Episode 11-
-Immersion-Sidekick waves at me-
Scene #18:
Eveline waves me over, then pats the ground beside her, “Ilsa! Sit here!” she commands. Head low, I go and sit beside my sister. “Ilsa, this is Angwin, Ulf’s wife,” she indicates the woman who told me to add more to the pot. “That’s Madge,” she points out an older woman with a symbol of Freia around her neck, similar to the one I just traded, but silver. “Her son, Reis, is over there,” she indicates a man sitting with a woman and three teens. “Her son, Halkin”, she points to another man with a boy and a girl sitting beside him, “and Mycroft” she points to another man, closer to our age, sitting beside Halkin’s family with a hungry looking farm dog beside him, begging for some of their stew. Then she points out another woman from our group, “That is Rhena and her daughter Sena, and Rhena’s other kids” One of the boys a bit plump and another is begging Angwin for more stew. “Then there’s Maurice and his wife, Fresa, and their kids. Maurice is Ulf’s son. Then…” she looks around, “I think that is Denah, one of Maurice’s eldest daughter, and Prima,” she points out two women our age with Maurice, Prima has a big red splotch across the side of her face. I look back down with a sigh, and Eveline pats my shoulder, “We’ll be travelling with them a few days. It’ll be okay.”
-Angwin insight 4-
I nod my head. Angwin studies me, then asks Eveline, “How do you expect the simpleton to remember all of that? I’m surprised you trusted her to trade that gold pendant of yours for food! You’d have gotten more for it yourself! She got herself swindled.”
-Ulf Insight 24, my perception 19-
“Patience dear,” he leans over and whispers into her ear, “These are sharp ones, not what they pretend to be, but they can help us, so keep mum.”
Angwin nods, not realizing I overheard her husband, “Well, you’re right dear. I shouldn’t be so hard on the girl. Perhaps she’s still good for something. Can help with the water in the morning. After all, she did bring more potatoes when I told her too. So she can at least listen.”
Q: Does anyone mess with Princeling? NO
Princeling nonchalantly joins Eveline and deposits himself in my lap. I manage a sad looking smile and scratch behind his ear. Then Eveline tells me, “You’d best go tend the mule. Brush him down good and get him another run to the water trough before we turn in.” I nod, get up, unpack the mule, piling everything near where Eveline and I will sleep, brush him down and then lead Hare to the trough.
-Village encounter-farmer-(generate personality)
A farmer from the smell of fresh cut grass on him, walks up to me as I refill the trough while Hare drinks. “You’re one of the refugees, right? Where are you from.” I nod, but do not answer.
“Cat got your tongue? I asked where you are from?” he persists.
I glance up briefly and sign Yes and Ale in tradefist.
Q: Does he know tradefist? NO Q: Does he persist? NO
He studies me, “Can’t talk, heh? Too bad.”
-Animal Handling 18- Q: Does anyone from the group come to talk to me? NO
After I am done refilling the trough, he fills a bucket from the well too, and carries it off, back to his home I would suspect. I lead Hare back to Eveline and persuade the mule to kneel down alongside us.
I lean back against the animal with my blanket drawn over me while Eveline continues talking to the leaders of the group we have joined. Eventually, I drift off to sleep.
15th Great Harvest-
–Cool, cloudy, no rain, good wind–
-Immersion, sense of horror-
-Peace Time Week 3 still–scandal involving rulership of Enrith Dun (probably tried to conceal the threat of that ancient ruin or something)
-Seepage 1 on d8-(no venting action the day before) Rolled a 1 on Seepage (Romance status is Enamored)-Footprints leave a trail of mud and writhing seedlings that fade to stillness after a minute (one hour duration)
Q: Do the other caravaneers have any food? YES (9 lbs, plus a goat producing 6 pints of milk/day (3 morning, 3 evening), and a hen producing 1 egg per day)
Q: Does Eveline wake before everyone else? EXCEPTIONAL YES
Scene #19:
I am wakened by Eveline with a terrified look on her face. Her eyes plead as she tries to steady her breath, “The curse…I can’t let anyone see me walking,” she whispers, “like at Varnath’s.”
I nod, understanding. I put my head to her forehead and push her back down, draping my blanket over her. Then I get up to go fetch water for the cooking pot.
The youngest of Madge’s sons, Mycroft, who is watching over the rest of us as we finally all begin to stir stops me, “Is your sister alright? Will she be able to travel today?”
My head down, I glance back towards Eveline, then turn back towards Mycroft and nod. Then I walk past him to the well.
Q: Is there a line already? NO
I quickly fill the bucket and start adding water to the pot, then on my return trip to the well, take Hare with me to drink. Then I bring him back behind me and set down the second bucket full of water near the goat that one of Madge’s grand daughters is milking. Mycroft’s dog rushes over for a drink.
“I’m hungry,” complains one of the younger boys. “Hech got a second bowl last night! It isn’t fair,” the boy complains. His heavyset brother smirks at him.
The mother, Rhena, shakes her head, “Of course you are, but there wasn’t enough for everyone to get more. Be patient. We’ll eat soon enough.” the younger daughter of that group is bringing some firewood and getting a fire started for the pot. The older daughter, Sena, is getting some carrots from a nearly empty bag she carries and adding that to the water I brought.
Her little sister with the firewood warns her, “Let’s see what the blonde woman has. They traded that necklace for lots of food, but you can’t add carrots before beans and oats have softened.”
The middle daughter of that group is slowly brushing out her hair, taking great pains to look her best, “Who says they’ll share again, Lucilla?” she asks.
“They have to, Nelly. Everyone shares,” Lucilla, the firewood girl replies. Her sister scoffs and returns to brushing her hair.
Q: Does Lucilla smile at me? NO
Fresa comes over to me, “Do you have food to contribute today?” dropping my eyes, I nod, then turn to our bags. I bring the food bags over to the pot, where Angwin is now getting settled, and fill some of the nearby bowls with beans, oats and peas. Then I set some onions and potatoes on the blanket spread out alongside the carrots that Lucilla had fished back out before the water starts to heat. Lucilla immediately dumps the beans into the pot with Angwin’s approval, then waits until it is time to add the oats.
Q: Can I see anything? EXCEPTIONAL YES Q: Had anyone else noticed? NO Q: Does anyone come with? EXCEPTIONAL NO
I look at Eveline, who is lying down, covered by the blankets. Spotting some plant growth around her, I quickly adjust the blankets for better coverage. Thankfully, nobody else seemed to notice anything amiss, so I pretend to pull some coins from Eveline’s purse, then walk into the market where the smell of fresh bread wafts out of the bakery.
I inhale deeply as I step up to the window and wait for the baker to turn towards me. .
Q: Does anyone interrupt? EXCEPTIONAL YES (generate a farm wife) my performance 22, beats her insight of 21, just barely!-
“Excuse me, friend,” I hear from behind me, “You’ll need to speak up if you want to be heard.” She calls to the baker, “Kubo! This young woman wants to buy some bread. As do I.”
I nod my thanks to her as Kubo comes to the window, “What?”
I put a silver coin on the window ledge and hold my hand up for five. The woman looks at me, “Five loaves? How many are with you?” I repeat the gesture six times and she sighs and shakes her head. “Kids too?” I nod, and make the sign three times.
She puts another silver coin down next to mine, “Two of the sweet honeyed loaves for her as well. They’ve had a hard time of it I suspect.”
Q: Does she know tradefist? YES (her insight 22)
I blink in surprise, and nearly come to tears in surprised gratitude. I point to myself and sign my name, drug sack.
“Your name is drug sack? Or something like that. I am Cayla. If you need some work, there are always chores around the garden. I…well…I can’t really be tossing around tenpieces but I can spare a bowl of pottage,” she replies. I smile and nod towards her. Then I take my five loaves plus the two honeyed ones she contributed, wrap them up in my shawl for later in the day, and return to my group.
Q: Does one of the boys perk up at this? EXCEPTIONAL YES
“What have you got?” demands the hungry boy. His fat older brother also crowds over towards me, as does Ulf’s youngest grandson. I grunt and turn my back towards them as I conceal the bread inside Hare’s saddlebag.
Q: Do the kids try to get at it anyway? YES Q: Do the kids try to get at it anyway? YES
The fat boy immediately reaches for the saddlebag when Fresa snaps at him, “Hech! Get your hands away from that! Don’t touch Eveline’s things without permission!”
Sena leaps up and drags her younger siblings away by the ears, “Shame on you both!” Hech yowls while the younger complains he’s hungry.
The girl with the birthmark comes over and leads the youngest boy way, giving me a shy, apologetic smile before telling him “Breakfast is almost ready.” She smiles at him, whistfully, and scratches his head.
I brush and load Hare for the road while Princeling lounges nearby. When Angwin calls us to eat, I get bowls for Eveline and I, then sit down beside me sister. She nods, “Thanks,” as she sits up, checking the ground beneath her and sighing in relief that the curse is relenting.
Q: Does someone sit with us? YES
Rhena comes and sits beside us with her bowl, Lucilla as well. “I’m sorry about my boys,” Rhena starts, “They aren’t always…well, it’s been hard lately.”
I hang my head down and Eveline replies, “It’s alright. They’re hungry, curious, and I’m sure it’s been a rough road.”
Q: Does she tell her story? NO
Rhena nods and Lucilla puts her hand on her mom’s back.
As soon as we are done eating, Ulf stands and announces, “It’s time to go. Everyone get up.”
I quickly bind up our bedrolls as Eveline stands and takes a good stretch. She winks at me, and I pretend not to notice. Then I take Hare’s lead and we fall in behind the rest of the group with Eveline walking near the front with Ulf and Reis. I’m in the back with one of Reis’s teenage girls who is leading a dairy goat whose milk was shared among the children in her family. Mycroft travels alongside us, his dog eagerly keeping pace. Princeling has raced ahead and leapt into Eveline’s arms to avoid the exuberant dog.
-Immersion-see something disgusting in the shadows-
Scene #20:
As we head out the village gates, I see several men down by the river skinning and gutting the morning’s catch. I recoil slightly, but Princeling leaps down after them. I grunt and point. The girl with the goat yells up, “Mom! The cat’s running away!” Eveline looks while Mycroft’s dog starts after him.
“Rufo! Heel!” Mycroft shouts.
-22 to hit!- Q: Do the fishermen object? YES
Quick as a flash, Princeling grabs a fish and dashes right back towards me, one of the fishermen leaps to his feet and comes running after him. “Give that back you damned cat!”
Princeling leaps into my arms as the man approaches
Q: Does Mycroft intervene? YES E: Action by Village Guards: the Desertion of Possessions
“It’s just a fish. You have plenty,” says Mycroft, stepping between the fisherman and I.
“It’s my catch, you damned freeloaders!” the fisherman objects.
Two of the gate guards walk over, “What seems to be the problem?” Then assessing the situation, “Give them man back his fish!” the guard orders while another starts to look over the mule’s packs.
“Did you steal anything else, you little thief!” the guards snarls.
“Hey! Leave her mule alone!” protests Mycroft as Ulf and Eveline make their way back towards us.
-Eveline Persuasion 16, Guards insight 7-
“Hey, did our cat get loose again? Here,” she pries the fish from Princeling’s mouth, enduring a scratch and an angry hiss in the process, and hands it back to the fisherman. “We are sorry for the inconvenience.”
-Deception 23, Guard Insight 10-
Then looking to the guard at the mule, “Are you…in the market for a mule? It’s a good animal,” she says gently grabbing his hand and lightly tugging him forward, “You can plainly see he handles a load well, but I’m sure you want to check his teeth and hooves, right?”
“Oh, what? No…I don’t want to buy a mule. Why would I want to buy a mule?” the guard steps away.
-Ulf insight 6-
“He’s a good animal, just twelve crowns,” she presses as the village guards retreat. She grins as they flee, while Ulf studies her carefully. Then calls everyone to get back on the move. Princeling hisses at Eveline again as she walks away and then leaps from me to rest on top of Hare’s packs.
—
Q: Is Winway navigable? NO Q: Are the Baron’s men present? NO Q: Are other refugees coming this way? YES E: Remote Event: Excitement regarding Adversities
Soon we reach the bridge over the…Winway River, but we aren’t the only ones about to cross. We walk past a family with a large wagon. I overhear one of the kids excitedly asking if they will see orcs along the road. Mycroft scowls and the girl with the goat shudders at the idea. I glance ahead. Aside from Mycroft, there are only three other spear with our group. Plus his dog. I lower my eyes to the road once more.
-Morning Encounter-Lonefields table-Pheasants-(It is a massacre!)
Following the highway east and soon far ahead of the slower moving wagons, a group of pheasants try to dart away. A spear takes one down almost instantly and Rufo and Princeling join forces, each bringing a bird back in their jaws after a short time way, stalking the animals that we thought had gotten away.
Q: Does he thank me? NO
Ulf’s son, Maurice, pauses to gut the animals while the rest of the company keeps moving. I stand by and wait with him and Hare. He glances up at me. “You should keep going. Stay with the others.”
Q: Has Ulf told him? NO
I shake my head, and look around, then turn my attention back to the man and his work. He sighs and finishes the dirty work. Then birds on his belt, he quickly starts off to catch up to the others. Hare and I trot after him.
—
After about three hours on the road, Ulf calls a break alongside a streambed, and the younger kids who have been complaining already, start asking for food. Waterskins are passed around, and I open up the saddlebag and grunt for Eveline.
Eveline laughs when she sees what I have, and asks Lucilla to get the little ones lined up. Then she starts quartering the loaves to distribute between the children and the other women. I notice that Fresa shares her piece with her husband, Maurice, but the men in Reis’s group all do without, as does Ulf. Eveline and I also pass on the snack.
Q: Does anyone try to talk to me? EXCEPTIONAL NO
I close the saddlebag back up and let Hare graze and drink for a bit. The goat sticks close by as does the girl responsible for it. She is slowly eating her piece of barley bread.
-conversation topic-friends-Performance 22-
The other women in the group are talking to Eveline about where she is from, and she tells them about how her husband had been given a freehold grant, and that they were looking for suitable piece of land before asking the baron to honor it. How she, Mical and I had come up from Hamerfel. They ask about growing up in Hammerfel and she talks about some of the people she knew growing up there. Everyone seems intrigued by stories of her childhood antics. Knowing she was an outcast, I wonder how much of it is actually true.
-Afternoon Encounter- None-Ambient-Animal Trails-
As the day grows long, the children begin to complain. One of the men, Halkin’s his name, I think, hands his spear to his son and starts carrying his young daughter. Ulf’s daughter, Denah, picks up her own little girl, but her son, Emrys, the same age as Halkin’s little one and the youngest of those who tried to steal the bread earlier still has to walk along beside her.
I groan loudly, and tug the shoulder of the girl with the goat, pointing towards Eveline. She calls up ahead, “Dad! The mute wants something!”
Q: Does Ulf halt the column? EXCEPTIONAL YES Q: Does Ulf makes sure our cargo is dispersed? NO Q: Do the other families cooperate? NO
Reis looks back, as do Ulf and Eveline. The old man signals for everyone to stop and Eveline races back to me, “What now, Ilsa?” she rolls her eyes. I grunt and start unpacking the mule. I swing the sacks of peas and beans over my shoulder, for that’s where our coin is hidden. Eveline nods in understanding and we start unloading the mule, “Take this,” she hands a sack of onions to one of the older kids. The child rejects it, as do other people, too concerned with their own burdens.
I sigh, and we put the onions and other supplies back on our mule. I shrug and give Hare a kid, pat his flank and start walking again. Eveline shakes her head at the rest of our travelling companions as two parents have to carry their youngest.
-Evening Encounter-animal calls-bobcat screaming-
The day grows long, and the children complain louder, and drag their feet more. Halkin has to set his girl back down again to walk alongside him, but his brother, Mycroft, picks her up and she travels in the rear with us. I quickly learn her name is Shela. Maurice picks up Emrys, who had just about stopped walking altogether, and Denah passes thee little one over to her sister, Prima, the one with the birthmark, who carries the four year old without complaint.
Q: Does Maurice put Shela on the mule? YES
I look to Mycroft and pat the top of the mule. Finally realizing what I meant to do earlier in the day, he and I take some of the food from the animal and set Shela down on the animal. It may not be comfortable, but she soon lays across the mule’s back like any other bundle of goods, cushioned by the sack of clothing we’d salvaged.
-topic, enemy-
We press on and I overhear people talking about orcs, and the fighting, and the sack of Goodwill, the village they hail from. Shela asks, “Uncle Mycroft? Are we safe from the orcs now?”
“Soon. We’ll be safe soon. You’ll see. We are going to live an a big city! Great…stone…wall that will keep out orcs and any other nasty things that might come hunting for good little girls like you!” he explains with exaggerated gestures.
The teenage girl leading the goat, whose nose is slightly crooked, looks up at Mycroft, “Orcs still surround Oldenfall, uncle. And I’ve read trolls sometimes swim down the Kiddimir river.”
Mycroft gives her a warning look as Shela’s eyes widen in fear and snaps, “Flora!” then he soften his tone, “Where did you read that?”
She drops her eyes when snapped at, then replies, “There was a caravaner once at the shrine. I asked where he was from, and he showed me a map. And he showed me where we were, and how to get from Westhold to Kiddimier the way he came, which was up the river. And he had a note on his map about trolls in the deep woods between Oldenstone and Kiddimir. I asked him, and he said you can sometimes see them swimming in the river. And that sometimes, barge captains will take goat with them to throw overboard as a peace offering if they see trolls approaching.” She reaches back and pats her goat.
Shela hangs on every word, then looks at the goat, “Don’t worry, Petunia! Uncle Mycroft won’t let trolls get you!”
He laughs, and messes the girl’s hair, “That’s right. Rufo and I will keep old Petunia safe, and you too.”
-Intelligence 18 to remember the name- (generate personalities)
The grassland gives way to cultivated fields, but the workers have returned to their homes as the light fails. A few more miles, and we come to a village of…Mudflat. Ruled by a particularly zealous man more than twice my age if I recall. Then I remember his sons, who are even worse.
“Uugh!” I groan. Flora calls out front again, “Dad! The mute wants something! Again!” she complains.
Q: Does Ulf hold up? Unlikely-YES
Eveline comes back and I pull her close. And sign, “Thief. Inn. No.”
“I don’t think we were going to stay at the inn anyway. Nobody has enough money,” Eveline replies.
I circle my hand around Inn, and then point south of the village, and towards a copse of trees.
-Eveline-Insight 19- Q: Do Mycroft and Flora overhear? NO
“We should avoid the village?” she asks. I nod emphatically.
-Reis’s Survival 22, Eveline’s persuasion 7-
Eveline returns to the head of the column and talks to Ulf for a bit. He shakes his head at her, and Reis looks up at the clouds overhead. Ulf shakes his head, and the company continues it way towards the village.
Q: Is one of the son’s at the gate? NO Q: Are there other refugees ahead of us? YES (d6 or 6 groups!) Q: Are we stopped at the gate? NO
Reluctantly, I follow along behind, keeping my head down but Lord Lewis’ men don’t halt or inspect us. One does warn us, “Keep that cat with you lest something happen to it.” One of Ulf’s grandsons immediately scoops Princeling up in his arm and sticks his tongue out at the guard. Fresa slaps him across the back of the head and warns him not to antagonize the soldiers.
—
-Immersion-Smell of Smoke-
Scene #21:
We enter the village of Mudflat and see there are other groups of refugees, crowded into the village square. The campfire smoke is nearly too thick for such a gentle breeze. We have a hard time finding someplace to shelter between the cottages, gardens and barns, but we manage to find a spot leaning up against the northern palisade where we can get a cooking pot going.
Madge, Rhena, Sena and Lucilla have all been gathering wood throughout the day anytime we pass anything dry along the trail, and now each has a decent little bundle of sticks for a fire. Lucilla and Angwin start getting the fire started while Flora and I lead the animals to the trough by the well to get them watered.
-Encounter-Guard-(Generate personality)
A young soldier walks up to the two of us, gives Flora a brief look, then seems to focus on me. “Travelled a long way, I take it? Want to make a few coins real quick?” he chuckles.
“She can’t talk. She’s mute!” Flora interjects.
Then he looks to her instead, “Do you want to make a few coins?”
-Intimidation 18-
I grab him by the arm, and glare at him. He is taken aback, and steps away, “Just make sure you lot don’t cause any trouble.” I shoot him an icy stare until he turns his back, then I drop my eyes once more.
Q: Is Flora unnerved? YES (Insight 4)
“Ummm…um…thank you?” Flora stammers, confused. I give her a weak smile. Then, having watered our animals, I fill my bucket with water for the cooking pot and we return to the group.
Flora immediately starts whispering to Reis’s wife, her mom, Lavender. Lavender says something to Reis, who says something to his mother, Madge. I am pulling start pouring beans and peas into bowls for Lucilla when she comes to fetch the food.
Q: Does Lucilla smile at me? YES
“Thank you! I am glad you and your sister joined us. It’s easier to fix a pot when there’s something to put in it,” she grins, looking p at me.
Q: Does Lucilla know tradefist? YES
I can’t help but chuckle a little at this, and nod. Then sign “meal”. She smirks and signs, “Spice”. I shake my head. Then think for a bit.
I lead Hare over to Eveline and pass the reins to her. Eveline looks at me, “Where are you going?”
I pat my satchel, and point out towards the gate. She nods, “Good luck! It’s harder to find the good stuff in the dark.” I shrug, and Princeling and Lucilla follow me out.
“What are we looking for?” Lucilla asks.
-Herbalism 19-
Soon, we’ve gathered nettles and dandelions enough to season the pot, but I’ve also found some Shade Lilly. I had the nettle and dandelion to Lucilla, but put the Shade Lilly in my pouch. “What’s that?” she asks.
-Lucilla, Insight 16-
I gesture to my belly and make a sick face. Then hook my fingers into a fang like shape, and jab my ankle. Then I mime brewing up some tea and drinking from a cup. I sign drug.
“You’re smart,” Lucilla notes. “You know how to make that?” I nod. She grins. “Show me!” I mime eat, so she adds, “After dinner then,” and I nod.
Lucilla then joins Anwin by the pot and adds the nettle and dandelion to the pot. During dinner, she sits beside, opposite Eveline and starts prying, asking what else I know how to make. I don’t know how to sign most of the recipes, for Tradefist doesn’t have a lot of detailed words. Eveline interrupts our conversation though, “Our mother was the village herbalist. She taught Ilsa and I how to make most common cures. Woundbinds, shade lilly tea, willowmoss, Sunberry salve, bugbane, ratstop, laundry salt…most everything, really.
Q: Does she want to be our apprentice? NO
“So, are going to open a shop? In Oldenfall, maybe?” Lucilla asks eagerly.
-Deception 16-
Eveline shrugs her shoulders, “I need to go to Kiddimir to see if I can get my husband’s land grant transferred to my name.”
“Your husband?” Lucilla asks, quietly.
“Yeah,” Eveline nods, more solemnly now.
“Did the orcs get him too?” Lucilla asks, solemnly. Eveline nods her head slowly. “They got my dad. When they broke through the palisade. I’m not really sure how we escaped…there was so much fire and smoke everywhere. We just…ran for it,” she looks away, staring into the fire. I put my hand on Lucilla’s shoulder. Eveline looks away, ashamed of our lie. I put my hand on her knee for comfort, and she puts her head against my shoulder.
Q: Does anyone else join us? NO Q: Does she ask about my kit? YES
After dinner, Lucilla and I clean out the pot, and I get the small pot from Hare’s pack. We start boiling up water and I show her how to prepare the Shade Leaf plant for a fast tea. A few fresh leaves are more potent than a pound of dried ones! Then after tasting the tea, she asks about the other things in my satchel, so I open it up and start showing her the various remedies I carry while Eveline explains them.
Q: Does this shake her? NO
“That is a bitterburn salve, for sunburn. That’s Clear Head, to help you remember. Darkwater Drops, to see in the dark. Narraroot…” she leans in closer to the girl and whispers, “to avoid pregnancy.” Lucilla’s eyes widen, then Eveline continues, “Silverleaf for poison or illness, Sunberry and Comfrey, for cuts and bruises.” The girl then picks up the dark blue potion and the red one. “The red one…trollblood it’s called. It can mend a wound and stitch flesh or broken bones.” Lucilla’s eyes widen, then she holds up the blue one. Eveline glances at me, and I nod for her to continue, “That’s Blue Tree Ointment. It can sometimes…sometimes…if you put it on fast enough…heal a mortal wound and bring someone back from the cusp of death before their soul departs.” Lucilla holds the blue tree in her hand, staring at it, then reverently puts it back in my satchel, alongside the other things, each where they go. Then she reaches for my recipe book. I put my hand on hers and shake my head, then finger to my lips, signal it is a secret. Eveline explains, “Family secrets. If we teach everyone, how will we earn our bread?”
“That’s how you have a mule? Selling remedies?” Lucilla asks.
Eveline nods, “Yes. And my husband’s wages and spoils from his time in the Order.”
“He must have been very brave. Like my father,” she notes, solemnly.
Eveline gives a sad smile, “Yes, he was.”
We put everything away, and then roll out our blankets, Eveline and I sleep beside Hare and our kit, while Princeling curls up between us. One of the men keeps watch over us all, even in a village.
16th Great Harvest-
–Warm, clear skies, gentle wind–
-Immersion, smell smoke-
-Peace Time Week 3 still–scandal involving rulership of Enrith Dun (probably tried to conceal the threat of that ancient ruin or something)
-Seepage 0 on d8-(seepage the day before) (Romance status is Enamored)
Scene #22:
Smoke drifts through the market square as fires are started by each of the refugee families. I see that the wagons from yesterday morning arrived some time in the night and are parked along the street into the village. Oxen are so slow sometimes! Flora is milking Petunia and Lucilla is getting our fire started. I pick up my bucket and lead Hare to the well in the village square.
Q: Is there a line by the well? NO. Village Encounter-Wandering Traveller (not one I’ve already generated, so…new one)
I easily lead Hare to the trough and start filling it. As I am nearly done, a woman half again older than me arrives with her own mule, “Two pennies if you refill the trough for mine?” she smiles, pulling two coins from her purse.
I bow my head and get back to work. Lucia comes over to see what’s taking so long. Her eyes flit between me, with my head bowed, and the rather well dressed traveling woman with a lute slung over her shoulder and a saddle mule as well. “We are ready for the water? Can I get food from your bags?”
I shake my head no and finish filling the trough for the minstrel.
“Are you some of the refugees?” the traveler asks.
I nod, then Lucilla adds, “We’re from Westhold. Village of Goodwill, mostly.”
“Mostly?” the woman replies.
“Yeah, and thereabouts for the rest,” Lucilla amends.
Q: Has this woman performed in Farhold? YES Q: My father’s court? YES E: Negative for Yseldra Faust: the Exposing of Peace Q: Has Pond announced my disappearance to his vassals? NO Q: Has this bard heard rumors anyway? NO Q: Do I recall the minstrel’s name? (very unlikely, performers come and go all the time) NO Q: Do I look familiar to her? (very unlikely, given my age and how widely travelled she is) EXCEPTIONAL NO
“I heard the fighting was pretty bad there. Pond’s men from Oldenstone, plus Hammerfel and Farhold helped drive off the orcs. I hear it was a brutal battle,” the minstrel observes. “And your village was…”
I give her a pained look and shake my head for her to stop prying.
“Stories yearn to be told,” the minstrel insists, “Tell me everything!” she joyfully demands of Lucilla.
Q: Does Lucilla want to talk? YES
Lucilla begins telling her about the night of the raid. I listen solemnly as I finish filling the trough and let the woman’s mule drink. I hear about the collapsed palisade and the family grabbing what little they can, and fleeing into the dark. Then finding other survivors, dodging orcs and wolves prowling the surrounding farmlands. Then losing much of what they had to bandits on the road. The woman eats up every word. Then smiles at the end and tosses Lucilla a penny as well.
-Intimidation 16-
I grip her hand and look into her eyes, holding up three fingers. “Fine,” Thomasina the Storyweaver concedes, and adds three more pennies. “I’ll make the coin back soon enough. Thanks kid,” she smirks at Lucilla. Then gives me an icy stare.
I pick up my full bucket, and return to the camp. Eveline has already laid out our contribution to the daily pot…which is almost the entirety of the daily pot. I glance at the sacks of beans and peas and know that about half of the remaining weight is gold coin.
“Mum!” Lucilla rushes to Rhena, and passes her the four pennies she was paid. “There was a minstrel by well that wanted to hear our story. She gave me a penny for it, but then Ilsa made her give me three more!” I hang my head down and start grooming Hare, while Lucilla prattles on to her mother while Angwin cooks the morning meal herself.
Suddenly, Nelly interrupts her sister, “Aren’t you supposed to be cooking?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be quiet when you comb your hair? Oh, wait! Then you’d never be able to say anything, ever!” Lucilla retorts.
“Stop it, you two!” Sena admonishes her younger sisters. Then Roget and Hech start complaining about how hungry they are and asking when food will be ready.
I point out to Eveline the state of our supplies, and she nods. Then I tap my satchel. She nods again, understanding. I keep my eye on the market waiting for a shop to open, but mostly just see farmers heading out to their fields with their animals. But soon, the smell of bread fills the air, and there is the quick chopping sound from the butcher’s shop as some animal meets its end.
“Will we have bread today? Ask your friend if she’ll get us bread again today?” Hech urges Lucilla. Lucilla looks at me.
I reach into my satchel and pull out the bitterburn ointment, then press it into Lucilla’s hand, then nod towards the mercer’s tradehouse. Eveline gets up and walks after the girl, heading towards the mercer’s together.
Q: Is the mercer open yet? EXCEPTIONAL NO
The step away from his shop pretty quickly, but go to see the bakery next door. They return with arms full of bread, and Lucilla gives me back the salve. Lucilla looks between Eveline and I, end then helps put the bread into our saddlebags.
Q: Do any start to question? YES (randomize-Mycroft, Insight 13) (Eveline Deception 22)
Mycroft sits beside me, “So…how much do you have to trade?”
Eveline interrupts, “Depends on the man selling. So don’t ask if you don’t want to hear.”
“Oh,” Mycroft immediately averts his gaze. Lucilla looks between the two of us in confusion.
Q: Does Rhena believe the lie? EXCEPTIONAL NO Q: Did Flora hear what Eveline implied? EXCEPTIONAL YES Q: Does Flora say something? NO
Rhena raises an eyebrow, but lets it go. Flora also looks between Eveline, her uncle and I, obviously recalling how I dealt with the soldier at the well last night, and knowing that Eveline’s implication is patently false about us. She turns back to her breakfast.
We soon finish our meal, and the mercer is still closed, so we saddle up the mule and start heading out of the village.
-Village encounter-Guard-Q: same guard? EXCEPTIONAL NO (oddly, similar personality, but worse)
“Hold up there. I’ve got to check for contraband,” says a village guard with splotchy skin. Another guard stands behind him, cold and dispassionate.
“We have nothing of value,” Ulf protests.
The guard smirks, and replies, “I’ll be the judge of that…in fact, I see several things of value that could bear…closer inspection.” His eyes fall on Prima, then he recoils, and turns his gaze towards Nelly…who suddenly stops brushing her hair.
He starts to approach her, but Sena steps in the way, “She’s a child!”
“But you aren’t,” he smirks, and pats her cheek. “Care to make a deal for passage?”
Q: Do the men step up? (I’ll say, Unlikely, since there are No men in the Huskin household) NO (Eveline persuasion 15)
I clench my fists in rage, and Eveline steps up, “Neither am I. Let her go. You walk us outside the gate, and I’ll give you what you want. But I don’t want to risk you double crossing us. Understand?”
He snorts, “Alright whore, you’ve got a deal.” He nods towards the other guard, and they escort us out of the village.
“Call me that again and you’d best show some coin,” Eveline smirks.
Once beyond the gates, the rest of the caravan continues down the road while the guard guides Eveline inside the watchtower. I wait outside with the mule, and my cat.
(Eveline performance 17, Troke 19, Turner 11)
After a bit of a wait, Eveline emerges, reapplying the rosepaste to her lips to conceal her use of nararoot, then brushing her hair as we continue down the road.
Q: Do they wait? YES
“They didn’t wait, did they?” I nod farther down the road, where the little caravan paused at the far edge of the village fields. She cringes slightly, “I kind of wish they hadn’t. It’s…”
“It was necessary,” I whisper. “That or bribe them, which only raises questions. The son’s lords here would arrest us all for the coin you and I carry. Just because they could get away with robbing a bunch of faceless, nameless refugees.”
“So that’s why their guards are all scum,” Eveline shakes her head.
“Well…probably,” I agree.
“Head down, back into the fray,” she reminds me, and I lower my gaze once more. “By the way, this actually helped me, anyway. No chance of anything going wrong overnight.”
I chuckle, but fall silent as we reach the others.
-Morning Encounter-ambient fire ring-
Q: Does Ulf say anything? NO Q: Does Rena? EXCEPTIONAL NO Q: Sena? YES Q: Nelly? YES
On rejoining the group, Sena runs up and hugs Eveline with tears in her eyes. As does Nelly. “Thank you! By the goddess thank you!” Sena stammers gratefully.
Nelly, face tear stained, presses her comb into Eveline’s hands, “I want you to have this.”
‘
-Deception 25-
“But I already have a comb,” she shrugs, giving it back, “Besides, the one man couldn’t even get it up. It was a little embarrassing for him. And when I took off my blouse, the other guy…well…let’s just say he fired his crossbow before the target was in range. I mean, no wonder they have to bully women into the gate house. There’s no way they could satisfy a wife!”
The three women laugh together about what a close call Eveline had and how she narrowly avoided being sorely used.
We walk through farmland, and I notice a fire ring where someone had set camp beside the road, and I wonder why, given how close villages are together in this land.
“Mycroft! What’s that?” Flora points to something in the field. “A deer? Could you and Rufo catch it?” she urges.
Q: Does Mycroft pursue it? NO Q: Does he realize Flora wants him to leave for a bit? NO
“No, that’s no deer. And I’d need a bow anyway,” he replies and continues walking alongside us.
-Intelligence 21-Q: Is the wagon behind us? EXCEPTIONAL NO Q: The minstrel? EXCEPTIONAL NO
It doesn’t take long for the next village to come into view. I sigh as I recall the young man who had been appointed lord of the village just two years ago, and how intrigued he was by our company’s horses. He even tried to buy a pair of them!
-Stonebridge-Q: Are there refugees here? NO Q: Do the guard stop us? YES E: Progress on ‘Find companions’: an Abuse of Misfortune (generate guard on watch)(generate a new companion, roll an assertive half orc female fighter, but that’s just Karta 2.0, so…let’s say…a dog!)
“Get away, you damned mutt!” a gate guard kicks a dog, hard, causing it two whine and whimper even more as it limps away, obviously injured from before.
A second guard approaches us, “Refugees from Westhold? There’s been a lot of you lately, and a lot more trouble than Lord Goddard would like. If you want to enter the village, surrender those weapons now. You’ll get them back on the other side of the bridge. Otherwise, go around. There’s a ford about twenty miles north next to Rivers Edge.”
Q: Does Ulf tell everyone to surrender their spears? EXCEPTIONAL YES
Ulf tells the men to comply, and soon our spears, and our two wood hatchets are handed over to the guard. That’s when I notice the mutt has come up beside Flora and I, and is whimpering, pitiably.
I sigh, and open my saddlebag, pulling out one of the loaves of bread and breaking off a piece of it. I feed the dog.
“Don’t do that!” the first guard cries out. “It’s a damned stray!”
Q: Does Flora object? NO
I glance at the guard, then turn my attention back to the dog, scratching it behind the ears. Then I smile down and inspect its leg while the rest of the caravan passes through the gate. I pull open my satchel, clean its wound, and wrapping a pair of sticks around the animal’s leg, I bandage it up. It begins licking me.
Q: Do Flora or Lucilla wait and watch? (1-2 Flora, 3-4 Lucilla, 5-6 both)YES (Lucilla) E: Negative for Richen Family: the Punishment of Failure (Maurice) Q: Does she want to learn? YES
“Come on!” urges Lucilla, “Let’s go inside.” She kneels down and studies my handiwork. “Can you teach me?”
I look up into her eyes. Then…I slowly nod yes. Then I shrug, and get back up clicking my tongue, snapping my fingers and the dog limps after me.
“You can’t bring stray dogs in here!” the first guard insists.
Q: Does Lucille stand up for it? EXCEPTIONAL NO (Persuasion disadvantage 9, 15)
I gesture towards the dog, then to me. Then to my mule, then to me. Then to the cat walking alongside Eveline, then to me. “The dog stays out!” the guard insists. I cry out for Eveline, who returns to me, glancing over her shoulder where I notice another guard inside harassing Maurice.
-Ulf, persuasion 6-
Ulf is arguing with the guard as Maurice is suddenly yanked aside by yet another guard. The one arguing with Ulf holds up a dagger that, apparently, Maurice had concealed on himself.
-Eveline persuasion 11-
Eveline tries arguing with the guard as well, but then, hearing my call, returns to me.
“What’s going on?” Lucilla asks.
“They wanted everyone’s weapons, but Maurice didn’t give up his dagger. He says it’s just a knife. They say it’s a weapon, longer than a regular knife. He’s being arrested,” she spits out angrily. Then she looks at me, tired, “What?”
I point towards the dog, and gesture that it should come with us.
-Persuasion 17-
Eveline turns to the guard, “The dog is mine now. It’s not a stray. It will leave with us.”
The guard is looking back at the conflict inside, then absentmindedly nods that we can take the dog in after all.
Q: Is Rhena’s group at the gate? NO
I follow Eveline into the village, and we head to the village square to wait for Ulf’s family. Reis’s family is already there, and so is Rhena’s group, which Lucilla immediately rejoins.
“Stupid fool,” Reis mutters. Flora looks up at her dad while stroking Petunia’s neck. “If you’re going to sneak in a weapon, at least try and hide it!”
His brother Halkin curses, “They just want to arrest one of us. Maybe to force one of our women to do what the blonde had to do in the last village. They know we don’t have any money. What? Are we going to rob a money lender with our spears in a fortified village with mailed guards? It’s bullshit!”
“Relax,” coos Mycroft, the younger of the brothers, “They won’t hold him forever. It’s just a misunderstanding. They’ll probably give him back tomorrow when they return our spears. At the worst, he rejoins his family in Oldenstone in a few days. He’ll be free again soon enough.”
-Encounter-Shopkeeper-Saddlemaker’s wife-
I start watering the animals, filling the trough by the well while Hare, Petunia and dog lap up the water.
“How now?” I hear a woman, and I notice a tradeswoman checking out Hare. “That’s a nice saddle. Where did you get it?”
I hang my head down, and Flora explains, “She doesn’t talk. It’s her sister’s mule.”
Q: Does Flora try to stop her? EXCEPTIONAL NO Q: Does she know where it’s from? EXCEPTIONAL YES (And Hare has a family brand, and I don’t have Minor Illusion to cover it)
The woman inspects the saddle. The woman smiles, “That’s Hambrey’s mark. This is from Farhold, isn’t it?” she beams. “Good quality too! No match for my husband’s work, of course, but a solid saddle for a… solid mule,” she begins admiring Hare as well. I interpose myself between her and the animal, groaning. “What’s wrong with her?” she sneers.
“She doesn’t want you to touch her mule. She takes care of it,” Flora says.
The woman looks me up and down, then at the rest of our company some distance away, “Which one is her sister?”
“The one with the curly blonde hair,” Flora explains, pointing.
Q: Does she think we stole the mule and saddle? NO
“Hmmm…” the woman muses, then she walks back towards her husband’s shop.
Q: Does Ulf stupidly get himself arrested too? Very Unlikely-NO Q: Is the sentence overnight? YES
I quickly lead the animals back to the group where Ulf’s family, less Maurice, has joined the others. Maurice’s wife, Fresa, is clearly upset, but Reis’s family has thankfully stopped discussing alleged ulterior motives of the guards. Eveline walks over and tells me, “Looks like Maurice will be held overnight. The company needs to find a place to rest.” I nod, staring at the ground. “We’ll reach Oldenstone tomorrow, then a barge to Kiddimir after we sell the mule.”
Flora suggest, “There was a woman in the square who might buy it from you. She really liked the saddle. Said it was from, Farhold. Not Hammerfel.”
-Deception 18, vs Flora’s insight 18-
Eveline glances from me to her, “We bought the mule and the saddle in Farhold. Everyone knows they have the best horses.”
Flora smirks, and whispers knowingly, “Nice of you to tell your mute sister what’s going on.”
Eveline smirks and leans closer and whispers back to her with a wink, “Nice of you to whisper, better not to talk at all.”
We find ourselves a corner by the eastern palisade, and start setting down our campsite. Once again, I hand Eveline the bitterburn salve and she and Lucilla go to the mercantile. They return a short time later with several sacks of food to refill our bags, plus a cheese wheel, and a sack of salt pork. Then she sends Lucilla back to the baker with a newly emptied sack to buy additional bread.
Q: Is Ulf mad? YES
Ulf stares at her, “How much coin do you have, woman? Could you have paid off the guard to keep my son out of jail? Or go…work your…get him out that way like you did for Rhena’s daughters? I let you join our caravan, and you just hang my son out to dry?”
-Intimidate 12-
Eveline looks up at him in disbelief, “Your son didn’t give up his weapon, when they told him to give up his weapon. And for that, he spends one night…one night! In jail. A jail with a roof over his head and gruel in a bowl. Then he’s free. That’s not starving on the road. That’s not getting raped by a couple of thugs. It’s one night…in a jail,” she snaps at the old man. Then adds, “and if it weren’t for him, we could all be in Oldenstone tonight!”
Q: Do the others stay out of it? Very likely-YES
Angwin quietly starts the fire going, while Maurice’s wife, Fresa, urges her younger children away. Prima stays to start helping prepare the vegetables after she throws in some beans to start them softening.
I keep my head down. Reis’s family, for the most part, awkwardly look away except for Flora, who watches in fearfully rapt attention. Rhena, Sena and Nelly glare at Ulf, but say nothing.
Q: Does he threaten? very unlikely NO Q: Does he apologize? very unlikely YES
He glares at her, and she at him. Then…he drops his gaze and starts to cry. Eveline walks over, kneels beside him and wraps her arm around the old man. “It will be better tomorrow. Tomorrow night, Oldenstone, and all this will be forgotten. A fresh start, and full bellies.”
A short time later, Lucilla and her brothers return with fresh, warm bread purchased with the coin Eveline gave them. They start passing it around, a half loaf for everyone. “She looks between Eveline and I, then sits down with her mother and older sisters, and they whisper between themselves.”
I unpack Hare and brush him down while Princeling wanders of to find a yummy rat or something. The dog lounges next to wear I set down by bedroll.
-Evening village encounter-
As workers return home from their fields that evening, Angwin starts filling everyone’s bowls. Then a young farmer who apparently lives in the nearby cottage, whose garden is utterly empty, comes out to see us. “Where you lot from, Westhold?” he asks, looking us over. He is missing a tooth. His eyes fall on Prima, but when she looks up and smiles, he winces and turns his gaze towards Nelly instead. Prima lowers her eyes to the ground, smile vanishing instantly. “So, uh…my name is Mosay. This is my cottage here. Where are you lot heading?” he asks, approaching Nelly.
Q: Does Nelly flirt back? NO
Nelly blushes and looks down. Sena interrupts, “You live alone? You’re the tenant or is your father?”
“Yeah, I’ve got my own lots,” Mosay nods.
“But…the garden?” she presses.
“Oh…um…not married, that’s why,” he gestures towards Nelly.
Sena nods, “She’s too young still. Could I…could I take a look inside?”
Mosay grins excitedly, “Yeh…yeah, come on. My name’s Mosay.”
“I know. You said that already. I’m Sena,” she says as she stands up and goes inside.
“Lucilla, go with your sister!” Rhena commands, and Lucilla, who had just sat down beside me, leaps up and follows them into the cottage.
Eveline sits down beside me, “Almost there,” she sighs. “Who’s this?” she looks at the dog…then she grins, “My sister got herself a dog…but she can’t talk, so…I get to name it!”
-Flora, perception 20-
I glare at her, then notice Flora behind Eveline smirking. Eveline muses, “I could name it..Fau…no. That’s not it. Pha…hmmm. Let me think, Warren. That’s a great name for a dog, isn’t it?”
-Wisdom save 17-
I bite my lips together to keep from giggling. “Warren it is! Warren’s a dog. Now…give Warren a little kiss!” she teases, kissing the animal’s forehead as it licks her cheek, then she turns the dog to face me and I draw back. “Oh, come on…you know you want to kiss Warren, don’t you?”
I blush, shaking my head in disgust as Eveline laughs at me. Then she leans over and whispers in my ear, “Maybe you want to kiss someone else?” then she stands up and goes for a walk through the village or something.
Flora comes over, “Who’s Warren?” she asks.
I shrug and shake my head. “Is he a boy you were sweet on?” I crinkle my nose in disgust. “A boy who was sweet on you?” she presses with a grin. I shrug with a smile. “But you can’t marry him because you can’t talk, right?” I nod. “Some boys say a girl shouldn’t talk.” I make a sour, disgusted face. She laughs, “I agree.”
Q: Are we left alone? NO (Encounter-Caravan)
As the light wanes, we are suddenly interrupted by a man barking out orders. “Get your lot out of here! I need to park my wagons here,” a caravan master shouts as his ox wagons trundle towards us.
Ulf and Reis get to their feet, “We were here first. Find another place to camp.”
“I don’t have time for this, move them!” the wagon master tells his men. He must have close to twenty armed men with his half dozen wagons. Very valuable cargo!
I hop to my feet and start packing up. Flora helps me load the mule while one of Rhena’s boys goes to fetch Sena and Lucilla from inside.
Q: Do the men give us a chance to pack up? EXCEPTIONAL YES E: Positive for Refugee Child: the Recruitment of Balance
The caravan guards stand down, several lingering behind their boss, most watching the cargo. Having little, the rest of our troupe is quickly moving way while Flora and I are still loading the mule. Eveline returns, looking confused, “What’s going on?”
Flora shakes her head, “They’re making us move. They want our spot.”
“We were already settled,” Eveline retorts, then she glares at the merchant captain.
“I need the space for all my wagons,” he replies.
-Persuasion 17-
“Did you pay us for the inconvenience? These people are penniless, tired, and you just made us give up the first good rest we’ve had in days. I think you owe us,” she demands.
-d6 coins, 6 gold crowns-
He snorts, then opens his purse and tosses some coins towards her. Eveline doesn’t stoop to pick them up. “A little more respectfully, please,” she replies.
-Merchant insight, 16, vs Eveline Performance 15-
“You…aren’t penniless,” he observes.
“No, but the rest of us are,” interjects Flora, then she walks over and gathers the coins while Eveline continues to stare down the man.
-Intimidate 8-
“Respectfully, please,” she holds out her hand.
He smirks, and turns back to his men, “Bring ’em in.”
-Prestidigitation, Subtle-
The wagons start trundling forward, and Eviline, Flora and I lead Hare, Warren and Princeling away. As we are about to round the corner when I hear the merchant cry out, “Oh, what’s that gods awful smell.” Flora glances back in confusion, but I notice Eveline wink at me.
I giggle, and Flora looks up between us, “What happened”
“I guess he ate something that didn’t sit well,” Eveline shrugs as the rest of his crew seems to complain as well.
—
We set ourselves up against a different palisade, and finally get some rest.
17th Great Harvest-
–Warm, clear skies, gentle wind–
-Immersion-Smell Wood-
-Peace Time Week 3 still–scandal involving rulership of Enrith Dun (probably tried to conceal the threat of that ancient ruin or something)
-Seepage 0 on d8-(got laid, sort of, the day before) (Romance status is Enamored)
Scene #23:
I wake up with a piece firewood in my face and a dog panting above me. “What?” I blink, then look around, dropping my head and hoping nobody heard me. I grab the piece of wood and throw it away. The dog immediately limps after it, and brings it back. I sigh, and throw the stick again, then get to my feet and start on my morning chores.
Q: Did anyone hear? NO Q: Anybody at the well? NO
As one of the first up, as usual, I pick up my bucket, and lead Hare and the dog to the well and trough, throwing the stick every time the dog brings it back. I start to smile at Warren’s eager persistence. Perhaps he was well named after all. I fill the trough, let the mule drink, then refill it once more before returning to our camp with a full bucket.
(implement the event, Positive: Refugee Children, recruitment of balance)
Lucilla and Angwin are up and getting the cooking pot ready for my water. Eveline is sorting out what food for us to contribute to the pot. Flora is milking Petunia. Sena and Nelly are nowhere to be seen. The boys wait, eagerly, for breakfast, and begging for some more bread or cheese from last night. Fresa warns them all to be patient. Rhena is mending a tear in her dress. Reis’s twin boys, who had wandered off, suddenly race into the camp. “We’ve been hired to gather some firewood. We’ll be back soon…don’t leave without us!” they stammer, then run off.
Hech calls out after them, “Don’t worry! I’ll eat your bowls.”
“No you won’t,” snaps Flora, defending her siblings, at the same time that Rhena leans over to flick her son’s ear. He yowls, and his little brother, Roget, laughs at him.”
I sit back, and stroke Princeling’s fur absent-mindedly while continuing to play fetch with Warren. The other young children soon join in, and the dog seems happy as can be. Rufo watches with disinterest, staying by Mycroft’s side enjoying a good scratch behind the ears.
Q: Is Rhena happy? YES (Insight 23)
We take our time eating, as the boys are away, and after finishing our food, Sena and Nelly return with Mosay. They don’t seem to mind the girls don’t seem to mind that they missed breakfast. Sena is smiling, and Nelly is rolling her eyes as Sena sits down beside her mother and shows her a ring that now rests on her finger. Mosay sits beside them, and the three are soon engaged in a deep, animated discussion. I can tell that Rhena is excited for her daughter, but worried about the next few months. Fortunately, engagements are traditionally a year long, and…that’s not a copper ring, just some straw woven together. Enough for a pledge, but not worthy of a wife.
“Well,” Eveline starts, but stops when I give her a sharp look. She holds up her hands, and gets up.
Q: Did Flora notice? Unlikely EXCEPTIONAL YES
I notice Flora looking at us. I continue petting the dog.
Eventually, the boys return each showing off a silver tenpiece they earned and handing it over to their father. He thanks them joyfully, rubbing their heads.I give Flora a quizzical look, and she pats her apron, and I suddenly realize, she didn’t give the crowns to the camp yet. I chuckle and shake my head.
I saddle up Hare, and fall in behind the others, Flora at my side, leading Petunia. Warren tagging behind. Princeling weaving around one of the boys in the camp who I don’t know well. Mycroft and Rufo move up the column, while Halkin falls back to join us in the rear. He always looks angry, and Flora doesn’t say much.
Q: Are we stopped at the bridge? NO
We arrive at the bridge gate, and wait. Reis approaches the man on watch, “We’d like our spears back, and his son,” Reis points to Ulf who is taking slow, deep breaths, worry etched on his face.
Q: Do they return what is ours? EXCEPTIONAL YES
The guard nods, then heads into the tower, and returns with our spears, as well as Maurice’s dagger. Maurice joins us a few minutes later, and he is unbound at the bridge. “If you ever come back, watch yourself,” his captor warns.
Q: Does he keep his cool? EXCEPTIONAL NO
“You watch yourself!” he explodes. His father immediately shoves him out the gate, Reis does the same. Eveline looks back at the guards with an apologetic shrug as we all try to hurry out of the village.
Q: Do the guards react? NO
The guards just smirk. Clearly, they are used to young hotheads, though…Maurice is old enough to know better.
–Morning Encounter-Deer-
Sound of Hare’s shoed hoofs on the cobblestone bridge is strangely soothing. It is a long bridge, and I recall Baron Pond telling me that it took nearly a decade for his grandfather to finish converting the original wooden bridge to one of stone blocks and arches. “This will stand for a thousand years or longer,” Pond boasted proudly of his family’s achievement. I remember those discussions fondly, and hunting with him and his new bride, and now, I return to his city and hope to never see him.
Crossing to the other side, we see a group of deer grazing along the river bank. Warren races down after them, but with an injured leg, he has no hope of catching one. As we continue our journey we pass through more farmland.
“What’s that?” Flora asks, looking north to some ancient ruined towers in the distance. I glance that way, then lower my head once more.
-Halkin-History 16-My history 14-
“Ruins from men who lived here an elven lifetime ago,” Halkin snorts. “You’ll find their crap all over the place. Died of a plague or something, every last one of ’em. Stupid bastards.”
Flora looks to me, quizzically, then glances down to my satchel, then back up to me. I shrug.
A couple of hours later, just as the kids start to complain about being hungry, we see the white lime painted walls of Oldenstone looming over terraced hillside farms with rugged hill country beyond. A great quarry is plain to see, the distant tink of steel on stone, and a faint haze of dust hangs lingers in the air over the far side of the city.
Q: Is the wind towards us? YES
I pauses and pull a ragged shirt from the sack of spare clothing on Hare’s back. I tear off the sleeves, and wrap one around my face, then gesture for Flora to turn around, and she lets me tie the other around her face so our mouths and noses are covered.
Q: Does Halkin ask about it? NO
Halkin looks at us strangely, then shakes his head as we continue on.
As we get and begin crossing the second stone bridge, the rest of our little company begins to cough, as the wind isn’t strong enough to lift the dust away. Eveline looks back towards me, then comes back grab some more spare shirts, “Thanks for the warning,” she glares at me, then laughs as she fashions a bandana of her own from the short I’d already torn.
Q: Is the caravan ahead of us? NO Q: Do the guards halt us? NO
The other families follow suit with their own spare garments, what few they have. Pressing on, we cross over the center of the bridge, which has twin guard towers and a wooden drawbridge, and soon we reach the gates of the great city itself. A small number of carts, herdsmen, laborers and other travelers come and go ahead of us.
“More refugees from Westhold?” one guard says to another through their scarves.
The other replies, “Smart enough to cover their mouths today.”
“I hate a westerly wind,” the first one replies.
Inside the gate, our company quickly comes to a stop. Ulf looking around. “We made it!” he looks back, and smiles in relief, “Every last one of us.”
Reis and his mother Madge, Rhena and Sena, Maurice, Lavender and Angwin all crowd around the troupe’s patriarch and weep for joy.
Eveline walks over to me with a smile on her face. “Kiddimir next?”
I lower my gaze. Then I lead Hare away, up towards the market district.
Eveline catches up quickly, “Aren’t we going to say goodbye?”
I look up at her with tears in my eyes.
Q: Doe Lucilla or Flora come after us? YES (d6 as before, this time both)
I hear two pair of footsteps, and turn to see Flora and Lucilla running to us. “We wouldn’t have made it without you. And you promised to teach me.” Lucilla blurts out.
Q: Does Flora ask to come with? NO
Flora looks from Lucilla to me, “Where are you really going? Will we see you again?” I shrug my shoulders, tears in my eyes, giving her a weak smile. I gesture to Eveline, indicating my copper bracelet that she is wearing. She smirks as she slides it from her wrist. I carefully place it on Flora’s wrist. Then kiss her forehead.
Q: Does Lucilla want to come with? NO
Lucilla shakes her head, “I don’t want you to leave.”
Eveline gives her a quirky smile, “We may cross paths again one day, perhaps in unexpected way.” Then she reaches over to my purse, and pulls out the Friean pendant I pretended to sell back in Shadowood, and pushes it into the girl’s hand. I scrunch up my face, and glare at her, “Cat got you’re tongue.”
Q: Anyone else from the group? NO
I glance around, then reply, “No, but the cat might get yours if you aren’t careful.” I pull the girls into a nearby alley and whisper to Lucilla, “Keep the pendant, it’s yours. I’ve had it since Separation. It was a gift from my father when I departed for my apprenticeship.” Then I turn to Flora, “And keep that bracelet. It may not be worth much, but it’s more than 3000 years old. I found it beyond the Lone Fields inside an ancient elven library called Guldall.” Then I tell both girls, “Keep these things hidden from your family until you can come up with some way to explain having them. And don’t tell them about this conversation.” I”m glad to know you both, and I’ll always count you as friends.” I kiss them each on the forehead, then lowering my gaze, Eveline and I head back into the street, leaving the girls to go return to their families.
Suddenly, I remember something,”Wait!” I say, turning to face the girls once more. I dig through the sacks of peas and beans, fishing out seven full pouches of coin and passing them to Eveline to put in her satchel. “There’s food enough on Hare for a few days while you all get settled. Keep Hare’s blanket on him here in town, lest the brand be recognized. I assure, that he is my mule, but…I am being sought, and he is the last thing I have that would give me away.” Looking to Lucilla, “Now he’s part of your sister Sena’s dowry.” To both, “if anyone asks, I can’t afford to take him on the barge south to Kiddimir. A few of your parents know that’s not true, but it should satisfy the rest. There is coin in the sack of beans. Only gold though. Until your families get set up, you might use one a day to buy provisions. You can claim to have found a coin in the street. Use the story with a different vendor each day, rotate, swap out with your siblings or something….so they are less likely to wonder how your families have coin. The rest…everything else on the mule. Do with as you see fit. Just see that Hare is well cared for. He’s a good beast.”
Then I smile, hand the reins to Flora, and walk away.
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