el-remmen
Moderator Emeritus
InterSession #8.6– “Denouement & Decampment”: Meanwhile in Schiereiland… (part 2 of 2)
Balem, the 19th of Ter – 566 H.E. (637 M.Y.)
By the time they reached Chalkour, Timotheus was tired of Telémahkos’ withdrawn mood. The blond Briareus arrived from Epithalassos-By-The-Sea exhausted from his hard ride, with nary a grunt by way of greeting. They had accompanied a well-guarded merchant caravan going up in the direction of Pyla, as the road to the eastern foothills of the Westen-Scherp Muur was often dangerous. Telémahkos had climbed into one of the wagons, wedging his bedroll into a corner and went immediately to sleep. Tim had to withstand the cutting comments of his old caravan guard companions, through which he had arranged the trip. While he and Telie were guests of the caravan and were not officially expected to do any labor, good manners obligated that they help, but even after Telémahkos caught up on his sleep he did little. He wandered away from the fire when song or jocularity began, and never took a watch. Additionally, he had dismissed Tymon, allowing his servant to spend the rest of his break with his family in Azure. They would meet up again later.
It took seven days of driving the heavy oxen further and further up into the hills until the wall of mountains on the horizon made night fall all that more quickly. As slow as the trip felt, so too was Telémahkos’ mood slow to improve.
“Don’t worry, cousin,” Telémahkos said when Tim complained. “Once I bask a bit in the warmth of your own family, I’ll feel a lot better.”
Timotheus normally cheerful demeanor was all the more effervescent when he first caught sight of the thatched roofs of Chalkour’s homes.
“Here we are! Home, blessed home!” Tim took a deep breath of hill country air, redolent with the smells of grape and goat. “We'll stop over at my folks' house first, then we'll head over to the castle,” he said to Telémahkos as he shouldered his pack and began to take long-strides up the road towards the village, waving good-bye to his friends in the caravan.
“Just a minute, hayseed. I'm going over to the foreman's station and finding out when we need to ship out of here to meet the others on time. I can meet you back at your folks,” Telémahkos called, and he headed down to where the merchants coming into and out of town registered with the local authorities, paid tariffs and made deals.
“Sure thing, Killer,” Tim called back. “Try not to get lost; I know how confused you get by all the trees and grass and sheep.” “Hey, Evan!” Timotheus greeted a local youth, as he walked down the one thoroughfare in the village. “Can you go up to High Talon and tell my lord father that my cousin and I are in town? Let him know we'll be over to pay our respects after we get cleaned up.”
“Sure thing!” the kid said happily and headed out towards the small stone keep at the top of the neighboring and taller hill.
Timotheus waved and called to the villagers as he made his way to his step-father’s smithy.
"Look what the cat dragged in!" Tim’s half-sister Ivy's voice bellowed as he approached the smithy. She stepped in front of the doorway and gave the tall man a rough, but playful, push by way of greeting. "What are you doing here??!" She did not let him in. Ivy had long wavy reddish-brown hair and a freckled round face. She was squat, like all the Chalkour Smiths. (1)
The clanging in the smithy stopped.
"Just came back to see my favorite little sister," Timotheus made an exaggerated show of looking around. "I don't see her anywhere, but I guess you'll do." Laughing, he pointed past her into the smithy. "Is that dad or Bird-Brain in there? And is everyone else around? I won't be staying long, so I want to get in all of the visiting time I can."
Ivy shoved Tim again. "Don't call my husband a bird brain, you son of an ogre! Anyway, both father and Nicky are working in there."
As Timotheus stepped the rest of the way in, Hagen stepped up, leather apron wrapped around his thickening mid-section, to greet Tim. He had curly reddish-brown hair and was nearly a full foot shorter than his stepson. "Son! It is good to see you. I was not expecting to see you so soon…" He put out one big calloused hand to grasp onto Tim's and the other reached up to squeeze his shoulder.
Timotheus grabbed hold of Hagen’s hand and then pulled the man into a bear hug. "It's good to see you too, dad," he said warmly. "I had some time off from the charter, so I came up here to see all of you. Telémakhos is here too." Releasing his father, he continued, "I have to go see Master Erasmus as soon as I get cleaned up, but I'll see you all for dinner afterwards, okay?"
“We wouldn’t want to keep you from your duties with the charter or to your Lord father,” Hagen said with humility.
Timotheus nodded to the broad, blond and horse-faced Nick. He was Hagen’s apprentice; betrothed to Ivy.
“Did they kick you out or something?” Ivy asked, smiling.
"Making us proud, I hope!" Hagen smiled broadly, and while facially he looked very different from his stepson there was a quality to the smile that was often seen on Tim's face.
Telémahkos stepped in with a smile and a shy wave.
The smith greeted Telémahkos as well, shaking his hand. He turned back to Tim: "You just missed your uncle Soren, he was here three days ago to speak with your Lord Father…"
"Oh well, maybe he'll stop in again while we're in town. Seems like I hardly ever see him anymore,” Timotheus shrugged. “Anyway... did I hear something about a husband? Did you guys hold the wedding without me?"
"Eh, you know Ivy…She's been referring to him as her husband on and off for a year now, depending on her mood…" Hagen says.
Nick's grin melted as Ivy shot him a glare. "Father! You're terrible! Talking about me as if I weren't here!" She pouted melodramatically and takes up the basket she had used to bring them lunch.
"Timotheus, I will see you later…" She said as she left. Tim waved absent-mindedly.
Nick rubbed the back of his neck and walked back to the crucibles they were heating up. Telémahkos looked around bored, whistling a tune.
"Heh." Hagen paid no mind to his daughter’s tantrum, and continued. "As for your uncle, I doubt you'll see him. He took off with some your Lord Father's scouts to show them what he discovered, but I am sure you'll learn about all of that at the keep…"
"Well," Tim replied with a sigh. "I'd better get ready to see my lord father. It's really good to see you, though. It's good to be home."
Timotheus headed out the side door towards the house across the yard to his mother and the rest of his siblings. Telémahkos followed. “There is a barge leaving for Azure on the twenty-second. We have to catch it if we hope to get to Sluetelot in time.”
“Will do, Killer,” Timotheus replied.
"Where are we staying?"
"We'll bunk down in my old room. I turned it over to Flora once I moved out, but she can go back to Ivy's room for a few days. You can take Andy's old bed. He's off on apprenticeship, and I figure you two are about the same size." Tim snickered. (2)
After many more greetings, hugs and tears, the two cousins, dropped off their gear, washed up, changed clothes, were fed and then made their way up to High Talon.
Timotheus called up with warm familiarity to the gatehouse guards. As he led his cousin through the courtyard calling out for the steward, the other servants greeted him either coolly or effusively, but all of them were respectful to Telémahkos. They were led to Sir Erasmus' study, and Timotheus was taken aback by the sound of his noble father yelling at someone. He rarely, if ever raised his voice.
"Then check it all again and find it! A whole cart load of copper ore does not walk away on its own …" Erasmus Briareus was as tall as his son, but not quite as broad as his brother Agamemnon. He was lighter as well, having inherited the fairer traits of their mother evident in Telémahkos. If anything, Telie looked more like Erasmus’ son than Agamemnon’s. His collar was open, and his coat was folded over the back of an overstuff chair. He had one foot up on a low stool and a young boy was shining his boots. Erasmus held a rolled up piece of parchment in one hand
Timotheus recognized one of the mine foreman as the target of the knight’s derision. The man walked out meekly, barely looking up to greet them.
"Greetings, my lord father! Would a hundred silver pieces brighten your day?" Timotheus stepped in with his arms open and wide smile.
“Timotheus! I had word that you had arrived. This is an unexpected surprise!” He shooed the boy away and walked over for a firm handshake and manly nod of approval. He greeted Telémahkos with cool familiarity. “Nephew…”
Telémahkos nodded back.
“I hope there is nothing wrong with that missing copper shipment,” Timotheus said. “We can help find it, if you need us to…”
“No! No!” Erasmus laughed off the suggestion. “It is just my lazy-minded foremen and their clerical mistakes. I need to pay a healthy donation and get some local boy with a head for letters and numbers to join up the church of Thoth and come and work up here a few years… But, no… Everything is fine… And with you? What have you and your charter been up to?”
Timotheus gave his noble father a truncated account of they had been doing in a familiar, yet still deferential way. Telémahkos only offered his view on things when a question was put to him, otherwise he tried to figure out how his own father could be so different, for while Erasmus had no less potential menace in his comportment, he had a genuine warmness towards his bastard son.
“So there have been no consequences of this event that you are looking for me to help you out of? Nothing like that?” Erasmus asked, skeptical.
Timotheus laughed. “No! Not at all father…” It took a bit to convince Erasmus, but once he became so he warmed up even more and asked to have parts of the tale told him in more detail, being more concerned with the fighting tactics used and the general strength of the foes than any intrigues.
“It is unfortunate that your other charter members are not also here, and that you did not come sooner,” Erasmus commented. “I would have hired you all to accompany your uncle Soren and some of my officers. It seems he’s discovered some secret trail, partially subterranean that hobgoblins are using to travel down into the Schrabs from the Oreithales. It might be big numbers, and if so we may have to try to arrange something with House Roose to take care of it…”
“Oh yes, my… Hagen mentioned something about Soren having been around…” Timotheus was intrigued. “Hobgoblins in the Schrabs… Interesting… And we’d be happy to visit House Roose for you if it comes that… Wouldn’t we Telie?”
“Um… Yes? Yes!” Telémahkos nodded vigorously.
“Make sure you go down to the kitchens and let them know you and Telémahkos will be here for dinner,” Erasmus said. “I will see you then…”
“Not tonight, father… I have having dinner with my mother, but tomorrow?”
“Very well…” If Erasmus was disappointed, he did not show it.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Timotheus and Telémahkos spent just over three days enjoying everything Chalkour had to offer. They bought rounds at the Lighted Lamp, and there was not a dry eye in the house when Telie sang ‘the Lay of Isis’ and got tears of laughter when he acted out all the parts to gnomish song he had learned while slumming it one night in Quillton. (3) Timotheus found time to gives bits of his share of the Kraken’s Cove booty to his stepfather and his mother and his sister to help towards her wedding. Telémahkos spent afternoons practicing his tumbles in sheep meadows, ducking and rolling to emulate what Mena had described. (4)
In the early morning of the twenty-second of Ter they boarded a river barge, and joined a crew poling goods south back to Azure. There they would catch a ferry to Sluetelot and meet the others.
End of InterSession #8.6
---------------------------------------------------------
Notes:
(1) As with most small places in Aquerra, people’s surnames here are based on the traditional profession of their family.
(2) Anders (aka Andy) is Tim’s 14-year old half-brother.
(3) While in Quillton, Telémahkos spent one evening sharing songs and drinking heavily with the cast a gnomish theatre, and would have lost a great deal of coin in a card game if not for the generosity of the local gnomes.
(4) Telémahkos was doing self-training to gain the evasion ability of rogues.
Balem, the 19th of Ter – 566 H.E. (637 M.Y.)
By the time they reached Chalkour, Timotheus was tired of Telémahkos’ withdrawn mood. The blond Briareus arrived from Epithalassos-By-The-Sea exhausted from his hard ride, with nary a grunt by way of greeting. They had accompanied a well-guarded merchant caravan going up in the direction of Pyla, as the road to the eastern foothills of the Westen-Scherp Muur was often dangerous. Telémahkos had climbed into one of the wagons, wedging his bedroll into a corner and went immediately to sleep. Tim had to withstand the cutting comments of his old caravan guard companions, through which he had arranged the trip. While he and Telie were guests of the caravan and were not officially expected to do any labor, good manners obligated that they help, but even after Telémahkos caught up on his sleep he did little. He wandered away from the fire when song or jocularity began, and never took a watch. Additionally, he had dismissed Tymon, allowing his servant to spend the rest of his break with his family in Azure. They would meet up again later.
It took seven days of driving the heavy oxen further and further up into the hills until the wall of mountains on the horizon made night fall all that more quickly. As slow as the trip felt, so too was Telémahkos’ mood slow to improve.
“Don’t worry, cousin,” Telémahkos said when Tim complained. “Once I bask a bit in the warmth of your own family, I’ll feel a lot better.”
Timotheus normally cheerful demeanor was all the more effervescent when he first caught sight of the thatched roofs of Chalkour’s homes.
“Here we are! Home, blessed home!” Tim took a deep breath of hill country air, redolent with the smells of grape and goat. “We'll stop over at my folks' house first, then we'll head over to the castle,” he said to Telémahkos as he shouldered his pack and began to take long-strides up the road towards the village, waving good-bye to his friends in the caravan.
“Just a minute, hayseed. I'm going over to the foreman's station and finding out when we need to ship out of here to meet the others on time. I can meet you back at your folks,” Telémahkos called, and he headed down to where the merchants coming into and out of town registered with the local authorities, paid tariffs and made deals.
“Sure thing, Killer,” Tim called back. “Try not to get lost; I know how confused you get by all the trees and grass and sheep.” “Hey, Evan!” Timotheus greeted a local youth, as he walked down the one thoroughfare in the village. “Can you go up to High Talon and tell my lord father that my cousin and I are in town? Let him know we'll be over to pay our respects after we get cleaned up.”
“Sure thing!” the kid said happily and headed out towards the small stone keep at the top of the neighboring and taller hill.
Timotheus waved and called to the villagers as he made his way to his step-father’s smithy.
"Look what the cat dragged in!" Tim’s half-sister Ivy's voice bellowed as he approached the smithy. She stepped in front of the doorway and gave the tall man a rough, but playful, push by way of greeting. "What are you doing here??!" She did not let him in. Ivy had long wavy reddish-brown hair and a freckled round face. She was squat, like all the Chalkour Smiths. (1)
The clanging in the smithy stopped.
"Just came back to see my favorite little sister," Timotheus made an exaggerated show of looking around. "I don't see her anywhere, but I guess you'll do." Laughing, he pointed past her into the smithy. "Is that dad or Bird-Brain in there? And is everyone else around? I won't be staying long, so I want to get in all of the visiting time I can."
Ivy shoved Tim again. "Don't call my husband a bird brain, you son of an ogre! Anyway, both father and Nicky are working in there."
As Timotheus stepped the rest of the way in, Hagen stepped up, leather apron wrapped around his thickening mid-section, to greet Tim. He had curly reddish-brown hair and was nearly a full foot shorter than his stepson. "Son! It is good to see you. I was not expecting to see you so soon…" He put out one big calloused hand to grasp onto Tim's and the other reached up to squeeze his shoulder.
Timotheus grabbed hold of Hagen’s hand and then pulled the man into a bear hug. "It's good to see you too, dad," he said warmly. "I had some time off from the charter, so I came up here to see all of you. Telémakhos is here too." Releasing his father, he continued, "I have to go see Master Erasmus as soon as I get cleaned up, but I'll see you all for dinner afterwards, okay?"
“We wouldn’t want to keep you from your duties with the charter or to your Lord father,” Hagen said with humility.
Timotheus nodded to the broad, blond and horse-faced Nick. He was Hagen’s apprentice; betrothed to Ivy.
“Did they kick you out or something?” Ivy asked, smiling.
"Making us proud, I hope!" Hagen smiled broadly, and while facially he looked very different from his stepson there was a quality to the smile that was often seen on Tim's face.
Telémahkos stepped in with a smile and a shy wave.
The smith greeted Telémahkos as well, shaking his hand. He turned back to Tim: "You just missed your uncle Soren, he was here three days ago to speak with your Lord Father…"
"Oh well, maybe he'll stop in again while we're in town. Seems like I hardly ever see him anymore,” Timotheus shrugged. “Anyway... did I hear something about a husband? Did you guys hold the wedding without me?"
"Eh, you know Ivy…She's been referring to him as her husband on and off for a year now, depending on her mood…" Hagen says.
Nick's grin melted as Ivy shot him a glare. "Father! You're terrible! Talking about me as if I weren't here!" She pouted melodramatically and takes up the basket she had used to bring them lunch.
"Timotheus, I will see you later…" She said as she left. Tim waved absent-mindedly.
Nick rubbed the back of his neck and walked back to the crucibles they were heating up. Telémahkos looked around bored, whistling a tune.
"Heh." Hagen paid no mind to his daughter’s tantrum, and continued. "As for your uncle, I doubt you'll see him. He took off with some your Lord Father's scouts to show them what he discovered, but I am sure you'll learn about all of that at the keep…"
"Well," Tim replied with a sigh. "I'd better get ready to see my lord father. It's really good to see you, though. It's good to be home."
Timotheus headed out the side door towards the house across the yard to his mother and the rest of his siblings. Telémahkos followed. “There is a barge leaving for Azure on the twenty-second. We have to catch it if we hope to get to Sluetelot in time.”
“Will do, Killer,” Timotheus replied.
"Where are we staying?"
"We'll bunk down in my old room. I turned it over to Flora once I moved out, but she can go back to Ivy's room for a few days. You can take Andy's old bed. He's off on apprenticeship, and I figure you two are about the same size." Tim snickered. (2)
After many more greetings, hugs and tears, the two cousins, dropped off their gear, washed up, changed clothes, were fed and then made their way up to High Talon.
Timotheus called up with warm familiarity to the gatehouse guards. As he led his cousin through the courtyard calling out for the steward, the other servants greeted him either coolly or effusively, but all of them were respectful to Telémahkos. They were led to Sir Erasmus' study, and Timotheus was taken aback by the sound of his noble father yelling at someone. He rarely, if ever raised his voice.
"Then check it all again and find it! A whole cart load of copper ore does not walk away on its own …" Erasmus Briareus was as tall as his son, but not quite as broad as his brother Agamemnon. He was lighter as well, having inherited the fairer traits of their mother evident in Telémahkos. If anything, Telie looked more like Erasmus’ son than Agamemnon’s. His collar was open, and his coat was folded over the back of an overstuff chair. He had one foot up on a low stool and a young boy was shining his boots. Erasmus held a rolled up piece of parchment in one hand
Timotheus recognized one of the mine foreman as the target of the knight’s derision. The man walked out meekly, barely looking up to greet them.
"Greetings, my lord father! Would a hundred silver pieces brighten your day?" Timotheus stepped in with his arms open and wide smile.
“Timotheus! I had word that you had arrived. This is an unexpected surprise!” He shooed the boy away and walked over for a firm handshake and manly nod of approval. He greeted Telémahkos with cool familiarity. “Nephew…”
Telémahkos nodded back.
“I hope there is nothing wrong with that missing copper shipment,” Timotheus said. “We can help find it, if you need us to…”
“No! No!” Erasmus laughed off the suggestion. “It is just my lazy-minded foremen and their clerical mistakes. I need to pay a healthy donation and get some local boy with a head for letters and numbers to join up the church of Thoth and come and work up here a few years… But, no… Everything is fine… And with you? What have you and your charter been up to?”
Timotheus gave his noble father a truncated account of they had been doing in a familiar, yet still deferential way. Telémahkos only offered his view on things when a question was put to him, otherwise he tried to figure out how his own father could be so different, for while Erasmus had no less potential menace in his comportment, he had a genuine warmness towards his bastard son.
“So there have been no consequences of this event that you are looking for me to help you out of? Nothing like that?” Erasmus asked, skeptical.
Timotheus laughed. “No! Not at all father…” It took a bit to convince Erasmus, but once he became so he warmed up even more and asked to have parts of the tale told him in more detail, being more concerned with the fighting tactics used and the general strength of the foes than any intrigues.
“It is unfortunate that your other charter members are not also here, and that you did not come sooner,” Erasmus commented. “I would have hired you all to accompany your uncle Soren and some of my officers. It seems he’s discovered some secret trail, partially subterranean that hobgoblins are using to travel down into the Schrabs from the Oreithales. It might be big numbers, and if so we may have to try to arrange something with House Roose to take care of it…”
“Oh yes, my… Hagen mentioned something about Soren having been around…” Timotheus was intrigued. “Hobgoblins in the Schrabs… Interesting… And we’d be happy to visit House Roose for you if it comes that… Wouldn’t we Telie?”
“Um… Yes? Yes!” Telémahkos nodded vigorously.
“Make sure you go down to the kitchens and let them know you and Telémahkos will be here for dinner,” Erasmus said. “I will see you then…”
“Not tonight, father… I have having dinner with my mother, but tomorrow?”
“Very well…” If Erasmus was disappointed, he did not show it.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Timotheus and Telémahkos spent just over three days enjoying everything Chalkour had to offer. They bought rounds at the Lighted Lamp, and there was not a dry eye in the house when Telie sang ‘the Lay of Isis’ and got tears of laughter when he acted out all the parts to gnomish song he had learned while slumming it one night in Quillton. (3) Timotheus found time to gives bits of his share of the Kraken’s Cove booty to his stepfather and his mother and his sister to help towards her wedding. Telémahkos spent afternoons practicing his tumbles in sheep meadows, ducking and rolling to emulate what Mena had described. (4)
In the early morning of the twenty-second of Ter they boarded a river barge, and joined a crew poling goods south back to Azure. There they would catch a ferry to Sluetelot and meet the others.
End of InterSession #8.6
---------------------------------------------------------
Notes:
(1) As with most small places in Aquerra, people’s surnames here are based on the traditional profession of their family.
(2) Anders (aka Andy) is Tim’s 14-year old half-brother.
(3) While in Quillton, Telémahkos spent one evening sharing songs and drinking heavily with the cast a gnomish theatre, and would have lost a great deal of coin in a card game if not for the generosity of the local gnomes.
(4) Telémahkos was doing self-training to gain the evasion ability of rogues.
