Fantasy RP

[Duck14]

(It was a dark day indeed when you missed my CS. Almost quit right there and never returned.)

Verous

I exhaled, I hadn’t even realised I had inhaled and subsequently held my breathe during the brawl. That was a close one for sure. Lucky I had Perrin and the others by my side. As they fiddled with the door my eyes found Farryl’s axe, the one he had tried to use to end my life. Maybe it would serve another purpose. I lifted it from the floor and held it out for Berig.

“Of course they heard us from inside. And of course these lot don’t have a key. But there’s more than one way through a door. Hack it open.”

[Tikobe]

Othan

I gave a wry smile hearing about Tammen's situation. Looks like the poor kid's in for a rough time.

"Of course. I don't really care to spend more time on this matter myself."

Everything's been proceeding quite smoothly, I think to myself. It worries me to no end, it's best to end this now while Lady Luck is still on our side.

Kainer

"Well, suits me. I'm fine with you just telling me what to fight and fighting it."

The elves told me there's no cure for idiocy after all! As such, I'll be the damnedest idiot around!

This isn't me trying to mask my now wounded pride. Not at all.

[Leggo]

Jonos

So it appears that Cirthil is clueless of my dealings with Vena. Good. I thought him a fool, but he appears to have his uses, at least for now.

“We must make haste, then, if Count Arnil is unaware of our river crossing. I want the men in marching formation and ready to move out the moment the bridge is complete.”

[Bannanachair]

@ Verous: "Your majesty, I can't use that. Your man Perrin nearly sliced it in half, and I'm afraid that it would snap in half. God knows where the head of the axe will fly off to if I hit it the door at an awkward angle, and the splinters, while not deadly, would be a pain in the ass and make it hard to fight."

"I'll do it if you're not brave enough," Osthir said. He took the axe from you and hacked into the door, but it was as Berig said - the head of the axe broke off. It didn't fly off anywhere dangerous, however, rather it was just stuck in the door. Osthir's strike did cut a small hole in the door, though, from which you could see what was inside the inn - the fake innkeeper with a longsword and two more thugs, also armed, trying to move a table to blockade the back entrance.

When the three men noticed that Osthir had hacked a hole in the door, they began moving.

"I guess you were right, Berig, I did get some bad spli - " Osthir began, before Perrin cut him off.

"Be quiet," Perrin said, grabbing one of the clubs and using that to try to make the hole in the door larger.

@ Othan: And so it was that you, Sir Northan Mallowater, Thander Marthus, Sir Boderick Craentitch, Sir Galad Forsnith and his squire rode out towards the Qhirst Mountains. You stopped briefly in Mayweir and Bistown to gather the peasant soldiers in your small retinue - twenty-five in all, mostly from Mayweir. Aside from that, you rode towards the entrance that Boderick and Raethus found the other day rather than the one that you, Northan and Forlon explored. It appeared to be the backside of the same mountain, or maybe the base of the next mountain over. This trail wasn't very good for horses either, it seems, and so you began to dismount.

"It seems that this is where I'll be saying farewell, my lord, sirs," Sir Galad said. "It's a damn shame I can't fight any longer, but at least now we know who's to look after the horses. Make sure Gundulf doesn't get himself injured like I am," he motioned with his stump towards his squire, "but don't shelter him by any means, as he can fight better than some knights I've met."

@ Kainer: "Are you sure that you're a young faerie-boy and not an old soldier?" Caidwyr said with a chuckle. "Meaning no offence at all, of course. In situations like this, a soldier's mentality is a good one to have. Pack up - we depart tomorrow, and I intend to cover over four hundred miles in the first hour of travel, so be sure not to forget anything. Eremer knows the teleportation circle for Golrane, which would put us two days out instead of two weeks."

@ Jonos: "Aye, your majesty. Oswald thinks that the bridge will be done by nightfall," Wallace said.

Oswald was wrong, unfortunately - it took until an hour after nightfall for the bridge to be finally completed. Regardless of the lack of sun, however, you and Wallace led your men across, followed shortly by the Talsworth regiment, the Hordrigg armies, the Eagleswords, Capvering's armies... The last to cross were Otterberg's troops. As soon as your personal guard crossed the river, Baronness Vena Norven put her troops into formation to join up under you, and immediately set her logisticians to work to ensure that you got continual access to supplies even while in Mescor county.

(Guys, sorry for the delay. I do have an update to the map of Argolon, however, featuring more detail around the duchy of Diton including Golrane, Orodel and the Chelmar. For both of the maps, just imagine that the areas that are empty grassland are as densely populated as the rest of the map, because they are, it's just that I haven't actually populated them specifically yet.)

[Duck14]

Verous

I glanced through the hole before moving out of Perrin’s way. There were at least three of them still standing. We needed to get around that somehow. Perrin would eventually batter someway in but didn’t give us much of an advantage. The door gave them a choke spot.

I stepped back. “Give up. You’re surrounded. Lay down your arms and surrender. No further harm will come to you!” I yelled over the sound of the club.

[Leggo]

Jonos

I have much to discuss with my vassals. I need to assemble the war council, and it probably would’ve been smarter to do before we crossed. Then again, speed is key. I suppose we can just... stand. What need is there for a tent?

I turn towards Wallace, beside me, and state, “Assemble the war council here. We have much to speak of on the invasion of Mescor. I need to inform them of the plan.”

[Tikobe]

Othan

"We'll try our best," I reply as I give my farewell, "I wish you well until we return."

I mean, I did say we. Odds are I wouldn't be able to do much on my own.

What? I'm speaking practically here.

Kainer

"Yes," I nod as I move to get the door for him.

It's a great thing to hear we can cover the distance in two days. I'd feel bored as hell waiting for two weeks to pass by.

I'm honestly concerned for how I'm gonna keep myself from getting bored for the upcoming two days. Any longer would've probably killed me.

Even gate guarding over at the Autumn Court was more entertaining than traveling roads. At least with gate guarding I get to meet witches with very nice looking robes! And yes, the gate guard from last night was also right, Sir Trihem's new coat was a nice coat!

Gate guards are people who are surprisingly conscious of fashion.

[Bannanachair]

("Give up! This is the police! You're surrounded!" - Verous, but he's actually secretly in a police RP instead of a fantasy RP)

@ Verous: You hear no response from inside, which isn't altogether surprising when you see what's inside after Perrin finally breaks down the door. Some gold and jewels that were there earlier are missing, and the three men who were inside are no longer inside. As soon as Perrin broke down the door, Heresworth and Livil entered from the back.

"There must have been a trapdoor," Perrin said. "It likely leads to a cellar somewhere - they're probably still trapped in this inn."

@ Jonos: "Aye, your majesty," Wallace said, and left to quickly gather them. Within a half an hour your full war council was there: Count Herwig Otterberg; Barons Hallon Talsworth, Humphrey var Capvering, Horthon Drayden, Bernard Darham, Ulfilas Clifton and Ballus Horddrigg; sirs Wallace Oakheart, Oswald and Herwin Talsworth; and the Redscar.

"So, your majesty, what's the plan to conquer Mescor?" Darham asked.

[Bannanachair]

(Another latepost? God, this is insane!)

@ Othan: The hike up the mountainside took two hours, and you were winded halfway through it. In fact, likely the only reason you finished it at all was that Northan practically carried you near the end. Once you reached the bandit's lair, however, you quickly saw them - about a dozen men, all well-armed, with a fair amount of coins and valuables gathered in a pile in the middle, presumably to be split later. Northan held your men back from attacking immediately, choosing instead to wait until he could see Raethus's men.

"No guards - I'd bet that their leader's gone if they're this sloppy," Northan whispered. "That, or they weren't as smart as Forlon gave them credit for."

@ Kainer: "Pack well and say your goodbyes to Calbourne, Kainer," Caidwyr said, heading downstairs.

(Do you want a timeskip until the next day with Kainer, or is there anything that you want him to do in Calbourne before he leaves?)

[Tikobe]

(Kainer's good for a timeskip. At best if you really need something for him to do before the trip starts all I could say is that he'd travel to that story place, but that's not likely since he's new to Calbourne.)

Othan

"Don't let that be an excuse to drop your guards," I caution Northan. "If something seems easy, first assume that it is automatically a trap. Besides, if the leader really is out then that means that another party of them will soon return which means that we could find ourselves flanked very shortly."

I turn my head to the group and then mention one other concern of mine.

"Besides, according to Forlon's report their leader only went with them once and then afterwards stayed here, not to mention he took only five men with him. We were expecting numbers perhaps near twenty. Only having ten here seems off. Granted, it's likely that I'm just paranoid and overthinking the matter, but keep an eye out for an ambush."

[Duck14]

Verous

I nod. “Then they will have to come out. No way can they stay holed up down there.” The thought of smoking them out crossed my mind. Mother had told me it was good for rats. These men weren’t much different to rats when it came to personality. They fought for their food and didn’t share. “Let’s smoke them out.”

[Bannanachair]

@ Othan: "I count twelve. Maybe there's some that I can't see from this angle, but let's go with twelve. If their leader's gone off to attack another town, he'd take another five with him. Eighteen men in total, then - certainly close enough that Forlon was justified in saying 'about twenty'," Northan said in a hushed tone.

"I don't know about that, Northan," Boderick whispered. "And even if that is correct, we've left Bistown and Mayweir and Wyst's Town completely undefended against attack."

"I see Raethus over there," Your brother said. "I'll signal the all-clear to attack on your order, Othan."

@ Kainer: You pack up your admittedly few belongings over the course of the rest of the day, and then Sir Trihem buys you a drink that evening as you pay the remainder of your balance to Blyane. The next morning you have a quick breakfast downstairs and then head off to the castle to meet with Caidwyr and the others.

Accompanying the knights was the old man who was with the king the other times that you saw him.

"Kainer, I'm glad that you made it here on time," Caidwyr said. "That makes us five... We're only waiting for one more."

"Anyway, you must promise never to reveal the teleportation circle in Golrane to anyone," The old man said. "If that secret were to fall into the wrong hands, the city would not be safe."

"I understand that, Eremer," One of the other knights said.

Then the last knight arrived.

"That's Sir Gwyres, and the last of our small party," Caidwyr said. "Eremer, we'll be ready whenever you are, I think."

"In that case, come with me and I'll lead you to a teleportation circle that I began to draw in the ground," The old man said.

"You're not doing this from a permanent circle?" Caidwyr asked.

"No. Calbourne has three of those, which is two too many. One of them is a few people away from becoming almost public, common knowledge. It's best not to risk that particular disaster."

@ Verous: Your men quickly find the trapdoor behind the bar, and set to work trying to break it open. "How do you propose we smoke them out, your majesty?" Perrin asked while looking around for a tool with some loft to it. "Surely not with actual - Ah, this will do the trick," He picked up a spear and then returned to the trapdoor, using the point of the spear to get inside the space between the door and the doorframe. Then he used the shaft of the spear as a lever and managed to burst the door open, revealing a ladder that goes straight down eight feet into a dark cellar. Except that the ladder was lying on the ground instead of leaning against the wall.

[Duck14]

Verous

I blush bright red as Perrin points a flaw in my plan. “Well, we only had to simulate fire in some way, I guess. Your idea was better.” I peered down the hole and pondered what to do now. “We should lower a lamp down that hole. Make sure no ones waiting down there with a knife.”

[Bannanachair]

(I find your lack of replies disturbing.)

@ Verous: "Begging your pardon your majesty, the only reason they're not waiting down there with a knife is that they're waiting down there with a sword," Berig said.

"It still wouldn't hurt to lower a lamp down to see how large the cellar down there is. Osthir, go get the other two in here. We don't need them out there patrolling right now," Perrin said. After Osthir saluted and left, Perrin grabbed a lamp from behind the bar, lit it up and tied a rope around it. Then he lowered it down and saw nobody waiting below.

[Tikobe]

(Sorry about that)

Othan

"It's not just that we've left them undefended, but if they notice that the village men are gone they could realize what we're up to," I point out to Bode before turn to Northan. "Give the signal Northan. I know I'm asking the world of you here, but make it as fast as you can without being ambushed. We won't lose to foes like this, but there could be problems if we dragged it out."

Kainer

Huh? Secret?

I'm not sure I understand why they keep such things secret, but oh well. If they secret, then it's a secret. I remain a good little knight and just silently watch on.

[Duck14]

Verous

I gazed down myself. Nobody. Nobody at all. How far did these cellars go? Couldn’t be too far unless these criminals had dug their way out somewhere along the line. “They’re hiding down there and we need to get them. We could seal this hatch, make it impossible for their return. We could charge down there ourselves and find ourselves surrounded. But we get to make the call.”

[Duck14]

Name: Arthur Fangoran

Age: 15

Gender: Male

Nationality: Argolonian

Appearance:

Arthur is an average sized fellow for his age, never quite one to stick out in a crowd. It is his courage and sense of character that does that, but more on that later. He has a rather normal face with two brown eyes and a nose. He has two ears for what that matters. But you will often see soot upon that face, especially during his early days in this RP. For you see, this lad his an apprentice blacksmith. The job has made his brown hair black and his young arms burly. He knows how to swing a hammer and with arms like his he can swing that hammer hard.

Clothing:

When he isn’t wearing a brown tunic he’s wearing a brown leather jacket that his father gave him on his 14th birthday. He’s grown a bit and as such the jacket has seen its share of wear and tear. But he keeps it still. Arthur doesn’t leave the house with that jacket for one day it will venture with him to a far-off land.

The rest of his clothing is also usually brown, right down to his footwear. He isn’t one to stick out, and who would? Sticking out gets you killed, or knighted. And Arthur isn’t much of a Knight. Not yet.

Languages: Argolonian. I’m not sure.

Occupation: Blacksmith Apprentice

Rank: Apprentice

Personality:

Brave, too brave. It will be the death of him some day, but who are we to judge? “It’s better to have died seeing the world than to grow old at home." At least that’s what Arthur’s father would say while growing old at home. But those words stuck with Arthur. He works every day he can to earn enough money to buy a horse and then he will ride out of town to see the world.

He’s trained in a discipline that has given him some harsh social experiences. That has made him world weary but strong. There are bad people out there. There are bad people at home. But there are also good people. Arthur likes to think he’s a good judge of character but sometimes you just don’t know, you know?

Bio:

Arthur is young, he hasn’t seen much of the world. But he knows his world. He grew up in poverty. His mother and father spent what little they could to feed him. It wasn’t an easy life but it got easier as he grew up. His mother, a dancer, began to earn money that so few poor folk do. Turned out that she drew crowds with her dancing and that brought in the money. But it also put her in danger. One year after her rise to prominence she was killed with a poison dart. Some suspect another dancer named Beth was behind the killing. Some suspect she tripped and fell on to the poison dart. Some suspect it was all a publicity stunt. But one thing was for sure, Arthur had lost his mother.

He was never really old enough to know her though. She died when he was five. He never saw her again. The living barely see the dead after they die. Her loss hit the family hard. The loss of her income hit them harder. Arthur’s father had to commit to two jobs and worked almost every hour possible. Arthur learned to take care of himself. But his dad did what he could. They had to take of each other after all. His father finally gave in and joined the city guard, a job he had been offered on several occasions. It was lucrative but dangerous. But it meant he could spend more time with his son.

Arthur signed up to be the blacksmith’s apprentice as soon as he was old enough. He had to prove himself and bring money home. He did it for his father. But he wants something more than that. Arthur wants to see the world, sail the seas, venture to places few men have seen. That’s the life for him. Maybe someday he will get that chance. Maybe some day soon.

Friends and Family:

Olin Fangoran:
Arthur’s father. The two are close. They’ve been alone together since Arthur’s mother died. Olin works on the city guard, a job he hates but one he puts up with. He’s a damn good swordsman, one of the best. But he has no love for his skills. He just puts up with them to make ends meet.

Phin Reed:
The local blacksmith and old friend of Olin. He gave Arthur work as soon as the boy asked. Anything for the family of his mate. He’s a gruff fellow who doesn’t offer much praise. But he does respect those who put the effort in to better themselves. He might even smile if you tell a good joke.


Goals:
To venture where few living men have ever been. To go on adventures that bards will sing songs about. To be someone that mattered.

Other: N/A

[Bannanachair]

@ Othan: Northan gives the signal, and then leads a charge into the cave. On the other side, you see men led by Raethus pour into the cave, and the bandits are quickly surrounded. Within the first few seconds of combat four of the bandits fall, while one peasant led by you and Northan and two led by Raethus are downed. The remaining bandits very quickly notice that they're surrounded and drop their weapons in surrender.

The next hour or so is spent by the troops gathering the enemy weapons and binding their wrists in rope, as some of the knights keep searching the place for the stolen goods. Eventually, after all the prisoners are secured (including two that fell during the fighting, severely wounded), Raethus approached you.

"I can't figure out which one of these is the leader," He said. "Regardless, we have fourteen prisoners now. Do you want me to interrogate them? Northan and his two friends, and their squires, are searching everywhere for where the horses and stolen money may be, but I reckon a few politely-asked questions may get the job done much more efficiently."

@ Kainer: The old man - presumably Eremer - leads you, Caidwyr and the rest into a small room which appears to have been unused for quite a number of years. Dust coats the shelves and the desk, and you suspect that this must have been a study at one point. In fact, the only part of the room not covered in dust is the interior of a chalk circle in the middle of the room, five feet in radius. Concentric within that circle is another at three feet in radius, and there are two intricate patterns on display - one in the ring between the two circles which almost looks like writing (though you don't recognise the script) and another more geometric and almost flowery pattern in the interior circle.

"What's with the pattern in the middle?" Sir Gwyres asked. "I haven't seen anything quite like it before."

"A circle of this sort normally won't last long enough to let six people through it safely," Eremer said, "So I modified the design on the interior. It's probably overkill, but I've been toying around with the design for a while and wanted to test it out."

"You've never tested it?" Caidwyr asked. "Is it safe?"

"Have you ever known me to mess up anything of this sort before?"

Caidwyr thought for a few seconds, and then spoke. "Nothing that I can think of," He said quietly.

Eremer nodded, then grabbed a wax candle off of the desk and cleaned off the dust. He moved to the centre of the circle and placed it down there, and then stepped back. "Once you go through, you will be in Golrane. The circle will be open for a few minutes, but you can not return through it. I wish you the best of luck." Then he closed his eyes and the candle lit up. The chalk on the floor turned the orange colour of the flames, and began to glow bright and hot. Caidwyr stepped onto it, and vanished, followed by Todawc and then Mobreul.

@ Alfred: It's been a week and a half since you arrived in Estermere, and you've spent that time managing the repair of your ship - first securing the funds promised to you by the duke, and then trying to hire a construction company to repair the ship, and then finding the materials required at a price that you could work with. While working on your ledger in your room at the Ugly Rose one afternoon, you hear a knock at the door. Your room has a small desk and a chair, but it is a bedroom first and foremost and not an office - you went out to meet with everyone involved in the repair of the vessel.

You hear the knock again, and then hear a voice. "Is this the room of Alfred Melling, captain of the Fortuna?"

@ Verous: "We can't afford the manpower for a protracted siege of this small cellar, your majesty," Berig said. "If you give the order, I'll head down the ladder first."

@ Arthur: A week ago, a disaster struck the nearby village of Camasse - a dozen trolls from the Chelmar swamp slaughtered the populace on market-day, with only a few survivors able to escape on horseback. Presumably some went to Golrane to try to warn the Duke, but there were also three here in the large town of Secelle, having warned the count that it was his holdings specifically that were at stake. At once, he sent riders to try to get aid from the duke, who sent riders to try to get aid from the king.

It's all the talk of the town, and it's effected your life in two very important ways. First, it's kept your father out of the house significantly - he was patrolling the area, or training anyone willing to volunteer for the guard in case of attack, or training himself for a fight, or otherwise generally being more busy than usual. Second, it's kept you out of the house significantly more, between trying to gather together some basic fighting skills and trying to make enough weapons to arm as many townsfolk as possible against the coming attack.

"Stop daydreaming, Arthur!" Phin Reed said, snapping you quickly back to the immediate here and now rather than the general goings-on. "You'll ruin that blade if you don't treat it properly."

[Tikobe]

Othan

"Mm," I nod as I look at my friend. "Do what you need to do, Raethus. Just take it somewhere safe and out of sight. Your the lord of this place, you don't need to be casting yourself in a bad light to the villagers here. But by that token, don't involve those villagers. There's a lot of resentment towards these bandits; They'd surely kill all of our prisoners before they even have the chance to speak. We haven't started the executions yet."

Kainer

Trying out an untested spell that could possibly get me killed? Hah! That's easy. I remember one time the sprites told me that in order to gain the strength of ten men I needed to swim to the bottom of the lake to fight and slay the Palumfagoggle Fish. After that day, I would swim to the bottom of that lake every day for the next two weeks in my mad hunt for the Palumfagoggle Fish. It only ended when the elves found out and then had me spanked with a wooden rod while explaining quite angrily that there is no such thing as a Palumfagoggle Fish.

Point and case, if I can spend two weeks diving into lakes searching for an imaginary monster then there's no issue with hopping into an untested and possibly very dangerous and life threatening spell that'll magically teleport me two days away from a herd of trolls if it does indeed work.

As such, I bravely and unhesitatingly walk into the teleportation circle.

[Leggo]

Jonos

I move quickly to address the war council assembled before me, I will not mince words. I want the orders to be received as soon as possible and the commands carried out so that our march is swift and efficient.

“My lords, I’ve summoned you to brief you all on the plan for our march to Mescor’s capital. We will form a three-pronged offensive front, clearing out the countryside on our way to the capital. Intelligence puts the bulk of the enemy in the south, so I don’t expect much resistance, however be ready for anything. I’ll be leading the centre, Sir Wallace will lead the right, and Baron Darham, you’ll be leading the left."

I give a brief pause, allowing them time to dissect the information being presented, then quickly continue.

“Count Otterberg, Baron Drayden, you’ll be with me in the centre, as will Baroness Vena. Barons Talsworth, Clifton, and Horddrigg, you’ll be on the right. Redscar, you’ll be on the left with Baron var Capvering. Sir Herwin, you’ll stick with me, and Sir Oswald as well, however assign trustworthy, competent individuals below you to the other two prongs of the front.

Questions?"

[Duck14]

Alfred

I look up at the door. What would someone who didn’t know this was my room want from me? Could it be someone I knew? I placed my ink to the side and blew on my ledger so that it might dry. “Hello? Yes, it’s Alfred Melling. Who am I speaking to?” Fun, another visitor to speak to.

————
Verous

Berig was right. There was many things I still had to learn about leading and making decisions. But these men seemed fine to allow me that time. They understood that I was young. Maybe they respecte me for coming here with them in the first place. I nodded. “Sure. Yes, Berig. You go first. Careful now.”

————
Arthur

I snapped out of my trance and looked over at Master Reed. Oh, had I had let my imagination her away from me again? I did that sometimes. Sometimes? Maybe a bit more than that. “Yes, Reed. Sorry about that. Just thinking.” He had of course caught on to that fact already. I was always thinking or day dreaming or something else of that sort. Not that I didn’t get any work done or nothing, just got distracted quite a bit.

I wondered what father was doing at the moment as I gave the blade the treatment it deserved. Maybe he was fighting. Nah, he would be training. He always trained at this time, well usually.

[Bannanachair]

(6 characters! Coming up soon are Arelia Nickart, Edric Owlen, Faryn Taele, Gilderon Maldovar, George Gorganrich and at least two others that don't have names yet that I can remember, and that's just from you three. That would put me at 13 PCs all running simultaneously, which honestly should be enough for me to get the proper sense of scope for this RP, but not enough, I think, to make it difficult for me.)

@ Othan: "This is far from the first time that I've asked someone a question, Othan," Raethus said. Then he grabbed one of the bandits by the shoulder and walked off with him to somewhere quiet. No screams could be heard. A quarter of an hour passed, then Raethus and the bandit returned, and he led off with another. This occurred three times, when Raethus had finally decided that he was done with his interrogation, right around the time that Northan returned.

"Othan, I think I found where they're keeping the horses. There's a third pass into this cave, and it leads to a small clearing with a shack on it," Northan said.

"The horses are there, and also some stolen weapons and armour," Raethus said.

"How did you figure that out? Was there another entrance to that clearing I didn't know was there?"

"The bandits told me. They also said that their leader and a few others departed on some business almost a week ago, or a few days before we arrived. One of them noticed that much of the stolen gold was missing, but figured that it must have just been hidden to keep them from killing eachother over it. The poor lad didn't figure out that their leader had taken it all for herself and fled, deciding it was better to start again elsewhere than risk capture, with Nizeston arriving shortly."

@ Kainer: The world around you glowed brightly, the same colour as the chalk was burning. The light grew so blindingly bright that you couldn't see anything of the world, and you felt the same feeling in your gut that you felt when you left the world of faeries - a feeling of being forcibly torn from one place and lurched somewhere else, so quickly that it was disorienting and you could barely stand upright or tell left from right. Then, just as suddenly as all of this was brought about, you were able to see everything perfectly clearly, and you - or the world - stopped spinning.

You arrived in a room different to the one that you started in, and Caidwyr, Todawc and Mobreul were already there, alongside a handful of guards that you didn't recognise. This room was large and spacious, with a heavy wooden door opened and a stone stairway leading upwards. The walls were also made of grey stone, and so you figured that the room must have been carved out of the ground.

After you stepped off of the circle - which had a remarkably different pattern to the one that you were previously on - Sir Gwyres materialised there in the same way that Caidwyr and the rest vanished earler. After SIr Gwyres, Sir Rhyewn was the last to arrive by that method.

"Welcome to Golrane," Said a voice at the doorway. "I am Duke Floriet of Diton."

After Caidwyr told the Duke why you and the rest of your party were there, the duke nodded in thought. "I see. I hadn't expected help to arrive by teleportation circle, to be honest - I was praying that you'd be here within a week, hoping that you wouldn't run your horses to death doing so. I can get you on horses within an hour, and from here I recommend riding to Secelle. It's the largest town on the outskirts of that damned trollhaunt, and under three hour's ride away from Camasse. The Count and Lord Warden of the Chelmar is currently there, and he has a few knights at his disposal who may be able to aid in your excursion."

@ Jonos: "Aye, I have a question," Otterberg said. "Why aren't I given one of the army sections to command? I'm a count, and yet you passed me up on this command for a knight."

Ignoring Otterberg's question, Redscar proposed one of his own. "I'm assuming that you're marching directly towards the city of Mescor, in which case the left flank - which I'm on - is likely to be clearing the northern countryside. Would you like hostages from Mescoran barons and baronets, or would you be fine with just oaths of fealty?" Wallace nodded in approval of this question, likely thinking a similar thing, but Otterberg seemed outraged.

"I think my question is far more important - you left one of your major flanks led by a knight, albeit a friend of yours, and now this mercenary is trying to distract you from that important fact by asking some useless question about hostages!" Otterberg said. The title of 'Count' has clearly gotten to his head.

"Not to mention that he's some bastard from the Riftlands who tried to break my nose," var Capvering said. "Your majesty, you promised me that I would be given other honours when you passed me over for the Count of Atrekara. Let me lead an army, and prove that I ought to be your loyal Count of Mescor!" Redscar's hand quivered, as he obviously had to restrain the urge to get your vassals to stop arguing over this.

"His majesty's word is the final say," said Horthon Drayden. "Beg for honours before he gives them out, not after. Besides, I think that I speak for most of us when I say that I'm much more curious about the tactical instructions than I am about who's most offended by whoever's put in charge."

@ Alfred: "I'm Brother Norin, of the Darist church. I was in attendance when you told your story to Duke Palron, of how you managed to survive the storm. I was wondering if I could speak with you in more detail about what happened."

@ Verous: Berig looked down, and noticed that the ladder was knocked to the floor. So, he grabbed the edge of the trapdoor and dropped down, so that his feet were dangling a foot and a half off the ground and his outstretched arms clutching the ledge. Then he let go, and dropped to the ground. The ladder was put back at the wall where it was likely meant to be, making it easier for the rest to descend. Then he untied the lamp that Perrin lowered down and looked ahead.

"Your majesty, this looks to be a hallway of some kind rather than just a cellar. I have no idea how far it goes, but I can see about fifteen feet ahead of me and can't see an end to it."

@ Arthur: Once you finished making the sword, it was added to the rack of those to be sold. After that, you began work on another item, and another. Outside the window of the forge you could see that life was continuing for most of the town despite the occurrence in Camasse recently. Children were playing in the street, adults were coming and going about their business. You saw a couple of your friends, right around your age, doing their various jobs - Evan was leading donkeys carrying a cart of grain from his farm, Brance was buying wheat for the bakery and Estrilda the millers daughter had sold it to him.

However, things were also different, more tense. There were more guards about, likely prepared for another assault by trolls. There were - "Focus on that or you'll hurt yourself!" Phin Reed said. "You won't be a very good smith if you crush your thumb at your age." It was already nearly dark, you noticed. The afternoon went by quickly, given that it was just midafternoon the last time Reed had interrupted your daydreaming.

"You know what, finish the bindings for that barrel and then you can be done for the day. You've been here since before daybreak, and probably need some rest."

(Addendum: This took three straight hours of writing to write, and I didn't do anything of substance for Alfred's post. It's still really fun to write these posts for Fantasy RP, though, and can probably always try to set aside some time in a day to type replies for it.)

[Tikobe]

Othan

"Damn. In a way, that's worse than the ambush that I was expecting," I mutter, thinking to myself. "Well, nothing to be done about it. At this timing it doesn't matter how hard we'd chase them, it'd be too much effort for mere bandits. Unless they had an item of extreme value in their position, it'd be wiser to call the matter closed until they pop up again. My apologies, Raethus, it seems things won't be fully closed here."

Kainer

Hah! Nothing like swimming in the darkness of the bottom of the lake for the Palumfagoggle Fish!

Ignore the fact that I'm barely stopping the urge to puke.

Still, it's great that we're coming here earlier than scheduled. As I hear the words of the duke, I get anxious. This must be it! The spirit of adventure!

Or it would've been if troll attacks weren't coin flips. I think the butterflies in my stomach are just simply the bile I held back.

[Leggo]

Jonos

The bloody nerve of that oaf. I don’t know what I was thinking making him a Count. The day he leads a host on his own is the day I’m no longer Duke of Thasia.

“Count Otterberg, you’d do well to remember how things are done in Thasia, I couldn’t give a shit about titles or things being owed. I’m fighting a bloody war! I care about making tactically sound decisions, not about what you think your brand new title grants you. Baron var Capvering, you would also remember this fact. I won’t forget your deeds in Atrekara, but that reward will not come at the expense of tactical sense.”

I make sure to stare them down after I finish speaking, I care not for the idiots under me who think they’re predisposed towards things.

“I’ll take oaths of fealty from any Mescorian Lord who offers, and if they don’t offer... well you know where it goes from there. I’ll also like hostages, heirs preferably, of course to be treated well, they’ll be with us as our “guests”.

[Duck14]

(Six characters sure is a few. You do it well though.)

Alfred

“Brother Norin,” I mutter under my breath. Of course I knew him, or at least remembered him. “Yes, my good man. Come in, come in. The door is unlocked. I’m happy to tell you and anyone else about that storm.” I closed my ledger and set that aside. That wasn’t anything that he would need to see.

————
Verous

I nod and look at the others. This seemed to be something that the bandits knew about but none of these other men did. “Right then. Two of you stay here. Another go and inform the Lord of what has happened here. The rest of us shall travel down this tunnel and find out where it leads. There may be more than we originally anticipated down there.” Then I grab the head of the ladder and make my way down.

————
Arthur

He was right, I was exhausted. Smithing was exhausting work. But I never wanted to complain to Mister Reed, he had been good to both myself and my father. He didn’t need to take me on but he had. “Thank you,” I say and make my way to the barrel. The day was waning but I had another similar day to look forward to tomorrow. And the day after. The increase in battle made my work ever more tiresome. But it served a purpose and for now that was enough. Perhaps one day I could be on the other side of this shop waiting for my own weapon to be forged. But not right now.

I finished the bindings and stood up. Waiting for Reed to give me an official dismissal. “All done sir.”