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Village News
Anyone Seen Damien?
Rumour has it that Damien Riddle, younger son of the notorious Riddle family, has left home to seek his fortune elsewhere. He was reported to be unenthralled by his future prospects of regular beatings and habitual criminality.
Archery Tournament
Our wise and generous Lord, Sir Julius of Reventon has organised an archery competition for the area. A prize of a Pig is to be offered to the winner.
Evil Insurrectionist Escapes Crucifixion
A reward is being offered for information leading to the recapture of Hap Tinkerson, a leader of the despicable Leveller movement. He recently visited Genest and tried to preach sedition to the populace, but was arrested and brought to trial before our just and merciful Lord, Sir Julius. Sir J took evidence and delivered a verdict of Treason, punishable by crucifixion but the despicable Orlanthi-loving Tinkerson escaped in a manner still under investigation. All Hail the Benevolent Moon and her Glorious Representatives! May her enemies be smitten with agues and insects!
A band of villagers led by Kyrolan intercepted a giant in Rathorela who was rampaging towards Genest. After a stiff talking to it agreed to leave the village alone, and gave Kyrolan a lift home.
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A trader hired three of the PCs as guards whilst he travelled the area. En route, they were attacked by archers, who got away. Sir Julius organised an archery tournament to help draw them out and identify them, and the PCs were involved in arresting them.Three PCs militia duties required them to escort prisoners to Aquapor. A socialist came by and preached land reform, but was shopped by Marcus. However, when Marcus realised the man would be crucified, he went into catatonic shock for several weeks.
Dramatis Personae: Pan (Charlie) ; Kyrolan (Richard); Toni (Alan); Viran (Rupert); Marcus (Lynne)
Details
Septimus Sesterces, a trader, hired Kyrolan, Marcus and Toni as guards for an extended trip round local villages. This lasted 9 days and the players learnt a lot about the area.
In the Village of Bloodburst the group were plagued by thieving kids. The PC guards caught one in the act of stealing off the cart. Septimus demanded that the head man have him punished. "All in good time", said the head man; but from his general demeanour Septimus suspected he would never be punished. However, a seemingly important (and sinister) looking noble arrived at the Inn that night, and Septimus complained to him. The Magister, as he is called, had a word with the Head Man who had the boy given 6 lashes the next morning. The PCs were later to discover the Magister is a reputedly dangerous sorcerer.
When the PCs passed near Dragon Marsh, they saw an ancient, ruined tower in the marsh. (As it looked like scenario material the PCs hurried on and it was 2+ years before they returned.)
At Burntbridge they saw a fabulous creature, a winged horse flying through the air with a rider on its back. It landed in the grounds of a large villa. Consumed with curiosity, they entered under the pretense of trading, but apart from finding out that the place belonged to someone called the Exarch Norios, who seemed to have dozens of Char-Un horsemen camping in his grounds, they found out little.
They smelt Blackpit before they saw it. Its raison d'etre is the tarpit there, which is a valuable source of pitch, bitumen, etc. Septimus bought a couple of barrelfuls and Kyrolan and Toni invested their pitiful resources in a few bottles, which they later realised for a small profit.
On the return journey, the trading party was attacked by bowmen hiding in woods. The players were convinced there were 3-4 really good bowmen involved, from the number and accuracy of the shots. (Not true. Just 2 lucky archers.)
Mr. Sesterces kept using his Healing-2 and yet, they were all almost killed. Fortunately, they made a lot of First Aid rolls or they would have certainly bled to death. Kyrolan, for example, was hit 3 times and took 3 or 4 Disrupts too!
Eventually the bandits were chased off and the PCs examined the area closely for clues. They kept the arrows which had been shot, and determined that they wore boots of Sizes 15 & 18. A green cloth fragment had snagged up a tree where one had fired from. And one was thought to have been drinking apple brandy, which they were later to find is only made locally at the village of Stonebow.
The attack was reported upon their return to Sir Julius, the local squire. He was impressed with the thoroughness of their detective work. The bandits have just started operations in this area and Sir J is anxious to stamp them out immediately.
The PCs and Sir Julius decided to organise an archery tournament to attract the perpetrators, which might reveal who owned similar arrows. This was a success, in that it confirmed that these arrows did indeed come from the Stonebow area. One fellow in particular seemed keen on apple brandy and his arrows matched, so Sir Julius used his Allied Bat to follow him and aid in setting a trap. (Sir Julius is extraordinary amongst Carmanian nobles - he is a Rune Lord as well as having an inherited title and land.)
Having determined their favoured haunts in Gyleswood, Sir Julius used the PCs as "bait" for the bandits next day whilst the Genest militia entered Gyleswood covertly behind the bandits, whom his bat was trailing. The PCs seemed ideal as bait because he knew they hated the bandits [and had no dependents!]. The Genest militia was used as it seemed less likely that they would leak a warning to the two bushwhackers than the more local Stonebow militia.
The bandits tried their favoured ambush / pepper-with-arrows-from-a-distance tactic but this time, the PCs were wearing government issue hauberks under their clothing and had bows and crossbows hidden in the cart. They kept the robbers pinned down until the militia came up behind and arrested them.
Sir Julius put the footpads on trial- two lads not much older than the PCs - and sentenced them to death. They took the traditional option of volunteering for Danfive Xaron instead.
In the last issue of the Genest Times it was mentioned that a rich young couple from down south bought the old Manor Farm estate. Most of the PCs ignored this but Marcus went to pay a neighbourly visit.
He found them very pleasant, though a little vague on their personal details. Their name is Andalusor and the wife, Aphroxenia is expecting.
The husband was glad to meet a hunter as he had been thinking of joining the cult, his idea of hunting being less of the "fox and hounds" frighten-it-to-death style than the "man-vs-beast" school of respect.
Marcus was intrigued, though, later to hear Mad Mary, a semi-senile old woman in the village, claim that she Knew Them. Mary had been in service earlier in her life and implied there was Something Up, but she wouldn't say what.
Mary died a few days later in her bed. No-one paid much attention.
Kyrolan spotted a giant in Rathorela, heading towards Genest. The reason he could see it was it towered head and shoulders above the trees.
He quickly gathered his friends and they raced into Rathorela to intercept it before it reached the village and did some damage. The others had grave doubts about the wisdom of this, but Kyrolan assured them it was the Right Thing to Do.
They found the giant easily enough. They shouted at him but he didn't notice them. Kyrolan poked his feet, then tried hitting them with his club as hard as possible. The giant reached down to scratch the itch and noticed them.
His name is Big Ron, and he seems friendly. Communication was limited but Ron remembered some Carmanian from before the Ban was created (i.e. over a century ago - giants are very long lived). He agreed to take especial care near the village and , at Kyrolan's request, picked him up and carried him back to the village for a spectacular entry.
Whilst he was being swung around, Kyrolan noticed what appeared to be extensive ruins hidden deeper in the forest. These are the remains of the town of Hourglaston, which the PCs visited several times...
Kyrolan, Pan and Viran were told that as militiamen, it fell to them to help out in escorting 5 prisoners to Aquapor. This included the two bandits the PCs helped capture. Pan looked forward to Being In Charge of them but Kyrolan would not permit mistreatment.
The march south had one exceptional incident. Near Thule, the PCs came across the remains of a trader's cart. A slaughtered guard and the trader nearby. A trail of furrowed earth led into Rathorela and the cart had been looted.
A little further on, they met an elf. He seemed alarmed to meet armed, civilised folk in the woods and even more so when they explained they were looking for whoever had committed this atrocity. His name was Tumbleweed and he was found to be an elf-equivalent to a human herald and knew Carmanian. He realised this incident could lead to reprisals. He led the PCs to a group of armed elves who seemed very annoyed at this happening in their territory. They went with the PCs to the scene of the crime and scanned around for clues. In their opinion, it is the work of evil Dark Elves trying to stir up trouble for them. ("Could have been a Plant, then" commented Charlie)
Two of the elves went with militiamen to nearby Thule to try to pacify the Baron and assure him it wasn't them. The Baron sent investigators out and it was the next day before the PCs continued their interrupted journey.
The PCs reached Aquapor without further incident.
Although Pan and Viran had visited Aquapor before, it was Kyrolan's first time in this den of iniquity and his normally pure persona yielded to a number of temptations of the drinking, wenching and particularly gambling kind. But let us skip over this sordid aspect and proceed with the tale.
Kyrolan has relatives in a city called Harandash whom he would like to trace, because his little family is very isolated in Genest. He knows his grandfather was a cobbler and so, he visited the Craft Guild in Aquapor and enquired if it was possible to trace Grandad or other relatives. They took a payment of 1L to cover expenses and said they would write letters to the Harandash temple and organise a search.
This was to lead to a trip to Harandash for the whole party a few games later, the longest journey undertaken in the campaign to date: 2 weeks' solid walking each way.
Pan proceeded to the "Mercenaries' Guild" (Yanafil Tarnils temple) and joined the guild as a registered "professional". This gives him valuable credentials for future employers to refer to if he hires out as a guard again, but he will have to pay a 5% commission on income garnered this way. He also bought (plate!) armour and weaponry on credit here - the first city he'd been in which could manufacture the grade of 'tools' he wanted - which he will have to repay at double the initial loan. Finally, he arranged to be taught spells (back in Thule, by local Weaponmasters there using the web of cult credit), leaving himself very dangerous but very indebted.
After Kyrolan left the campaign several games later (his player's job was moved to America), Pan came to be depended on as the party "heavy". His initial investment in good armour kept him alive right through the campaign, though he still hasn't paid it all off yet...
Back in Genest, the villagers gathered together for the Pelora holy day ceremony. This is less formal than the rival Dee'Zola one in the village shrine; the oldest female initiate, or a wandering Earth Priestess on this occasion, presides over a ritual at a large standing stone on the edge of Knightswood. The whole event is more like spirit worship than formalised prayers.
At the end of the ceremony, a stranger stood up and began talking to the assembled farmers.
"Brothers," he cried, "how long must we put up with the oppression of the labouring classes by the parasitical Nobles? There is plenty of land going to waste and many poor folk who could support themselves farming it. But because the great landowners think a mere Man can own Land rather than the Goddess, they get jealous and send their ruffians and soldiers to menace any who dare try and use any land for themselves.
"Down south, we have banded together and made a stand against our oppressors. I urge you to do the same. I talk not of taking land already being farmed, for that would be stealing ... but how can any man claim to control land he clearly is not using? Join us now and suffer from hunger no longer!"
This appeal fell flat for a number of reasons. Firstly, Genest is pretty isolated and this was news to them. Secondly, the village has a just and generous Lord, Sir Julius, who takes his responsibilities seriously. Thirdly, this outraged a certain young Marcus Woodsman who, as son of Sir Julius' chief foresterhas been brought up to be quite keen on property rights, catching poachers and so on. Marcus therefore began shouting "This man speaks Treason! Catch the traitor!" and incited the crowd to drag Hap Tinkerson to Reventon, to face the wrath of Sir Julius.
Now Sir Julius may be just and generous for his time and place, but Lunar justice is still pretty draconian. Sir J is well-informed and knew that Hap Tinkerson is a leader of the Leveller movement, who have caused a lot of trouble down south for landowners by trying to set up communes on unused land. Obviously this could destabilise the entire Carmanian class system if it spread and the authorities have instinctively and brutally stamped it out. Even had it occurred to Sir J that Hap might have a point, he would have had little leeway in his judgement. As it was Sir J viewed Hap as a dangerous madman who must be made an example of, and he ordered him Crucified.
As Hap was led away, though he called upon the Earth Goddess who answered his prayers and the earth swallowed him up.
However, when Marcus had heard the judgement he could not accept that he had been responsible for the crucifixion of another human being, and sank into catatonic withdrawal (his starting SAN had been low and a series of relatively minor events had dropped it dangerously low). He never knew Hap escaped. It was weeks before he was brought out of it, by a powerful healer called Cloris who had travelled here to investigate if Northmarch was free of the Blue Plague after many years.
Note: The Levellers were a real group of radicals who, along with the Diggers, were a significant force in the English Civil War. Their ideas of communal ownership of land and property were far ahead of their time (1600s A.D.) and after Cromwell had used them as allies in the War, he allowed them to be persecuted and exterminated by landowners.
Cloris left her daughter, Mercedes at Genest whilst she travelled on into possible danger. Cloris and Mercedes normally live in Glamour and Cloris thought it would be a good idea for her daughter to learn what life was like for ordinary poor folk, as she had always lived in a temple with all her whims catered for.
Cloris asked the local Healer, Kyrolan's mum, if she could put up Mercedes for a week or so and the family was flattered. Cloris specifically turned down offers of lodging from Sir J and Mr. Revarnos, the bailliff, as she needs to interact with 'real people' to keep her powers honed. "If I can only think like a noble, I can no longer empathise with many of my patients" she told her daughter. "You must learn the same."
Mercedes is 15, beautiful, and unfortunately a temple virgin whose loss of virginity is "booked" for an important healing(?) ceremony next year. All the males of the village became very interested in her.
She was great fun to talk to, not snobbish but fascinated by village life whilst full of stories about balls, culture, strange animals, weird priests and the Imperial Court. She has seen the Red Emperor, though not talked to him. She was so obviously naive and ignorant of the real world that her evident wealth was not resented and her tales of Glamour did not seem like boasts.
All the village boys were depressed when she left, though strangely the girls seemed more bouyant.
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