Fantasy RP

[Duck14]

(Would that be a timeskip I see?)

Alfred

I looked over my crew. They deserved a pickup after that journey, we may have made a couple small losses thanks to the weather damages but spending a bit early on would be nice for everyone. I slipped a few gold coins into a small bag and snuck it into my jacket pocket. “Alright, everyone. Let’s hit the pub for a couple of drinks. You’ve all earned it, especially after that journey. Let’s have one on Matt.”

[Leggo]

Jonos


“I’m going to be sending young Hallon to collect the heir of each Atrekaran Baron. Hallon will make sure to tell them that they are being required, not being asked. If any of the Atrekaran Barons want to start stirring up trouble, their heir will be quickly executed. Of course, Hallon won’t be saying that. I don’t want to be too blunt. He’ll only be saying that their heir is being required by me to come serve in the campaign. I’m sure the lords will get the rest.”

I motion to one of the higher ranking Household Guards in the room, Farlyn, or something, and say:
“Bring the order to Hallon Talsworth, tell him to bring his entire levy, and to not be pushed around by these Barons, their armies are effectively shattered.”

I turn back to the war table.
“Now, onto bigger matters, deciding where we target next. I have my own opinions on the matter, but I’ll let any of you who want to address me and the room with your own opinions and ideas.”

I’m interested in what Sir Herwin Talsworth has to say, given his spy networks and informants. If a Thasian county is politically weak, it would be wise to capitalize on it.

[Bannanachair]

@ Othan: "There's a knight who's meant to watch over us," Said one man. "Sir Raethus Shan. He lives in that castle, back the way you came from, my lord,"

Northan, already dismounted from his horse, gave a response. "Raethus is my brother-in-law. Unfortunately, he does not know the specifics of the bandits. Could you tell us how many there are?"

"Aye. There were four on horseback that came to Wyst's Town and ten on foot, all armed dangerously."

@ Duck14: (It is indeed a timeskip.)

@ Alfred: You and your crew make your way to The Ugly Rose, a tavern that's quite popular among sailors. The innkeeper and bartender, Gutrum, was an old friend of yours and had briefly served on your ship before inheriting the tavern. "Alfred! Welcome back to Estermere!" Gutrum said in Eredalian. "How are you? I heard rumours of a bad storm and had feared the worst, but here you are."

@ Jonos: Farlyn leaves to deliver the message that you had ordered him to deliver immediately. After he left and you turned onto bigger matters, the first person to speak was Count Herwin Otterberg, not Sir Herwin Talsworth.

"Your majesty, I don't think that it would be prudent to attack anywhere next. You've doubled the size of your realm already - are you not content with that?" He asked.

Bernard Darham responded immediately. "We're not stupid, you greedy bastard!" He shouted.

"That's 'my lord' to you, Bernard," Otterberg said. Being a count has already gotten to his head, it seems. "You had best remember that."

"Your majesty, we should attack Norvera next," Bernard said, ignoring Count Otterberg. "Cross the river today and we'll pin Prydell between Thasia, the Nubarb and our army. Norvera will fall as fast as Atrekara did."

"I would avoid attacking Prydell for the time being, your majesty," said Herwin Talsworth.

"And why is that?" Asked Baron Darham.

"I don't know much about military tactics and strategies, because I just find out information for his majesty, so I may be wrong in what I'll say next. However, I assume that you don't want to have to fight a war against the Duke of Spiderwood, who conducts a small amount of trade through Prydell. Even if he could be convinced not to fight against us, Norvera still has a lot of spiderwood from that trade."

"Mescor is the shortest march from here," Redscar offered. "Just one short river crossing and a march just as short and you'll already be at the city of Mescor. From there you'll be in a better position to strike at Norvera as well."

"Be that as it may," Sir Wallace interjected, "Demara is probably the best course of action. Demara is politically weak and is ruled by an old man who must be a hundred years old by now. I read an old book that says that there's a small grove of Spiderwood trees in Demara as well that could be very militarily useful."

"Was the book about the travels of Gunnar the Grey-Skinned?" Herwin Talsworth said. "He's some folk hero who may have lived four hundred years ago, or may never have existed at all. His stories aren't very popular any more, but they're still just stories."

"Either way, a weak old man seems like the perfect person to strike."

"He's not very weak," Herwin said. "I have put more resources into building a spy network in Greymorn than in anywhere else and yet my agents still consistently and regularly go silent on me. And when they do send things, they don't send information but rather... Some more disturbing items."

[Tikobe]

Othan

"How dangerously, and with what weapons?" I ask.

Only 4 on horseback? If I recall right then the greater majority of them should've had access to a horse. If one is performing of banditry by extorting the nearby villages, it would be most logical to use the bandits with horses for the extortion so as to make a quick entry and escape all the while using their unmounted numbers to watch their lair and make sure no one invades.

4 on horseback, 10 unmounted. It didn't make a lot of sense, even for bandits. However, not only is this not the time for conspiracies, there really wasn't anything there to warrant such notions. It was merely just a bad call on the parts of the bandits, from what I could tell. At the very least, it would be wisest for me to ask for their arms. I was told half were armored and all of them had swords, but if they have around 15 horses and an estimate of 20 men like how Raethus reported but have 10 walking on the ground then it would be best to check the rest of the information.

[Duck14]

Alfred

“Aye Gutrum, good to see ya. That storm was nasty for sure, knocked my ship around worse than any storm in recent memory. Lost a man out there as well. But here we are,” I declare and seat myself on my favourite stall. I pull out the coin purse and place it on the counter. A couple gold coins spilled out. “Grab a round for my crew will ya, mate? They’ve more than earned it.”

I gazed around the pub gesturing for my crew to join me. But I also wondered who else had been caught in that storm and if anyone else had made it through.

[Bannanachair]

@ Othan: "Most had swords, my lord. Some had spears," The peasant said. "The ones on horseback all had swords."

"When did they come here?" Northan asked.

"They were first here two weeks ago, my lord. They were back six days ago, but only four of them. They still said that if they were hampered their friends would all be here and would burn the town to the ground, so we gave them more gold then."

@ Alfred: "Free drinks for all of Alfred's crew!" Gutrum shouted to some applause. He then continued speaking to you. "You weren't the only ship in that storm. It was worse further up the Nubarb, near where you were, than it was down here. Rumours have been coming in for days that everything 'tween Forfait and Oakwell was just shipwrecks. How did you survive that?"

[Duck14]

Alfred

My men cheered as they reached for their drinks and I pocketed the bag of gold. No point arguing against free drinks in this line of work. “It’s actually quite a tale Gutrum. It involves a band of merchants, a brave navigator, and one of the worst storms I’ve ever seen. But first,” I lifted my drink to the air. “To Matt, a committed crewman to the end, and to all those lost souls. May they rest at last.” I lowered it to my lips and took a swig.

“Well, by the sounds of it we were just incredibly lucky. My ship took more than her fair share of bolts. The bridge is wrecked. But we managed to have Artie manning the wheel for long enough that by the time that got obliterated we had past the worst. Then it just came down to manual steering and pure hope.”

[Tikobe]

Othan

Hmm...

Well, that may clarify things actually. If that was the first visit then it could be attributed to a show of might, with the visits afterwords being a quite collection.

It was, at least, a satisfactory answer.

"How did they move? Were their numbers in a formation of sorts?"

[Bannanachair]

@ Alfred: "So, you'll be in Estermere for a while then, I suppose," Gutrum said, pouring himself a pint of beer as well.

@ Othan: "A formation like when Sir Raethus makes us stand in a line when we practice with spears? No, my lord, they weren't in a line like that." This man, despite his age, seems to not have fought in any wars.

[Tikobe]

Othan

(Doing bigger font in bold to help distinguish these things...)

Hmm... Not a lot of information. We really did nothing but confirm what we already knew. If there wasn't a formation, however, we can write off the former soldiers theory. They may still be mercenaries, but they would've made for poor mercenaries.

"Very well. Which directions do they come from and which directions do they leave towards?"

(And then...)



CS

Name: Kainer Adderant



Age: 20



Gender: Male



Nationality: Argolon



Appearance: Kainer is a tad bit on the tanner side but can still be considered slightly fair skinned with an above average body build. He has dark red hair similar to that of the autumn leaves with brown eyes the color of a tree and a face that some may consider soft on the eyes. He keeps his face cleanly shaved, and his naturally wavy hair is cut to be ear length and nothing more. (Originally not that cringy, but Tim said he thought Kainer’s appearance would be more poetic so I capitalized on the cringy shit.)



Clothing: Kainer is usually found trying to flaunt his "knightly" status so is most often found wearing a sleeveless leather cuirass with a gray shirt underneath and light metallic pauldrons and leather vambraces with a thin metallic plate attached to them. He wears khaki colored pants under a metallic codpiece and greaves that guard his kneecaps and a bit of the leg above and below said kneecaps. Finally he wears leather boots for footwear. While this is his usual wear when not expecting a fight, Kainer is also known to wear this armor when fighting in certain terrains, such as forests and heavily mountainous regions, where heavier armor serves as an hindrance. He does, however, indeed have a heavier set when he's expecting a battle on terrain where it can be used. This particular set involves a tunic of chain mail and reuses the codpiece mentioned before. However, now the sleeves are full plate and so are the legs, and Kainer sports a metallic helmet. For weaponry he uses a simple spear with a kite shield bearing the symbol of his now dead house of Adderant, a golden silhouette of a squirrel, with a diagonal line separating that from the symbol of the Autumn Court, a red leaf, located below House Adderant’s insignia.



Languages: Argolonian



Occupation: Knight of the Autumn Court



Rank: Knight



Personality: Kainer is a man possessing of good manners and exception martial skills. However that's less of a sign of his character and more because the elves of the Autumn Court carved it into his brain. Or smacked his buttocks until he remembered it. Whichever one works. Beyond these Kainer is known for his childlike and slightly naive attitude as well as a confidence and bravery venturing on the side of foolishness and lunacy. While the elves of the Court were supposedly the ones in charge of raising him, Kainer spent most of his time with the sprites. Said sprites played one too many pranks. Said number of pranks left him with very little common sense and an intelligence that leaves many to wonder if Kainer is really just an idiot. At least he's a very sociable person.



Bio: Once upon a time, okay, 18 years ago, the Adderant family stood tall as a prominent noble house within the Argolonian Duchy of Tothen. It was a family of many heroes and knights, a family who stood tall against the dangers of the wild… Until about seventy or so years ago when they got lazy and stopped being adventurers and knights and became a merchant family but no need to worry over such minor details. However, one would notice that was only 18 years ago? What had happened to the poor fated family of Adderant?



The story goes back two years before Adderant’s fall, the year that the newest and youngest son Kainer Adderant was born. Now we return to two years later. On one day, while admiring the moon… Okay, fine, he got too drunk and it led into a fight with his wife and as such he decided to leave his bedchambers, the former head of the Adderant family was suddenly met by a pixie. But this was no ordinary pixie, it was an ordinary pixie who hailed from the Autumn Court of the fae who came to him with a message from the Queen of Autumn herself. The Queen’s message had told the Adderant head that a disaster was coming to destroy the Adderant family and the only way to prevent its demise was to offer their son Kainer to the Autumn Court. The Adderant head, desperate and still drunk, gladly gave Kainer to the Queen of the Autumn Court and rested in peace knowing that the calamity of their family was over.



However, it turns out that his drunken self had misunderstood the contents of the message and what was averted wasn’t the disaster but the total demise of the Adderant family, a fact that was discovered when mysterious attackers raided the Adderant manor and killed every member of the Adderants except for Kainer who was being taken care of by the fae. It turns out that the Duke of Tothen had been visited numerous times by fae of the Unseelie kind. These faeries had told lies and rumors to the Duke, warning him that the Adderants intended to rebel and take over Tothen, a notion that was quite far from the truth as the Adderants were the Duke’s biggest supporters. However, this fact is one known only by the Duke of Tothen, the Unseelie faeries who had pulled off what they called the “prank,” and the higher ranking members of the Autumn Court who had noticed the actions of the Unseelie.



Kainer was and still is blissfully unaware of the truth of his family’s demise. In small part because the Queen of the Autumn Court has made sure he doesn’t hear of it, but in large part because he doesn’t care about it. After all, he was two years old when his family just threw him into the wilds to be picked up by the faeries of the Autumn Court. He hadn’t the time to get attached to the Adderants or anything like that and spent his past 18 years in the Autumn Court being raised to become a fine knight for the Queen he now served. Well, whether or not he is even remotely a “fine knight” is debatable but he is no less a knight of the Autumn Court and served as a gate guard of the Autumn Court until one day a particular little event happened.



It’s quite simple actually: While most of the other knights were elves and many of the faeries who raised him were said elves, Kainer was more of a friend of the sprites than anything and when the elves took measures to straighten his attitude the sprites would still step in and lead him astray. Even to this day Kainer still listened to the sprites, not really aware that they were almost always tricking him into doing stupid things. And on this particular day, the sprites had told Kainer a funny little story: Kainer, as a human, had to do a little more extra in service to the Queen of the Autumn Court and what else better than to become famous in the human world?



Kainer, ever the fool, bought it too easily and left the Court to gain a name for himself.



The faeries of the Autumn Court approved, saying it was a chance for the young man to gain experience.



Friends and Family: Kainer, being raised by faeries, has no human friends whatsoever and it would’ve been said that he had almost had no interaction with humans during his time in the Autumn Court if it wasn’t for the few times the faeries brought him to meet some humans whenever the faeries needed to do some business with them. He does, however, have a lot of friends among the Autumn Court and has good standing with faeries that are familiar with the members of the Court.



However, if he were to be asked about the Queen of the Autumn Court herself, he wouldn’t have much to say. When he was younger and still training he met her a few times in a year as she looked over him, however the numbers of times he’s seen her starting from a few years ago is only twice. Of course, to be fair, there’s a lot he doesn’t understand about those who took care of him such as why the Queen even chose to do so in the first place. He really never thought to question it, and still doesn’t.



Goals: To become a famous knight known throughout the land. Because he doesn’t realize when he’s being pranked.



Other: N/A

[Duck14]

Alfred

I took a sip of my own drink and nodded. “Aye, we’re here until our ship can get back out there. And we might have someone look8jg for our service as soon as that’s done. I’m not sure.” But what we do for fun? I had never found much fun on land, nothing swayed unless you were caught in an earthquake of sorts. “Say, is there anyone around who may know anything about that strange storm?”

CS


Name: Verous Datha

Age: 16

Gender: Male

Nationality: Dathan

Appearance:

Verous is quite tall for his age, which his mother takes the blame for. He’s quite lanky but otherwise athletic having been trained in martial and athletic activities for his entire life. He has yet to grow facial hair and fears that he may never do so. But does have a medium length head of dark brown hair which match his eyes. His skin is rather pale as he doesn’t tan easily.

Clothing:

Verous has a variety of available clothing due to being a noble of the Dathan court. The Dathan’s as is known love their clothes with the great Feren Obosond being world renowned for his numerous clothes in the most odd styles. Some say he doesn’t attend his job as a lawyer without changing his set of clothes five times over.

But Verous, yeah my character. Well you see he prefers to keep it simple. He wears the noble blue with the red ‘V’ on his right arm to signify his position. But beyond that he just does what any boy his age does. Not everyone can be Feren.

Languages: Elusian (Dathan Dialect), he’s quite well versed in the languages of the other major nations given his extensive teaching.

Occupation: Duke

Rank: Duke of Datha (Duke Verous III of Datha)

Personality:

Quite naive given both his inexperience as a duke and inexperience in life. Verous would love nothing more than to have been able to spend a few extra years exploring the world before being thrust into a position of power. He’s quite a quiet person because of his overbearing father but he wants to be loud. That’s just not quite something he can be, at least not all the time. He’s intelligent and fit but not quite as charismatic as he wants to be. But then what 16 year old is?

Bio:

Verous spent most of his childhood, from the age of five, locked in a classroom or training with his father. That father, being the duke, would have Verous under almost constant surveillance. He would have a guard contingent watch Verous whenever he left his bed chambers to ensure his protection. This behaviour was regarded as weird, with Datha being one of the safer nations in Elusia. It also sucked whenever Verous played games like hide and seek with his friends. Needless to say, he got found rather quickly. Somehow the other kids knew the beeline for to bush or wardrobe with a guard or two around it.

Verous’s mother disagreed with this overprotection. She encouraged Verous to enjoy more adventurous endeavours such as exploration, climbing, hunting, and running. She also managed to bargain for some guard-free time for Verous once he turned ten. But those times were short and Verous spent them with his friends as often as possible. But as he grew older more time was spent training or in the classroom so that he would one day be ready to lead Datha.

Verous spent a lot of time exploring the woodlands surrounding Datha’s capital, sometimes with the assistance of his friends. An escort of guards would always keep an eye on him to ensure the son of the crown would not wander too deep into the forest. This escort merely expanded Verous’s interest in the dark places. He spent years trying to hone his hiding, climbing, and running in the hopes of one day evading the escort for long enough to see the dangers of the forest for himself. And one day he did. He made it beyond the point where the trees nudged against one another, as if to warn travellers away, and into the dark reaches of the Dathan Forest. The Dathan army used this zone of darkness as a proving ground for new soldiers, no one went in without preparation.

Verous heard the distant cries of his name from beyond as the escort closed in on him. But they weren’t the only ones saying his name, for something much closer whispered it in a frail, scratchy voice. A nail scratched his ear and ran down his face. Verous froze in fright. “Pretty, pretty” the voice uttered, breathing in his ear. The nail reached his neck. A hand soon replaced it and squeezed. Then a member of the escort, Perrin, shot his crossbow sending the hag hissing back into the darkness. From that moment on Verous knew to stay away from the dark zone until he was ready. His father’s advisor berated his rashness to no end, but worse than that was his father’s silence. And his mother could do nothing but comfort him, she made sure he retained his adventurous nature, for it was from her that it came.

The event finally ended the guard escort. Verous’s father realised that the guard escort caused Verous to rebel rather than provide protection as intended. His father also grew ill in this time which perhaps caused him to rethink his overprotection.

A couple years past and Verous’s father grew increasingly unwell. His advisor and best friend had taken over most lordly duties. But everyone knew that the crown would pass to Verous much sooner than expected. A 16-year-old on the Dathan throne was unprecedented. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do up there. All he wanted to do was explore, while he still had the chance. But at the age of sixteen and a half he received the duchy to the disdain of the royal advisor.

Friends and Family:

(This is just some of the more prevalent characters, there’s probably more that we may come up with at a later time.)

Marian Datha (Mother): A noblewoman born into a family with holdings in the southernmost area of Datha. Grew up hunting and grew a love for the outdoors. A love she passed onto her son. She married the now departed Duke of Datha, Varron Data, at the traditional age of 26. She would often guide her husband on the best course of action regarding diplomatic relations. With his passing she holds the tile of Duchess-Past.

Vernon Datha (Uncle): Varron’s younger brother and first in line for the throne. That was until Verous was born denying him his spot in line. Vernon was never somebody for the political scene but had always believed that Datha should employ a more militaristic approach to their diplomatic dealings as the country always seemed to get the short end of every deal.

Talon Datha (Cousin): Vernon’s son and now third in line for the throne until Verous births an heir. He’s only a year younger than Verous and is deeply jealous of him. Talon follows his father in nearly everything but it’s often thought that he is bullied into doing so. As he was not directly in line for the throne he does not the noble ‘V’ in his first name.

Yalan Falnoor (Advisor): The advisor and best friend of Varron. Now the advisor to Verous. Despite accepting his friend’s son as the new duke, he often interferes believing Verous to be incapable of making decisions himself. He believes himself to be the main power in Datha and hopes to be until Verous reaches a more suitable age.

Perrin Henda (Guard/Friend): The very same guard who saved Verous from the hag. Being the guard most often in Verous’s escort, Perrin became quite friendly with the young man. They would talk about faraway lands that they each hoped to visit at some point. Perrin is about 35 at this current stage.

Prue Falnoor (Friend): Childhood friend of Verous’s and daughter of the Duke’s lead advisor. She would often sneak out with Verous and their other friends to run amuck around the castle. Her father forced her to study the art of diplomacy from a young age, something of which she’s become quite skilled at. But she and Verous have grown slightly apart in recent years given their conflicting schedules.

Darryl Wildon (Friend): Verous’s oldest friend. He’s a ranger by trade so is often away foraging or hunting. But when he returns he makes sure to spend time with Verous. He’s best known for his famous capture of the horned bear in East Datha.

Goals: Mainly to prove himself a worthy successor to his father.

Other: N/A

[Leggo]

Jonos

Otterberg can shove it. He’s a fool if he thinks I’d end my campaign in such an infantile stage. Demara was my first choice but with what Herwin is telling me, I’m a bit taken aback. I don’t want to involve foreign powers, so attacking Prydell would be a poor decision. A river crossing and a short march to get to Mescor sounds prudent and wise. I want to find out more about the political landscape in Demara. I address the room.

“The campaign will, of course, continue as planned. We have the manpower and money to continue, so we will. I want to attack the weakest, easiest to conquer counties first, save the harder counties until the end. We can not attack Prydell if it risks the Duke of Spiderwood throwing his backing against us. I do not want to involve foreign influence in this war. I’d like more information on Demara from you, Herwin, but I think with the disturbing information we’re getting it’d be wider to choose an easier target for now. Mescor is just across the Nubarb. If we could take it, we’d have isolated Norvera as the last unconquered territory in eastern Thasia.”

I think Mescor is our best course of action. Being so close, we can try to attack with such speed that they’re caught off-guard in a way. I turn to Herwin, and say, “Do you have any reports from Mescor?”

[Bannanachair]

(Both characters are, of course, accepted. We now have five active characters. That is more than I've ever had, except for one time very briefly in Siege of Dorthol when a bunch of people joined and then got bored quickly and then it was just me and Duck.)

@ Othan: "They came from the east, your majesty, but I don't think that that means anything. Forlon went out to look for them, he's the best tracker in the town. He said that the hoofprints and footprints look like they circled around a bunch before coming in."

@ Kainer: It's been just one whole week since you left the realm of faerie and entered the forests of man, but already details of your time in that transient place are escaping your mind. The elves warned you that mortals who to the land of the fey often have hazy memories of their time there, but the sprites assured you that with the amount of time you've spent there you'd be immune - after all, you'd have to lose everything since you were a baby.

The city of Calbourne, however, is just as big as all the faeries said that it would be. It's the capital of Argolon, and is surrounded by a beautiful hedge maze that a guide had to help you find your way through. The buildings were as tall as some trees and the people on the streets were just as exciting. A naked child ran past you, playing in puddles left over by some rain with his friends. A merchant was shouting about wine that he was selling. "Elusian wines! Elusian wines! We've god Mescor reds, Lyrroth whites and even a cask of Corvale black wine!" He shouted to passersby.

Some people, like you, were riding horses. These must have been the famous Knights of Calbourne that you heard so much about growing up in the Autumn Court. King Arthel XI of Argolon had a host of knights in his capital, armoured men riding armoured horses who fight dragons and other evil things for glory, romance and the honour of their king. In fact, you rode to Calbourne to take your rightful place among these knights as Sir Kainer the Autumn Knight - the sprites told you that that's probably how you would be remembered in ballads as long as people still know how to play the harp, after all.

@ Alfred: "The wizards might, but when they heard about the storm they all tried to leave. Some talk's that they fled, some talk's that they went there to stop it and some says that they're just going and looking," Gutrum said. There are four wizards who live in Estermere and call it home, a far cry from the number that it was a few hundred years ago but a substantial number nonetheless. "The priests also might know, but they've been locked up in prayer for two days. Some say it's that damned blue dragon from Orevod causing it, but that's crap. I'd've seen a dragon if there was a dragon there, and if it was a military thing, why not attack Belgate?"

"Does the Duke of Estermere know?" Asked Garry, who sat down beside you. "E's smart, and apparently reads a lot."

"If he does he's said nothing. Instead he's sending people to see how bad the storm was, to see what was damaged and how to fix it and who died and how much to pay the grieving widows."

@ Verous: Your father, Duke Varron II of Datha, died three weeks ago. You were coronated the day after his funeral as Duke Verous III of Datha. You still have to remind yourself of that every morning when you wake up from a dream of waking up from this dream where you were put on the throne so young.

Two days ago you received a letter from the Count of Oakwell, your most powerful vassal, of a devastating storm that struck all along the Nubarb. Yalan suggested that you head up there with a party as fast as possible to see what damage was done, how to mitigate it and to strengthen your fledgling reign over Datha. He also suggested that you leave him in charge in Courtdell in your absence, and that he would rule as your father would have until you returned.

That's why the four of you took eight horses north. Perrin was there to guard you, of course - you're the Duke now, after all, and it would not be right for you to go without an escort. Darryl was the fastest ranger that you know and went with you to scout and forage, though there was nothing dangerous. Your last companion was your old friend Prue, who Yalan suggested that you take with you to make up for lost time due to conflicting schedules. You'd ride for six hours, stop and lunch and then mount the other four horses for the next six hours. You rode twelve hours a day, cutting travel time from Courtdell to Oakwell by half, though you still have a day's ride ahead of you.

"I still can't believe that I have to call you 'Your Majesty' now, Ver!" Darryl said with a laugh.

"I can," Perrin said. "I've been calling him 'My Lord' for the past fifteen years, though, so it's an easy change for me."

@ Jonos: "Aye. Mescor's not a particularly powerful realm, but it's not a weak one either. They recently lost a war and ceded some land to Norvera, and Count Arnil took that war as an opportunity to prove how inept he is as a commander. That said, when his barons are left to command their own armies, they tend to be significantly smarter than Arnil is. The difficulty in fighting Mescor won't be in defeating and killing Arnil but in defeating his barons."

"Like Baron Cirthil the third of Holmsbury and the Baronness Vena of Norven?" Redscar asked.

"Yes, those two especially," Herwin said. "Redscar, do you have agents of your own in Mescor?"

"No, but I run a mercenary company and drink with my men. One or two of them fought on either side of that war, and I like to keep track of when I'm within a hundred miles of any particularly important military minds."

"Be that as it may, those two are by far the best military strategists in Mescor. They're old families as well - Duke Herwin of Thasia appointed Cirthil's family to Holmsbury two hundred and fifty odd years ago, and Vena's family is not bad either. They're prideful due to their old names and greater competence than the Count they serve."

"If we can win them to our side the war will be over before it starts, is what you're saying," Wallace said.

"I'm not offering military advice, I'm offering information," Herwin said. "It's up to his majesty the Duke of Thasia what to do with that information."

(This post was epic to write. I highly recommend that you guys read eachother's storylines if you have any time to kill, because between Othan, Alfred, Jonos, Kainer and Verous, this RP is going to be absolutely goddamn awesome.)

[Tikobe]

Othan

Huh? Damn it! That made things considerably more complicated then they were previously before.

"Hmm..." I grumble as I try to figure out my next step before I look the peasant straight into the eye. "You referred to this tracker as Forlon, correct? Is he still within Wyst's Town?"

Kainer

The Autumn Knight, eh? That didn't sound half bad!

I smile a big toothy grin as I thought about it, and then without losing my smile...

I blinked.

And then I blinked again. And then I blinked a third time. And then it dawned on me that I have no clue what the hell I should do.

Oh well.

I move my horse forward. I had some money so I could at least find an inn. Things happen at the inn. The sprites told me so!

Indeed, they were even nice enough to tell me that the shady man in the corner with the cold attitude knew where dolls could be sold. I didn't know why I would want dolls though. Maybe they were magical dolls?

As I was thinking about these things, I try to find a person to talk to. The moment I could grab a person's attention I flash a charming smile as I say, "Hello there, my name is Kainer! I'm looking for an inn!"

(I had to sit here for several moments just to make sure Kainer and Othan sounded completely different from each other.)

[Bannanachair]

@ Othan: "He should be, my lord. Sir Raethus occasionally has him track game when there are visiting knights who want to hunt, and because of the rumours of a troupe of knights in Castle Shan he might be up there, but he didn't tell anyone that he was leaving for the castle. That said, he's been talking a lot about the tourney in the city, so he might have gone there. His pa would know where he is, that's for sure."

"And where is Forlon's father?" Northan asked.

"He lives in that house over there," the peasant said, pointing at one of the homes. "Marl, his name is."

@ Kainer: "The Black Goose is right there," The lady said. "They have rooms and drinks and food."

The building that she indicated was a large four-storey building in a moderate state of repair, cleaner than many of the buildings that you saw around you but not as magical as anything where you grew up. There was a sign on the front of the tavern, with a painting of a goose with black feathers. There was also lots of noise coming from within the building, sounds of merriment and people.

Inside the inn was rather crowded. There were people drinking and throwing dice and holding cards. In one back corner you saw a fat man kiss a much younger and prettier girl, and people tended to leave those two alone. At some tables people were eating as well, and talking to the people who were giving people their food and drinks. One drunk man tried to touch one of those ladies, who smacked his hand away, shouting that this place wasn't a brothel.

There was also music. There was a bard who lots of people were listening to, playing a lute and singing tales of Kellian of Aldfair, a folk hero who some of the faeries told you about. Kellian was a man who lived in Pronait at some point in the past, and he fought against bandits and druids and unseelie fey in the Greenbark Forest. Despite being Kellian of Aldfair, the stories have him popping up all over Pronait, from Bluewall to Vertton, sometimes alongside a merchant named Gerwin or other characters of legend.

[Tikobe]

(Almost thought you said Kallian. That would've made it real awkward for Kainer if he ever made Kallian.)

Othan

"Very well. You may be on your way," I say as I ride off to Marl's house. If Raethus has his eyes on Forlon it's highly likely that Forlon has gone off with one of the other groups. However, it wouldn't hurt to check, and if he's held in such regard by my friend, then at least asking around would lead me to someone with some degree of competence.

Kainer

Brothel?

I looked over to the interaction between the drunkard and the bar maid in curiosity. If I remember right, the sprites said that brothels were like dollhouses.

Do men like to play with dolls in Argolon? I certainly never found them interesting.

Ignoring this, I walk over to the innkeeper as I smile and say, "Hello! I'm in need of assistance. I'm trying to become a knight but I have no idea to do."

I had not yet learned that this is not what you talk to innkeepers about.

[Duck14]

Alfred

The wizards had tried to flee? That was interesting, I had never truely trusted those who possessed magic but their abilities had always interested me. I placed my glass upon the counter. “Seems like I better speak to this Duke. If he’s looking for people who’ve experienced that storm then we may be the best witnesses. Hey, Garry. Do you fancy a trip to see the duke? Gutrum, you’ll make sure my man are taken care of, won’t you?”

— — —
Verous

I had been quiet for sometime now, looking down at my horse’s mane instead of paying attention to my friends. As such it took me a moment to realise what they had said leaving a slightly uncomfortable silence. I made up for that silence with a smile, or at least I hoped it made up it. “Trust me, I’m still not used to it myself. I had hoped to grow a beard or something beforehand.” I stroked my bare chin.

[Bannanachair]

@ Othan: Marl's house was as small and unsuspecting as the others in this village, and after you opened up the door the interior of the home was also fairly humble. Marl himself was sitting down on a chair in the living room, an old man with grey in his hair. He was also missing one of his legs, and had the look of someone who actually had fought in a war.

"You're Marl, I'm assuming?" Northan asked.

"Aye, I am. What do you want?"

"Well, we were hoping to be able to speak with your son, Forlon. Do you know where he is?"

"What, did he do something wrong?"

"No, not at all! I'm Northan, the son of Earl Thander, and this is my older brother Othan. This lad here is my nephew and squire, but he'll be quiet and stay out of the way until he's knighted. We were asked by Sir Raethus to investigate the bandits and to then do something about them, and we were told that your son had done a bit of investigating on his own."

The old man turned to face one of the doors instead of replying to Northan directly. "Forlon, get your lazy ass out of bed now! There are visitors here for you! Lords and knights at that!"

@ Kainer: "You can try dancing into Calbourne Castle and asking the king himself during court to knight you," The innkeeper said with a chuckle.

@ Alfred: "Aye, but the sun's almost down. Might be best to do that tomorrow, after having a hot meal and a good night's rest."

@ Verous: "That's alright, your majesty," Perrin said, "Not everyone is destined to have a face as magnificent as mine!" He stroked his own well-maintained beard at having said that, which got a laugh out of Darryl.

"I think that you're handsome enough as it is, your majesty," Prue said in response to the beard talk.

"And what about me? Am I also handsome?" Darryl asked.

"Darryl, there's a reason that all the ladies of the court told you to go live in the forest," She said in response, which prompted hearty laughs from everyone.

[Tikobe]

Othan

I flinch at the volume of the old man's voice but say nothing. I silently stared at where the old man faced. I simply waited for Forlon without saying a word.

Kainer

"Eh? Does it really work like that? I thought that the guards would get mad and the like," I reply smiling. However, while it may look like I was joking I was dead serious.

[Duck14]

Alfred

“Yes, you’re right. We’ll have that hot meal and sleep. Then head off in the morning. The duke can wait a little longer if he needs to.” I finished my glass with one final swig and looked around. “What do you have for us to eat?”

————
Verous

I chuckled but turned my reddened face so the others wouldn’t see me blush. It was great to be out with my friends, I hadn’t really had much contact with any of them except Perrin for some time. “Look, you don’t need to call me that. I’m still Verous, except now I have a proper title. And a land that bows to me.” I smiled mischievously. “Oh, you’re right. I am different.”

[Leggo]

Jonos

If I can get Cirthil and Vena to join my side, I’ll be able to roll over Mescor easily. They’ll have no strong leaders left. And why wouldn’t they join me? I have more men, I’m a better general then their current lord, I just decisively won a military campaign, and I rewarded my vassals with land and/or gold. I’ll appeal to their competency. If they join me, they’ll be on the winning side and get a piece of the pie when I take Mescor. If they neglect to join me, when I take Mescor they’ll be treated like enemies.

“We’re going to parle with Cirthil and Vega. I want to at least try to convince them to join us, and we’ve got a shot at that. Send messengers to each of their castles, I’ll treat with them as soon as possible.”

[Bannanachair]

@ Othan: The man who emerged from that back room was half-dressed and seemed to be about Northan's age. Upon seeing you, he knelt down on one knee, as though being knighted. "My lord, what brings you here?" He asked.

"We're here in search of the bandits that have been plaguing your village and others," Northan said.

@ Kainer: "Oh no, they won't mind at all."

@ Alfred: "What do you want to eat? I have cheese and porridge and bread and quite a few fish, just to name part of the choices that you can get."

@ Verous: The day drags on as you and your friends keep riding to Oakwell, until eventually the sun begins to set down. "If we push ourselves and the horses, we can make it to Oakwell by midnight," Darryl said. "Otherwise, it might be best to set up camp here for the night. It's your call, your majesty."

@ Jonos: " As you command, your majesty. I assume, of course, that these parleys are to be secret, and that the two are not to know we're meeting with the other?" Herwin Talsworth said.

"Does anyone have anything else to bring up?" Wallace asked, to no response from anyone.

[Tikobe]

Othan

I nod with Northan's explanation.

"Our purpose is in wiping them out. We've heard mention that you had looked into them yourself. As such, we've come to ask for what you know about the problem."

Kainer

I chuckle awkwardly.

"Thank you!" I say as I veer the conversation towards other topics. "I may need a room for the night. How much is it?"

While I go for my coin pouch I also look in my bags for anything the elves might have left me. The elves have berated me for some foolish notion of being "stupid," such a preposterous thing, but I knew very well that no castle would let strangers waltz in to meet their king.

However, if I bring proof of my time from the Autumn Court, then I'm no longer a stranger, right? The watlzing should be fine after that, right?

[Duck14]

Alfred

I turn to my men and shrug my shoulders. “Pick your grub, lads. You’ve earned it all.” The scent of food not kept on a ship for days made my stomach grumble in anticipation. I hadn’t had much besides bread recently. “I’ll have some fish and whatever you feel like putting with it.”

————
Verous

If we pushed on we ran the risk of harming the horses, arriving during the day would ensure we were well rested. But if we left it longer than we needed to another urgent matter may arise. But then no one would blame us for taking a little longer. What would father do? “Didn’t I say not to call me that Darryl?” I said with a humoured grin. He would probably call me that in jest for the rest of time. “We’ll rest here the night. That way we’ll be well rested by the time we arrive in Oakwell.”

[Bannanachair]

@ Othan: "They came about two weeks ago, and ours was the first village that they hit. They had a loose formation, but it was highly effective - cavalry on the flanks, two rows of infantry with spears, shields and swords. It's actually very similar to a formation that you had used once during the Second War," Forlon said.

"You fought in the Second?" Northan asked. Colloquially, the Galbror Wars are sometimes shortened to the First War and the Second War, or sometimes even just the First and the Second if people understand the context.

"Aye, I did, your majesty. I was a scout. In fact, Lord Othan actually spoke to me once, during the war, though I doubt you'd remember it."

"What did my father say to you?" Thander Marthus said, breaking his silence at last.

"It was at the Battle of Arlan's Field. He was giving orders to about a dozen other men, and he turned to me and said the words that I'll never forget: 'You, scout, go deliver this letter to Sir Taran Gulyard'. I think it was battle commands, but the letter was sealed so I never got to read it. Sir Taran then sent me to convey some information to Sir Raethus, who had me ride out to see when the reinforcements from Estermere were to be arriving."

"I apologise for my squire," Northan said. "He's normally quiet and obedient, but if he can get someone to talk about a story of an old battle, he'd be more than happy to do anything to get them to do so. Aside from their formation, what news can you tell us?"

"When they first came, I was having a hard time tracking them. They covered their tracks well. When they returned, however, they were sloppier in covering their trail. Maybe they didn't bring with them the one with enough brains to give them good commands. Maybe I was just lucky. Either way, the tracks seem to indicate that they're hiding somewhere in the Qhirst Mountains. There's also some other tidbits of news that come in from time to time, but they're all just rumours - they struck other towns, but nobody can make sense of which other towns they struck at. They lie on the road to Eriport as well, according to some rumours, preying off of those too poor to get a boat, but I doubt that."

@ Kainer: "Eight 'cops for a room for a night," The innkeepr said. "Food and drink's not in that number, of course." A 'cop is short for a miscop, a copper coin not of the lowest denomination but not out-of-reach of common folk. Certain coins effect faerie magic, and a miscop kept on a windowsill can keep sprites from flying in through that window even if it's open, and will-o-wisps from luring people out of their homes.

In your bags are all the equipment that you packed, but also three other things of curiosity that you didn't pack yourself. The first is a sealed letter addressed to King Arthel of Argolon, who some of the more important Autumn Elves claim is a friend of the fey-folk. The second is a curved dagger in an intricate sheath with patterns of trees and leaves in iron, gold and red enamel, and the hilt bore an orange-brown ruby. The third item is an autumn leaf made of glass.

@ Alfred: Your announcement was met by cheers from your crew, who all clamoured to place their orders of good meals. You were served fish filleted and filled with various vegetables, and another pint of beer to go with it. As you were eating, you heard your crew singing shanties and entertaining some people with romantic tales of life at sea. The song they were singing wasn't one that you heard before, though: It seems to have been made up very recently, and is about a captain riding his ship through a storm.

@ Verous: "Well then," Darryl said, "If I'm to call you Verous, that makes us equals. That means that it's your turn to get first watch!" After he said that, everyone got off their horses and began to lie down - you didn't bring tents or bedrolls, which would weigh down the horses and take time to set up. The news from Oakwell sounded like an emergency, so you could waste no time. However, Darryl did start a campfire and cook two rabbits that he caught, giving everyone half a hare. You'll probably get rained on again tonight, but your clothes are already muddy from the ride enough that it probably wouldn't matter.

"So," Prue began, speaking between bites of food, "What's our plan once we're in Oakwell? One of the villages that we passed through had people telling stories of half the town being flooded, and another said that the Count of Oakwell and all his family had drowned in the storm."

"Those are just stories and rumours," Perrin responded. "They spread because they're exciting tales, not because they're true. I heard one man say that the storm was so big that it stretched from Estermere to Thasi, and another said that the storm was caused by a god worshipped by our pagan ancestors being slighted by our worship of Lord Ynedar. It's best to just see what it's really like for ourselves."