Set to parchment this 12th day of the Month of Sorrows, in 1332 the year of the Standard…. |
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Winter persists, and Team 37 falls under fortune’s umbrella, saved from the drenching rain by the canopy of their newly acquired waygon. One long week’s journey brings the team to their objective, the village of Stahl, Southeast of Beckridge by two and a half days travel.
The trek to Stahl, despite the weather, is relatively uneventful. 37 is pitted with a slight moral and political challenge as, latterly bargaining with a Juisse who is questionably occupying a toll bridge over the Royal River, and gaining issue across said bridge for less than half of the original toll by way of pleading passage on pious grounds, they encounter a nobleman, complete with a band of potential insurrectionists. Charles Exeter of Beckridge, and four fellows, of whom include the face and front of this group, Felix Gladstone, a ruffian to be certain, and an enormous thug of a brute called Bruno, sit upon a mighty arm of a great oak which overhangs the King’s High Way, under whom our team’s waygon must pass.
These rebellious ne’er-do-wells openly plot an assault on the Juisse tollgatherer, intent upon sending him home to his liege, Imbert Jean de Noyon, écuyer, Marquis du Perchoi, the tax man’s ‘amour propre’ forthwith deflated, proverbial tail between his legs, ushered on his way to deliver a missive unto said Marquis, to wit: Juisse presence in the Midrealm is unwanted and will not be tolerated.
It is of some coincidence our Cleric Calen is familiar with the reputation of the Exeter lad, a third-born son of nobility in similar position, if not similarly elevated social status, of our Calen. And as luck has incessantly followed our team, so with serendipity has the Exeter lad likewise heard of the Fosseways, and he replies with the name of Gareth, Calen’s father. Thus, a rapport is established, and the seditious gang is dissuaded from a potentially contentious situation between the Marquis de le Perchoi and Earl Philip Exeter of Beckridge. [Chronicler’s commentary: The Exeter lad might needs be targeted for observation. His demeanor and upbringing implies he is savvy, and his sagacity for politics indicate this minor event might precede a greater undermining of his father’s authority, and certainly could be considered seditious or even outright treasonous.]
The City of Beckridge, after a long day pushing the heavy bay and chestnut Aldenberg mares, (purchased by Kypris on account in Montaigne,) the team arrives to a closed Beckridge, and learn they must camp in a nearby field and await the opening of the city gates at dawn. Dorak befriends a berserk dwarf, name of Bill, called Gorsack by his friends. This rough Bitori needs calming, as his temper is in short supply at the rebuffing by the dedicated gatekeeper. Dorak, feeling a kindred to his race-fellow, diffuses what is to be certain destruction of the irate Bill, and talks the dwarf into joining the team for a night’s hospitality, where they enjoy a repast of Bill’s special ‘potted meat’, and Dorak’s mead.
In the meadow of the make shift camp, a kindly fellow greets the team, inviting them to share not only the warmth of his cookfire on this late winter, chill-blustery night, but also to partake in a sizable roasted pig that has been cooking for hours, and is presently in readiness for consumption. This fellow, Martin Gage, is a storyteller, and exchanges performances, his feast, and hearty laughter with a few members of the team, mainly the minstrel Falko and Iz’Alma. Much mirth and satisfaction fills the evening, and all have a modicum of fun, even Dorak, who later suffers slightly from an ailment of the stomache, possibly caused by Bill’s ‘meat’ meal, which may have gone off.
A long day is spent in quiet service at the Great Church Temple upon this ninth day of the Month of Sorrows, the sacred day of the Second Sorrow, after which a great feast is enjoyed, courtesy of the Church and the Diocese, to which only those who participated in the full 9 hour Sorrow services were invited.
The morning next, on their way out of Beckridge, Calen visits the Chronicler to the Earldom of Beckridge; on account that several days previous, the Cleric had befriended a lesser Chronicler, a dour man beset upon and delayed by the inclement weather, and makes inquiry of the man. The official, who’s jurisdiction is quite small, directs the Cleric, who presents inquiry of information regarding any reports of thievery near the village of Stahl [pertinent to the mission], to the Chronicler’s office in Beckridge. The Earl’s Officer has not the news Calen seeks, but this most blessed and god-favored Cleric is given several missives bound for Stahl, which later prove most useful and economical for the team. The courier’s seal later grants free ferry passage across River Slender, and discounted tolls upon Craston’s Bridge.
The few days it takes to trudge the mud-sodden roads and cross wintery high water fords, are relatively uneventful. It is the night of the fording of the Royal River, leagues downstream of the Juisse toll bridge, where Dorak espies small, gleaming eyes and shadowy furtive movements at the edge of his night vision. There is no attack, no raid, no hail of javelins or other sign of attack, but the team is now wary that they have strayed from safe roads and are now in a more wild land.
It is but early that next morning, the sky still blanketed in the amber-gray pre-dawn, that two horsemen rush down the road not many yards distant from the caravan’s camp. These rough riders do not slow for even a ‘well-met’ or ‘how-de-do’, but speed on and disappear quickly out of sight. The team, as the team’s road, for a pace, coincides with the rider’s path, hear whispers about the two coarse men preceding them into town. Only after the ferry crossing do the paths of these mysterious men diverge from the team’s path, heading into rough country, in the direction of Kellan’s Keep, the holding of the Knight of Storm’s End, Heward Kellan.
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Stahl proves irascible from the moment of their arrival, as the team are confronted by a churlish gateswoman, hight Miranor, of bitori blood and mean disposition. The female constable rudely insults the team, barring their entrance into the village, and testing the honor of its members until Cleric Calen presents her with the sealed missives from the Earl of Beckridge’s Chronicler, whence she immediately permits the holy man entrance to the village, giving him directions to the Mayor’s Manse. Dorak she also lets pass, as he succeeds at whatever enigmatic and senseless test she sets for him. |
The churlish and irrational guard, Miranor, called “Bladed Bitch” by the townsfolk |
In most faithful duty to the GEP, |
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