning to the Tors.
It takes little over a week to confirm the last southern patches of Varn's maps, at which point you make for the Talon Peak watchtower and follow the Talon and Silverstep roads back to Solasgaard. You cross through the city gates near sundown on [color=teal]6th Lamashan[/color]. Akiros meets you on the road outside the city to inform you that petitioners have been encamped outside Castle Redleaf for some time, and your council is eager to get to business first thing in the morning.
Upkeep Phase
Step 0 - Ruler: Declare the Duke's modifiers (Economy, Loyalty, or Stability).
Step 1 - Stability: Roll Stability Check. If successful, reduce Unrest by 1 (to a minimum of 0).
Step 2 - Consumption: Consumption has been deducted from the treasury. See "Ledger" tab.
Step 3 - Magic Items: .
Step 4 - Modify Unrest: Roll Loyalty Check to reduce Unrest, if desired (cannot be reduced below 0). Failure incurs permanent -1 penalty to Loyalty.
Edict Phase
Step 0 - Spymaster: Declare Spymaster's modifier (Economy, Loyalty, or Stability).
Step 1 - Assign Leadership: Assign new leadership or fill vacancies, if desired.
Step 2 - Claim Hex: Claim up to 4 new hexes of territory, if desired. All hexes must be fully explored to be claimed.
Step 3 - Abandon Hex: Abandon any number of hexes of existing territory, if desired.
Step 4 - Build Terrain: Pay for up to 7 terrain improvements in existing territory, if desired.
Step 5 - Settlements: Found up to 2 new settlements in existing territory. A site must first be prepared for settlement. Additionally, pay for construction of up to 10 new buildings in your existing settlements. The construction of a single house, tenement, noble villa, or mansion does not count against this limit, but must still be paid for.
Step 6 - Army: Raise up to 2 new military units (less any new settlements founded this month), or upgrade or repair existing ones, as desired. Pay any recruitment costs.
Step 7 - Edicts: Issue any new edicts as desired.
Upkeep Phase Summary
Edict Phase Summary
Magic Items
Solasgaard
Wondrous Wrists Lesser Minor Burglar's Bracers
Wondrous Feet Lesser Minor Horseshoes of Speed
Wondrous Feet Greater Minor Boots of Striding and Springing
Wand Lesser Minor L2, CL3 Common Wand of Acid Arrow
Ring Greater Minor Ring of Sacred Mistletoe
Tatzylford
Divine Potion Lesser Minor L1, CL1 Common Potion of Cure Light Wounds
Ring Ring of Sustenance
Varnhold
Wondrous Hat of Disguise
Divine Scroll L2, CL3 Common Scroll of Heat Metal
Divine Scroll L1, CL1 Uncommon Scroll of Hide from Animals
Income Phase
Step 1 - Withdraw from Treasury: Withdraw resources from the treasury for personal use, if desired.
Step 2 - Deposit to Treasury: Deposit personal resources into the barony's treasury.
Step 3 - Sell Items: Sell up to 2 personal magical items to benefit the treasury.
Step 4 - Roll an Economy check for tax collection.
Event Phase
NO EVENT
Income Phase Summary
With the last petitioner finally heard, you get a good night's rest and meet in the morning to decide your plans for [color=teal]15th Lamashan[/color].
"Is there anything we can do to do something nice for our people? I did not grow up among humans but, if I understand correctly, protesting is the equivalent of when we would behead our chiefs, correct? Let us avoid this annoyance in the future."
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Spoilage
Taranis shows off a course, "Let's head to Reykalaston, cross and head southeast from the thorpe."
The Huntsmen proceed south along the East Tuskwater Road, paying a brief stay in Reykalaston on [color=teal]16th Lamashan[/color] before taking the ferry across the Little Sellen. A few miles on, they reach the blank space on the map and fill it in over the next day and a half. Skirting the edges of Mivon's territory, they proceed east, and map more of the southern Kamelands. The only oddity of note here is that someone has painted "© Paizo Publishing LLC 2010" in gigantic white letters atop a row of hills.
[color=teal]21st Lamashan[/color] calls for decision: continue east, or turn slightly northeast?
"Curious..." [oo]NE[/ooc]
Opting to follow the river, the Huntsmen take a nor'easterly tack. The hills here are largely devoid of people but full of game and other wildlife.
On [color=teal]23rd Lamashan[/color], you decide to...
Taranis thinks about the wonderful eggs he had from Minkai.... and then he remembers that the party hasn't delivered them yet! There's also the noble's corpse.
A sudden recollection of unfinished business (prompted by the eggs you are currently eating for breakfast) heralds an abrupt halt to the exploration, and a pell-mell dash back to Solasgaard. You rush back into the city in the afternoon of [color=teal]25th Lamashan[/color].
Taranis immediately sets Gozrek to work, scheduling a private meeting with Hanvaki and asks the Huntsmen to deliver an egg to Jamery. He tasks the castle staff with prepping a nest for another.
Upon opening the bag of holding, you are all met with an intensely foul and sulfurous stench---though the extradimensional space is exceptionally dry and dark, one of the three rocs eggs has begun to rot, leaking embryonic fluid into the bag.
Fortunately, the other two are still intact and, as far as you can tell, fresh enough to cook. Jamery is overjoyed at the sight of of the gigantic egg, and immediately begins organizing a cooking competition to be held on the 31st of this month. Chefs come from far and wide to participate in the Breakfast of Champions challenge, and the event draws such crowds that its success earns the Duchy a great deal of extra tax revenue .
In the meantime, Edrist Hanvaki answers the summons within the hour. Dressed in fine silks and a long-feathered cap, the young nobleman bows low. "Your Excellency, have you any news of my brother Tomin?"
"Curious..." [oo]NE[/ooc]
Ha! Kind of reminds me of the time we saw the big "S" with a line through it on the wall, turned out to be a secret door...
"From the looks of the slime in the bag, I think the roc eggs are unfertifilized. I think these eggs are definitely meant for a big breakfast."
"It is sad, I'd have rather liked a Roc as a national symbol..."
-----------
"Edrist Hanvaki, I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but we found this in the field." He hands over the brooch. "There was naught that we could do. He has returned to Gozreh, and Pharasma watches over him."
Edrist offers a deep, defeated sigh. "After so long, I had no right to expect any better. Thank you for bringing me the family brooch. Did you find a body? How did he die?"
"Aye. It seems that Gozreh herself called him, for it was the terrain that did him in, not anything nefarious. I say true that he has Nourished the Green so that in death he brings beauty."